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06 Nov

Posted at 04:45h in Adventure Activism, Diversity, Environmental Protection, Essays, Latino Outdoors, National Monuments, National Parks, Natives Outdoors, Outdoor Recreation, Public Land, Special Events by
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On the last night of the SHIFT Festival in Jackson, Wyoming the organizers hosted an after-party at the Organic Lotus Restaurant. By 1:AM a steady beat of house music still roused a group of at least 30 Millennials to dance away the night well into the morning. Damp with sweat I sidled over to the bar for a drink of water. Even after a double hip replacement it doesn’t take much to get this aging Gen-Xer out on the dance floor. Inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of...

10 May

Posted at 12:12h in Alaska, Environmental Journalism, Expedition Denali, National Parks by
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[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]oung mountaineer Tyrhee Moore is heading back to Alaska for another attempt to summit the highest peak in North America, Denali! After an unsuccessful bid in 2013 he’s returning to climb with a small team of avid adventurers in hopes of encouraging youth across the nation to ascend the heights of their most ambitious aspirations. “It’s just really important to me that I show kids like me that anything is possible,” Tyrhee said just before his departure. “It doesn’t matter where you come from or whatever your background...

06 Jun

Posted at 09:00h in Adventure Activism, National Forests, National Parks, New Century Vision by
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After 16 days of rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon I was still covered in a fine layer of dust and sand. Even having taken a shower eariler that morning I carried that residual film of grime you inevitably accumulate while camping. Noseblind to my own body odor I’m sure that I stank, but with a few hours left to kill before my flight back home to Wisconsin I just had to make a visit to the Canyon Rim for one last look and to begin the...

14 Mar

Posted at 09:18h in Book Tour, Commentary, Kids in Nature, Outdoor Recreation, The Adventure Gap by
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In May of 2014 I received a private message via Facebook. It was the summer after Expedition Denali and I was in the final stages of writing the book that would become The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors. Stories of the first African-American climbing team to attempt a summit of Denali, the highest peak in North America, had been widely reported in the news. And many of the climbers upon their safe return home had begun a national speaking tour in the hopes inspiring, in...

26 Jan

Posted at 11:35h in Commentary, Kids in Nature, Madison by
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After a deep breath to steady my nerves I pushed upon the door. Beginning my second year of public speaking I was in the habit now of arriving a few minutes early to gage the room and get a feel for the audience. Knowing what likely lay in store, this particular crowd made me a bit nervous. But fully committed now to my mission I set aside the anxiety I felt and smiled broadly in the face of my worst nightmare, a class of 30 sixth-graders. At Sherman...

19 Jan

Posted at 10:00h in Balance Madison, Commentary by
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Now that we’re well into the New Year most everyone I meet seems to ask me the same question: “What are you working on next?” I suppose that with that question comes the expectation of something more exciting than they might have previously imagined. After a 12-month tour filled with adventures from one end of the country to the other including a short detour through the national parks of Tanzania and a visit to White House I’m fairly certain that 2015 will be tough to beat. But rather than...