Encountering HCN
Readers describe how they first ran into the magazine in the wild.
In September, I asked you to send in your stories about encountering High Country News in the wild — the first time the magazine crossed your path or a noteworthy rendezvous with a reader. A hearty thanks to everyone who responded. We hope the stickers we sent spark yet more conversations and encounters. (If you want a sticker, write me at [email protected].)
I was born and raised in South Carolina, and in 1998, the summer after my freshman year of college, I took a job at the Grand Canyon and headed West.
The first mountains I encountered were the Sangre de Cristo Range in northern New Mexico. I still remember the awe I felt, driving up through the foothills. A spark was ignited in my soul, which has continued to this day.
That night I stayed at a hostel near Taos Pueblo. Rising to the cool crispness of a high-country morning, I was introduced to two dramatically new things. A long-haired fellow said, “Hey, do you want a breakfast burrito?” The combination of spicy Hatch chiles, slightly burnt potatoes and eggs was a culinary awakening, and I ate it with an 18-year-old’s gusto. On the table there was a copy of High Country News. I can’t recall the topics covered, but I clearly remember realizing that I was in a unique place, with unique stories and a publication that shared them.
That was 25 years ago. The West has remained a constant lodestone, even though I reside in the southern Appalachians. I have traveled across the Mountain West at every opportunity and remain committed to understanding the unique stories of, and the challenges facing, the high country.
Stuart Miles
North Carolina
I’ve happily subscribed to HCN for years, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked about an article or photograph.
I visit a hot spring at least once a month and always bring the latest issue with me. Invariably, someone asks me what I’m reading. I try to leave my copy at the spring to pass along. I’ve certainly enjoyed discussing the West with people over the years.
David Divine
Colorado Springs
My first encounter with HCN was in a roundabout conversation with my landlord, a gentleman with the last name of Marston. (Ed. note: This would have been David Marston, Ed and Betsy’s son.) My husband and I moved to Paonia in June 2021 and were renting office space at the Harvester Building. As a CSU journalism school grad, I was delighted to find out a rocking independent magazine was based right in my new (tiny) hometown and immediately subscribed. Never looked back, and I read every issue cover to cover.
Emily Hancock
Paonia
I married into the North Fork Valley after 10 years as a ski bum in Summit and Eagle counties. At the Hotchkiss Library, I found a black-and-white newspaper — High Country News. I read my first HCN cover-to-cover that day and subscribed in person the next day.
That was my first visit to Paonia, exploring the back roads from my new home at the Hotchkiss National Fish Hatchery. With five free back issues of HCN in hand, I read them all in five days at the hatchery as I sat along the North Fork of the Gunnison River.
HCN introduced me to the real West. All I’d known, or cared about, until then were ski towns and Rockies baseball. I lived in a bubble of self-gratification. Since moving to western Colorado, I discovered mesas, orchards, ranches, wildlife, flora, energy development, water conflicts, and people I hadn’t previously known much about. I do now, 22 years later. Thanks for the education!
Mary Russell
Boulder
Question of the month
“There are a few books that, when I think of them, I am certain they saved my life in some way.”
— Sterling HolyWhiteMountain, Contemplating Cormac McCarthy
What is your saved-my-life book? Send it to [email protected].
Michael Schrantz is the marketing communications manager for High Country News based in Santa Fe. Email him at [email protected] or submit a letter to the editor. See our letters to the editor policy.
