When herding cattle means meeting black bears, angry turkeys and tame elk.
Essays
Posted inJune 22, 2015: Dust to Dust
Reflections on the atomic blast test in Nevada
How the “typical American family” fared in “Doom Town,” 1953.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: An East Coast visitor adds some perspective
Sometimes hosting an outsider is the perfect reboot.
Posted inJune 8, 2015: Tree of Life
Lust for fungi
A writer has a holy experience while mushroom hunting in southern Oregon.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Turning a mustang into a willing partner
What it’s like to start a horse who has a fear of ropes and an unhealthy sense of his own strength.
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: The adventures of Sir Rantsalot in the dead tree forest
On the virtues of cutting and burning wood.
Posted inMay 25, 2015: Monument Man
Making a monument from scratch
A writer wonders if this piece of Northern California federal land is worth the new designation.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: An orphaned calf gets rescued
Surrogate parenting after a cow dies at the Triangle P in New Mexico.
Posted inArticles
Sightseeing at an open pit mine in Arizona copper country
The mines are still in business, yet towns that once flourished are now mostly gone.
Posted inMay 11, 2015: The Wetland Wars
Walking the damp upper corners of America
This mysterious Oregon forest awakens hope in a local writer.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Early spring grass brings unexpected challenges
Roping a sick calf on a green colt.
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: Will the real fake John Muir please stand up?
Searching for authentic identity in Chautauqua season.
Posted inApril 27, 2015: Lost frontier
Can our own ingenuity upend natural laws?
Reflections on the health of my heart and the making of Hoover Dam.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Building community in the middle of nowhere
Cattle branding brings together far-flung neighbors in the midst of the “Big Quiet.”
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
A German’s shattered romance with the West
An essayist asks whether the West is the most misunderstood region in the U.S.
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
Children in Alaska’s wild country
As parents, we watch our kids walk into vast new worlds — like it or not.
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
Raccoonboy’s guide to urban wilds
When in doubt, climb; fences are made for hopping.
Posted inApril 10, 2015: Strangers in a Strange Land
Readers’ foreign travel tales
Winners of the High Country News essay contest for our annual travel issue.
Posted inArticles
Ranch Diaries: Tiny living, 23 miles from town
After a chicken coop, a tipi and no electricity, this four-season camper is our most modern home yet.
Posted inArticles
Rants from the Hill: Scaling Lone Tree
Learning to see a one-tree forest in the Great Basin Desert.