We had barely covered the first 10 miles of trail, hiking north from the California-Mexico border, when my hiking partner, Flash, and I found the first Pacific Crest Trail casualty. A man in his 20s, face flushed red from heat, watched us approach with clear embarrassment. He sat in a small patch of shade next […]
Wilderness
Posted inAugust 17, 2015: Little Big Bird
The Latest: Boulder-White Clouds in Idaho becomes wilderness
Congress gives the highest protection to the area — to avoid an even-larger national monument.
Posted inArticles
How the Point Reyes oyster battles challenged our idea of wilderness
Review of a new book, ‘Oyster War’ by Summer Brennan.
Posted inArticles
How a long-sought Idaho wilderness bill defies the odds
The threat of a national monument gets Boulder-White Clouds the highest protection.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Tracing the Yampa River where it flows free
Review of “Colorado’s Yampa River” by John Fielder.
Posted inAugust 3, 2015: Outflanked
Wilderness vs. mining, Roundup research and Western prisons
Hcn.org news in brief.
Posted inJuly 20, 2015: Shredded
Exploring “The Crown of the Continent” in photos
Photographer Steven Gnam takes readers into the one of the most remote stretches of wilderness, along the ridge of the Northern Rockies.
Posted inJuly 20, 2015: Shredded
Public-lands visitation and recreation, by the numbers
Fatalities, backcountry trips, ATVs and Denali summit attempts over the years.
Posted inJuly 20, 2015: Shredded
On death’s doorstep in the Grand Canyon
A misstep in the backcountry alters an avid hiker’s perspective.
Posted inArticles
Idaho mining dispute raises questions about the future of wilderness
A grandfathered mining claim has opened the doors to development.
Posted inArticles
Efforts to save Utah’s Cedar Mesa reach a crescendo
Conflicting county and state proposals would provide various levels of protection.
Posted inArticles
Battle of the Lands: Denali wins
Readers voted in our bracket-style tournament to crown the West’s best public lands on which to recreate.
Posted inApril 27, 2015: Lost frontier
Photos and recordings of Pacific Northwest and Southeast Alaska
Review of “Wilderness” by Debra Bloomfield.
Posted inArticles
Utah’s ‘Grand Bargain’ for public lands enters phase three
Bishop pushes what may be the West’s biggest reshuffle of the land checkerboard.
Posted inMarch 16, 2015: Wild Ride
The quietest and noisiest spots in the West
Some places are 20 decibels or less, similar to levels in pre-Colonial times.
Posted inArticles
How many more monuments will Obama create?
The recent designation for Browns Canyon has conservation groups ready for more.
Posted inFebruary 16, 2015: Chainsaw Diplomacy
Wilderness as therapist
A growing number of veterans and researchers are racing to understand nature’s power to heal.
Posted inArticles
A wilderness bill for both sides of the aisle
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson tries another Boulder-White Clouds bill in Idaho.
Posted inArticles
Plunging oil prices are saving Alaskan ecosystems — for now
The new governor shelves controversial roads, dams and other developments.
Posted inJanuary 12, 2015: What Are We Thinking?
How faith plays into the new conservation debate
Two sides call a truce, at least for now.