In this story I try to tackle the difficulties in finding simplicity in a complex world. How can we tone down the overwhelming options before us, or silence the voices of a hundred threads coming at us at once on social media? Is there a place we can go to focus more intently on the present? On this journey I go bikepacking deep into the San Rafael Swell, a remarkable piece of Utah. I cover…
THE RIVER RUSHES SO swiftly that it sends up a shimmering emerald mist which hangs above the angry surface like a diaphanous blanket. The entire river corridor—bounded by verdant, moisture-laden flora—is enshrouded like this and snakes off into darkness alongside the highway. Boreas Mountain calls to me. I am standing along the banks of the North Fork of the South Platte river outside Bailey, Colorado. The summer monsoon had been in full swing for two…
