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I was aware that people hike to all 48 of the 4,000-foot summits in the White Mountains, and I was also aware that people do all 48 of the summits, each one in each of the 12 months of the calendar year, but I honestly was not aware that people hammered out all 48 summits in one push until Gary C. sent me an email with this link to Andrew Drummond’s write-up of his latest attempt, which he finished in just under five days (!!!). Apparently people have been doing this since Reverend Henry Folsom put a route together in 1970, and did it over 19 hiking days (not consecutive). Anyway, the numbers to do it in less than five days are jaw-dropping (especially the final day, 59.53 miles and 19,678 feet of elevation gain).
We’ve been having Black Sabbath dance parties with our toddler since Ozzy Osbourne died July 22, and I saw a Popular Mechanics story (paywalled) about Ozzy’s genome sequencing showing that he was predisposed to hard partying and also surviving said hard partying, AND that he had some Neanderthal lineage. Which was pretty interesting, but this Psychology Today article explaining why his DNA won’t produce “another Ozzy” was even more interesting. So, RIP Ozzy.
I have, until this week, sort of assumed that a blood sugar crash during exercise was the same as “bonking,” and it took reading this article from newsletter sponsor Precision Fuel & Hydration to realize that no, they’re not the same. If you take anything away from What happens when you 'bonk'? (And how to avoid it!) by Andy Blow, let it be that you should not only enjoy eating more carbs in the days leading up to a big effort, but that it is actually, as my junior high basketball coach used to say, prior proper preparation preventing poor performance. (also note that clicking the above link will give you 25% off your first purchase on the PFH site)
I just realized this week that endurance cyclist Alexandera Houchin has a Substack, and the first thing I read—her reflections on her many experiences racing Tour Divide over the years—did not let me down. My favorite part: "In a society obsessed with finish line narratives, we mustn’t forget the starting line stories, too. For I believe the distance from the starting line is where the true spirit lies; where did you come from to get to that race start line? Now, maybe more than ever, I urge people to dream impossible things, to line up at starting lines, and tell their stories."
I had such a blast talking to my friend Fitz Cahall a few weeks ago, and having a bit of a return to The Dirtbag Diaries after several years. This conversation, and what I guess is really my first poetry reading, started when I published the “Reminder To Touch Grass” poem back in February and Fitz messaged me and asked if I’d like to read it on the Diaries. (Which I of course said yes to)
Did I need NPR to tell me that the word “dude” is useful? No, but I did need NPR to tell me that scholars spent 20 years trying to pin down its origin, and published a 261-page book about it. Also, "even with the rise of ‘bro,’ "dude" still reigns supreme, according to a recent survey linguistics professor Scott Kiesling conducted."
This is just a short video I found on the Maybe Maybe Maybe subreddit, of a guy being very good at his job, and having fun with showing tourists a good time, and also kind of showing off a little bit.
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Writer, artist, filmmaker, columnist for Outside Magazine. My newsletter about creativity, adventure, and enthusiasm goes out to 15,000+ subscribers every week.
Friday Inspiration 494 Wow did I love this 15-minute film about three L.A. cyclists who come from diverse cycling backgrounds and found each other to enjoy, as Dante Young puts it, “riding around in tight-ass clothes all day.” (video) (thanks, Brody) This one-minute video was simply titled “Researchers react to first-ever photos” on the youseeingthisshit subreddit, and I watched it three or four times before I poked around to try to find more info on why these guys were so excited about this...
Take It Away, Stranger Rich seemed like a nice guy, and although we only interacted for a few minutes, I remain forever grateful to him for the psychic load he unburdened me from, and took on himself, despite not knowing me at all. Rich is a hero, but he’s not unique. He’s one of many heroes around the world who act probably on a daily basis, visiting strangers they meet via Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, coming to their homes and agreeing to adopt a piece of neglected exercise...
Friday Inspiration 493 I got quite a few responses to my post “A Regular Person’s Guide To Surviving An Ultramarathon” a few weeks back, so I decided to try to turn it into a YouTube video—which I just published yesterday. (video) I might be a little late to the party here, but I finally finished Orbital by Samantha Harvey, and I was just telling a friend I regretted listening to the audiobook because it was so beautifully written that I wanted to spend more time with the sentences (which is...