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Sunday, March 4, 2012

Blogspiration: Get Outdoors






I'm reading Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey for two reasons: it was recommended to me by one of my favorite reading buddies, and it's set in Utah.









Edward Abbey was a pretty crazy guy, judging by his picture alone. (Yes, he is leaning on a rifle, next to a television with a bullet hole in the screen.) He is perhaps most well known for Monkey Wrench Gang, a novel about "environmental terrorists" that allegedly inspired the early actions of a real-life radical group.






Radical environmentalism aside, Abbey was pretty sharp. In Desert Solitaire, Abbey dedicates one chapter to a detailed proposal for a car-free national parks system. His proposal includes everything from bicycle paths to backcountry leadership, from shuttle buses to infrastructure maintenance. It's quite brilliant.


One particular passage on car-free tourists had me giggling on the subway to work:

But the rest, the majority, most of them new to the out-of-doors, will need and welcome assistance, instruction and guidance. Many will not know how to saddle a horse, read a topographical map, follow a trail over slick rock, memorize landmarks, build a fire in rain, treat snakebite, rappel down a cliff, glissade down a glacier, read a compass, find water under sand, load a burro, splint a broken bone, bury a body, patch a rubber boat, portage a waterfall, survive a blizzard, avoid lightning, cook a porcupine, comfort a girl during a thunderstorm, predict the weather, dodge falling rock, climb out of a box canyon, or pour piss out of a boot.  

Abbey's point was that, even without the responsibilities of collecting car fees and handing out road maps, park rangers would be wonderfully and absolutely needed in a car-free national parks system. Get people out of their hot cars and into the (newly) quiet wilderness of our beautiful country.

Just please don't tell me that I'll have to learn how to bury a body.

Blogspiration is a new meme hosted jointly by GrowingUp YA and saz101.

6 comments:

  1. haha I love this!! And it's totally true! We should get out more in the nature :) It's so beautiful out there, I just seem to never take time for this. I guess I am taking it for granted. :/ Definitely a great idea! Thanks for sharing this :)

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    1. Thanks, Nea! I love the "Blogspiration" idea, so I couldn't resist :) I agree, it's hard to find time to get out of our routines and get outside. But when I finally do (even if it's just a walk in the park), I always feel so much better.

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  2. Sara, I SWORE I posted yesterday, but Blogger seems to be eating my comments :S

    I love this SO much, and basically, WHAT NEA SAID! We should so get outdoors more, and reading your 'about'? Oh my wow... you live in Utah? I was going to say well, wow, you've so many amazing reasons to get outside, but I live in Sydney, Australia, and we have so much amazing bush, and a bike tracks, and... no excuses, huh? ;D

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  3. Hi, Sarah! My boyfriend moved out to Utah for an internship, but I'm still in New York City for now ... just dreaming of all those beautiful western mountains. I'm trying to go on more hikes while living in New York City without a car, so we'll see how it goes. Definitely a fun challenge.

    And, wow, I'd love to see Australia at some point in my life!

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  4. Sara!!!! *waves* :D Thank you so much for participating! lol...I loved it! Now, I am not one for the outdoors/nature, but when people are really passionate about something, I'm usually inspired to go out and try it. After reading your post I MAY have to go out and see what all this getting in touch with nature stuff is all about :/ *grumble, grumble*

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  5. Are you not playing Solitaire on your mobile? Download The Coolest Version (Built for iOS or Android)

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