Really grateful for all the work that @hangdogmagazine put into this issue! Some images and words by me on a memorable summer in Squamish!
Shout out to @useless.consumer and the whole team for making this mag possible! Both an honor and privilege to be able to share my work in this way alongside such a great mix of talented writers, photographers and artists.
Exited to put more energy into more print projects coming up! Much love!
📍Skwxwú7mesh Uxwumixw unceded ancestral
homelands stone and waters
The three musketeers in AK. Some film and friendly faces of a very memorable trip to Anchorage. Didn’t see any moose but ate 7 red wild berries before I was told I shouldn’t eat one! So grateful to get a glimpse into the beauty and vastness of this incredible landscape. Oh a joy to see Jess and Bennett in their natural habitat.
📍 Unceded ancestral homelands, mountains and waters of the Dena’ina Ełnena peoples
I spent the early part of the summer bouncing around the sierras, backpacking and climbing in Tuolumne and near the Yuba. Here is some fun film I shot of my friends and this sacred land to whom we are guests. From the Yuba River to Tuolumne I am taken aback by the white granite, and the yellow, pink and green that carpet the endless scapes of rivers and lakes. Pikas Marmots and Blue Birds darting over slate. Time and time again I am aww’d by the gift to wonder these landscapes with friends who share the same gratitude and giddyness over the smallest of things that make me wake ever day and smile with the sun.
📍 Ahwahneechee, Southern Sierra Miwok and Paiute as well as Nisenan and Southern Maidu unceded ancestral homelands stone and waters
A memorable season in the valley, greeted with the blossoming of dog woods and a rising Merced, grateful for the small moments when you simply sit, with no plan for the day, no objective other than to awaken to the day, to morning hack and jam circles, the sharing of food and spray of beta. Through this I feel I am able to appreciate a place and connect in a more meaningful way. Some highlights pictured here of some rock scampering, meadow grazing and hot tubing. Grateful for all the wonderful people I am able to share this special place with, both new and returning. It’s a gift to be able to return to such a sacred place and reminds me of the privilege it is to be a guest within this valley. To hold the trauma, and displacement of Ahwahneechee, Southern Sierra Miwok and Paiute peoples who’s home this till belongs. 🌼
As the snow returns blanketing the peaks and scree fields, I am reminded of a very memorable trip I never got the chance to post about a year ago sometime in the first glimpses of spring. I had the privilege then, to once again be surrounded by the incredible beauty and presence of the Easter Sierra range, home to the Nüümü Witü (Eastern Mono/ Monache) and Nüümü (Northern Paiute) peoples. I am reminded of the gift these mountains and land offer as the globe mallow blooms in late spring reflecting the orange glow of the mountains as they blush at the soft sight of the sun, cresting over the white mountains and gliding across the basin of checkerbloom and rabbitbrush, to finally climb up and summit Winuba (later known as Mt. Tom). Winuba meaning “Standing Tall” in Owens Valley Paiute (Nüümü). Just after the sent of pancakes and coffee fill the buttermilks, I am reminded of the beauty and serenity of such a place and am filled with gratitude for the incredible people and dear friends I am able to share these mountains and receive their gifts with. Words can’t describe how grateful I am for friends that make such an incredible place even more richer. Some mornings as I get up just in time to watch the sun begin her climb up into the mountains, I feel almost as lucky as Winuba. I wonder if she is laughing and having as good of a time basking in the sun eating pancakes and laughing sitting in the dirt. Then I remember the Globe Mallow.
I’ve gone through a lot mentally the past 5 years struggling with OCD. It was an incredible experience being able to approach something like ice climbing with rational thought; being able to trust myself, the conditions and gear and ice climb for the first time. This was a big milestone for me mentally. Big thanks to Bennett, Andrew and Jess and for their guidance, knowledge and kindness. I never thought this would be something I would try and am grateful for the opportunity. Looking back it’s been a rollercoaster, from the onset of COVID, but I have grown a lot and find myself in a space I am really grateful for, thanks to so many supportive friends and family along the way. In gratitude, peace and Love, thank you.
An Ode to the Trees: As I walk among gentle giants, I am reminded of the years I have had the privilege of growing alongside this land. These redwoods hold so many memories, and even though I am only a tiny potion of the rings that make up these forests, my breath is within their cambium and their oxygen is now apart of my me too. A type of reciprocity I like to think, like playing ball with an old friend. No words, just the smack of leather on leather and the humm that fills the space between. Thank you for your simple knowing. The crackling fire, the slithering creek, the wind that makes the tree tops dance, the wiggling newts and slimy banana slugs. This sacred place of coast redwood, and salty air that drifts up from bean hallow, of huckleberries and sorrel, redwood violets and little blue forget-me-nots, of big stump and big tree. It makes me smile to think of all the friends I have been able to share these trees with and can’t wait for more. Here’s to countless birthdays, frolicking in the forest, both rainy and sunny tehehe, bluegrass jams and quit campfire games. These trees always know the perfect thing to say, when you need it, without even speaking. Here’s to our friendship and the friendships we share therein.
A little glimpse into some Oregon adventures over the past two weeks. As the volcanic ranges of Central Cascades patiently awaited a long overdue snow, I was gifted the opportunity to take in some spectacular views as forests of Noble Fir, Mt. Hemlock, and Silver Fir turned into a fabric of textured evergreen like the pilling of a wool sweater after a long winter. From Warner Ridge found within the Willamette National Forest we looked out over the ancestral homelands of the Kalapuya, Yoncalla, Molalla, Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla peoples among others, who are part of 3 federally recognized tribes now of the Grand Ronde, Siletz Indians, and the Umatilla Indian Reservation. It was special to share this trip with my cousin Andrew and his partner Taylor as we remembered our grandparents traditions and echoed their names through cinnamon apple pancakes, art, basketball games, shared meals, and long drives always supplied with Altoids. Here’s to the gift of family, and the basins of relation that feed the rivers of our shared home. Nurture them and we will be nourished.
Then the snow finally came…
Bishop through the seasons…
A dear friend would say; behold, behold the mountains, behold the valleys of sage scrub, behold the rocks and stones, the little field mice who dart into granite cracks, behold the rivers that flow and and the rivers that froze, behold the sun and the stars, behold the memories that make this place sacred, the relations, the relatives, behold the footsteps before ours, and behold those by your side, who gaze into the night sky just as Winuba (Mt. Tom) does. Thank you friends.
Got the privilege of going back to Bishop for another fall season. As I look back over the year with this incredible place shared with some incredible friends, i’m filled with gratitude. Here’s to the countless weekends driving out to the east side. Mostly just frolicing around in the dirt, basking in the Sierran sun, making buttermilk pancakes, eating lots of carrots and peanut butter, parking lot macadillas and quesaronis, and making memories with the goofiest coolest genuine people, oh and some climbing…well mostly falling. I owe nothing but gratitude for this place and the people I am able to share it with.
Recap of memories over the past year with this land and people coming soon, for now here are some fun moments from last weekend.
No better way to celebrate the Summer Solstice and welcome in the summer months then spending a week in Tahoe’s creeks, scampering up some pretty cool rock and to share it with these lovely people :) 🕺🌲🫶
P.S. Thanks friends for pushing me to lead my first trad pitch, and thanks for the belay Sandro, however cause I had so much rope drag you weren’t really needed hehe, next time maybe I’ll extent more than one piece lol. (Meanwhile…Josh Horniak solos our warm up route)
