An excerpt from Luke Mehall’s second book, The Great American Dirtbags. “The world has enough for man’s need, but not enough for man’s greed.” Gandhi Where do we look for hope, for America, the planet, for the human race? The dirtbags. They usually descend from the Middle Class, where they had enough material-wise where their…
Last month I wrote an article on bromance, which as it turns out, has been my most popular article I’ve ever written for, the Durango Telegraph. How do I know this? People have been stopping me left and right to tell me they enjoyed it. On the street, in coffeeshops, and where I work, the original…
In climbing, maybe thanks in part to the Wide Boyz, off-width climbing is again popular. Now, so are off-width style shoes that offer ankle protection. I’ve been happily wearing Sportiva’s TC Pro for the last few years myself, but when I needed a replacement, and found out that Evolv was going to offer a more…
Every day 500,000 outdoor enthusiasts* put on a pair of rock shoes for the first time. But with every new climber joining the tribe, differentiating yourself from the rest of the pack becomes more difficult. by James “Peaches” Lucas. Spoiler alert: this story is published in Volume 6. Dare to be different! Embody the true…
While I was on the road recently I met an artist whose favorite muse was the naked body. I was intrigued, first, because she was a beautiful thirty-something woman, from Aspen of all places, but on a deeper level it made me ponder why. I’ve later thought about how writers get naked. [by Luke Mehall,…
I blame my dirtbagging, vagabond ways on my education at Western State College of Colorado. As a child of the Midwest, I’d slept under the stars maybe a handful of times before I moved to Gunnison at 20 years old, but in my first year studying Recreation I found myself sleeping in a snow cave,…
The older you get, the more you realize how precious life is, and the more you appreciate the little things. And sometimes the universe just throws you a little gift, a little nugget that makes you say, “Yes, today is a good day to be alive.” [story by Luke Mehall] This is exactly what happened…
The way of the dirtbag is a simple life: maximizing recreation while minimizing responsibility. Life as free as the wind, work as little as possible, and spend mucho time in the outdoors doing what you love. As a rock climber, in my twenties I lived this lifestyle to the maximum: I’d wash dishes all summer…