nickburdick

This is Part 3 of a multi-part series.Read Part 1 here.Read Part 2 here. III. A wall drops away from the side of the trail, and the ground with it. The gaping hole in the earth is filled with brush—the collapse happened long ago. Peering down from the rim, I imagine tense Modoc faces gathered … Read more

This year I read 43 books. Of those, eight books earned a 5-star rating, which I only give if they changed something about the way I think about the world, they are well written, and they are enjoyable to read. I hope you find something you like. The complete list of 43 books can be … Read more

This is part 2 of a multi-part series. Read part 1 here. II. To the south of Tule Lake is Lava Beds National Monument, forty-six thousand acres of volcanic flows, cinder cones, lava tubes, pit craters, and jagged igneous rock. It is a maze that will easily abrade even the most attentive traveler, and can … Read more

I. Fog blots the horizon, obscures it even from imagination. The still water of Tule Lake is a reflection so perfect it is invisible, so seamless that we seem to be on an island in a featureless sky, surrounded only by sparse constellations of scattered ducks and loons suspended in midair. We have come up … Read more

In 1936, the engineers constructing California’s Pacific Coast Highway rerouted their plans in Mendocino and Humboldt counties and turned the highway inland. The problem, they said, was the rugged, erosion-prone cliffs that would make the highway expensive and difficult to build. The result was a 50-mile stretch of undeveloped coastline that was left to wilderness … Read more

We arrive at the Hetch Hetchy parking lot just after 10am and emerge from the car blinking and stretching under simmering blue skies, then pull our backpacks from the trunk one at a time and spread ourselves in the shade along the opposite curb to repack and adjust. It takes a quarter of an hour … Read more

Oh my god, I thought. I watched as pedestrians streamed into the crosswalk and across the street. Every one of them stared down at their phone as they walked, with only a cursory glance up for traffic. They look like zombies. A few days earlier I had read two articles that concerned me. The first … Read more

Mokelumne Wilderness July 17, 2020

“Okay, for this next test, the computer is going to flash letters on the screen.” The neuropsychologist looked me in the eye to make sure I was following. I nodded understanding. “Every time you see a letter, hit the space bar. Unless it’s the letter ‘X’. Then, you don’t hit the space bar.” “Got it,” … Read more

Baker Campground, Stanislaus National Forest, June 22-28, 2020.