800 Miles with Bears Ears Prayer Runners
Plus, women vs. men in cycling, the crowds on Whitney, and more
800 Miles with Bears Ears Prayer Runners
Last week we launched this mini doc and story about Native American tribes who came together via four routes to run 800 miles to Bears Ears in an effort to honor—and take back—the land that's sacred to them. Marie Sullivan, Anna Callaghan, Forest Woodward, Erin Berger, Aidan Haley, and so many others worked so hard on this. I’d highly encourage everyone to check it out:
The event, Sacred Strides for Healing, came about in the name of preserving important places, but also in the spirit of improbable unity. Each tribe is distinct in their traditions, and some have histories of conflict with each other. A local Navajo leader likened the relationship between the Navajos and the Utes to that of the Palestinians and the Israelis. “We were mostly looking to heal our relationships with each other, and we realized that those relationships are rooted in the land,” says Dustin Martin, 28, who is Diné (Navajo) and the executive director of Wings of America, a Santa Fe–based youth running nonprofit. “My whole life I’ve heard people talk about why we’re so different or why we can’t come together. One of the main purposes of this run was unity.”
What I’m reading
In Pro Cycling, Men Race Longer But Women Race Harder: Four years of race data from a professional cycling team unveils some differences between the sexes. [Alex Hutchinson for Outside]
Abby Dione Is the First Black Woman in the U.S. to Own an Indoor Rock Climbing Gym: She represents the changing face of climbing: a sport that is becoming more diverse and increasingly mainstream. Dione is busy creating experiences for young climbers both indoors and outdoors at the crag. She’s cultivating a passion for climbing and bridging the gap between climbing counterculture and new climbing communities. [Danielle Williams for Melanin Base Camp]
You Don't Need to Be an Expert to Hike with a Baby: Our new columnist, Hike It Baby founder Shanti Hodges, shares six tips for young families taking to the trails.
Whitney Has Turned Into an Overcrowded Catastrophe: Summit fever, a lack of mountaineering skills, and the allure of social media are leading to serious accidents on the lower 48's highest peak. Can anything be done to stop the injuries and deaths? [Megan Michelson for Outside]
Outside outside
As much as we all love climbing, trails, biking, and playing outside, the world is bigger than the outdoors. This is a new section I’m adding (and looking for a better name for), where I’ll drop a link to something that’s not squarely in the outside world.
Deadnamed: The way cops in Jacksonville and other jurisdictions investigate the murders of transgender women adds insult to injury and may be delaying justice. [Lucas Waldron and Ken Schwencke for ProPublica]
Last but not least
This made me smile.
Last week, my hiking partner and I summited Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states, and completed our thru-hike of the High Sierra Trail. She carried one sign; I carried mine. pic.twitter.com/dyMnEVztOf
August 8, 2018