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NORTHER: Can you start by telling us about your relationship with nature and how it has progressed through your life?  AARON: Maybe this is true for most people, but my relationship with nature has changed a lot throughout my life.  I think as a kid growing up in the concrete suburbs of Dallas, Texas, IContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Surviving a Near Fatal Accident & Celebrating Irrational Optimism with Aaron Smith”

NORTHER EMILY: Thanks for talking with us today. Would you like to start by explaining who you are and how you present yourself? BENNETT RAHN: Well, that’s a complicated question but in the spaces that I occupy on the internet, I introduce myself as Bennett Rahn, I use she/her pronouns, and I am a plus-sizeContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Transforming Climbing Culture and Listening to Indigenous Voices with Climbing Guide Bennett Rahn”

NORTHER: To start, do you want to tell us a little bit about who you are and how you like to represent yourself? ASH: My name is Ash and I’m from Northeast Georgia. I grew up around the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. My dad works for Georgia DNR, so I was exposed toContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Thru Hiking the Appalachian Trail, Becoming a Whitewater Guide and Protecting Their Peace, with Ash Manning”

Welcome back to TOPOPHILIA! This month, we spoke with Franziksa Weinheimer of Hike Oregon. Franziska and I discuss her love of hiking and backpacking, the places in Oregon that are most dear to her heart, how she overcame her fear of wildfire, and all about her online brand as Hike Oregon. Franziska is such aContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Overcoming Fears, Writing Guidebooks & Finding Friendly Forests with Hike Oregon’s Franziska Weinheimer”

Welcome back to TOPOPHILIA! This month, we are talking with hunting guide Tyler Houck. Tyler leads guided elk hunts on the Zumwalt Prairie in Northeast Oregon, and has a long personal history of intimacy with the land. In this interview, we discuss the practices that allow us to learn a place intimately, lessons we’ve learnedContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Relationship With Place and the Humbling Unpredictability of Elk with Hunting Guide Tyler Houck”

NORTHER: To start, why don’t you tell us a little about your background and upbringing in the context of the outdoors? BRAD: I grew up doing regular kind of stuff; just sports and playing outside, nothing too outside of the ordinary. I was in the navy as a helicopter rescue swimmer for six and aContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Risk Management, Fear, and the Love of Climbing with Climber & Mountain Athlete Brad Farra”

NORTHER EMILY: So let’s dive in and talk about the crowding issue. You and I have both lived here for long time. Matt: I moved out here to Oregon from Illinois when I was seven. One of the major reasons we moved out here was that my stepfather really loved the outdoors- as soon asContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Intimacy With Place Interview Series with Guide Book Author Matt Reeder”

Welcome back, everyone! Today, we are so excited to share our recent conversation with Pacific Northwest canyoneer, Mike Peterson. Mike shares with us his perspective around time spent outdoors, places that feel like home, self improvement, and having no chill. We dive into a canyoneering mishap he recently experienced that could have been fatal, theContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Intimacy With Place Interview Series: Canyoneering with Mike Peterson”

Welcome to our new Intimacy With Place interview series, TOPOPHILIA! In this series, we explore relationships with place through a variety of different perspectives, as well as issues surrounding outdoor recreation. Our first guest is canyoning athlete Ryan Ernst. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the outdoor community more invested or knowledgeableContinue reading “TOPOPHILIA: Intimacy With Place Series: Canyons, Access Issues, Permit Systems and Wildfire with Ryan Ernst”