Article in Sidetracked Magazine /February 19, 2019 by Caroline Van Hemert

I have a short piece coming out in the current issue of Sidetracked. For anyone who isn’t familiar with this adventure/travel outlet, it’s a beautifully designed magazine full of photographs and stories sure to inspire wanderlust. You can find more information here: https://sidetracked.bigcartel.com/product/sidetracked-volume-14

Sneak preview:

Archive

Follow @sunisacompass on Instagram

What are the chances that a random roommate at a wildlife disease conference would want to join me on a spontaneous trail marathon, plus spend the whole 26 miles chatting about bioethics, love, literature, oceans, mental health, diversity in science, and every other topic worth caring about? Feeling grateful for kindred spirits & friendships forged in the mountains.

It’s summer, and it’s hot! For a little refreshment, here’s a shot from an unnamed glacier in the Coast Mountains of southeast Alaska. **News for the Bay Area: I hope you’ll join me at Book Passage (Corte Madera) on Monday, August 12th, 7pm. I’ll be sharing slides, video, and a short reading from my book, The Sun is a Compass: A 4,000-mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds. See you there!

Sweet reward after a long uphill hike (with some unnecessary bushwhacking after we lost the route). Fifty pounds of kid on my back must be good training for something!

Rainy day ramble. One faceplant, many mouthfuls of salmon berries, a few miles of head-high nettles, four hours of quality friend time. Add alpine tundra & call it a good day.

A much-needed escape into the clouds. And my favorite kind of date night. Grateful for a wild backyard where rocks, sheep, and ptarmigan can show us the way.

Not all of Alaska’s recent news is uplifting. In fact, it’s downright dismal. We’re struggling to keep our heads, hearts, and spirits high in the face of so many challenges (i.e., doomsday reports on climate, politics, education, domestic violence, arts, and the recent heat wave that has us obliterating every temperature record on the books). But an early morning mountain run with one of my favorite people on earth is just what the doctor ordered. We all need a little refuge sometimes.

Harvesting salmon and mud (not quite in equal proportion 🙂). Happy to have the grey skies and cooler temps after our recent scorching heat wave. Feels like Alaska again! 📷 #1 Paul Schuette

One grizzly, two black bears, a golden eagle, a pile of ground squirrels, two little boys, and 90 degree temps. I’ll take the critters & the kids. The heat I can do without. I imagine our furred and feathered friends feel the same! It’s not a typical Alaskan July but I’m no longer sure what’s typical around here. Even in her hot and harried state, I love this place.