Anatomy of a load. 200-250lbs of gear and food, bear boxes to keep that food un-eaten by bears, ropes, tarps, elaborate and specific knots. A load can ride 25 miles on rough trail if packed properly. There was a full sweet potato pie, a $200 bottle of scotch, and 2 personal-sized watermelons in this load.

Backcountry Cook. Writer. Wilderness Guide.

This goes so hard. My New York City brain can barely comprehend.

Reporter and writer. I cover energy, climate change and geopolitics. Contact me via my website www.alexanderckaufman.com and subscribe to kaufman.substack.com.

lmao it took me so long to understand why that question bugs people. the grind is our ~culture~

When I lived in Brooklyn the "what do you do for work" conversation was always a doozy.