“The word ‘matagi’ is derived from ‘matagu’, meaning to cross over, step over or straddle, bounding an image of people between two worlds — the realm of humans and that of the mountain deity: yama-no-kami.” Scott Schnell, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emeritus in Anthropology This post is only available to members.

Fire history across the West is invariably wrapped up in human history, and removing human fire in these places calls to question what wilderness actually means. The essential truth is this: fire belongs in these landscapes. This post is only available to members.

Fear is not a sin in the taiga, but cowardice is. This post is only available to members.

After nearly four years of anticipation, reminiscing and planning, it was to be my triumphant return to Scotland. This post is only available to members.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing results from the hard work that you’ve done yourself. Our ranch’s soil health is improving because of the work we’ve done, and our rangelands provide for us every summer because we’ve put in the time to regenerate them. It only gets better every year, and it’s somewhat addictive because as long as we keep doing it right, we’ll keep seeing results.” This post is only available to members.

The Last Overland was the greatest adventure of my life. At moments, however, I questioned what on earth I was doing: what even is “adventure” in the 21st century, where there are so few “world-firsts” left and you can view the top of Everest from your mobile phone? This post is only available to members.