Matthew Dickerson: Enjoying the sport of Team Extractigating

My wife and I discovered a new outdoor team sport this summer. We call it Extractigating. Though some know it by its older terminology: Invasive Plant Removal.

When I was young (and my definition of “young” now includes anything less than a half century) I assumed that outdoors and comfort were mutually exclusive. Not so now that I’m not so young.

It was my friend Drew YoungeDyke who introduced me to the term “bluelining.” At the time, Drew had recently taken a job as national communications director for Trout Unlimited, and we were both serving on the board of directors for the Outdoor Writers Ass … (read more)

We had not been on the trail for more than a few minutes peddling up a hill west of Gorham when the first tiger swallowtail appeared, fluttering up from the forest understory—or perhaps from some wet sand where it had been licking salt — and out in front … (read more)

Thought of the day: I’ve been living in Addison County for more than 35 years now, and I continue to find more to discover and enjoy in the many outdoor opportunities that abound in and around our county and state: new places to fish, new places to hike ( … (read more)

Magnolia warbler, black-throated green warbler, blackpoll warbler, pine warbler, mourning warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, orange-crowned warbler and yellow warbler.

Last week I went on a field trip with a class on “Water Resources and Hydrogeology” in Middlebury College’s Earth and Climate Science Department, taught by Professor Peter Ryan.

“My mind is never empty or idle at the joinings of streams.” These words come from Wendell Berry, in his beautiful essay “A Native Hill.” But the sentiment is mine, also.

The entire budget of Glacier National Park — a million acres and more than a hundred year-round employees and several hundred seasonal employees — is less than the salary of a single good NFL quarterback. All while bringing in far more revenue than they c … (read more)

Last week we pulled our snowshoes out of storage and took them out into the woods for a walk. We did this partly because we could. We also did it in memory of our dog Coda, walking our lower loop trail that was always his favorite.

Living in Vermont, I take for granted that I can go on a walk among trees and fields any time I want. For the past dozen-plus years, our dog Coda has taken somebody in the family on a walk at least twice a day, year-round. When we lived in Middlebury, alt … (read more)

Standing at the edge of the Trinity River by the Rush Creek boat ramp, I watched the recently risen sun struggle to push a few beams of pale yellow light through the cotton-ball clouds rolling through the foothills of California’s Trinity Mountains.

Stepping out the front door of the National Park Inn, our eyes were drawn at once to the impressive peak of Mount Rainier straight in front of us.

I’ve been thinking about dams lately. I especially been thinking about their removal.

It was the third and final morning to hunt with my uncle Jerry during New Hampshire’s muzzleloader season. We were working the hardwood forests on and around his land, across the Connecticut River from (but still within sight of) Vermont’s Mount Ascutney) … (read more)