Ouray, Colorado | June 10, 2026
I got the fishing expedition video edited. I ended up calling it “The #1 Worst Thing about Van Life.” If I’d called it The Fishing Expedition I’d get the wrong clicks, people looking to catch fish. It reminds me a little of Jed and the Splinter, in that it has a tight story arc and fell together relatively easily. I’m getting better at editing. Getting better at shooting. Still tedious, but faster at all of it.
I was locked in at the computer most of yesterday. Around 4:30pm I joined Shannon for a couple mile hike up a 4x4 trail to the top of the hill. We’re at 8,500 feet here. It was steep. First time using my new hiking poles. Those things are going to get a lot of use. One of the new Field Guides I’m making is all about hiking poles.
This has been a great spot. Spacious, private, wooded, on a river. Fruitful days and restful nights. I’ve enjoyed having a friend around the campfire and for hikes. We travel well together. This is the longest I’ve traveled with another person. We’ll probably keep it going another two or three weeks.
The last time I was in Telluride was March 2022, a three month snowboarding trip. I had the Epic Pass and went from resort to resort, sleeping in the van. I’d work until noon and snowboard from noon to about 3:30. My dogs were with me. If they’d had a walk that morning I felt fine leaving them for three hours. They were such good boys. I miss them forever.
When I was 20 I hiked up to Kala Patthar in Nepal, right past Everest Base Camp, to about 18,500 feet. From there you can see the five highest points on earth. Most of my group didn’t make it that far. I remember taking a few steps and needing to stop for breath. Nothing grew up there except strange cactus-like things that looked like something from Star Trek. They burned yak dung for fires since there was no wood. The altitude hit other people harder than it hit me.
Which made what happened in Telluride in 2022 all the more humbling. I was up on the very top of the mountain, over 13,000 feet, cold and dark and windy, and I needed to make a long flat traverse on the snowboard. I could not catch my breath. I’d stop, rest, try again. It just wouldn’t come. I’d never experienced anything like it. I didn’t know how dangerous it was getting. I flagged down a snowmobile and got a ride back to the lift. Back at my van, around 9,000 feet, the shortness of breath continued. I bought a can of oxygen, which helped, but only for about five minutes at a time. I have a little pulse oximeter that clips to your finger and reads your blood oxygen saturation. For about 24 hours it was telling me to go straight to a doctor.
I ended up leaving Telluride early and dropping to lower elevation. I went straight to Orvis Hot Springs in Ridgway and soaked for a day. That brought me back. And that’s exactly where I’m headed today. They’re at 7,000 feet.
The last six weeks
While I’m thinking about elevations and where the road takes me, here’s the full log. Forty-two nights, twelve camps, from a hidden spring near Zion to here on the river outside Ouray.
Southern Utah · Apr 29-30
The Butter · The Eagle
En route to Arizona Strip · May 1
The Gum
Arizona Strip · May 2-9
The Podcast · The Footsteps · The Condors · The Spot · The Wind · The Rope · The Shower · The Heat
Jacob Lake, AZ · May 10-17
Jacob Lake · Monk Mode · Practicing My Love · The Moths · Butter Weather · The Walkie Talkie · G · Into the North Rim
North Rim, AZ · May 18-26
The Foreign Visitor · Taxiing · It’s Just a Feature · The Volume · The Burn Zone · The Haydukers · The Trail of Torture · Base Camp · The Ancient Television
Grand Canyon, AZ · May 27
The Container
Page, AZ · May 28
The Stack
Mesa Verde, CO · May 29
Cliff Palace
Durango, CO · May 30 to Jun 1
The Cold Plunge · The Cost of Doing Business · A Reunion
San Juan Mountains, CO · Jun 2-5
The White Powder · The Game · The Aircraft Carrier · The Lake
Ouray, CO · Jun 6-9
The Pothole · The Fox · Driftin’ · The Fishing Expedition
12 distinct camps in 42 nights. Longest stays: North Rim (9 nights, 2 sites) and the Arizona Strip (8 nights, 2 sites).
Roads dispatches appear on layng.com/roads after a short delay.