Outdoor values can suffer when economic, physical, or emotional hardship sets in. This is evidence that the outdoors has evolved from our source of life and survival to a conquest, from a conquest to an abstract idea, and from an abstract idea to a leisurely adventure. Hardships tend to press us back down the chain, most likely from our leisurely adventures back to a focus on our livelihood in mainstream society, where outdoor life is once again an abstract idea.

I’m no exception. I reveled in life as a Weekday Warrior while it lasted, but I’m back to chasing income during the week. Success in my work is paying less, and I’ve struggled with physical ailments. I’m still freelance while I can manage it, but writing about outdoorism has receded into the background for now. I think it’s okay to let the site be quiet for a while. Some of my favorite outdoor experiences have involved extended quiet times.

I break the silence for two reasons. One is to refresh my own commitment to outdoorism by writing a few of my recurring thoughts here. The other is to remind anyone else out there who may need to hear it that at least one more outdoorist continues to press on. Outdoorism remains a primary focus and value for me, even with fewer opportunities to express it. Should the hardships continue, I take some comfort in the fact that our most basic survival is rooted in an outdoor life, even if a few of the labyrinthine structures we’ve built on it collapse.

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The latest issue of Rock and Ice magazine has a feature article on jobs in climbing jobs that follows the Lifemaps format closely, and is based on a survey of 300 career climbers. You can read a good portion of the article online. There are some surprising contrasts in incomes and job satisfaction, but most of the participants said they were able to spend a good amount of time outdoors.

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Sometimes I think I should leave all my gadgets at home when I go outside. Do I really get a full outdoor experience when I’m fiddling with a camera, a GPS receiver, or an MP3 player? Often, these things distract me from what I love most about being outdoors. Then I’ll be at home surfing and see something like Cookie and Paul Do America. All the best aspects of my outdoor experiences come flooding back, and I’m incredibly thankful they carried gadgets on their hike. Then I get some ideas for new things to do with my camera, and I have a lot of fun trying them out. Here’s my latest homemade outdoor media. Where’s yours?

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