10
Outside Magazine Between the Lines
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Close Encounters
Los Angeles–based photographer Emily Shur
is no stranger to shooting on location. Still,
she faced a new kind of challenge when we
sent her to take a portrait of author Richard
Louv (page 24). After Shur and her assistant
arrived at Louv’s home outside San Diego,
he led them on a walking tour of his favorite
trails. On the way back, the trio stumbled on
some fresh mountain lion and rattlesnake
tracks—to Louv’s delight and Shur’s horror.
“That’s Richard’s whole thing, studying animals
and nature,” Shur says. “He didn’t seem fazed,
so I fi gured he probably knew best. But I really
wanted to get back in the car.”Lost Boy
In our September/October issue, Alex
Perry revisited the story of John Allen
Chau, a young missionary who sought to
convert indigenous people living on a
remote island in the Indian Ocean to
Christianity (“The Island of No Return”).
Not many readers were surprised by the
fact that the islanders killed him. Others
wondered why the piece sparked so
much anger against Chau.Do not elevate this
boy in any way.
Stop talking about
him. He was a
prideful fool with a
god-complex who
ignored decades of
research and
fi rsthand experi-
ence that fully
explained the risks.
He could have
gotten everyone on
the island killed, so
they killed him fi rst.
Elizabeth
McCabe
FacebookThe real story is
that he was so hell
bent on forcing
Christianity on
people who just
want to be left
alone. He was
killed despite
many, many
warnings.
@DeenyMarie
TwitterEmpathy seems to
be in short supply
here. He was a
fl awed human
being who paid
with his life for his
fl aws. Isn’t that
enough for you?
Eric Leenerts
Facebook,W·V:KDW·V
for Dinner
Rowan Jacobsen’s
online feature pre-
dicting the demise
of the beef industry
at the hands of “alt
meat” provoked
howls from car-
nivores and retorts
from readers.Hoping it’s not the
end of beef, but
maybe a step away
from factory
farming. Alt meat
is still a highly
processed factory
food and isn’t
necessarily a
healthier option.
Try the portabella
burger, it’s
delicious.
Aaron Townsley
FacebookI’m not much of a
burger person;
more of a pasta-
with-red-wine
person. So my
question about alt-
meat has been,
can it make a
Bolognese? And
the answer,
apparently, is yes!
OK, I’m in.
@paulkrugman
TwitterThe Dropout
The last time I saw kayaker Scott Lindgren
was June of 2007. We were at a Los Angeles
photo studio shooting the cover of Outside’s
30th anniversary issue, for which we’d gath-
ered some of the biggest stars in the out-
door industry. Most of them were household
names: then retired (and not yet infamous)
cyclist Lance Armstrong, legendary climber
Lynn Hill, snowboard pioneer Jake Burton,
mountaineer Ed Viesturs, surfi ng superstar
Kelly Slater, Olympic swimmer Amanda
Beard, big-wave giant Laird Hamilton, and
musician Ben Harper. Lindgren, it’s fair to
say, was the least known of the bunch, and
that day he seemed starstruck in the presence
of so many adventure icons.
There’s no question, however, that Lind-
gren belonged among these luminaries. He
was then—and perhaps still is—the world’s
most accomplished kayaker, having com-
pleted audacious fi rst descents on gnarly riv-
ers all over the globe, including an
expedition through Tibet’s Tsangpo
Gorge, once considered an unrunna-
ble stretch of water. And at 34, he was
still at the peak of his athletic powers.
After the shoot, I talked to Lindgren
about his upcoming plans, which in-
cluded a trip to Uganda to paddle a
50-mile stretch of Class V whitewa-
ter on the White Nile. Then we said
goodbye. I headed back to our offi ces
in Santa Fe, and Lindgren essentially
disappeared from the kayaking world
for the next ten years.
This month we fi nally learn why.
Along with Outside correspondent Thayer
Walker, Lindgren has written a memoir chron-
icling his harrowing last decade, “Soften the
F!$% Up” (page 102). Beginning on that trip to
the White Nile, Lindgren started experienc-
ing mysterious health issues—blurred vision,
hazy thoughts, low energy, and diminished
strength—that eventually forced him to take
a hiatus from paddling. He’d planned to take
a three-month break, but when his condition
only got worse, the months turned into years.
Then, in 2014, an MRI revealed a massive brain
tumor. Lindgren’s battle back would require
a risky surgery, but his biggest challenge was
facing the blow to his self-image. His diag-
nosis ultimately led him on a dark journey
to confront a tumultuous childhood and the
emotionally stunted man he’d become. Lind-
gren has pulled off a lot of courageous feats in
his lifetime, but sharing this candid personal
story might be his bravest yet.
—CHRISTOPHER KEYES ( @KEYESER)