Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

86 BACKPACKER.COM

of whom recommended, “just don’t think

about the backcountry” and “watch a lot of

kitten videos.”

Hearing this, and more, I wondered if

inviting Rick on this trip had been such a

good idea after all. Was all of this beauty just

an ugly reminder? Had the Range of Light

gone dark for him? I hoped this trip would

help him discover a route, not only to Mt.

Morgenson, but for a way forward in life.

The following morning and 6,000 verti-

cal feet later, we topped Sheppard Pass, and

were welcomed to the high country with

a squall. “Smell that?” Rick said, inhaling

deeply, as we pulled ponchos from our packs.

“Rain on granite, nothing like it.” And he

was off, hustling across the exposed plateau.

Thunder growled. Lightning f lashed. “We

should spread out a couple hundred feet,” he

yelled back to me. “If the lightning gets much

closer, get up against a rock and sit on your

sleeping pad with your knees pulled up to

your chest.” He took a few more steps. “Hey,

not to freak you out,” he continued, “but if I

die up here, I’m good with that.” He inhaled

deeply again, and I gave him a thumbs-up.

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“

Trail by Design

Presents:

Latasha Dunston

backpacker.com/trailbydesign

@jitterbug_art | jitterbugart.com

I hope to inspire people to

slow down and really take in the

landscape, notice the little

details and movements around you. I

also make it a point to photograph

all my work while I am on the trail

and each photo shows my hand.

My brown, skin kissed hand.

That is me, a black cis woman,

taking up the space I deserve in

the world and when I share my art

people see my skin and they know

that the outdoors is for everyone.”

We have an innate

connection to the natural

world that we cannot

explain. Green spaces

and bright colors of

wildfl owers are what fuel

my passion for painting.

VOTE FOR LATASHA: