mackenzieberg

Singing bones back to life

July 21, 2015 Uncategorized

Lately, I’ve barely been in my apartment long enough to do laundry, work a few shifts, and repack the gear pile scattered on the floor. I have climbed more routes, hiked more miles, slept outside more nights, bagged more summits, and consumed more ice cream in these weeks than in the past ten summers combined. While I try to avoid using superlatives, I cannot deny feeling a level of awake-ness in my limbs that rivals that of the last twenty-nine years. The full stories are better told across theRead More

On a mountain, with pie

June 16, 2015 Uncategorized

On Sunday, we climbed to a fire lookout in the middle of the Willamette National Forest. We trekked a nectarine pie all the way to the top, along with an assortment of sleeping gear, jars of whiskey and wine, a shotgun, and far, far too many provisions for one night. But I suppose that’s to be expected when you put three nurses together in the backcountry who have each survived enough emergency scenarios to know how important warmth, weapons, snacks, and liquor can become when theRead More

Spirit animals, swimming holes

June 12, 2015 Uncategorized

Some say that Rattlesnake is a harbinger of rain and thunder, a spirit-god who can summon water when the ground has dried up and the crops are thirsty. I say he’s just a guy whose path I’d rather not cross. But cross him we did, the fierce rattle of his tail beads drawing adrenaline into my chest and cuss words out of my mouth as he coiled into a striking stance aimed at my ankles. It took five long minutes to decide how to navigate a wideRead More