Nathan Pipenberg
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Cell tower proposed in iconic Sawtooth Range
The Sawtooth Mountains are the jewel of the Idaho backcountry. While there are taller peaks, more imposing ranges, and more remote wildernesses, the Sawtooth range is the rugged, photogenic, poster child of Idaho wildlands. The front-porch view from Stanley, the gateway town to the Sawtooth Wilderness, has to be one of the best in the…
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REVIEW: The Brooks B17 doesn’t need a review in 2020, but I wrote one anyway
In 2020, is there any good reason to write a review of the venerable Brooks B-17 bike saddle? I’ll cast my vote: no. Everyone is familiar with this solid leather piece of cycling history. It’s been in production since the 1890s, after all. No one needs to review it, because opinions have already been formed.…
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Flock Hill Bouldering
I’ve been getting out into the high Canterbury plains recently for some great outdoor climbing. Flock Hill in particular is considered a world-class boulder field, by NZ natives and visiting climbers alike. Compared to most rock climbing, Flock is weird. There are a lot of sloping holds that are hard to get a handle on,…
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Overhead: A Short Story
I’m happy to say that I’ve just posted my first work to Amazon’s Kindle store. It’s a piece of short fiction called Overhead, and it’s a 15-minute read with a big dose of absurdist fun. I’m offering it for free until the end of January, when it goes up in price to a whopping 99 cents. Click…
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Christchurch’s vibrant streets
Christchurch might be one of New Zealand’s biggest towns, but for the most part it still has the small-town feel that visitors to this country find alternately endearing and annoying. Bars here close at 11 p.m. most nights. People shop for groceries barefoot. And a 15-minute drive in almost any direction will have you back…
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Hiking Copland Valley & Welcome Flat
It’s a great time to be on the South Island of New Zealand. The weather is getting warmer, the plains of Canterbury are (relatively) green and best of all, the hordes of travelers that turn the South Island’s main thoroughfares into parking lots for campervans in high summer haven’t arrived yet. As a traveler myself,…
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Climbing, surfing, and curiosity in Christchurch, NZ
For the first time in two years, I’m living what in the Western world is known as a normal life. Apartment, job, car, weekends off. It’s been a while — I’ve been traveling for fun, sleeping in tents, traveling for work, sleeping in hostels and generally staying in motion for the better part of the…
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On melting snow (and embracing the burnt bits in my camping cookware)
Quick story: my most recent hike was a simple one — a quick 19-mile loop in Western PA. An overnight trip. Not enough elevation change to mention, no route-finding, lots of water, good camping. A breeze. So when I turned up at camp and proceeded to knock over my water bottle and spill my last…
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Looking Back: Dumpster Diving
I’m about to graduate, and I want to spend some time looking back at some of the work I did in college. Here’s something I wrote for my Feature Writing class last year: It’s past midnight, and behind the Penn State Creamery there’s a man standing up to his ankles in a Dumpster. He’s wearing…
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Looking Back: Meeting a Mega-Hiker
In about two weeks, I will finish taking my last semester of college classes and graduate from Penn State with a journalism degree. I spent a lot of my time in college writing, but not much time maintaining a blog or promoting my work. With that in mind, my next several posts will be pieces…