Art Lang

I'm a longtime backpacker and mountaineer and climber, so I've been traveling the high and wild for in the neighborhood of 40 years.

I'm a longtime backpacker and mountaineer and climber, so I've been traveling the high and wild for in the neighborhood of 40 years.

I'm a natural navigator and experienced in micro-navigation, what's in front of my feet, and in macro-navigation, looking a long distance and seeing peaks and knowing where I am intuitively on my map.

I'm a natural navigator and experienced in micro-navigation, what's in front of my feet, and in macro-navigation, looking a long distance and seeing peaks and knowing where I am intuitively on my map.

I like to wander around there, so intended just to walk from A to B and connect all those places that I'd explored. He'd made meticulous plans. I knew where I wanted to camp. I knew how many days and how many miles in between each camp. And he didn't anticipate any trouble. It's not as committing as some of the places I've backpacked in Alaska or even Yellowstone or places like that.

I like to wander around there, so intended just to walk from A to B and connect all those places that I'd explored. He'd made meticulous plans. I knew where I wanted to camp. I knew how many days and how many miles in between each camp. And he didn't anticipate any trouble. It's not as committing as some of the places I've backpacked in Alaska or even Yellowstone or places like that.

That highline trail runs the length of the mountain range, and the mountain range is a rare mountain range that is oriented east and west.

That highline trail runs the length of the mountain range, and the mountain range is a rare mountain range that is oriented east and west.

Like what you see in the sound of music from the singers running through these big wildflower fields, that's alpine tundra. In the alpine tundra of, say, Utah, the High Line, that tundra exists because the conditions at altitude are desiccating cold winds in the winter that cause the trees to not be able to grow.

Like what you see in the sound of music from the singers running through these big wildflower fields, that's alpine tundra. In the alpine tundra of, say, Utah, the High Line, that tundra exists because the conditions at altitude are desiccating cold winds in the winter that cause the trees to not be able to grow.

There are plenty of wildflowers and plants that create flowers, but they're only there for a month of the year. So everything's struggling to survive. To me, the ecosystem is precious because It is surviving on the hairy edge of what's possible and it's doing it with aplomb. Life abides, so it lives through those harsh conditions.

There are plenty of wildflowers and plants that create flowers, but they're only there for a month of the year. So everything's struggling to survive. To me, the ecosystem is precious because It is surviving on the hairy edge of what's possible and it's doing it with aplomb. Life abides, so it lives through those harsh conditions.

The Yuntas has a couple dozen drainages, major ranges that come in from the north and come in from the south.

The Yuntas has a couple dozen drainages, major ranges that come in from the north and come in from the south.

And every single one of those has a trailhead and often people at them. And so it's a simple matter if you get sick or get injured, it's a simple matter to crawl or walk down 10 miles to any trailhead and you're out of there.

And every single one of those has a trailhead and often people at them. And so it's a simple matter if you get sick or get injured, it's a simple matter to crawl or walk down 10 miles to any trailhead and you're out of there.

Not especially difficult to navigate. It's not an especially dangerous place. Weather, sure, it can be bad, but there's many mountain ranges that are far more risky than the high Uintas.

Not especially difficult to navigate. It's not an especially dangerous place. Weather, sure, it can be bad, but there's many mountain ranges that are far more risky than the high Uintas.

Art challenged me on that. Is it rare that someone gets lost in the backcountry and is not found, or is it common?

Art challenged me on that. Is it rare that someone gets lost in the backcountry and is not found, or is it common?