The Dirtbag Diaries

Trails are hewn from granite, carved into sandstone cliffs and engineered into our most iconic landscapes. Other times, they offer just the faintest hint of the passing of those before us. Either way, we often take their existence for granted. Today with the help of author Dillon Osleger we ask the seemingly simple question “Why do trails exist?”

Read Dillon’s book: Trail Work

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Kuat Racks

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How do we love those we have lost? In two essays, Mike Foote and Natasha Buffo explore how the memory of their parents guide them through life’s biggest moments—from a grueling hundred-mile run to the choice to become a mother.

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Libby Costello and Sophia Walters met as teammates on the UCLA rowing team, but after graduation, they each struggled to reimagine what the sport would mean to them without the structure of Division 1 athletics. Years later, the two friends came back together with an audacious goal: to row self-supported across the Pacific Ocean. With the freedom of a month in the open ocean, the two friends reclaim their relationship to their shared passion.

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Oboz

Kodiak Find Kodiak at kodiakcakes.com or your local grocery store

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order.

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.

Born and raised in Hawaii, World Champion spear fisher and renowned chef Kimi Werner has travelled around the world to catch and cook fish big and small, educating others how to lead a life of sustainable consumption. Those are just a few reasons producer Marco Siler-Gonzales spent three years running down an interview with her. In her new book, Kimi’s Kitchen, Kimi connects the many lessons learned in the water to the cherished meals she’s passing down to her son and how we can all reconnect with what makes us feel at home.

Support comes from

Oboz

Kodiak Find Kodiak at kodiakcakes.com or your local grocery store

Darn Tough Free shipping on any order with code DIRTBAG

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order.

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.

In late summer of 2025, Kurt Refsnider straddled the Canadian border in Washington, pointing his bike south towards the border of Mexico. He was about to bring concept to reality: the first rider to attempt the Orogenesis trail, a decades long pursuit to bring a mammoth single track through-ride across the entire pacific crest of the United States and Mexico. This is a story of how a trail is made. 

Orogenesis Collective is raising $250K by the end of the year to care for the trail. 

Listen to Fitz’s story about riding the Oregon Timber Trail (Apple | Spotify)

Support comes from

Kuat Racks 

Oboz

Darn Tough Free shipping on any order with code DIRTBAG

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order.

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.