Behold the Tetons

A week in the mountains is good for the soul.

I’m just back from a week in Wyoming.

I was at the Jackson Lake Lodge to participate in Renaissance Weekend, an interdisciplinary ideas festival that happens to be run by my wife.

The conversations were memorable; they always are. Strangers open up about love and loss and outer space and what it means to be an American and so much more.

But the mountains were visceral.

The Tetons are one of the most visually arresting ranges in the world, a series of shark fin peaks rising out of the high plains and drawing the eyes to the sky.

Climate change is affecting the ecosystem, as I wrote about in the Times a couple years ago. Glaciers are melting and the flora and fauna are changing with hotter temperatures.

And yet over a series of hikes and horseback rides and swims, I’m happy to report that much of what has made this place so special for so long remains intact. We witnessed three coyotes rip apart a bison fawn, and the bison herd fight back. We rode through forests prowled by wolves, as bald eagles looked on. We saw a grizzly and her two cubs from the safety of a car. And then, a few days later, ran into a grizzly cub on a remote trail, and promptly turned around. (Everyone was OK.)

The fact that the Tetons and the greater Yellowstone ecosystem are so well preserved is no accident. It was only through the sustained efforts of conservationists, including the Rockefeller family and the federal government, that Jackson Hole was spared from overdevelopment and hyper-commercialization.

"The Teton Mountains are, to my way of thinking, quite the grandest and most spectacular mountains I have ever seen...When viewed over the vast expanse of sagebrush which covers the valley, or with Jackson Lake and the marshes in the foreground, they present a picture of ever-changing beauty which is to me beyond compare." — John D. Rockefeller Jr.

This is also the place that Yvon Chouinard calls home.

As I wrote in DIRTBAG BILLIONAIRE, Chouinard came to the Tetons as a young man, started scaling the peaks and fishing the Snake River, and never left. (Pre order the paperback now!)

That Chouinard went on to be a great conservationist himself — helping preserve vast swaths of South America and funding grassroots environmentalists in the U.S., all while living on the edge of one of America’s greatest conservation success stories — is perfectly poetic, and probably no accident.

While in Jackson, I spoke about DIRTBAG BILLIONAIRE with Christian Beckwith, a skilled alpinist and journalist, at a fundraiser for KHOL, the local NPR affiliate.

But most of the time, when I wasn’t immersed in conversation with an astronaut or former senator at Renaissance Weekend, I was walking the trails, listening to the wind move the leaves, running my hand through the river and watching for lightning on the horizon.

As a reminder, here’s how you can help:

• Buy a copy of DIRTBAG BILLIONAIRE, or a dozen, at Amazon, Bookshop, Porchlight (bulk discounts), or Barnes & Noble.

• Leave a 5-star review on Amazon. Or jump in on Goodreads. This truly helps.

• I’m on the road doing speaking events. If your company or organization is interested in having me talk about the book, or you know of someone who is, please reach out to me.

That’s it for now.

Reminder to preorder the paperback and leave a review!

Thanks.

David