Astro. Adventure. Anywhere.
We are gonna go look at the stars or try dying. Or both.
We are outdoorsmen, passionate about conserving and observing the wilderness both here on earth and far beyond. There’s something immense about feeling so small, and nothing hits that way for us like a trip into the wild. We are also nerds, spending most of our time in front of computer screens making up intellectual nonsense and sending it off into the electronic ether. The chance to get out of our brains, into our bodies, and into a more natural state is a profound privilege.
We love getting places most people don’t see, going by way of paths far less traveled. It happens that those same places have some fantastic seeing for astrophotography!
We decided to start this site both as a record for our own enjoyment, and to share our fun with others.
Our Philosophy
So many take for granted or even flat out ignore the dangerous, expansive beauty our universe puts on display. Millions of people today have never seen the Milky Way with their own eyes, have never had the satisfaction of self-sufficiency in the great outdoors. Maybe the things we do will inspire others to go out and see for themselves. While they still can.
Underuse, and misuse, of our wilderness threatens to shut us normal people out someday, at best hiding it behind a pay wall of political park services and opportunistic tour companies. It’s already started. Popular parks are closing up or restricting many backcountry routes for generally understandable reasons, but end up funneling even larger numbers in. Dystopian queues of cars line up on curated scenic drives that make these parks seem far busier than they are and cheapen the value of these resources. The restrictions placed on backcountry routes don’t seem to distinguish between commercial users and normal people, so tour companies lock up many reservations and clog up the wilderness with large groups and big support vehicles. Those with the appropriate backcountry skills are then left with fewer options to responsibly enjoy these parks, while even more people without knowledge or respect for the wilderness come to snap a pic for socials and leave. Then again, those people aren’t as tempted to venture out where they aren’t equipped to go and risk damaging the resource. Access is a double edged sword, either way you slice it.
We don’t pretend to have the answer to these larger issues. What we do know is that unless we get out and responsibly use these resources the way we want to see them be available (within existing policy), our skills and passion for the wilderness become casualties of the modern metro lifestyle and do no good for us or others.
We don’t want to see the world on rails. There is little joy from a tarmac road in line with 67 other cars all trying to get an insta picture of the same tired rock.
Adventure is out there, and up there. Will you get out and take it?