We move outside our comfort zone and seek new experiences to grow.

We find adventure in the epic and the everyday.

We travel to broaden our horizons and engage with nature.

We are most at home in remote landscapes and far away places,

but never far from our community of passionate dreamers and wanderers.

We are Chaconians.

Join the ChacoSphere at Chacos.com

Where were your Chacos go?

This is The Shorts.

And you're listening to The Dirt Bag Diaries, a duct tape and beer production.

With support from New Belgium Brewing, Kuat Raks and Patagonia.

I was crouched in the trunk of a snow-entumed 1994 Subaru Legacy Station wagon with over 300,000 miles,

parked outside a closed cafe in a blizzard in Iceland when I applied for the climbing permit.

I pulled the sputtering rental car onto the cafe's sidewalk for a better internet connection.

In a matter of days, skiing Denali had gone from an idea to a $300 deposit and a plane ticket.

After a spring of ski mountaineering trips, I flew into Salt Lake City for a two-week layover to prepare for my trip to Alaska.

And during those two weeks in Salt Lake, my attention to detail really kicked in alongside my anticipation.

There was very little discussion happening among our team.

Apparently, it was understood that each of us knew what we needed to bring.

I, for one, did not.

I packed, unpacked, checked, and repacked my gear.

I read every online gear checklist I could find.

...