Looking at the photos from this bikepacking trip in the mountains outside Portland, Oregon made me itch with anxiety to get out there myself. Obviously here in New England we’re not the only ones enjoying luminous fall colors. I was intrigued by the angles of many of the shots of the trip. At first I thought they’d been taken with a drone, but now I doubt it — there just seem to have been some advantageously situated elevations along the trail. Even so, there’s always something that feels artificial about recording adventures this way. In order to convey a sense of effortless flow, you have to stop and wait while someone runs up to the top of an outcrop or around the next bend with a camera, don’t you? My first instinct is that this is a bad way to experience nature. On the other hand, maybe it’s just another branch in the ancient tradition of telling stories about our adventures. I certainly found it inspiring, so I’m grateful that someone was willing to stop and make these pictures.