PCT MOLESKINS

After being laid off from his job in April 2011, Kolby Kirk (The Hike Guy) decided he would attempt to complete as much as he could of the 2,650-mile PCT. Starting at the Mexican border near Campo, California, he walked for 159 days and nearly 1,700 miles. In that time, Kolby wrote 850 pages in his journals. a few of which he has started to scan for a major dose of visual stimulation. The pages are filled with charts, drawings, receipts, beer labels (nice), stamps, crushed poison oak, and much much more. He's even added descriptions under a few of the pages to give us better insight on the process:

"Hiking journals shouldn’t be clean unless your hike is clean. In this example, you can see dirt and smears of ink, a subtle clue that I was grimy and had just applied insect repellant to my hands. At the time, I was a little upset that the chemicals had smudged the ink, but I have learned to appreciate that my journal records more than just the words I print on it, for better or worse."

Kolby is now working on a book that will help hikers and travelers start and retain their own journals while on the trail. And after looking at his Flickr for the last couple of hours, that is certainly a book I'd read.Congratulations, Kolby.

Cathy Johnson

Field Illustrator Cathy Johnson wrote and illustrated a book for the Sierra Club in 1990 titled Sketching in Nature. In researching Johnson's work a bit more, I happened across her huge archive of work on flickr and had to share. Incredible detail with very minimal marks, it's hard not to love the attention she pays to design and text on each hand-bound sketchbook page. Littered throughout her flickr are photos of her repurposed mini watercolor "field boxes" for work outdoors. It's amazing to see how she curates what materials to bring to each spot.Good morning!

Jess DeSelm

I'm not sure how I came upon Jess DeSelm's blog, Sketches Now & Then, but I suppose that's the way the Internet works. Lots of wormholes to follow. There's not too much one can say here as there's little info about Jess on the site, and I guess that's what makes her site so wonderful. (Love the "Alone In The Wilderness - Dick Pernicky.") She lived in Boulder (maybe she still does?), and from Oct 2007 - Jan 2010, she scanned her journal onto the world wide web for all of us to see. Thanks, Jess.Enjoy her sketches and writings here.

The Burning House

I'm assuming that The Burning House needs very little introduction, but in case you're not hip to it just yet, here's your chance. Foster Huntington, the man behind the "shoe throwing" blog as a friend once called it, A Restless Transplant, asks that million dollar question, "What would you grab from your house if it was burning down?" Readers send in photos and he posts them. And there you have it.The Anthropologist, Anthropology's site that, from what I can tell is dedicated to art projects of sorts, is running a feature on The Burning House that Foster was responsible for photographing. He came on over to CS headquarters a couple of weeks ago and shot the photo above. Read the feature here.

First Hike

The First Book of Hiking was written in 1965 by C. William Harrison and illustrated by E. Frank Habbas. I found this guy on the bookshelves of a local Salvation Army and held on tight while finishing my shopping (even after brushing a good two months of dust off the cover). The illustrations are 2 and 3 color woodcuts with amazing detail.If you stumble upon this one, buy it, cut out those illustrations and tack them above your desk at work to remind you of what's great.