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Rex Sanders
Freelance science writer, editor, photographer, and videographer Backpacking Light columnist and contributor About Rex rex.sanders@usa.net |
Featured Work
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The Backpacker’s Journey, Backpacking Light, June 2021
Most backpackers improve their skills, pack weight, distance hiked per day, and other factors as they move through progressive stages of their passion. This story describes, in broad terms, seven arcs and five stages that we might have in common. |
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Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Three, Backpacking Light, November 2020
This past summer and fall, wildfires in the Western U.S. seemed to set new records daily. News reports featured endless streams of scary images, incomprehensible statistics, and mysterious maps. But all of this told only part of the story. NASA satellites with special infrared sensors capture images of fires every day. By animating those images, we can get a different look at how fast and how far wildfires grew in 2020. |
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Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Two, Backpacking Light, October 2020
Wildfires in western North America have changed for the worse and will continue changing. Fire tornadoes ripped living trees out of the ground, set them alight, and dropped them miles away. Blazes consumed 400 mi² (1,000 km²) in one day. Researchers compared the worst wildfires to the firebombing of Dresden in World War II or Hiroshima’s destruction by an atomic bomb. While reasonably cautious backpackers are unlikely to perish in wildfires, we must learn to live with altered fire behavior, landscapes, and rules. This essay is an exploration of what some of those changes might look like. |
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Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part One, Backpacking Light, October 2020
What is the future of backpacking in an era of frequent massive wildfires? This year’s giant blazes in the Western U.S. closed many thousands of square miles (tens of thousands of square kilometers) in forests and parks for weeks and months. This essay gives you some background on wildfires in the U.S., describes the potential health and safety risks, and suggests how to stay safer and healthier. |
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USGS Science in Point Reyes National Seashore, USGS, December 2016, video
The park also uses USGS science to manage this iconic but complex setting. For example, local ranchers lease 28,000 acres of National Park land for dairy and beef cattle. To monitor ranch lands, the park uses maps, air photos and other databases from USGS. |
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Condors in Purgatory, Science Notes, August 2015, multimedia
Swooping low across a canyon inside Pinnacles National Park, California condor #444 appeared to be in fine health. “Ventana” hatched in 2007 from a nest in Big Sur, and she paired five years later with #340. The next year they fed their first chick regurgitated food scavenged from miles away. That food came from a dead animal—rotting, stinking and crawling with maggots. But one of the condor’s favorite meals, the gut pile left behind after a hunter kills a deer or wild pig, threatens the survival of this critically endangered species. |
Backpacking Light stories
Standards Watch Hikes into the Sunset, Backpacking Light, July 2021
Standards Watch: Mike Cecot-Scherer Talks Potty Trowels and More, Backpacking Light, June 2021
Backpacking First-Aid Philosophies, Backpacking Light, June 2021
The Backpacker’s Journey, Backpacking Light, June 2021
Standards Watch: Dan Durston Talks Design and Business, Backpacking Light, May 2021
Standards Watch: Dan Durston Chats About Standards and Testing, Backpacking Light, April 2021
You Know You’ve Been Backpacking a Long Time When…, Backpacking Light, April 2021
Standards Watch: Standards Are Important (But Not Enough), Backpacking Light, March 2021
Interview With Gear Creator Michael Glavin, Backpacking Light, February 2021
Standards Watch: Mike Cecot-Scherer on Tent Design, Backpacking Light, January 2021
Gratitude and Recovery After Outdoor Trauma, Backpacking Light, January 2021
Staff Picks 2020 (contributor), Backpacking Light, December 2020
Standards Watch: Tent Designer Mike Cecot-Scherer, Backpacking Light, December 2020
Standards Watch: Steve Seeber Interview, Backpacking Light, November 2020
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Three, Backpacking Light, November 2020
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Two, Backpacking Light, October 2020
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part One, Backpacking Light, October 2020
Sleeping Bag Temperature Ratings, Backpacking Light, October 2020 (video podcast)
GPS: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Backpacking Light, October 2020
Sleeping Bag Temperature Ratings, Backpacking Light, September 2020
Improving R-values for Consumers, Backpacking Light, September 2020
Standards Watch: Introduction, Backpacking Light, September 2020
First, Buy a Smaller Pack, Backpacking Light, May 2020
More Reasons to Modify Gear, Backpacking Light, April 2020
Buy Less, Do More with Good Enough Gear, Backpacking Light, February 2020
Turn-by-Turn Directions for Simple Backpacking Navigation, Backpacking Light, January 2020
2019 Staff Picks (contributor), Backpacking Light, December 2019
Sleeping Pad R-values: Not That Useful, Backpacking Light, November 2019
Backpacking Scissors, Backpacking Light, February 2018
Rescue Insurance for Backpackers, Backpacking Light, January 2014
Backpacking With A Thermometer, Backpacking Light, October 2013
Backpacking With A Voice Recorder, Backpacking Light, October 2013
Satellite Texting, Backpacking Light, March 2013
Satellite Phones, Backpacking Light, March 2013
Two-way Satellite Communications for Backpacking, Backpacking Light, March 2013
Standards Watch: Mike Cecot-Scherer Talks Potty Trowels and More, Backpacking Light, June 2021
Backpacking First-Aid Philosophies, Backpacking Light, June 2021
The Backpacker’s Journey, Backpacking Light, June 2021
Standards Watch: Dan Durston Talks Design and Business, Backpacking Light, May 2021
Standards Watch: Dan Durston Chats About Standards and Testing, Backpacking Light, April 2021
You Know You’ve Been Backpacking a Long Time When…, Backpacking Light, April 2021
Standards Watch: Standards Are Important (But Not Enough), Backpacking Light, March 2021
Interview With Gear Creator Michael Glavin, Backpacking Light, February 2021
Standards Watch: Mike Cecot-Scherer on Tent Design, Backpacking Light, January 2021
Gratitude and Recovery After Outdoor Trauma, Backpacking Light, January 2021
Staff Picks 2020 (contributor), Backpacking Light, December 2020
Standards Watch: Tent Designer Mike Cecot-Scherer, Backpacking Light, December 2020
Standards Watch: Steve Seeber Interview, Backpacking Light, November 2020
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Three, Backpacking Light, November 2020
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Two, Backpacking Light, October 2020
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part One, Backpacking Light, October 2020
Sleeping Bag Temperature Ratings, Backpacking Light, October 2020 (video podcast)
GPS: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Backpacking Light, October 2020
Sleeping Bag Temperature Ratings, Backpacking Light, September 2020
Improving R-values for Consumers, Backpacking Light, September 2020
Standards Watch: Introduction, Backpacking Light, September 2020
First, Buy a Smaller Pack, Backpacking Light, May 2020
More Reasons to Modify Gear, Backpacking Light, April 2020
Buy Less, Do More with Good Enough Gear, Backpacking Light, February 2020
Turn-by-Turn Directions for Simple Backpacking Navigation, Backpacking Light, January 2020
2019 Staff Picks (contributor), Backpacking Light, December 2019
Sleeping Pad R-values: Not That Useful, Backpacking Light, November 2019
Backpacking Scissors, Backpacking Light, February 2018
Rescue Insurance for Backpackers, Backpacking Light, January 2014
Backpacking With A Thermometer, Backpacking Light, October 2013
Backpacking With A Voice Recorder, Backpacking Light, October 2013
Satellite Texting, Backpacking Light, March 2013
Satellite Phones, Backpacking Light, March 2013
Two-way Satellite Communications for Backpacking, Backpacking Light, March 2013
rexsanders.com
2021 July 25
2021 July 25
