02

it’ll be like a romantic comedy except we get kicked off a flight in phoenix

A few more Japan images. Cinestill 400 is not my favorite so unfortunately most of this roll was a little disappointing.

I also developed a roll that’s been sitting in my Pentax 6x7 since 2021. Interesting to see how far that one roll traveled (Vegas to Moab to Colter Bay).

Trip Report

After 10 years of fucking around, I finally applied for an Archaeology PhD program (or just masters if I’m lazy) at the University of Utah. Roughly two months later, Trump sledgehammered my entire future by firing federal archaeologists and putting NSF grants in lurch. Hopefully I’m just being dramatic, but things are looking grim.

To grapple with this existential crisis, I went to Cedar Mesa for the first time since we left Moab. I was looking for a pot a friend heard rumors of “in a prominent alcove in a ruin that looks hard to access and with a catwalk.” That describes a lot of ruins, realistically, and doesn’t narrow down if it’s accessed from the rim or from the bottom, where I was backpacking.

Exposure is not my thing so obviously I did not find it, though I did find some very strong contender ruins. Things got a little too Aron Ralston for me when I tried to climb up to one of them and rolled my finger and ring under a boulder, which felt like a strong message to go away.

I might return with some webbing and a rope someday, but I think finding cool artifacts in the overlooked parts of Bears Ears and Cedar Mesa versus the highly exposed ledges might be where my skills lie.

And a few digital:

Reading

• Beautyland - Marie-Helene Bertino

  Incredible. On par with Martyr! for best book of 2024.

• Creation Lake - Rachel Kushner

  How can a book so nichely tailored to my interests (ecoterrorism and archaeology) be so terrible? Every page I am hit with the thought “this writing is trying too hard.” Characters don’t have to be likable but the endless smug cynicism is mind-numbingly two dimensional and the writing is often reminiscent of Emily Henry’s descriptive powers.
  ”The hills above Vantôme were scattered with bald areas, like the scalp of someone with an autoimmune condition.”

  Much like my own head as I rip out my hair and agonize over DNFing this book.