this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
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Solarpunk

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America’s hiking culture is built on ego (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) by supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net
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Outdoor recreation often slips into what I call an achievement-based relationship with nature. I’ve been guilty of it myself. Whether it’s “bagging peaks”, racing to finish the AT, or stamping the land with machines and monuments, the focus shifts from ecology to ego.

Being obsessed with Peak Bagging is not Solarpunk.

Nature is not your personal obstacle to challenge yourself against, it is a shared place of discovery you trample when you only see it as a place to endlessly, exhaustingly conquer.

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[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The person who spends time listening to crickets chirp will walk away with an externally rich memory of all the wildlife they listened to carefully

I'm planning to climb an El Cap route in about a week. I expect that my goal oriented pursuit will leave me with some equally rich memories of the sun beating on my back as starlings swoop past me. I will see hawks gliding on the thermals at eye level. The breeze across the face will be a welcome relief, and I will become intimately familiar with the bumps, edges, cracks, and seams in the rock as I search for placements for my hooks and pitons - my attention heightened by the potential to take a 100' fall if I make a poor descision. And with my day's labor done, I will lay in my portaledge dangling several hundred feet off the ground and look at the stars, marvelling at the beauty of nature around me and the joy of being in such an incredible position.

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz -2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I am currently thinking about going out into the park near where I live and experiencing a beautiful sunny day as songbirds fly by me.

as starlings swoop past me

An invasive species introduced by someone with a vision about what nature should be not what it was.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I am currently thinking about going out into the park near where I live and experiencing a beautiful sunny day as songbirds fly by me.

That sounds very nice. I hope you enjoy that.

An invasive species introduced by someone with a vision about what nature should be not what it was.

I just think they're neat

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz -4 points 5 days ago (1 children) 
An invasive species introduced by someone with a vision about what nature should be not what it was.

I just think they’re neat

So... you like the aesthetic of them and you aren't interested in examining it any deeper?

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Exactly. I am witnessing nature rather than egotistically analyzing it, making myself feel big and smart by categorizing living creatures into categories like "invasive". I have moved beyond the need to do such things (it's very impressive - are you impressed?), and now am able to appreciate the true beauty of nature and the connectedness of the world - unlike those big dumb dummies who keep insisting that "doing things" like "thinking" is a valid way to live