The month of April is full of reasons to celebrate spending time in the great outdoors – signs of spring, Earth Day, warmer weather, National Park Week, and today – National Arbor Day!

Note: While National Arbor Day is always the last Friday in April, some states have elected to celebrate on a different date (Washington, I’m looking at you). With all due respect to states’ rights, I’m sticking with the national schedule on this one.

One of my resolutions for 2021 is to spend even more time outdoors, especially in the woods – one of my happy places. And, ever since we learned the difference between cedars and Douglas firs one of the first weeks we lived in Washington, I’ve been wanting to get better at identifying different species of trees (and plants). So I’m using this Arbor Day to commit to making both of these things happen!

I don’t usually need a lot of motivation to get outdoors but sometimes I learn something that inspires me to try a new outdoor experience or develop an appreciation for a new aspect of nature. For instance, I recently read a couple non-fiction books about Mt. Everest, and while I do NOT feel inspired to climb Mt. Everest, I do feel motivated to finally make my way to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier.

Here are a few books and documentaries I’ve been consuming that have piqued my interest in some new outdoor experiences (riding in a wooden dory through the Grand Canyon, anyone?). Please leave me a comment if there’s a resource (or experience!) you recommend I add to my list!

Articles and Books

• The Good Rain: Across Time & Terrain in the Pacific Northwest by Timothy Egan
• Into Thin Air by Jonathan Krakauer
• The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev
• The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko
• Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Movies and Documentaries

• Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey
• The Summit
• Return to Mount Kennedy
• Enormous: The Gorge Story