Exploring the backyard
British adventurer Alastair Humphreys wandered the planet for more than twenty years. He rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, crossed India on foot and cycled around the world. In his beautiful essay “A single small card is enough for a lifetime”, which was published last month, he writes that climate change and family obligations have caused him to narrow his horizons lately and seek distraction in his own backyard, “on the edge of a city in a modest landscape, pockmarked through a glow of sodium lights and the hustle and bustle of busy roads.”
To begin this exploration, Humphreys orders a map of his forest area from Britain Ordnance investigation, which will, for a fee, create a map of every 20 square kilometers of the country at a scale of 1:25,000, with four centimeters being the equivalent of one kilometer on the ground. Each hyper-detailed map includes not only roads, but also footpaths, vegetation and variations in terrain.
(I've looked for a similar mapping service in the US, but the best I've found are the US Geological Survey's topographic maps, which aren't nearly as complicated. If you know something better: send me a message.)
Humphreys commits to exploring one small piece of his map in depth per week, becoming intimate with his immediate surroundings, walking or cycling every millimeter. “I wanted it to be a coincidence and not determined by my preferences,” he writes. “I hoped to see things that I wouldn't normally encounter. I decided to look at everything as interesting.”
The first kilometer he explores is deliberately devoid of exciting landscape elements. He wanders through a former swamp area, thinks about the seasons, communicates with crows and searches for common reeds with the help of a smartphone app. His journey is quiet and contemplative, yet compelling, even without any drama.
Although Humphreys has made a career of traveling on a large scale, it is easy to locate magic on a small scale. In 2012, he popularized the idea of the “micro-adventure,” a short, local outing that nonetheless produces a shift in perspective (think camping under the stars in a nearby forest).
In a 2015 interview with The Times he extolled the merits of the “5-to-9 adventure”: “After 5 p.m. you have 16 hours that are all yours,” he said. “So you can cycle or take the train out of town, sleep outside somewhere and maybe go back to work a little crumpled but feeling great.”
The project in Humphreys' hometown is inviting and a reminder of Thoreau's wisdom that, “It does not matter where or how far you travel – the further usually the worse – but how much you live.” Now seems a ripe time for micro-exploration in the area: in winter the landscape is laid bare; every segment of the tree branch and skyline available for examination.
A high-resolution map provides a satisfyingly organized way to understand the environment, to catalog what is here now and what was here before, to pay close attention to what is happening in the world. Is there some kind of analogy we can apply to our inner life, an area that feels much more vast, uncontrolled, and in need of organization? Is there a way to shine a flashlight on the disused bridleways of the mind?
Meditation suggests it may be possible, but the speed at which our internal terrain changes makes the possibility of a definitive guide virtually impossible. This, I think, requires close attention. A commitment to visit and revisit our intimate landscapes, mapping and remapping the contours of home.
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THE WEEK IN CULTURE
CULTURE CALENDAR
🎥 “Lisa Frankenstein” (Friday): First loves are often complicated. Especially if your crush isn't technically alive. In this horror comedy based on Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' – which was in its own way an adolescent angst novel – a grieving teenage girl (Kathryn Newton) acquires an undead boyfriend (Cole Sprouse) and turns him into a man. Zelda Williams directs from a script by Diablo Cody, who previously wrote the dizzying, bloody and tragically underrated 'Jennifer's Body'.
📚 “Fourteen Days” (Tuesday): For many of us, it is difficult to remember the first weeks of the pandemic. Nearly four years later, it's all a bit of a panicky, sourdough-scented haze. But one hopes that the literary supergroup led by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston can remember better – or at least more creatively. Set on the roof of a Lower East Side building in March 2020, this collaborative novel features dozens of characters, each written by a different author, including Tommy Orange, Celeste Ng, and Diana Gabaldon.
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Dumplings with Chili Crisp
The Lunar New Year falls on February 10, ushering in the Year of the Dragon in all its strong-willed glory. Feasting on dumplings is a traditional way to celebrate, and Genevieve Ko's is homemade dumplings with chili chips are a vegan option with a deep flavor. Assemble them this weekend, pop them in the freezer and cook them, still frozen, just before serving for good luck, not to mention an excellent meal.
Runners camp: Long Covid symptoms forced an endurance athlete to rethink his life. So he turned his house around into a fantasy camp for runners.
“Destination Dupes”: This includes taking affordable wellness trips and trying out under-the-radar locations these frugal strategies to save money while traveling in 2024.
Sad songs: Dating these days happens at a faster pace and with heightened emotions. Several melancholic ballads nominated for Grammys this year seems to reflect that.
ADVICE FROM WIRE CUTTER
A $20 antenna to watch the Super Bowl
When you stream live TV, it's not really live. Services like YouTube TV, Hulu and Fubo generally deliver video about 30 to 60 seconds slower than cable or satellite. That delay is probably most important on days like Super Bowl Sunday, when you really don't want incoming messages or texts to spoil the decisive touchdown drive. The cheapest and easiest way to prevent this? An antenna that receives television signals. Wirecutter's favorite indoor HDTV antenna costs just $20, features a super easy one-cord installation, and delivers a clear picture at a speed that no streamer can match. — Rose Lorre
Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks, NBA: The Knicks are the most popular team in the NBA. They went 14-2 in January and had the league's best defense during that period. Jalen Brunson, their point guard, just made his first All-Star Game; he scores nearly 27 points per game and sinks 42 percent of his three-pointers, both career highs. Some fans may still be wary, given the heartbreak the team has caused them over the years. But consider this: the last time the Knicks won fourteen games in a month was March 1994; a few months later they were in the final. 8:30 PM Eastern on ABC