WORDS CHANGE US: ARCTIC DREAMS by Barry Lopez

The only book I took to Greenland in 1996 was Barry Lopez’s Arctic Dreams. One day, during a three-week hiatus in a tiny coastal village, I took off on foot to see the Icecap. I hiked up a broad, grassy valley past lichen-covered stone ruins until it dead-ended at a rock outcropping. I followed a slot in the rock formed by a snake-like glacier that was running out of steam on its march to the sea. I didn’t know what to expect. Or how to feel. I was alone, excited, and anxious about falling into a crevasse since I knew next to nothing about traveling safely on an icecap. And then…there it was, all-consuming, an infinite sea of blue ice pocked with crevasses, lakes, and rivers. Spotting a tussock, I sat down and pulled Arctic Dreams from my pack. I spent the next four hours, staring in awe at the strange world where I’d arrived. An icy sun hung low above. An arctic hare lounged in the grass nearby.

I never cracked open the book. How could I read?

I finished Arctic Dreams on the plane ride home to Santa Fe. It was marvelous. RIP Barry Lopez

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Brad Wetzler

Brad Wetzler is an author, journalist, editor, book writing instructor, memoir coach and mentor, and yoga instructor. His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, GQ, National Geographic, Newsweek, Wired, Men's Journal, Travel + Leisure, George, Best American Travel Writing, and Outside, where he was a senior editor and contributing editor. His book, Real Mosquitoes Don't Eat Meat, was a collection of columns he wrote for Outside.Brad writes, teaches, coaches, and mentors from his home in Austin, Texas. His memoir, Into the Soul of the World, will be published in spring 2023.