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Alex Roddie

Happiest on a mountain. Writer, story-wrangler, digital and film photographer. Editor of Sidetracked magazine. Machine breaker.

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A new Commonplace Book

For many years I have kept quotes and snippets from everything I’ve read, adopting the ancient technique of the ‘commonplace book’ to facilitate later analysis and interpretation. Until now, I used a haphazard system of text files and index cards, but as my collection has grown I’ve felt

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Keeping the smartphone in its place with iOS 12’s Screen Time feature

For years, I have struggled with the burden of owning a smartphone. My two years working as a Carphone Warehouse salesman started the long process of opening my eyes to the shady tactics used by hardware manufacturers, networks, software engineers, and vendors to get users addicted to these devices. Addicted

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What I’ve been reading this week, 28 September 2018

My first full week back at work after my honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands has been a busy one. Here are some of the more worthwhile web reads I’ve picked up along the way. Outdoors and photography 15 Steps to Help with Depression – Number 1 – Be Aware – An extract

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My review of ‘Along the Divide’ by Chris Townsend in the latest issue of TGO

In the October 2018 issue of The Great Outdoors, I review Along the Divide: Walking the Wild Spine of Scotland by Chris Townsend. This is an excellent book, perhaps my favourite from this author: Along the Divide treads that skilful line between serious, important landscape writing and a damned good

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Pure form, freed of all preconceptions

You slough off the skin of self, all self-awareness, and are left with pure sensation. Nothing has a name; it is only itself. You look at a tree, and instead of seeing it as an idea, a network of associations built up over a lifetime, you see it for itself,

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What I’ve been reading this week No.2

I haven’t been reading much online this week as I’ve been out on the trail, but here are some pieces I’ve found illuminating. Outdoors Tips For Documenting A Trip – a level-headed piece from Will Copestake. My own approach to documenting a trip is quite similar: focus on

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What I’ve been reading this week No.1

Pretty much since I started the Pinnacle Newsletter in January 2018 I have been including a brief ‘links of interest’ section. I thought it was time I expanded that resource here on my blog. Each week, I’ll curate a list of articles I’ve found useful, entertaining or relevant.

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Eight years today

I’m a lucky man.

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My work’s appearing in a photo book published next month: The Hidden Tracks

Today I received word that several of my images from the Pyrenees, captured in 2016 during my HRP section hike, are being published in an upcoming book called The Hidden Tracks by Gestalten. I don’t know which images they’ve selected for inclusion – I submitted a bunch of them

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Field notes: Hiking the Jotunheimstien, Norway

A long walk in the woods In July 2017, I stepped outside the train station in Oslo city centre and directly onto a long-distance trail. 205 miles later, I stepped off the trail again at Gjendesheim, an outpost on the edge of the Jotunheimen National Park surrounded by Norway’s