The Weekender | May 30th-June 1st

The Weekender

The Weekender is your guide and open thread for the weekend, presented by the fine folks at Viva The Matadors. Things to quote, read, look, watch, and listen to for the weekend. Let's do this.

Read about dogs with soldiers, watch and look at a few guys who decided to bicycle the Huayhuash mountain range and listen to Sturgill Simpson.

Quote

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man."

--Mark Twain (via Good Reads).

Read

Really good read from National Geographic on the dogs that accompany soldiers in areas of conflict. (via National Geographic).

Here is Marine Corporal Jose Armenta in his tent on the night before getting blown up in Afghanistan. He jokes with Mulrooney and Berry and the medic the guys have nicknamed "Christ." He feeds and waters his dog, Zenit, a sable-coat German shepherd. He lets Buyes, who will be dead in three months, ruffle Zenit’s fur, for the radioman is crazy about the dog.

Then he takes Zenit outside in the waning light of this dusty, desert otherworld to train.

They’re happiest like this. Jose has Zenit sit, which the dog does obediently, and then Jose jogs 50 yards down and hides a rubber toy, a Kong, up against a mud wall, covering it with dirt. On Jose’s command, Zenit bursts forward, zigging in search of it, tail wagging. It’s an intricate dance. Voice commands met by precise canine action, always with the same end goal in mind—to find the toy. Tomorrow, on patrol, the objective will be finding not a toy but an improvised explosive device, or IED, one of the Taliban’s most brutally effective weapons against American troops here in what many consider the most dangerous province in one of the world’s most dangerous countries. And no dog can find every bomb every time.

Look

We’re somewhat combining the Look and Watch portion of the Weekender as a few guys went and rode the Peruvian mountain range, the Huayhuash mountain range. These are some photos of their adventure, and it’s pretty cool (via OutsideOnline).

The Huayhuash mountain range in the Peruvian Andes has long been considered one of the most temperamental and beautiful places on earth. In early 2014, Thomas Woodson, Joey Schusler, and Sam Seward set out to tour the Huayhuash on mountain bikes. Let's just say they got their money's worth.
Schusler: We slept to the sounds of cracking glaciers and seracs falling, completely exhausted after our ride. The clouds parted overnight as the 6,000-meter peaks prepared to reveal themselves.

Watch

This is the video portion (via OutsideOnline).

In the winter of 2014, three friends set out on a self supported ride, looking for nothing more than a truly genuine experience. The goal: to circumnavigate one of the most wonderful and wicked mountain ranges in the world, the Huayhuash, by bicycle. An Official Selection from the 2014 5Point Film Festival, this short film from Joey Schusler, Thomas Woodson and Yeti Cycles is the story of genuine adventure and the challenges that come along with it.

Listen

Big hat-tip to LSRR, who recommended Sturgill Simpson, who sounds like he’s recorded something 30 years ago. I very much enjoyed this.