0
Skip to Content
Dead Foot Collective
Essays
Contribute
Our Team
About
Dead Foot Collective
Essays
Contribute
Our Team
About
Essays
Contribute
Our Team
About
How to Get Out of Texas in Your Car
Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 8/30/24 Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 8/30/24

How to Get Out of Texas in Your Car

Texas has a gravitational pull. After living in Austin for 20 years, the author shares practical and metaphysical advice on how to leave.

Read More
Breakfasts
Ryan Sullivan Owen Clarke 8/23/24 Ryan Sullivan Owen Clarke 8/23/24

Breakfasts

The author explores the breakfasts of his past, and the life surrounding them.

Read More
The 20,000-foot Bolivian Budget Climb
Holly French Owen Clarke 8/2/24 Holly French Owen Clarke 8/2/24

The 20,000-foot Bolivian Budget Climb

In Bolivia, travelers routinely attempt a serious mountaineering objective on a whim.

Read More
Connecting Passion to Pocketbook
Teddy Dondanville Owen Clarke 6/21/24 Teddy Dondanville Owen Clarke 6/21/24

Connecting Passion to Pocketbook

A rock climbing guide reflects on blurring the lines between passion and profession.

Read More
Five O’Clock
Amber Willard Owen Clarke 4/26/24 Amber Willard Owen Clarke 4/26/24

Five O’Clock

An ESL teacher reflects on the invasion of Ukraine through the lense of her Ukrainian and Russian students.

Read More
The Stick Pile
Kevin Ryan Owen Clarke 4/12/24 Kevin Ryan Owen Clarke 4/12/24

The Stick Pile

For the author, hockey has always been more than just a game.

Read More
Wood Chips
Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 3/14/24 Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 3/14/24

Wood Chips

An arborist reflects on how we dispose of remains.

Read More
Exploring the Caves
Owen Clarke Owen Clarke 3/8/24 Owen Clarke Owen Clarke 3/8/24

Exploring the Caves

Right, wrong, and what we think we fear the most in the end.

Read More
An Unlikely Inheritance
Teddy Dondanville Owen Clarke 2/9/24 Teddy Dondanville Owen Clarke 2/9/24

An Unlikely Inheritance

A tribute to my family, the source of my love for being (and shitting) outside.

Read More
I'm Glad My Dad Died
Alben Osaki Owen Clarke 1/26/24 Alben Osaki Owen Clarke 1/26/24

I'm Glad My Dad Died

A final life lesson from Dad.

Read More
Then Call Them Roboti
Amber Willard Owen Clarke 12/15/23 Amber Willard Owen Clarke 12/15/23

Then Call Them Roboti

The story of Josef Čapek, an interwar painter and poet who gave the world the word robot.

Read More
Losing Rooney
Kevin Ryan Owen Clarke 11/24/23 Kevin Ryan Owen Clarke 11/24/23

Losing Rooney

The misery of losing my dog in the woods may have been his greatest adventure.

Read More
A Voice in the Mountains
Gabi Daugherty Owen Clarke 11/10/23 Gabi Daugherty Owen Clarke 11/10/23

A Voice in the Mountains

Finding voice amid a fractured climbing trip to Wyoming’s Wind River Range.

Read More
There’s Something Truly Captivating About Bolm District Park
Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 10/27/23 Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 10/27/23

There’s Something Truly Captivating About Bolm District Park

The author leans into an unbearably hot day to explore the most metal park in Austin.

Read More
The Sunken Church at Mavrovo
Owen Clarke Owen Clarke 10/13/23 Owen Clarke Owen Clarke 10/13/23

The Sunken Church at Mavrovo

Finding emptiness during a motorcycle trip across the Balkans.

Read More
Impetus of Effort
Jon Greene Owen Clarke 9/8/23 Jon Greene Owen Clarke 9/8/23

Impetus of Effort

Musings on a morning bike ride up Monte Sano Mountain.

Read More
The Smell of Smoke
Teddy Dondanville Owen Clarke 8/25/23 Teddy Dondanville Owen Clarke 8/25/23

The Smell of Smoke

Odor-evoked memories and reflections about my relationship with fire

Read More
A Path Through Montreal
Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 8/11/23 Ryan Gossen Owen Clarke 8/11/23

A Path Through Montreal

The author finds connections between past, present, the city and himself on a multi-day wander through Montreal

Read More
Newer Posts
Older Posts

Recent Essays

Essays
Blueberry Trees
Carlina Grillo
Jan 9, 2026
Blueberry Trees
Carlina Grillo
Jan 9, 2026

A familiar dream.

Carlina Grillo
Jan 9, 2026
Personal Growth
Ryan Gossen
Nov 21, 2025
Personal Growth
Ryan Gossen
Nov 21, 2025

Growth doesn't end with youth, it just gets weirder.

Ryan Gossen
Nov 21, 2025
Tilting Skyward
Ryleigh Norgrove
Nov 7, 2025
Tilting Skyward
Ryleigh Norgrove
Nov 7, 2025

In a season when everything felt paper-thin, a novice climb up Mt. Adams became less peakbagging and more an instinctive step towards staying alive.

Ryleigh Norgrove
Nov 7, 2025
Common Fate
Ryan Gossen
Oct 23, 2025
Common Fate
Ryan Gossen
Oct 23, 2025

How I was shaped by the insanity of driving.

Ryan Gossen
Oct 23, 2025
The Tail End of the Head Beginning
Owen Clarke
Oct 10, 2025
The Tail End of the Head Beginning
Owen Clarke
Oct 10, 2025

An account of my Saturday and Sunday.

Owen Clarke
Oct 10, 2025
Fashion Forewarned
David Whalen
Sep 26, 2025
Fashion Forewarned
David Whalen
Sep 26, 2025

A retrospect of style and identity.

David Whalen
Sep 26, 2025
The Airplane Man
Teddy Dondanville
Jul 25, 2025
The Airplane Man
Teddy Dondanville
Jul 25, 2025

And why you should not run in airports.

Teddy Dondanville
Jul 25, 2025
Watching Geese
Kevin Ryan
May 2, 2025
Watching Geese
Kevin Ryan
May 2, 2025

Pondering the tides of friendship.

Kevin Ryan
May 2, 2025
Why Are You So Quiet?
Colleen Edwards
Apr 18, 2025
Why Are You So Quiet?
Colleen Edwards
Apr 18, 2025

I’ve spent much of my life running from part of myself. Now, at 29, I’m finally learning to embrace it.

Colleen Edwards
Apr 18, 2025
How to Fold a Paper Crane
Matthew Polson
Apr 4, 2025
How to Fold a Paper Crane
Matthew Polson
Apr 4, 2025

A guided meditation.

Matthew Polson
Apr 4, 2025
Seasons of Healing
Caroline Gibbons
Mar 21, 2025
Seasons of Healing
Caroline Gibbons
Mar 21, 2025

The author receives lessons from nature as she reflects on her recovery from a traumatic brain injury.

Caroline Gibbons
Mar 21, 2025
Climbing in the Bible Belt
David Whalen
Jan 31, 2025
Climbing in the Bible Belt
David Whalen
Jan 31, 2025

Parables from the Chattanoogan climbing scene.

David Whalen
Jan 31, 2025

Join the Dead Foot Mailing List!

Sign up with your email address to receive our essays in your inbox each week. That’s it. No spam :) we promise.

Stoked to have you with us!