<\/p>\n
First there were the beatniks. Then came the hippies. Now, as elucidated in Durango author Luke Mehall\u2019s writings, it\u2019s the dirtbags.<\/p>\n
Mehall, a simple-living rock and mountain climber, has released his second book, The Great American Dirtbags, and will discuss it and sign copies Tuesday at Maria\u2019s Bookshop.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, the dirtbag counterculture kind of follows that of the beatniks and the hippies,\u201d Mehall said in a phone interview. \u201cAnd for me, the next logical progression is the dirtbags.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dirtbags have a similar outlook on life as their predecessors \u2013 it\u2019s a counterculture in which societal norms are rejected.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s one major difference, Mehall said: \u201cThe ultimate high is exercise and experiences in the outdoors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mehall moved to the West in 1999 and has been in Durango for about three years. He has a small publishing company, Benighted Publications, and runs The Climbing Zine. His first book was Climbing Out of Bed, and he has been published in Rock and Ice, Climbing and the Mountain Gazette. At night, he\u2019s a manager at Zia Taqueria on north Main Avenue.<\/p>\n
During our interview, he watched as his friend, who has been living in a van in Mehall\u2019s front yard, got dressed and prepared to drive across the country. It\u2019s the epitome of the dirtbag lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt its essence, a dirtbag lives in the dirt, out of a bag,\u201d Mehall says in the introduction to Dirtbags. \u201cShe or he spends their days in the outdoors, engaged with some recreational activity, and works just enough to pay for the basic necessities of a dirtbag existence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mehall said his book is a collection of short stories that complements his first book. It\u2019s about everything from tying his first figure 8 to \u201creally going through some depression issues, and not being super happy with my life in the Midwest,\u201d then moving to Durango and scraping by.<\/p>\n
Among his experiences were house-sitting, which included chasing sheep for an hour, and milking a goat.<\/p>\n
Climbing Out of Bed was released in book form a year ago and was available first as an ebook two years ago.<\/p>\n