A Former Park Ranger Confronts Edward Abbey’s Outdated Views In A New Memoir

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Photo: Arches National Park
In this Dec. 10, 2011, file photo, a lunar eclipse is framed within Turret Arch at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

The American southwest has changed a lot since 1968, when the late writer Edward Abbey published "Desert Solitaire: A Season In The Wilderness."

The memoir, set in Arches National Park, has inspired countless people to visit the desert and to take a stand for the environment.

But as time passed, critics have since labeled Abbey racist and sexist. Now, 50 years later, Colorado writer Amy Irvine imagines talking with Abbey in her new book, "Desert Cabal: A New Season In The Wilderness."

Irvine talked to Colorado Matters about being an outsdoorswoman and former national park ranger, and how she took a hard look at some of the aspects of Abbey's iconic memoir.