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Essays
This Is How We Should Re-Open the Outdoors
For the millions of Americans who consider ourselves “outdoorsy,” many of us thought we were well prepared for social distancing.…
An Adventure Dad’s Manifesto For Unprecedented Times
How an adventurous life paves the way for easier parenthood.
An Adventure Photographer Shares What Racism Looks and Feels Like
Among other insults, vanlifing while black is suspicious to some.
Does Nature Have Value Beyond What it Provides Humans?
A philosophical argument that recognizing nature for nature’s sake—not how nature benefits humanity—should underpin conservation.
Anatomy of a Flash Flood
After a series of deaths in the desert, a writer considers his own close calls in canyons.
Are You That Guy or Girl Who Always Hikes Ahead of Your Friends?
That guy. Or girl. You know.
The Beauty of Staying Still
Staying still doesn’t have to be a sentence. It can be a gift.
Hey, It’s John Muir’s Birthday, So Here Are 20 of His Most Inspiring Quotes
Nature’s bearded philosopher was also the king of stoke. Here are few of his wise words to get you fired…
The Message of a Little Bird in a Tree Outside My Window
It turns out that the bird that’s been waking me up at dawn every morning for the past four weeks…
Please Enjoy These 19 Outrageous Warranty Claims
“This shirt and backpack ripped when I was stabbed,” etc.
Thru-Hiking in the Time of Coronavirus
In an alternate timeline, I’d find myself bathing deep in the restorative forests of Japan’s Kii Peninsula at this very…
Adventuring During a Pandemic and the Age of Social Responsibility
Learning valuable lessons about our impact in a time when it seems more weighty than ever.
This Is Why You Want to Get to Know Your Local Gear Shop
They hook you up, you bring them beer. It’s a friendship you can’t find with an online store.
My Belated Praise for Trekking Poles
When the need for a new piece of gear makes itself known through your knees.
What Happens When Living On the Road Gets Old (Cause It Always Does)?
Sometimes setting down roots is just as scary as pulling them up.
Road Trip Camping With Toddler? Uhhh…
An extended journey brings stoke, doubt, guilt, uncertainty…you know, the basic set of parenting traps.
10 Cheap Substitutes for Expensive Camping Gear
How to save thousands of dollars just by being flexible and frugal.
Take Candy From Strangers, No, Climb With Strangers, Yes
For some climbers, it’s a big leap of faith to trust a stranger at the crag. Sometimes that leap results…
Climbing Mt. Whitney Taught Me That Learning How to Bail Is a Skill
Learning when you’ve had enough is just as important as pushing your limits in the backcountry.
Five Fitness Truths to Live By
If you’ve never fallen off a treadmill while trying to run backwards with a pack on, you’re not trying hard…
The Point of Doing Pointless Things With Friends
It comes down to time – time and leaving richer for having been with them.
An Ultralight Backpacker Learns the Real Value of Weight
Wasn’t this whole thing backpacking thing supposed to be fun?
The 20 Best Bad Reviews of National Parks on Yelp
The air’s too fresh! I can see too far! Wait, it’s so dirty! Ew, there’s bugs! What’s that smell?!
Buy the Newest, Lightest, Shiniest Gear Or You Could Die
Instead of spending your disposable income on something, well, disposable, maybe you should spend it on…
How Technology Decides Whether You Get the Campsite You Want
Will you need to be a member of the technorati to reserve a campsite in the near future?
How Hiking the AZ Trail Led Me to Abandon Cattle Ranching and Changed Everything
A multiday hike on the Arizona Trail helped convince this former rancher that she needed to change her meat-eating ways.
The Endangered Art of Getting Lost and Why it May be Good for Us
Getting lost can be frightening. It can also be exhilarating and flexes unused mental muscles. We should get lost more…
Unleashed—When Surfboards Roam Free
A lawyerly effort to criminalize surfing without a leash prompts a fun debate—do safety measures actually make surfing more dangerous?
An Ode to the Easy Adventure of Swimming Your Local River
How swimming a local stream can help you rediscover the wildness of wherever you live.
When Paddling the Colorado, the Line Between Exhilaration and Disaster Blurs
When shooting the rapids is scary, it’s probably best to shoot the rapids.
Of Course It’s Okay to Hike Off-Trail—Here’s Why
Despite what some say, you can actually LNT and off-trail hike at the same time. Really.
Here’s Why I Pick Up Other People’s Litter—And Why You Should, Too
Last year, I conducted a memorable interview with French environmentalist Claire Nouvian. She’d just been awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental…
Why Hiking Is Cool
Hiking kinda gets looked down on by more extreme adventure types. But that’s not fair.
Finding a Balance When Your Spouse is Also Your Climbing Partner
I have a hard time considering myself a climber. What would it take for me to own that term? A…
An Appreciation for a Four-Legged Best Friend
Doogan lived in the moment, every moment, until the day he didn’t. A beautiful, loving tribute to a dog we…
The Disturbing Bro-ification of Outdoor Recreation
Like gentrification, the elitism of outdoor sports is pushing out the common participant.
In Praise of Journeys on Water
Awfully hard to beat floating down a big river in a cheap canoe, campfire waiting at sunset.
A Climber’s Meditations on Risk and Death on the Mountain
In which the author, a longtime climber, realizes: There is no single experience worth dying for.
Parenthood and the New Definition of Adventure
Babies change things, but outdoor pursuits don’t have to end.
How About a Round of Applause for Adult Newbs?
Expertise is great and all, but so is the freedom of sucking at a new pursuit.
Stop Telling Women Not to Go Into the Backcountry Alone
It’s not the wilderness that’s a threat to females, it’s what you find in the frontcountry: people
What’s the Best Rain Jacket You Can Buy?
Once and for all, Semi-Rad answers the question that keeps you up at night.
Adventuring is Just as Adventurous When Done on the Cheap
Adventure is everywhere—it’s not just for “adventurers” either.
The Sexy Allure of Turns All Year—Skiing Through Every Season
Kristina Ciari made it a point to ski at least once a month, every month of the calendar, summer included.…
The Purpose of Adventure Will Change as You Age
Adventure can be about pushing through tremendous hardship or about grounding and reconnection. Often it changes as we become more…
Bidding a Fond and Reluctant Farewell to the Itinerant Dirtbag Life
Some are dedicated, lifelong dirtbags. Others are not. Here’s one take on what it means to leave dirtbagging behind.
It’s Totally Okay to Fall in Love With Treasured Gear
When gear takes on a story of its own, it can be awfully hard to part with, Marie Kondo would…
Why We Need Bigfoot, Even if it isn’t Real
There’s something wonderful in suspending disbelief and imagining a world wild enough to hold something as extraordinary as Bigfoot.
Balancing Adventure, Strength, and Femininity
You don’t have to choose between being a toughened adventurer and being feminine. You can be both.
Giving Up on the Ski Town Dream
When the fantasy and reality of living in an expensive mountain town collide, reality usually wins.
Conversations With My Friend Old Doug, the Fir Tree
“The canopy was new to me, a secret home above my home, and I couldn’t get enough. So it was…
Saying Goodbye to My Canine Adventure Soulmate
Sometimes a dog is far more than just a dog.
Mountain Biking Is My Act of Resistance
When an immigrant to the US felt out of place, she turned to the trails for a sense of belonging.
Opinion: Dogs Don’t Belong in National Park Backcountry
Pet-lovers are using service-animal designations to get around rules. This, the author says, is hazardous and wrong.
The Glorious Feeling of Being Way, Way Out There
I wake up. I get out of bed. I have a shower. I brush my teeth. I get dressed. I…
On the Upside of a Near-Death Experience
It’s a beautiful place, Iceland. One of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The landscapes are magnificent and…