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Essays
Climbing the Grand Teton Just Days After Chemotherapy
One heck of a story about a bid to climb the Grand Teton in the middle of cancer treatment.
When Favorite Trails Burn, What’s Left Behind?
The losses from wildfires are hitting home in the Golden State.
Can You Be Happy Dating Someone Who Isn’t Adventurous?
He’s everything she wants—except for being a partner in the great outdoors. Should that be a deal-breaker?
17 of the Best Songs About Mountains
Try to get ‘Country Roads’ out of your head. Go on, just try.
Some Universal Truths About Living a Good Life
The arc of a life bends toward…what, exactly?
The Culture of Mountain Biking Has Gone Astray
Ignorance is ruining the trails—and by standing idly by and letting it happen we’re all to blame.
When a ‘Belaytionship’ Comes to An End
Nobody knows you like your first and longest climbing partner—so how do you say goodbye?
The Joys and Benefits of Reading Books in the Wild
Do you tote literature into the backcountry? You’re not alone.
The Perspective Fresh Eyes Bring
Sometimes all it takes to make a space seem wilder is absence
How Do You Define Adventure?
Do you compare your outings to others’ and sometimes feel less than? Maybe a little perspective is needed.
Opinion: The Interior Department is Being Destroyed
Zinke’s radical agenda includes cutting 4,000 jobs and $1.6 billion from the budget.
The Perfect Hiking Companion Has Four Legs
From a surprising first meeting to a lifetime of companionship, he is a hiking partner without parallel.
Should There Be a Leave No Trace Rule for Drones?
The copters can go beyond annoying to become a danger. What’s the solution?
I Pledge Allegiance to Wildness
In this divisive time, a call to listen to the voices that speak without words.
The Importance of Keeping Traditions
When you need an excuse to disappear into the wilderness for a few days, it’s hard to beat: ‘Because it’s…
Finding Solitude In the Era of Perpetual Connection
Do the old ideas about solitude and ways to measure it no longer apply?
What the Road Teaches About Living Simply
How a year away from your stuff shows you what’s beautiful and useful.
A Woman’s Struggle With the Fear of Camping Alone
What does one do with the thoughts that keep you up at night, solo in the tent?
The East Coast Isn’t Just a Place for Mountainfolk to Leave
A Westerner moves eastward and falls just a little bit in love.
The Grand Canyon Visitors Who Put the Butt in Butthead
One may extrapolate that there are approximately 56,940 butts deposited on this one trail each year.
An Argument for Art and National Parks
You can learn a few things from an hour spent with a saguaro cactus.
Sometimes the Best Tent is a Decade-old Tent
The more gear changes, the more my tent stays the same
The Surprising Gift of Totality
People tell how the eclipse changed their lives. Here’s one man’s experience.
A Few Ways to Stay Warm, Dry, and Alive in Monsoon Season
The strong legs and long days of summer can sucker you into putting yourself in the line of fire.
Adventuring FOMO May be Harmful to Our Health
Study suggests that merely thinking you’re being lazy can be really bad for you. We’re calling BS on that.
With the Larsen C Iceberg, Stuff’s About to Get Real
What it means when a piece of ice the size of a state breaks free.
Protecting Wilderness in the Social Media Age
A few thoughts on the impact of the internet on the outdoors.
Opinion: Give the Feds What Fer Over Bears Ears
Interior Secretary Zinke wants to gut new national monuments. Tell him how you feel about that.
Does a Place Still Have Value When It’s No Use to People?
A deep dive into the Hoh Rain Forest reveals surprising insights about the world beyond humans.
Was That Just a Bike Ride…Or a Date?
That awkwardness when two friends have a sporting outing and one has a different sport in mind.
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…
A Few Thoughts on Camping With Kids
Letting go of expectations is hard. Enjoying what follows is easy.
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
Chasing Stoke and Finding Love
In the wake of loss, a few thoughts about what matters most in life.
The Beer-Based Gratitude Scale for Outdoor People
You know you owe your friends…but just how much? Here’s a handy guide so you don’t over- or under-serve.
I Hate Running
I hate running, three to four times a week if I have time. I hated it yesterday for a little…
A Recipe for Disaster Pudding
A backpacker’s first outing in bear country leads to unanticipated food challenges. Don’t make Bad Ranger Laura show up.
A Letter from Your Campfire: You’re Welcome
Who’s the life of the party on these cold nights? That’s right, me.
When the West Gets Under Your Skin
He left Montana for New Jersey and was back just two years later. Some thoughts on the importance of place.
The Joy of Filling a Woodshed
It’s good to be outside in the fall, working with your hands to create the coming winter’s warmth.
Why Getting Upset Over Idiot Vandals Is a Waste of Time
Outrage is a natural and understandable reaction, but it takes our focus from the real problems, the author argues.
Climbing Grades Are Stupid–So Why Do We Obsess Over Them?
Here’s why grades suck. Here’s why they don’t. And here’s an acknowledgement of the contradiction therein.
Gear Review: Water Bottle
How to stick it to the man while imaginary cash registers cha-ching in your head. An essay by Mr. Semi-Rad.
Dear Foam Roller…
Here are a few words from a close personal friend to that tortuous inanimate little bugger on the floor.
Opinion: Trail-Riding Equestrians Deserve Respect
Why do the outdoor industry and recreationalists marginalize backcountry horse riders?
A Love Letter to My First Climbing Guide Book
Are printed guidebooks going the way of the piton? Not for this loyal romantic.
The Expedition Storyteller
Everett was more than the kids’ favorite yarn spinner. He was a black street cop with a harrowing tale to…
What It’s Like to Run Your First Ultra
Are all those aid station Oreos worth the pain of running 50 miles? The answer is…
Let’s Drop the Idea that Women Shouldn’t Hike Alone
The message that hiking is safe hasn’t gotten to young women and girls. It’s time to change that.
The Delicate Art of Negotiating Adventure With Your Partner
What happens to your relationship when the going gets tough?
In-Depth Gear Review of a Plastic Spoon
After a lifetime of testing in the backcountry and frontcountry, we present the world’s most rigorous evaluation of the best…
Opinion: The Hypocrisy of Helicopter Skiing
#ActOnClimate…but it’s still okay to get in the bird and fly to the summit, right?
Opinion: It’s Time to End Cairn Building
A stack of rocks does nothing more than remind us that other people were there before us.