Gliding across the snow on a dogsled is a perception changer. Traveling by dog team opens up the wilderness. In a world filled with mechanical transport, allowing a team of Alaskan huskies to pull you across a frozen muskeg or through the taiga is a ...
In a small, dead-end valley in Springfield, Oregon, on Camp Creek, three generations of the Petersen family still work the ranch they have owned since 1941. Over the decades, despite the majority of the land being devoted to a variety of things ...
Floating across the frozen backcountry on snowshoes is a unique way to see the wilderness. But finding a place to go out and enjoy the snow can be hard. A good summer hiking trail may not be a good snowshoe hike, but areas that are hard to access in ...
This can be a hard time of year. The holidays are over, and we’re ready for spring — but it’s still winter. For many people that means not leaving the house, or the couch, until the middle of March. But let's face it, there are only so many shows you ...
Blinded by the wind and stung by the cold, we set up our camp as the day grew dark around us. The two of us had snowshoed to Dogsled Pass, deep in the Talkeetna Mountains of south central Alaska. We hoped to explore nearby alpine valleys over the ...
When the air turns crisp and the days get shorter, it’s time to put on an extra layer (or two) and prepare to take in one of nature’s most aesthetically pleasing seasonal changes — fall foliage. Fall is one of the best times to hike — it’s cool but ...
On Dec. 1, 2002, author, adventurer, and journalist Robert Young Pelton was in a place he had been many times before: Afghanistan. He was standing over a wounded foreign fighter in a makeshift hospital in the aftermath of the Qala-i-Jangi Fortress ...
For the majority of my life, Oktoberfest has been just another tradition — like Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day — that we Americans appropriated for the express purpose of drinking our freakin’ faces off. I didn’t know much about the festivities ...
From thick coastal forests to high alpine peaks and sprawling glaciers, Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest stretches over 16.7 million acres. If the Tongass were a state, it would be larger than West Virginia — but it’s also almost devoid of ...
almost ignored the explosion at first. Loud noises weren’t unusual here in Qamishli, and I’d already heard jackhammers that could have been mistaken for gunfire throughout the day. Maybe I shouldn’t ignore that one, I thought. I got up from the ...
Outdoors clothing needs to meet the conditions a hiker will face. How hot or cold is the climate? How intense is the planned activity? Is rain or snow in the forecast? What about changes in elevation? Outdoors people are often told to “dress in ...
I’m a self-taught bow hunter with a passion for elk hunting. The first time I heard the bugle of a bull elk echo out of my computer speakers, I knew I had to go and experience it in person. So that’s exactly what I did. In 2017, my first season, ...
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and subsequent film of the same name showcased the dangers of the oil and gas industry. The film’s main character, portrayed by Mark Wahlberg, also sheds light on the male-dominated nature of the oil industry. ...
Any hiker planning to spend a night outdoors needs to choose a good campsite. This may seem obvious to the experienced outdoorsman, but any pro knows that no one is above refreshing the basics. And let's face it, sometimes the options aren’t obvious. ...
The Rocky Mountains are the largest mountain range in North America. Webs of ridge lines and towering peaks wind through the western United States, and every hike finds a new way to impress travelers. From daunting technical ascents like Grand ...
To many, the American Northeast can be summarized as the New York-Boston corridor — but there is so much more to see. From scenic coastlines to serious mountain ranges, there are many options for people who love the outdoors. Though this region has ...
They don’t call them the flyover states for nothing — many simply see the Midwest as flat, uninspiring land between the mountain ranges. No doubt, it’s hard to compete with the spectacular scenery of the far western states. However, the vast swathes ...
From the Louisiana swamps to the Virginia mountains, the American Southeast may lack the towering vistas that inspired people like John Muir and Ansel Adams, but Appalachia has tremendous charm and beauty. Thousands upon thousands of miles of ...
The vistas of the American West have inspired people from John Muir to Ansel Adams to venture into the wilderness. Stunning mountains, clear lakes, and rushing trout streams draw all brands of travelers who enjoy spending time outdoors. Stretching ...
Isolated and far from home, the members of the Corps of Discovery celebrated the Fourth of July three times in the wilderness in 1804, 1805, and 1806. Led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark, the expedition left St. Louis in ...
he van let the group of veterans from Heroic Hearts Project out at the bottom of a two-lane country road. It was too steep for the vehicle to go any farther. As they hiked deeper into the Peruvian jungle, flocks of chickens ran around their feet. ...
Almost any hiking area has some sort of history tied to it, but sometimes a historical connection makes a hike even more special. When we walk over old trails, we see what others saw and get a sense for their universe. History is never far from ...
Whether you’re in the woods, on the trail, or camping in your backyard, summer insects are a fact of the outdoor life. They can range from mildly annoying to seriously dangerous, but with proper care, it’s relatively easy to reduce the risk. While a ...
To hike on a battlefield is to hike through history. The artillery pieces used for bombardments are silent now, either used as decoration or removed entirely. In many places, in fact, the signs of the bygone conflict are hard to see. Hiking is a ...
The heat hits me like a solid hand, buffeting my entire body as I open the door of the cabin, stepping out of the air-conditioned interior of the ferry and onto the deck. It’s hot enough to suck the air from my lungs. I start sweating almost ...
Three years and five months spent in the Malayan jungle battling typhus, pneumonia, blackwater fever, cerebral malaria — two weeks of which was spent in a coma — represent half of the battles British commando Freddy Spencer Chapman faced during his ...
If the journey Benjamin Breckheimer begins today is successful, he’ll be the first Purple Heart recipient to have climbed all of the famed Seven Summits. Alaska’s Denali, with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet above sea level, is the highest mountain ...
From April 12 to 14, 2019, 54 two-man teams competed in the 36th annual David E. Grange Best Ranger Competition for 60 continuous hours of running, shooting, ruck marches, and climbing. The teams came from across the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and ...
Sometimes a day hike or a weekend backpacking trip isn’t enough. If you’re feeling the call of the wild — that urge to be outside and survive in the elements for an extended period of time — you’ll want to consider long trails meant for ...
Donnie Vincent isn’t your typical hunter. The biologist turned hunter-conservationist turned filmmaker has traveled the world to stalk and kill dangerous big-game animals, often after spending weeks in austere environments to earn the opportunity. ...
