As we skidded off the main road and onto a mud path maintained only by tire treads, lines began to blur. Flanking our two-track trail were a series of parallel lanes no more than a foot wide, which forked, merged, and crisscrossed our own. In the distance, I saw what looked like a ghost train, … Read more
A few months ago, I posted the above photo to my Instagram with the caption “we need not be pagans.” It got a surprisingly large amount of comments, including from Alaska woodworker and artist Zach LaPerrière, who said I should share my sleeping setup. Here goes. Most important—and duh—it depends on the conditions, but my … Read more
Happy New Year! If you’re a subscriber to AJ in print, you might have read my intro in the current issue about the nature of hard things. Last fall, when I first started thinking about making 2026 the Year of Doing Hard Things, I concocted a list of all the hard things I would attempt. … Read more
Not long ago, I had an unremarkable and perfect week. There are weeks that stand in high relief—my son’s wedding week in May or the week I spent camping with my daughter in July—and then there are weeks that classify as normal or typical but come with the expression of exactly how I want to … Read more
Dick Griffith, the grandfather of modern Alaskan adventure, died in his sleep last week. He was 98. By his 50s, a thick shock of white hair crowned Dick’s head. Many of us in our 20s hoped one day to be like him: Clint Eastwood in tennis shoes and a backpack. But by the time our … Read more
The American people own 640 million acres of public land, held by the federal government and administered primarily by just five agencies, the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Forest Service. This land comprises a whopping 28 percent of America’s 2.27 billion acres. US public lands … Read more
We were impressed with the iKamper Skycamp DLX Mini rooftop tent. Have questions about the Skycamp that we didn’t answer in the video? Shoot an email to mail (at) adventure-journal and we’ll post our responses here.
The parent company of Outside magazine has laid off 20 members of the magazine’s editorial and business staffs, leaving doubt about the ongoing viability of the publication in print and online. The news came in a companywide email last Thursday from CEO Robin Thurston announcing the purchase of Inntopia, travel booking software used by Vail, … Read more
Over the last year, I have become quite enamored with the 30-liter NEMO Equipment Double Haul, which is a duffel when you want it to be a duffel and a tote when you want it to be a tote. NEMO calls this two-fer design revolutionary; that’s a stretch, but it certainly is a clever rethinking … Read more
Have you ever heard of Tom Mix? He was a famous Hollywood stuntman in the 1920s and 30s. I wrote about him for AJ a few issues back. He suffered an astronomical amount of injuries in his work, but what really stuck with me was how he died: He was in a single car accident … Read more