The bicycle is where my adventuring heart lies. It’s the most versatile, all-purpose accessory to adventure ever invented. A motorbike may be faster; walking may be slower (there is a time and a place for both fast adventure and slow adventure). Kayaks, canoes, and crampons may get you to wilder places. Living and working in … Read more
As an immigrant seeking a place to belong, I couldn’t have felt more out-of-place than when I moved to America shortly before the 2016 presidential election. And as the vitriol escalated, I never expected to find solace on two wheels. Here’s how it happened: Nearing 30, I found myself yearning for a previous life. As … Read more
Don’t be surprised if the first thing you do when finishing “The Nature Instinct: Relearning Our Lost Intuition for the Inner Workings of the Natural World,’’ is go for a walk. Many chapters begin with the author, Tristan Gooley, a British explorer and expert in navigating the outdoors, setting off for a long stroll through … Read more
It was early one Friday night in June when I exited the Pacific Crest Trail to arrive at a remote road in the Sierra Nevada, hoping to catch a ride into the nearest town to resupply my dwindling food stock. As soon as I touched pavement, however, I became keenly aware of my own smell—something … Read more
Doug Peacock, ex-Green Beret, Vietnam vet, friend to Ed Abbey, and the inspiration for Abbey’s character George Hayduke in “The Monkeywrench Gang,” buoyed himself through hard times in Southeast Asian jungles with an old map he brought with him of Wyoming and Montana. He knew that he needed hope to make it out of Vietnam … Read more
Over 17 months of homelessness, I slept on 28 different guest bedroom beds and couches. I learned that the best gift you can give a tumbleweeding dirtbag is access to a shower and that the existence of the tumbleweeding dirtbag is dependent on rad, giving friends who ask “Do you need a place to stay?” … Read more
The first day of December 2018 was a bluebird day in the Banff backcountry. Ski mountaineer Caroline Gleich and her fiancé Rob Lea hovered on the shoulder of Dolomite Peak as their companion, guidebook author Marcus Baranow, enjoyed powder turns in the steep bowl below. Although they were in obvious avalanche territory, the forecast showed … Read more
Desk to Glory is Ashley and Richard Giordano and their incredible Toyota truck. You may know them, their travelogue been an inspiration to vehicular travelers for a few years now. Their story is like so many others shared by individuals and couples alike. Tired of doing this, whatever it is we’re all doing in the … Read more
I wake up. I get out of bed. I have a shower. I brush my teeth. I get dressed. I go to the kitchen for breakfast. A boring start to another day. I throw the kitchen window open. Birdsong and fresh summer air bursts into the room. I smile. It’s time to go! I eat … Read more
On November 18, 1928, Glen and Bessie Hyde said goodbye to brothers Ellsworth and Emery Kolb, left the Kolb’s house near the Grand Canyon’s Bright Angel Trail and began walking down a path leading to the Colorado River. The Hydes had a boat tied up there, one in which they’d spent weeks floating down the … Read more