June 2018

THE LAST OF THE LIGHT drained from the narrow gash of sky above me. I heard my cries for help bounce away through the canyon walls, but they received no answer. I was stuck, my leg was throbbing, and the temperature was dropping fast. When I’d starte

TWENTY MINUTES AGO, staring at the cliffs that soar above the foaming rapids of the Snake River, I wondered how I would ever pass through. But faith and footsteps paid off, and now I’m 500 feet in the air, on a narrow trail blasted out of sheer grani

It would have been easy for Congressional legislators to punt on trail issues in 1968. The year started with the Tet Offensive, intensifying opposition to the Vietnam War. That was followed by the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F

1) Head 2.2 miles north on the Batona Trail/Batsto White Trail. 2) Continue 4.2 miles on the Batona Trail to the Quaker Bridge. 3) Follow signs for “Lower Forge,” trekking 1.3 miles to the riverside Lower Forge Campsite. 4) Next day, retrace your ste

You don’t need to wander far from the concrete jungle of Manhattan to find a real forest. In fact, with just an afternoon and a MetroCard you can tackle part of the 358-mile Long Path. The 3-mile piece (6 miles out and back) from the George Washingto

MY CAMPFIRE FLASHES and flickers on the massive rocks behind it, casting warm light on my quiet site. There’s room for more tents here, but I’m alone, camped on the broad shoulder of a peak in the Eastern Sierra where Fourteeners fan away in both dir

1) Head 4.1 miles west on the North Fork Big Pine Creek Trail, following signs for “Big Pine Lakes,” as it steadily ascends 2,000 feet to a junction for the Big Pine Lakes Loop. 2) Veer south to reach the lower lakes, continuing .4 mile past First La

Consider the numbers: 3,500 miles and a million feet of elevation gain. In one year. While holding down a full-time job. Stuke Sowle, an REI distribution supervisor in the Seattle area, makes other weekend warriors look like couch potatoes. (Last yea

I STRUGGLE TO CATCH MY BREATH as I make my final push up the scree slope. At more than 15,000 feet, I’m higher than any peak in the Lower 48, and I’m still going up. I chew on the thought as I trudge up the last set of switchbacks into even thinner a

Sun streaks through a lodgepole pine forest in Oregon’s Diamond Peak Wilderness at PCT mile 2,025 a northern mockingbird poses on a Florida Trail marker in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. BACKPACKER: How did this quest begin? Bart Smith: When

BEST FOR BIG LOADS $190; 2 lbs. 8 oz. (m’s M); m’s S-L, w’s XS-M; 48 liters/45 liters; gregorypacks.com OUR TAKE Many ultralight packs skimp on the suspension to cut weight, but the Optic bucks that trend. “Even when I was carrying 40 pounds up narro

I’D ALWAYS ASSUMED THE HUMAN RACE held onto canoeing just so Boy Scouts could earn an easy merit badge. The boats are cumbersome, and flat-water trips are closer to car camping than real adventure: You’re sitting down the whole time, and you’re not e

Family fun LENGTH* 286 MILES DESIGNATED 1981 The ingredients for a perfect family river trip: warm water, exciting rapids, bald eagles, and waterfront camps where the fire’s sparks mingle with the stars. While the upper section of the 286-mile Klamat

Cordova has a tendency to take hold of people who stop by for a visit, which is how Dana Smyke ended up there. After showing up on a fishing boat more than 30 years ago, he stopped casting nets and started building trails for the Forest Service. He h

These shades protect your eyes without dulling the scenery. With 13 percent visual light transmission and a curved shape that blocks peripheral rays, they kept our tester comfortable on hikes in Zion, while the brown tint enhanced reds and oranges. O

Outdoors, the difference between a good photo and a great photo can be just seconds—so get up early and stay out late. The photos below were shot 17 minutes apart. No filter GND filter Read your camera's manual (really), and learn how to manipulate a

THE HIKE TO CORONA ARCH, outside of Moab, Utah, crosses shadeless slickrock and sand. It’s a short trail—just a mile and a half—but it’s not easy. On a warm, sunny day, the heat reflects off the sandstone, sapping your energy and building a powerful

1) From the park’s southern boundary, pick up the East Bison Flats Trail and take it 3.5 miles north to an intersection. 2) Turn east onto the Wind Cave Canyon Trail and follow it .6 mile through its narrow namesake to another junction. 3) Veer north

THE ROLLING GRASSLANDS of Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, in Nebraska, slope down to the Niobrara River. It’s a quiet park, where most visitors come to see the fossils of ancient mammals like Menoceras, a pint-size rhino, or Palaeocastor, a beav

“I’ve been stacking rocks my whole life, but someone recently told me it’s a big no-no. Am I a horrible person?” –Balanced in Boulder Dear Balanced, You’re not horrible; you’re human. Flat rocks can inspire all sorts of spontaneous artistic endeavors

ABOUT FIVE SECONDS into the fall, I realized I wasn’t going to stop. The moment when my mind switched from, “Whoops, that was a stupid slip,” to “Holy crap, this could be really bad,” will stay with me forever. It was the last run of the day in the W

The National Trails System Act turns 50 this year—and so does one of the original National Scenic Trails it designated, the Pacific Crest Trail. For early thru-hikers like Eric Ryback (SoBo, 1970; pictured), the PCT was a wilder path. See historical

When it comes to roomy, durable, affordable shelters, this tent is king. BACKCOUNTRY SHELTER HAS changed a lot in the 16 years since REI debuted the Half Dome 2. But this tent? Not so much. REI knew it had something good from the get-go: a tent that’

THE EXPERT Colorado-based physical therapist Laurie Heiner specializes in treating endurance athletes, including runners and thru-hikers. Trail cred: She trains for ultramarathons in her spare time. What Step down to initiate eccentric contraction an