As I write this, Charmin, Cottonelle, and Downy Soft toilet paper, to name a few, are “currently unavailable” on Amazon. This verifies what you’ve always suspected: When things get scary in the US, the first thing most of us think about is pooping. The average American goes through 30 rolls…
POSTS TAGGED WITHHiking
How to Travel 18,000 Miles With Your Dog
For two years, I worked toward a lofty life dream: to outfit a van and drive from California to Patagonia. By last winter, plans were finally coming to fruition. I quit my job, my boyfriend and I set a date to move out of our house, and our van was,…
What It’s Like to Run the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim
Those who have trail run the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R) madness of the Grand Canyon know this: you leave a little piece of yourself in the canyon. The 40-plus-mile route is a grueling out-and-back journey with more than 10,000 vertical feet of gain and loss, which travels from the South Kaibab Trail…
The 10 Best Places to Camp for Free in Northern California
It’s hard to think of a more satisfying way to spend a beautiful weekend than camping on one of Northern California’s spectacular array of public lands—except, perhaps, camping there for free. Land managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management is typically home to lots of…
Why You Should Visit Yellowstone National Park in the Off-Season
If you drive into Gardiner, Montana, after the hustle and bustle of the short three months of summer, you’ll notice a tranquility settle upon the town. The locals relax, the wildlife wanders in from the park, and the crowds disappear. Glancing at the passing license plates, the traffic is distinctly…
5 Backpacking Skills to Master in the New Year
If you’re new to backpacking and you’ve done a short trip or two, you might be eager to try a more challenging hike. Maybe you want to do a longer trip and backpack for a week or longer. Or, perhaps you’d like to explore a place that’s more remote and…
11 Tips for Winter Camping
If you typically put away your camping gear during the winter and leave it stowed until spring, you’re missing out on some great days in the outdoors. During the winter, the bare trees reveal mountain views you just can’t get in the warmer months, and the cold conditions drive off…
Trekking Through One of the Least-Visited Regions of Mexico
It’s closing in on noon, and the day couldn’t be more perfect. The morning started out in a cool, mist-covered shroud, but now the sun is shining bright, trickling down as the pine-needled carpeted trail gently meanders uphill, past peeling madronas draped with Spanish moss. The thin air up at…
14 Awesome Places to Camp in Tennessee
There’s nothing quite like sleeping out in the great outdoors with a campfire crackling nearby and the stars twinkling in the sky. From the quiet beauty of the Tellico River to the incredible hiking opportunities in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Volunteer State is full of waterfalls, mountains, and…
6 Top Spots for Winter Camping in and Around Charlotte
Here in the Carolinas, we may feel a twinge of envy when the flakes fly up north, but it passes quickly when crisp, clear weather and a surprising number of mountain and lakeside campsites close to Charlotte make it so easy to enjoy winter camping. In fact, with warm-weather crowds…