Story by Hilaree Nelson 　　Photos by Nick Kalisz, Dutch Simpson and The North Face. All rights reserved. 　　I’m always in awe of the things I obsess over, especially when the lens is through hindsight. Mostly because in the moment, when the idea first takes hold, when the dreams start waking me up at night, when the secret planning starts to form...

　　What would you do if you had just 48 hours and an ultralight pack of overnight gear? How fast and how far would you go—and where? What epic human-powered adventure would you conquer? 　　Last summer we posed this question to MSR employees in a contest inspired by MSR’s new TrailShot pocket-sized water filter. In their ideas, the employees had to...

　　Editor’s note: Triple Crowner Quoc Nguyen undertook the PNT in the fall, a feat that should be reserved only for expert thru-hikers and those with extensive avalanche education and winter backcountry experience. Below he recounts his journey and provides tips for anyone thinking of thru-hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail. 　　5 author tips for hiking the Pacific Northwest Trail located at the...