Dec 26, 2024

Why New Zealand’s Te Araroa Long

　　By McKenzie Barney, Comfort Theory producer and thru-hiker 　　 　　It’s no PCT, AT, CDT, or Camino. The TA is its own irreplaceable beast—dangerous at times if you’re not prepared—but with a silver lining of beauty that, with an open mind, can change your life. Our team just completed the 3000 km long-distance trail, which stretches tip-to-tip across New Zealand’s two...

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Dec 26, 2024

642 Days in My Hubba Hubba Tent: Cycling the World

　　Story and images by Sam Johnson 　　My arrival earlier this month in the town of Malargüe, Argentina, coincided with an important milestone on my current adventure. It has now been two years since I left home in the UK on my attempt to cycle solo and unaided around the world. 　　 　　Before setting off in April 2017, I’d spent three...

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Dec 26, 2024

48 Hour Epic Contest: Show Us Your Adventure & Win

　　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...

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Dec 26, 2024

Assessing Avalanche Danger: Backcountry Touring & Snowmobiling

　　Jackson Hole, WY, the place I’m lucky to call home, has gained an international reputation for three things: skiing, powder and skiing. It’s the lifeblood of our 15,000-person town, based in the northeast corner of the least populated state in the country. The most accessible backcountry terrain, Teton Pass, sees just shy of a quarter-million runs each year, more than...

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Dec 26, 2024

10 Incredible Short Thru

　　It takes time, planning, money and dedication to undertake an epic thru-hike like the Great Western Loop, Appalachian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail. If you’re looking for something more manageable—even one done in a day or two—North America has plenty of options for short thru-hikes that can be completed in a single long day if you’re an experienced trekker, or...

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Dec 26, 2024

Baffin Island Exploration: A Trip to the Edge of the World  

　　Baffin Island is the worlds fifth-largest island. It lies mostly north of the Arctic Circle in Canada’s Arctic Archipelago. It is absolutely wild, perched on the fringes of our global, Westernized society. Baffin Island is the indigenous land of the Inuit, who have lived and thrived there for thousands of years. We were incredibly fortunate to travel on these lands,...

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Dec 26, 2024

10 Amazing Places to Snowshoe in North America

　　Your favorite hiking trails may be under snow until spring, but snowshoeing is an affordable, accessible way to keep winter fun. The solitude of snowshoeing is also a bonus: there are no crowds, heavy machinery, or endless lift lines. The following destinations are some of the best places to snowshoe in North America, from groomed Nordic tracks and valley floors,...

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Dec 26, 2024

Winter Escapes: Eric Larsen’s Top 5 Places for Snowshoe Adventures

　　By Eric Larsen 　　 　　Some people look at winter and see bone-chilling cold, bad driving conditions and more, but if youre anything like me you see winter as the great leveler—literally. Snow evens out the bumps, stumps, roots and rocks of any trail, and covers up undergrowth and shrubs, making the wintry landscape beautiful and perfect for snowshoeing. Still, some...

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Dec 26, 2024

Training for Antarctica: Polar

　　Theres no business like snow business. 　　Nearly every year in January or February, I make a pilgrimage to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, where I indoctrinate a bevy of aspiring Shackleton wannabes on the finer points of polar travel and winter survival. 　　 　　For those of you who dont know, I teach a variety of hands-on intensives focused on winter...

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Dec 26, 2024

Tough Enough in Madagascar

　　Words by Nina Caprez, photos by Jan Novak 　　Climbing has this ability of showing us what is really going on inside of us, of bringing our ego to the light, and that’s often painful. 　　Standing at the bottom of the wall, I was realizing this. Realizing I had not really faced this type of challenge as directly and bravely as...

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Dec 26, 2024

Thru the Lens: The Pacific Crest Trail

　　Last year, Brandon Sharpe made the pilgrimage up the west coast’s Pacific Crest Trail, through 14,000 feet of elevation, 25 national forests, and 7 national parks. His incredible photos showcase many of the trail’s iconic views, and they continue our series: “Thru the Lens: Photo Journeys of the Major Thru-Hikes.” 　　var lightbox_transition = 'elastic'; var lightbox_speed = 800; var lightbox_fadeOut...

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Dec 26, 2024

Thru the Lens: The John Muir Trail

　　By David Clock 　　Last year, David Clock hiked California’s 211-mile John Muir Trail. His striking photos reveal the grandeur of the trail’s surrounding terrain, and they kick off our series: Thru the Lens: Photo Journeys of the Major Thru-Hikes.” 　　var lightbox_transition = 'elastic'; var lightbox_speed = 800; var lightbox_fadeOut = 300; var lightbox_title = false; var lightbox_scalePhotos = true; var...

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Dec 26, 2024

Thru

　　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...

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Dec 26, 2024

The Thru

　　By Renee Patrick 　　The quintessential Oregon that comes to mind for many is one of wet, lush forests, rocky coastlines, and snowy peaks, but on the other side of the Cascade Mountains lies a high desert landscape that covers almost half of the state. For Brent Fenty, Oregon Natural Desert Association’s (ONDA) executive director, this immense desert has captivated him...

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Dec 26, 2024

The Wild and Remote Wind River Range

　　 　　We set out from the comfort of our day jobs to experience a new place—a new horizon. We headed north and then west to the Wind River Range of Wyoming. With alternating sounds of good tunes, good conversations, and the constant ‘whirr’ of rubber on the road, we made our way to the trailhead. As the sun slipped lower...

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Dec 26, 2024

The First Rule of Adventure: Failures are Never Failures

　　Story and Photography by Eric Larsen 　　They were hard questions to receive: “How do you know when to pull the plug on an adventure?” “What do you learn when you come up short?” 　　I think that both of these topics are relevant, interesting and worthwhile; however, the timing of the inquiry—a few weeks after I returned from a “failed” expedition...

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Dec 26, 2024

The Dream Line: Hilaree Nelson’s Historic First Descent of the Lhotse Couloir

　　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...

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Dec 26, 2024

The Carretera Austral by Bicycle: A Wild Ride through Chilean Patagonia

　　In Chile, they have a saying: Only those who hurry through Patagonia waste time. For any enthusiast of the great outdoors, it is one of the world’s truly great wildernesses—and somewhere to explore at a slow pace. The very word “Patagonia” stirs up images of grand mountains, thick forests, shimmering lakes and icy glaciers interspersed with a sparse population and...

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Dec 26, 2024

Scouting for Fish Farms in the Great Bear Rainforest

　　Words and photos By Dustin Silvey, Ph.D 　　The sun beat down on our adventure team. The other kayak had pulled off a kilometer ahead in the shade of a rock to wait. As we caught up, movement in the water signaled action—on the other side of the rock, a pod of dolphins was hunting our bait ball. 　　We paddled over...

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Dec 26, 2024

Great Climbs & Worthy Causes: Rock Climbing in Eastern Europe

　　Nina and Jeremys Big Idea Summer, 2020 　　Beranger, Savoie, France 　　The choice of vehicle wasn’t simple. It had to be more than a camper van—reliable off-road and in remote parts of the world, and tough enough to transport a climbing wall (yes, you read that right), all of our rock-climbing gear, photography equipment, and oh yeah, also be a small...

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