Written by: McKenzie Barney 　　New Zealand’s Te Araroa Trail is the world’s newest long-distance thru-hike. Stretching 3,000 km from Cape Reinga, at the top of the North Island, to Bluff, at the bottom of the South Island, the TA is defined by its challenging terrain, unpredictable weather and navigational obstacles, and just may be the toughest of the world’s major...

　　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...

　　Photos courtesy of Graham Zimmerman 　　Eighteen years after his first attempt to reach the summit of Link Sar, prolific climber Steve Swenson finally stood atop the notoriously technical peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram. He was joined by alpinists Mark Richey, 61; expedition leader Graham Zimmerman, 33; and Chris Wright, 36. In an endeavor that was uncertain right to the last moment,...