With the mounting cost of search and rescue operations, and the trend in search and rescue organizations and local counties wanting to bill people they rescue for their efforts, it seems as though getting outdoors and going on a day hike could end up being very costly if there was an accident and assistance was [...]
Barefoot Hiker Gets Lost at White Sands – Yes, it’s another outdoor news story about a lost hiker. I’ve hiked at White Sands many times. I wouldn’t go barefoot for a cross country hike, but I also wouldn’t wear shoes and socks. Sandals or some other footwear that is easy to remove to dump sand out [...]
One of the benefits to working on this web site is performing internet research. You never know where this research will lead you. Sometimes, research lands you on some celebrity’s virtual doorstep (Demi seems to be holding up well without Ashton). Other times it can plop you down into the world of off-center porn (Wow, [...]
Hike Safely, My Friends – Hiking and outdoor news wouldn’t be complete without a story about hikers being rescued. After two hikers in California got lost during a day hike, some advice for better day hiking preparation was offered by the local search and rescue officials. Good lessons and a good list for preparing for a hike [...]
If you are car camping across the Southwest, here are some recommendations and recollections of great forest service campgrounds where we have stayed. You can usually drive right in and find a spot, and be surrounded by the beauty of the area. California: During a recent road trip to California, we were pleasantly surprised by [...]
The town of Front Royal, Virginia has denied an operating permit to build a hiker hostel on land adjacent to the AT. Why? Because soccer moms are scared of dirty hikers. Scott and Lisa Jenkins planned to open a hiker hostel on land they purchased that is located 700 feet from the trail. The 3.6 [...]
Watch this six-minute video of stunning time lapse photography from New Zealand. The best part is looking at the night sky in the Southern Hemisphere. From volcanoes, to oceans, to forests and mountains, the folks at Primal Earth Images do a fine job of sharing the beauty in their part of the world.
An interesting story out of Idaho, full story here. An Idaho family has sued the U.S. Forest Service demanding more than $1 million after a large dead tree at a remote campsite fell and injured their young son. Richard and Melinda Armstrong, of Caldwell, said their family was camping in the Boise National Forest in [...]
You are out on a beautiful hike in the wilds of the American Southwest and you come upon a cozy rock shelter with pictographs, petroglyphs, and all kinds of pottery shards. Great, you think! An added bonus to the day’s outing in the form of an amazing archaeology site in the middle of nowhere. You [...]
Many outdoor enthusiasts consider themselves to be quite experienced in hiking, backpacking, or camping, and want to take their experience and shift it into an outdoor guide job. As a former guide and guide service business owner, I can tell you that there is more to being an outdoor guide than just experience being outdoors–although [...]
We had a chance to visit White Sands National Monument since some friends from out of town were going and invited us to join them. It was a sunny, windless, perfect spring day, and the large soft white dunes were inviting and just a heck of a lot of fun to explore. Our friends were [...]
The past two years of drought have been devastating to the forests of the southwest. This year looks to be even worse. The forests in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado brace for the realization that worst-case scenario predictions of this year’s fire danger may have been a bit optimistic. Three years of on-going drought coupled with budget cuts [...]
With the recent death from a rope swing mishap in Utah, all kinds of articles and opinions have been swirling across the interwebs. A recent article in Outside Magazine, which is well-written and thoughtful, addresses the history and concerns of recreational and commercial use on public land, and throws a spotlight on the land managing [...]
Technology for the Wilderness A friend of mine got a BioLite stove for his birthday and we couldn’t wait to try the thing out. I had seen this stove out on the web and was curious to see how it worked in person. It is a cool device and worked as advertised. We set [...]
I was working with an archeological field crew made up of mostly 20-somethings fresh out of college and was surprised to find that I was the only person in the group that was carrying a first aid kit. I have to admit that in my 20s, I also felt invincible and rarely (if ever…I don’t [...]
Driving to a camp spot, unpacking your stuff, and taking a few hikes close to your camp is the easiest way to enjoy the great outdoors. If you have never been camping before and are concerned about what things you should purchase and pack, or if you have done it before and it wasn’t a [...]
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