Planning your first weekend hike or a backpacking trip? Want to know what it's like to experience free fall from 13,000ft? Interested in swapping beta on some of the best bouldering locations across the US? Check out our Trip Reports for recent articles from our Featured Bloggers. Whether you’re venturing outdoors alone or with your family or friends, you’ll find something that matches your interests! We also tackle complex topics like racism, colorism, transphobia and queerphobia in outdoor recreation.
The three of us hiked side-by-side across 900 miles of desert and Sierra Nevada. We learned how to self arrest on Baden Powell, soaked our sore feet in hot springs, screamed when we saw rattlesnakes, and shared meals, motel rooms, and late-night movies.
Our time together on the Pacific Crest Trail felt like a dream — until it suddenly ended.
Read MoreMorally, I struggled to tear my focus away from the genocide in Gaza and leave my community to complete my climb. Back home, I’m met with blank stares and confusion — mountaineering being a far cry from what my priorities should be as a single 28-year-old woman. I’ve never been able to explain the passion I feel as I gaze up at the highest peaks in the world.
Read MoreBut ask a New England surfer about the changing seasons. It’s more likely they’ll mark this same passage of time by the thickness of their neoprene wetsuit. They surf year-round, making the most of the sometimes harsh and unforgiving winters. New England surfers simply add millimeters of neoprene the way hikers add base layers. For a lifelong Californian born and raised in “sunny San Diego,” my first winter in Rhode Island was eye opening.
Read MoreIt took me years to notice and acknowledge the strength I carried in my body. That day, I don’t think I gave a second thought to my appearance or how my stomach looked. I just felt free.
Read MoreWhen my Mom, a Salvadoran immigrant, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) at 65, I never imagined that a year later, she'd be scaling 60-foot walls with the grace and determination of a seasoned climber. Hers is a story of resilience, community, and the unexpected joy found in facing challenges head-on.
Read MoreWe even had a group hang out where we just aired all of the ignorant things that other people had said to us. At first we were angry, but anger turned to action and we ended up practicing how to de-escalate and redirect with one another, as we each took turns being the aggressor.
Read MoreTo pretend that trail and ultrarunning are welcoming to all is the same as racing with a torn Achilles. You wouldn’t do it.
Read MoreI am a middle-aged woman who happens to skydive instead of woodworking, riding a motorcycle or one shot D&D campaigns. How to explain any of this to a stranger who is primed to misunderstand? Oh, I don’t.
Read MoreHowever, I was still so angry that I really wanted to hit something (or everything), but I didn’t know how to punch at all. So with stitches still in my leg and still weak from chemotherapy, I went downtown and limped into the Cleveland Boxing Club.
Read MoreChemo Brain. It’s a real thing. Chemo brain is when you lose your memory, permanently or temporarily. For me, I can barely remember the 6 months before starting chemo, most of the chemo months are gone, and several months after chemo are also gone.
Read MoreSome people ask why am I so crazy about training and climbing. My response is, it's my reason for living. I see in most people’s eyes that they think I’m being dramatic, and I usually leave it at that. But for the select few that I share my full story with, I like to believe they can appreciate where I am coming from.
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