As an avid outdoors enthusiast, I love easy to pack snacks that don’t spoil readily and are simultaneously nutritious and delicious! Naturally, there are tons of products on the market that fit the bill to a tee! Kind, Cliff, Blue Diamond, Kashi, etc. Actually, most food brands have some sort of product that they market to the “healthy,” “outdoor”, crowd. However, as I also try to keep environmental as well as economical concerns on my mind as I shop, I find that hardly any

With the calendar and weather changing from summer into fall and then winter, many people think that access to the backcountry will have to wait until the next summer when warmer temperatures and less extreme conditions return. The fact is, that with proper planning and the right equipment, one can enjoy the backcountry year round. There are many advantages to heading out into the wilderness during the fall and winter months. One will generally find less crowds and be able to

Mesa Verde (literally “green table”) is great because it provides more than just fantastic wilderness hiking trails, it’s a way to experience ancient American history. Teddy Roosevelt created Mesa Verde National Park in 1906 to preserve the Ancestral Puebloan archeological sites found in southwest Colorado. Construction of the cliff dwellings is believed to have begun around 1400 years ago, only to be abandoned around 700 years later due to droughts. Today much of the ancient

Journeying into the backcountry with friends is much safer and can be a great time. However, people just piss you off sometimes, and they’re the reason to escape into the wild, I get it. Solo hiking can be a peaceful experience, it allows for a time to reflect and center yourself. Here are five reasons to go it alone on your next adventure. Peace and Quiet: One of the major advantages of going into nature is for the tranquility that it provides. There’s really no better wa

Nearly everyone on the continent (maybe the world?) has either been to, or at least seen a picture of, the largest canyon in the world, the Grand Canyon. The title of “the biggest” has garnered it much attention since it became an official national park in 1919. Throngs of visitors come from all over the world to take in that boundless beauty firsthand. It certainly is grand. Indeed, “the one great sight which every American should see1” seems to attract more and more tourist

Everyone has his or her own ideal expectations for an excursion into the backcountry. Many of us want it all: soaring jagged mountains, crystal clear lakes, lush forests, and a challenging trail that satisfies our thirst for adventure. Or we have to decide between great mountain adventures or great lakes views. Unfortunately ideals and reality, depending on your geographical location, rarely co-habitate, however, these magical places do in-fact exist. They’re just tucked away

1. Technology- by far the greatest thing to happen to the fly fishing enthusiast has got to be the advances in gear and applications due to advances in technology. From ultra lightweight tools that allow us to get into the backcountry more easily to a weather forecast you can check on your phone before heading out. 2. Carbon fiber- Your Grandfather's fly rod was made of Bamboo… you heard me right. While they’re mainly collectors items now, my father still has one and so do I.

No one likes doing dishes, especially not in the backcountry. Using specific pots to cook meals means a heavier load to carry not to mention the eventual dirty dishes to tend to. While it’s nice to have a gourmet wilderness meal now and again there are a few ways to cut back on camp kitchen work and still enjoy good eats. One particularly easy way to drop dish weight and enjoy good meals comes with a little planning. This simple plan includes seeking out foods that come in pa

My eyes cracked open as I scrambled to my phone to silence the alarm before it woke the others in the shelter. I had set the alarm for 4:30am so that I could get a jump on the day and finish the trail. It was still dark with no hint of sunlight peaking through the trees and the cold was biting. I couldn’t muster the courage to get out of the warmth and comfort of my sleeping bag. I shivered, not thinking anymore about sleep, but the finish line. I had 36.7 miles to go before

So you’ve put together your own custom med-kit and it’s ready to go, but how exactly, in a worse case scenario, should you be prepared to use it? Through this Save Your Own Life series I’ll go through the entire kit piece by piece and give tips on how to use each item either by itself or in combination with other materials you’ve prepared in your kit. Every piece in the med-kit has multiple uses, which makes the kit very versatile without bulking it up with multiple things fo