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

I've decided to take on the greatest challenge of my adult life. A task so great that only the most accomplished of fishermen would take it on. A mountain that seemed so insurmountable that a few years ago it was only something that I could dream of. Some people would call me crazy for even attempting it. Should I achieve this dream it would be the greatest accomplishment of my fishing career. What is it? You’re probably thinking that it’s a hiking/ fishing trip into some uni

Great Sand Dunes National Park is a unique location in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado. It contains 30 square miles of Sahara-like sand dunes flanked by classic views of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, a combination unlike any other in the United States, a place that needs to be seen to believe. But before visiting this special place, there are some things you should know… The Sand is Difficult to Walk Through – The deep sand can be frustratingly slow to traverse, espe

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.

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

Stretching from the upper Midlands in the heart of England to near the Scottish border, the Pennines are a beautiful and diverse range of small mountains and high hills that provide wonderful hiking and other recreational opportunities for everyone. I say “diverse” for two reasons: first, because this chain runs from the outskirts of bustling metropolises like Manchester and Leeds-Bradford to some of the most remote parts of England. Secondly, the range is host to a plethora

When I was first learning to fly-fish, I'm not going to lie, I was often very, very frustrated. I was constantly getting tangled up in trees and snapping my fly off and retying patterns that didn't seem to work. I was trying to finesse my fly into the water and worried constantly about my presentation. If my cast flopped I would immediately strip it in and start over. Larry was the husband of my mother's second cousin, saying that doesn’t do it justice because he was more t

The second most question I receive, after "What do you eat on the trail,” is "Well, how do you get the food?" Most folks figure if you're on the Trail for six months then you‘re in the wilderness for that long and that's just not possible unless you’re hunting and gathering along the way. It might become possible if Amazon figures out the shipping drones with precise GPS location. Hell, the drones might even Sherpa your gear in the future. Your move Bezos. If you plan to hike

Hiker hunger is a blessing and a curse. Sure, I can beat most eating challenges I come across, but gluttony has its downsides. While at home resting my foot I still had 'the hunger,' but was no longer burning those calories. I ate like I didn't know where my next meal was coming from and in six weeks I had gained nearly 40 pounds. I had no idea I gained so much weight until the night before climbing Katahdin. I jumped on a scale in the bathroom and was shocked when I saw 210.

Outdoor adventurers, get ready to have your minds blown. What if you had soaring jagged peaks, clear cool alpine lakes, miles of wild backcountry trails, and to boot, access to some of the amenities of home all in one place? You do! Idaho’s Sawtooth Recreation Area is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. It is a massive area filled with steep jagged peaks (hence the name), miles and miles of wilderness trails that travel through pristine Idaho backcountry, and camp areas to rese