It’s a new year, and while some are planning to kick their old habits to the curb, others are looking for a new hobby or adventure. With winter in full swing, you might be heading to the mountains to ski or snowboard, but you won’t be alone. By mid-morning the quiet lifelines will have faded, and you’ll wait 45 minutes to take your seat on the chairlift. As you are whisked upward, your friend will tell you where the powder stash is and where the people aren’t, but you’ll retu

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

For many veterans, finishing their time in the military and returning to the civilian world is daunting. Many struggle from both physical and mental wounds and have difficulty in finding their footing without the military lifestyle they have grown accustomed to. Heading into the backcountry can be a vital piece of the recovery process. It is an opportunity to reconcile the past and move forward to the future that veterans fought to secure for others. The mountains can provide

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

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.

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

West of Lake Tahoe in Tahoe National Forest near the northern most region of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains runs the North, Middle, and South Yuba rivers. The three continue westward and eventually unite creating the Yuba River, which flows into the Feather River and so on until what was once snow melt, shifts back and forth from meandering drift and rushing rapids, becomes seawater. Before that happens, however, these rivers cut through the upper Sierras creating deep

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