It was coming up on 4 p.m. on New Year’s Day when I got the nagging feeling I’d forgotten something. Black-eyed peas, check. Resolutions for 2026, check. Sticky notes all around to remind me to write “2026,” check. What could it —
Oh yeah — a hike!
Category Archives: Hiking
A tip or two before you venture off (trail)
Last week we got ahead of ourselves with “5 Ways to Enhance Your Off-Trail Adventure,” a piece that assumed you might already have some experience venturing off trail. So this week, we go back a decade to a piece we wrote offering advice for those of you thinking about venturing off trail. Read it, then read “5 Ways to Enhance Your Off-Trail Adventure.”
5 ways to enhance your off-trail adventure
I got into exploring off trail more than a decade ago because after a while, hiking the same blazed trails over and over became surprisingly routine. When I began veering off trail, every outing became more of a true adventure. With no script, these freelance adventures revealed new discoveries every time.
Dec. 7, and other dates to get you through winter
The days are growing darker by … well, by the day. And while most folks don’t see this situation improving for another 20 days until we hit the low point with the Winter solstice, the optimists among you no doubt have your hopes pinned to this Sunday, Dec. 7.
Warm up to Winter Hiking
All the leaves are gone and the sky is gray, meaning it’s time for our annual lecture on winter hiking. This is the tips for comfortable winter hiking lecture, not the why-you-should-do-it lecture.
We love winter hiking. Why? We’ll refer you to this post from two years ago to explain why. Today, as we do every year at this time, we trot out our tips for how you can take the perceived discomfort out of winter hiking, making it possible to better appreciate what to many hikers is the sport’s lost season.