Mary Hartman was getting tired of joining Meetup walking groups that advertised a beginner’s pace, then turned out to be anything but. “We’d get done and they’d say, ‘You’re too slow,’” says Hartman. Then, like Oscar Madison, she was shown the door and asked never to return. By January, she realized that if she truly wanted a group that walked at a beginner pace, she’d have to create one herself. Thus was born the Raleigh Working Women’s Weight Loss Group. read more

Thursday a week ago, Chuck picked up the phone in his Chicago home. It was his buddy, Stretch.
“What are you doing next week?” Stretch asked. “Wanna go on a road trip?”
Four days later, after loading Stretch’s Chevy Avalanche with an arsenal of groceries and driving 10 hours, the two were standing outside a yellow tent on the Appalachian Trail near Deep Gap, knocking to see if anyone was home. It was 7:30 in the morning.
Is that … my dad? Jaime, one of the occupants, groggily wondered from within. Jaime and her hiking partner/boyfriend Doug were stunned to unzip their tent flap and see their fathers’ grinning faces in the doorway. The two AT thru-hikers were even more stunned when they followed their paternal units the half mile back down to Deep Gap and discovered a truckload of what helps keep thru-hikers plugging along through cold and rain, through heat and ticks, through blisters and debilitating fatigue.
Trail magic. read more

Temperatures in the low 80s, low humidity, lots of sun. And more allergy-igniting pollen than I can remember since … well, since last spring.

When it comes to me vs. pollen, it’s no contest: Pollen wins by a knockout. And I’m not alone: an estimated 35 million people suffer from seasonal allergies. However, allergist types say there are ways that we  can minimize the Green Cloud. Not laugh in its face and continue on our merry adventurous way sniffle free, mind you. But it least try and keep our heads from exploding by simply walking down the driveway to get the paper. Their suggestions: read more

Today’s post is late, thanks to the April issue of Outside magazine.

Years ago, Outside was an adventure magazine. Columnists such as Tim Cahill and Mark Jenkins wrote about personal experiences ranging from platypus hunting (Cahill) to losing a climbing buddy (Jenkins). Each issue took you to the far ends of the planet, places those of us who fancied ourselves as adventurous knew we would likely only visit through the pages of Outside. Over the past few years, though, Outside has drifted from its roots, becoming more of a “lifestyle” magazine. “Lifestyle” meaning the magazine’s focus shifted from gutty adventure to glitzy gear and pricey destinations. read more