Hiker-dog and I needed a nice long dayhike. The expected rain began about one hour into our hike. The temperature hovered around 44-degrees. Just perfect! Dogwoods provided accents across the forest understory. I paused to take a photo of a single bloom, causing Hiker-dog to return...
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When our authors research for our Best Tent Camping series, they have an incredibly difficult and subjective job to find the very best campgrounds in a state. A campsite has to be near perfect in terms of beauty, spaciousness, quiet, security, privacy, and spaciousness to...
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Austin is known for many things—music, brisket, eclectic personalities, tacos, to name a few. But with all that popularity comes some negatives—long lines, large crowds, traffic. To escape from all the noise, head a few miles outside the city to experience another thing Austin is famous...
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After a long, cold winter in Illinois, the thought of spending a blissful weekend sleeping in a tent and breathing fresh air sounds downright sublime. In theory. Our hearts want us to go camping and our dry winter skin longs to soak up the sunlight, but...
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Albuquerque is wonderful for hiking in the early springtime, before the sun gets too oppressive. David Ryan, author of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Albuquerque, shared with us how he watches the seasons change and taught us its not only flowers that come out in the...
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[caption id="attachment_5384" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Ice crystals on the high ridge of Hare Mountain[/caption] I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down When the sun turns traitor cold And all the trees are shivering in...
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I had a curious realization the other week while hiking with my author Mindy Sink as she conducted research for her upcoming book 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Denver & Boulder. We were hiking to the summit of Twin Sisters in Rocky Mountain National Park and I...
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When Stephen Ausherman, author of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Albuquerque, told me that his publisher wanted to do a 3rd edition of the book and that he didn’t have time for it, I jumped at the chance to take on the project. To kick-off the project,...
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If you camp on the Appalachian Trail during peak season, you'll be in good (read: crowded) company. You'll cuddle with strangers in shelters in Tennessee, have next door neighbors inches from your tent, and eat like kings and queens with the starry-eyed starters at Springer...
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The Appalachian Trail knows no off season. Yes, there are plenty of stretches that should be avoided once the snow starts falling and ice covers the roots and rocks (looking at you, Vermont and Maine), the A.T. is a wonderful place for winter hiking. For...
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