We were so close to the Smoky Mountains! It was unplanned but those adventures are usually the best ones. This was only a brief visit before the actual start of our full journey North. My husband Darwin and I wanted to touch it, to feel this thing we had read about and researched for the last year. I felt almost a fraud to be traveling by car to this special spot. We were still several months early; I felt we had not earned the right to be here yet
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The Long Walk To Recovery - A Guest Post by Esther Nagle
I am so grateful for the discovery that I can enjoy walking so much. It is a great reminder that even the most terrible things in life can bring gifts. I have no idea if I would have ever got into walking had it not been for my brother’s death, there was certainly no indication of it. I think of it as the greatest gift he ever gave me. I still miss him lots, and wish I could have shared this with him, but can always thank him for this legacy that has enriched my life so very much.
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More Effective Waste Management - A Guest Post by Craig Scott
Using valuable land as a waste management dumping zone is becoming a serious environmental problem. The build up and release of greenhouse gases from land waste poses a serious environmental impact risk that could lead to a dangerous shift in ecological balances and adversely effect human health. Changing our current course in waste management toward more practical, sustainable solutions is the only logical step forward if we hope to combat the effects our waste is having. The question is, how?
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Getting started with trail running for the first time? - A Guest Post by Jane Grates
Lots of folks think that trail running is only for the badass, hardcore runners of the world, and that’s simply not true. Trail running - like running, in general - is open to everyone. You don’t have to be a pro mountain or trail runner; you could even consider yourself a “roads runner” but still run trails each week or month and benefit from it.
If you’re new to trail running and are stumped on where to get started, consider my recommendations below, a primer, if you will, for trail running. Taken together, I think my recommendations will help get you on the right foot, right away.
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Wilderness and Wellbeing - A Guest Post by Robert Nicholas
At 42 years old I find myself stuck in corporate life, chained to my desk for long hours in major cities around the UK. This makes my excursions into the great outdoors even more important, my medicine for the trappings of modern life and the frustrations of big business. I love nothing more than getting out running on the trails and Fells of Northern England, just me, my dog and nature. This is not the story of one individual event but more the repeated restorative powers my adventures exert on both my physical and mental health.
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Plunging into the Present - A Guest Post by Camilla Barnard
It was mid-July, and my first experience of the French Alps bare of snow. Based in Morzine in the Haute Savoie for a spot of climbing, via ferrata and a substantial hike, it was a trip that I had been looking forward to with childlike enthusiasm.
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Computer Screens to Climbing Free - A Guest Post by Patrick Timm
If you had told me 8 years ago that I would soon be exploring the wild outdoors, seeing places very few people ever get to experience, I would have scoffed. With no outdoor experience, having never wild camped or walked a trail, I was out of touch with the nature.
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Why do you want change? - A Guest Post by Sarah Lister
This question is an opportunity to pause and understand ourselves better, otherwise life sort of runs away and our dreams can get left behind. Instead of striving through life and gasping for change we can discover a path where we are connected and follow our intuition. I see it as a stepping stone towards clarity and motivation.
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Mucho Zen - A Guest Post by Katarina Kukuruzović
I took a sip from my water bottle. The warm breeze wafted against my face. My eyes met with the greenery of the valley between Monte Brento and Monte Bondone. In the distance, Lago di Garda was a blue canvas on which white dots of sailboats drew invisible lines against the surface of the lake.
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Beneath the Mountain - A Guest Post by Allyson Towle
The now coined Andean Giant Expedition 2010, would have me cycling from sea level starting in Caldera, on the Pacific Coast, for five days, a total of 360km to an altitude of 4500m, and this was just the start. The bulk of the next ten days were spent in the Atacama Desert, acclimatising to at least 5800m in preparation for summit day.
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Just Say “No!” - A Guest Post by Goody Niosi
Sometimes it’s not about achieving great improbable feats – and I’ve had my share of those. But I am also learning that sometimes it’s about honouring yourself. Saying “no” can be just as important as saying “yes.”
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Why I Love Hiking - A Guest Post by James Forrest
I'm addicted to hiking. I just love it. Sounds geeky, doesn't it? But I don't care. I head out hiking every weekend and often during the week. If I can't get out, I become grumpy. I've got the bug and I can't (and don't want to) kick the habit. But why do I enjoy it so much?
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