How to Navigate by Map and Compass
A map and compass make up two of the 10 essentials recommended for safe backcountry travel, but they’ll do little good if you don’t know how to use them. Misuse could even turn a situation…
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Hiking the White Mountains? Here’s What Staying at an AMC Hut Is Really Like
It’s my first time at an AMC High Mountain Hut and I’m standing in the middle of Lakes of the Clouds dining hall, soaking it all in: the sweeping views of the White Mountains, the bright wooden...
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Go With the Flow: 8 Water Trail Adventures
Water trails, like their land-based counterparts, lead us through diverse landscapes, challenge us with varying levels of difficulty, and provide a new vantage from which to see the world. For paddlers of all types,…
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How to Treat Cuts & Wounds on the Trail
We’ve all been there: You’re opening a can of baked beans when—bam—you cut your finger. Fortunately, a good backcountry first-aid kit comes stocked with the necessary supplies to treat a small cut or abrasion: adhesive…
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Mud Season Hiking Dos and Don’ts
Mud season can be a challenge for hikers and trail maintainers alike. So if you want to hike in the spring, knowing how to safely enjoy soggy trails without destroying them is an essential…
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When Do You Need Snowshoes? Gaiters? Crampons? A Winter...
You can strap a lot of different gear to your feet for winter adventure. But do you really need to? There are obvious benefits to avoiding the hassle and weight of equipment like snowshoes, gaiters, and…
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The Northville-Placid Trail: The Oldest Long-Distance Trail You’ve Never...
It runs for more than 130 miles through some of the most remote backcountry in the Northeast, tracing a journey through the heart of Adirondacks as it travels from the village of Northville to the town…
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High Jinxed: A Hiker Investigates His Fear of Heights
I. One of my oldest memories survives from an unknown year in the early 1980s, when I was 6 or 7, and takes place near the top of a long-since-forgotten mountain in Acadia National Park….
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8 Blue-Blazed Snowshoe Hikes off the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail (AT) cuts an iconic, white-blazed path along the eastern United States, but did you know those 2,190 miles are the spine of a far more complex trail system? Thousands of miles of…
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5 Breathtaking Backcountry Ski Adventures
If you want to experience the true wildness of winter in the Northeast, strap on your skis and slip into the backcountry. Here are five choice picks to get you started, from the tranquil Maine…
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