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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The Right Time to Bail: Outdoor Safety Tips Every Hiker Should Know
On a freezing night in early May, a search and rescue crew set off into a squall on a high-stakes mission: a 63-year-old man had vanished somewhere near Franconia Ridge. He’d been missing for three...
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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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On Reaching the End of the Trail
During years of appointments, my doctor and I have spent as much time talking about our hiking trips as about my age and medical diagnoses. A while ago, he casually said, “People who have the…
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Tips for Identifying New England’s Winter Birds
Thousands of birds migrate to warmer climates every fall, but not every species packs up ship and leaves New England. Some overwinter in the region, despite the cold temperatures and lack of food. Hang a…
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How to Reuse and Recycle Outdoor Gear
The climbing rope my husband, Pete, purchased in 1993 never saw a harness after 1998, but we still have several pieces of it around the house. It has kept kayaks fastened to car roofs, held…
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