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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I’ve long admired the sinuous grace of telemark skiing. If you’ve ever watched skiers make their way downhill as you rode up a chairlift, you know exactly what I mean. Even the best alpine skiers…
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What follows is an excerpt from Desperate Steps: Life, Death, and Choices Made in the Mountains of the Northeast, available now from AMC Books. The screen door on the ranger’s cabin slammed hard in the…
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The Appalachian Trail (AT) beckons every month of the year: Once the thru-hikers have completed their journeys and the day-hikers have dispersed, the winter warriors break out their snowshoes. These eight hikes on America’s most…
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When I was growing up, my bedroom ceiling was adorned with plastic glow-in-the-dark stars, comets, and galaxies. Every night I’d lie in my bed and marvel at the constellations glowing above me––some invented, others favorites…
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The black bear population is exploding in New England, particularly in Vermont and Massachusetts. As a recent article in the Boston Globe recounts, the number of bears in Vermont has doubled over the past two…
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We’ve all done it: felt that first inkling of discomfort—a growing warmth on our heel or at the base of our toes—and kept right on hiking. “It’s nothing,” we tell ourselves. “It won’t get much…
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Hot food. Hot drinks. Hot coffee. Yum. To enjoy any of these in the backcountry, you’re going to need a stove, of which there are three fundamental types: canister, alcohol, and liquid fuel. Which one…
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After a day of rain-soaked hiking or water-logged paddling, few things are as satisfying as a set of dry clothes and a cozy sleeping bag. And few things are as unpleasant—and potentially dangerous—as soaking wet…
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Searching for a day hike that’s easy to get to and serves up an “off-the-beaten-path” appeal? Often overshadowed by the classic and well-traveled paths of the White Mountains, the hiking trails of southern New Hampshire…
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