Shoulder Season

How to Maximize Shoulder Season

Welcome to the height of shoulder season, ladies and gentlemen. AKA "schizophrenic weather" season. If you live in the Rockies, bet your snow shovel has already been put to work. Here in Alabama? Still hotter than the sun and stickier than last year's Halloween lollipop. Shoulder...

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PCT lingo, PCT guidebook, Laura Randall

PCT Lingo: A Primer on Hiker Slang

"Zeros and Neros Welcome" A few years ago, before I started hiking the PCT, I would have guessed this sign was inviting losers and fiddlers to stop by. It's actually part of a whole new language you learn on the trail. Situated near Mile 127, this sign...

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Pacific Crest Trail, Laura Randall, PCT Class of 2017

“Fire and Ice”: the Challenges of the PCT in 2017

Weather curveballs, wildfire detours, and other challenges are nothing new for Pacific Crest Trail hikers. But this year brought an unprecedented amount of difficulties for thru-hikers tackling the legendary 2,650-mile route from Mexico to Canada. Record snowpack. Swollen rivers. Raging wildfires in the Pacific Northwest...

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Are You Really Ready for Fall?

Roll out the burnt orange carpet and usher in the coziest season of them all (sorry, Winter, we don’t like frostbite or ice storms) Every season is special in its own way and makes for fun hiking for one reason or another. But fall is…different. It...

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How to Hike With Your Dog

With summer almost in our rear view mirrors, it’s time to start planning some new adventures with your family. And by family, we mean the family who actually wants to be outside. Brother Jimmy, you get a pass and can stay home watching football. Fido,...

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How to celebrate Labor Day

How to Maximize Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! Labor Day weekend is always lovely. Three (or more!) days off to either go on a trip to soak in the holiday or to enjoy a staycation close to home. Labor Day weekend smells of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, sunscreen, pine needles,...

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Hiking in a Onesie, Wilderness Press, hiking costumes, adult onesie

How to Hike in a Onesie

You're on a pleasant mountain stroll on a Sunday morning when suddenly you round a switchback and find what appears to be a jubilant group of zoo escapees hiking down toward you. No, you're not hallucinating from the lack of oxygen. You're seeing hikers wearing onesies....

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Appalachian Trail

A Mountain, A Beer, and a Big Birthday

One of our favorite long trails is turning the big 8-0 this month. In honor of this momentous occasion, we asked one of our favorite Appalachian Trail authors, Lafe Low of Best Hikes on the Appalachian Trail: New England, to pen a birthday post. So the Appalachian...

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Pacific Crest Trail, day hikes on the PCT, Day & Section Hikes Pacific Crest Trail: Washington, Wilderness Press

Why Day Hiking the PCT is Better

Ah, the Pacific Crest Trail. Maybe you’ve heard of it before? Also pronounced “Pee See Tee?” It’s the world-renowned long trail. And by long trail, we mean that you are supposed to hike the whole long thing in one shot. It’s 2,650 miles of muscular, tanned, stinky thru-hikers....

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