I am confident I do not need to go into all the reasons why you MUST protect yourself from the sun while enjoying the great outdoors. I always keep a small tube of sunscreen in my pack to make sure I don’t forget to bring it on the next hike. But what if you wind […]
Hiking on Scree and Talus
Imagine what it would feel like to hike up or down a hillside or slope covered in marbles. That is what it feels like to hike on scree. Scree refers to loose pebbles and small rocks on a slope. Talus, a related term, is a slope with bigger rocks and boulders. In common use, the […]
How to Enjoy a Hike (Part II)
i.e. Stop and Smell the Roses–or the thistles! Exploring the outdoors has a lot to do with being in the present, noticing things that others miss and extracting extra joy from what nature has to offer. One time while on the way to a climb up Mt. Lindsay, a fourteener in the Rockies, I saw […]
What to do in a Thunderstorm
The word “thunderstorm” focuses on the wrong threat: it is the lightning that injures or kills. From first-hand experience, the most frightening aspect of hiking or climbing is the prospect of being caught way out in an open field or way above the tree line in an electrical storm with nowhere to hide. The experience […]