Lake Colden, Adirondacks
Labor Day has come and gone. To many, this marks the end of summer. Call us old fashioned, but we go by the ol’ Gregorian calendar: there are still officially 15 days left of summer (the equinox falls on the 23rd this year). To confirm our autumnal denial, we’ve compiled a list of six end-of-summer destinations. So take a sick day and enjoy the last days of summer.
As the weather cools and the days get shorter, leaves’ green chlorophyll disintegrates. Other colors within the leaves become visible. These orange and yellow pigments are always there, but in summer, the chlorophyll masks them. In autumn, the leaves bare all.
Maine's chlorophyll breakdown (courtesy of Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce)
Leaves first show their true colors at high elevations and in the north. The blaze cascades southward and down mountainsides as the season progresses. Leaf peepers, grab your trekking poles and daypack, and check out these trails in the U.S. East, West, and Rocky Mountains.
Mount Katahdin
The granddaddy of the long trails, the Appalachian Trail’s 2174.6 miles help preserve the sanity of between three to four million hikers each year—even if they only take a brief stroll on the trail. Only a fraction of those trail users attempt to walk the entire trail. In fact, of the 200 hikers who attempt the entire journey from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mt. Katahdin, Maine each year, only around 20% complete the trek. Probably the most famous AT thru-hiker of all time was Emma Gatewood, better known as “Grandma Gatewood”. This mother of 11 children and grandmother of 23 completed the AT three times, the last time when she was 76. Which begs the question, If a grandmother can do it, why can’t you? Read More …
Wind Rivers: best of the CDT
The most challenging of America’s long trails, the Continental Divide Trail crosses 3100 miles of rugged terrain along the crest of the Rockies. The fact that this trail follows the divide for nearly its entire length means that thunderstorms, brutal climbs and descents, and route-finding difficulties are all major obstacles for any would-be CDT hiker. However, for those willing to accept the challenge, the trail offers amazing vistas, gorgeous forests, and life-changing solitude. Read More …
Bear Guy in the High Peaks Area
“Do you have a bear canister?”
“Yup. Sure do.”
“Oh … is it a black one?”
“No. It’s a Bear Vault.”
“Oh ho ho. Nope. Those don’t work here.”
I realize I’m reporting on old news here … but as a relative newcomer to the East Coast, I didn’t know that BearVault Bear Canisters are not allowed in the High Peaks area of the Adirondacks. Read More …
Whether you need a weekend of outdoor-infused peace or are the next badass moving in to claim a place in local legend, cancel your über-spendy St. Tropez wine-tasting/windsurfing trip, pack up the Vanagon, and hit the road. Thanks to a complex process of deduction (throwing darts at a dusty map), we compiled a rockin’ list of spots around the country where you can paddle until you’re blue in the face, climb until your hands are a mélange of blood and chalk, and crank until you collapse in a pool of sweat. Read More …
It’s April, and your poor feet have been confined to the stiff, plastic pain factory of your ski boots for nearly six frigid months. Warm, sunny rock starts to overpower bottomless pow as the subject of your dreams, and you yearn to peel off those heavy layers in exchange for flip flops and a T-shirt (or no shirt). Flake out your ropes, lube up your cams, and make a beeline for Red Rock Canyon. Read More …
I’m almost at the top, trying to avoid glancing down. The bootpack is so steep that my skis, strapped to my pack, brush the snow above my head. The guy in front of me is sporting jeans and somehow managing the climb with what must be a pair of at least 190s nonchalantly slung over his shoulder. Crushed cans of Coors Original rattle in the cargo pocket of my ski pants. This is New Hampshire. This is Tuckerman’s.
Having spent nearly a decade skiing the Rockies, I often and only half-jokingly espoused the virtues of my East coast roots. So it always bothered me that I had never skied the East coast’s premier test-piece – the headwall of Tuckerman’s Ravine on New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington. Read More …
The sun has yet to rise, but the Wasatch trailhead parking lots are already jam-packed with avid backcountry skiers and snowboarders. If you’re tired of the crowds in Utah and looking to experience a truly serene place away from it all, check out the Tushar Mountain Range. Located just 3.5 hours south of Salt Lake City off of I-15, the Tushars offer plenty of parking and tons of untracked snow to please any powder junkie. Read More …
For much of the road-tripping summer tourist crowd, the Tetons are but a bonus stop on the way to the geysers and wildlife traffic jams of Yellowstone—but for backcountry travelers in the know, the Teton Crest Trail trek up the spine of America’s youngest and craggiest range hosts some of the most epic alpine terrain and scenery this side of the Alps. Read More …