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When Carmen Kuntz thinks “adventure,” it doesn’t always mean a mega-trip many miles from home. Instead, she challenged herself and her friends to invent an adventure just out the backdoor. With skis, skins and paddles, they rediscover a familiar landscape in the Coastal Mountains of British Columbia.

Bloody tracks on a dark road. Hooded figures juggling lights. Eerie handprints appearing. We hope you’re ready to get spooky with our annual Tales of Terror! We have three stories from the backcountry that will send chills down your spine. Turn down the lights and grab your teddy bear. Happy Halloween!

“Everything that we love is affected by politics for better or worse, and we can't afford to not be engaged with it,” says Canyon Woodward. Today we hear stories from two people who’ve leaned in and worked directly with elected leaders to have a say in the future of the places we love. Canyon Woodward explains how trail running is a lot like running for office, and Kareemah Batts shares what it’s like to Climb The Hill on behalf of public lands and the outdoor community. We also hear from a broad set of voices across our country about why participation in the democratic process matters. We’re all in this together.

“I'm stubborn,” reflects Steve Baskis. “When my mind tells me not to do something because I'm afraid or nervous, I tend to tell myself to do it.” What happens when you lose something fundamental to how you function in the world in a single second? For ex-infantryman Steve Baskis wounded in Iraq, it meant staying on the bright side, looking forward, and never giving up.

Today, we are sharing one of our favorite podcasts-- Scene on Radio. Over the course of twelve episodes, host John Biewen and collaborator Chenjerai Kumanyika explore a theme both evergreen and immediately urgent: democracy in America. Fitz talks with John about the recent season and shares the trailer.From Scene On Radio: “Our season-long series will touch on concerns like authoritarianism, voter suppression and gerrymandering, foreign intervention, and the role of money in politics, but we’ll go much deeper, effectively retelling the story of the United States from its beginnings up to the present. Through field recordings and interviews with leading thinkers, we’ll tell under-told stories and explore critical questions like—How democratic was the U.S. ever meant to be, anyway? American democracy is clearly in crisis today, but . . . when was it not? Along the way, there’s a good chance that we’ll complicate, maybe upend, our listeners’ understanding of American history.”

“I do not remember the ‘first time’ we played hide-n-seek in the barn,” recalls producer Cordelia Zars, “it just always happened.” How do you stay positive when you’re hiding from a pandemic and wildfire smoke with no end in sight? For Cordelia, reflecting on her favorite childhood game brought her some perspective.

Bailey, Colorado is a rural town in the Rocky Mountains. “Bailey is boating hell. There is no water around us at all,” says high school teacher Steve Hanford. Now, imagine 13 high school students building a triple-hulled canoe from scratch and racing it on the ocean. Despite the critics who said they couldn’t, the students and teachers believed in their own power to succeed. 

Sarah Lann and her twin sister, Becca, had their lives planned out together. They’d raise their kids hiking, berry-picking, and stargazing together. But after their plans went astray, they scheduled a backpacking trip together on the John Muir Trail to stay connected despite the different path their lives had taken.

When John Temple and Dean Goodman’s dream job fell into their laps in the summer of 1971, they quickly said yes. From June through August, they lived alone- without supervision or communication- in a lineman's cabin along Coastal BC surveying an area of old-growth rainforest for the Sierra Club. As they documented landmarks, wildlife, potential campsites, and treacherous portages, they also found their place and purpose in the world that would carry forth into the rest of their adult lives.

After a decades long battle on Washington State’s Elwha River, a coalition of environmentalists, scientists and locals succeeded in having two dams demolished. Six years later, scientists are monitoring the river and larger ecosystem as they recover from a century of abuse. And one of the best ways to do the research? Snorkeling Class III whitewater.

When life pedals ahead on the trail, how do you catch up? You can downshift and sweat harder, or accept that maybe you’ll always feel a little behind. Anya Miller has learned to embrace the struggle on the ups and savor the flow of the downs.

When Ladia Albertson-Junkans’ best friend and running teammate, Gabe Grunewald, was diagnosed with cancer, they resolved that it wouldn’t slow them down. But after Gabe’s death, grief finally caught up to Ladia. She was unmotivated and struggled to get out of the door some days. With the hope of honoring Gabe’s life, Ladia reluctantly said “yes” to a special and spontaneous FKT (Fastest Known Time) attempt around Mount Hood’s Timberline Trail. In running and in life, time matters - but maybe not always in the ways we imagine.

Get ready for big waves and two epic ocean rescues. Before becoming a photographer, Jeff Johnson was a young lifeguard, determined to prove himself. And Kohl Christensen, a North Shore veteran whose work to save other surfers’ lives...ended up saving him.This episode first appeared on Outside Podcast.

In her early 20’s, Rachel James would run 10,000 vertical feet every week and ski deep into the Alaskan backcountry in her free time. When her life took an unexpected turn, she drew on her experience in the outdoors to help her navigate the most difficult chapter of her life. When the world feels like it’s closing in on you, where do you find your strength? Happy Mother’s Day, everyone.

When Scott Guinn received a letter in the mail from his friend Mike Flanigan, he didn’t expect to find a page-long, typed challenge to climb 10 tricky boulder problems within an hour at the nearby bouldering area. Gauntlet thrown, Scott stepped up to the task, launching what’s become an epic series of challenges that keeps building their friendship through adventure.

When Ryan Smith set out to hike all sixty-seven 4,000 foot mountains in New England, he expected to be finished in a handful of years. But life threw him a curve ball. A shooting pain in his groin led him on a different kind of journey with his body, his partner, and his understanding of what is important.

In an unprecedented time, a lot of us are confined to our homes, yet looking for ways to connect, to create and to be of service. As our community tries to adapt to a quickly shifting reality, it seems like a good time to slow down and have a conversation. Here’s to doing our part, looking for the positive, and finding ways to support each other. We’re in this together.

Leadville, Colorado is a mecca for endurance racing in the United States and home to some of the country's hardest trails and toughest athletes. In the summer of 2019, ultra runners Marvin Sandoval and Buttercup became unlikely partners and show us what happens when you combine a love of sport, hard work, a 10 foot lead rope, and a dash of crazy. One thing Marvin learned, "hang on and see what happens."

“In the Frank Church—River of No Return Wilderness, getting “Franked” means waking up mid-summer to a foot of snow on your tent, or losing your sleeping bag to a rapid on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River,” writes Allison Fowle. And, when you’re in the middle of the largest wilderness area in the lower 48, navigating the joys and perils of romance can be just as challenging.