Anatomy Of A Sandbag
byWe all have that friend who may need a little encouraging to do something they’re a little apprehensive about. Or something they’re just flat-out…
Adventure
Is Your Adventure Story Epic Enough?
byDo you find yourself reading stories about adventures in outdoor magazines and websites and feeling down about what you did on your summer vacation?…
Go Camping For A Month This Summer (Without Quitting Your Job)
byEvery year since 2008, I’ve set a goal of sleeping outside for a month of each year. I don’t do well with training goals,…
Make Yourself A Damn Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich
byWhen’s the last time you made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and put it in a backpack for a day out? If it…
A Postcard From The Confluence
byI am sitting at the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado rivers at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, wondering how to explain…
Should You Take The Day Off Work To Go Skiing?
byHere is a flow chart to help you decide: But wait, you say, it’s not that simple. Right, it’s not. You have too much…
How To Be A Terrible Adventure Partner
bySometimes, when you invite a new friend out skiing, biking, climbing, or backpacking, it goes really well. But maybe, during the course of the…
The Dawn Wall And The Idea of ‘Wasting Time’
byA week ago, two guys finished climbing an astronomically difficult 3,000-foot route on El Capitan as the world kept up via seemingly every mainstream news…
How To Be A Writer: One Story
byEvery few weeks, I get an e-mail or a Facebook message from someone who has a few questions about writing: how to get their…
‘Funny Shit in the Woods: The Best of Semi-Rad.com’ Available Now
byAfter Semi-Rad.com passed the three-year mark this spring, I started to think a lot about creating something non-digital, or less ephemeral than weekly blog…
Notes From A #VanLife
byOne Saturday last May, I slid a key into the lock on a scrappy little apartment 80 feet off Denver’s noisy Colfax Avenue. We…
The Selfie Stick And The Game Of Life
byOne day last August at a popular tourist destination, I noticed as a guy walked around for several minutes with a selfie stick, stopping…
Utahlorado: An Idea For A Mega-State Of Awesomeness
byDear states of Utah and Colorado: Hey, so you know what would be cool? If Utah and Colorado became one giant state called “Utahlorado.”…
The Definition Of Adventure
byAs I descended the corniced summit ridge, I saw a climber coming up the same path. I hacked out a small ledge in the…
It Turns Out You Can Buy Happiness
byA couple weeks ago, Alastair Humphreys told me about the Explore feature on Kayak.com that allows you to enter the amount of money you’d…
Dear Helmets:
byDear helmets: You guys are my favorite hats. Sure, other headwear may be more stylish, more “cool,” easier to put on slightly sideways to…
The Back-To-Civilization Buffet
byMy friends and I drove down a dirt road out of the Sangre de Cristo Range after a two-night backpacking trip to an alpine…
The Benefits Of Discomfort
byAbout a year ago, psychologist and author Kelly McGonigal gave a TED Talk on “How to Make Stress Your Friend,” which has now been…
The Three Laws Of Stuff Dynamics
byDo you have trouble fitting that last item in your backpack, or struggle to hang a piece of clothing in a closet between all…
The Lost Art Of Dreaming Over Maps
byI was talking to my friend Mark about mountain biking a while back when he mentioned linking together a bunch of shorter trails around…
Surviving a 4K (4,000-Calorie) Run
byWhen Forest and I had discussed the rules at a coffee shop in Brooklyn three days earlier, I had said, “I think vomiting is…
Are You Coming Off The Couch?
byDo you ever say “yes” to a bike ride, day of climbing, run, ski day, or other outdoor activity, and immediately after, notify your…
What Story Are You Telling Yourself?
byChad Kellogg died in Patagonia on Valentine’s Day this year, at 42 years old. I didn’t know him very well, just through a handful…
The Not-So-Bad Bad Day
byRob at Green Garage in Denver understands the art of telling someone how expensive their car repair is going to be: You can’t deliver…
The Guy Who Puts The Fun Back In Fun
byI jogged in my bike shoes with the couple hundred other riders down the dirt road to the start of the 24 Hours In…
A Weekend In The Outdoors, As Told By Viral Nova
bySCENE: Monday morning at the office. You arrive, drop your stuff at your desk and walk over to the coffee pot to grab a…
Sometimes It Ain’t Rocket Science
byHerb and Jan Conn developed almost all of the early climbing in South Dakota’s Needles with a 60-foot rope, almost one-fourth the length of…