In the heart of the Pacific Northwest stands the 10,786-foot summit of Komo Kulshan, or Mount Baker. This awe-inspiring peak is a challenge for even the most seasoned mountaineers. However daunting, this mountain became a classroom for Ava, one of our inaugural youth participants with the Summit Scholarship Foundation. As Ava climbed, an unforgettable journey unfolded alongside peers and fellow women mountaineers.
Hi folks—Forrest Galante here, your go-to guy for all things wild and adventurous. I'm thrilled to share some insights on a game-changing brand that has become an indispensable part of my overlanding and wildlife-centric expeditions: Nite Ize. Known for their innovative and reliable products, Nite Ize has become my trusted companion in the untamed world.
Each summer, our family and one other do a long weekend packrafting and fishing down the Green River. It’s quickly become our favorite annual trip, but planning the needs for four adults, four kids, two dogs, and two boats camping out for four days and three nights in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception is no small undertaking. When it’s time to pack up, we lay everything out, pull out our big bag of Gear Ties and CamJam Tie Down Straps, and then the raft-packing-Jenga begins. After a few years of dialing in this process, here are my tips for making packing, and your trip run as smoothly as possible.
Nite Ize is such an innovative company making an amazingly wide and diverse set of products, most of which go totally and completely unnoticed as they are utility tools that discreetly make my life and adventures far more comfortable and organized! Below is a list of 5 of the most mission critical tools that my team and I always have on hand, and some uses that may been seen as unorthodox!
The excitement was palpable as the teams huddled up to make final preparations before the start. They had just been given their maps and race passports minutes before. In many ways it felt like all the other adventure races we put on, except this time the athletes were much younger, shorter and had a little less of an attention span. Jason counted down “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GOOOO” and they were off. Four teams of 4-5 year olds raced off on bikes while their parents ran behind them.
If you’re familiar with the world of hunting, you might recognize our friend (and Field Team member) Willi Schmidt from his show Pure Hunting on The Sportsman Channel. Willi has been bow hunting for nearly 30 years, and enjoys sharing his expertise with the world. When Willi isn’t hunting or filming his series, he loves to play golf, work out in his home gym, spend time with his family and dogs, and explore the great outdoors around where he resides in Bozeman, Montana. We asked Willi to share his go-to gear he uses for hunting, as well as his favorite products for other areas of his active lifestyle.
Imagine a quaint, red rock western town that used to be one of the most isolated spots in the lower 48. What comes to mind? You may be thinking Moab or Sedona, but the town I am talking about is further off the beaten path than either of those: it is a small pioneer town in Southern Utah by the name of Kanab.
Kanab is located smack between Zion, Bryce, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It is a fantastic jumping off point for many of the Colorado Plateau’s incredible national parks; it is also home to me personally, and to the guides of Dreamland Safari Tours – a hardy bunch of most excellent backcountry desert guides with decades of experience in delighting guests by creating access to hard-to-reach locations like the Wave, White Pocket, and more.
Imagine wanting to ski 350 miles through Alaska – next week, without much training or real experience on cross-country skis. That’s the situation I found myself in a few months ago: I was signed up to ski the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a 350-mile race through the interior of Alaska. The only challenge was that I am neither a skier, nor had I ever completed a 350 mile non-stop race — and in true “me” fashion I didn’t have the time to properly train for this behemoth of an adventure, either.
What’s the hardest part of any adventure? To me, the answer is clear: it’s that moment where you turn a wish into a goal and start to plan. Many adventures, big and small, never get off the ground… and often for a reason that we don’t like to talk about: for a lack of trying. I should know – big adventures are my jam, like the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim ALT (or, for short, “R3.alt”) route that I completed with two girlfriends of mine this past October.
May is National Bike Month, and we’d like to take this time to introduce you to the Petunia Mafia women’s cycling club, based in our home town of Boulder, CO. We chatted with Laura, the president of Petunia Mafia about all things cycling – from ride essentials to the greater meaning of being a part of this growing community.
