Nicole McLaughlin believes anything can become a shoe.

Upcycled Patagonia fleeces work well if you’re making a slipper鈥攂ut so do tennis balls, badminton birdies, crossword puzzle booklets, balloons, golf visors, and packing peanuts. An egg carton makes an excellent sandal, and the baffles of a beach ball can quickly become a striking rainbow clog.

But why limit yourself to shoes when you can also make pants from napkins or backpacks, and bras from lemon squeezers or croissants? McLaughlin, a fashion designer, artist, and gorpcore icon based in Boulder, Colorado, has made a jacket from oven mitts鈥攁nd an oven mitt from a loaf of bread. She’s turned cereal bags (still filled with Froot Loops and corn flakes) into a vest and sewn a puffy jacket from bubble wrap. Each of her garments is quirky and evocative鈥攁nd has the power to chip away at the very foundations of the outdoor gear world.

Like any arm of the fashion universe, outdoor gear is a high-production, high-expense, high-waste kind of industry. Some brands are trying to change that, but the process has been slow and cumbersome. McLaughlin’s designs, however, cut through all the marketing chatter and straight to the core of the issue: they point out, loudly, that there’s no excuse for waste. Old or even damaged gear doesn’t have to be discarded. Instead, it can live on indefinitely through upcycling.

Upcycling is part craft, part raw imagination. It’s the practice of refurbishing an old item until it’s once again chic and useful. Over the last few years, the upcycling movement has gone mainstream鈥攁nd some of the world’s biggest companies are catching on.

Today, the 32-year-old McLaughlin has worked with brands ranging from Coach and Herm猫s to Merrell and Hoka. She’s been featured in Forbes’s Thirty Under Thirty, and is a sought-after speaker and workshop instructor. But her biggest achievement is the cultural change she’s helped affect: through her witty, tongue-in-cheek designs, she’s helped turn upcycling from a stodgy homeschoolers’ craft into an edgy and provocative response to consumerism at large.

Given McLaughlin’s r茅sum茅, I expected her to be sophisticated and reserved, in an out-of-touch, artsy sort of way. But what I found when I visited her in Boulder was an unassuming woman in plain clothing, bright-eyed and warm and ready with a smile. When she opened the door to her studio鈥攁 small warehouse space off a dirt road鈥攕he was dressed in baggy jeans and gingham sneakers, and her gray hoodie sported a fuzzy zipper charm in the shape of a cartoon character. She played with it while she talked, her fingers turning the little character this way and that.

“Come on in,” she said. “Did you have trouble finding it?” The studio is in Niwot, a one-street rural outpost well northeast of Boulder proper. So yes, I did. In fact, I’d been lost for ten full minutes before knocking on the weathered door. But I lied. And then, between spurts of showing me around the studio, McLaughlin told me about her life.

Sometimes, when you’re a young person trying to choose a career, an adult will give you this guidance: “Do the thing that would make your eight-year-old self proud.” It’s good advice鈥攖hough often impractical for those of us who dreamed of becoming race-car drivers or astronauts. Few people are able to truly self-actualize in this way. But McLaughlin, somehow, has.

Growing up, McLaughlin was an artsy kid, the daughter of a New Jersey carpenter and an interior designer. She was also a dedicated member of the early 2000s skate scene. A fan of hardcore punk music, she had an anti-authoritarian attitude toward homework, and an obsession with chunky skate shoes that would later become a hallmark of her upcycling style. Eventually, McLaughlin wandered into a four-year graphic design program at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Then, after graduation, things started to get interesting.

For three years, McLaughlin lived a double life. She was just out of college and trying to prove herself at Reebok’s Massachusetts corporate office, where she’d gotten a gig as a graphic designer. During the day, she’d work long hours, shadowing other employees, placing logos, and sometimes sleeping on the office floor. During nights and weekends, she was mostly alone. Making friends in a new city takes time; McLaughlin was too focused on her career for that. But after a while, she began to realize that placing logos wasn’t exactly keeping her creative mind occupied. She felt stuck. She was approaching creative stagnation.

Then, one night, she snuck into Reebok’s recently vacated offices. There, she discovered mounds of discarded samples and fabric swatches鈥攂oxes upon boxes of really expensive trash. She filled a bag, thinking the pieces could be good inspiration for her side projects.

Soon, she was taking her pilfered samples apart, tearing out stitching and prying apart shoes on her bedroom floor. She’d mix and match soles and glue on new pull tabs, straps, and toggles. Held together by adhesive and pins, none of it was wearable; the only goal was to make something that looked cool. Eventually, she started posting photos of her designs on Instagram, a nerve-wracking experience. One鈥攁 blue sandal made from the straps of an Ikea tote鈥攔acked up several thousand views. For a burgeoning artist with zero product-design experience, it was a major confidence boost.

After some experimentation, McLaughlin gravitated toward vintage sports equipment. There was something playful about the nostalgia of it, and the absurdity of crafting a shoe from a lacrosse stick or basketball. In 2016 she picked up rock climbing, and two years later began tinkering with chalk bags and harnesses. She saw limitless design potential in outdoor gear.

McLaughlin churned out dozens of innovative upcycled designs, one after another, on Instagram. It was a private thing鈥攂edroom projects furtively shared on a faceless page. Her bosses at Reebok had no idea she was doing it. Until one meeting in 2019.

McLaughlin was sitting in a conference room, surrounded by colleagues, kicked back in a chair, twirling a pen in her hands. It was supposed to be a routine meeting with a marketing agency, which gave Reebok ideas for upcoming campaigns and collabs. But this time, photos of McLaughlin’s Instagram creations popped up on the projector screen. McLaughlin blinked. What?

Her colleagues started glancing across the room. “Is that you?” They mouthed as the agency rambled.

“You should collaborate with this girl,” the presenter ultimately suggested. “She’s coming up with some cool ideas.” McLaughlin kept her mouth shut during the meeting but later admitted to her bosses that she was the one behind the designs.

McLaughlin was still a junior employee, so she wasn’t surprised when Reebok didn’t jump at the opportunity to fund her weird, experimental art. But the company did send her to a three-month-long program at Adidas’s Brooklyn maker space, a wonderland of sewing machines and free materials called the Creator Farm. There, McLaughlin learned how to sew and make shoes from scratch. Meanwhile, her Instagram following continued to grow, and other brands emailed her project inquiries鈥攁 video series with Depop about her work, for example, and an opportunity to teach an upcycling workshop with footwear retail giant Foot Locker. That was all the nudge she needed. In 2019, McLaughlin quit her cushy corporate Reebok job鈥攖o the chagrin of her parents鈥攁nd went full-time freelance.

“I still worry that it’s all going to stop,” she says. “Like this is a phase I’m just riding out, and one day the work is all going to disappear. But it’s funny, because I’ve been doing this full-time for six years, and it hasn’t stopped yet.”

It’s easy to see why McLaughlin and other upcycling designers have gained prominence. Designing and manufacturing apparel and footwear creates a ton of waste. That goes for fast fashion, of course. But it also goes for the outdoor industry.

Outdoor gear may appear rugged and practical, but the industry that produces and markets it is yoked to traditional fashion cycles. Yes, people want equipment that performs, but they also want to look on-trend. Most brands cash in on the appeal of new fashions by constantly changing designs and churning out new colors and cuts each season.

What’s the point of saving humanity if we can’t have a little fun in the meantime?

Creating those new styles generates lots of waste. For example: before a sneaker or hiking shoe goes to market, the factory will send a brand three or four prototypes鈥攗nwearable single shoes that get examined by the product designers, and are then thrown into the trash. Fabric swatches are much the same. It all piles up.

The constant change of seasonal colors and styles speeds up the turnover of product styles. According to a 2018 report from the EPA, American retail stores and consumers throw out about 13 million tons of clothing and footwear every year. The expense is ghastly. The waste is obscene.

Few of us are immune to this materialistic ethos. Have you ever tossed out a rain shell instead of re-waterproofing it? Gotten a new chalk bag solely because it had a cute pattern? Shelled out for a name-brand fleece with cool colorblocking, even though you’ve already got a serviceable midlayer? I know I have.

Through her work, McLaughlin forces consumers to question the outdoor industry’s process. And people are catching on. Upcycling is having a moment, and its ethos appears to have struck a chord with Gen Z consumers.

Gen Z faces more pressure from climate change鈥攁nd climate anxiety鈥攖han any generation ever. Add to that post-inflation prices and a tough job market, and DIY starts to look mighty appealing, both as a cost-saving hobby and as a revolutionary movement.

Upcycling has also amplified new voices. For decades, brands have been the arbiters and gatekeepers of style. Now, a far more grassroots group of tastemakers is rewriting the rules and deciding for themselves what gets to be considered high fashion鈥攁nd what gets dismissed as trash.

McLaughlin is one of the most prominent, but there are others. Anna Molinari, a 27-year-old designer based in New York City, makes skirts from plastic bags and decorative chain mail from soda can tabs. Rivers McCall, 23, crafts handbags and even cocktail dresses from old climbing rope. Both artists have dressed Wyn Wiley, the drag queen and environmental activist better known as Pattie Gonia. The partnerships have put cutting-edge upcycled designs in front of millions of viewers.

Upcycling鈥攁nd its close siblings, thrifting and DIY鈥攚eren’t always cool. When my parents were young, new products were synonymous with wealth and importance. Old clothes meant you were a charity case. But over the last few decades, that’s begun to change. In fact, buying new will now earn you serious backlash in some corners of the internet.

“Social media has normalized second-hand shopping to the extent that there’s this sentiment of judgment if you buy a new designer bag,” says Molinari. She doesn’t necessarily disagree. “No one needs to buy new clothes. Buying new is so unnecessary, and watching the environment decline so quickly is terrifying,” she says. “I think everybody needs to take this seriously.”

Social media isn’t just a way to spread the zero-waste gospel. It has also allowed new generations to learn the timeless arts of sewing and repair.

I, for example, learned to sew from my mother, who hand-made my dresses in grade school. She learned from her mother, who learned from her grandma鈥攖he fearsome Ma Stalvey, who lived on a farm in southern Georgia, wringing the necks of chickens, cooking cornbread, and churning out shirts and nighties for her ten children out of the fabric flour sacks the grocery truck brought once a week. If it weren’t for those women, I’d never have picked up a needle. I don’t know that I ever would have wanted to; sewing always felt like a thing grown-ups did on school nights with the middle-aged mending circle at the local JoAnn’s. The act of sewing wasn’t aesthetic. It wasn’t edgy. And it certainly wasn’t cool.

But now, somehow, it is. According to Claudia E. Henninger, a fashion researcher and professor at the University of Manchester, the pandemic accelerated an interest in crafting. Gen Z ran with it.

“Social media has been massive,” Henninger says. “People can suddenly see other people knitting or crocheting or being creative. If that person can do it, then I can do it, as well.”

TikTok quickly emerged as a massive repository of sewing and crafting inspiration, and DIY tutorials and process videos exploded on Instagram. Entire crafting communities emerged. These days, if you upcycle, you’re not just a quirky teenager tinkering in your bedroom. You’re a part of something big.

That extends to the community of outdoor enthusiasts. Secondhand gear shops are popping up across the country. And outdoor brands are increasingly offering take-back programs, upcycling workshops, and repair services. Those that already have them are seeing major gains. Take Patagonia, which has offered repairs since the seventies. Its current pre-owned gear program, called Worn Wear, launched in 2012. The brand has seen more Gen-Z customers flocking to Worn Wear鈥攏ot to mention massive viewership of its DIY repair videos on YouTube. Since 2018, The North Face, Arc’teryx, and REI (which has re-sold used gear for more than 60 years) have all launched or expanded existing used gear resale programs, as have more mainstream brands like Carhartt, Lululemon, and even Juicy Couture.

“I think it’s starting to become more culturally accepted,” Henninger says. Molinari sees long lines of customers outside of curated thrift stores in New York City on most weekends. “There’s the virality of videos about vintage clothing hauls,” she says. In the UK, Henninger often walks by protest sewing pop-ups: people set up in front of high street retailers and sew their own clothes, informing curious passersby that they don’t have to shop at big-name fashion houses to look good.

“That’s very powerful,” Henninger says. Nicole Bassett, a textile recycling expert and the co-founder of The Renewal Workshop, believes the upcycling movement could someday have a huge impact on the fashion industry. Over time, it could slow style turnover, undermine brands’ bottom lines, and finally force big companies to rewire their supply chains.

“We’re not on the precipice yet鈥攚e’re in the beginning of a very big change in our economics in general,” says Bassett.

Pockets are a common theme鈥擬cLaughlin’s way of giving the finger to the lack of functionality that’s historically plagued women’s clothing.

As with any revolution, this movement faces hurdles. Young people don’t always have the purchasing power to pass over items with lower price tags鈥攅ven if those products are less sustainable. But customer behavior indicates that Gen Z and Millennial shoppers are moving toward products that are environmentally conscious.

“Sustainability can be a very boring topic. And climate is honestly a boring, dry thing,” says Wyn Wiley, the person behind the Pattie Gonia persona. “But now there’s all this creativity and interest from Gen Z. They’re under more pressure than ever鈥攂ut they’re also getting more creative than ever.”

As for McLaughlin? Sustainability wasn’t top of mind when she first started upcycling; she was initially attracted to samples and off-cuts only because they were free fodder for low-stakes experiments.

“When I started doing this work, I didn’t even know what upcycling was. Then, during COVID, brands started cleaning out their offices and realizing just how much stuff they had. That’s when they started reaching out to me for help,” McLaughlin says. At first that gave her pause. She was at a turning point in her career, and wanted to make sure the brands she worked with weren’t just doing sustainability as a shtick.

“But then I realized, I don’t work for the brands,” she says. “I work for the people who buy from those brands. Brands make all this stuff, and the responsibility falls on the consumer to figure out how to discard an item or recycle it.” Most of the time, there’s nowhere for that stuff to go. Most gear isn’t recyclable. Thrift stores are overwhelmed. We all have too much stuff in our houses. Waste is a serious issue.

Since 2021, McLaughlin has done consulting work with big brands about how they can limit waste and creatively reuse the scraps they already have. But she admits that her work sometimes feels like it’s just making a dent in the enormous problem created by fashion’s waste.

“I think there are days that are easy and exciting, and I feel really good about everything and like I can figure it all out,” she says. “But there are a lot of other days where it’s more like, ‘Oh my god, how did we get here? What are we doing? How am I helping to contribute to this?'”

McLaughlin escapes her worries by rock climbing鈥攕he finds the creative problem-solving on the wall helps complement her problem-solving in the studio. She also finds that the full-body movement helps her think. Her other tool is humor.

“There are so many hard conversations surrounding sustainability,” she says. “I want my work to be a moment of levity.” Often, that means leaning into the absurd.

“Making a bra out of lemon squeezers is funny. Putting pockets on a shoe is funny,” she says. “Most of the time, when I talk with brands about their process or what they could do to reduce waste, they’ve so overwhelmed. So when I’m designing, I want to make a statement, but I also want it to be fun.”

It’s a unique take on climate optimism. McLaughlin’s opinion is that, the more we lead with hope and humor, the more empowered we’ll be to take on the catastrophes facing our planet. What’s the point of saving humanity if we can’t have a little fun in the meantime?

“For me, upcycling is about being creative and using what you have. But it’s also about having fun,” she says. “I mean, that’s the root of upcycling: imagination and lightheartedness. That’s what keeps me going. And I think that’s what will get brands鈥攁nd the fashion industry鈥攅xcited about making change.”

5 Questions with Nicole McLaughlin

1. Your favorite material to work with is: Bread. Any time I work with food it’s always a really insane challenge of trying to figure out how to sew it, or construct it such that I can still take it apart and eat it after.

2. If the studio was burning down and you could grab one thing it would be: My grandfather’s squash trophy. He played until he was 80 years old and was a huge inspiration to me. When he passed away, all the kids in the family each took a trophy to remember him by.

3. The sports you played as a kid were: Tennis and basketball. And skateboarding.

4. You like to listen to: Podcasts and audiobooks while I’m working. I just flew through the whole Twilight series鈥擨’d never read them, and my sister told me I needed to. If I’m listening to music, usually it’s lo-fi beats and shoegaze.

5. Right now you’re reading: Start With Why by Simon Sinek. It’s been a good reminder to define my goals and purpose. Otherwise, it can be easy to lose sight of those things.

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Everyone who loves adventure must, at some point, make a pilgrimage to Moab, Utah. Just don鈥檛 be surprised if one trip turns into many. Cradled in a sprawling, three-dimensional garden of spiraling towers, sandstone arches, plunging canyons, and wind-polished slickrock, Moab is the hub of a 20 million-acre desert playground. The landscapes are otherworldly. The sunsets are second to none. And the opportunities for adventure, solitude, and self-reflection are virtually limitless.

Just be an informed pilgrim. While the area鈥檚 marquee national parks鈥擜rches and Canyonlands鈥攇rab most of the headlines, they encompass only a fraction of the region鈥檚 trails and campsites. Dead Horse Point State Park and Bears Ears National Monument together encompass millions of acres of . In Bears Ears, you鈥檒l trace emerald rivers hemmed in by soaring mesas and sheer cliffs. In Dead Horse, a network of wildflower-fringed trails connects cliffside campgrounds. Just a few minutes out of town, offers an uncrowded alternative to the postcard-famous Delicate Arch. is littered with dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs as pristine as anything you鈥檒l find on national park land.

If you prefer to do your exploring on two wheels, you鈥檙e still in the right place. Moab is a with more than 150 miles of trail accessible from downtown. Hit the world-famous and ride through canyons and sage-lined arroyos. Or knock out a section of the , a legendary ribbon of singletrack that climbs from Moab to the riverside town of Loma, Colorado.

While spring and fall are peak seasons for hiking and biking, early summer brings a surge of alpine snowmelt, topping up the and drawing paddlers from across the continental United States. Here, you鈥檒l find everything from calm, cool stretches of flatwater to demanding Class V rapids. Load up your raft for a weeklong excursion, or target a half-day route for a leisurely afternoon on the water. If you don鈥檛 have your own boat, dozens of local companies can take you out on the river, providing all the necessary gear, food, and expert guidance.

The expansive desert terrain also makes Moab the country鈥檚 epicenter, with rugged jeep tracks, vast swaths of BLM land, and countless remote campsites. Rent a 4×4 vehicle in town, bring your own rig, or book a guided tour to experience the raw beauty of the desert with someone else behind the wheel.

One word of advice as you plan your next adventure in Moab: While you鈥檒l find an infinite number of things to do here, be careful not to pack your itinerary too full. The desert has a quiet magic that only comes in moments of stillness. Leave time to watch the stars come out or the sun rise amid the junipers. Times like these, stitched together with all the adventure action, make it clear why Moab is a sacred place for so many.

is Utah鈥檚 most iconic adventure epicenter. It鈥檚 a place to look inward and experience the beauty of the desert. Every traveler has an edge. In Moab, you find yours. Moab calls to those drawn to raw beauty, challenge, and connection. Come with intention and leave changed.

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Taylor Jeffers and Johnny Miller call themselves magic miners. It鈥檚 hard to argue with them: The California couple make their living as full-time crystal hunters, traveling across the West, exploring otherworldly landscapes, and unearthing tiny gemlike fragments. It鈥檚 the kind of free-range life many of us dream about. But building it wasn鈥檛 easy. It took hard work鈥攁nd a few key pieces of gear.

When they met, Miller was a professional snowboarder who dabbled in silversmithing. Jeffers was a traveling artist. Both were eking out a living. Then, in 2013, they moved to Big Bear, California. The transition was a tough one, and neither had jobs lined up. To cope with the stress, they started hiking together, first around their new home, then farther afield. The first time the couple stumbled upon half-buried crystals on the trail, it was an accident. Then they started searching for the minerals. Before long, they got pretty good at it.

鈥淚t felt very natural to read the earth like we were doing,鈥� Miller says. 鈥淲e were tapping into some instinct we didn鈥檛 know we had. It was like we were kids again.鈥�

Rock hunting started as a hobby. But few artists can stare at a growing pile of crystals for long before they start tinkering. Earrings and necklaces soon spilled out of their home studio. Within the year, their boutique jewelry company, ., was born.

Following the Magic

鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting,鈥� Miller says of the work. 鈥淲e find things nature has grown that have been hiding unseen for millions of years.鈥� There鈥檚 something sacred about that鈥攕omething incontrovertibly magical. The couple knew they wanted to do this for the long haul, and they knew they were willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

The first trick to making their lifestyle work is holding that passion in mind and letting it drive them forward even when things feel scary or uncertain. The other trick, Jeffers and Miller say, is having the right gear. Hiking off-trail is rough going. To stay out there for long hours, comfortable boots are a must.

In the past, Jeffers and Miller regularly shredded shoes, tearing them to ribbons on sharp crystals and in jagged boulder fields. Now they both wear Danner boots鈥攖he and , respectively.

鈥淲e got used to replacing boots all the time, but I haven鈥檛 even dented these yet,鈥� Miller says. The uppers are rugged and weatherproof. The protective toebox is invaluable in cactus country, and they love that Danner will if they do break down.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to have confidence in your footwear,鈥� Miller says.

Photography on the Move

JaVaris Johnson, an based in the Pacific Northwest, has surprisingly similar advice. Johnson got his start in the skateboarding world. Initially, he just wanted a few snaps of his friends doing tricks.

鈥淚 went to a pawn shop and bought a camera, and after the first few clicks, I was addicted,鈥� he says. Before long, he鈥檇 moved into his vehicle, which allowed him to chase gigs (and good light) across the West. Like Jeffers and Miller, Johnson goes to where he鈥檚 drawn. He lets a sense of instinct and inspiration pull him from one destination to the next.

鈥淢y message is to get out there and enjoy life,鈥� Johnson says. 鈥淣ature is for everyone. Get out from behind the desk, surrounded by those four walls, and get out there. People look at photos on their computer screen and think, 鈥楢w, I wish I could .鈥� It doesn鈥檛 have to be a wish鈥攖he question is when are you going to do it?鈥�

That said, the day-to-day life of an adventure photographer isn鈥檛 always quite so glamorous. 鈥淚鈥檓 always stomping around in mossy areas, crossing rivers, and tinkering with my 4Runner,鈥� Johnson says. He鈥檚 constantly on the move, which makes his shoes just as much a staple piece of his kit as his camera and tripod.

Why Good Boots Matter

Sure, other pieces of gear are keeping Johnson, Jeffers, and Miller out there, but there鈥檚 something special about a supportive pair of boots. They carry you across borders, through unexplored landscapes, and out of your comfort zone. With dependable traction and rock-solid stability, they help you move with confidence. Over time, they become a second skin. They mold themselves to your feet鈥攁nd to your life.

鈥淪hoes have a story to tell,鈥� Johnson says. 鈥淵ou can see the journey a person has been on just by looking at their shoes. And with Danner, you can and continue the story.鈥�

That鈥檚 exactly how Recrafting supervisor Mark Tingley feels about his job. He鈥檚 spent the past three years repairing, refurbishing, and breathing new life into customers鈥� shoes鈥攕ome of which are decades old.

鈥淲e get these old, cherished boots that have stories and meaning,鈥� Tingley says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the best stuff.鈥� There鈥檚 a sense of responsibility that comes with restoring such beloved shoes, he says. Often, a Recrafter will take three to four days to meticulously refurbish a single pair. But the Recrafting program isn鈥檛 just a matter of sentimentality.

鈥淎 pair of Danner boots is a wearable tool. Like a nice apron or a set of chef鈥檚 knives,鈥� Tingley says. Take good care of any of those things, and they鈥檒l last you a lifetime. That鈥檚 good for you鈥攁nd the environment.

鈥淚鈥檝e never thrown a pair of our boots away,鈥� Tingley says. 鈥淚鈥檒l wear mine until they fall apart鈥攁nd then I鈥檓 just going to restore them.鈥� Given Danner鈥檚 Recrafting services鈥攁nd timeless style鈥攖hat won鈥檛 be hard.

For nearly a century, has crafted boots with purpose and integrity, footwear to equip those who choose the unlikely path, those who cut fresh trails, those who pioneer. Whether you want to hike, work, or simply walk around town, Danner boots are meant to take you somewhere. Lace a pair up and Go There.

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When you don鈥檛 know what the day is going to bring, you need a single shoe that can do it all. For years, the TERREX Skychaser line has filled that role perfectly. Leave the house in a pair of Skychasers, and you鈥檙e pretty much guaranteed to be ready for anything. Do the buds want to rent bikes and tool around town? Walk to that good noodle joint three neighborhoods over? Go for a big hike before happy hour? With the Skychasers on, no need to miss out. When plans change, you鈥檙e up for it.

A more versatile shoe didn鈥檛 seem possible. But now, thanks to some clever updates, adidas TERREX has managed to pull it off with the Skychaser AX5 GTX. Like its predecessor (the Skychaser AX4 GTX), the new AX5 is waterproof and breathable (thank you Gore-Tex). It鈥檚 also more durable, thanks to abrasion-resistant overlays that defy scrapes from rocks and vegetation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the perfect shoe for those looking to take their hiking experience to the next level,鈥� says Tom Louage, a global senior product director of outdoor footwear at adidas TERREX. 听

But the durability upgrades are just the start. The AX5 also features a fan-favorite compound of sticky Continental Rubber. Between that and the burly, 4mm lugs, the Skychaser AX5 is ultra-grippy in both wet and dry conditions. The sole is also slightly stiffer than past versions. A rigid stability plate embedded in the midsole steadies footsteps on rocky terrain and protects feet against sharp stones and gravel. The enhanced stiffness also improves rebound, which means you can go further without feeling the miles. And thanks to the Lightmotion midsole鈥攁 springy layer of cushion directly underfoot鈥攜ou鈥檒l be able to handle the extra distance without excessive fatigue.

The comfy fit and smooth ride remain similar to that of the AX4, but with key upgrades鈥攑articularly to the shoe鈥檚 internal construction. 鈥淭he Skychaser AX5 features two foam pods integrated on both sides of the heel lining to provide a locked-down feeling,鈥� explains Louage. That鈥檚 a brand-new feature for a Gore-Tex hiking shoe. The AX5 also offers slightly more stack height (22.5/33.6 mm) than its predecessor鈥攊n other words, extra cushioning to protect your feet whether you鈥檙e pounding pavement or navigating rocky singletrack.

Finally, the look. The AX5 pairs hiking-boot performance with street-shoe style. The 2025 Skychaser AX5 pares down the chunky accents for a design that鈥檚 much sleeker and subtler. The result is a dialed-in shoe built to handle everything from city jaunts to serious hiking. In other words, it鈥檚 up for anything you are.

is a global leader in the outdoor sporting goods industry. With the mission to enable all humans to live a more connected, conscious, and adventurous life, adidas TERREX combines high-performance technologies with fashion-forward designs to weather the forces of nature and inspire every human being to find their own summits.

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I have two nice things to say about triathlons, which is that they’re long, and they’re difficult. (Yes, they’re also steeped in history and tradition, and the .) But, Lordy鈥攃ould the sporting gods have picked a more somber collection of events? Swimming, biking, and running are about as basic as a pumpkin spice latte. Even the Olympics has skateboarding these days.

While I have nothing but respect for anyone who would even contemplate completing a triathlon, many of us at 国产吃瓜黑料听have a hard time doing the same, grueling activity for hours at a time. The rest of us have bad knees. Besides, triathlons have been around since the seventies. Isn’t it about time to change things up?

So, the editors鈥攑hilosophers that we are鈥攑ut our heads together to come up with some alternatives. So far, not a single national sporting committee has taken us up on any of them. But, as always, we’re just going to assume we’re ahead of our time.

Here are eight multisport linkups we’d much rather participate in than a full triathlon.

Spending all day in the sun is fine鈥攗nless you have skin as fair and burn-prone as I do. As an alternative, I propose we move the whole triathlon business underground. Call it the Moley Trinity. Competitors will connect a route, a spelunking adventure, and an in a terrible, beautiful, and highly abrasive linkup of semi-subterranean sports.
鈥� Corey Buhay, interim managing editor, 国产吃瓜黑料

I suck at swimming, which is why I鈥檝e never tried a tri. And a stubborn piriformis injury has put the kaibosh on competitive trail running. So if I could pick any three triathlon events, I鈥檇 keep biking in there, but make it mountain biking. Then I鈥檇 add in 10 laps on a , and I鈥檇 top it off with 60 minutes of jump roping鈥攎y favorite form of cardio.
鈥� Maya Silver, editor-in-chief, Climbing

Hike, pick a gallon of wild berries, then bake them into a pie. Points for time, but your final confection will also be judged in the style of The Great British Bake-Off. The hardest part is collecting enough berries without eating them all straight off the bush.
鈥� Zoe Gates, senior editor, Backpacker

Slam a gas-station four-pack of Red Bull on your way to the lake. When you arrive, grab your SUP and paddle until your arms give out. Finally, snag a prime shoreline spot and hang your hammock. Whoever dozes off first wins. (Can鈥檛 fall asleep? That鈥檚 God, or maybe the Red Bull, telling you that you haven鈥檛 paddled enough.)
鈥� Adam Roy, editor-in-chief, Backpacker

Bike, to inline skate, to swim鈥攖he ultimate urban tri. The biggest crux here is transporting your skates via bike. Do you tie them around your neck, throw them in a pack, or swing them off the handle bars? The strategy we have tried is attempting to ride the bike with blades already on. Would not recommend.
鈥� Kade Krichko, contributing editor, 国产吃瓜黑料

Okay, one more idea. Allow me to pitch you Mudsport, a sloppy six-mile mud run, followed by an intense but sporting game of , with a stretch of highly competitive to cap it off.
鈥� Corey Buhay, interim managing editor, 国产吃瓜黑料

I鈥檓 13 weeks postpartum, so any kind of exercise is an accomplishment these days. I propose a tri for new parents: Drink a full cup of coffee before it gets cold. Then pop your child into a stroller and jog to the nearest kid-friendly attraction so you can push the stroller around while your little one snoozes peacefully, appreciating none of it鈥�.all on wildly limited sleep while nursing as needed. Bonus points if you have to change a blowout along the way.
鈥� Abigail Wise, brand director, 国产吃瓜黑料

I鈥檓 a great swimmer and used to be on a swim team, but if I never touch water again鈥攎inus showering and bubble baths鈥擨鈥檇 be OK with that. My preferred triathlon consists of a morning session spent training my friend鈥檚 kitten to wear a harness so that he can join me on my trail walks, taking said kitten on my favorite 2.3-mile trek, and then parking my car in front of the beach for a nap.
鈥�Ayana Underwood, senior health editor, 国产吃瓜黑料

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Want to get to know the landscape in a whole new way? Try sampling nature鈥檚 bounty. The greater Yellowstone ecosystem is a great place to add foraged ingredients to the menu鈥攋ust follow the advice of Kevin O鈥機onnor, a wilderness-inspired chef who seems born to the job.

O鈥機onnor knew he wanted to be a chef by the time he was nine years old. 鈥淭here are a lot of factors that set me on that path,鈥� he says. 鈥淕rowing up on a vineyard in the Sierra foothills was one of them. Being able to forage and hunt was another.鈥�

Early on, he realized that good food came from a healthy landscape and that using the land鈥檚 abundance to feed people was a . For two decades, O鈥機onnor worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and even opened a hot new eatery right on the edge of Yellowstone National Park.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 where I learned what burnout was,鈥� he says. Overworked and depressed, O鈥機onnor quit his job and fled to a ranch in Montana to recoup鈥攁nd got back into foraging. 鈥淚 had the inspiration and sheer humbling power of the national park and surrounding wilderness,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was a six-month-long vision quest that changed my life forever. Getting your hands dirty and your feet wet鈥攖hat鈥檚 all the medicine you need.鈥�

An Edible Landscape

Here鈥檚 what to forage in Yellowstone National Park, plus how to prepare each one (foraging permit required).

Caraway

‍Find it: Year-round, in wet, low-lying pastures.

‍Use it: The seeds are good for seasoning, or chop the roots into soups or stews.

‍Rosehips

Find it: September鈥揙ctober, in sunny patches and along streams.

‍Use it: Make a syrup. Drizzle it over yogurt, or mix it with and mint leaves.

‍Black Morel Mushrooms

Find it: June鈥揓uly, in burn zones one year after a fire.

‍Use it: Saut茅 with garlic and herbs and stir into a creamy pasta.

‍Golden Chanterelle Mushrooms

Find it: August鈥揝eptember, on the forest floor among pines.

‍Use it: Cook in butter and serve alongside grilled steak. Pair with .

‍Oyster Mushrooms

Find it: May鈥揓une, on cottonwood trunks and standing snags.

‍Use it: Lightly saut茅 and throw them on a pizza.

‍Wild Strawberries

Find it: July鈥揂ugust, on the ground along partially shaded trail.

‍Use it: Put them in your morning oatmeal or a cup of yogurt.

‍Huckleberries

Find it: July鈥揂ugust, on bushes along trails and in open forest.

‍Use it: Bake them into a buttery pie or cobbler. Pair with to bring out the bourbon鈥檚 cherry notes.

‍Raspberries

Find it: August鈥揝eptember; look for big bushes along trails or in partial shade.

‍Use it: Scatter with almonds over homemade ice cream.

Raise a Toast: Huckleberry and Honey Sour

Celebrate a great day in the national park with this custom recipe and , which was founded in 1872 to honor America鈥檚 first national park, and which continues to the national park system today.

Glassware: Rocks glass

‍Ingredients

• 2 oz Yellowstone Select Bourbon
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 oz honey syrup (1 part honey, 1 part hot water, mixed and cooled)
• 1/2 oz huckleberry puree or huckleberry syrup
• Fresh huckleberries or lemon wheel for garnish

‍Directions

• ‍Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.
• Combine all ingredients and shake until chilled.
• Strain the mixture into a rocks glass filled with ice.

Established in 1872, was crafted to honor the sprawling wonder of America鈥檚 first national park. It鈥檚 what first inspired us to create approachably smooth whiskey for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and why we still do it today.

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Everyone loves to hate on sugar. Do a quick internet search, and you鈥檒l see reams of hostile indictments of sugar from health nuts, influencers, athletes, and the media. At times, that has included the media outlet you鈥檙e reading right now.

A few years ago, I wrote a DIY electrolyte drink recipe for a print issue of Backpacker. Not surprisingly, the recipe contained sugar, which (and makes the otherwise salt-forward drink palatable). My editor鈥檚 feedback: 鈥淚sn鈥檛 sugar basically poison?鈥�

I used to think so. For about a decade, I avoided sugar like the plague. I only drank black coffee and plain water, and I convinced myself I liked sour yogurt and pancakes without syrup. I thought this was the noble and correct thing to do. After all, my friends often prefaced a dessert order with, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to be bad today,鈥� and a non-order with 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to be good.鈥� Sugar-free products were marketed as 鈥済uilt-free.鈥� There was a subtle, implied morality to not eating sugar. Then there were the not-so-subtle headlines. Reputable websites ran (and continue to run) stories saying that sugar causes cancer, rots your teeth, is linked to diabetes and heart disease, and is as addictive as cocaine.

So, I kept it out of my diet. I was convinced sugar would make me sick. But as it turned out, avoiding sugar made me sicker.

The Impact of Severe Sugar Restriction

Because I was restricting my sugar intake, I thought about sweets all the time. I had constant cravings. Whenever I did indulge, some switch flipped in my brain, and I lost all semblance of self-control. A slice of cake would turn into three. A single cookie would turn into the whole box. We call that .

For a while, I was convinced that sugar was again the root of the problem, and that I must suffer from . I told myself I was a junkie, and that if I could just have more willpower鈥攊f I could stop being so goddamned weak鈥擨 could go cold turkey and kick my 鈥渁ddiction鈥� for good.

My diet got progressively stricter. Then it turned into an eating disorder.

The disorder鈥攂rought on partly by stress and partly by societally induced fears around food and weight gain鈥攕tuck with me for about a decade. I tried therapy. I exercised more, and then less. I experimented with different diets. I took vitamins and supplements. I tried everything I could think of, but the sugar obsession remained. At some point, I realized that maybe it wasn鈥檛 the sugar that was the problem鈥攎aybe it was the restriction of the sugar.

Human beings want what we can鈥檛 have. We鈥檝e evolved to respond to scarcity with obsession. If your brain thinks something isn鈥檛 available to you, it鈥檚 wired to seek that thing out鈥攅specially when that thing is an energy-dense food. And, most of the time, your brain doesn鈥檛 know the difference between 鈥淚 can鈥檛 have this because I鈥檝e put myself on a diet,鈥� and 鈥淚 can鈥檛 have this because we鈥檙e in a famine, and this food is in critical shortage, and if I鈥檓 going to survive I need to find it right now.鈥�

While most Americans do not have full-on eating disorders like I did (around of people in the U.S. struggle with one), many people, , are on the spectrum of disordered eating. Obsession over a specific food type, feeling like some foods are “safe foods” and others are evil or scary, constant low-level hunger, and irrepressible thoughts about what you just ate or what your next snack is going to be鈥攊.e., 鈥溾�濃�攁re all symptoms of some kind of wonky relationship with food. My food problems were on the severe end of the spectrum, but these are patterns millions of people struggle with. And after ten years of trying various methods to get over them, there was only one thing that worked: I started eating tons of sugar.

How Bad Is Sugar Really?

When I embarked upon the high-sugar diet, I thought it might cure my eating disorder. In theory, that would improve my stress, clear up my skin, make me less depressed, and . But with all the anti-sugar research out there, it’s easy to wonder: Was I just digging myself a different grave with a new shovel?

Let鈥檚 start with the dental woes. It鈥檚 true that sugar can . However, so can other simple carbohydrates, including cheese puffs, chips, crackers, and other ultra-processed foods. Also, my dentist told me that if I brush my teeth after I eat sugar, I can pretty much eat as much as I want without rotting my teeth. So that鈥檚 cool.

It鈥檚 also true that high sugar consumption has been linked to obesity and heart disease. However, it鈥檚 difficult to draw lines of causation there. That鈥檚 because high sugar consumption is also positively correlated with poverty, low socioeconomic status, and poor access to healthcare鈥攁nd we know for a fact that all these things have a greater effect on health outcomes than any one feature of the diet.

Sugar is also linked to diabetes, but again indirectly: weight gain is a stronger predictor of the development of Type II diabetes, and weight gain is generally 鈥攏ot necessarily by the consumption of any one food. Plus, have been dropping over the last decade, but rates of obesity are still going up. That means sugar intake and extreme weight gain may not be as tightly correlated as we thought.

There鈥檚 also no scientific evidence that sugar is physically addictive. Remember the 鈥渃ocaine is as addictive as sugar鈥� headline? That media storm was fueled by a handful of 2014 studies done on rats. Some of the rats did exhibit addiction-like behavior, but only when their . When they were given as much sugar as they wanted, they didn’t care about it much. When they felt it was off-limits to them most of the time, they went nuts upon receiving a brief window of access. Sound familiar?

The other problem with dieting and restriction is that it causes a lot of stress. Calorie counting, worrying about what you just ate, worrying about what you鈥檙e going to eat next, and guilting yourself for falling off the bandwagon are all sources of chronic stress.

In one 50-year study of middle-class Finnish men, dubbed the , hundreds of participants were given a health and fitness routine to stick to for decades, while hundreds of others were left to their own devices. The study examined all kinds of metrics about their health and wellness during this time. But the unignorable pattern in the data was this: Those who were given a health and fitness regime to stick to died earlier. The researchers were stunned. They ultimately concluded that the stress of sticking to such a regime鈥攐n top of maintaining family obligations and high-powered careers鈥攚as likely enough to impact the participants鈥� longevity.

So, where does this leave us? We can probably conclude that strict or restrictive diets aren鈥檛 good for most people. We can also say that sugar likely isn鈥檛 great for you, either. But we can鈥檛 say that it鈥檚 poison. The science is just too fuzzy. But if that鈥檚 the case, then why is there so much information out there demonizing sugar?

Why We All Love to Hate Sugar

There鈥檚 been some level of societal repulsion around sugar ever since the Victorian days. Like dancing, parties, or premarital sex, sugar was seen as excessive and therefore sinful. So, there鈥檚 some of that prejudice lurking in the background. But also, it鈥檚 just having a bit of a moment, the same way dietary fat did a few decades ago.

鈥淒ietary fat was the demonized nutrient of choice in the 90s,鈥� says Katie Barylski, a Colorado-based registered dietitian. 鈥淲hen people started focusing on lowering their fat intake, they started eating a lot more sugar because they needed some way to flavor their food. That naturally led to an increased focus on sugar, which led to more research.鈥� Sometimes, more research on a particular nutrient is a good thing. But not every study produces clear results with robust methodologies. Often, you get a sea of complex or not-so-significant findings, too, which sometimes get spun up into misleading headlines. That鈥檚 especially true when the topic is nutrition, an topic humans particularly love to obsess over.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of fear-mongering around sugar now,鈥� Barylski says. 鈥淪ome of it is founded. But there鈥檚 also a lot we don鈥檛 know.鈥�

My Box-of-Cookies-a-Day Diet

About three years ago, I got fed up with feeling insane around food. Cookies were a particular trigger. So, I decided to eat a box of cookies every day until they didn鈥檛 feel magical and forbidden anymore. It took a lot of cookies. No, it wasn鈥檛 that fun. Yes, I gained weight. But that wasn鈥檛 the point. The point was that I went into the experiment knowing I would do anything to feel sane again鈥攊ncluding having to buy all new pants. At the end of the experiment, I did. But I also got what I wanted: I could eat a donut without wanting to eat the whole box. I could eat half a piece of cake without obsessing over it for the rest of the night. I could have a cookie and put the box back in the cupboard and completely forget it was there. More importantly, because food had become neutral, I could finally work out and and play outside just because I wanted to鈥攏ot because I felt like I had to burn off some 鈥渟in鈥� from the night before.

I no longer eat a box of cookies every day. (It鈥檚 really not that fun after a while.) But I still eat much more than the 听daily limit听 of 50 grams of sugar a day. I probably eat double that. And you know what? I鈥檓 happier and healthier than when I was on my black-coffee-and-plain-yogurt diet. I sleep better, I鈥檓 less stressed, and my energy levels are much higher. I haven鈥檛 binged in years, or packed my lunch to a party to avoid snacking, or white-knuckled my way through a friend-group dinner because I was afraid I鈥檇 give in to a craving. My athletic performance (as measured by ultramarathon times and ) has also improved.

But is my current sugar consumption healthy? I asked Barylski.

鈥淚f someone were worried about whether there鈥檚 an overrepresentation of added sugars in their diet, I would wonder about their energy levels over the course of the day,鈥� she says. 鈥淎re they noticing significant dips in energy levels? What are their moods looking like?鈥�

The immediate symptoms of eating too much sugar (for your particular body) are mood swings and energy slumps, which indicate that there might be some hormonal implications related to the blood-sugar spikes. But if those things aren鈥檛 happening, and the rest of the body is functioning pretty well, Barylski says, there鈥檚 not a ton of reason to worry about it.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e eating a diet that otherwise features a wide variety of different foods, we don鈥檛 really know what the long-term impacts of higher sugar intake are,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really, really hard to isolate the impact of a single nutrient. Plus, how your sugar intake affects you is not going to be the same for every person eating that amount of sugar.鈥�

Are All Sugars Created Equal?

There is some current research demonstrating that certain types of sugars鈥攍ike fructose, especially as it appears in high-fructose corn syrup鈥攁re metabolized by the body differently, and therefore could have more negative long-term impacts, . But does that mean you should pore over nutrition labels and stress yourself out trying to avoid particular types of sugar? Barylski says, probably not.

鈥淚 think we are too stressed about sugar,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 find it helpful to talk about the negative consequences of sugar and to solely recommend people focus on eliminating sugar from their diets. Sugar is a huge part of our celebrations and our experience as human beings. And, it鈥檚 not always bad for you. Period.鈥�

Plus, active people can get away with eating significantly more sugar than the average person.

鈥淎thletes metabolize sugar more efficiently,鈥� Barylski says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 part of the adaptations that occur to maintain and sustain certain levels of endurance activity. They usually need more sugar, and often need more sources of simple, straightforward sugars, particularly before, during, and after exercise.鈥�

So, instead of focusing on sugar, which we don鈥檛 have a huge amount of conclusive evidence about, Barylski says it鈥檚 better to focus on the behaviors that we do have tons of research on:

鈥淭hat鈥檚 eating fruits and vegetables, not smoking, drinking no more than a moderate amount of alcohol, and having a movement practice,鈥� Barylski says. Do that, and you鈥檙e probably going to be just fine.

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Growing up in suburban North Atlanta, the only time I ever heard about the solstice was during the astronomy segment of science class. It wasn鈥檛 until I moved out West that I learned it鈥檚 basically the unofficial national holiday of the outdoors.

鈥淲hat are you doing for the solstice?鈥� a friend asked me the first year I lived in Colorado.

鈥淲hat?鈥� I asked.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the longest day of the year,鈥� they said, as if that were obvious. 鈥淲hat are you doing to celebrate?鈥�

Celebrating the solstice (which falls on June 20 this year) had never occurred to me before. It probably didn鈥檛 help that I grew up in a pretty conservative household where pagan celebrations were largely frowned upon. And summer solstice is basically as pagan as it gets. In ancient times (circa 5,000 years ago, in places ranging from Egypt to Indigenous North America to the English Isles) the summer solstice was an occasion for late-night revelry and debauchery. Dancing around campfires, performing magic, visiting henges, worshipping ancient gods鈥攁ll that jazz. So, it surprised me to learn that mountain town communities across the West have not only embraced the ancient tradition, but reimagined it as a modern celebration of nature, community, and outdoor recreation.

The Connection Between the Solstice and Magic听

I鈥檒l take any excuse to play outside, but that鈥檚 not the only reason I love the summer solstice. In ancient times, magic was during midsummer. Some cultures believed the night of the solstice鈥攕ometimes called Midsummer鈥檚 Eve鈥攚as the moment when the human realm and spiritual realm collided. Fairies and sprites could reach across the thin membrane between worlds, leaving gifts, sharing secrets, or tugging human heroes from one universe to the other. You could end up meeting a god, going on a quest, or falling into a world of possibilities beyond your imagination.

It鈥檚 not hard to see where ancient people got those ideas. In June in the Northern Rockies, light lingers in the sky until 9:00 PM. Time seems to slow, and you feel as if you鈥檙e in limbo鈥攁s if the twilight will last forever, and the night will never come. In this narrow window, you feel like anything could happen. The ancient rhythms of nature seem to pound louder in your ears. You know magic doesn鈥檛 exist, but for a moment, you almost believe it could.

With so much uncertainty and heaviness in the world, we could all use a little bit of that sparkle鈥攖hat gorgeous, lion-hearted, invincible belief that there鈥檚 another world, another future out there just beyond our fingertips. Even if we only believe it for a day. So, this year, I鈥檓 going out of my way to celebrate the solstice. Maybe I鈥檒l capture a little bit of that magic. Maybe I won鈥檛. Either way, it鈥檒l be worth the time spent outside.

8 Ways to Celebrate the 2025 Solstice听

There are tons of ways to go about celebrating the solstice. Vikings, for example, used the extra daylight to sneak in a longer pillage sesh. Earlier peoples might have built a circle of stones or leapt over a bonfire. remains an annual tradition in Germany, Finland, Spain, and a number of other countries. Fires are said to ward off evil spirits, bolster the sun鈥檚 power ahead of the harvest season, and represent defeat over darkness. If you want to get ceremonial, go for it. But if your goal is just to get outside and make the most of the sunshine, here are eight other ways to spend your solstice.

1. Plan an epic linkup. In Boulder, Colorado, where I live, climbers spend all year waiting for long summer days. Come June, the sun sets late鈥攚hich means there鈥檚 finally enough time to drive to the cliff and get a few pitches in after work. My favorite way to celebrate is with a linkup鈥攖agging a handful of classic climbs in Eldorado Canyon State Park, linking multiple , or staging an all-day that doesn鈥檛 end until the last traces of sun are gone from the sky.
2. Go for a sunset run. Long summer days mean you can get in a long run after work without having to worry about running in the dark鈥攁 goddamn blessing if you feel nervous running at night (or just hate jogging with a headlamp). This year, I鈥檒l be celebrating the solstice with an evening run, albeit with a slight twist: It鈥檚 an uphill beer mile in the mountains with a few of my craziest friends.
3. Join an impromptu jam sesh. A number of outdoorsy towns boast regular drum circles or similar musical communities that plan something special around solstice time. Colorado鈥檚 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, for example, is known for its big-name concerts, but the solstice brings a different kind of show. At dawn, drummers and musicians gather on the steps of the amphitheatre and greet the earliest sunrise of the year with a grassroots jam session.
4. Go dancing. If you鈥檝e ever considered dabbling in Paganism, summer solstice is your time. While many cities offer Friday-night dances (salsa, country swing, and Lindy hop are among the most popular), some towns host slightly more woo-woo offerings for the solstice. See if you can find an outdoor ecstatic dance or silent disco near you. Or, plan your own: head to the park with a couple of buddies and groove to your favorite tunes until dark.
5. Summit something. In mountain towns, trail runners and hikers often take advantage of the solstice to knock out mega objectives that wouldn鈥檛 be possible with fewer daylight hours. But the size of the objective doesn鈥檛 really matter: standing on top of anything, even your local hill, is an incredible way to celebrate playing outside and to kick off summer with a triumph.
6. Plan a costumed bike ride. Some ancient peoples would celebrate solstice by donning special robes for ceremonies. The modern version: Set a theme for a costumed bike ride and do a lap around town with your friends. Bring lights, play music, and end the ride at your favorite brewery, pub, or BBQ spot.
7. Jump in a creek. Long days mean plenty of sunlight to bask in. Pack a picnic lunch to your local creek or lakeshore, go for a swim, and air-dry in the warm June rays. If you have a stand-up paddleboard or kayak, watching the sun set from the middle of a lake is another must-do.
8. Go camping. My favorite way to celebrate long summer days is to pitch a tent鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 matter where. Sleep under the stars at your local state park, snag a site on forest service land, or set up shop in your backyard. Stay up late, and if local regulations permit, build a campfire. It鈥檚 the perfect way to kick off a classic American summer and nod to all at the same time. And who knows? Maybe, at that moment when worlds collide, you鈥檒l experience a little solstice magic for yourself .

The post Outdoorspeople Are Obsessed With the Summer Solstice. This is Why. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

When Ben Weissenbach first landed in Anchorage in the summer of 2018, he considered himself pretty much invincible. Nothing could touch him; there was no situation he couldn鈥檛 charm, reason, or muscle his way out of. Looking back now, Weissenbach calls that feeling 鈥減ure hubris,鈥� the kind of confidence that shows up in your swagger when you鈥檙e a 20-something kid from Los Angeles for whom everything just seems to go right. That was before Alaska got ahold of him鈥攁nd turned his worldview upside-down.

This odyssey is the subject of Weissenbach鈥檚 new book: . It鈥檚 a spirited adventure tale complete with hair-raising bear encounters, weeks-long expeditions alongside grizzled ecologists, and late nights spent weighing the fate of the world around a guttering fire. But it鈥檚 also a profoundly thoughtful look at the way we all live our day-to-day lives鈥攁nd what our tech-saturated world could leave us missing.

The Allure of Alaska

When Weissenbach first planned his trip to Alaska in 2018, he never intended to get a book deal out of it. Mostly, he was just looking for an excuse to travel.

Like many young people, Weissenbach had been drawn to the far north by the romance of classic adventure tales鈥攕tories by the likes of Jack London, John Krakauer, and John McPhee. And though he鈥檇 only ever spent a handful of days in a tent, he managed to convince his school, Princeton University, to send him to Alaska for a research project on climate change. It was a trip for which he was entirely unprepared.

鈥淚n a lot of ways I had grown up experiencing the world through a screen. I think that鈥檚 true of a lot of kids my age,鈥� Weissenbach told 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淚 was part of the first generation to go through adolescence with front-facing cameras and social media. What was going on online often felt as real鈥攊f not more real鈥攖han whatever social interactions we were having in person.鈥� He grew up with the sense that the 鈥渞eal world鈥� was always somewhere else, a glossy, glowing image just out of reach. Weissenbach hopped on that plane to Alaska in part hoping to find it.

Unplugging鈥擝ig Time

What he discovered was a land that鈥檚 at once as raw and wild as it鈥檚 ever been鈥攁nd more impacted by human activity than any other corner of the planet. Despite its remoteness, Alaska faces some of the worst effects of climate change on earth. The experience opened Weissenbach鈥檚 eyes to both the harsh reality of a warming world and the inexorable joy that comes from unplugging, slowing down, and paying attention to the rhythms of the earth.

鈥淚 realized I had let technology invade my life so entirely that I didn鈥檛 know how to experience the world without it,鈥� he says. During his first days off-grid, he felt out of place and disoriented. But as the weeks ticked by, he sank into a deeper presence鈥攁nd discovered he was able to pay attention and see the world in ways he never imagined possible.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard to understand how different your mind can be when you鈥檙e off your phone and away from the internet for eleven weeks at a time,鈥� Weissenbach says. 鈥淢ost of us haven鈥檛 experienced that since we were toddlers. I was amazed at how different the texture of my mind was.鈥�

The experience changed the way Weissenbach sees our planet, and the way he sees his own habits. Of course, none of that wisdom was easily won.听

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Last week, on June 14, I looked out my window and saw smoke鈥攁 thin plume of it鈥攃urling up over the foothills near Boulder, Colorado. My neighborhood group text immediately started blowing up: Did you see the smoke? How bad is it? What the hell鈥攊s fire season already here?听

Living in the West, wildfire has always been a part of life. But over the last decade or so, blazes have grown increasingly frequent and intense across both the Western U.S. and Canada. In 2021, just a few miles from my home, the Marshall Fire destroyed nearly 1,000 buildings in the Colorado Front Range, reducing entire neighborhoods to ash. Many folks鈥攎y neighbors included鈥攍ive in constant fear of the next fire.

So, even though firefighters quickly extinguished this recent blaze in Boulder, it still had me worried. Wildfire is once again a topic in the mainstream press: flames erupted in New Jersey鈥檚 Wharton State forest on June 13 and burned nearly 6,000 acres. The Eastern Sierra recently suffered a destructive fire, called the Inn Fire, and a number of blazes are actively burning across the Four Corners region.

Do these early-season fires portend a particularly destructive season to come? To find out (and hopefully put my group text鈥檚 fears to rest), I reached out to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources for an upcoming fire season prognosis. Swain, age 35, also lives in Boulder, and runs a website dedicated to fire and climate science called .听

鈥淭he short answer is that in the Western U.S. and Canada, all the alarm bells are ringing,鈥� Swain says. While Boulder鈥檚 recent fire wasn鈥檛 concerning or unusual, he explains, there are plenty of other signs that the 2025 fire season could be one for the record books.

Much of the Rocky Mountain Region had a warm and wet spring, which led to prolific vegetation growth. Here in Colorado, much of the Front Range is covered in lush green grass and overgrown bushes. Now, meteorologists are predicting a summer of The next few weeks in particular are expected to bring hot, dry weather, which could turn all that veg to kindling.

鈥淭he more abundant the vegetation, the more biomass there is to burn,鈥� Swain says. 鈥淪o, in these grass and brush and mixed-brush ecosystems, wildfires tend to follow wet periods.鈥� That鈥檚 exactly what happened just before the massive Los Angeles wildfires this January.

The other problem is that the hot spring weather melted the snow reserves in the high mountains across the West. That will leave high-altitude forests dry鈥攁nd vulnerable to fires鈥攃ome July and August.

鈥淭he last few summers were relatively quiet with regard to high-altitude forest fires,鈥� Swain says. 鈥淏ut from the Eastern Sierra to the Northern Rockies, things are going to be very different this year.鈥�

There are trickle-down effects to the lower elevations, too. Western rivers are swollen with snowmelt right now, but they鈥檒l likely be . That could further parch the landscape. Between the meager river water and the plentiful vegetation, lowlands could face just as much risk as the upland forests.

鈥淯nlike recent summers, where there was high fire risk in either one or the other locations, this year we鈥檙e going to see high risk across both ecosystems,鈥� Swain says.

Likewise, Canada and the U.S. usually trade off bad fire seasons. In 2024, Canada had a rough year, and the U.S. contributed resources to help with Canadian firefighting. In recent years, the roles have been reversed, and Canada has sent wildland fire teams down to the Lower 48.

鈥淏ut Canada is already having a terrible fire season,鈥� Swain says. 鈥淭he U.S. has been sending wildland firefighting crews north of the border. We may recall those crews from Canada when our season starts, which means they won鈥檛 have any availability to help us out. And all this is unfolding at a moment where there have been huge cuts to disaster preparedness and response in general in the U.S.鈥攑articularly to wildland fire response and disaster response on a national scale.鈥�

Compounding the danger, this fire season could last longer and have a later peak鈥攎aybe into August or September鈥攚hich could further strain wildland fire teams, Swain says. The thinner we spread our resources, the higher the risk of longer and more destructive fires.

The good news for East Coasters is that the risk seems concentrated in the West, Swain says. Much of New England, for example, is no longer experiencing drought, which means any fires there should be relatively small and easy to control. However, fires out West across the U.S. As a result, many Eastern communities will still feel the impact.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not your imagination鈥攚e do have a wildfire crisis in the West,鈥� Swain says. 鈥淏ut part of the solution could be to embrace other forms of fire, including prescribed fire, Indigenous and cultural sources of burning, and ecologically minded burns.鈥� Fire itself isn鈥檛 the problem, he adds; on its own, it鈥檚 a natural part of the landscape. At least that鈥檚 one bit of positive insight to bring back to the group text.

While some recent legislation and proposed Forest Service policies frame clear-cutting as a fire mitigation strategy, Swain cautions that that kind of treatment can actually increase fire risk over the long run. Instead, he says, land managers need to take a thoughtful, measured look at their approaches to fire mitigation. Selling public lands and widespread logging could be counterproductive, he warns.

鈥淭his year is going to be a blockbuster fire season,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a real test of some of the policies currently at play.鈥�

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