An intrepid spirit is all a good adventure dog truly needs鈥攂ut having the right gear can help pups and their guardians enjoy the journey. Canine hikers can鈥檛 always advocate for themselves, so we prioritized products that put safety, comfort, and function at the forefront. For all the joy they give us, our favorite companions deserve the best.

At a Glance

• How to Shop for Your Dog
• How We Test
• Meet Our Testers (and Pups)

All gear in this guide was tested by multiple reviewers. When you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.

NiteIze NiteHowl Max Rechargeable Safety Necklace – Disc-o Select

Sizes: One size (fits 12- to 27-inch neck diameter)

Pros and Cons
鈯� Great visibility at night
鈯� Rechargeable
鈯� Once you cut to size, there鈥檚 no adjustability

The best pet products give loving owners peace of mind, and this luminescent collar accomplishes that. Whether your dog likes to explore the campsite after dark or stroll the neighborhood before bed, the NiteHowl Max allows you and others to see your pet from a distance.

Whereas smaller collar lights might get lost in your dog鈥檚 fur or be invisible from certain angles, the NiteHowl Max鈥檚 wide band is designed to stay on top of especially fluffy fur, completely encircling your dog鈥檚 neck in colorful light. Set the light to one of three glowing colors, or turn on Disc-o mode if you want to get the campground party started. The 10-hour runtime was sufficient for weekend trips, and the light is rechargeable via micro USB.

The cut-to-fit band is durable, weather-resistant, and can accommodate dog necks from 12 to 27 inches in diameter. But if your pup is still growing, take note: Once it鈥檚 cut, the collar鈥檚 size can no longer be adjusted.

Orvis RecoveryZone Couch Dog Bed

Sizes: S, M, L, XL

Pros and Cons
鈯� Supportive, recovery-optimized foam
鈯� Pricey

After a long day exploring the mountains, your dog deserves a comfortable place to rest his head. Our pick for active and old pups: The RecoveryZone Couch Bed, boasting four inches of medium density solid foam topped by a 1-inch-thick Serene Foam layer to cradle weary joints and muscles so dogs can rehabilitate faster.

Bolsters on three sides give your pup a place to rest his head (it also comes in lounger style without bolsters), and a recycled polyester cover is easily removed for machine washing. Though it takes a while before it needs to be washed. 鈥淚 have a wet and often muddy dog, and dirt just fell off this bed,鈥� reported one tester.

When our furry tester tore his meniscus playing ball, the RecoveryZone provided the perfect landing pad while he healed from his third surgery.

Skida Dog Bandana

Sizes: S, M, L

Pros and Cons
鈯� Easily slides onto your dog鈥檚 collar
鈯� So cute
鈯� Can interfere with ID tags on your dog鈥檚 collar

Skida鈥檚 new line of dog bandanas brings the colorful prints the brand is known for to your pup, with a handful of dog-specific design features. With a channel sewn into the top of the bandana, the fabric slides right onto your dog鈥檚 collar, eliminating the need to tie it around their neck. A reflective, high visibility patch also adds a layer of safety when playing at night.

The quick-dry polyester fabric with a water-repellent finish stood up well to all varieties of puppy romping. 鈥淚t shed sand and water as my dog ran, rolled, and dug in a sandbar on Oregon鈥檚 Columbia River,鈥� said one tester. 鈥淓ven when she splashed after sticks the water-repellent coating held up, and the bandana was dry by the time we made it back to the car.鈥�

After weeks of continuous wear, it still hasn鈥檛 required a wash. Best of all, it comes in many of the same prints as Skida鈥檚 human hats, neck gaiters, bandanas, and headbands, so you and your best friend can match on your adventures.

Atlas Pet Company Lifetime Harness

Sizes: S, M, L (fits dogs 15 to 130 lbs)

Pros and Cons
鈯� Minimalist yet tough
鈯� Quick to fasten
鈯� Hair can collect on the nylon webbing
鈯� Harness doesn鈥檛 always sit centered

Atlas Pet Company鈥檚 simple, durable harness had a grip on every single tester. (Their dogs, who would rather have been cruising leashless, thought it was just OK.)

With its tough magnetic buckle and range of reflective colors, the Lifetime Harness pulled the most praise for its tug-discouraging design that loops around the torso and over the chest. 鈥淚t was super easy to use, and looks great, too,鈥� said one tester, noting that the lightweight, minimalist design saved her thick-coated dog from overheating (and cut down on uncomfortable rubbing points) on long hikes.

Testers liked that the sturdy nylon webbing was supple right out of the box and, combined with the ability to adjust all four straps on the harness, moved right along with their dog.

Ruffwear Trail Runner Dog Running Vest

Sizes: XS, S, M, L/XL (fits dogs with chest girth from 22 to 42鈥�)

Pros and Cons
鈯� Adds just enough control in a lightweight design
鈯� Testers with squirrely pups wished for a front leash connection for extra control

Ruffwear鈥檚 canine vest, with room for two included 500 milliliter water flasks (360 milliliters in the XS size) and a collapsible bowl (not included), saved human testers from carrying extra weight and made their dogs look like furry ultra-marathon competitors.

Those with less experienced pups praised the vest鈥檚 secure, highly-adjustable fit, which provided much-needed control when Fido spotted a bunny on one jaunt. (We do wish it also had a top handle for lifting our dogs in emergencies.) Breathable fabric kept dogs cool on hot days, and a loop to attach a light offered security for post-sunset runs. Neon colors are a bonus safety feature for those who like to take their jogs to the sidewalk, though testers who did more trail running would鈥檝e liked more color options.

The complete Trail Runner system鈥攕old separately鈥攊ncludes a stretchy leash and pared-down belt for humans, with space for a water flask, keys, and phone. 鈥淪uper comfy and functional,鈥� one regular trail runner said. 鈥淎 really excellent design.鈥�

White Duck Outdoors Dog Bed

Sizes: L (36鈥� x 27鈥� x 4鈥�), XL (40鈥� x 28鈥� x 4鈥�)

Pros and Cons
鈯� Roomy and sturdy
鈯� Two available sizes are too big for really small dogs

There was something about this humble bed that acted as a doggie tranquilizer. 鈥淢y dog has never been a big bed user, but as soon as this arrived, she curled up and took a nap,鈥� said one Washington-based tester.

Maybe it was the cushiness that also offered a little give鈥攃ourtesy of a polyester fiberfill that repurposes plastic bottles鈥攆or dogs who like to burrow. Dogs seemed to like the supportive cotton-polyester blend fabric, while humans appreciated the removable cover with its water-repellent coating for its grime- and claw-resistance. 鈥淥ne of the better beds for outdoor use,鈥� another tester reported.

Wilderdog Backpack

Sizes: S, M, L (fits dogs with chest girth from 17-34鈥�)

Pros and Cons
鈯� Roomy
鈯� Accommodates dogs of many sizes (even a Great Pyrenees)
鈯� Dogs may need time to get used to it before hitting the trail

Testers were jealous when their pals donned Wilderdog鈥檚 jewel-toned backpack, made of water-resistant cotton-poly fabric in four shades. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so pretty. The design and aesthetics are top-notch,鈥� a New Mexico-based tester said.

It鈥檚 got all the bells and whistles of a top-tier pack: velcro tabs to keep straps from dangling, a handle on top for emergency lifting, aesthetically pleasing patterned accents, and a poop bag dispenser.

But it鈥檚 what鈥檚 on the inside that impressed us the most: seemingly bottomless space. Testers managed to stuff all their pooches鈥� backcountry needs within: kibble, treats, collapsible bowls, several water bottles, and layers for chilly nights. Despite its size, testers reported no slippage or awkwardness thanks to four easy-to-dial-in adjustment points.

Wilderdog Sleeping Bag

Sizes: One size, 36鈥� x 28鈥� when zipped shut

Pros and Cons
鈯� Lighter, warmer, and less pricey than competitors
鈯� Stands up to even the stinkiest of dogs
鈯� Just one size (won鈥檛 fit large dogs)

We would do anything for our dogs, but we simply refuse to share a sleeping bag with them after they鈥檝e spent a long day hiking, crossing creeks, and rolling in suspicious substances. But testers were pretty sure their pals didn鈥檛 mind snoozing solo when they rolled out Wilderdog鈥檚 bag.

This cocoon is stuffed with synthetic fill to a pleasingly chunky thickness, and with a cozy, quick-drying cotton lining, our California-based tester confirmed her dog was 鈥渟nug as a bug鈥� within. Its hefty water-resistant polyester outer makes it a no-brainer to lay out as a campsite resting pad too. (Our Great Pyrenees tester was too big to get inside, but happily lied on top.)

At 1 pound 13 ounces, it鈥檚 certainly not for ultralight hikers, but it鈥檚 lighter than other brands鈥� more expensive offerings and rolls down to the size of a large loaf of bread in its included stuff sack. For the peace of mind that our dogs weren鈥檛 shivering all night in alpine environments, we found it more than worth any extra pack space.

OllyDog Flyer Disc

Sizes: One size, 8.25鈥� diameter

Pros and Cons
鈯� Packable without sacrificing a satisfying glide
鈯� Your dog might want about 50 of them

Dogs love a classic frisbee for a reason: it catches some sick air so they can live out their Air Bud fantasies. But the discs鈥� rigid materials aren鈥檛 very packable and can be hard on dogs鈥� teeth over time. Softer discs are usually weaker fliers, but not so for the OllyDog Flyer Disc, our testers reported.

The lightweight and packable circle comes in 11 colors and is easier on the gums after repeated chomps and games of tug-of-war. Constructed of repurposed plastic bottles, it floats on water for dogs who like to do a good lake leap.

And it may be soft, but it鈥檚 durable: 鈥淚t鈥檚 holding up impressively considering the abuse it gets,鈥� says one tester. Two New Mexico-based testers said it 鈥渇lew very well鈥� and let our dogs 鈥渓eap high in the air.鈥� Just like Air Bud would have wanted.

How to Shop for Your Dog

Before you go on a dog gear spree, grab a tape measure and jot down these key numbers for your pal: weight, length from neck to the base of the tail, neck circumference so you can still insert two fingers鈥� width under the tape, and circumference of the widest part of the chest. Sizing varies widely among canine brands so you鈥檒l always want to vet your choices alongside actual measurements.

A lot of the rest is highly individualized. Ask yourself about your dog鈥檚 unique needs and pain points. Has your dog yet to master the art of walking normally on a leash? Look for harnesses with the option to leash on the front of the chest, which offers more control. Do they love getting in the water or the mud? Water-resistant and quick-drying materials are your friend. A lot of dog gear is made of polyester or a blend, so you鈥檒l want to read the description to make sure a water-repellent coating or waterproof outer is included.

For leashes and collars, fastening points are key: Do you find the leash clip or collar buckle easy to use and secure? We鈥檝e found that leash clips sometimes play better with certain leashes and harnesses (and the rare few come unclipped!), so give new combos a test run in an enclosed space.

For new harnesses or backpacks, pay attention to potential irritation spots; we鈥檝e found that a harness with too much material near the armpits is a no-no for a lot of dogs.

Along with the right sizing, designs with multiple attachment points should also help avoid slipping and rubbing. A good dog pack should have those points at the neck, chest, and belly.

If there鈥檚 one thing all our testers took from the process, though, it鈥檚 that good poop bag holders and dispensers are worth their weight in gold. If you find a poop bag holder design that you love (or, say, a backpack that comes with one built in), grab it and never look back.

How We Test

• Number of products tested: 15
• Number of canine testers: 4
• Breeds represented: 4
• Ages of dogs: 11 months to 8 years
• Miles hiked: 400+
• Nights spent camping: 24

Our test focused on products that would help adventurous dog owners and their best friends enjoy nature together, from essentials like leashes and harnesses to accessories like trail booties and car seat covers. In order to choose our favorite pet products, our canine testers and their owners took to the parks, trails, lakes, and campgrounds and played hard.

Dogs are great durability testers鈥攖hey roll, dig, chew, zoom, splash, jump, and nap more in a day than their human counterparts can fathom. Any product that broke, appeared to make our pets uncomfortable, was ill-fitting, or failed to prioritize safety was eliminated from the test. Items that offered peace of mind, held up to hard use, and maximized fun got the final tail-wag of approval.

Meet the Testers

is a senior editor at Backpacker where she specializes in skills and survival stories. An avid hiker, skier, and mountain biker, Zoe has recreated across the U.S. and beyond, often with Juno, her three-year-old border collie mix, by her side.

is a writer and contributing editor at听翱耻迟蝉颈诲别听magazine. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her partner and an Australian cattle dog-Chihuahua-pug mix named Henry who looks like the dog a child would draw if you asked them to draw a dog. Henry has an esteemed history of testing for听国产吃瓜黑料 Gear Guides and most loves doing zoomies at the park or splashing in backcountry streams.

Meet the Pups

Lilo is a one-year-old golden retriever. She loves chasing balls and swimming near her home in Portland, Oregon. She frequently gets the zoomies at every campsite she visits. Her favorite treat is cheese sticks.

Juno is a three-year-old border collie mix who is happiest chasing a mountain bike or sniffing wildflowers along the trails near Bellingham, Washington. She loves her human friends more than anything, especially if they鈥檙e throwing a frisbee.

Moose is a two-year-old chocolate lab who lives to chase leaves and sticks while hiking near Washington, D.C. But nothing gets his tail wagging like a delicious bone treat!

Murphy is an eight-year-old lab who loves hiking, canoeing, and paddle boarding around Maine and New Hampshire. He has had three knee surgeries which allow him to keep doing the fun outdoor activities that he loves.

The post The Best Outdoor Gear for Your Four-Legged Trail Buddies appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This fall is packed with new outdoor media releases: books on calving glaciers and the surprising biology of asphalt, documentaries that will take you from the summit of Mount Everest to the hollers of Appalachia, and podcasts that offer thrilling tales and life lessons from outdoor mishaps. Here are our top picks for what to read, watch, and listen to between your adventures this season.

Books

The Quickening: Creation and Community at the Ends of the Earth, by Elizabeth Rush ($30)

For a chunk of ice containing enough meltwater to raise the oceans two feet, not much is known about Antarctica鈥檚 Thwaites Glacier. That is why, in 2019, Elizabeth Rush joined an international group of scientists on the first expedition to its calving edge. 鈥淚 wanted to stand alongside that massive glacier,鈥� she writes in The Quickening, 鈥渨anted to witness freshly formed bergs dropping down into the ocean like stones, so that I might know in my body what my mind still struggled to grasp: Antarctica鈥檚 going to pieces has the power to rewrite all the maps.鈥� The journey takes place as Rush is about to start a family, and she grapples with the idea of bringing a child into our climate disaster-in-progress. Rush, whose previous book, , was a Pulitzer finalist, writes with urgency and humor about this consequential world of ice鈥攁nd the life that will soon be growing inside her.

The Race to Be Myself, by Caster Semenya ($30)

Birth is, of course, central to the story of South African runner Caster Semenya, the two-time Olympic gold medalist subjected to invasive gender testing after winning the 800-meter event at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. In her memoir, due out in October, Semenya recounts how she was accepted as a tomboy in her rural village, only to later experience humiliating speculation about her body when her test results, which revealed elevated testosterone levels and some physical characteristics of both sexes, were leaked to the press. Forced for years to take estrogen to continue her career, in 2018 she was effectively barred from competition by stricter testosterone rules. Since then the conversation about gender has only grown more urgent as questions linger about the treatment of her and other female African runners with naturally high testosterone levels. Her ordeal, she writes, 鈥渉as affected me in ways I cannot describe, although I will try.鈥� In this defiant, moving book, she succeeds.

Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet, by Ben Goldfarb ($30)

鈥淟ike most people, I at once cherish animals and think nothing of piloting a thousand-pound death machine,鈥� writes Ben Goldfarb in this way-more-fun-than-it-should-be book about asphalt, out in September. The author of , Goldfarb has a lot to say about our national compulsion to pave a path from everywhere to everywhere else, cutting off migration routes and turning cars into superpredators. He finds hope in innovative wildlife crossings that have created a new bridge-and-tunnel crowd of coyotes, toads, and elk herds. Whether he鈥檚 tracking pronghorn antelope through Wyoming or tossing off asides about hedgehogs (鈥渟mall, plodding, nocturnal 鈥� practically designed to be roadkill鈥�), a road trip with him is worth every fascinating mile.

True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America, by Betsy Gaines Quammen ($27)

The dangerous myth of the West as an endless frontier is still alive, writes historian Betsy Gaines Quammen in True West, out in October. But today it draws a new kind of freedom seekers, from adventurers eager to 鈥渞ip, shred, bag, and slay鈥� its peaks and rivers to anti-vaxxers determined to raise a middle finger to the feds. Quammen, author of , has spent years investigating a region that 鈥渉as become ever hotter, drier, angrier, and more politically polarized,鈥� from the Idaho origins of the Oath Keepers鈥攚hose members stormed the U.S. Capitol in 2021鈥攖o the billionaire recreationists holed up at Montana鈥檚 Yellowstone Club. But Quammen treats all her subjects with empathy, and she doesn鈥檛 look down on anyone. 鈥淭he West is more than a playground or a storage site awaiting resource extraction,鈥� she writes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more than a second home or a selfie. It鈥檚 a land of many cultures. It鈥檚 a place of countless generations.鈥�

Sun House, by David James Duncan ($35)

Perhaps all is not lost on the frontier. In this big-hearted 鈥渆astern Western,鈥� cult favorite David James Duncan explores what might happen if we dished up some karmic payback to the white-guy corporations looking to 鈥渄ivvy up, privatize, cage, clear-cut, dam, drain, mine, frack, and detonate鈥� every last acre. This is Duncan鈥檚 first novel since his bestsellers (1983) and (1992). It鈥檚 a cosmic trip that braids together a dozen lives that cross and gurgle like the fictional Elkmoon River. Do we object that it isn鈥檛 until page 363 that these freethinkers begin to converge on Montana鈥檚 Elkmoon Range? We do not. Do we care that the text is 764 pages, not counting an extensive bibliography? Indeed we do, but in a good way, because it allows us to ride this magic bus as long as we can. Stoke the cabin fire and pour some whiskey over a chunk of glacial ice. You鈥檙e not coming out until you鈥檝e finished this one.

Films

Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest

The inspiring, ultimately tragic story of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa is a lesser-known chapter in mountaineering history. Pasang perished while descending Everest in 1993, after becoming the first Nepali woman to summit. Director Nancy Svendsen first met Pasang鈥檚 daughter, Dawa Futi Sherpa鈥攁n executive producer on 鈥攁 dozen years ago. Together they deliver a subtle, sensitive tracing of Pasang鈥檚 life against the backdrop of Nepal in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those were pivotal years in the country鈥檚 quest for democracy and in the development of modern commercial climbing on Everest, which is powered largely by the hard work and heroism of unheralded, underpaid teams of Sherpas. Pasang was an uneducated Sherpa woman from a small village; her vast ambition and determination were truly singular and not always appreciated. What emerges is an incredibly timely story. In Pasang鈥檚 quest to empower Sherpas in the climbing industry, and both women and Sherpas in Nepali society, she was a trailblazer. Limited theatrical release in September; streaming on Amazon by November

Explorer: Lost in the Arctic

The Northwest Passage has lured adventurers for centuries, but the prospect of a sea route above the North American continent has remained mostly a deadly fantasy. In the overheated present, dwindling summer ice pack has now made the journey feasible, though hardly easy. In June 2022, writer and adventurer Mark Synnott assembled a team鈥攊ncluding filmmaker Renan Ozturk鈥攁nd set out from Maine aboard Synnott鈥檚 47-foot sailboat. Their goal was to retrace a famously failed 1845 British expedition led by Sir John Franklin, whose two ships and 129 crew members vanished after their ships became stuck in the ice near King William Island. It鈥檚 a mystery that has long fascinated polar historians, and Synnott and crew go to great lengths to solve it, culminating in a search for Franklin鈥檚 rumored grave. The voyage is full of tribulation鈥攂ad weather, equipment failure, unreliable maps, and, in a dire historical echo, a close call with becoming icebound themselves鈥攁nd the result is a worthy follow-up to Synnott and Ozturk鈥檚 collaborations for National Geographic鈥檚 Explorer series, Lost on Everest and The Last Tepui. Streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu

King Coal

You may think you know the story of coal in Appalachia, but Elaine McMillion Sheldon鈥檚 subtle and affecting tribute to her home region mixes closely observed documentary reporting with imaginative, poetic material to arrive at something new, though no less heartbreaking. Sheldon, the daughter and granddaughter of coal miners, is well positioned to dive into the human stories that show what coal has given and taken from Appalachian communities. is an ode to a place that sees beauty amid the harshness, but isn鈥檛 blind to the scars on the land or the damage that has carried through the generations. Environmental docs can feel stripped of nuance, all stridency and condemnation, but Sheldon uses every tool in the filmmaking kit鈥攆rom sound design to music to the casting of several endearing young locals鈥攖o successfully connect her audience to the beauty and tragedy of her home. Theatrical release August 11; available on Amazon, Google Play , and iTunes in mid-October

Full Circle

Director Josh Berman invites us into the lives and worlds of Barry Corbet and Trevor Kennison, two men left paralyzed by spinal injuries that resulted from snow-sports accidents. Each narrative is inspirational鈥攖he film鈥檚 subtitle is 鈥攂ut Berman doesn鈥檛 shy from the harsh realities of life as a paraplegic. Corbet built an impressive climbing and skiing r茅sum茅 in the 1950s and 1960s; one of North America鈥檚 most famous ski runs, Corbet鈥檚 Couloir in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was named after him. In May 1968, he was paralyzed from the waist down after a helicopter crash while filming in the Aspen backcountry. Kennison鈥檚 pre-injury experience was shorter, but he found the same joy in the mountains, and suffered a similar spinal injury while snowboarding in the Colorado backcountry in 2014. Corbet refused to slow down, making films and learning to kayak; for Kennison, the discovery of sit-skiing gave him back the sense of purpose Corbet found on the river. In a post-injury triumph that Corbet, who passed away in 2004, would鈥檝e been proud of, the film opens with Kennison dropping into Corbet鈥檚 Couloir on a sit-ski during the Kings and Queens of Corbet鈥檚 contest in 2019. Nationwide theatrical release in late October; streaming release in early 2024

Podcasts

FOGO: Fear of Going 国产吃瓜黑料

Ivy Le is a self-described indoor person, and her reluctance to host this unusual nature show from Spotify Studios is evidenced by the many sighs, screams, and ughs she sprinkles into her attempts to understand the appeal of the whole outdoors thing. Le takes friends and experts out on educational adventures, which include learning to camp (season one) and learning to hunt (season two). There鈥檚 a trip to REI with her friend Jeff Zhao that鈥檚 narrated like a nature documentary; a hike with outdoor activist Roc铆o Villalobos; and an archery lesson in which Le silences her doubters and hits a target while doing an Asian squat. Whether you鈥檙e new to outdoor recreation or a seasoned pro, the podcast is a delight thanks to Le, a charmingly vulnerable asker of deep questions about communing with nature. For example: What鈥檚 the difference between walking and hiking? 鈥淗iking is sexier,鈥� outdoor educator Diane Carrico tells her, 鈥渁nd it feels like you鈥檙e bragging.鈥�

Thru

Whether he鈥檚 fighting off a nasty bout of norovirus or encountering a mystery animal on an early-morning hike, podcast producer Cody Hofmockel is never truly alone during his preparation for and through-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Hofmockel started on April 23, 2022, and recorded a remarkable amount of his experience to create a nearly day-by-day audio documentary. Produced by QCode and Spoke Media, the podcast consists of brief episodes that take us into the ups and downs of trail life: making friends, devising silly games to pass the time, and no small amount of what happens when that virus hits his stomach. Hofmockel, who recovered from substance-abuse issues in 2020 and 鈥渞econnected with his newly sober mind鈥� during the hike, also ponders the reasons for walking 2,653 miles and gives colorful fellow through-hikers plenty of mic time. Listening to Thru feels like getting deftly produced voice notes from a friend who鈥檚 somewhere between Mexico and Canada.

Women鈥檚 Work

Ashley Ahearn spends much of the first episode of Women鈥檚 Work鈥�a production of Boise State Public Radio鈥攇etting dirty looks from an extremely pregnant ewe named Babette. Ahearn, an environmentalist and chronicler of life in the West, gets right into the middle of things for an on-the-ground look at how our food systems should be reformed. As cattle rancher Cory Carman tells her: 鈥淥ur limitation is not that we can鈥檛 feed the world, it鈥檚 that we can鈥檛 imagine what it鈥檚 going to take.鈥� From Wyoming to eastern Washington, Ahearn visits women ranchers who are rethinking how to manage land and livestock. Kelsey Scott of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe champions food sovereignty with grass-fed beef, and 14-year-old Maloi Lannan learns the ropes of regenerative ranching while helping out at her family鈥檚 sheep farm. Each offers ideas for making food production more just and sustainable鈥攁nd shows how some ranchers are already fighting for a better future.

Wilder

So many children grew up devouring Laura Ingalls Wilder鈥檚 autobiographical Little House on the Prairie books鈥攐nly to look back and find that the series doesn鈥檛 always hold up. In Wilder, host Glynnis MacNicol reckons with the legacy of the most well-known young-adult depiction of the late-19th-century American West. The show, produced by iHeartPodcasts, is nothing short of comprehensive. In the first, nearly hour-long episode, MacNicol visits a Little House fan meetup in a town where many Hmong immigrants found a home, thanks in large part to their love of the books, and discusses the books鈥� racist depictions of Indigenous people with Debbie Reese, founder of American Indians in Children鈥檚 Literature. MacNicol embarks on an ambitious journey鈥攈itting all the places Wilder lived, in six states鈥攄igging into her own memory of the books and attempting to understand the relevance of the series in the 21st century. As her friend and coproducer Jo Piazza puts it: 鈥淭he many ways that Laura seems flawed are also the many ways that America is flawed.鈥�

Lost Hills: The Dark Prince

New Yorker staff writer Dana Goodyear is the bard of Malibu, California, explaining the swanky town鈥檚 dark underbelly over three seasons of Lost Hills. The latest introduces the famous and controversial surfer Miki Dora, who dazzled and terrorized the city鈥檚 shores from the 1950s through the 鈥�70s. 鈥淗is nickname was Da Cat,鈥� says surfer Denny Aaberg, 鈥渂ecause he had feline grace on a wave and not because he was a cat burglar, but I guess he was that, too.鈥� From a neglected childhood to multiple crimes that put him on the run for seven years, Dora鈥檚 story is by no means a simple hero鈥檚 journey. Goodyear delves into the misogynistic and xenophobic nature of his territorial surf philosophy, and calls on a who鈥檚 who of surfing鈥攆rom Kelly Slater to Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman鈥攖o talk about the life and times of a man who embodies a legendary era in the sport, along with its worst impulses.

The post This Fall鈥檚 Best New Outdoor Books, Films, and Podcasts appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Dogs may be the the perfect running partners: They’re always ready to go, they eagerly keep pace, and they never complain about being tired. But not every dog is built for running. The ideal jogging companion is low-maintenance and obedient, with energy and endurance. These 20 breeds are a great place to start. Plus, check out our favorite hot weather dogs, and those who can听keep up in the cold.

20. American Staffordshire Terrier

The stocky and squat American Staffordshire terrier doesn’t look like a running dog, but it has plenty of energy, agility, and muscle听to join you on a quick, few-mile jog. Vigorous daily exercise will make this dog鈥攁nd you鈥攈appier. The Am Staff, as it’s sometimes called, loves having a job to do, such as pushing you one more time around the block.

19. Australian Cattle Dog

A natural herder, the Australian cattle dog (also known as a Queensland, Blue, or Red Heeler) is an athletic, agile breed weighing in at around 35 pounds. Their instinctual hard work ethic means they love having a job or a task at hand, so they make perfect running partners听to push you out the door and to the finish line.

18. Labrador Retriever

Labs are used to being on these types of lists (you鈥檒l also find them in our Best Family Dogs听补苍诲 Best Active Dogs听galleries), so it鈥檚 no surprise that they鈥檙e included here, too. Labrador retrievers are lean but sturdy and have enough energy to keep pace with a sprint workout or go the distance on a 10K. Like all gun dog breeds, Labs can be extremely obedient and willing to work 鈥檙ound the clock, making them the perfect adventure companion.

17. Boxer

Ever seen a 鈥渂oxer burn鈥� or a 鈥淣ascar Lap?鈥� Often, boxers will get a burst of energy and zip around the yard or living room as fast as they can until they plop down, completely spent. This explosion of energy makes sense, as boxers have running in their blood鈥攖hey were once used as couriers during wartime听补苍诲 to chase down large game, such as wild boar and bison.

16. Brittany Spaniel

Get ready for that pleading look that just says, 鈥淚 want to go outside!鈥� Brittany spaniels are eager-to-please, very smart, and very energetic鈥攖hey need lots of exercise, more than just a walk around the block. Leggy and light boned, these hunting dogs are quick and agile. 鈥淲e had a Brittany for 12 years, and he was the greatest dog that I have ever had,鈥� says one commenter听on .

15. German Shorthaired Pointer

German shorthaired听pointers are true endurance athletes; they require regular exercise every day. Thanks to a lean build and muscular hindquarters, this breed is great for long runs (more than ten miles) and even keeping up with cyclists. Bred as hunting dogs, GSPs are sure-footed and have good reaction time, making them just as good鈥攊f not better鈥攐n trails as on the road.

14. Siberian Husky

Huskies were bred as sled dogs, so it鈥檚 in their nature to run, and run some more. Their endurance is never-ending. And the colder the weather, the better, so if you鈥檙e one of those crazy people who ran through the Polar Vortex, this is the breed for you. Thick fur鈥攁 soft undercoat and a longer, coarse topcoat鈥攌eep huskies well insulated in the nastiest conditions for days at a time.

13. English Setter

English setters get feisty (read: ruin furniture) when not exercised enough, which is good incentive to get outside. Although this breed was bred as a gun dog for running in fields all day, their optimal distance for a road run is about four to six miles. And stay out of the woods; their long fur can easily gather brambles and twigs.

12. Belgian Shepherd

Not only does the Belgian Shepherd have an elegant, proud stature, but its gait follows suit with a smooth, tireless stride that is perfect for long, slow runs (this dog is so graceful, in fact, that you might look clumsy running alongside it). This strong and lean breed won鈥檛 tire. After all, these dogs have worked as herders, message carriers, ambulance dogs, and even machine gun pullers during WWI, according to the American Kennel Club.

11. Poodle

Although the breed might seem pretentious鈥攁nd even prissy鈥攖he standard poodle shouldn鈥檛 be overlooked when it comes to being a running companion. The breed has plenty of energy, but isn鈥檛 short on intelligence or obedience, either. The poodle was bred as a gun dog and a water retriever, and the breed retains those athletic instincts, which will surely kick in on a long, slow run.

10. Jack Russell Terrier

Small but mighty, Jack Russell terriers have boundless energy听补苍诲 can run for surprisingly extended periods of time. If you’re looking for a more compact long-distance running mate, this adventurous breed should be just right.

9. Airedale Terrier

Live somewhere hot? The Airedale terrier has a short, wiry coat made for just such a place. Airedales love to run, but since they鈥檙e on the smaller side, you鈥檒l probably get along best if you鈥檙e running 10K or less, according to .

8. Vizsla

Experienced runners will appreciate the vizsla’s super-athleticism. According to Runner鈥檚 World, this breed excels at speed, endurance, navigating obstacles, and even jumping. What further sets vizslas apart is their exceptional trainability, which could be a plus for those who live in busy areas or want to skip a leash.

7. Alaskan Malamute

The Alaskan malamute has a thick coat and was bred to carry loads over long distances, so it is a great endurance runner and good for those who live in colder climates. With their hardy build and intelligence, malamutes will gladly tough out less-than-ideal conditions by your side.

6. Dalmatian

Dalmatians can keep pace with horses. Which means they can keep pace with you. These large and lean dogs were classically employed to run ahead of firefighting carriages and clear the way, but they鈥檙e just as happy running through the park. Great if you鈥檙e looking for a more protective breed to accompany your long-distance jogs.

5. German Shepherd Dog

German shepherd dogs听are known for having many talents, and running is one of them. Strong and durably built, this breed can keep pace with the best of them. Even better, German shepherds are good with kids, protective and eager to please鈥攕ure to become much more than a running companion.

4. Australian Shepherd

The Australian shepherd is another busybody herding breed听that sets itself apart with its people skills and protective nature. This breed would make a wonderful addition to an active family, and a good companion for anyone who likes to explore different kinds of terrain.

3. Border Collie

Herding dogs are agile runners, and the border collie is considered one of the most intelligent of the breeds. This dog loves having a job to do, says the American Kennel Club, so keep it busy as a faithful and sure-footed running mate.

2. Weimaraner

What makes the Weimaraner such a great choice for running companion is its endless adaptability. The graceful “grey ghost”听breed is touted by Runner’s World听as excelling at short, quick bursts and pacing for long distances, with a low-maintenance short coat for hot climates. The Weimaraner is also great at navigating rough terrain or trails, and it is fearless, easily trained, and a great family pet鈥攁 winner all around.

1. Rhodesian Ridgeback

Rhodesian Ridgebacks were originally bred to hunt lions in Africa, so they are extremely athletic, yet surprisingly good with people. This magnificent breed has an efficient stride and a short, low-maintenance coat that helps when running in the heat.

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Some lizards are harder to catch than others. As a saurologist, or lizard scientist, Earyn McGee knows that each species is uniquely evasive: the whiptail lizard has smooth, slick scales, while the Clark鈥檚 spiny lizard darts into the safe heights of trees. But the lizard that made McGee Twitter famous was particularly speedy.

In 2018, while completing her master鈥檚 degree at the University of Arizona, McGee needed to recapture a Yarrow鈥檚 spiny lizard, one of her three study species, in Arizona鈥檚 Chiricahua Mountains. 鈥淚t was giving me a good run for my money,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t got to a point where I thought I鈥檇 lost it.鈥� But she gave the area one last scan, and there it was on a tree鈥攚ith an orange 鈥�5鈥� painted on its back from a previous capture. Before snagging it, McGee snapped a photo that included the surrounding scrub, and later posted it to her Twitter (), captioned: 鈥淟ook at this girl!鈥� She hoped to give her followers a taste of her fieldwork.

Instead, she confounded them. 鈥淧eople were like, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 see a lizard in this photo,鈥欌�� McGee says. That鈥檚 when she realized that she could harness the animals鈥� 鈥淲here鈥檚 Waldo?鈥� power. Hundreds of armchair herpetologists now wait for McGee鈥檚 weekly posts, where she shares fun facts about a species along with a photo in which鈥攕he swears鈥攁 lizard is hiding. 鈥淚 forget to breathe when I am finding the lizard sometimes,鈥� a follower commented on one post. The game is just one piece of the 26-year-old鈥檚 work, which also includes mentoring, cofounding the community-building organization , and earning her PhD in natural resources at the University of Arizona. (Her addresses climate change, inequities in the sciences, and, yes, lizard diets.) Still, the ethos of #FindThatLizard permeates McGee鈥檚 work: taking a curious look around, and then another one for good measure.

Growing up in Georgia, California, and New Jersey, McGee dreamed of working with charismatic fauna like elephants and wolves. She remembers staying up all night before summer camp in elementary school, watching Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin on Animal Planet. It didn鈥檛 occur to her that she could have a job like theirs until she went to Howard University to study biology. 鈥淚 started to think a little bit more radically, that I can try to make my own way,鈥� she says.

At Howard, she was drawn to the idea of spending long periods of time in nature for fieldwork. She was later matched with an undergraduate adviser whose specialty was lizards. McGee had never been interested in the creatures, but she soon realized that their cold-blooded lifestyle was compatible with her own late-rising preference. 鈥淏y the time I鈥檓 up, that鈥檚 when they鈥檙e getting out and starting to do things.鈥�

Six years later, for her PhD, she spent weeks at a time catching lizards to collect data and understand how climate change affects their water and food sources. When we first spoke this spring, she was about to defend her dissertation, taking breaks from her research to get into pottery and curate a robust plant collection.

In the meantime, she鈥檚 made a point of supporting others who are passionate about the natural world, but who may not envision it as a career. While she was a graduate student mentoring environmental majors, McGee had a hard time recruiting underrepresented students. Eventually, she made the rare move of adding a social-science component to her PhD research: studying how to increase diversity in natural-resources careers. In September 2017, was published in the journal Science, urging STEM fields not to rest on surface-level diversity initiatives.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all connected,鈥� McGee says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about understanding who is going to be our next generation of natural-resources scientists, and how to make that generation more diverse.鈥� Black women remain particularly underrepresented in STEM鈥攆or example, they made up only about 3.7 percent of science graduate students in 2018. At Howard, teachers prepared students for the possibility that they鈥檇 be one of only a handful of Black people in their workplaces. McGee hopes to ensure that young scientists won鈥檛 have to deal with some of what she鈥檚 experienced, at least not on their own.

McGee鈥檚 nickname, Lizard Lassoer, nods to one of those experiences. Saurologists snag lizards using a long pole with a loop of string at one end, which most call a noose. McGee had to work up the courage to tell her colleagues that she was uncomfortable with the term. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want to stick out more than you already are. But I鈥檓 in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of white people,鈥� McGee says, 鈥渁nd y鈥檃ll want me to talk about noosing things?鈥� Her preferred alternative is lasso. McGee sees this as a bare-minimum change for anyone in her field who says they care about diversity and inclusion. But still there鈥檚 pushback; people say it鈥檚 just the way it鈥檚 always been.

Science is rife with racist legacies, right down to the taxonomy: many species share names with figures who posed racist ideas as scientific facts or conducted exploitative research. McGee鈥檚 own study species is named after ornithologist H.鈥塁. Yarrow, who stole Indigenous skeletons to send to museums for research. And these problems aren鈥檛 relegated to the past. In May 2020, Amy Cooper called the cops on Black birder Christian Cooper in Central Park. For McGee and other Black researchers who often do fieldwork in remote areas, the incident was yet another reminder of feeling unsafe in nature. 鈥淗ow are we supposed to effectively do our jobs outside, where we see Black people being terrorized and killed?鈥� she says. That month, McGee and other Black professionals in STEM fields, like ornithologist Corina Newsome, launched Black AF in STEM to uplift one another鈥檚 work. For their first event, , bird enthusiasts connected on Twitter and organized digital talks. Similar initiatives have followed in a wide range of other fields. 鈥淎s long as Twitter exists, people will be able to search the hashtags and find community,鈥� McGee says.

McGee finds joy in efforts like Black AF in STEM and #FindThatLizard, which are building strong communities in disciplines that need fresh perspectives. Much of her work is grounded in the idea that science has never been apolitical or unbiased, and she believes just as strongly that scientists鈥� identities can positively impact their work if they just acknowledge them. 鈥淢y identity tells my story as a scientist,鈥� she says. 鈥淢aking it a part of my dissertation as someone in the hard sciences was super important. I feel like every time you do this, it鈥檚 revolutionary.鈥�

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While watching , the new National Geographic series on Disney+, I couldn鈥檛 stop thinking, There are a lot of awkward moments in here! The premise is glamorous: Will Smith travels the world and shares adventures with explorers and scientists at the top of their game, resulting in beautiful footage that鈥檚 edited to within an inch of its life for a jam-packed 30-minute experience. So why did the producers leave in so many uncomfortable silences? You could make a supercut of guides telling Smith about the scary thing he鈥檚 about to do, while ominous music plays and the camera pointedly hovers on his face as he stares into the void. By the end of the first episode, though, I was rooting for whoever was playing up these moments, and for Will Smith, who I鈥檇 like to think enthusiastically signed off on the idea. What could have been just a vanity project reveals itself to be a surprisingly honest exploration of the struggle to be a braver person.

Of course, it鈥檚 also good old-fashioned educational adventure TV. Each of the six episodes revolves around a broad theme, like scents or swarms, and Smith takes a trip with a specialist for the marquee scenes in each episode. In 鈥淭he Silent Roar,鈥� about sounds that aren鈥檛 audible to most humans, Smith explores an active volcano with volcanologist Jeffrey Johnson and adventurer Erik Weihenmayer, who is blind and senses sound below the frequency that most people can hear. (鈥淪o you feel comfortable going in there, and you would take your students or anything in there?鈥� Smith asks Johnson as casually as he can.) Woven throughout each episode are side journeys in which we join other photographers, National Geographic ambassadors, or local residents to explore phenomena related to each episode鈥檚 theme, like earth tides, moonbows, and the in San Juan de la Vega, Mexico. 听

Welcome to Earth manages to surprise in its capacity as a nature-expedition show. (Did you know that New York City can move up and down as much as 14 inches a day?) But overall the show seems less interested in animals and scientific phenomena than in the charismatic adventurers who make up its cast. There are regular appearances, for instance, by Trinidadian marine biologist , who free dives and visits deep oceans around the world, and polar explorer , who was the first Black Briton to reach the North Pole. Many of the other guest explorers also have something unusual in common: they鈥檝e had a traumatic experience that could have made it difficult to continue their adventures, but nevertheless found a way to keep pursuing their curiosity. Marine biologist Melissa M谩rquez, who was attacked by a crocodile, still explores waterways on a glass-bottom canoe. Scientist Albert Lin, who shows Smith all kinds of fancy gear on their adventure in Namibia, had one of his legs amputated after a car accident. 鈥淭echnology has helped me be able to define my own limitations,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n a strange way I don鈥檛 actually feel like I鈥檝e lost anything, I actually feel like I鈥檝e gained.鈥�

As a host, Smith is a perfect audience stand-in, never failing to voice his admiration for his guides or gape at a deep-sea jellyfish the way anyone would if they were dropped directly into a nature documentary. He seems to have a lot of fun checking off a lifetime鈥檚 worth of bucket list items, from diving 3,000 feet beneath the sea to paddling the recently-discovered Stu冒lagil canyon in Iceland. And dad jokes abound鈥斺�淲e are detached [from the boat],鈥� he says from a submarine. 鈥淏ut not emotionally. Emotionally I鈥檓 still very attached.鈥� But the show is clearly seeking a more meaningful reason to put him through these experiences. The series opens with Smith invoking the words of his grandmother, who said the best things in life exist听on the other side of fear. He returns to this theme repeatedly, sharing his previously unrealized longing to be an explorer鈥攊n the second episode he confesses to never having swum in a lake, climbed a mountain, or slept in a tent. 鈥淎 large part of the reason why I live my life the way I do today is because I was fearful as a child,鈥� he says in the fear-themed final episode, directed by Darren Aronofsky.

None of these insights is particularly original or dramatic, but the point isn鈥檛 only that a world-famous movie star hasn鈥檛 done things that many people also haven鈥檛 done. It鈥檚 that even with all of the best resources at hand, he still reacts with all the stumbling, self-deprecating jokes, nervous silences, and thousand-yard stares that any of us might recognize from our first time doing something out of our comfort zone. As their submarine descends into the ocean, Amon asks Smith with genuine surprise if he鈥檚 actually nervous. 鈥淛ust a little bit. It鈥檒l be fine though,鈥� Smith says, much too quickly.

These moments add a much-needed authenticity to a show that might otherwise be overstuffed with shiny distractions like drones, fancy high-speed cameras, and joy rides over the dunes of the Namib Desert. Beyond that, though, the show seems like a more graceful extension of Smith鈥檚 recent personal project to become more open about his life with the public. This has resulted in many of us learning way more than we ever wanted to know about him. A in which he aimed to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks ended up feeling sad (even Will Smith still has to deal with diet culture?), and he shared so many specifics on his marriage in interviews听that it inspired articles like 鈥�.鈥� But as Elamin Abdelmahmoud particularly well in Buzzfeed News, most stars of Smith鈥檚 generation, himself included, have maintained their fame with an air of unattainability鈥攕taying off social media, granting limited interviews, and not sharing many personal confessions. But younger actors today build a fan base by being (sort of) open books, aiming for polished relatability and controlled transparency. 鈥�A byproduct of 鈥�90s celebrity culture, [Smith] is attempting something few men of his generation of stars have done: reinventing himself publicly, to align with the contemporary expectations of celebrity,鈥� Abdelmahmoud writes.

Welcome to Earth contributes to that project with a clean narrative arc about Smith facing his fears and insecurities. And it wouldn鈥檛 have stood out from the glut of stunning David Attenborough films or celebrity-narrated nature documentaries if it hadn鈥檛 nailed that element. This is to Smith鈥檚 credit, too; he鈥檚 a man used to getting gawked at, but it seems like we get to see moments in which the mask slips and we鈥檙e just watching him go through it. (鈥淗ow鈥檚 it feeling?鈥� Fields asks as they traverse a glacier in Iceland. 鈥淵ou know exactly how it鈥檚 feeling,鈥� Smith replies. 鈥淪cary as hell!鈥�) Unlike turning his fitness plans into a sort of reality show, this doesn鈥檛 feel like a put-on or an embarrassing thing Smith must endure to prove he鈥檚 a human with real problems. The documentary chooses to spend most of its time celebrating the people who pursue adventure despite having first-hand knowledge that things can go wrong鈥攁long with beginners like Smith who give it a try, knowing the process will likely be a little bit embarrassing. By the end of the show, Smith seems just as amazed at the physical feats he鈥檚 willingly gone through as he is by the hidden forces of nature he鈥檚 witnessed. Glamorous as the show may be, it captures something any viewer might recognize in themselves: that exhilarating feeling of possibility after discovering you can do things that once felt totally undoable.

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Every Day the River Changes is the December/January pick for the 国产吃瓜黑料 Book Club. You can learn more about the book club听here,听or join us on听听to discuss the book.

starts, as many good travel books do, with an ambitious idea. Author Jordan Salama, while studying as an undergraduate at Princeton, wants to travel the entire 950 miles of the Magdalena River, Colombia鈥檚 main waterway, in about four weeks. But Salama isn鈥檛 just being whimsical; he brings to this project a reporter鈥檚 eye, an environmentalist鈥檚 ethic, and a long family history of migration that enriches his approach to the narrative. The result is a thoughtful book that impresses with its sweeping history, evocative descriptions, and fascinating stories of people living along the river.

鈥淭o understand the river is to understand the country,鈥� a woman in the beach town of Ladrilleros tells Salama on his first trip to Colombia, before his journey on the Magdalena, when he鈥檚 working in a Wildlife Conservation Society office for a summer. The river flows from the Andes to the Caribbean Sea, touching a diversity of environments and towns on its way. Salama points out its wide-reaching cultural importance, as a setting for Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez鈥檚 novels, the inspiration for many myths and legends, and the birthplace of musical genres like vallenato and musical legends like Shakira. And of course, it鈥檚 changed dramatically alongside the economic, sociopolitical, and environmental shifts of the last century. Salama returns two years after his first trip to spend four weeks traveling the river鈥檚 length, sometimes by boat but usually by land, in order to spend time in the towns and villages along its shores. Along the way, he provides context around Colombia鈥檚 history stretching back to pre-colonial times, observations about current events like the increasing arrival of Venezuelan refugees and efforts to make the Magdalena fully navigable again, and enthusiastic descriptions of all the flora and fauna he sees.

But the book is not meant to be an authoritative take on Colombia鈥檚 history or geography. Instead, Salama brings readers along on not only his adventure but his evolving understanding of a country he still has much to learn about. In each place he stops, Salama seeks out the oldest people living there, who often tell him stories of witnessing a 鈥済olden age鈥� of steamboat tourism and cargo transport in the early 20th century, which eventually ended due to environmental degradation and economic instability. Most everyone along the river鈥檚 banks has been affected by the armed conflict among the government, drug traffickers, paramilitaries, and various guerrilla groups that began in 1964. Salama says at the outset that his goal is to push back against the stereotype that the country is defined by such conflict: 鈥淐olombia is perhaps the most misunderstood country on earth,鈥� he writes early in the book. Instead, Every Day the River Changes focuses on the ordinary people settled along a legendary river and the complexities of their everyday lives.

Tying all of this together seems like an impossible sell, no less for someone who had only been to Colombia once before and hadn鈥檛 done any professional travel journalism prior to writing the book (Every Day the River Changes started as Salama鈥檚 college thesis). Salama seems deeply aware of his limitations, writing, 鈥淭raveling in this way, and trading in stories, is inevitably a journey of selection鈥攊t was not lost on me that for each voice I heard, many others would be left out.鈥� He frequently styles himself as a wide-eyed visitor who just feels lucky for the hospitality of the locals who show him around. These people propel the book. We meet a group of activists and biologists dealing with the invasive hippopotamuses introduced to the area by Pablo Escobar, a teacher who delivers books to children by donkey, a master jeweler, and a man who runs a floating restaurant in a town once bustling with river travel. Salama listens to locals speak about the changes they鈥檝e seen over the years without much editorializing, but he often senses what鈥檚 been left unsaid. Watching men shovel sand to sell to cement factories at the mouth of the Magdalena, a man named Luis tells Salama it鈥檚 a 鈥済enerational thing鈥� for people to work on the river. Salama elaborates for the reader: 鈥淭heir forefathers indeed worked on the river, but as fishermen and as boat captains. Now, the sons and grandsons were condemned to this far-less-glorious life of digging the very sand and sediment that both powered and destroyed their ancestors鈥� livelihoods just a century earlier.鈥�

Salama, who is of Argentine, Syrian, and Iraqi Jewish descent, also weaves in his own family history to explain his own inclination to travel; some of his ancestors traded along the Silk Road, while his great-grandfather moved from Syria to Argentina and worked as a salesman on horseback. These asides elucidate Salama鈥檚 appreciation for the many paths of migration and mix of cultures that make Colombia what it is today. Recalling that many of his ancestors fled to Central and South America due to religious persecution, he writes, 鈥淚t was not difficult for me鈥� to picture my great-grandfather working as a traveling salesman by boat along the R铆o Magdalena instead of on horseback along the spine of the southern Andes.鈥� It鈥檚 obvious how deeply his multifaceted family history and personal identity inform how Salama makes sense of his time in Colombia: he never leans on tidy narratives or confident diagnoses.

Every Day the River Changes also stands out as a travel book that pays homage to the joys of travelogues past. At one point, Salama references Ernesto Che Guevara鈥檚 memoir, , and it鈥檚 not hard to draw parallels to Salama鈥檚 own trajectory: 鈥渢he young man in his twenties who set off wide-eyed on an anxious journey that would give him a new lens with which to view the world.鈥� It seems that Salama understands his role as a burgeoning writer within a lineage that includes the likes of Guevara, Pico Iyer, and John McPhee (the latter two endorsed the book in promotional blurbs). Like McPhee, Salama is an insightful, fly-on-the-wall observer of the locals who make a place what it is; like Iyer, he鈥檚 interested in how his own multicultural background feeds his experiences abroad. He acknowledges his naivet茅 as a visitor, but never abandons his quest for a deeper understanding of the place. The resulting book is an engaging travelogue for the 21st century and a reminder that the best travel isn鈥檛 necessarily an epic adventure but a chance to hang out, getting to know new people鈥攁nd yourself in the process. Echoing the sentiment of a well-known essay, Salama writes, 鈥淚鈥檝e found that the more I travel to communities themselves out of the way and misunderstood, the more I鈥檓 forced to explain myself, over and over again, to different kinds of people I meet鈥攁nd the better sense I鈥檓 able to make of my own identity once I鈥檓 back home.鈥�

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The subtitle of a new Netflix documentary about Nepali climber Nirmal 鈥淣ims鈥� Purja, 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, is听an apt encapsulation of its subject鈥檚 approach to life. Purja is like Tony Robbins in crampons, an endlessly energetic man with a knack for making inspirational speeches in even the toughest situations鈥攏o easy feat as he attempts to climb all 14 mountains in the world that are higher than 8,000 meters, in record time. (Purja jokingly calls himself 鈥渢he Usain Bolt of 8,000 meters.鈥�) While wading through waist-deep snow on Annapurna, he says to his handheld camera, 鈥淕iving up is not in the blood, sir. It鈥檚 not in the blood!鈥� Later, he and his merry climbing crew arrive听at the base camp of K2 and cheer up downtrodden climbers, and in more than one instance, they save people鈥檚 lives on the mountain. If anything, 鈥渘othing is impossible鈥� ends up underselling both Purja鈥檚 accomplishments and his upbeat attitude.

Purja is not the first to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, the altitude roughly defined as the start of the 鈥渄eath zone鈥� inhospitable to human life. But the fastest the series has ever been completed is in seven years, and his goal is to do it in seven months. To do that requires being the first climber in history to summit six 8,000-meter peaks in the spring season; being the first to summit Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu back-to-back in a total of 48 hours; and getting permission from the Chinese government to climb Shishapangma in Tibet. It鈥檚 a lot! But ever the optimist, Purja named this series of brutal hurdles Project Possible. And not only does it turn out to be possible鈥攈e and his crew complete their goal in only six months and six days鈥攂ut Purja speeds through the record even while taking time on several trips to help fellow climbers. At one point, the group spends听the night on Annapurna to rescue a missing climber almost immediately after returning from their own summit; later, they give up their own oxygen to help three climbers on Kanchenjunga. Making his way back down the mountain, Purja helps a climber with high-altitude cerebral edema听return to base camp safely while suffering himself from HACE.

The film, directed by Torquil Jones and made in association with Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin鈥檚 production company, Little Monster Films, follows Purja to every summit while a veritable Greek chorus of climbing greats explains what makes Project Possible so daunting. (鈥淧eople today, if you ask them, 鈥榃hy do you go to the high peaks?鈥� They say, 鈥楤ecause it鈥檚 fun,鈥欌�� says Reinhold Messner at one point. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe them. It鈥檚 not fun.鈥�) But this isn鈥檛 just a documentary about Purja鈥檚 athletic accomplishments: 14 Peaks manages to fit in well-timed asides about Purja鈥檚 family history, his wife Suchi鈥檚 incredible coolness about his terrifying job, and his near-death experience while serving as a Gurkha representing Nepal in the UK鈥檚 special forces. One of the more affecting storylines is about Purja鈥檚 relationship with his mother, Purna Kumari Purja; it鈥檚 about ten听minutes鈥� worth of scenes that will render anyone with functioning tear ducts a blubbering mess by the end of the film.

The documentary also explores how Purja and his teammates鈥� Nepalese identities affect their experience in the mountaineering world, with enough depth that it doesn鈥檛 feel like the usual obligatory spoon-feeding for Western audiences. 鈥淭he climbing community of Nepal have always been the pioneers of 8,000ers, but they never got the respect they deserve,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want to represent the Nepalese climbing community.鈥� Purja, an experienced climber, struggles to get funding for the project, to the extent that he ends up remortgaging his home. One scene addresses the way some purists would criticize Purja鈥檚 decision to climb in a hybrid style, using supplemental oxygen above 8,000 meters. Purja鈥檚 response is that his team鈥檚 self-sufficient approach (which entails putting in their own fixed lines and carrying all their own gear) is much harder than that of many Western climbers who rely on Sherpas to do that work. After all, he鈥檚 used to other climbers waiting around for his team to fix ropes for them. It鈥檚 one of the film鈥檚 many frank condemnations of Western mountaineers鈥� tendency to be mealymouthed in acknowledging just how much they owe to Nepali climbers. 鈥淪o many Western climbers have climbed with a huge help from the Sherpa. What I have heard most of the time is, 鈥楳y Sherpa helped me鈥� and that鈥檚 it,鈥� Purja says later in the film. 鈥淭hat is wrong because he has a name. What they should be saying is, 鈥楳ingma David helped me,鈥� or 鈥楪esman Tamang helped me鈥欌�� If not, you are a ghost.鈥� He also makes a point to pay his team better than Western expeditions would.

The film has already hit Netflix鈥檚 top ten in its first week of streaming, suggesting that its thoughtful exploration of ambitious themes has hit home even with viewers who aren鈥檛 hardcore climbing enthusiasts. 鈥淚n life, you have to keep doing what you believe,鈥� Purja says toward the end of the film. 鈥淵ou have to ask yourself, do you really want this from your heart? Is it for the self-glory? Or is it for something bigger?鈥� 14 Peaks makes it easy to believe that Purja and his partners are most certainly climbing for something even more meaningful than the record itself.

14 Peaks is now streaming on .

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Did you know that Jacques Cousteau was very prickly about the terminology used to describe his听ocean films? 鈥淚 become furious when they label my films with the word documentary. It means 鈥榣ecture from a guy who knows more than you,鈥欌�� he says in a clip from the new film Becoming Cousteau. 鈥淥ur films are not documentaries. They are true adventure films.鈥� Unfortunately for Cousteau, we must crudely categorize his latest biopic听as an exciting new documentary鈥攐ne of three we can鈥檛 wait to watch this month. But then again, 鈥渢rue adventure films鈥� would be an equally fair way to describe all of these new releases about marine life, identity, and obsession.

Becoming Cousteau

Director 鈥檚 previous work includes documentaries about iconic figures in show business, like Nina Simone and Marilyn Monroe. So she鈥檚 just the person to unearth some unexpected details about the man who (by our estimate) got millions of people interested in the ocean. For , Garbus interviewed those close to the legendary explorer, listened to his audio journal entries, and sifted through 550 hours of archival material鈥擟ousteau and friends captured an amount of day-in-the-life footage that would put some reality shows to shame. The result is a whimsical, sometimes melancholy look at how Cousteau鈥檚 obsession with the ocean arose and how his approach to conservation evolved over time. The film immerses viewers in the heady early days when scientists were just coming to terms with how much we didn鈥檛 know about the ocean鈥檚 depths; at the beginning of Cousteau鈥檚 career, the diving equipment we use today had yet to be developed. (He鈥檇 eventually make his own contribution with the Aqua-Lung, an underwater breathing device.) There was also a lot less eco-consciousness compared to today: Cousteau鈥檚 crew detonated dynamite in the water to count the number of fish within, and he made some money by prospecting for oil companies. Over time, Cousteau鈥檚 deep knowledge of ecology and concern for the future of the planet made his outlook so morose that ABC dropped his program, but his pessimism will seem more than appropriate to modern audiences. (Cousteau .)听鈥淲e are drawing blank checks on future generations,鈥� he says in an interview. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 pay. They are going to pay.鈥�

Now playing in theaters.

They/Them

Lor Sabourin is a trans climber with a charming tendency to voice every thought going through their head on the wall. Their totally open-book stream of commentary (鈥淥h, I really wish that this wasn鈥檛 what I was doing right now鈥�) sets the tone for the rest of , which tells the story of how Sabourin came to embrace their identity. The film, directed by and , intersperses shots of Sabourin attempting difficult routes in the sandstone canyons of northern Arizona with details from their personal narrative. Sabourin thoughtfully explains some of the challenges they鈥檝e been working through, including gender dysphoria, body dysmorphia, and an eating disorder. In sharing these struggles, they demonstrate how practicing vulnerability in their personal life has helped them push themselves听to take on new challenges as a climber鈥攁nd help others who may be going through similar experiences to feel less alone. Sabourin shares听advice throughout the film, with applications that go far beyond the climbing world. 鈥淔ear isn鈥檛 stupid or something to hate, it鈥檚 wise, and it鈥檚 letting us know things about ourselves,鈥� they say at one point during a climb. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not like an ooey-gooey, esoteric thing. We鈥檙e gonna feel anxiety or feel scared when our needs aren鈥檛 met, you know?鈥�

Available to stream .

The Loneliest Whale

The 鈥渓oneliest whale,鈥� otherwise known as the 52 Hertz Whale or 52 Blue, is so named because it calls at a frequency higher than other whales鈥� (I鈥檒l give you three guesses what it is). Some scientists have guessed that the unusual cetacean may be a hybrid of whale species, while others have wondered if it may be deaf. Whatever the reason, since other whales can鈥檛 understand it, 52 Blue seems doomed to wander the seas alone. The whale鈥檚 predicament has led to incredible amounts of anthropomorphization and obsession, perhaps best in 2014. 鈥淎 singer in New Mexico, unhappy at his day job in tech, wrote an entire album dedicated to 52; another singer in Michigan wrote a children鈥檚 song about the whale鈥檚 plight; an artist in upstate New York made a sculpture out of old plastic bottles and called it 52 Hertz,鈥� she wrote. Jamison鈥檚 essay also mentioned a filmmaker named who was working haltingly on a documentary about the whale. Seven years later, here it is. Zeman鈥檚 approach stands out because he actually gets a team of experts to take him out on a boat and search for the loneliest whale, something that has not been done before (others have only heard it through hydrophones). Zeman sets up the film as a mystery on par with the true-crime stories and urban legends that make up most of his oeuvre. But no need for spoilers; half the fun of is meeting the fascinating experts and amateurs who are obsessed with 52 Blue. (One man, incredibly, gets on a boat and plays a clarinet that feeds into an underwater speaker, so that he can 鈥渏am鈥澨齱ith the whales.) If that doesn鈥檛 convince you to watch this, the obliterating bliss of nearly nonstop whale calls will.

Now playing in theaters and on .

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It could be that we鈥檝e recently arrived at an ideal viewing situation for film festivals. After holding virtual screenings during the pandemic, many festivals are coming back with hybrid programs that offer audiences the opportunity to choose between getting the full in-person experience or saving on a plane ticket and watching films a la carte from the comfort of their own couch. The latter isn鈥檛 a bad idea when it comes to the , which returns October 30 through November 7 with such an abundance of films set in frigid locales that a heavy blanket should be required for viewings. There is skiing (so much skiing), ice climbing, ultrarunning, and a 1,200-mile hike on the appropriately named Ice Age Trail. Banff attendees can purchase tickets for or tune into the with a full festival pass ($99) or rentals of individual programs and films ($12-$25). These world premieres are at the top of our list to check out this year (with, yes, a 16-pound weighted blanket).

鈥楤reaking Trail鈥�

Emily Ford is really living the dream: being a professional gardener, thru-hiking, and spending lots of quality time with an Alaskan husky named Diggins, who joined her on a 1,200-mile trek of Wisconsin鈥檚 Ice Age Trail in March this year. Meaning she hiked in the snow, in temperatures as low as minus 37 degrees Fahrenheit, while carrying a 60-plus-pound pack. Unsurprisingly, Ford is just the second person鈥攁nd the first woman and person of color鈥攖o complete the grueling journey during the winter. Breaking Trail follows the delightful duo of Ford and Diggins as they manage to find their own trail angels on the journey. It鈥檚 an excellent buddy film鈥擣ord is hilarious even when her Nalgene is frozen solid, and Diggins has quite the personality. But it also expands on themes related to Ford鈥檚 broader goal: to foster a more inclusive outdoors and encourage more people of color to join her on the trail. 鈥淣obody should feel that the outdoors isn鈥檛 for them,鈥� she says in the film. 鈥淚f you just don鈥檛 feel like you fit the bill, there鈥檚 a place for you outside and there鈥檚 a place for you on the trail.鈥�

鈥楥辞苍蹿颈苍茅鈥�

鈥淯ltra trails, running 100 kilometers or more, that鈥檚 not healthy,鈥� says sports physiotherapist Blaise Dubois early on in 颁辞苍蹿颈苍茅. Alas! The main subject of this documentary, professional ultrarunner Mathieu Blanchard, plans to run not just 100 kilometers but 650 (or about 400 miles) in a week as he traverses the International Appalachian Trail鈥檚 Qu茅bec GR A1 segment. It鈥檚 close to where he lives in Montreal, but about as far away as one could get from the comforts of home. There are rocks to scramble over, white-knuckle narrow trails to navigate, and nearly 100,000 feet of elevation gain. And he does it all while navigating stay-at-home restrictions in the midst of COVID-19: the film begins in April 2020 as he鈥檚 training for the attempt. (颁辞苍蹿颈苍茅 means 鈥渃onfined鈥� in French.) Ultimately, Blanchard is doing a more extreme version of what many of the luckiest of us have done during the pandemic: finding new ways to spend the days and appreciate the activities our immediate surroundings have to offer.

鈥楶recious Leader Woman鈥�

Professional snowboarder Spencer O鈥橞rien worked with director Cassie De Colling on this film, which is an exploration of her life as an athlete and her journey to reconnect with her culture. O鈥橞rien is one of few Canadian snowboarders from the First Nations, with both Haida and 鈥嬧�婯wakwa瘫ka瘫始wakw heritage. (The title of the documentary is a translation of O鈥橞rien鈥檚 Haida name, K鈥檜l Jaad Kuuyaas.) The demands of becoming a professional athlete, though, took over her life and made it hard for her to stay in touch with her family and her identity, which she had never thought about much growing up. 鈥淚t was never something I hid, it was just never something I broadcasted,鈥� she says in the film. 鈥淲hen I was younger all I wanted to be was a snowboarder, so I never cared about people knowing anything other than that.鈥� Early on in Precious Leader Woman, we see O鈥橞rien at one of the highest points in her career, nearly winning the X Games in 2012. But that event ended in a significant injury that highlighted the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, which almost ended her career before the 2014 Sochi Olympics. What follows are professional highs and lows that O鈥橞rien seems to navigate with increasing steadiness as she connects with her Indigenous identity. She attends potlatches, gets her Haida name, and learns about how her First Nations communities were forced to give up their culture through residential schools and laws banning certain ceremonial events. With the help of people like her sister, who overcame an addiction to heroin by reconnecting with her culture, O鈥橞rien realizes she can reclaim her culture too.

鈥楴ot Alone鈥�

Outdoor guides who lose a friend in an accident go through an extremely isolating experience, not least because there are so few people who have endured the same thing. In 2019, mountain guide Sarah Hueniken was returning from a trip when she saw and reported a powder cloud from an avalanche where she knew two groups were climbing. She later learned it took the life of her friend and former student, Sonja Findlater. The loss hit Hueniken so hard that she didn鈥檛 even leave the house to go to the grocery store for eight months. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 had a day where I don鈥檛 think about this,鈥� she says in the film. Not Alone follows the ongoing process of moving through heartbreak, which for her includes setting herself a goal of linking three ice climbing routes in Alberta鈥檚 Ghost River Wilderness Area, somewhat fittingly called the 鈥減hobias,鈥� with the aim of bringing herself closer to the memory of her friend. The film demonstrates that the grieving process is far more complicated than a straight line from not OK听to OK. At a tough moment in her climbing attempt, Hueniken says of the film, 鈥淭he whole point of this was to tell a story about Sonja, and I just feel like it doesn鈥檛 matter how hard you try, you can鈥檛 get things back.鈥�

鈥楲a Liste: Everything or Nothing鈥�

You may think you have seen the skiing film La Liste: Everything or Nothing,听starring J茅r茅mie Heitz, before. You would be partly correct: in 2016, a documentary also called followed the Swiss skier as he raced down a list of some of the most iconic peaks in the Alps. This film is essentially a sequel in which Heitz and ski partner Sam Anthamatten expand la liste in question to include not only听the Alps but many of the world鈥檚 most fearsome 6,000-meter peaks. It鈥檚 a simple conceit executed with aplomb: part highly produced travelogue, part ode to the mountains, and most of all a very satisfying compilation of dramatic ski footage that will occasionally make you wonder, 鈥淚s this skiing or is this plummeting very gracefully over the side of a near-vertical mountain face?鈥�

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A pivotal moment in Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin鈥檚 documentary The Rescue is a shot . A small beam of light travels over 13 boys who are huddled together on a ledge in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand. A听soccer team and their coach have just been discovered in a chamber more than two miles from the cave entrance. The rescuers ask the group how many boys are present, and the boys ask what day it is. Behind the camera is cave diver John Volanthan, who keeps repeating the word 鈥渂elieve鈥� over and over. He explains in the documentary that he was actually saying the word for his own sake, so incredible did it seem that the entire team had survived the sudden flooding that trapped them in the cave鈥攏ot to mention almost two weeks in a cold enclosure with limited oxygen and no food or potable water. He had to remind himself that they actually had found the team, and every single member was still alive.

It was a euphoric moment to watch on the news in real time, and it鈥檚 just as affecting on the big screen. But it was only the beginning of a nerve-racking rescue. With more than 10,000 people on the scene, no one could imagine how they would safely extract everyone and deliver them through cramped, submerged tunnels amid continued flooding.

Filmmakers Vasarhelyi and Chin have directed two enormously successful climbing documentaries together, Meru and Free Solo, and won an Oscar for the latter. In The Rescue, they take on a new challenge: bringing viewers into a complicated, high-stakes rescue effort in a film that draws from interviews with many key members of the operation, recreated scenes, and 87 hours of newly found footage from the Royal Thai Navy. They manage to fully convey just how astounding the success of that massive effort was (all 13 people made it out of the cave alive, in case you somehow haven鈥檛 read the news in the last several years). But they also draw out some emotional individual stories behind the rescue that didn鈥檛 originally get much airtime.

At the center of the story is a ragtag group of cave divers from Europe and Australia, considered the A-team of their oddly specific hobby鈥攖hough all of them still have day jobs like anesthesiologist and IT consultant. They鈥檙e called in when organizers realize that there is essentially no one else with the skills and equipment to find the boys, let alone get them out of the cave alive. 鈥淚 think the idea that they鈥檙e volunteers was always something completely stunning,鈥� Vasarhelyi says听in an interview. 鈥淚 mean, these guys are weekend warriors. They鈥檙e the only people in the world who could actually affect the rescue, like all the most elite special forces could not do it.鈥� Once the divers discover the team, of course, they鈥檙e in much more unfamiliar territory. The rescuers must navigate dark, muddy water in a complex system of tunnels for hours to reach the chamber, with each one carrying sufficient oxygen for themself and one boy per trip. They also discover early on that they鈥檒l probably have to sedate the boys in order to keep them calm enough to evacuate them. 鈥淭hey have to make impossible decisions in this impossible situation, and they have everything to lose,鈥� Chin says. 鈥淭hey thought if they got one person out, it would be a success.鈥�

The Chiang Rai Province and the locals involved in the effort might have faded into the background with all of these cave diving details, but Chin and Vasarhelyi don鈥檛 let viewers forget about the massive number of rescue volunteers who made the operation possible. 鈥淥ne of the reasons why we wanted to make the film was that we are Asian filmmakers and there are very few positive nonfiction depictions of Asians,鈥� Vasarhelyi says. 鈥淎nd we are in a unique position to listen.鈥� They include animations explaining the mythology of the cave, the name of which invokes a myth about a princess from an ancient kingdom, and news footage of a visit from the Buddhist monk Kruba Boonchum, who accurately predicts that the team will be found alive within two days. There are also the impressive contributions of the Royal Thai Navy, members of which attempted to help with the cave diving operations even though they did not have the proper equipment or specialized training. The documentary follows the story of retired Thai Navy SEAL Saman Gunan, an experienced diver who died on a mission to deliver oxygen tanks.

The Rescue is in obvious ways the polar opposite of Free Solo: instead of a professional athlete ascending to unthinkable heights for the sake of his own ambitions, we follow weekend warriors deep into the earth for a mission that they feel is their only option in a dire situation. But as in Free Solo, Vasarhelyi is just as interested in exploring athletes鈥� interior lives as she is in documenting exceptional physical feats. The cave divers all seem to fit a certain type: a history of being bullied, not involved in a lot of long-term relationships, not big team players. One quips, 鈥淭he last one picked on the cricket team, the first one called to help with the rescue.鈥� In exploring the psychological underpinnings of a niche sport, The Rescue attempts to answer the biggest question raised by the story: 鈥淗ow did these people come to be, who are able to make such a stunning, absolutely moral decision?鈥� Vasarhelyi says. 鈥淲hen the time came, they were their best selves.鈥�

The Rescue is now playing in theaters.

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