Wood chopping is objectively awful for all the obvious reasons: blisters, back aches, over-the-counter painkiller expenses. But that鈥檚 not what you remember months later, when the fruits of your labor warm you and your loved ones on a cold winter night. See, wood chopping is really an investment鈥攂oth in terms of that crackling fire, but also your emotional well being.聽 That is something Nicole Coenen knows all about. The internet鈥檚 self proclaimed 鈥渓esbian lumberjill鈥� grew up an uncomfortable tomboy in the suburbs of Ontario, and she found both her refuge and her calling in the woods. She鈥檚 amassed a huge following from the forest that surrounds her adopted home of British Columbia, and her videos are more than just wholesome, self-effacing clips of her wood chopping skills. They鈥檝e a living journal of a woman who was saved by trees.

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Summer at Katmai National Park in Alaska is coming to a close, and Fat Bear Week is upon us. Since 2014, the has drawn an increasing number of voters and fans鈥�1,700 people voted the first year; last year, that number topped 1 million.

The uniqueness of the bears themselves (always numbered, sometimes nicknamed) is the biggest draw. Each bear has its own history, personality, and method of gaining mass, and the voting can get intense. Favorites emerge, fat bears win and lose, and we, the viewers, experience the thrill of competition and the heartbreak that comes with loving these giant, truly wild beasts.

An excellent way to pick your bear for each day of the bracket is to try to figure out which one speaks to you the most鈥攖he real you, if you were a bear lucky enough to live in the salmon-rich waters of Katmai. We鈥檝e made that process easier by building a quiz to help you determine your match.

Who will be the ultimate ursine?

Take Our Fat Bear Quiz

To take our quiz, answer each question and jot down your answers, a through d, as you go. When you’re done, tally up your score to see which letter you chose the most.

1. When you get to hang out at a body of water, do you鈥�

a) Chill on the shore

b) Float with the waves

c) Go for a big swim

d) Play mermaids with your friends

e) Find the roughest water

2. When you鈥檙e faced with a challenge, do you鈥�

a) Stand your ground

b) Chill, bro. No need to fight.

c) Back down

d) Avoid facing a challenge entirely

e) N/A: no one is stupid enough to challenge me

3. Do people think of you as鈥�

a) Nice, but standoffish

b) The strong and silent type

c) The new kid on the block

d) An outgoing social butterfly

e) The queen bee

4. Have you lost loved ones?

a) Yes, several

b) My past is very mysterious

c) Not many鈥擨鈥檝e been lucky

d) Yes, a few

e) I鈥檝e lived so long it鈥檚 unavoidable

5. What do you think about kids?

a) I love being a parent!

b) Not my scene

c) I鈥檇 like a family one day

d) I鈥檓 too young to think about kids!

e) I love my big family and hope to continue to grow it

6. What鈥檚 your biggest strength?

a) My resiliency

b) My dedication

c) My skills

d) My confidence

e) My reputation

7. What鈥檚 your biggest weakness?

a) My stubbornness

b) My really long naps

c) My lack of support鈥擨鈥檓 alone in the wilderness!

d) My lack of experience

e) My age

Which Fat Bear Are You?

Mostly A鈥檚鈥�

You鈥檙e 901! At 9 years old, 901 is a female bear who鈥檚 never been fatter鈥攐r more favored to win Fat Bear Week. She鈥檚 loved and lost (she lost three cubs last year alone), but in a possible comeback, she鈥檚 looking big enough to potentially carry another pregnancy next year. She鈥檚 a total beach bum and isn鈥檛 afraid to let the rangers know she鈥檚 not interested in changing spots when they try to move her. We love a diva at heart.

Mostly B鈥檚鈥�

You鈥檙e 602, aka 鈥淔loatato鈥� (seriously). This big boy showed up to the Brooks River in July and hasn鈥檛 left. He鈥檚 not interested in using his dominating size to fight and would rather float along, eat a big meal, and take a nap. In addition to his massive belly, 602 is known for the 鈥渕ashed potato dance鈥� he does when he gets overstimulated.

Mostly C鈥檚鈥�

You鈥檙e 609! Welcome, young one. After being surrounded by family for her first four years of life, 609 is striking out on her own this year and learning the ins and outs of being miss independent. She鈥檚 currently at the bottom of the bear hierarchy but has shown smarts and skills that give her loads of potential. We think this is just the beginning for 609.

Mostly D鈥檚鈥�

You鈥檙e 128 Jr.! Winner of Fat Bear Junior and nicknamed Baby, 128 Jr. is still hanging out with Mom and benefitting from her immensely. In her second summer, she鈥檚 becoming strong and confident鈥攁nd loves looking for playmates and trying to fish by herself at the lip of the falls.

Mostly E鈥檚鈥�

You鈥檙e 128 Grazer! A queen among bears, 128 Grazer is 20 years old (!) and has raised generations of cubs, teaching them the secrets of fishing salmon at the falls of Brooks River and getting truly fat along the way. She鈥檚 extremely graceful, with flowing blond fur, and her long life and many progeny mean she鈥檚 known to the bears in Katmai.

This quiz features 5 of the 11 bears that are competing this year; learn more about all 11 bears at

The post Take the Quiz: Which Fat Bear Are You? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Dear Sundog,

I started using the fitness tracking platform Strava a few years ago and loved it. I could see my trail running times and distances improve and I pushed myself while ski touring鈥攚ith my friends there to cheer me on. But lately I鈥檝e started to sour on it: the one-upmanship, the preening, the feeling like someone is deliberately trying to beat me just to say they did鈥攏ot to mention getting hit on by cheesy dudes. Now I hear about : users pay someone else (faster) to carry their phone to get them a slot on the leaderboard. It seems nuts and somehow wrong. Should I just quit?

Full-on Krazy Times

Dear FKT,

Paying someone to achieve your achievement is indeed the highest expression of human folly. It may resemble paying someone to write a college term paper. But while cheating in school is clearly unethical, cheating on a fitness tracker is does not have an obvious victim. The stakes are so low that it鈥檚 hard to fathom the motives. It鈥檚 a sort of inverse prostitution: instead of paying someone to have sex with you (to provide you pleasure), you would pay someone to have sex for you (to deprive yourself of pleasure) and then brag about it online (to convince others that you are in fact having pleasure.) If just one person did this, we鈥檇 diagnose a mental illness. But when large numbers of otherwise sane people begin to depart their senses in unison, it鈥檚 worth digging into the cultural moment.

This discussion is about the outdoors鈥攖rails, mountains, canyons, forests鈥攁nd does not apply to those using Strava on the pavement or鈥擥od help them鈥攁 stationary bicycle.

And instead of focusing on the few weirdos who are making Strava a bummer for everyone else, let me examine weather鈥攚hen it comes to the backcountry鈥擲trava is itself an inherently flawed product.

I know that some users use the platform solely for themselves and don鈥檛 share their stats with other. I鈥檓 sure this is useful, but it鈥檚 not really what Strava is. You don鈥檛 need a social app to track your times and distances; you can do that with a GPS watch. Even a fledgling Luddite such as Sundog has started wearing such a contraption as he plods along the local trail, occasionally being passed by an elderly dog-walker, largely to know when it鈥檚 time to turn around before inflicting further damage on his old knees. What makes Strava a sensation is the ability to share your achievements and efforts with others who in the best case scenario will encourage you to go further and faster.

And what could be more American than the insistence that if you try harder and harder you will eventually succeed? Optimizing performance in wild places is the holy grail for the new crop of endurance athletes drawn to ultramarathons, gravel bikes and fastest known times. But let鈥檚 pause there: is the natural world actually the place to go faster and further and harder?

More than half a century ago, when the Grand Canyon was under threat of being dammed, dam boosters claimed that one benefit was the resulting reservoir that would bring untold recreational activities to the masses who would now be able to boat and fish afloat clear blue waters instead of having to descend into the gorge with its inhospitable rapids and currents and mud. The Sierra Club posted a full page ads in newspapers asking: SHOULD WE ALSO FLOOD THE SISTINE CHAPEL SO TOURISTS CAN GET NEARER THE CEILING?

What if I were to suggest that the Pope cordon off running lanes through the Vatican so I might better time my sprints, and install stairs for cardio work leading to Michaelangelo鈥檚 frescoes? One might say: this is a holy place, not one for competitive athletics and recreation. I might say the same about the mountains and canyons.

Do Strava try-hards actually damage the land? Oh, probably there鈥檚 some trampling done by the 24-hour races and days-long sieges of public lands required for an-ultra marathon. But I don鈥檛 think the environmental concerns are major. What about the fact that these overachievers are just a bit, well, irritating to others, such as yourself, FKT? That鈥檚 surely real, but I wouldn鈥檛 call it immoral.

So, no, I don鈥檛 think Strava is unethical. And yet I want to help answer your question, FKT, which is ultimately not about other people鈥檚 behavior, but your own. And in this era of magical, unprecedented, and addictive technologies, yours is a question that we all seem to face: why do I continue to do this thing that makes me unhappy?

Let me share my own story. As a mediocre athlete growing up in suburbs, Sundog was repelled by most soccer and baseball鈥攁nd even surfing鈥攂ecause the kids who were good at these sports were already calcifying into a personality type that with the wisdom of adulthood I might call 鈥渁ssholes.鈥� They were cocky, competitive, and quick to lord their superiority over the rest of us. And it worked! I was generally too intimidated and psyched-out to paddle into a wave or take a shot on goal for fear of being yelled out by some jock.

The place I finally found my teenage footing was on the crags and cliffs of Joshua Tree and Yosemite, where I turned out to be a good enough climber. It didn鈥檛 feel like the climbers of the eighties鈥攅ven the talented ones鈥攚ere there to prove their greatness. I discovered my people: misfits, artists, vagabonds and dreamers driven by curiosity more than competition who sought adventure and solitude and the mystical.

And yes鈥擨 actually did want to prove鈥攖o someone鈥攎y greatness, and became obsessed with pushing the numbers, wanting to climb harder routes that anyone else my age. By the time I was 18 I was already jaded and burned-out鈥擨 no longer enjoyed climbing some classic all-day 5.8 multi-pitch route in Tuolumne Meadows. I only wanted to be rehearsing some fifty-foot 5.11c. I drifted away from what I loved and ended up in a small circle of competitive jocks who, with the hindsight of adulthood, I might refer to as 鈥渁ssholes.鈥�

Likely I was one of them. What began as discovery and transcendence ended as vanity and striving after wind. I quite rock climbing by the time I was 19鈥攁nd even though through the next decades I taught climbing and canyoneering, it was at that point a job, and not a passion. I have some regrets. I always wanted to climb at least one grade beyond my ability, and as a result I took a series of lead falls that involved pulling gear, minor injuries, near misses, and scaring the shit out of myself and my partners. I鈥檓 lucky to have survived those years without tragedy. Now I look back and wonder: why did I have to try so hard? Why wasn鈥檛 I content to climb within my skills?

California has hundreds of gorgeous moderate routes that I never climbed because of my ambition. It鈥檚 clear now that through climbing I was trying to work out my own insecurities: I wanted to be great! I wanted other people to acknowledge that I was great! Were the cliffs of Yosemite and Joshua Tree the best places to work this shit out? Probably not.

Back to the comparison and competition that fuels Strava. There is likely a population of enlightened souls for whom this works. For the rest of us, Strava appears to be a product which鈥攍ike all other social media鈥攃ultivates some of humanity鈥檚 worst traits: public boasting coupled with private insecurity as we scroll through the superior public boasts of friends and strangers.

What if the outdoors is simply not the place for competitive fitness? Leave that shit in the gym, or on the asphalt, or on the Peloton. For those who really want to time themselves, compare themselves, and in any other way optimize performance, let me politely suggest a brisk sprint around the ovular track at your local high school. The outdoors calls for far more important things than physical fitness: laying prone in the trail to study a stinkbug, making love in a meadow, watching clouds drift past peaks.

鈥淧raise ignorance,鈥� says Wendell Berry, 鈥渇or what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.鈥� It may be true that what gets measured can then be improved. And yet there are no numbers in nature, no minutes or miles or measurements. When we humans overlay those stats on the untamed land, we likely miss the mystery it has to show us.

Mark Sundeen teaches environmental writing at the University of Montana. Got an ethical question of quandary of your own? Send it to sundogsalmanac@hotmail.com.

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Spend time outdoors, and you鈥檒l eventually spend time in brutal, even scary weather. Dangerous winds, flash flood-inducing rain, and vision-erasing whiteouts are sometimes the cost of entry. By the same token, you鈥檙e as likely to remember the upsides to those experience鈥攖he belly laughter of relief, the rainbows after the rain, the waist deep powder鈥攁s the scary parts. Hank Schyma, aka Pecos Hank, built a career out of those upsides by becoming one of the internet鈥檚 most beloved storm chasers. For decades, he鈥檚 captured astonishing photos and video of tornadoes, gathering new data on how they work and discovering new phenomena. On his wildly popular Youtube channel, his new photo memoir Storm, and in this conversation, we get to see and hear it all鈥攆rom a significantly safer distance.

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What if high school included kayaking classic whitewater in Patagonia, climbing tufas in Greece, riding A-Line in Whistler, or kiting perfect wind in Brazil鈥攚hile earning a diploma and applying to college? At (WCA), that鈥檚 just a typical semester. For 25 years, WCA has combined rigorous academics with elite-level adventure sports, creating a totally unique high school experience. From the Andes to the Amazon to the Alps, students don鈥檛 just learn鈥攖hey live their education. Climbing Academy alumnus-turned-instructor Kieran Hadley, MTB Academy head of school Riley Gardner, and dean of students Crista Wiles offer a behind-the-scenes look at how WCA is evolving, what makes its students stand out, and why this untraditional path leads to growth far beyond GPA or podiums.

Student Experience

Kieran Hadley, Alumnus and former Climbing Academy Program Director

国产吃瓜黑料: What is the lasting impact of WCA for students?

Kieran Hadley: The ability for WCA students to see the world through the lens of sport and learning is an unreal opportunity. In 2015, my senior year of high school, I climbed with my classmates and teachers in Maple Canyon, Ten Sleep, Joe鈥檚 Canyon, Ulldemolins, Albarrac铆n, Potrero Chico, El Salto, Bishop, and Las Vegas鈥攁ll in one year!

As a WCA Climbing Academy graduate, I left our program equipped with life skills that others often aren鈥檛 able to build in a traditional high school environment. I learned to adapt to new environments and situations more quickly, be a more effective team member, and understand how to set and achieve goals. Most importantly, students in the WCA programs develop new perspectives and social connections that stick with them long after graduation.

After graduating from WCA, my classmates and I approached life in a new way, having gained appreciation for process over achievement and community over competition. I went into my WCA program as a competitive climber and came out of it with an even greater passion for outdoor climbing and a community of friends to share that with, many of whom I鈥檓 still in contact with today. I saw the same evolution in my students when I returned to teach at the school. The WCA alumni I know are the type of people who 鈥済et it鈥濃�攚ho chase their goals humbly yet playfully, respect nature and the people around them, and pursue their sport at an elite level.

In what ways did your experience at WCA shape your career path or professional goals?

When I was a WCA student, one of my teachers read a piece of my writing and told me I should consider pursuing journalism. This recommendation from a trusted mentor planted a seed that followed me through my undergraduate education and pushed me to explore the field through internships and my own writing and photography. I eventually decided to go back to school to pursue a career in journalism, but I set that goal aside for a few years because I wanted to go back and teach at WCA, which was absolutely worth it. After teaching, I had saved enough for graduate school, and now I鈥檓 halfway through my master鈥檚 in journalism. So it鈥檚 sort of become a full circle that WCA both inspired and helped me to achieve.

Culture and Curriculum

Riley Gardner, WCA MTB Head of School

How is WCA evolving鈥攚hat鈥檚 available now, and what鈥檚 coming next?

Riley Gardner: World Class has got to be one of the most unique high schools out there. What sets us apart is our dedication to the highest caliber of athletic destinations to promote passion for sport and learning in our students. We are constantly advancing our academic curriculum, improving coaching practices, and expanding our destinations. Our current student-to-teacher ratios are 3:1, with about 20 students per academy. Our four academies are:

In 2024 and 2025, we also offered the 鈥攁 tuition-free version of the World Class Kayak Academy鈥攕pecifically designed for Indigenous youth, in preparation for the first source-to-sea descent of the undammed Klamath River. Beginning in the 2026鈥�2027 school year, we鈥檒l introduce our fifth program鈥�!

What do you consider when choosing academy destinations?

We operate our academies in some of the world鈥檚 most inspiring locations, setting WCA apart from other academic institutions. The athletic caliber of a destination is at the core of our school.

For mountain biking, we are looking for trails and MTB scenes that are considered to be the best in the world. We choose destinations that stand out as a global hot spot for the sport. Next, we review the environmental and cultural aspects of the destination. We look for places that are exciting and engaging places that our students are fired up on, with good local food and a variety of experiences beyond mountain biking. Finally, we examine logistics. The right accommodation is essential鈥攊t must support classrooms, morning workouts, nutritious meals, and storage for the massive amount of gear we bring along.

Before finalizing a location, I always consider how it fits within the broader itinerary for the school year. I ask myself: How does this destination balance with the others? Does it make sense in the context of where else we鈥檙e going? I want the yearlong itinerary to have a balance. I prefer to mix in classic WCA destinations like Whistler and Queenstown with more niche locales like Peru and Tasmania. Many factors go into choosing a location for WCA, but seeing it all come together鈥攁nd watching students be blown away by a place鈥攊s one of the most rewarding parts of my role. The considerations I put into MTB destinations are reflected in our other academies, where the kayak, climb, and kite heads of schools are asking similar questions and putting together equally standout yearlong itineraries.

World-Class Education

Crista Wiles, WCA Dean of Students

Who are your students?

Crista Wiles: Students come to WCA to complete their high school education while traveling to participate in the sport they love鈥攁 dream-come-true opportunity. They have varying levels of athletic expertise, but they are all motivated to learn from their athletic heroes and teachers (which turns out to be a terrific motivator for academic performance), grow as global citizens, and challenge themselves in a dynamic and engaging environment. Whether they attend for a semester or their whole high school career, students in our program will explore the world, push their limits, and connect with peers who share similar interests.

What sets our student body apart is not just athletic skill but the rapid development of character. Students come to WCA eager to learn from our expert staff and pursue their individual goals. They leave with even more growth than they imagined: a deeper understanding of themselves and a clearer vision for how they want to engage with the world. Through personalized life skills lessons, hands-on experience, and the college seminar, students learn the college process, explore new interests, and envision their future. By the time they leave WCA, they鈥檙e not just prepared for the next step鈥攖hey’re ready for wherever life takes them next.

What personal growth do you witness in students as they move through the program?

For many students, this is their first extended time away from home, and that offers a powerful opportunity for personal growth. Students develop character through the day-to-day realities of group living, independently managing responsibilities, and adapting to new routines while traveling internationally. The unique structure of our academic program鈥攕mall class sizes, personalized instruction, and deeply invested teachers鈥攁llows students to grow in confidence and capability in the classroom.

Athletically, they are immersed in their sport in some of the most iconic destinations in the world, with consistent training and meaningful coaching that fuels progress. They learn how to contribute to a team, navigate conflict, and hold themselves accountable.

Beyond these areas, I see students begin to explore who they want to be in the world. They gain independence, empathy, and self-awareness. WCA isn鈥檛 just a school: It鈥檚 a launchpad for the kind of growth that stays with students long after they leave.

is an accredited 501(c)(3) high school based in White Salmon, Washington. World Class Academy has been providing student athletes with a high school education since 2001. It currently runs four distinct internationally traveling high school academies for climbers, mountain bikers, whitewater kayakers, and kiteboarders.

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America鈥檚 660 million acres of public land now have a news organization devoted entirely to them. Launched this week by former 国产吃瓜黑料 editor-in-chief Christopher Keyes, RE:PUBLIC plans to deliver independent, in-depth reporting on conservation, access, and the politics shaping public outdoor spaces.

At a time when U.S. public lands face a combination of budget cuts, weakened environmental regulations, and proposals for land transfers or sales, RE:PUBLIC鈥檚 stated mission is to increase public awareness of these challenges, give citizens tools to better understand policy changes, and hold decision makers accountable.

In its first year, RE:PUBLIC will partner with established media outlets to distribute its stories while developing its own . The website will be funded through聽grants, memberships, and individual donations.

The newsroom plans to produce long-form investigations, special reports such as the 鈥淩E:PUBLIC Endangered List,鈥� and a weekly . It will also launch a weekly podcast in collaboration with outdoor industry podcast Rock Fight Media.

We talked to Keyes to learn more.

OUTSIDE: What is RE:PUBLIC all about?

Christopher Keyes: RE:PUBLIC is an independent nonprofit newsroom that’s focused entirely on public land鈥攖hat’s the only issue we’re going to be covering. And we’re set up as a nonprofit so it’s a way for me to try out a new business model after 25 years in commercial media.

Tell me about the need for RE:PUBLIC and why you founded it.

It’s a response to a couple of things. I’ve been in media for 25 years, and I’ve seen so much contraction across the industry. I’ve seen some analysis that said we have 75 percent fewer journalists than we had two decades ago. So I think what we’re seeing is a media industry that is overwhelmed by all of the news and doesn’t know what to cover first. From a national media perspective, public lands issues are just not at the top of the list. They’re maybe number 17 on the list of things that journalists feel the need to be covering right now. I see a real vacuum that needs to be filled, and that’s what RE:PUBLIC is attempting to fill.

I’d also say that conservation of public lands, and the idea of keeping public lands in public hands, is one of the few remaining bipartisan issues that we have left. That’s all the more reason for us to really want to dedicate our time to this topic. It’s a rare opportunity to speak to both sides of the aisle about something that’s important and that we have consensus around.

Specifically, what kinds of issues will you cover?

The issues around public land change from administration to administration, and without question this administration has presented an unprecedented number of threats, as we saw this summer with Utah Senator Mike Lee proposing massive public land sales. There’s the recission of the Roadless Rule, which protects 58 million acres of national forest from further road development. You have the gutting of environmental regulations that slow down extractive industries on public lands. Everywhere you look the conservation movement is playing defense. Right now, I think that’s going to inform a lot of our coverage: the massive existential policy threats that are out there affecting our public lands. But I see a need for coverage in the space no matter who’s in office and well into the future because these lands dictate so much of how we recreate and how this outdoor industry thrives. I think we’re going to need to be covering stories about access, overcrowding, and how to manage all these lands going forward.

What do you hope to do with RE:PUBLIC as it evolves?

Our first year focus is on assigning, commissioning, and paying for 10 to 12 deeply reported investigative stories about public lands. I’m a big believer that聽less is more sometimes in reporting, and really aiming for high-impact stories versus the daily drip of information and what is often bad news, which can overwhelm people. I really want to focus on high-impact stories with a real narrative core that is going to draw people into the read and learn something along the way.

That’s going to be our focus in year one, but over time we hope to expand our reporting network so that we have regional reporters covering these issues. Some of these issues are national issues, but a lot of of them are very regional as well in scope. We want a partner with regional and local newspapers on a lot of the coverage, too.

The last thing I would say is whatever my vision is for RE:PUBLIC going forward for the next five years will probably change multiple times. I just know that that’s the nature of startups, so I’m really open to how this will evolve over time. All I know is that I really want to throw energy and resources into this particular space and see what the best methods are for finding an audience for this content.

Can you share a little about the partnership model RE:PUBLIC is embracing?

One of the things that really attracted me to the nonprofit model of journalism is that it’s really built more on partnership than competition. I love the idea that for what we work on, we will be finding partners to publish our big stories. I’m super excited, given that I spent most of my career 国产吃瓜黑料, that our first big story will be published in 国产吃瓜黑料 as a co-publication in October.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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Extreme adaptability and versatility can be found throughout the animal kingdom, but may have found their peak expression in Alexi Pappas. As a runner, Pappas was a two-time All-American for Dartmouth who set a national record running for Greece at the 2016 Olympics. As a performer, she was a member of Dartmouth鈥檚 gut-busting Dog Day improv group before going on to write, direct, and star in several feature films, including Tracktown, Olympic Dreams, and Not An Artist. The further into her career Pappas gets, the more running influences her art, and her art influences her running鈥攁ll of which she talks about in a way that makes you understand how she鈥檚 risen so high in two fundamentally different worlds.

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On the fifth day, a dead seal washes up on the beach in front of where we鈥檝e pitched our tent. We鈥檙e on a remote and beautiful stretch of coast called Nissen Bight, at the extreme northwest tip of Vancouver Island, surrounded by roadless wilderness where no one lives and few people visit. It鈥檚 so wild that three of the first four seasons of the History Channel鈥檚 survival show Alone were filmed near here. In fact, that鈥檚 part of the reason we came. We鈥檙e big fans of the show and love imagining how we would fare.

The hike so far has been brutally hard. Along with my wife, Lauren, and our kids, Ella and Natalie, I鈥檓 following the , a roughly 37-mile path along the top of the island. It鈥檚 the newer and lesser-known partner of the , Canada鈥檚 most famous backpacking route, which is more easily accessible, more carefully maintained, and so popular that access is carefully rationed with advance bookings. About 7,500 people hike the West Coast Trail each year, which is roughly how many people have ever completed the North Coast Trail since opened in 2008. A grizzled hiker we met a few days earlier tells us that the northern trail reminds him of how the West Coast Trail was when he first hiked it in 1975.

In Alone: Frozen, a 2022 spin-off season set in Labrador, one of the contestants finds a big chunk of seal skin washed up on the beach. 鈥淚 mean, it smells fresh,鈥� she says. 鈥淪eal fat soup, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 for dinner tonight.鈥� This scene is on all of our minds as we contemplate the dead seal on Nissen Bight. My main worry is that the carcass will attract wolves or cougars or bears if it stays there overnight. But I also have a moment of perfect clarity and self-knowledge: out here in the wilderness, hundreds of miles from the nearest store, where nature is still red in tooth and claw, there鈥檚 still no way in hell I鈥檇 eat that seal.

Here are five other insights I took away from the trip, which I鈥檒l try to keep in mind as I await details on Season 13.

1. The Terrain Is Insane

How hard, you ask, could a 37-mile hike be? We gave ourselves six days to cover the distance, which meant that we averaged around five miles in eight hours on each of the first five days, then put in a big final day when the terrain got easier. It alternates between steep, muddy rainforest and rocky beaches and headlands. The mud can be thigh-deep or worse; the scrambles up and over vertical headlands, sometimes assisted by a greasy rope, are exhausting and sometimes terrifying. And this is on the trail!

In Season 4 of Alone, pairs of participants were dropped roughly ten miles apart and had to reunite by bushwacking through the forest. It took eight days for the first pair to reconnect, which struck me at the time as ridiculous. After hiking in the area, I鈥檓 now flabbergasted that they managed to get anywhere at all. Never was this more clear than when we received satellite warning of a potential tsunami one evening and had to contemplate fleeing from the coast. The obvious response would have been to hike inland and uphill through the woods鈥攂ut without a trail to follow, that option seemed all but physically impossible.

2. The Wildlife Is Wild

I鈥檒l admit that I鈥檝e snickered when Alone contestants tap out after hearing or seeing a bear. In Season 1, someone taps out after the first night because a bear was sniffing around his camp. The bears on Vancouver Island are almost exclusively black bears rather than grizzlies, so the danger doesn鈥檛 seem extreme to me. Still, I realize things can hit differently when you鈥檙e truly in the wild rather than, say, in a national park with help nearby.

It鈥檚 not just bears. The northern part of Vancouver Island reportedly has the highest concentration of cougars on the planet, along with hundreds of wolves. We didn鈥檛 see any cougars鈥攁lthough that doesn鈥檛 mean they didn鈥檛 see us鈥攂ut we saw plenty of wolf tracks, including fresh ones one morning showing that they had passed right through our camp overnight.

And sure enough, a bear strolled out of the woods one evening a few hundred yards from our tent and wandered down to the shore. We unsheathed our cans of bear spray and settled in to watch. It looked like the bear was munching on the thick bed of half-dried seaweed just above the waterline (probably, , foraging for tiny crustaceans hidden within). We watched for half an hour, and eventually tired of the show, but the bear foraged on. We headed off to cook and eat dinner, then got in the tent and zipped into our sleeping bags while the bear kept munching. It was gone by morning.

3. The Ocean (in Theory) Provides

The jumping-off point for our hike (and for the initial seasons of Alone) was a town called Port Hardy, a six-hour drive north from Victoria, where the island鈥檚 main airport is located. From there, it鈥檚 an hour-long water taxi ride along the coast to the start of the North Coast Trail. During the ride, we saw humpback whales, orcas, seals, sea otters, and waves of the pink salmon that were running during our visit in early August. During the hike, too, we got used to watching seals and sea otters (and often, we eventually realized, pieces of driftwood) playing in the waves just offshore.

We spent our second night on a beach at Cape Sutil, where there鈥檚 also a nearby yurt where park rangers sometimes camp during the hiking season. There were three rangers there that evening, and one of them wandered down to the beach with his fishing rod and pulled out a giant pink salmon on one of his first casts. We tried to look hungry, but it turned out that the rangers had a propane freezer to store whatever they didn鈥檛 eat for dinner.

It was one of those moments that lures you into thinking that it wouldn鈥檛 be so hard to feed yourself out there. But the ranger had high-quality fishing gear, as opposed to the jury-rigged rods and line Alone contestants have to rely on. He and his two colleagues then spent another hour or so fishing up and down the beach with no further luck other than a couple of small ones they threw back. As much as I like to imagine feasting on salmon, a more realistic fantasy is probably the disgusting worm-like gunnels that Ted and Jim Baird harvest from under rocks in the intertidal zone in Season 4. 鈥淚f you haven鈥檛 realized,鈥� Ted says at one point, 鈥渋t鈥檚 foraging that wins this show.鈥�

4. Things Can Go Wrong

On our second-last day of hiking, we caught up with a woman hobbling along the trail using her hiking poles as crutches. She had slipped and wrenched her knee badly, but there were no easy extraction points nearby, so she was trying to hike another ten miles out while her uncle carried her pack along with his own. I offered to haul her pack another mile up the trail, but there wasn鈥檛 much else we could do.

The various seasons of Alone are rife with accidents of varying types and levels of severity: falls, burns, blade wounds, poisonings, and so on. This is a risk in any backcountry endeavor, of course. But the slippery, jagged terrain on Vancouver Island felt unusually treacherous to me, especially with a heavy pack interfering with my balance and steadily mounting fatigue in my legs and mind. We were only hiking for a week, and we weren鈥檛 starving. If we鈥檇 been out longer, it would have been only a matter of time before we had a mishap.

5. The Feeling of Being Alone Is Awesome

We weren鈥檛 actually alone on the North Coast Trail. At every place we camped, there was at least one other tent somewhere nearby. That鈥檚 not because the trail is crowded, but rather because there are so few places along the route that have access to drinking water and a flat place to pitch a tent. That explains why Alone contestants sometimes struggle for days to decide where to make their camp, and it also explains why the few backpackers on the North Coast Trail usually end up clustering at the same overnight spots. But hey, we felt alone!

In Alone: Frozen, all the contestants were show veterans who had notched long stays on previous seasons, so it was surprising to see several tap out really early鈥攊n one case after just five days. 鈥淭here was PTSD in my body,鈥� the eventual winner, Woniya Thibault, told 国产吃瓜黑料 last year. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think of my first season as traumatic, but then you get back out in the wilderness and you realize it was actually really hard.鈥� Going backpacking in the same terrain gave me a glimpse鈥攁 faint one!鈥攐f just how hard it must be. But it also reminded me why people are drawn to these places, even without prize money or glory on the line. It鈥檚 a magical feeling.

For more Sweat Science, join me on and , sign up for the , and check out my new book .

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Ben Masters and his team spent 80 days at the edge of the Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona, their cameras trained on a condor nest as they waited to capture footage of a chick taking its first flight.

Instead, they caught the moment when the gawky bald bird slipped, then tumbled hundreds of feet off the sheer rock face. The bird survived, and clips of its day-and-a-half struggle to climb back to its nest mark one of the most riveting scenes in聽The American Southwest,鈥� the fourth feature-length wildlife documentary produced by Masters and Fin and聽Fur Films.

The documentary traces the green ribbon of the Colorado River nearly 1,500 miles as it flows through forests and canyons near its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains and into the diversion tunnels and irrigation canals of Southern California before vanishing onto a sunbaked stretch of dried mud in Mexico.

The 107-minute film includes plenty of how鈥檇-they-get-that-shot moments, from a cutthroat trout leaping from the river to gulp a giant salmonfly to a beaver looking expectantly up at a tree it鈥檚 been chewing on just as it teeters over. But beyond the captivating images of wildlife lies a deeper message鈥�humans are bleeding the Colorado River dry.

The river, the most litigated in the world, supported about 2 million people in 1900. Today 40 million rely on it as their main water source.

Masters teamed with , a non-profit organization that works to restore and protect wild rivers, to create the documentary, and its call to action. The film opens in theaters around the Southwest U.S. on September 5.

The documentary highlights charismatic animals and behavior from each ecosystem along the river鈥檚 pathway. 鈥淚t鈥檚 told from the perspective of the land and the wildlife,鈥� Masters tells 国产吃瓜黑料. 鈥淎nd it’s an objective look at our society鈥檚 relationship with the world.鈥�

The film features footage of bugling elk, shape-shifting giant salmon caddisflies, which look like something from a horror show as they crack out of their exoskeletons, and water-hoarding saguaro cactus鈥攁s well as a family of charmingly industrious beavers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 cool watching (the beavers) chop down trees, but it鈥檚 a lot more than a cute animal doing something interesting,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hese animals are providing an invaluable service throughout these wetlands by slowing down water and purifying water.鈥�

Getting the footage took time鈥攖hree years in all.

鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of pre-production planning and understanding species and developing relationships with biologists to get those scenes,鈥� Masters says. 鈥淭hen you just never know what nature鈥檚 going to throw at you.鈥�

Quannah ChasingHorse Lends Her Voice

The film鈥檚 narrator, Indigenous model and activist Quannah ChasingHorse (featured on 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 September/October 2023 cover), adds the voice of the Indigenous people who have long lived along the Colorado River. She was born in Arizona and raised on Navajo Nation land in Arizona and Alaska.

鈥淭oo often in nature films and documentaries, Indigenous people are excluded, even though we have lived in, stewarded, and fought to protect these lands for generations,鈥� ChasingHorse said in a prepared statement.

Masters, who grew up in Amarillo, Texas, where he hunted and worked as a ranch hand and oil field worker before earning a degree in wildlife biology from Texas A&M University, made his first full-length film, Unbranded,聽in 2015. It followed the adventures of Masters and three friends as they adopted, trained, and rode a string of wild mustangs from Mexico to Canada.

Next, Masters and four others hiked, rode, pedaled and paddled along the Texas-Mexico border to film The River and the Wall, which examined the potential impact of a border wall on the region鈥檚 wildlife and humans. Most recently, Masters produced ,聽narrated by Matthew McConaughey, which highlights the wildlife of Texas, from black bears and mountain lions to whale sharks and bison.

The Colorado River Plan Is Up for Renegotiation

Masters timed the release of The American Southwestto raise awareness about the upcoming renegotiation of Colorado River鈥檚 management plan in 2026. The plan was last updated 20 years ago, and today the river鈥檚 water is over-allocated and it runs dry before it reaches the Gulf of California.

鈥淭here鈥檚 more paper water than wet water,鈥� Masters says. 鈥淪tates have to try to figure out how to progress into the future, so water management is decided cordially among states instead of in the courts.鈥�

Today, about 25 percent of the Colorado River basin鈥檚 water feeds California鈥檚 Imperial Valley, where farmers use it to irrigate crops, including water-hogging alfalfa.聽鈥淎 third of that alfalfa is shipped overseas to feed livestock in foreign countries,鈥� Masters says. 鈥淚s that the greatest use of water? In my opinion no, it鈥檚 not.鈥�

The film ends with a glimpse of a tiny portion of river delta that remains where the river runs out in Mexico. In the scene, huge flocks of birds soar over a lush landscape. It鈥檚 a reminder, Masters says, of how the entire delta once looked鈥攁nd how it could look again if the river was better managed.

鈥淲e want to influence negotiation so there鈥檚 a greater value on nature-based solutions. It鈥檚 bullshit to drain the river dry,鈥� he says.

A Love Letter鈥攁nd a Plea

Masters, 37, says he wanted to make the documentary because of the impact the American Southwest has had on him. He calls it a 鈥渓ove letter to the landscapes and wildlife that shaped him.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e just been in love with landscapes of the Southwest for my whole life,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hose landscapes and public lands, the big vast unfenced freedom that still exists, have shaped my values and my land ethic and I wanted to give back,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his is my attempt at inspiring people to conserve the landscape and wildlife of the southwest.鈥�

The credits include a QR code that links to the , where Masters says he hopes viewers will send a message to their political representatives that we need better management of the river.

鈥淚t is not OK to use the river and exhaust it so completely that it literally goes dry,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 insane that we continue to manage the river like it’s 1922, when the management plan was devised. There needs to be a vast update that reflects the reality of the water crisis we鈥檙e facing.鈥�

It鈥檚 also important to recognize there鈥檚 not a shortage of water in the Southwest, Masters says.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much water that hundreds of acres of acre feet are exported in the form of alfalfa that鈥檚 shipped overseas. And if there鈥檚 enough water to export overseas, there鈥檚 for damn sure enough water to give to the river to provide for wildlife, habitat and economies that rely on the river, and for ourselves to enjoy through recreation.鈥�

Masters, who lives in Austin with his wife and two young children, is already working on his next project鈥� a river-focused sequel to 鈥淒eep in the Heart,鈥� due in theaters in fall 2026.

鈥淚 was born in Texas. This is my home, and I had the duty to tell the story of its wildlife and its rivers,鈥� he says. 鈥淭exas is also changing so rapidly that a lot of species and landscapes we鈥檙e filming may be forever developed or extirpated. I wanted to capture those images so my children can see what it looked like before it was developed.鈥�

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We recently bought a house in a mountain town where we鈥檝e rented for 15 years. It鈥檚 the perfect location: within walking distance of trails in one direction, and the old downtown of this former mining town in the other. Since the COVID pandemic, this lazy town has become incredibly popular鈥�and expensive. What our family of three could afford was a 100-year-old fixer-upper, 900 square feet, two bedrooms, one bathroom. Because our town is now hip, all our friends and family want to visit. And we want them to stay with us.

Over the years we often stayed with my brother-in-law鈥檚 family. They have a big house, and they always offered us a guest room with its own bathroom. We loved it and were so grateful. When they came to visit, we gave them a room, but one of them slept on the living room couch. Six people used one toilet and shower.

If they were our only guests, I might be more generous. But with all our company, it鈥檚 starting to feel like a hotel. So I鈥檝e proposed to my partner that when his brother鈥檚 family returns, we house them in the camper that we park behind the house in the alley. It has heat! It doesn鈥檛 have a toilet, but they can come into the house if need be.

But my partner thinks that would be rude, and that if we鈥檙e going to have guests, we have to house them indoors. But I argue that a hotel or Airbnb in this town costs $200 a night. They should be grateful for what we have to offer! Shouldn鈥檛 they? 鈥�Location Rich, House Poor

Dear House Poor,

First, let鈥檚 breathe deep and count gratitudes. You own a functional house in a great place. You have friends and family that you like well enough to invite into your home. You have a camper! Those facts alone speak of an abundance, even if the shabby home feels like poverty.

Visiting Family Creates an Ethical Conundrum

It鈥檚 tempting鈥攋ust ask your partner鈥攖o attempt reciprocating with family. They offer you a suite, you should offer them a suite! And yet the financial reality is likely not equal. You didn鈥檛 tell me enough about their home to know if they own a large house (because they are fabulously wealthy), or because the house is in some undesirable place where real estate is cheap. It doesn鈥檛 really matter: what matters is that your partner may feel some element of envy or shame while comparing your hovel to their mansion. That鈥檚 a strong driver of behavior.

Sundog finds your camper solution both elegant and charming. Your guests have presumably traveled to your mountain town not just to see you, but also to see the mountains. Let them rough it! You may even provide a down-home chamber pot鈥攁 five-gallon plastic bucket鈥攕hould they prefer a more authentic experience. No extra charge for the privacy. Your partner and child will be much more gracious of hosts if they all get to sleep in their own beds.

If your guests prefer luxury, then they can choose one of the pricey accommodations you mention. I understand your partner鈥檚 concern that it might be uncouth, but I don鈥檛 see anything unethical in offering what you have.

Morality aside, there may be a question of legality. Some cities expressly forbid occupying motor homes in the street and driveway. And for good reason. Setting up a HipCamp in your driveway will violate laws and enrage your neighbors. There鈥檚 a big difference between letting your family stay in the Casita versus running a pirate trailer park. Let your conscience be your guide here, and if a crabby neighbor complains, you can address that when it happens.

The last thing I鈥檒l say is that there may be some intra-family dynamics here that aren鈥檛 quite at the surface. That may be between you and your partner, or between your partner and his brother. If the camper solution blows up in your face, then you鈥檒l have to confront those tensions more directly, and perhaps come up with a new plan.

Should a Reader Offer a Refund?

Recently Sundog wrote about the ethics of selling used gear that may not last, specifically an old sailboat on an old trailer. Reader LittleTug chimed in with his opinion:

I read your article on should you give back more money to the person who purchased your old boat. No offense but that is ridiculous. Everything works the day before it breaks. I am sure that you did not make it break. If you lied about something other than your opinion on its condition when you sold it (that is fraud) you should not consider giving back one penny. They just want it for free.

If you bought it would you try to get more money back? I would not. He could have had a marine surveyor check it out before he bought it.

Mark Sundeen teaches environmental writing at the University of Montana. Got a question or a response? Send your questions and complaints to sundogsalmanac@hotmail.com

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