America’s Best Backpacking and Outdoor Adventures
All-Season Shell Jacket Outdoor Research Microgravity AscentShell Jacket $279, 14 oz./397g (men’s medium) Sizes: men’s S-XXL, women’s XS-XL backcountry.com Whether hiking steep hills in steady rain in temps from the 40s to the 30s Fahrenheit or backcountry skiing in heavily falling, wet snow, OR’s Microgravity AscentShell Jacket keep me dry going both uphill and downhill, thanks to the solid waterproofing …
On Oct. 19, 2020, while rock climbing in Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon, The Big Outside creator Michael Lanza fell about 25 feet, crashing onto a ledge and suffering severe injuries. This is the story of that nearly tragic day and its aftermath. By Michael Lanza The morning sun felt warm on my back as I led up the first pitch …
By Michael Lanza
Never mind that it was the seventh straight bluebird morning of backpacking in mountains that constantly look surreal, like a painted mural backdrop in a movie. It didn’t matter that the trip had been a parade of wildlife. We even forgot about the heaviness in our legs from 15-mile days.
The menacing snarl piercing the silence seized our full attention.
Breathable Insulated Jacket
Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody
$259, 12 oz./340g (men’s medium)
Sizes: men’s XS-XXXL, women’s XS-XXL
arcteryx.com
From days of backcountry skiing and winter hikes in my local foothills to biking around town on cold days, the Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody has spent almost as much time on me as it does in my closet. In a category of breathable insulated jackets designed for being active in cool to cold temps—like backcountry snow sports, hiking, and climbing—the Atom LT Hoody’s weight and features make it uniquely versatile for a wide range of activities and users.
By Michael Lanza
Precipice Lake sits in a granite bowl at 10,400 feet along the High Sierra Trail in Sequoia National Park, about a half-mile before 10,700-foot Kaweah Gap. Below the north face of 12,040-foot Eagle Scout Peak, with the nearest tree at least a couple of trail miles below it, the lake’s glassy, green and blue waters reflect a white and golden cliff with black water streaks that embraces the lakeshore across from the trail.
A ribbon-like waterfall, originating in a remnant glacier above the lake, pours down the cliff. Walking up to Precipice Lake reflexively triggers the part of our frontal lobe that’s responsible for the word: “Wow.”