Trips

A hiker on the Tour du Mont Blanc in Italy.

15 Adventures on Earth That Will Change Your Life

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By Michael Lanza

Can travel “change your life?” How many experiences have such an enormous impact? I can name several that shifted my perspective on adventure or expanded how I view the world and other people. Exploring the surreal landscapes of Iceland and Patagonia. Walking among Earth’s highest mountains in Nepal, through remote villages where we experienced cultures far different from our own. Immersing myself in the mountain lifestyle on hut treks in the Alps like the Tour du Mont Blanc (photo above). And seeing unforgettable places like Norway’s Jotunheimen National Park, Italy’s Dolomites, and Alaska’s Glacier Bay through the unclouded eyes of my kids.

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Backpackers hiking to Island Lake in Wyoming's Wind River Range.

How to Decide Where to Go Backpacking

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By Michael Lanza

Have you been disappointed by backpacking trips that were too hot or too cold or too buggy or too crowded, or too hard or long or short, or where permits weren’t available for the hike you really wanted, or where you had sketchy creek or snow crossings or other scary hazards, or you missed the wildflowers or foliage season or didn’t see much wildlife?

If so, this story is going to help you solve those problems.

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A hiker on a section of the Tour du Mont Blanc in Italy.

The Best Plan for Hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc

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By Michael Lanza

You want to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc, but you’re not sure how hard it is, whether you can do it all, or even whether to hire a guide? One of the world’s great treks, the TMB is easy to do self-supported—but it’s not easy to figure out how to do that. When I hiked it with 12 family and friends of varying abilities—including my 80-year-old mother—I spent many pre-trip hours mapping out a flexible daily itinerary that allowed some in our group to use local transportation to avoid hard sections or bad weather, and everyone had a wonderful experience. This guide will show you how to duplicate that trip or customize your own.

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A teenage girl hiking through the Cares Gorge in Spain's Picos de Europa National Park.

Trekking Spain’s Picos de Europa

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By Michael Lanza

As my family hiked up the Cares Gorge in northern Spain’s Picos de Europa National Park, which looks like an impressionist painting with its soaring, white and gray limestone cliffs dappled with greenery, I was struck by one curious fact about this mountain range: how it has retained a surprising degree of anonymity.

Until just months before this trip, in fact, I had never heard of the Picos de Europa—which also bear a striking resemblance to Italy’s world-class Dolomite Mountains and lies just two flights from major U.S. airports and obviously a much shorter distance from numerous European cities—and I’ve made a living for years seeking out the world’s best hiking trails.

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Hikers passing the largest of the three Emerald Lakes along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, North Island, New Zealand.

Hiking New Zealand’s Epic Tongariro Alpine Crossing

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By Michael Lanza

When we arrive at the Mangatepōpō Road end to start one of New Zealand’s most beloved dayhikes, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the air remains cool, a bracing wind rips across the almost barren, volcanic landscape, and the cloud ceiling hangs so low you can almost reach up and swipe a hand through the fog’s underbelly. But this is New Zealand, where if you’re going to pass on a hike because of a little inclement weather, you’re going to miss out on a lot of hikes. We—and scores of other hikers all around us—are suited up for the elements and ready to go.

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