There is a rattlesnake somewhere near my left boot. I can hear it, but I can’t see it. My dad is sitting on the ground 10 yards away with his back against a log, holding a sandwich in one hand and pointing frantically with the ...
Latest Articles
Outdoor Movies: The 10 Films NOT to Watch Before an Outdoor Adventure
When preparing for an adventure outdoors, it’s important to have your gear squared away — and your head squared away, too. To that point, here are the top 10 outdoor movies you want to avoid at all costs before a big trip into the wild. These films ...
GEAR TEST: The Ultimate Bino Harness Shootout
With binoculars ranging in price from $300 to $500 for entry-level glass to more than $3,000 on the high end, it only makes sense to protect them. Not long ago, that meant a harness of a few elastic straps that held exposed binoculars close to the ...
More Than 80,000 Acres of Public Lands Inaccessible to Hunters, Anglers
More than 80,000 acres of federal, state, county, and municipal public lands in the Mid-Atlantic are inaccessible to hunters and fishermen, according to a new report from onX Maps and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). The ...
Fish Candy: Dry-Brined and Smoked Lake Trout
The best part about fishing with Big Spoon Sportfishing isn’t all the fish you catch but the snacks that Capt. Chris Bomysoad serves up on the water. “Fishermen,” he likes to say, “fish on their stomach,” so this New York guide keeps his clients ...
John Wesley Powell and the 1869 Discovery of the Grand Canyon
Four fragile wooden rowboats, 10 months’ worth of provisions, and 10 courageous men set out on May 24, 1869, on an audacious expedition from the Union Pacific’s Green River Station in Wyoming en route for the “Great Unknown,” the last unexplored ...
How a US Air Force Combat Controller Survived a Double Parachute Failure
Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is scary enough without having a parachute failure. But having the backup fail, too? Shit just got real. And that's just where Jared “CCT Peaches” Pietras, an Air Force Combat Controller, found himself during ...
Watch: 19th Anniversary of the September 11 Terrorist Attacks
Those of us who are old enough to remember it happening no doubt have vivid memories of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Four commercial airliners were hijacked by terrorists — two targeted New York City, crashing into the north and south towers of the ...
Simple Food, Simple Training: The Fitness Secrets of Kushti Wrestlers
It’s a sweltering Friday afternoon in pre-COVID-19 Dubai, and two of the emirate’s many laborers — Mohammed and Iqbal, both from Pakistan — are ready to fight. Wearing little more than a speedo-like loincloth, the two fighters glare at each other ...
Q&A with Biologist, Explorer, Filmmaker Donnie Vincent
Donnie Vincent is being watched. The biologist, explorer, and filmmaker has made three feature-length documentaries on hunting and his connection to wildlife and wild places. His style is slow, thoughtful, philosophical, with long, bracing shots of ...
Noodling: My First Time Hillbilly Hand-Fishing for Alabama Lake Monsters
noodling (verb) A slightly deranged person holds their breath, submerges themselves under water, shoves their entire arm into a muddy hole, and then uses their hand as bait in order to lure a giant catfish into biting them so ...
Island Peak: How 2 Spec Ops Vets Found Healing in the Himalayas
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars, And say "These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.” After I left the military in 2011, I wandered for months, crisscrossing India and Nepal. I studied Buddhism in the misty ...
Rule the Cookout With Granny’s Secret Hot Pepper Homemade Mustard
This is granny’s best-kept secret stored in a jar. One bite, and you’ll be hooked. This hot pepper homemade mustard has a tangy, zesty flavor that explodes on the palette. Bring it to a cookout or barbecue and there will be people asking you how they ...
Catching Waves on Camp Pendleton: Surfing Culture Provides Community of Strength
It is common knowledge that nearly all Marine Corps duty stations are next to the ocean, and that surfing comes with the territory. With surfing comes a community strengthened by a shared desire to be mentally, emotionally, and physically strong, ...
Texas Hunting Nonprofit Encourages Vets to Bond with Nature, Each Other
Suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have become widespread issues within the U.S. veteran community. According to the 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, the most recent data available, an average of 16.8 veterans ...
Free Range American Podcast Spotlights Hard Work and Adventure
The world of podcasts is a wide and varied one. Offerings have nearly doubled over the last two years — and with more than 900,000 podcasts to choose from, there's sure to be one to match the tastes and interests of the more than 50 percent of ...
5 Classic Books You Should Read While Sheltering in Place
For many people, their exposure to classic literature has been limited to what was shoved in front of them during high school or college. Some of you may have soaked up these novels at the time, but a lot of us breezed through them without taking the ...
Coronapocalypse: 10 Ways to Survive Working From Home
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, more and more U.S. employees are being volun-told to stay home. For some, that means no work — and no paycheck. For others, that means clocking their hours at the homestead. But “social distancing” from ...
4 Ways to Beat the Daily Grind and Crush Your Workout
It’s 0600, and you’ve had a long week at work. Your body is sore, you are low on energy, and the idea of driving into PT or completing a WOD makes you want to punch something. You have a banger of a workout to get done this morning, but you need to ...
How One Woman Prepared to Race in the Iditarod
Gliding across the snow on a dogsled is a perception changer. Traveling by dog team opens up the wilderness. In a world filled with mechanical transport, allowing a team of Alaskan huskies to pull you across a frozen muskeg or through the taiga is a ...
How to Increase Strength and Break Through Plateaus With Cluster Sets
Plateaus are common in strength training. Nearly anyone who has ever lifted a barbell has reached a place where progress eluded them. This happens because people tend to stick to what they are comfortable with, which can lead to stagnation in the ...
No Dog Left Behind: Reuniting Service Members Who Bonded With Strays
Deployed service members can find themselves in a range of situations. Some face life-threatening decisions every single day, while others deal with endless days of severe boredom. Some are firing rifles, others are turning wrenches, and others are ...
Review: Garmin’s Instinct Tactical is Fit for the Wild
When people think of Garmin, they generally think of the first GPS unit they had for their vehicle. But Garmin’s global positioning system technology is used across a variety of industries, including aviation, marine, fitness, and outdoor recreation. ...
How Generations of Loggers Have Kept the Petersen Ranch Sustainable
In a small, dead-end valley in Springfield, Oregon, on Camp Creek, three generations of the Petersen family still work the ranch they have owned since 1941. Over the decades, despite the majority of the land being devoted to a variety of things ...
4 Off-Grid Water Sterilization Methods for the Backcountry
When it comes to going off the grid, whether it’s backpacking, hunting, or fishing, water is a basic need. One can survive for weeks without food but only days without water. Unfortunately, humans are not equipped to drink water from natural sources ...
3 of the Best Winter Snowshoe Adventures
Floating across the frozen backcountry on snowshoes is a unique way to see the wilderness. But finding a place to go out and enjoy the snow can be hard. A good summer hiking trail may not be a good snowshoe hike, but areas that are hard to access in ...
Review: The Tyto 1.1 is a Knife Every Outdoorsman Should Own
Hunters across the United States head into the wilderness each autumn in search of various game. Aside from their weapon, the most important item that every should hunter carry is a good knife, which allows them to properly care for the meat after ...
Taran Butler is More Than the Man Who Made John Wick
Taran Butler is a better shot than you. Sure, there are people who may be better at very specialized skills within shooting, or who shoot better with a particular style of firearm under certain conditions or at a specific range of distances. But ...
The Untold True Story of How Black Rifle Coffee Got Its Start
Evan Hafer, the founder and CEO of Black Rifle Coffee Company, was suspicious. He was holding staff meetings every two days, being told that their in-house fulfillment center was only a few shipments behind, and yet customer ...
Review: Stay Warm with Eberlestock’s -22 Degree Euro Down Sleeping Bag
Looking up through the spruce trees, I could see the stars, bright and sharp overhead. A cold breeze blew all night, and the day had been cold enough to half-freeze my water bottle while I hiked. But tucked into my sleeping bag in a bivouac camp, I ...