Adventure

If you’ve ever wanted to take a NOLS course (National Outdoor Leadership School) to learn new outdoor skills, become a more well-rounded outdoorist, or simply connect with fellow adventurers, now may be your chance! Because NOLS just re-launched their lightweight backpacking courses after a several year hiatus and they’re partnering with Hyperlite Mountain Gear to offer one lucky backpacker a full scholarship to experience a NOLS lightweight backpacking course! But act fast, because the application window for the Hyperlite scholarship closes on April 11, 2025. Need more info? Read on.

When I joined the outdoor brand Fjällräven for their Classic USA in Colorado last summer, I had no reason to believe I’d get the chance to do it again at any of their other 7 Classic events around the world. But when they announced a brand new 4-day backpacking route in Patagonia in Chile, I was thrilled to do it all again, this time in such a remarkable trekking destination. It was certainly different than the USA Classic, but one thing that remained the same: it’s a great event whether you’ve been backpacking for years or you’ve never been backpacking before ever. Think you might want to check out a Fjällräven Classic yourself? Here’s what I learned from backpacking with 200 of my closest friends. Twice.

Here at Terradrift, we’re hikers first (even though we are also obsessed with backpacking and mountain biking). And as such, we’ve explored nearly every corner of the wide and wonderful landscape known as the U.S. Along the way, we’ve found some magical trails (including paddle trails) from coast to coast (including in Hawaii and Alaska). Naturally, there are millions of trails around this massive country, and we obviously haven’t hiked even close to all of them. We haven’t even hiked in every state (though we’ve been to almost every state)! But of the places we have laced up our vegan hiking boots, these are some of our favorite hikes in the USA!

Looking for a unique way to experience a national park that is the perfect balance of adventure and exploration but doesn’t involve sitting in the car and driving from lookout point to lookout point all day or spending four days backpacking in the wilderness? We’ve got just the thing: ride your bike around the Rim Road at Crater Lake National Park! “That’s crazy!” you say? “It’s too hilly and there are cars!” you say? Well, no, it’s totally not crazy! And yes, it’s hilly, but if you plan strategically and get to Crater Lake in early September, you absolutely can ride (almost) the entire rim road with no cars at all! It’s the totally FREE Ride the Rim event and it. was. baller.

Whether you don’t like to hike or travel solo, can’t convince anyone from your friends or family group to join you on an exploratory hiking trip, or you simply like the camaraderie and all-inclusive pre-planned schedule group trips offer, a fully guided group trip may be for you. And if you love the outdoors, chances are you’ve heard about REI Adventures trips, which are packed with hiking, camping, lodges, and plenty of other outdoorsy fun. But are REI Adventures worth it (or any group hiking trip, for that matter)? I recently joined REI on their Sedona, Arizona luxury hiking trip to see what these sorts of experiences are all about and who is sure to enjoy them (and who probably won’t).

I wrote a guidebook!! I know, right?! Exciting stuff! It’s called Hiking Texas Hill Country, published by the inimitable Falcon Guides. And it was a looooooot of work, so I’m stoked to finally see it come into the world! (Some of you may remember we lived in Austin for 8 years, give or take a year or so to travel). As a teaser, I wanted to share 5 of the best hikes near Austin that are included in the book to whet your appetite, encourage you to lace up your boots, and consider buying the book, which offers everything from descriptions of flora and fauna to turn-by-turn hiking directions to epic imagery to inspire adventure! The official release date is May 7, 2024, but you can pre-order the book HERE and it will be shipped to you as soon as it drops! Or stop by your favorite independent local bookstore and request they order it for you (we love supporting local bookstores). But while you wait, here are some of our favorite hikes from the guidebook.

Want to know why winter camping and backpacking are the best? Here are five reasons to give it a go this season!

Three days, 32 miles (well, 25 if you do it right), 5 towns, 3 hotels, and a whole lotta mountains. Also ups and downs. LOTS of ups and downs. THIS is hiking in Austria: The Arlberg Trail.
We completed the shiny new trail this September (it opened in 2022) and it. Was. Magical. We’re talking wildlife, majestic landscapes as far as the eye can see, alpine lakes, mountain huts, colorful villages each night, and three days of non-stop, jaw-dropping, holy-cow-these-photos-are-gonna-be-unbelievable vistas.
We’re talking a once-in-a-lifetime experience, here (for most people anyway…we’d totally go back and do it again). Think you’re up for it? Here’s everything you need to know about hiking in Austria on the Arlberg Trail, from the route, to mileage, to booking, to where to eat, and more.

We. Love. Snacks. True story. If I could just snack all day long every single day I would be a happy camper. Fortunately, when we’re hiking and backpacking, we can snack practically all the time. And we do. Because your body needs more consistent fuel when you’re working hard. Our general rule of thumb on a hard, long hike: consume about 100 calories every hour or two. Fortunately, that’s easy to do when we’re fully stocked with our favorite hiking snacks. But if you’re in a snacking rut and tired of the same ol’ trail mix (we feel you), reach for one of these vegan, Terradrift-approved snacks for hiking and backpacking instead!

I hate cruises. They just aren’t for me. I find them boring, they don’t offer the adventure I crave, and the cruise industry as a whole is supremely unsustainable. So I surprised everyone–myself included–when I agreed to go on an HX Expedition cruise to East Greenland. Here’s why I gave the line a shot, including what sustainability had to do with it (and what I thought about the experience).