Search results for: hiking boots

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, split between Tennesee and North Carolina, is the country’s most visited national park. Like, by a lot. A lot, a lot. This park, which is free to visit, btw, saw over 12 million visitors last year. Twelve! Million! The next most-visited park only saw a little over three! So yeah, it’s safe to say that the Smokies are overrun with tourists and visitors, especially if you’re on the south side of the park around the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fortunately, there’s a trick to avoiding the massive amounts of people (and traffic) rambling through the area: head to the quiet side of the Smokies, the northern edge where there are still picturesque hiking trails and adventures galore, just a lot fewer people. Wanna know what things to do on the peaceful side of the Smokies? Here’s what we recommend.

Not gonna lie, a little over a year ago when my dad said, “I really wanna go backpacking in Isle Royale National Park next summer; wanna come?” I was 100% not sure where the heck Isle Royale even was. So after a quick map search (it’s an island in Lake Superior) and a brief discussion of whether it’s pronounced roy-al as in Royale with cheese or roil as in the royal family (park rangers use the latter pronunciation), followed by a hearty bout of laughter brought on by my parents thinking I plan more than a month in advance…Isle Royal National Park was suddenly very much on my radar.

Into backpacking? Thinking of giving it a go? (If so, you should check out our Backpacking 101 article here.) You may have heard the term “ultralight” tossed around from time to time. Not sure what it means? We’ll tell you. Essentially, it’s a form of backpacking that involves packing as light as humanly possible in an effort to go farther faster and with less pain and strain on your shoulders, feet and joints. It’s not for everybody (it does require giving up some creature comforts), but if you’re ready to give it a try, here are a few simple ultralight backpacking tips to get you started.

Check your calendar, yo, because it’s summer! And then means a whole lot of folks will be headed to the beach in short order. And while many beach trips only last a few hours, if you’re planning on spending the night, you’re going to need more than a cooler full of snacks and sunscreen. So read on for our expert tips for beach camping, brought to you by lots of experience (and really sandy feet).

If you’re like us, you read the title of this article and abruptly proclaimed, possibly out loud to an entirely vacant room, Where the heck is Door County, Wisconsin?! I get it. We didn’t know either until about two weeks ago. But that’s the whole dang point of these Surprising Destination features, isn’t it? To open your world to new, under-the-radar, totally legit destinations that nobody else is talking about but are still totally baller. So buckle up, because we’re about to introduce you to you new favorite place to lace up those boots and get hiking, kayaking, snowshoeing, leaf peeping, apple sampling, lighthouse touring…we could go on, but we’ll just let you keep reading and find out for yourself what a delightfully surprising and outdoorsy destination Door County truly is.

Vegan climbing shoes have always been notoriously hard to find. Many of them call on leather for the uppers and who knows where the glue came from! Fortunately, the time …

Can you believe it’s almost 2020? It’s crazy, right? I don’t know about you, but 2019 was filled with adventure for us here at Terradrift! We found vegan food on …

We’ve all had that disheartening moment when we’re traveling or out on the trail or setting up camp for the night and the dark clouds roll in. It’s not a …

Ah, Portland! One of the United State’s Meccas of vegan eats and treats. We could go to Portland just to indulge in all the vast and unique vegan offerings. In …

We recently spent a long weekend in Spokane, Washington. And honestly, I was pretty stoked to hang out with ponderosa pines and zero humidity for a few days. I’m only …