Reader Forum

Ghost stories and camping go together like prom queens and sequence dresses. We’ve all spent a restless night, curled up inside our tent clutching our hatchet because of some spooky story one of our campmates told over the fire. One AT thru-hiker told us of how he was haunted during his entire, six-month hike.

The concept of downhill mountain biking is simple enough: start at the top of the mountain and ride to the bottom. First one down wins. Sounds fun, but it’s what happens between the top and bottom that scares some people. The banked corners, rock gardens, and narrow tree-lined s-curves on a 1,000+ foot vertical drop results in speeds that usually peak at 45 miles per hour. It makes you wonder where the line between fun and insanity is crossed.