Erwan Le Corre likes to talk about spearfishing. He can go into detail about fighting the currents and the challenge of holding your breath at the bottom of the sea. How you have to learn about the fish’s behavior. Le Corre lives on Mexico’s coast with his wife and three kids and spends as much…

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A parent starts letting go (but still holds onto the rope) I’m not convinced my son is actually going to walk off the cliff until I can’t see him anymore. There are so many opportunities for him to back out between the point where he gets clipped into the rope and the point where he…

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Fun fact: Olympians often eat chocolate covered waffles between Super G runs. At least, that’s what I tell my kids, Cooper and Addie, when we reach the top of Snowshoe Mountain and I spy the Waffle Cabin just to the right of the lift. I’ve come to believe that family ski trips are as much…

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Shut-In Champs Reveal Their Go-To Gear The beauty of living in the Southern Appalachians is that it’s always trail running season. Aside from a few rogue storms, trail conditions are amicable year-round. Still, it’s safe to say that spring is prime time for hitting the dirt. You’re coming off of winter and looking to get…

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Male camper and dog cook dinner at camp at sunset along the Art Loeb Trail in the Pisgah National Forest, NC.

Thru-hiking for months on end is out of reach for most of us. But a weekend backpacking trip? Most of us can carve that time into our schedules. Luckily, the Southern Appalachians are chock full of sub-100 mile trails that offer a thru-hiking experience in just a few days.

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EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON THEIR FAVORITE HOME TRAINING EQUIPMENT Best case scenario is you get your workout while you hit the trail, slopes, or rock. But life isn’t always about the best case scenario. Sometimes, you can’t make it to the trail. Sometimes, you can’t even make it to the gym. So, we talked to…

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Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but I think kids should ride bikes. Like, all the time. They should ride bikes to school, to the park, to their friend’s house, to the corner store to get me snacks…kids should spend entire afternoons building and riding jumps out of scrap plywood and cinder blocks. They should hold bunny hop…

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We know. you hit the outdoors to escape from the trappings of modern life. But sometimes, a little tech can enhance your outdoor experience. Here are our favorite high tech pieces of gear. THE TOP 10 OneWheel +XR (featured) At this point, you’ve definitely seen the OneWheel in action—your hipster neighbor probably commutes to his…

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Our favorite gear based in the Blue Ridge We all do our best to go local when we’re picking our beer and veggies (nothing beats a local IPA/beets pairing), but you can also go local with your outdoor gear. The Southern Appalachians has a strong manufacturing tradition, and today, that tradition continues as some of…

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Best Bike Gear

Trail guru Peter Mills picks his favorites One benefit of global warming? Ski areas are doubling down on their mountain bike programs. All across the Southern Appalachians, resorts are investing heavily in their summer-friendly bike offerings, building more downhill trails in hopes of attracting visitors during the warmer months. Nobody knows this as well as…

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I’ve never hunted anything in my life (other than the occasional rare IPA) and I can’t grow anything except wild onions, and those only pop up outside of my garden beds in my grass. And yet, I really love the concept of hunting and gathering. Like, at the grocery store, or when I’m shopping for…

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Adventure Mapmaker Pete Kennedy’s Favorite Gear for Exploring Pete Kennedy doesn’t want you to get lost. The Asheville-based adventurer and mapmaker is the founder of Pisgah Map Company, putting 30 years of his own experience exploring the mountains of North Carolina into comprehensive trail guides. In an increasingly digital age, Kennedy’s maps offer a refreshingly…

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