Peaks & Hikes

Non-white hikers sometimes forced to carry racial baggage on the trail

Yellowstone’s reintroduction of wolves in 1995 is one of the best-known instances of a trophic cascade – a single change in a food chain that transforms an entire ecosystem. The return of the wolves rejuvenated wildlife in the park from top to bottom, even changing the area’s physical geography as native animals and plants reasserted themselves. Narrated by George Monbiot, How Wolves Change Rivers chronicles how Yellowstone’s extraordinary success in rewilding stems from a decrease in invasive and overpopulated species such as coyote and deer thanks to just 66 wolves returning after a 70-year absence from the park.

Our actions outside park boundaries bleed into the parks themselves. Climate change, development, agriculture and invasive species are impacting national park ecosystems, threatening some of the species that have made them so iconic.

Almost all of the outdoor experiences in my life have been undertaken with a group of people. From growing up fishing, camping, and exploring the Idaho wilderness with my family to guiding backcountry trips and being a part of a group of friends who are always up for an adventure, I don't get out into the wilderness alone very often. There are the occasional day hikes, trail runs, or overnighters by myself, but part of what I love about being in the outdoors is sharing that experience with people!

This all began when I decided to hand-write a letter that I figured would never be read. I definitely did not expect it to be answered. First, I had to fin

He's notched more first ascents than any other American mountaineer, wrote the definitive guidebooks to a major North American mountain range, and at age 93, Fred Beckey is still plotting routes — though more slowly and buoyed by a cadre of fiercely protective partners.

Cover Image From Colorado Mountain College Forecast, outlooks, predictions, everyone wants to know who is going to get snow this upcoming winter. To help in our projections, the National Weather Se…