by Collin Stuart Chambers
BABY, IT’S HOT OUT THERE! HOW TO STAY COOL (AND ALIVE) WHILE WALKING IN THE SUMMER HEAT It’s July. Much of the country is melting. And somewhere out there, someone is lacing up their boots and heading for a trail in 98-degree heat because “it’ll be fine.” I have...
by Collin Stuart Chambers
THE MUTINY Something happened while I wasn’t looking. Just a short while ago, the forest was all polite suggestion… a hint of green peeping out here and there, a tentative unfurling, the woods asking permission to fully wake up. And then, seemingly...
by Collin Stuart Chambers
THE TREKKING UMBRELLA: A LOVE STORY (WITH TANTRUMS) I love an ultralight trekking umbrella. I have carried one far longer than the current trend, having paid a hefty price years ago for one of the original Norwegian-made beauties, complete with a carbon frame and what...
by Collin Stuart Chambers
Musings from the Trail: Through the Lens of a Long-Season Ridgerunner on the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Hitch #8 — South Section | April 10–13, 2025 I often share a few highlights about my “hitches” (what my 4-day patrols on the...
by Collin Stuart Chambers
I was out hiking the other day, and I hear the tell-tale “crack” first, and then approximately 1-2 seconds later, I hear it lumbering through the branches making its way toward the ground …and then the subsequent “BOOM!” Then I stood there watching the top of...
