The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is one of the best subjects for a fall color photo essay in the Midwest, the United States, and the even the world. The most amazing overlook in the park is the Lake of the Clouds. The spector of the fall foliage is so intense [...]
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Hiking loops in the Porcupine Mountains State Wilderness Area
A couple of days ago, I posted a short photo essay from Lake of the Clouds from the Porcupine Mountains State Wilderness Area in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This is where my hike and adventure began. The beautiful Lake of the Clouds was only 300 yards into my trip. I still had 30 miles to go. [...]
A return to the scene of my first adventure: Porcupine Mountains
Thirty-two years ago to this very night a young man in Barrington, Illinois was not getting much sleep on the eve of his first adventure in the Porcupine Mountains State Park. I was nine years old, and I was going hiking with my dad and a friend in this Michigan State Park. We rolled out [...]
Five outdoor adventure travel debacles, disasters, and misadventures
Last weekend I wrote about a little misadventure in Wisconsin when I could not find a campground with an open site. It got me to thinking about outdoor adventure travel debacles and the ones I have experienced over the years. Not finding a camp spot two hours from home would probably not even make the [...]
The Big South Fork National Recreation Area photo essay
The Big South Fork National Recreation Area is one of those parks I have passed by in my car going 70 m.p.h. many times. Every time I saw the brown sign pointing to the exit, I wanted to check out the park. I had hiked for an afternoon once in college, but I wanted to [...]
The Teva Riva hiking boot is as good as gold
Teva sandals have been a staple for me for over twenty-five years. The reason I love them so much is their durability. I can tell you exactly how many Teva sandals I have owned in the twenty plus years of adventure traveling. I have owned five Teva sandals. The reason I can remember the number [...]
My five bucket list killers
Bucket lists are the rave in the adventure travel world these days. Everyone wants to make a list of where they want to go before they die and then tell everyone else whether they want to know or not. I am not exception as I have done the obligatory post. I have also examined the [...]
Great Smoky Mountains hiking trail footbridge
The Great Smoky Mountains backcountry trails are full of gorgeous scenes like the picture above. Cascading streams shoot down the mountain sides through thick growths of rhododendron. Anyone who has hiked in the Smoky Mountains probably thinks they know where this bridge is. This one is close to the town and camping area of Cosby [...]
Steripen adventurer Opti a light weight tool to purify water
The Steripen Adventurer Opti uses short wave germicidal UV light to disinfect water. The UV light disrupts the DNA within bacteria and viruses making them unable to reproduce and therefore harmless. The Steripen is handy both on a wilderness backpacking trip when treating water or when visiting other countries and reluctant to drink water. This [...]
Photos of the week: The great currosow in Corcovado National Park
Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica is lauded for its intense variety of wildlife. The trees are crawling with howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and the endangered squirrel monkeys. Endangered Baird’s tapirs, coatis, peccanaries, pumas, and jaguars roam the jungles. The jungle of Corcovado is one of those few outdoor places that resemble a live zoo. [...]
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Life after dropping out of Nomadic Samuel’s top 100 travel blogs
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Fall foliage at Lake of the Clouds simply stunning
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Anaconda envy in the Iwokrama Rainforest, Guyana
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Paddle the Wisconsin River for the best river camping in the Midwest
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Osa Travel with Felix Menocal in Corcovado, Costa Rica: a cautionary tale
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A cruise along the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway
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A Quetico campfire on Lake Kawnipi
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Paddling with manatees on the Crystal River
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Rainforest trail through Bach Ma National Park
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The CN Tower in Toronto renamed
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Lance: Ted, it's a small world that you have family in A...
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Jenna: Very pretty! I miss this kind of woodsy nature her...
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Ted Nelson: A very rainy spring. I was supposed to go two week...
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Leigh: I think I'd need two days. When you get to countr...
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