Navigation
Learn to figure out where you are (even in a whiteout) and prevent, or stop, a snowy fall.
Try these 10 tips for cross-country travel.
No more plastic bags or map cases, these waterproof, and tear-resistant topos will last a lifetime.
Could you earn a merit badge in wilderness travel? Better ace this test, taken straight from the Scouts' own backpacking manual.
Scoutmasters wrote the book on camping, and built an army of pack-toting teens. But do the troops truly rule when it comes to outdoor skills? We pitted three Scouts against three average readers to find out.
Meet the ultimate GPS: simple enough for beginners, wonky enough for experts, powerful enough for all.
Find water anywhere, make a fire in five minutes, learn secrets for battling mosquitoes, and more.
We'll show you how to be ready to the the trail in 20 minutes, guaranteed. Now gear up!
Want to be a better hiker? Look no further. Our comprehensive guide is packed with the backcountry secrets that separate average campers from true wilderness experts.
3 key skills for getting off the trail without getting off course
One small step for our stair-obsessed man, one giant leap for fitness freaks everywhere.
Finding total Southwest solitude
Exploring a high, wild corner of the North Cascades
Floating a liquid maze in the Northeast's lake-riddled forests
Rambling a granite redoubt
Ready to dial up the adventure meter? Try out your digital skills–and go places most people can't–on these life-list journeys.
Your adventure is ready for primetime. Here are 19 ways to reach the audience in your living room–or around the world. Web-based photo sites aren't all created equal. Here are our top 5.
Learn how to save your photos, print them, get published, and produce an audio visual slideshow.
Learn how to upload your video to YouTube and tap a social network like Facebook or MySpace to post links to your movie.
Your adventure is ready for primetime. Here are 19 ways to reach the audience in your living room–or around the world.
Your adventure is ready for primetime. Here are 19 ways to reach the audience in your living room–or around the world.
Your adventure is ready for primetime. Here are 19 ways to reach the audience in your living room--or around the world.
Sure, you know the mantra "leaves of three, let it be." But that warning alone doesn't help you detect those irritating plants that change colors, grow as vines, or mimic harmless species. Heed these tips to keep your summer itch-free.
Here's how to turn raw data into finished files that will wow your friends and preserve trip memories better than any photo album.
Here's how to turn raw data into finished files that will wow your friends and preserve trip memories better than any photo album.
Here's how to turn raw data into finished files that will wow your friends and preserve trip memories better than any photo album.
Here's how to turn raw data into finished files that will wow your friends and preserve trip memories better than any photo album.
Here's how to turn raw data into finished files that will wow your friends and preserve trip memories better than any photo album.
Take your new tools to the trail to master the skills you'll need to navigate, record, and share your best adventures. The best new digital tools for every budget and skill level.
Take your new tools to the trail to master the skills you'll need to navigate, record, and share your best adventures.
Take your new tools to the trail to master the skills you'll need to navigate, record, and share your best adventures.
Take your new tools to the trail to master the skills you'll need to navigate, record, and share your best adventures.
Take your new tools to the trail to master the skills you'll need to navigate, record, and share your best adventures.
Every great trip boils down to this: Picking an ideal location, capturing memorable moments, and bragging about it.
Every great trip boils down to this: Picking an ideal location, capturing memorable moments, and bragging about it.
Every great trip boils down to this: Picking an ideal location, capturing memorable moments, and bragging about it. Here's how to get started the high-tech way.
Every great trip boils down to this: Picking an ideal location, capturing memorable moments, and bragging about it.
A Complete Guide to the Digital Revolution–and How to Join It
We sent 209 readers out to GPS the Continental Divide Trail, the biggest, baddest long-distance path of them all. They brought back the makings of the first authoritative map of this American classic. These are their stories–and their favorite sections.
Here are the top three wildfire dangers and how to avoid them.
Are these hidden containers harmless, or do they flout low-impact ethics?
Don't want to get lost? Heed this advice on four trail situations that routinely cause problems.
Invent your own hike, and go where no one (well, almost no one) has gone before.
Dotted, dashed, and curvy. Red, blue, and brown. All these colors and styles criss-cross a topo map. Learn what they mean.
By understanding your terrain, knowing your pace, and reading the map regularly you can stay on course wherever you are.
If you don't know what triangulation is, read this article.
Topo maps just look like a children's drawing if you don't know what contour lines are.
While you're cozy in your waterproof jacket, your map has to face the rain, or snow, or mud, alone. Learn how to protect this precious piece of paper.
Learn how to orient your map with a few basic compass skills
Don't be daunted by a thick owner's manual. Unlocking your unit's advanced navigational tools is easier than you think.
A NOLS veteran offers tips on balancing comfort, safety, and Leave No Trace principles.
Expert tips for improving your night vision
A favorite unit for beginners
A reliable and moderately priced unit with high-end capabilities
If cost is no object, this unit is like having an interactive topo map at your fingertips.
Just throw this unit in the car and go
This rugged unit will let you call home from the trail
You'll never lose your partner if you're each carrying a Rino.
Don't fight over where the trailhead starts. Get this handy gadget and you'll find it every time.
Write your own ticket to new adventures with these 10 territory-expanding skills.
Get started--or get simple--with the best GPS deal
Use a map, compass, and GPS unit to plot an ambitious route with this beginner's guide to bushwhacking
New tools for water navigation: Strap one to your thwart, and you'll never paddle in circles again.
Don't let your GPS unit stump you. Try one of these suggestions to get your unit trail ready.
Learn this mapping technique for better off-trail travel.
What's GPS, how does it work, and will it help you?
Bats have nothing on this nocturnal hiker.
Determine direction without your compass.
How do you plan a route following 123,000 migrating caribou across Canada and Alaska? Try to keep up.
Calculate real mileage by accounting for slope in the mountains, and you'll avoid getting into camp after dark.
Using your GPS is easier than you think.
The latest GPS receivers take the mystery out of high-tech route finding. We powered up four models to find the best for backpackers.
Common GPS terms you should know.
For a different wilderness experience, try floating down the river in a kayak or canoe.
Just to be safe, keep that compass handy.
How one perpetually disoriented hiker found her bearings, thanks to some backwoods navigation pros.
Use these navigational tricks, gleaned from champion orienteers and U.S. Army's Special Forces, to stay on track.
When bushwacking a trail, go high altitude and stay there.
Stow your trekking poles to get an advantage when bushwacking a trail.
Follow these tips when hiking in burned country.
From North Carolina to Alaska, bushwhacking is easier with the proper preparation and attitude.
Trouble crossing the trail? Try the creek.
Follow these six route-finding tips, and stay found.
You won't find Utah's 725-mile rogue route on any map. But thanks to two passionate Utah hikers, you'll soon be able to search it out with your boots.
Just because it's flat and treeless doesn't mean it's easy hiking.
Easily said
and done, when you have a constant reminder at bedtime.
Here's a quick tip for finding blazed trails.
Scientists now believe that the navigationally challenged can retrain their brains.
When the white stuff piles up, work together to break a trail.
Follow four-legged trail blazers down paths you'll never find on a map.
