Shoulder Season 2: (Supposed) Best Hikes in the U.S.
Let’s begin with the obvious: there is no such thing as a “best hike.” We have chocolate and vanilla for a reason, which is that people have different tastes. And capacities. What might excite or challenge one hiker could bore another. You get the point. That said, it is an interesting exercise to gather together...
Shoulder Season 1: It’s soon time to hike
Ski season isn’t over, but the end is nigh. (Seasonally, of course. Also, existentially. If the world gets another few bad winters, the ski resort economy in some countries will be in serious trouble. Doubt us? Check this collection of abandoned lifts and dirt slopes.) So it’s time to think ahead. To hiking. Or at...
The Soft Bigotry of Age Brackets
Age gives one a good, heavy rind. A durable crust that preserves the psyche and reduces the faint sting of left-handed compliments and micro-aggressions. Pride is still there, but it’s tempered by the knowledge that you do have limits. And failures. But still, repeated slights—no matter how subtle—get under the husk from time to time....
Time to Upgrade?
If you’ve been going outdoors over the past few decades—whether once a season or once a week—there’s a good chance you’ve already got the gear you need. And some extra stuff you picked up at garage and clearance sales. Maybe, with the advance of years, you decided to upgrade your sleeping pad to something a...
The Fountain of Youth is Real
If you track information on aging and fitness…and if you’re here, you maybe do…you are probably frustrated by the research summaries that begin with: “1,000 volunteers, aged 25-30…” Our wholly unsubstantiated theory holds that fitness research focuses on younger people because much of it is funded—directly or indirectly—by shoe and apparel companies that see free-spending...
Younger olds can’t afford a midlife crisis
What does it look like when you confront your mortality but can’t afford a sports car…and don’t really care? “Trend” articles are sometimes built on notoriously slim premises, and trend articles on midlife crisis seem especially so. But at least some of the underlying elements of these observational pieces seem true: one ages, one stares...
Longevity is the oldest new trend in retirement
One of the appalling truths about retirement is that you, the retiree, have limited resources to guide and console you as you make this (usually) traumatic transition. One day you are a font of wisdom and authority and the next no one wants to talk to you. One day you have a steady paycheck; the...
Feeling a bit sheepish…
This website is not known for its consistency. We have a bad habit of appearing with some truly excellent aggregation of other’s reporting, muddled with our own observations and complaints—and then disappearing for months or even years. Do you care why? Of course not. So no excuses. Let’s just say we’re back for as long...
Mother Nature doesn’t care if you make it or not
A few years ago, on the recommendation of multiple friends and gushing book reviewers, I picked up Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. And I finished it. But I didn’t read it in the normal fashion. I hate-read it. I sat in my easy chair with a cup of coffee or herbal tea or small juice glass with...
The crayon-colored hills of Zhangye Danxia
There are many pleasing outdoor wonders to visit, and most them are closer to your home than the multicolored land formations of China’s Zhangye Danxia, where you’ll find what the Atlas of Wonders calls “perhaps the greatest gathering of different pigments in natural stone in the world.” But if you’re going to China anyway, shouldn’t...
Biking might allay Parkinson’s symptoms
Human bodies age like a saddle: they get comfortable and develop character, but they also start to break down. The older they get, the more problems they have, one of which is Parkinson’s disease. An estimated one percent of people over 60 are affected by this degenerative nervous disorder. Those estimates vary because it’s...
Never forget the Icy Finger of Death
You’ve been baking under the sun for a few weeks now. There’s more to come. Summer feels like an energy leech, sucking away your strength, your enthusiasm, your life force. You long for winter. So it’s time to remind everyone that cold, though attractive right now, can be as terrifying and lethal as fire. To...
