Backpacking
9 Tips for Your Trip to Machu Picchu
I went to Peru’s Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley with a dear friend of mine to celebrate the big 4-0. To mark this milestone birthday, I had a certain scenario in mind. After an absolutely punishing year that included a health scare, job loss, a move, the aftermath of a nasty breakup and a family […]
The Long Way to Sarajevo
She pretended to shoot me, the woman in the front seat of the car. She turned, eyes blue and hair white, cupping her arms with an imaginary machine gun. Pfoo, she said, jerking her arms in recoil. Pfoo, pfoo. I had told her I was born in 1992, when the siege of Sarajevo began. She […]
10 Hiking Trails Around the World That Will Blow Your Mind
I have always been a nature person. Cities, for me, seem unnecessarily chaotic and at times, overwhelming. Nature, on the other hand, is simple, straightforward in its beauty and comes at no extra cost. There is nothing better than walking in the peacefulness of the mountains, around the calming sound of rocks and rivers, and […]
Barefoot Hiking Through Peru
“Come to Peru with us!” I laughed at the three drunken Danes facing me. We’d just spent a month bonding in Costa Rica and tomorrow they were leaving for South America. I was sad to see them go, but I couldn’t just up and follow them to Peru. I told them as much. “Why not?” […]
After Trekking The Jordan Trail, Nothing Was The Same
My friend Jordan was up to his calf in water before we saw the man. The rush and spit of the river meant that we could not hear what he was saying, but from the wide frantic waving of his arms the meaning was clear. As we climbed out of the cut the engorged river […]
Can A Backpack Really Handle Both The Trail And The City? Let’s Find Out
The first indication you have that MHM Gear’s new Sultan 50 multi-day backpacking-sized pack is different than other bags on the market is the signature S-shaped zipper wrapping around the length of the product. From the top pocket to the base, the trademarked “Snake-Loader” zipper allows users to access the entire contents of the bag […]
Go To Guate: Climb Acate
Examining my sleeping bag as I unravel it, I am relieved to see it is a proper sub-minus piece of kit. Not that I’m some sort of born-again Edmund Hillary-type, but you never know with these “adventure tour” outfits — some of them may as well send you off with a handkerchief and a glass egg cup for all […]
A Journey Back In Time In Sri Lanka
I did exactly what you aren’t supposed to do: I looked down. For average non-acrophobes, it probably wouldn’t have meant much, but for those of us with a healthy fear of impending death (including a related fear of snakes, spiders and Abba), the idea the narrow metal staircase leading me to the apex of Sigiriya, the 6-story-high […]
How To Pack A Wet Tent: A Trek Through Torres Del Paine, Chile
The mountain itself seemed to be hurling millions of tiny frozen pellets from every direction, some even rising up from the ground, all apparently aimed directly at our eyeballs. It was impossible to tell the depth of the snow, as it blasted across some rocks leaving them bare, and piled improbably high where larger rocks […]
Blurring The Lines In Telok Melano
Akhim angles his flat double-engine skiff into the aquamarine traffic of waves pushing down out of the South China Sea. He gestures at Gabriela toward the distant slope of green peninsula ahead where black threads of smoke drill into the sky. “My village,” he says proudly, “Kampong Serabang, and more further is Mohammed’s village.” Behind […]