Ultralight backpacking trailblazer Adventure Alan Dixon goes beyond the gear lists to recount one of the most harrowing outdoor mishaps of his career. He also talks about the one thing you can leave at home to make your pack lighter, his preference for hiking shorter high routes rather than slaying miles on long-distance trails, and why everyone should get outside today.
Gaia GPS
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Find 4×4 roads and points of interest quicker than ever with Gaia Topo’s latest updates. Gaia Topo now displays color-coded points of interest, more 4×4 roads when the map is zoomed out, and larger labels, badges, and contour markers when the map is zoomed in.
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Meet Kevin and Sarah McCuiston of Lifestyle Overland in episode 5 of the Out and Back podcast, presented by Gaia GPS. The McCuistons quit the 9-to-5 grind a few years ago to take up a nomadic lifestyle on the backroads in North America. Learn about their transition to full-time overlanding, their tips for traveling long distance with a toddler, and their trusty rig — “Silver,” a Toyota 4Runner towing a Turtleback Trailer. Kevin also talks about his favorite camp meal and Sarah discusses why she has taken over as the primary driver in Lifestyle Overland adventures. Tune in today to learn more about their tips on how to get rolling in the sport of overlanding.
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Tune in to episode 4 of the Out and Back podcast with Blue Ridge Outdoors 2020 Hiker of the Year (https://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/go-outside/best-of-the-blue-ridge-2020/2/) Daniel White. Known as the Blackalachian in the outdoor community, White tackled his first thru-hike in 2017 when he set out on the Appalachian Trail with no experience camping. In fact, the first night he spent in a tent was his first night thru-hiking the AT.
In this episode, White recounts the ups and downs of his AT completion, opening up about a racist encounter at his camp near the Mason-Dixon line on the AT. He takes us through his “powerful” ride on the Underground Railroad Trail, and his trips to Europe last year, where he hiked across Scotland and completed the Camino Del Norte in Spain. Fueled by both adversity and kindness from the people he met along the way, White’s drive for solo adventure shines through in this interview.
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The Gaia GPS map collection now includes 45 new and updated maps, covering national park and recreation areas throughout the United States. As National Parks open up, stay safe by skipping the paper map and viewing all the park and recreation amenities, trailheads, and must-see stops right on your phone.
Start planing your next national park visit or tour now. Make sure you hit all the best sightseeing stops and avoid inconveniences like road closures along the way with the NPS Visitor maps, available today.
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Episode two of the Out and Back podcast drops today featuring thru-hiking legend the The Real Hiking Viking. In this episode, meet free-spirited and fun-focused Thomas Gathman, who picked up the Viking trail name due to his Norse-like beard and his warrior status as a former Marine Scout Sniper. Viking served two combat tours in Iraq before coming home, selling all his possessions in 2013, and hiking more than 20,000 miles on America’s longest trails. Tune in to hear Viking’s story about how he turned from sniper to pro hiker and never looked back.
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As a kid, elite mountain climber Conrad Anker was diagnosed with ADHD. Rather than turn to pills, his parents sent him outside. Over time, fresh air and the great outdoors became Anker’s salve and sanctuary, and his path to becoming one of the best alpinists in the world. While the pandemic has limited Anker and the greater outdoor community’s access to the backcountry, experts say we don’t need to climb tall mountains to reap the benefits of nature.
In this article, psychology experts, professors, and world-class athletes weigh in on why going outside even for 10 minutes a day can boost mental health. Read more about how athletes like Conrad Anker and ultra runner Scott Jurek are making the most of the outdoors simply by stepping outside their own front doors and exploring their neighborhoods.
Find water sources, identify river crossings, and get a better picture of any landscape with the new US Hydrography map. This new layer points out more rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands than any other map on Gaia GPS. Level up your favorite maps by pairing them with the US Hydrography layer for more precise and expanded coverage of bodies of water across the United States.
Tune into the Out and Back podcast today as backcountry navigation expert and guide Andrew Skurka weighs in how to stay found in the wilderness. Known for laying down first tracks on three enormous hiking routes in the U.S, Skurka has become an authority on map and compass navigation. Tune in to hear Skurka’s story about his path from “living on crumbs” as a full-time adventurer to becoming a guide, gear reviewer, and author on all things backpacking. Also, don’t miss his discussion about the value of carrying both paper maps and digital maps, what’s in his navigation kit, and the one simple thing that will keep you from getting lost in the backcountry. Spoiler: it’s not triangulation.
Gaia Topo just got even better. Discover the best trails and routes and easily find public lands anywhere in the US with two new updates on our flagship map. Now you can quickly see nearby routes to campsites, trailheads and more on gaiagps.com, plus view public land ownership easily with new color coding. Don’t forget to take Gaia Topo with you by downloading areas in seconds and entire states in minutes.