My earliest memories of the outdoors were of the dense forests that encroached upon my grandparents’ home in Ilesa, Nigeria. I watched torrents of rain obscure the leafy dimensions of the forest. Precipitation of…
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How to Love Winter
The first snow has fallen. Temperatures are dropping. For many people, this time of year comes with a low-key sense of dread. You bundle yourself into thick layers, dig out the ice scraper and shovel,...
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Returning for a second episode on the history of Black explorers, J.R. Harris takes us on a journey to the California Gold Rush, where we meet freed slave and Black frontiersman James Pierson Beckwourth, then…
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When recalling the history of Black explorers, J.R. Harris says the list is short. That’s not to say that that Black explorers weren’t out there, just that their stories are overshadowed by the familiar names…
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Growing up in rural South Africa, Sibusiso Vilane knew little of the world outside his own village. He had never hiked, never slept in a tent, never even seen a photo of some of…
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I awaken my children from their car ride-induced slumber as we approach New Hampshire’s “Old Man of the Mountain”—back when you could still spot a face in the Cannon Mountain outcropping—on the highway below….
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I want to smile, but I shiver instead. I should be happy. I’ve been planning my redemption tour of the Pemigewasset (Pemi) Loop, in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest, ever since I had…
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Perched high in the rugged boreal forest in New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch, Liberty Springs Tentsite is a haven for backpackers seeking a place to bed down for the night and rest their aching muscles…
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The following essay—adapted here for length and style—appears in an anthology being published by members of Lois’s all-girls high school in Philadelphia. I love to walk. It is what I do. It is who…
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As told to Steve Holt, senior editor for engagement content. Edited for clarity and length. Chapter: New York–North Jersey Favorite spots to Be Outdoors: Fire Island, N.Y.; Montauk, N.Y.; Central Park, Manhattan; Riverside Park, Manhattan…
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