We headed south. Our plan was to drive as far as possible through Colombia’s rich lowlands before venturing into the mountains. We had no idea how the rickshaw would perform at altitude and we were doing everything we could to…
More
“Let me just send one last email before you go,” my wife says, as she slips away into the bedroom. My one-year-old son and I put my backpack and a couple pair of boots into the back of the wagon,…
More
In the world of thru-hiking, the lightweight, ultra-reliable and indestructible closed-cell camping mattress is hard to beat. We caught up with three thru-hikers that swear by the Therm-a-Rest Z Lite and Z Seat to learn more about their adventures and…
More
I didn’t come out here to rough it, the city is rough enough. We’ve all heard the phrase “roughing it” before. This simple string of words is most commonly applied to pursuits that involve heading into the backcountry. Where did…
More
ad ∙ ven∙ ture run noun \ǝd’ven-t∫ǝr ‘rǝn\ a form of simple jogging done with the goal of exploring a novel environment; modern origins can be attributed to this seminal escapade across NYC a means of seeing sights, meeting people, exploring landscapes, and sampling tasty…
More
My bivy sack made a sound I’d never heard before on the first morning of the trip, as I rolled over, waking up. Through my sleeping bag, I could tell it felt a hair stiffer—it was crunchy with a coating…
More
Blake Herrington first honed his climbing skills on a massive Douglas Fir rising out of his neighbor’s yard in the North Cascade Mountains. The evergreen tree—an iconic Pacific Northwest native—proved to be the perfect training apparatus. Herrington took to the…
More
I slept on a Therm-a-Rest Ultralite Cot over 60 nights in the Pacific Northwest this year … in State and National Parks, in National Forests, in Wilderness Areas, next to cold rocky rivers, in hot dusty deserts, and every place…
More
I’d noticed it before on this trip, but not as acutely as I did when the lightning struck a little after midnight. Wrapped in my sleeping bag, I’d left the rain fly off my tent because, after three cloudy nights,…
More
The weather in New Zealand is tempestuous and often moody. The power with which the storms roll off the South Pacific gives the country a wild feel, and over the years these storms have carved out a landscape that is…
More
Moving materials around the globe and country is not only expensive but it’s hard on the environment. To align with our USA Built philosophy, we are cutting out unnecessary logistics whenever possible.
More
We thought a slight adjustment in our course would give us a better view of the orcas breaching in the distance. They must have thought the same thing. In a matter of minutes they had halved the distance between us….
More
