Seward, Alaska, a small town on the Kenai Peninsula, is the perfect place to start a sea kayaking trip from just a few hours long to a multi-day trip through one of the glacial bays. Aialik Bay is just a few hours away from town by boat and gives the opportunity to kayak between icebergs, watch bears along the shore, and attract curious seals toward your kayak.
TO ME, living life to the fullest means being outside on some sort of adventure. For others that means clinging to the side of a cliff, skiing a steep line, kayaking through calm water, or simply sitting next to a camp fire. It is that feeling when I start researching a new trip or when the boarding door on my airplane closes. That feeling also comes when I stand on top of a mountain or set foot into a wobbly boat. That feeling means I’m doing something new and finding another way to experience the world we all share.
Whatever you do to live your life to the fullest, I hope you can create a life where you often hear something along the lines of “I wish I could have your life” or “Man, you sure are doing it right.”
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In any given year 250,000 of people stand atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. There are several ways to get to the top: drive your car, take the train, hike one of the many trails, or scramble up the difficult Huntington Ravine. Less than 20% of these people hike and far less take this route. This 3rd class climbing route has several vertical sections of easy rock climbing and gets you away from the crowds on the road and trail. Just be prepared to pop out on top to find the thousands of people that you’ve been secluded from all day.
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Seward, Alaska, a small town on the Kenai Peninsula, is the perfect place to start a sea kayaking trip from just a few hours long to a multi-day trip through one of the glacial bays. Aialik Bay is just a few hours away from town by boat and gives the opportunity to kayak between icebergs, watch bears along the shore, and attract curious seals toward your kayak.
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Antarctica has no indigenous people for good reason, but a surprising number of researchers and support staff from around the world work and temporarily live in some of the most inhospitable areas at the bottom of the planet. In cold winter temperatures, frost clings to every available space on clothing and skin.
Somoto Canyon runs along the northern border of Nicaragua and is carved by the Coco river which is the longest in Central America. Adventuring through it is a combination of hiking, swimming and canyoneering. This photo was taken on a press trip to Northern Nicaragua sourced through MatadorU and sponsored by Green Pathways.
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The West Buttress climbing route on Denali, the highest mountain in North America, is the most popular among mountaineers. Heavy packs, horrible storms, and high altitudes often cut the success rate to less than 50%. Here a climber negotiates one of the more exposed sections of The Ridge above 16,000 feet.
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As Halls Creek in Southern Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park flows from a wide valley into the slot canyon, the options to keep your feet dry cease to exist. There are few experiences on Earth like walking through murky brown water while being confined by 600-foot sandstone walls.
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Have you ever imagined what it would be like to explore the inside of a snow globe? Hiking on the Ruth Glacier in the Alaska Range could bring that thought to fruition. In fog, with overcast skies, it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between what is snow and what is sky.
Intermission
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Some of my best childhood memories are of camping. It may be one of the easiest and simplest forms of adventure. We didn’t have to look very hard for this spot in a logging clearing just off the highway with a perfect evening view of Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies.
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Even “light and fast” alpine climbing requires a tremendous amount of gear to stay safe. Here a group of climbers organize gear in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca range in preparation for the next day’s climb of 17,900 foot Yanapaqcha.
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Smith Rock State Park in Central Oregon is arguably one of the top rock climbing destinations in the United Stations. There are over 1,800 routes for sport and traditional climbing with some reaching over 500 feet high.
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Mangrove trees seem to mysteriously float on water, but at low tide their roots can been seen diving into the muddy estuary floor. Lower tides also reveal passages that are hidden during high water and only accessible by kayak. This photo was taken on a press trip to Northern Nicaragua sourced through MatadorU and sponsored by Green Pathways.
I had to work the day after my hometown of Missoula, Montana got its biggest dump of snow in almost 70 years. After most of the city had gone to bed, my ski partner and I climbed Mt. Sentinel, which rises 2,000 feet above Missoula. We had the whole mountain to ourselves in the best ski run of my life.
