Twenty three years ago, I was adopted from China by a white Canadian couple. This isn’t an uncommon experience; couples in the West adopting babies from Asian countries was like a fad around the 2000s.
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First and foremost, Liz Thomas is a Japanese-American Triple Crown thru-hiker, a Yale graduate with a degree in Environmental Science, an award-winning author, editor-in-chief at Treeline Review, and the first to traverse the Chinook Trail, a legendary 2000-plus mile trek in the Columbia River Gorge and Wasatch Range in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. And she wants you to try an urban hike.
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We even had a group hang out where we just aired all of the ignorant things that other people had said to us. At first we were angry, but anger turned to action and we ended up practicing how to de-escalate and redirect with one another, as we each took turns being the aggressor.
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To pretend that trail and ultrarunning are welcoming to all is the same as racing with a torn Achilles. You wouldn’t do it.
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If people could take the bus or train to their local park or trailhead, they would have a much easier time feeling more solidly connected to nature.
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But then life happened; friends moved away and group chats gradually went silent. Some of us outgrew friendships—or worse—found ourselves on opposite sides of important human rights issues. So here we are, in our thirties, feeling lonely and slightly embarrassed. What do we do now?
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“What do I wear?” is the most common question I get asked by new climbers going to the gym.
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Which made me start to question, where do we fit into these predominantly white outdoor film narratives?
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This election year, I’d like to illuminate the well known but unnoticed ways white supremacy bars immigrants and people of color from voting. I’d like to remind you that this demographic comprises over 50 million people.
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Whether living in the occupied West Bank or in the U.S., Palestinian climbers are using their voices to speak up against genocide and build communities around a shared passion for the outdoors. Their determination is a reminder that this sport is about so much more than just climbing walls.
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In late July 2013, Grandpa (할아버지) and I had a dangerous conversation on the suburban streets near our home in Riverside, California.
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I am a middle-aged woman who happens to skydive instead of woodworking, riding a motorcycle or one shot D&D campaigns. How to explain any of this to a stranger who is primed to misunderstand? Oh, I don’t.
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Before I became a filmmaker, I worked as an outdoor educator leading wilderness trips. I always dreamed of backpacking in the Patagonian wilderness. Last year I crossed this dream off my bucket list with a solo backpacking trip.
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Ending legalized racial segregation on public lands was not enough; we can’t be satisfied until BIPOC have access to the hidden knowledge required to fully participate in outdoor recreation
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In a recent article, I wrote about the dangers of romanticizing the Pacific Northwest, and so many of you wanted to know if there were any better options. So if you’re still looking for the mountain town of your dreams, here are a few reasons why you should move to Anchorage, Alaska.
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Since mass migration away from cities began in the mid 1940s, the mark of social privilege in America has been car and home ownership in a suburban community. It’s not that walkable urban communities ceased to exist, it’s that desegregation made them undesirable—too Black, Brown, immigrant, and low income—for white Americans who could afford to live elsewhere.
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Dear Black men, when was the last time you went hiking? A week ago? Last summer? Never? Of the many hobbies people pick up, hiking is not always well-received in African American communities. I would like to change that. Some will say, “Does being Black matter?” Yes, without a doubt.
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You’ve probably noticed these designs popping up in your city or neighborhood, making once-welcoming parks, benches, and sidewalks less inviting or downright hostile. Here are five things you should know about hostile architecture.
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Now that I’m exactly six months post-op from lower back spinal fusion surgery, my workouts are shifting. Initially, I stuck to body weight and light weight resistance to keep pressure off the bone. Now, I’m finally getting back to heavier weights and more of my pre-surgery workouts. So with that my series on spinal fusion recovery comes to end! But don’t despair, I have a few last exercises to share!
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After three years and 8,000 miles, Elsye “Chardonnay” Walker reached the summit of Mount Katahdin, becoming the first Black hiker of any gender to complete a Triple Crown.
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