Southern Indiana Trails

Europe is known for its network of high-alpine huts, where you hike from lodge to lodge and eat dishes like goulash and spaetzle before retiring for the night in plush accommodations and then hiking on to the next hut the following day. But you don’t have to leave the country for a taste of that experience.  “The U.S. is on the verge of embracing what huts are all about,” says Sam Demas, author of the forthcoming guidebook  Hut to Hut USA: The Complete Guide for Hikers, Bikers, and Skiers , which will be published in October. “There’s a big appetite for hut travel in the U.S., and we’re seeing more communities develop new systems.” Demas, a self-described hut nut who runs the website  Hut2Hut , estimates that there are well over a dozen such systems across the country, with hundreds of lodges, yurts, and backcountry huts you can hike to from Maine to Oregon. And more are on the way. The Alaska Huts Association plans to break ground in 2023...

We’d all like to disappear deep into the backcountry for weeks. But life (and limited vacation time) has a way of preventing that. Enter the glorious three-day weekend, where 24 bonus hours can mean the difference between a quick car-camping trip and a full-on wilderness adventure. Here are nine itineraries that maximize fun in backcountry areas that feel light-years from the city grind but are still close enough to home to execute, thanks to that extra PTO day. Enchantment Basin and Prusik Peak in autumn in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness ( Photo: U.S. Forest Service / Creative Commons ) Alpine Lakes Wilderness Jump Off From: Seattle, Washington Just an hour east of the Emerald City, the 394,000-acre Alpine Lakes Wilderness serves up some of the finest scenery in the Cascades—and that’s saying a lot. With a postcard-perfect landscape carved by glaciers, pockmarked by freshwater lakes, studded with granite peaks, and flush with wildflowers, you’ll get whip...

After a long, hard day on the trail, the body doesn’t just crave fuel. It wants a warm, delicious, and nourishing feast. “Eating well in the backcountry makes such a world of difference,” says John Sims, rations manager for the National Outdoor Leadership School ’s Rocky Mountain campus in Lander, Wyoming. He’s seen it firsthand: “I remember one day last fall when I was working as an instructor. We had moved for a number of hours to camp, and all the students were tired, hungry, unhappy. The instructor team encouraged people to start making food right away, some instant soups and ramen. As soon as people started getting those calories, their mentality and the whole atmosphere of the camp turned around. We went from a grumpy, unhappy group to a pretty lively one.” Since it was founded in 1965, NOLS has been known for refining backcountry meals, as evidenced by its cookbook, NOLS Cookery , now in its seventh edition.   In addition to field-tested recipes, the book contains advice o...

All of a sudden, it seems like everyone wants to go overlanding. Curious about it yourself? Here’s everything you need to know about the gear you’ll need, where to go, and smart tips that’ll make your first trip successful. What’s Overlanding? We’ve previously defined it as “ backpacking out of a vehicle .” That is to say: you’ll be going on an adventure through remote places and relying on the gear you carry with you. Only, with a truck, motorcycle, or car, you’ll be able to travel much farther, and it’ll be a lot easier to bring items like good food, quality booze, and a comfortable sleep system and shelter along. What makes overlanding different from simply going off-road, or taking a car-camping trip, is the emphasis on travel over exploring the technical limits of your vehicle. An ideal overlanding trip should involve exploring new places. Does the definition of overlanding seem a little vague and open-ended? That’s on purpose. What’s ne...

In partnership with Stillhouse , we designed a series of *super serious* tests to find the unbreakable camp mug.  by Outside Editors via Outside Magazine: All

It’s hard to overstate the importance of a good camp chair. It’s where epic adventures are recapped, drinks sipped, and sunsets enjoyed. But not all camp chairs are created equal. That’s why we teamed up with Stillhouse —the Unbreakable Spirit—to pit a high-end option against a bargain basement model in search of an answer to our burning question: Is it worth spending big bucks on a camp chair? by Outside Editors via Outside Magazine: All

Adventure is tough to define. No doubt it can be serious business—summit bids, hypothermia, first descents, interval training, altitude sickness. But it can also be lighthearted. Sure, there are accomplishments to be had, but there are also just plain old good times. This is where whiskey comes in. Add a nip of bourbon at the top of that hard-earned summit and serious becomes a celebration. Think of whiskey as another piece of gear in your quiver, a tool used to lighten the mood, provide perspective, maybe even slow things down and give you a chance to catch your breath. And no whiskey—or any other spirit, for that matter—is more at home in the great outdoors than Stillhouse . Distilled in Tennessee, Stillhouse has one major advantage over the competition: its award-winning whiskey (and bourbon and vodka) comes in an unbreakable stainless steel can that can go places where glass can’t. “These cans are undeniably cool,” says Mike Montgomery, a builder, adventurer, and YouTuber wh...

Camping with kids can be really fun. It can also be a downright disaster. I’ve learned how to camp with kids the hard way. Parent failures include: forgetting sunscreen, not packing enough warm clothes, and falling short on stuff to occupy young minds. Tears have been shed by all those involved, but along the way I’ve picked up some tricks on how to make such outings more successful for everyone. So when you’re packing for your next weekend in the woods, remember the little things, like their favorite stuffed animal that they can’t sleep without or a special cup that they only drink water out of—but don’t forget about yourself. Here are six items that I pack that make camping with kids an all-around better time. Nite Ize BugLit LED Rechargeable Micro Flashlight ($20) ( Photo: Steve Redmond) The  BugLit is a micro light that doubles as a fun insect toy. In addition to illuminating a bedtime story, it can become a bracelet, backpack charm, zipper...

Wild children are rare these days. As a kid, I wore my house key around my neck, played tag in the park near my school, and knew enough to get home before my mother came looking for me. Trees were climbed, mud puddles were claimed, and forts were made from trash bags and stray sticks. We were Peter Pan Lost Boys (and Girls), Bridge to Terabithia explorers, and Lord of the Flies  rulers in training all at once.  My children’s upbringing has been far different. Send them outside without a plan and you might hear from a nervous neighbor who saw them wandering or, worse, have them return moments later saying they’re bored. That changes when kids are in the wilderness. Go camping in a forest and their curiosity comes back . Imagination takes over and adrenaline-fueled possibilities of adventure (“What was that sound!”) are enough to set off giggles and shrieks with every critter that crawls past the tent.  That dichotomy—adventurous on vacation and timid a...

Desire to be on public land is  skyrocketing right now , and nowhere is that more true than the mud-season mecca of Moab, Utah . Last week, I—along with everyone else in a 12-state radius—rolled into town looking to lizard myself in the sun and avoid falling off my bike . Instead, we found jammed trailheads and the constant drone of ATVs. Crowded out and COVID-stressed, I headed north. Less than an hour from the churn of Canyonlands National Park , just outside the town of Green River, I had the Athena Trail to myself. It was completely quiet except for the whir of my cassette and the huff of my own breathing, my bike rolling over the slickrock and striated sandstone. The trail climbs to an overlook of the Green River then drops into a twisty valley of hoodoos striped red, cream, and gold. The trail was named after the Athena Rocket—this stretch of ruddy desert was the Green River Test Site, an outpost of the White Sands Missile Range. From 1964 to 1975, the U.S. Air Force and A...

Want to get away from crowds this summer? Float camping is a backcountry experience that’s easy and comfortable. You can   bring good food, plenty of gear, and even your dog on a trip that’s guaranteed to be scenic. Wes Siler shows you how to set up on the river.  by Nathan Norby via Outside Magazine: All

One of my regular mountain biking partners is my friend Bryan. Someone recently asked him, “What kind of mountain biker are you?” He responded, “I’m a trail rider.” Another person replied, “Aren’t all mountain bikers trail riders?” Sure, in the most literal sense, we all ride trails. But I knew what Bryan meant. He’s a strong and skilled rider, but he doesn’t race. He doesn’t mind pedaling, but for him it’s all about the downhills. He rides for exercise but more than that, he rides for fun: he loves taking every side hit and bunnyhopping roots and rocks. Bryan can appreciate the easy flow of XC-style trails but he’s not an XC rider; he likes gnarly and technical descents but he’s not an enduro-bro. He enjoys the bike park but is not a park rat. He’s a well-rounded mountain biker—a trail rider. (He’s also a talented photographer who shot the images accompanying this piece.) I explain this so that you understand what I mean when I say that Pivot’s Trail 429 is a mountain bik...