Table of contents for August 2018 in Outside

When you examine the long history of the cutthroat retail-sales industry, it becomes clear that one era’s bully often becomes the next one’s victim. In 2000, when I first moved to Santa Fe, the city’s population hovered around 70,000 and, if memory serves, there were six independent outdoor-gear shops in town. Eighteen years later, only one of those is still in business. What happened? A major recession and the shift to online shopping were certainly contributing factors, but most locals would probably offer a more concise explanation: in 2008, REI opened a 28,000-square-foot location in Santa Fe. This wasn’t a novel event. Throughout America, for nearly as long as specialty shops have existed, bigger national chains offering more inventory and lower prices have been moving into towns and squeezing out…

IT’S FRIDAY, and your weather app is all blue sky and sunshine icons. You shout: “Let’s go car camping, kids!” But where? You pull up the website for a nearby state park. The page is gray, seemingly designed by Czech bureaucrats. It doesn’t say much about options for hiking, swimming, or fishing, so you open 17 more browser tabs, researching like somebody from the Adderall generation. You finally settle on a campsite and plug in today’s date. That’s when your weekend goes to hell. The booking page tells you that all the reservable campsites are taken. Grimacing, you remember reading something about the best campsites being grabbed six months out. “It’s OK!” you say as tears well up in your offspring’s eyes. “The park holds spaces for people who just…

A. GCI Outdoor Master Cook Station $120 No more digging through Rubbermaid bins to assemble your camp kitchen. The Master Cook Station has room for a two-burner stove and a cutting board, and provides a prep area, a built-in sink with a drain, and a drying rack. B. Thermacell Radius Zone mosquito repellent $50 The soda-can-size Radius creates a 110-square-foot sucker-free zone without sticky lotions, buzzing sounds, or noxious deet. A rechargeable lithium-ion battery activates the secret sauce—a wick packed with the same ingredients that make chrysanthemum flowers deter insects. C. Hults Bruk Arvika 5-Star ax $189 With a 5.5-inch-wide head handcrafted in Hults’s 321-year-old forge and an American hickory handle, this ax makes short work of chopping and splitting even the knottiest wood. D. Kelty Galactic sleeping pad $70…

A. Adidas Outdoor Terrex Tivid 1/2 Zip fleece $59 A lightweight pullover helps counter unpredictable weather. We like fleece for its low cost, breathability, and performance when wet. B. Ultimate Direction Fastpack 15 $120 Vest-inspired packs fit better, bounce less, and provide easier access to your stuff than conventional daypacks. The Fastpack 15 has pockets on the straps for calories, water, and a phone, and there’s enough room in back for a rain shell, a warm layer, and kibble for your trail partner. C. My Trail Company Chrome umbrella $49 An umbrella can be a through-hiker’s savior. It provides protection in heat and humidity, takes the brunt of torrential storms, and offers portable shade in sun-baked desert. D. Headsweats ProTech hat $26 There’s no better hiking headwear for sunny conditions.…

SOME TIMES LATE AT NIGHT, WHEN EVEN THE RAMBUNCTIOUS STREETS OF NEW YORK’S LOWER EAST SIDE HAVE STILLED, JOE MILLER’S DREAMS TURN TO CITI BIKE. He is not dreaming of the 45-pound, three-speed, bright blue, bank-logo-emblazoned workhorses of Gotham’s bike-share system. Nor is he somnolently replaying a sunset cruise down the Hudson River Greenway. He is dreaming of the points. “I’ll be having an unrelated dream,” he says, “and it’ll creep in. I’ll notice that there’s this impossibly large drop-off-to-pickup loop.” This, he says, “is awful.” So he’ll talk himself down, open up a metacognitive moment in his immersed REM state: “What are you doing? I don’t want to think about this right now, go away!” The specter haunting Joe Miller’s sleep is Citi Bike’s Bike Angels program. The Angels…

Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, Jen Edney visited plenty of Midwestern lakes, but she never thought she’d make a career out of being on the water. “I always had a fear of the ocean,” says the 35-year-old photojournalist. Edney cured that trepidation after college, when she spent a month with Outward Bound on a 150-foot schooner in the Caribbean. That’s where she fell in love with nautical photography. After stints at the Summit Adventure Photography Workshop and the Brooks Institute, Edney now travels as much as nine months of the year on assignment. Most recently, she embedded with the 2017–18 Volvo Ocean Race—an eight-month, round-the-world yachting competition—where she served as an onboard reporter, covering the teams’ progress for the event website. The Volvo is one of sailing’s most dangerous races.…

IN MY JOB I TEST A LOT OF GEAR, and I’ve become quite picky. It’s good to have a discerning eye when deciding which jackets, bikes, and sleeping bags rise to the top of the heap and which need another round of R&D. But I do have one weakness: sunglasses. I fall for almost every pair I meet. It doesn’t matter if they’re full-coverage glacier specs, sleek sport wraps, or light-as-a-feather aviators, as long as I feel good wearing them and the world looks good through them. This has caused me some problems. As I’m reminded far too often, there’s no seeing through lenses that fog up easily, and I have to stop what I’m doing to wipe them down—or, worse, take them off until they clear up. This is…

A. Orvis Grip Tight Windowed Hammock seat cover $149 Protect your car’s upholstery from mud, dirt, snow, and whatever else gets tracked in. Orvis’s Grip Tight cover is water-resistant and big enough for the entire back seat. Once you get home, hose it clean. B. Filson Bridle Leather collar $65 The O-ring on the Bridle flips if it snags on a branch, preventing choking. But be warned: with handsome saddle-grade leather, man’s best friend will be dressed better than you. C. Astral BirdDog life jacket $50 OK, your dog’s a great swimmer. But give yourself extra peace of mind with this PFD from Astral. Three easy clips—two underneath and one across the chest—allow for simple adjustments on the go. D. Adventure Medical Kits Canine Field Medicine and Me and My…

A. Patagonia Nine Trails shirt $45 The travel tee perfected. Sewn from polyester jersey treated with Polygiene, it can go several days without stink setting in. The fabric looks like cotton, pairs well with jeans, and wicks like a performance top. B. Timbuk2 Nomad Clamshell travel kit $49 This minimalist toiletry bag is made from durable ripstop nylon. A center zip reveals two waterproof compartments, ensuring any shampoo-bottle mishaps don’t ruin absolutely everything in your suitcase. C. Eagle Creek No Matter What Flatbed carry-on $180 Given its durable, water-repellent fabric, heavy-duty treaded wheels, and ultrastrong, lightweight frame, this 45-liter roller is worthy of any off-road adventure. A quick-stash toiletries pocket and overhead-ready sizing are ideal for plane travel. D. Lululemon On the Fly pants $98 With an incredibly soft, lightweight…

LET US NOW PRAISE SOUTHERN UTAH! I moved here the high-water spring of 1993, everything I owned in the car and my savings whittled to three hundred cash. The hitchhikers said Moab, so I dropped anchor in the red-rock oasis and spent the next decade dowsing: mossy seeps, wind-chime waterfalls, pollywog potholes. I guided the rivers—the Green, the San Juan, the Colorado—splashed up the slots of Canyonlands and Escalante, and finally bought my own acre of promised land along a lazy creek sweet with Russian olives and fluffy with cottonwood duff. I loved the small scale of the desert towns. The Mormon pioneers did not develop the land for tourists, loading it with bars and resorts, but for themselves, placing a premium on self-sufficiency and community. The sandstone labyrinths, swaths…

A Breath of Fresh Air Contributing editor Florence Williams joined former victims of sex trafficking who went on a four-day wilderness-therapy session in Colorado in hopes of finding solace in nature (“The Survivors,” May). Williams’s reporting on the topic struck a chord with our readers. This made me cry out of anger at the injustice in the world. I’m so glad the women got outside and found themselves. Even in my non-traumatic life, I feel exhilarated when I am mountain-biking through the woods or hiking on a snowy mountain. Jane Sodders Amherst, New Hampshire This article showed the power of the outdoors to help women reconnect with their own power. I appreciate that you included it along with athlete profiles and gear articles. But I appreciate even more that it…

Our love for Santa Fe, where Outside is based, is more than just a case of unchecked pride. The city embodies many of the trends we’ve covered. Three decades ago, the Railyard was declared a blighted area, and in 2002, officials adopted a master plan to revitalize it. Today the district features four cultural nonprofits, including a thriving farmers’ market and Warehouse 21, a youth-mentorship center and arts space. Santa Fe’s craft-brewery scene is booming: according to the Brewers Association, New Mexico saw a 61 percent increase in craft brewers between 2012 and 2015, mostly in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, placing it 12th in the nation for small breweries per capita. Tech life is also increasing. The state contributed over $1 million to help launch Descartes Labs, an artificial-intelligence startup…

A. Grass Sticks Green Grass SUP paddle $219 Light, sturdy, and sustainable, bamboo makes a solid shaft for a SUP paddle. The Green Grass has a durable fiberglass blade that works equally well on whitewater runs and mellow cruises. B. ExOfficio BugsAway Sol Cool Kaliani hoodie $90 With a bug-deterring coating and a large hood, the Kaliani is a solid partner for afternoons on the water. Thumb loops stop the sleeves from riding up, and there’s a zip pocket for keys. C. Croakies XL Adventure Conservation sunglasses strap $9 Croakies let you avoid overboard catastrophes, and with its Conservation edition you can do good, too. Show your support for Trout Unlimited, Adventure Scientists, American Rivers, or the Ocean Conservancy. D. Vibram Five-Fingers V-Aqua water shoes $90 These toe-huggers take a…

A. Salomon Lightning Race Waterproof jacket $150 This pocketless layer skips bells and whistles without skimping on breathability or durability. It’s light and stuffs easily into a pack, and the hood and taped seams make it wet-weather capable. B. Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR Baro watch $549 Want to track more than distance, pace, and heart rate? This Suunto gives you barometric pressure, altitude, elevation gain, and recovery time, too. You can also follow popular routes on the face. C. Ultimate Direction Ultra Vesta 4.0 hydration vest $135 A classic design—snack pouches, flask holsters, roomy pockets—gets an upgrade. Stretch mesh and a cinch lumbar system provide an adjustable body-hugging fit. D. Brooks Notch Thermal Longsleeve $75 Soft and wicking, the Notch is thick enough for evening runs and sleek enough…