Michael Lanza

Even in the Southwest, a region where the extraordinary becomes ordinary, Zion National Park stands out. Other places have natural arches, spires, and ancient cliff dwellings, but no place really matches Zion’s grandeur: cliffs up to 2,000 feet tall stretching for miles, the rock’s purity of white and deep burgundy, and patterns of striations rippling across a span of stone that dwarfs Man’s greatest buildings and monuments

Do you have a classic national park backpacking trip or other outdoor adventure in your sights for this year? The Teton Crest Trail or the John Muir Trail? Maybe Yosemite, Glacier, the Grand Canyon, Olympic, Mount Rainier, Zion, Sequoia, Canyonlands, North Cascades, or another park, or someplace like the High Sierra, Idaho’s Sawtooths, the Wind River Range or the Southwest? I can show you exactly how to make your dream trip happen. Read on

Puffy jackets stuffed with breathable synthetic insulation comprise one of the unsung-hero categories of outdoor gear: If you’re seeking nothing more than maximum warmth per ounce in a puffy jacket, sure, high-quality down is still the way to go. But if you want an insulated jacket with versatility across activities—and activity levels—and in all seasons and weather, a jacket with breathable synthetic insulation will usually outperform any feather-filled or synthetic competitor

In this video, I’ll walk you through the steps of applying for a backcountry permit online, so that you’ll know how to navigate a process that can seem complicated when you submit your own permit application. Each national park has its own process for applying for a permit reservation, but there are general similarities, so once you’ve been through it with one park, you’ll better understand how to go through it with other parks. In the video below, you’ll watch me actually go through the online process of applying for a permit to backpack the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. See all of my stories about national park adventures at The Big Outside and my Youtube channel for all of my blog’s videos.