Our September Roundup

Our roundup of the best from the backcountry and beyond.

This month’s 106-mile read: Courtney Dauwalter smashes women’s record at Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc

From an eclectic mix of music on an old-school iPod shuffle to only liquids after mile 50, Courtney Dauwalter dialed in her race strategy to shave two hours off her previous course best, beating the previous 2013 record by seven minutes. Find out how she went from dropping out at the Hard Rock 100 in July to breaking course records. [Runner’s World]

Gearhead Take:

Courtney recovered after her 106 mile with a light beer, and while recovery is great from the can, we also love massage guns and compression tights to limber up tight muscles and keep us moving. Check out our recovery best practices here.

Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows changes name to Palisades Tahoe

After a year of deliberation fon “derogatory” language in its name, the Olympic Valley, CA resort is ushering in a new name: Palisades Tahoe. After resort leadership conducted research into the etymology and history of the term “squaw,” and worked with the local Washoe Tribe, it decided to drop the term from the destination’s name. [Sierra Sun]

Orange releases new adaptive bike for ex-enduro racer Loraine Truong

After suffering from a traumatic brain injury at the Enduro World Series race in 2015, Loraine Truong was left with right side paresis, forcing her to stop riding—until now. Where many adaptive bikes fail—too wide for singletrack or bucket seats that require assistance for the rider—the Phase AD3 sports two front tires as wide as the pedals, and stability for unassisted pedaling. Check out the hush-hush build six years in the making. [Pink Bike]

Five-year-old Harvey becomes youngest to complete Appalachian Trail

209 days & 2,100 miles: At five years old, Harvey “Little Man” Sutton became the youngest known person to hike the AT from Georgia to Maine. By starting out with short walks and slowly increasing mileage, his parents kindled Harvey’s love for hiking at two years old. The hardest part about the hike? Keeping him entertained every day. [NPR]

Gearhead Tip:

Want to get your kids excited about hiking? Here are some games to keep them entertained on the trail:

Scavenger Hunt: Make a checklist of things kids can easily and safely find on the trail. The first to find them all is the winner!

Alphabet Game: Starting with the letter “A,” name things you can see or hear on the trail that starts with each letter of the alphabet.

Story Game: Engage their memory by playing the neverending story game. Have one person start the story with one sentence, then the next person add on to the story, and so on.
Hide & Seek: Hiders run 20 feet ahead of the group and find a hiding spot while the seeker counts down for 60 seconds. Rotate through the group to keep everyone engaged.
Bingo: Have each person pick an object you’re likely to see while hiking, like a stream, a type of flower, or clothing (like a black jacket). Yell “bingo” when you spot them.

A former Hotshot’s take on fighting wildfires

Spectacular backcountry views, adrenaline-inducing work, impacting communities one fire at a time—that’s the reality of being a wildland firefighter. The reality is also working upwards of 80 hours a week, being available 24/7 during fire season, and being separated from friends and family. Get the full scoop from a veteran Hotshot. [Explore]

Not your average trail mix

Our chef-in-chief Lentine is back at it with four drool-worthy trail mix recipes. From the office to your end-of-season backpacking trip, ditch the store-bought stuff (and those dusty raisins) and get gorp’n. [Explore]

Department of Interior expands fishing & hunting on 2.1 million acres of public land

As part of the Biden administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative, the Department of Interior expanded fishing and hunting opportunities across 88 National Wildlife Refuges and one National Fish Hatchery. The move represents the most significant opening and expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities than ever before. [Department of Interior]

Dog of the Week:

“I’m Millie, keeper of the cooler. 1 treat = 1 beverage.” Thirsty?