She was taking a full day navigation course with us in preparation for a solo thru-hike of the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine. In that class, even though it is not an orienteering course, per se, we do discuss what to do if you find yourself lost on a hike. We always suggest looking behind you for starters. People are turned and misdirected by water bars and […]
Because inquiring minds want to know this stuff. Because our guides are legends. They’re rock stars. People want to know what they eat for breakfast. What they think and how they feel. They want to know them during the hike as well as after. We decided to pose what we think may be three popular albeit unique questions to Redline Guide Mike Maciel: So, Mike, please […]
Realize, when growing cold, that you will never freeze to death no matter how often you claim that it is so. Hypothermia will readily claim you first. Hypothermia — an insidious cooling of the body’s core temperature — is measured in stages that may correspond to some degree to the numbers on your thermometer. What begins as the body’s simple fight for preservation, a body so […]
Taking stock of what we offer, in who we are, and who we serve, we realize we’re brimming with an unlimited source of new adventures right here in New Hampshire. Sure, we offer all the staple activities of the guiding industry, stuff like hiking/snowshoeing, mountaineering, ice climbing, rock climbing, and backcountry skiing, but we also offer so much more. Our guides possess a sense of spirit […]
Nowadays there are undoubtedly thousands of how-to resources about hiking, maybe even hundreds of thousands. Or more! There are blog posts, articles, books, videos, documentaries, podcasts, as well as clubs, groups, and organizations all vying to teach their readers, viewers, listeners, or members a thing or two about hiking. We’re guilty of it ourselves on this blog, and on our Resources page. And we bet that […]
Here it is, 2021’s Re-cap Happy New Year, everyone! As we’ve done in years past, we’re offering our readers a condensed list of our best articles of the year (which wasn’t many in 2021) — a quick overview of our most popular educational or special interest blog posts. Since we have produced less of this type on content, however (to avoid redundancy), we are first going […]
Humans are obsessed with quantification. How many are there? What is the size? How often does it occur? And to what magnitude? To help we have scales for everything: distance, weight, size, duration, intensity, temperature, and so on, and this just scratches the surface. From Fahrenheit to Richter, many have contributed to this madness. And that’s what we hope to do. We’re here to quantify outdoor […]
Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of America’s wilderness areas, John Muir (1838–1914) is touted as being the “Father of the National Parks.” You are likely already quite familiar with one of his more popular quotes: Namely, “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” This oft-repeated statement helps us relate to the allure of the mountains and […]
You can’t tell anyone where we are… is this clear? The deal was I could share my discovery and describe what I saw in detail, but I was forbidden to supplement my dissertation with photos or video. Nor could I divulge — or even hint at — their general location. This deal was done on a handshake. A grimy but firm and trustworthy handshake. One that […]
A thoroughly enjoyable piece penned by Redline Guide Mike Maciel. In 2019 I stepped away from a successful sixteen year career in the corporate world of insurance to pursue things that were more meaningful to me. For most of my tenure, the money I earned in exchange for my time had helped me to achieve my goals and build a great life. Eventually though, the ends […]
EDITORIAL: The Best of 2020? Really? (Heavy sigh.) Okay, to hell with 2020. We know it, you know it, enough is enough. Caution-fatigued to the max, right? Nonetheless, the hope and promise of a new year is upon us. We don’t think anyone is expecting great relief right from the start of 2021, but hopefully by the time we reach its end enough of the population […]
bush·whack (verb) /ˈbo͝oSHˌ(h)wak/ 1. live or travel in wild or uncultivated country. This isn’t going to be a promotion. We wouldn’t do that to our friends. We’re not trying to sell you on anything. What we will be talking about doing in this article would in fact be dangerous and a bit foolish for most people. So, don’t do it. To be clear, this isn’t a […]
