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1 week ago | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
In college, I brought guys into the forest at night because it was a place where I was less scared than they were. As a woman, dating—or even just being alone with a man—felt vulnerable. I wanted to flip the script. I remember the second time in particular, with a man I really liked. We were a mile deep in the campus arboretum, following a trail through faint moonshadows and then, as the trees grew thicker, into a tunnel of black. My flashlight was dim. He held my arm as I led the way.
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1 month ago | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
In February, I joined four strangers on an overnight dogsled expedition for beginners. They ranged in age from their twenties to sixties, and sat long hours around the campfire—laughing, roasting marshmallows for each other, and petting a yellow dog who squeezed along the snowbanks behind them, nosing for snacks. Each attendee had signed up for the trip alone; they’d never met each other before. But the mood—and the conversation—couldn’t have been better.
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2 months ago | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
Last fall, at a dryland dogsled race in Pearson,Wisconsin, one canine athlete stood out from the rest. While her competition—mostly pointers and Alaskan huskies—ran one- to three-mile sprints, then rested, she entered multiple divisions in such quick succession that she once hurried straight from the finish line to the starting line without slowing down. Her gaze is stoic. Her fur is orange. Her legs are four inches long.
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2 months ago | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
Leslie Gaynor, 68, loves survival shows. After she finishes her day’s work as a therapist, she makes herself some tea and puts on an episode of Naked and Afraid. By the time the show’s over, it’s dark out. Her dog has to pee, but she doesn’t like to go outside at night. What if there are wild animals in the yard? One time last year, her dog ran out and saw a possum, and the possum flopped over dead, and when she went out a few minutes later it was gone.
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Jan 21, 2025 | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
My favorite Tough Love question from the last eight years, the one I (somewhat inexplicably) recall most fondly, was from a woman whose boyfriend was grossed out that she used a pee rag—a.k.a. reusable toilet paper—while camping.
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Jan 11, 2025 | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
When I first started dating my boyfriend, he mentioned that he had a group of friends who went “camping” every month to practice skills for the future. I asked for more details and he said that they practice orienteering, tracking, and survival skills like that. He’s a really sweet, caring guy and nothing seemed like a red flag. Actually, my ex was less social and very clingy, so I remember thinking it was a green flag that he spent time with friends. We’ve been together for a year now.
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Dec 24, 2024 | 
cntraveler.com | Blair Braverman
But my favorite of Sibley's pronouncements-which he declared almost sheepishly, referencing a quote from his latest book-is that to understand what it's like to be a bird, it's important to know what it's like to be a human. What it's like to be a human. Of course. It seemed so clear, as soon as he said it; to imagine having wings, you'd have to first see the absence of arms as a neutral, not a lack.
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Dec 9, 2024 | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
I’m the owner of a small hiking gear company that I founded five years ago when I was 33 years old. I’ve put my everything into it: long hours, 24/7 availability, and my own savings. Many longtime members of my team share my work philosophy. We love this brand and believe in its mission, so we’re willing to go the extra mile for it—even if that means taking on additional work or staying on the clock a little longer to finish up.
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Dec 2, 2024 | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
It’s not that I don’t like food. I do. I carry frozen cheesecakes on winter expeditions. They’re caloric and they don’t freeze hard, so you can bite off chunks without chipping your teeth. I once ate the same dead catfish boiled over a fire for three days. Was it good? Absolutely not. I like cardamom, snap peas, and Asian pears. I eat frozen bean burritos. I hate raw tomatoes, a trait I attribute to growing up near a ketchup factory in California.
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Nov 18, 2024 | 
outsideonline.com | Blair Braverman
I spent most of my twenties single, and eventually started to believe (happily) that I might be a lone wolf for the rest of my life. Which wasn’t a terrible proposition: I was (and am) surrounded by incredible people, and lead a joyful life full of adventure. Namely, long days in the backcountry, on my skis, on my feet, or on my mountain bike. I loved being able to do exactly what I wanted, when I wanted. Then, I fell in love. My boyfriend is incredible, and in so many ways a great match for me.
