Ever Meister

1 month ago | rei.com | Ever Meister |Kade Krichko

Miles Howard nervously shifted in his well-worn hiking boots. He had months of training and felt more than prepped for the rigors of the trail. The weather might have foiled him on two previous attempts, but on that humid July morning in 2022, he wasn’t worried about the temperature. Instead, he was worried about who else was going to show up. After all, who starts a group hike next to a nail salon?

1 month ago | rei.com | Ever Meister |Sarah Boon

In September 2022, I stood on a pile of rocks that marked the once-grand reach of Hilda Glacier in the Canadian Rockies. Now the glacier was no more than a small triangle of ice clinging stubbornly to the far wall of the valley, a few kilometers away. It had been important for me to come here. I’d been married at the glacier, 20 years before. But so much had changed since then—about this place, and about me. Reaching the moraine had been a struggle on this return visit.

1 month ago | rei.com | Ever Meister

If you want to feel small and humbled by nature, stand next to a redwood tree; if you want to feel powerful and intertwined with nature, just stand there a little longer. While it might sound like a paradox, it’s merely a matter of perspective—and it’s the message theater and film star Idina Menzel is singing down to us on earth from her temporary home in the canopy.

1 month ago | rei.com | Ever Meister |Courtney Holden

Welcome to Ask an Outsider. We are here to answer your most pressing questions about enjoying time outside, like how to make outdoorsy friends, tips on going No. 2 in the woods or how to reconcile a different risk tolerance with a partner. Our advice givers are experts from both inside and outside REI Co-op who draw from their own experience and knowledge to help inform yours. Have your own thoughts about the topic? We’d love to hear them! Scroll to the end to weigh in with a comment.

2 months ago | rei.com | Ever Meister

“Comfort” and “camping” are words that don’t always go together: For many people, sleeping on the ground or eating rehydrated food are worthy sacrifices to enjoy the experience of waking up in the woods. For others, however, discomfort comes from feeling unwelcome at the campsite, or even unsafe. Black campers, for example, are less likely to seek overnight stays in nature when they don’t see others who look like themselves.