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The Secret Life of Trees

10 Min Read

Trees are intertwined with human existence – through religion, in times of war, in standing for what we’ll fight to protect, with our hopes and wishes that we share.

The Secret Life of Trees

The Secret Life of Trees

Follow a group of skiers, snowboarders, scientists and healers to the birch forests of Japan, the red cedars of British Columbia and the bristlecones of Nevada, as they explore an ancient story written in rings.

Read more stories in this series:

Treeline: A Story Written in Rings

Treeline: Homegrown

Treeline: Trespassing

Treeline: The Core

Treeline: The Film

Banner image – Two days prior, the forest floor was completely brown. A quick-moving storm laid down just enough snow for the crew to make their way on skis into the rarely explored (during winter) Great Basin National Park. White Pine County, Nevada. Photo: Garrett Grove.

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Roaring Journals

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Running Led Me Home

Running Led Me Home

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After years of trying to fit in with Western trail culture, one runner realises that what she’s been missing lies in the Colombian mountains of her youth.

Running Led Me Home

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“I’m generally bad at drawing boundaries between different riding styles,” Carston Oliver admits. “I just try to find the fun on whatever bike, terrain or ‘type’ of ride I’m on.”

For the Love of Dirt

Sakeus Bankson

For the Love of Dirt

Sakeus Bankson

4 Min Read

A year after Hawai‘i's deadliest natural disaster, the historic town of Lāhainā continues its rebuilding efforts. Photo: Ryan ‘Chachi’ Craig

Lāhainā, One Year Later

Beau Flemister

Lāhainā, One Year Later

Beau Flemister

13 Min Read

Pacers do much more than just keep their runners moving. Case in point: Lisa Jhung executes an all-important watermelon handoff to Amy Markovich at the Never Summer 100K.

Keeping Pace

Lisa Jhung

Keeping Pace

Lisa Jhung

8 Min Read

What’s more intimate than crack climbing? narinda gets up (and close and personal) on a Yosemite Valley classic.

What's a Climbing Road Trip Without a Car?

narinda heng

What's a Climbing Road Trip Without a Car?

narinda heng

8 Min Read

Be Brave. Be Kind. Go Get ‘Em!

Be Brave. Be Kind. Go Get ‘Em!

We spend our first 40 weeks in water. Some of us never get over it.

Be Brave. Be Kind. Go Get ‘Em!

6 Min Read

How Yvon Chouinard Taught My Kids About Trout Fishing

How Yvon Chouinard Taught My Kids About Trout Fishing

As the kids grow older, it becomes clearer and clearer to me how precious, and short, our time is together. It’s also become more important than ever to me that they spend time with key people in my life – friends and mentors who’ve inspired me and helped along the way – in the hopes that a little wisdom and generous spirit will rub off on the kids.

How Yvon Chouinard Taught My Kids About Trout Fishing

11 Min Read

It’s All Home Water: Oregon Steelhead

It’s All Home Water: Oregon Steelhead

Squeaky wheels, wild fish and carrot sticks, with Jeff Hickman – a prominent steelhead fishing guide, outfitter, and activist for wild rivers and wild fish.

It’s All Home Water: Oregon Steelhead

6 Min Read

Finnish Breakthrough

Finnish Breakthrough

How actor Jasper Pääkkönen advocates for wild fish.

Finnish Breakthrough

6 Min Read

The cinematic light of a late-summer evening illuminates a cloud of caddis flies above the riffles of the Missouri River, known for its blizzard-like insect hatches and chunky trout. Photo: Jessica McGlothlin

Dude, Where’s My Hatch?

Stephen Sautner

Dude, Where’s My Hatch?

Stephen Sautner

10 Min Read

Jahmicah Dawes and the author share a heart-to-heart on the water. Brazos River, Texas.

Water Is Common Ground

Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate

Building community deep in the heart of Texas.

Water Is Common Ground

Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate

12 Min Read

Shifting Currents

Shifting Currents

Emerald LaFortune

Emerald (she/her) is an outdoor writer, white- water and fly-fishing guide and community builder based in rural Idaho. Her work has appeared in The Flyfish Journal, DUN Magazine, OARS blog, Outdoor Research blog and more.

Shifting Currents

Emerald LaFortune

13 Min Read

This is your brain while shopping. Well, an overly simplified version created from excess Patagonia fabric.

Why Do We Keep Buying New Stuff?

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Why Do We Keep Buying New Stuff?

Archana Ram

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The Wall as a Mirror

The Wall as a Mirror

Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll

The Wall as a Mirror

Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll

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Before attempting La Esfinge, Rhiannon Williams cooks a dehydrated meal as the light fades on Mount Huandoy in the distance. Peru.

No Pressure

Alexa Flower

No Pressure

Alexa Flower

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The Volta Glacier is melting quickly — to pass its terminus and continue downriver we had to cross a partially frozen melt lake. We decided pushing through the ice in our packrafts was the safest way. Photo Jasper Gibson

The Path of a Water Droplet

Nick Pascoe

The Path of a Water Droplet

Nick Pascoe

9 Min Read

May it live to be 3,000—or older. Del Norte Titan (Sequoia sempervirens). California. Photo: Brian Kelley

Dear Earth,

Patagonia

Dear Earth,

Patagonia

3 Min Read

Home Planet Fund invests in the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, a collective of local Alaskan communities that see healthy trees as essential to their economic livelihoods. Old-growth forests keep Earth cool, naturally. Photo: Colin Arisman

Where to Find Hope on Climate

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Where to Find Hope on Climate

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5 Min Read

“On the first leg, I drank twelve litres of water across a baking hot day in fire ravaged bush with no canopy.” Beau takes the path less travelled, hot on the trail of a long-dead mass murderer.

A Bloody Long Run

Beau Miles

A Bloody Long Run

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4 Min Read

Organising a race in Utah’s Wasatch Range in the middle of winter comes with many challenges, like a course that’s buried in untracked snow.

Breaking Trail for Clean Air

Ariella Carpenter

Breaking Trail for Clean Air

Ariella Carpenter

7 Min Read

Jalpi, a Korean native seagrass, is at risk from industrialisation, urban development and an expanding fishing industry in South Korea. The grass helps restore fish stocks and fight the climate crisis. Photo: Nicole Gormley

Toward an End to Microfibre Pollution

Vincent Stanley

Toward an End to Microfibre Pollution

Vincent Stanley

4 Min Read

The Sickness – a slab-filled trail north of Pemberton, British Columbia – traces the edge of a plateau above the community of Mount Currie, the present-day seat of the Líĺwat Nation and home to most of its 2,200-plus members.

Together as One

Ryan Stuart

Together as One

Ryan Stuart

11 Min Read

Located only a few minutes from the city's centre, Cuvier is one of the oldest climbing sectors in Fontainebleau, France – the hotspot of the bouldering world.

The Gifts of the Forest

Zofia Reych

The Gifts of the Forest

Zofia Reych

8 Min Read

Katie Lamb and her partner, Keenan, try To Your Scattered Bodies Go (V14) in Lincoln Lake, Colorado. Keenan’s dog, Rei, supports from the ground (and in the shade).

Make It Last

Katie Lamb

Make It Last

Katie Lamb

6 Min Read

To My Bebito

Yessenia Funes

To My Bebito

Yessenia Funes

6 Min Read

Moving toward a new day requires reflection. It requires reckoning with our failures, taking time to really listen, and honouring what we’ve missed. Patagonia. Photo: Mikey Schaefer

Our Acknowledgment

Patagonia

We’re learning how to become an antiracist company.

Our Acknowledgment

Patagonia

2 Min Read

In the mountains, as in life, someone must go first. Both as a guide and activist, Juliana García has led the way for women in the alpine. Pico de Orizaba Volcano, Mexico. Photo: Esteban Barrera

Her Place in the Mountains

Lise Josefsen Hermann

Her Place in the Mountains

Lise Josefsen Hermann

8 Min Read

Streaks of light and the suggestion of sound.

In Search of Silence

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In Search of Silence

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Woody Woodburn’s worn wear is warmly woven into the web of his worldly wanderings. Ventura, California. Photo: Scott Soens

Perfectly Imperfect

Woody Woodburn

Perfectly Imperfect

Woody Woodburn

4 Min Read

After six long days in the South Chilcotin Mountains, we started our final descent back to the truck with our minds consumed by thoughts of dry clothes and cold beers.

Ultralight Foolishness

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Ultralight Foolishness

Will Cadham

9 Min Read

Armand engages an adult in a deep mountain discussion. Maybe he’s giving a weather report or explaining his latest salt-dough creations. What a place for the imagination of a 3-year-old to fly free.

The Charpoua Way

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5 Min Read

PFC-free gear must pass the same rigorous tests as our other apparel, both in the field and the lab. We make it rain anytime we want using the Bundesmann water permeability test, which assesses water resistance. Photo: Tim Davis

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Archana Ram

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Archana Ram

9 Min Read

Ellen Bradley and Connor Ryan bootpack up a ridge near the ski area, with the peaks of Lingít Aaní (Tlingit land) towering in the distance.

Taking the Long Way Home

Ellen Bradley & Matthew Tufts

Taking the Long Way Home

Ellen Bradley & Matthew Tufts

9 Min Read

“This is me skiing on France’s Grand Montets and using the first drone, which I don’t even remember having back in the early 1980s.* This is the only time I ever saw waves of perfect powder here.” (*Insert sarcastic wink) Photo: Gary Bigham

The Old-Fashioned Way

Layla Kerley

The Old-Fashioned Way

Layla Kerley

5 Min Read

Mina Bakhshi, Haniya Tavasoli and Sughra Yazdani check out a range of cams during a climbing ranger presentation about the evolution of climbing gear and the tools needed to climb in Yosemite National Park, California.

Afarin! Good Job!

Lauren DeLaunay Miller

Afarin! Good Job!

Lauren DeLaunay Miller

14 Min Read

Leaders can follow and followers can lead at Footprints Running Camp, a week-long program designed to reconsider the way things are done. Founder Dakota Jones calls Footprints the most meaningful thing he’s ever done. Silverton, Colorado. Photo: Max Romey

Run for Something

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Run for Something

Meaghen Brown

7 Min Read

Yakutat Surf Club member Jackson Wolfe stands up on his first glassy wave with surf mentor Kanaan Bausler. Yakutat, Alaska. Photo: Chelsea Jolly

Land of the Midnight Surf

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Land of the Midnight Surf

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14 Min Read

Scientist Emilé Zynobia zips through a golden sea of coffee crops and banana trees after winding through colourfully painted neighbourhoods in Manizales, Colombia.

Over-Roasted

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Over-Roasted

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16 Min Read

One of the best parts about running on the beach is having space to roam. From left to right, Barbara Mathews, Kyra Sweeney and Kiko Sweeney run in tandem across open beach at low tide near Manzanita, Oregon.

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Kiko Sweeney

A family explores their relationship to running.

Running the Coast

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6 Min Read

For the Tsleil-Waututh, paddling is not only a way of life but a sustainer of it. They have existed in relationship with the Burrard Inlet for millennia. British Columbia.

We Are the Inlet

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The women fighting for Southern Resident orcas.

We Are the Inlet

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9 Min Read

The Money Motive

The Money Motive

Gerry Lopez

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The Money Motive

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6 Min Read

Lauren Hill and Dave Rastovich standing with Geoff Lawton (centre) in their community permaculture garden on the NSW North Coast. Photo: Nathan Oldfield

The Surfer's Garden

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The Surfer's Garden

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9 Min Read

The range of the Southeastern Group of southern right whales extends from SA around to the NSW south coast, above. Photo Josh Burkinshaw

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Linley Hurrell

The fight to protect Koontapool Yakeen (Whale Dreaming)

Mother Knows Best

Linley Hurrell

8 Min Read

The oil and gas industry are aggressively expanding across Southern Sea Country. Photo Jarrah Lynch

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The ocean between Tasmania and Victoria, stretching west, is under threat from the offshore oil and gas industry. The communities dotted along those coasts are banding together to protect it.

Save Southern Sea Country

Ula Majewski

12 Min Read

After running past, taking shelter in and leaning on these slow breathing giants, the sawn and stripped logs just don’t have the same warmth or glory they once did. Today’s victory will be in logs conserved not cleared. Photo: Cam Suttie

Logged For A Loss

Nick Rodway

The mountain ash forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands are priceless. So why would you log them, losing millions of dollars in the process?

Logged For A Loss

Nick Rodway

7 Min Read

Located in downtown Lismore, the offices of the Koori Mail newspaper became a focal point for community-led flood relief during the catastrophic Northern River floods of early 2022.

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

Ella Noah Bancroft

"This right here, this is how we reconcile in this country."

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

Ella Noah Bancroft

9 Min Read

Matthew Trumm does ecosystem restoration work in the Camp Fire burn scar. Butte County, California.

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A road trip through California’s worst drought in 1,200 years, and the folks working to restore broken ecosystems and rewild lost landscapes.

Restoring Paradise

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16 Min Read

The mountain ash forests of the Victorian Central Highlands have existed for millions of years. The Great Forest National Park is an idea to protect them into the future. Photo: Cam Suttie.

Imagining The Great Forest

Jock Serong

The ancient forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands are home to a myriad of natural ecosystems, all precious, all interrelated. It’s time they were all protected as one National Park.

Imagining The Great Forest

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12 Min Read

Life Lived Wild

Life Lived Wild

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Rolling Stone called him “the real Indiana Jones.” His new memoir reveals why our friend Rick was always a great deal more.

Life Lived Wild

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6 Min Read

In San Vicente—a port town near Concepción in central Chile—Christopher “Caco” Clemo and Jacqueline Sangueza pick out eligible fishing nets for the net-recycling company Bureo.

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The South Pacific has a plastic problem. He had a truck.

Cleaning Up Chile’s Coast

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5 Min Read

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A year after Hawai‘i's deadliest natural disaster, the historic town of Lāhainā continues its rebuilding efforts. Photo: Ryan ‘Chachi’ Craig

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Be Brave. Be Kind. Go Get ‘Em!

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How Yvon Chouinard Taught My Kids About Trout Fishing

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As the kids grow older, it becomes clearer and clearer to me how precious, and short, our time is together. It’s also become more important than ever to me that they spend time with key people in my life – friends and mentors who’ve inspired me and helped along the way – in the hopes that a little wisdom and generous spirit will rub off on the kids.

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The Path of a Water Droplet

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“On the first leg, I drank twelve litres of water across a baking hot day in fire ravaged bush with no canopy.” Beau takes the path less travelled, hot on the trail of a long-dead mass murderer.

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Organising a race in Utah’s Wasatch Range in the middle of winter comes with many challenges, like a course that’s buried in untracked snow.

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Breaking Trail for Clean Air

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Jalpi, a Korean native seagrass, is at risk from industrialisation, urban development and an expanding fishing industry in South Korea. The grass helps restore fish stocks and fight the climate crisis. Photo: Nicole Gormley

Toward an End to Microfibre Pollution

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The Sickness – a slab-filled trail north of Pemberton, British Columbia – traces the edge of a plateau above the community of Mount Currie, the present-day seat of the Líĺwat Nation and home to most of its 2,200-plus members.

Together as One

Ryan Stuart

Together as One

Ryan Stuart

11 Min Read

Katie Lamb and her partner, Keenan, try To Your Scattered Bodies Go (V14) in Lincoln Lake, Colorado. Keenan’s dog, Rei, supports from the ground (and in the shade).

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Katie Lamb

Make It Last

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6 Min Read

To My Bebito

Yessenia Funes

To My Bebito

Yessenia Funes

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In the mountains, as in life, someone must go first. Both as a guide and activist, Juliana García has led the way for women in the alpine. Pico de Orizaba Volcano, Mexico. Photo: Esteban Barrera

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Lise Josefsen Hermann

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Lise Josefsen Hermann

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Monica Prelle

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After six long days in the South Chilcotin Mountains, we started our final descent back to the truck with our minds consumed by thoughts of dry clothes and cold beers.

Ultralight Foolishness

Will Cadham

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9 Min Read

Armand engages an adult in a deep mountain discussion. Maybe he’s giving a weather report or explaining his latest salt-dough creations. What a place for the imagination of a 3-year-old to fly free.

The Charpoua Way

Floran Tomei

The Charpoua Way

Floran Tomei

5 Min Read

PFC-free gear must pass the same rigorous tests as our other apparel, both in the field and the lab. We make it rain anytime we want using the Bundesmann water permeability test, which assesses water resistance. Photo: Tim Davis

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Archana Ram

Say Goodbye to “Forever Chemicals”

Archana Ram

9 Min Read

“This is me skiing on France’s Grand Montets and using the first drone, which I don’t even remember having back in the early 1980s.* This is the only time I ever saw waves of perfect powder here.” (*Insert sarcastic wink) Photo: Gary Bigham

The Old-Fashioned Way

Layla Kerley

The Old-Fashioned Way

Layla Kerley

5 Min Read

Mina Bakhshi, Haniya Tavasoli and Sughra Yazdani check out a range of cams during a climbing ranger presentation about the evolution of climbing gear and the tools needed to climb in Yosemite National Park, California.

Afarin! Good Job!

Lauren DeLaunay Miller

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Lauren DeLaunay Miller

14 Min Read

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Meaghen Brown

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After running past, taking shelter in and leaning on these slow breathing giants, the sawn and stripped logs just don’t have the same warmth or glory they once did. Today’s victory will be in logs conserved not cleared. Photo: Cam Suttie

Logged For A Loss

Nick Rodway

The mountain ash forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands are priceless. So why would you log them, losing millions of dollars in the process?

Logged For A Loss

Nick Rodway

7 Min Read

Located in downtown Lismore, the offices of the Koori Mail newspaper became a focal point for community-led flood relief during the catastrophic Northern River floods of early 2022.

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

Ella Noah Bancroft

"This right here, this is how we reconcile in this country."

The Story of The Koori Mail Flood Hub

Ella Noah Bancroft

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The mountain ash forests of the Victorian Central Highlands have existed for millions of years. The Great Forest National Park is an idea to protect them into the future. Photo: Cam Suttie.

Imagining The Great Forest

Jock Serong

The ancient forests of Victoria’s Central Highlands are home to a myriad of natural ecosystems, all precious, all interrelated. It’s time they were all protected as one National Park.

Imagining The Great Forest

Jock Serong

12 Min Read

Life Lived Wild

Life Lived Wild

Rick Ridgeway

Rolling Stone called him “the real Indiana Jones.” His new memoir reveals why our friend Rick was always a great deal more.

Life Lived Wild

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