God bless the New York Times style section. Where else would we read about haute cuisine for dogs, naming your baby’s social media channels, or how to crochet during your daily Zoom call without pissing off coworkers? The section’s latest banger concerns a question that is equally vexing and inconsequential. Why are megarich parents in Los […]

Sweat slips down my cheek as I glide my fingers through the crisp water. I’ve reached the turnaround point of the day’s kayak jaunt, and already, the lactic acid in my arms feels plentiful enough to fill the waterway I’m paddling: Cleveland’s pocket of Lake Erie. I attempt a shoulder stretch, grab my sun-melted snacks, then […]

There’s a scene in the second season of HBO’s docuseries 100 Foot Wave in which surf icon Garrett McNamara sits silently on a Hawaiian beach and meditates as his brother-in-law, CJ Macias, does a voiceover. “These days it’s not always clear what Garrett is up to, or what his intention is on any given day,” […]

My daughters, ages 9 and 6, can’t pass up a claw machine full of prizes without feeding it dollar bills. The return on investment is abysmal, but they still crave the excitement of dipping that hunk of metal in a pile of stuffed animals in the hopes of snagging something. This year over spring break, […]

After I got home from a run in November of last year, I typed into my phone a list of things I’d seen on my run and added it to my Strava post. I thought I might keep doing it, as an exercise in noticing things. It was nice, having a little visual journal of the […]

Every year as a kid at YMCA or Girl Scout summer camp, the night I anticipated most was closing campfire, a few hours of silliness that marked our final evening together. All week, my cabin mates and I had obsessed between meals and activities over our skit performance, editing lines to make them funnier, embellishing costumes […]

Editor’s Note: This story deals with the sensitive topics of suicide and mental health struggles. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or a crisis, please reach out immediately to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. “We’re almost there,” I shout over my left shoulder, my skis tottering heavily on my right. I […]

Welcome to Tough Love. We’re answering your questions about dating, breakups, and everything in between. Our advice giver is Blair Braverman, dogsled racer and author of Small Game and Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube. Have a question of your own? Write to us at toughlove@outsideinc.com. I have a friend who is terrified of snakes. He’s […]

Canoeing on a lake. Camping next to a lazy river. Paddleboarding along the coast. These are the water-cooled scenes of summer. There’s only one thing missing that would make all these moments even better. Your dog. The good news is that you don’t have to choose between getting out on the water and spending time […]

I felt foolish and needy the first time I stuck out my thumb for a hitch on the Appalachian Trail. My hiking partner badly needed a ride to town, but the self-consciousness I felt around begging for a lift was all I could think about. At the time, I couldn’t place why I felt so […]