Arriving at Machu Picchu on foot is a lot more exciting than getting there by the tourist bus that ferries folks back and forth from nearby Aguas Calientes, Peru. Hikers can sign up for a four-day, three-night guided trip on the Inca Trail. Or, if you’re not quite that energetic, you can do what I did. On a recent trip with Choose Life Sober Adventures, our group of eight hikers (including two guides) got off the train to Aguas Calientes at kilometer 104 and spent the day walking the rest of the way to the ancient archeological site. Here’s the gear I packed that came in handy.
Hiking on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
“Just back your heels up so they’re sticking over the edge,” Kelly Cosgrove, an employee with the aptly named Over the Edge, told me. I stood on the top of the U.S. Bancorp Tower, locally known as Big Pink for its rosy hue. At 536 feet, the 42-story skyscraper is Portland’s second tallest. “Now just sit into your harness,” Cosgrove instructed. Straighten your legs more. Widen your feet. Start walking down.
On August 12, we rappellers got awesome views of downtown Portland and the Willamette River on a hot, sunny day. The point was to raise funds and awareness for Northwest Battle Buddies, a national nonprofit that gifts fully trained service dogs to veterans with PTSD.
That first step off the edge is the hardest. / Photo courtesy of Matthew Gilbert @matt_g.png
Northwest Battle Buddies
About 12 years ago, a veteran came to Shannon Walker, a professional dog trainer in Battleground, Washington, and asked her to train his service dog.
“I’d trained service dogs before,” Walker told me as we stood on the roof of Big Pink, waiting our turn to rappel. “But I never experienced what I experienced when I helped him through that process. I saw him change through the training of his service dog. I saw him find courage inside himself to lead her places he was afraid to go alone. And I saw him be willing to do for her what he wasn’t even willing to do for himself. Out of everything I’d ever accomplished in the dog world, nothing compared to how I felt when I watched him walk away with her.”
That was 212 service dogs ago. The experience motivated Walker to found Northwest Battle Buddies. She also serves as CEO.
Shannon Walker rappelling down Big Pink. / Photo by Matthew Gilbert @matt_g.png
Walker always respected veterans, thanks to her father, a veteran himself. “When you’re in the presence of a veteran, you’re in the presence of a hero,” she said. “That’s how he taught me.”
The service dogs are mostly English labs, English cream golden retrievers, Australian Labradoodles, plus some mixed breeds. It takes five months to train one service dog. Then, the veteran trains with their dog for five weeks. The pair must pass a test before going home together. Every year, they return for an afternoon to recertify.
“That way we have accountability to the dog’s weight, his vaccinations. We see the relationship. But we also see that they’re still handling with excellence.”
Rappelling for a purpose
Rappelling is just the latest in a series of Northwest Battle Buddies fundraisers. “We’ve had other crazy events,” COO Ovie Muntean tells me, citing skydiving and bungee jumping as some of the more noteworthy. “But I’ve never done this one before. I’m excited, nervous.”
Muntean seems like a thrill seeker, but he’s not here just for kicks. “I’ll do anything to make a difference. And the purpose of this fundraiser event is to raise awareness in the Northwest about our American heroes, the invisible wounds of war, what they have to fight when they come back. Their battle just begins. It’s an internal battle that there’s no cure for that we know of.” Muntean is very proud of his son, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and his daughter, who served in the U.S. Air Force.
Northwest Battle Buddies COO Ovie Muntean and CEO Shannon Walker. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
Why rappelling? “I feel that anything that’s out of the normal attracts attention,” Muntean said. “And it’s also fun for the people to participate.”
At the Big Pink event, fundraising rappellers each had a $2,000 target. Not everybody hit the goal, but some went over and above. Gary Cummings, an 87-year-old participant, raised roughly $5,000.
“We need money to operate,” Muntean said. “We don’t charge the veteran a penny for the service dog. But the highly professionally trained service dog costs us $25,000. And we couldn’t do it without the help of the community at large.”
How do you set up a rappelling fundraiser? You hire professionals like Over the Edge, a Canada-based company that has helped nonprofits worldwide raise more than $135 million via urban rappelling events since 2008. Their team at Big Pink was friendly but no-nonsense about safety. I was reprimanded twice: once for leaning over the edge to take photos of a rappeller (if I dropped the phone, I could kill someone below) and once for getting in their workspace without wearing a helmet. I appreciated how careful they were.
Photo by Teresa Bergen
After suiting up in a harness, gloves, and helmet, we got a safety lesson inside the building on a demo rope. Then we went up to the roof, where Over the Edge had two ropes set up dangling off. I rappelled at the same time as Michael Curtis, a fundraising superstar known for his epic stand-up paddleboard journeys in support of Northwest Battle Buddies.
Michael Curtis and I suited up and ready to go. / Photo courtesy of Michael Curtis
We had to climb up stepladders to reach the ledge, then stand with our backs to downtown. Having only rappelled off rocks before, the slick building was a bit of a challenge. My legs started to get tired a few floors down, and I wondered “Geez, do they wax this thing?” They probably do.
It was a thrill to be so high up with a viewpoint I’d never seen before. I gazed down at the Willamette River, where I’d been swimming that morning, and our city looked so beautiful. Still, it was a relief to reach the bottom!
The view from the top. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
On such a gorgeous summer day, pumped up from the thrill of an epic descent, it’s all good feelings. But the underlying purpose is to bring more good feelings to our veterans. Every day in the U.S., approximately 22 veterans take their own lives, due in part to PTSD. That’s roughly 8,000 a year.
On the roof of Big Pink, Walker emphasized the most important point. “We’ve provided 212 service dogs. We have not lost one veteran to suicide.”
Northwest Battle Buddies hopes to make the rappel an annual event. But you don’t have to wait until next year. Donate here anytime.
Planning a beach trip can be a logistical nightmare. Where should you go? When should you go? And, perhaps most importantly for people seeking a relaxing seaside experience, what should you bring? Take some of the stress out of the planning process with Outdoors Wire’s list of beach gear essentials.
Everyone knows to bring items like sunscreen with them to the beach, but other helpful resources can easily be forgotten while packing. While extras like sand toys and beach balls can make an excursion more fun, this list of beach gear focuses on products that address more basic needs. Below, find everything from sunglasses that will protect your eyes to coolers that can help keep you hydrated.
The Grand Canyon is a harsh environment, especially in summer when temperatures surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit. And if you spend a week rafting there, it will feel even more extreme as you switch between hot air and cold water. Add camping into the mix, and you’ll definitely start missing the comforts of home.
I recently spent a week on a Grand Canyon rafting trip with Wilderness River Adventures. The company provides an excellent packing list, but some of us followed it more closely than others. I talked to my raftmates about what they were glad they’d brought with them — and what they were sorry to have left out of their dry bags.
While cruising the polar regions with Quark Expeditions, passengers rely on Ultramarine’s well-stocked shop for all the stuff they should have brought from home. I bought several things myself during a recent Arctic cruise, despite doing some of my best pre-trip preparation. This Arctic packing list comes from my experience and the greater wisdom of Anna Mitieva, store manager aboard Ultramarine. She shared with me the top things people forget to pack and wind up buying on the ship.
Mitieva, a Ukrainian refugee, has run the shop since Quark hired her in early 2022. “I arrived destroyed, shocked, wrecked, exhausted. So they adopted me.” While Mitieva already spoke English, she had to learn lots of new vocab, like musk ox, narwhal, and carabiner. Quark took care of Mitieva, and now Mitieva cares for the shop and the needs of the passengers.
Anna Mitieva runs Ultramarine’s excellent shop. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
Save $$$ with Amazon Prime Day deals on hiking and gear including tents, sleeping bags, hiking boots and more.
The great outdoors. There’s nothing like it.
Ironically enough in 2023, that fresh air and connection with nature begins… on your smartphone, laptop, or any other electronic that connects you to Amazon.
This year’s annual Amazon Prime Day has all your outdoors needs covered. That includes camping gear like tents, sleeping bags, flashlights, boots, and other outdoors apparel. And make sure you don’t forget the perfect backpack to carry it all in.
Ahead of your next trip down the trail or up the mountain, check out some of 2023’s best Amazon Prime Day deals. Start with our camping collection below or our running collection list right here.
Save $$$ with these Amazon Prime Day deals on running gear including shoes, apparel, tech and more.
Hit the ground running during Amazon Prime Day in 2023.
(No, really).
From July 11-12, Amazon Prime will hold its annual sale on items across the site. Included in those will be products that cover all your running and workout needs.
True runners know preparation goes well beyond just footwear. Not only will sneakers be discounted, but you can also expect deals on rehydration, jogging apparel, and plenty more items.
Run, don’t walk, to check out Amazon’s 2023 Prime Day deals on workout and running gear. But if you need an all-important warm-up before sprinting to these deals, check our list of some of Amazon’s best deals on running gear this year in the list below:
You may love the sun, but does it love you? Not to put a bummer on your summer, but too much sunlight can wrinkle your skin, cause skin cancer, dehydrate you, and even lead to cataracts. Many other mammals have fur to protect them from the sun’s rays. But not us. Fortunately, we have sun-protective clothing.
Not all clothes offer equal protection from the sun. The Skin Cancer Foundation explains that garments with the highest Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) are densely woven, loose, and cover as much skin as possible. Dark colors absorb more UV rays than light colors. Unbleached cotton absorbs UV, and some synthetics protect you by reflecting radiation. Unfortunately, any garment will lose some protective ability if it gets wet or stretched. Here is some of the best UPF-rated, sun-protective clothing on the market to protect you during your summer adventures.
Whether you prefer swimming in mountain lakes, surfing in the ocean, or lounging by the pool, summer is the time when most folks think about upgrading their swimwear. Of course, in today’s body-obsessed society, choosing swimwear can be a fraught experience. How can we look our best while exposing so much? Instead, let’s focus on enjoying the activities we’re doing in our swimwear. Which suit is going to be comfortable, cover what we want to cover, stay in place, and last for several seasons? Here are some top picks for both form and function — that also happen to look good.
If you’re a beginning camper, you’ll need certain essentials for the experience to be appealing enough to want to repeat. The right food, clothing, and shelter are what it’s all about. You’re trying to replicate the comforts of home, up to a point. While you’re probably never going to feel as cozy in a tent as you are in your own bed, you want to be able to sleep well enough that you don’t pack everything up in the middle of the night and head for the nearest hotel. So, consult this handy camping checklist, and don’t head out into the wilds of a campground without these basics.
