i’ve gotten to where i really dislike trying to read anything on the internet. the relentless bombardment of ads and pop-up videos is just ridiculous. that’s not even to speak of the absolute garbage that is affiliate link stuffed shill websites that have no useful information at all. what is one to do?

go back to the 1970s before computers and the internet when you had to hold physical print in your hand to read something. i subscribe to national geographic magazine. something about it has changed over the years. or maybe something about me has changed. either way it does not resonate with me so much anymore. i went looking for something else.

i stumbled across mountain gazette. and from there, somehow, i was led to trails magazine. i’ve hemmed and hawed about subscribing to either one. $70 can do a lot of other things. i could acquire the materials to make a new rain jacket for half that. and get that new beanie to replace the one in which i wore a hole. in the spirit of adventure, i ordered a single issue of trails magazine. i specifically got issue three because

  • Our editor’s strong opinion about the ultralight craze.

i do love some ultralight hiking talk. i like to be smart about it. i’m not interested in ultralight purely for ultralight’s sake. i want to be as ultralight as possible regarding everything i need. the article was not really a discussion about the ultralight trend, or craze to use their word. it talked about a single ultralight item and used it as an example of the craze getting a little crazy. i couldn’t disagree. though, i can slightly recognize the rush of getting things as absolutely light as possible; just to the point they are almost useless, but not quite. like anything else, it’s a trial and adventure. i really don’t get my kicks from that adventure alone. maybe i’m not really an ultralight hiker after all.

though my expectations for that particular article were not necessarily met, the magazine was right up my alley. all about hiking and human powered outdoor adventure. and it is spectacularly high quality. a lustrous matte finish cover and thick, glossy, satin paper pages. definitely a coffee table magazine. one that people would pick up just to see what was on the inside. a lot of the content is reader/user sourced meaning it comes from regular folks getting outside and adventuring. don’t let that fool you, everything is still well written and the images are great. hats off to the editors and staff.

trails mag does not post any of their articles online. want to read something? order an issue or subscribe. there are only 6 distinct full page ads in issue 3. 2 at the beginning and 4 at the end. nothing in the middle. and no stupid ad stuffers falling in your lap as you thumb through the pages. high praise to the publisher for making this brave call.

want to get an idea of what they are all about? subscribe to their hiker box email newsletter.

also, through going back and looking at the mountain gazette website, i saw a picture of a spread about a trail in north dakota. the maah daah hey trail. something i’ll have to look into.

i’ll pull the trigger on a subscription to trails magazine. for something like this to exist in this day and age requires support.

that’s all for now.

get outside. go hiking.

Published On: 2024 May 21

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