When we set out to make the hiking challenge, our goal was to make it accessible to all. And while GAIA GPS is still the standard for the challenge, we recognize that many hikers may not want to pay the subscription. Especially with the unilateral change that GAIA GPS made to pricing this year. In the coming weeks, we will be working towards also adding this mapping to ALL TRAILS in addition to GOOGLE MAPS and GAIA GPS. For now, the following are the resources for downloading the maps to your phone via GOOGLE MAPS. How Does This Differ from GAIA GPS? There will be features that are missing, b ..read more

In this documentation, we're going to provide you with everything that you need to build a home server for all your data in a fault tolerant format that is manageable and doable. We encourage you to use them together in embarking on this journey. And if you're here because your performance is SLOW, we have very relevant information for you too. The following is a guide that helps you build the server, calls out what you need to look for, and discusses why you need to understand how it all fits together. Now ... you might say, "I'm just a retired weekend photographer that knows nothing about c ..read more

One of the "10 Hiking Essentials" is a whistle. Your in a precarious situation, your lost, you need to signal to others - the whistle is an important element to being on the trail. And if you happen to be in an area that you can allow your dog off-leash, it's always a good idea to train your dog to recall with voice and whistle. We believe that every Hiker and outdoor enthusiasts needs to two whistles. Every whistle has a different tone, pitch, and volume. They all vary and frankly some just don't meaure up; they can be muddled and dull. When the situation calls for it, you need something with ..read more

Cooking during a camping trip can be tricky. If you have a campfire going and you're grilling over the open flame, you've really leaned into the whole outdoor dream. Go you. Make sure to post it on Instagram so the rest of us can silently curse your aspirations. The reality is that you don't always have the time and energy to cook over an open fire. The calculation of when the embers are hot enough, the patience to wait for the fire to get to that point, and the skill needed to cook over an open flame don't always align. We have accepted that with children, getting out hiking and spending tim ..read more

Every content creator runs into the problem of storage issues -- big files are not easy, but look no further. UNRAID with a storage array has its benefits. And if you upgrade your network, you can edit right from the server. Use your existing hard drives Start with what you have and add drives as you need them You can mix and match any size and any brand to increase storage; up to 30 drives Replace smaller drives with bigger ones as you need more storage Redundancy for your data, if your hard drive fails, UNRAID has the option to protect the data with parity functionality AND with upgraded n ..read more

You’re ready to get outside and want to know where to start. You'll need to do three steps to start the Shenandoah 52. Let’s start with the basics of getting the GAIA GPS app, the maps share, and download offline maps. We will start with a few steps, IMPORTANT steps: Download the GAIA GPS app on your mobile device Sync your phone with the Shenandoah 52 maps Download the offline maps for Shenandoah National Park 1 | Downloading GAIA GPS to Your Mobile Device The App part is straightforward, head on over to the App Store for your device to download, set up an account, and get logged in. For Of ..read more

We've been missing. Yes. But for good reason. We're pleased to share the first of many interviews to follow on a DocuSeries that we're filming in Shenandoah National Park in partnership with the Shenandoah National Park Trust. This interview was conducted in Nicholson Hollow at Corbin Cabin with anthropologist and archaeologist, Audrey Horning. Audrey spent over 3-years in the park studying the Nicholson, Corbin, and Weakley Hollows. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbpTNBgulyU&t We look forward to sharing more hikes and promise to start publishing some more blog posts, bear with us ..read more

We're not getting any younger and the things that many of us did when we were younger no longer are easy. Case in point, wearing a backpack. This seems like a simple activity and should be relatively straightforward, however, don't make the same mistakes that I made the weekend before last. I am still recovering from that one. Since we're filming in the park, the amount of gear that I have in tow now has increased. Let's just say that overall, the amount of 'stuff' has exponentially increased from stuff for the little one to filming equipment, we're not shedding any pounds. So I bestow upon y ..read more

We're excited to share that we're partnering with a US-based hometown manufacturer to stamp what we've coined as Trail Tags. You might think that they look like Dog Tags. You guessed right. You will now be able to memorialize each of your hikes with a corresponding tag, labeled for the trail number and color-coded with a rubber ring to the loop. To inspire you to keep going and slowly add one by one each time you finish a loop to a 'ranger bead counter' inspired paracord system that will also be made available in the shop. And we want to make it pretty simple... like any other trek, you deci ..read more

You're out with Fido and they are blazing the trail through the clean area of the woods, avoiding the puddles, and steering clear of the mud. Now laugh. We all know that hiking with your dog is an adventure in dirt and debris. And let's be honest, your dog has its own weapon of destruction when you get off the trail and it is their dirty paws on your car seats. To me, the seats sometimes look like they were used as an obstacle in a tough mudder course. We've found your solution. This may sound like an infomercial, which hey, this product is aces and does wonders to the dogs paws, so call it ..read more