In Billings, indulging after all that activity will naturally lead you and the boys along Montana’s only walkable beer trail. The Billings Brew Trail features six breweries, a cider mill, and two distilleries on a 1.5-mile trail in the city’s historic downtown. In other words, pace yourselves.
Crash at The Northern Hotel, an iconic lodge which needs no introduction in town. Dating back to 1904, this welcoming four-star gem reopened in 2013—claiming best-hotel-in-town local street cred for eight years running (from $169/night).
Never mind that Mount Washington State Park’s namesake peak once measured a record-breaking wind speed of 231 mph (on April 12, 1934) atop its notoriously gusty summit, and is known for some of the most erratic weather conditions you’ll find anywhere. It’s gorgeous here in the fall, and you boys can handle a little wind.
Up the leaf-peeping ante at The Glen House (from $289), near Pinkham Notch, two miles north of the Wildcat ski area at Mount Washington. Set at the mountain base, it’s right near the famous Auto Road that leads to the 6,288-foot summit and is said to be America’s oldest man-made attraction—dating back to the mid-19th-century stagecoach era.
But, rather than four-wheel your way to the summit, lace up to the affiliated Great Glen Trails Center across the road—a launchpad for Mount Washington hikes, as well as bike trips, and half- or full-day whitewater kayaking tours in and around the park.
The second annual Strait Acres Dual Slalom Invitational just went off at Snow Summit Resort in Big Bear Lake, California. Racers from all over were privileged to get down on a world-class dual slalom course masterminded by legendary mountain biker Kyle Strait. If you haven’t seen dual slalom, it’s side-by-side racing on individual sides of a course. A differential is taken from one rider to the next, then racers switch sides and duke it out again, until the top three are standing on the podium.
This year there was a change of venue. Kyle Strait and his wife, Rachel, brought the race from their own backyard to Snow Summit’s resort. Their intention was to expand the race’s potential for mountain biking and protect this specific style of racing—and, boy, did they deliver.
Announcer/competitor Mikey Haderer with Kyle and Rachel Strait right before the final round of competition.Chris Wellhausen
“Last year, we had 20 pro men and 10 pro women competing in the Invitational at our house,” Rachel Strait told Men’s Journal. “The excitement around the event was completely unexpected and inspired us to push hard in 2021 to make it happen again. One concern was the possibility the hype was only there because almost all events were canceled in 2020. With over 200 racers last week, amateurs and pros combined, I think we debunked that theory.”
The 2021 Strait Acres Dual Slalom Invitational Mens Pro podium with Tommy Zula in first-place, second going to Joey Foresta, and Dante Silva in third.Chris Wellhausen
The heats were fiercely competitive, with $20,000 on the line. For added insight on the Strait Acres Dual Slalom Invitational, we spoke to Kyle Strait about building one of the best dual slalom courses of all time, what kind of bike control it takes to win, and pro tips for improving your own riding.
The 2nd Annual Strait Acres Dual Slalom Invitational at Snow Summit ResortChris Wellhausen
Men’s Journal: Why did you partner with Snow Summit, and where did the inspiration for your dual slalom course come from?
Kyle Strait: Partnering gives the Invitational a bigger canvas to grow, allowing us to build the best tracks possible. Summit was super down when I presented them the idea. They wanted to be a big player in it. I’m grateful for the area we have to work with, the machines, and staff. It was beyond incredible to have five to six dudes every day building a sick track. The inspiration stems from a lot of my global dual-slalom experiences. Most of these features are ones I’ve ridden over time…I just changed them in ways to be better.
A battle between powerhouses, as Kyle Strait is challenged by Cole Suetos.Chris Wellhausen
What makes the best dual slalom courses?
The best dual slalom courses have a diverse mixture of obstacles. Too much of one thing is not as much fun. Going out of the start gate [of the 2021 Strait Acres Dual Slalom Invitational], the first straight is very BMX, going into a MTB style—tight, kind of backyard pump track—and from there it goes into a super-fast freeride; we have a hole into a huge roller you can scrub. The rest of the course flows similarly with rhythm sections: deep berms until you get into flat corners that have a series of slalom gate bashes—each one with one-foot drops—that brings you right into the finish line.
Does architecture come into play, or are you really just basing the course design off riding and building experience?
I like to call it hillbilly science. It’s just skills learned over many years of trial and error, seeing what works, what doesn’t. I can visually look at something and tell it looks great or if adjustments are needed.
Dylan Stark and Devin Kjaer railing turns deep in the pockets of these berms.Chris Wellhausen
Why are the berms so deep?
You have a fixed point of entry and exit. The only thing you can really do is make the berm steeper to hold your tires better. You can see it in NASCAR and freeway off-and-on ramp design. You start putting a little grade to that, and all of a sudden you get more traction, more down force. That goes across the board with dual slalom courses. The steeper the berms are, the faster we can go through them, and still hold traction. I enjoy hitting berms like that because sometimes there’s a limit on a trail and you’re only able to be so fast because you only get so much traction. With steep berms, it just creates more traction and downforce.
What bike control necessities does it take to win a dual slalom race specifically?
The track is only a 30-second sprint, so you can’t make any mistakes; your accuracy must be on point, all day, every single run. Pinpoint skills must be tip-top. Accuracy and consistency are crucial keys with slalom, because you’re doing so many runs. By the time you get to the finals, you’ve done 12-plus runs. No matter if you’re the fastest guy of the day or a qualifier, you must make it through all the rounds. It’s not just having mental confidence; you can’t make any mistakes.
How is it a brake game? You never hear tires skid or lock up.
Certain berms have a speed limit, so you must adjust your speed accordingly. If you’re braking front and rear evenly, that’s how you slow down the fastest and keep the most control. I like to explain in coaching that if you’re skidding, you’re not in control, and you have less traction. If you can cut your brake time in half, brake harder in the correct spots, you have more traction and more control at the right times.
Joey Foresta holds a slim lead on Devin Kjaer at the Strait Acres Dual Slalom Invitational.Chris Wellhausen
Explain what a scrub is—and how the hell you control your bike to scrub so well?!
Your main objective is to scrub speed. A lot of times, when you’re setting up to a jump or feature, you’re coming in with too much speed. If you don’t scrub it, you go way past the landing. What you’re trying to do is scrub your speed without scrubbing too much, so you can still land on the backside of said feature. It all comes from motocross background, where Bubba Stewart learned to do that over the triple. It directly translates to MTB.
The way you go about doing one is to combine speed and commitment, a little extra speed than you would if you were going to jump the feature. I aim for one side of the jump and lean my bike and body as low as possible. From there, the bike whips out. Once you’re in the air, it allows the bike to go sideways. Now your goal is obviously to land straight to be able to continue on the trail. It’s something that’s learned over time and lots of practice… falling down, sliding out.
“It was definitely an awesome feeling to race against Kyle. The strength and experience this guy has is insane and it was an absolute privilege to line up next to him at his event,” said Cole Suetos.Chris Wellhausen
What’s your opinion on jumping in head-to-head competition?
It’s way faster to jump but stay low in, say, that five-roller section than it is to roll, because you can only go so fast rolling. That’s when it’s the case of jumping or gapping versus rolling and doing a manual.
What bike parts do you depend on most when racing dual slalom?
It’s always a combination, but I’m a suspension guy. For slalom, you need a supercross kind of setup—as opposed to motocross—because of how hard they’re hitting the jumps. For me it’s getting my suspension to where I can push really hard to hit those corners. If the suspension isn’t stiff enough, you kind of wallow out; it gets low and you can’t hold a correct line. Same thing goes for jumping and flat corners. I set my suspension to where it has a small bump of sensitivity to keep traction in those flat corners, but is hard enough for those corners and jumps. With all that mixed together plus tire choice and a seven-speed drivetrain, because I’m just blasting off gears and putting a lot power into the pedals.
Kyle Strait rides a berm at the Strait Acres Dual Slalom Invitational.Chris Wellhausen
Sixty-two years ago, NASA’s Mercury Project selected the first group of American astronauts. Among that group of seven men were names such as Alan Shepard and John Glenn. The Mercury Seven, as they came to be known, all went into space. Around the same time, a private program was putting women pilots through some of the same testing and training the men were undergoing for NASA. This group of women were known as the Mercury 13, but none of them went into space. But, thanks to Jeff Bezos and the billionaire space race, that’s about to change: 82-year old Wally Funk is finally getting her day in the sun—so to speak.
In a video post on his Instagram account, Bezos told Funk, an original member of the Mercury 13, that she’ll be accompanying him on the first flight of the New Shepard capsule on July 20. Bezos asked her what she’d say after a safe return to Earth.
“I would say, ‘Honey, that was the best thing that ever happened to me,’ ” Funk said, hugging Bezos.
Space history will be made
Funk will become the oldest person to go into space, surpassing John Glenn who, at 77, made a return to space on the space shuttle Discovery in 1998. The suborbital New Shepard, developed by Bezos’ space company Blue Origin, will take off from Texas for an 11-minute journey. After launch, the reusable rocket will land while the detachable crew capsule will parachute to the ground. Also along for this first ride with Funk and Bezos will be the billionaire’s brother, Mark, and the as-yet-unknown winner of a $28 million auction.
Funk recalled what it was like to join the Mercury 13 in 1961. “They asked me, ‘Do you want to be an astronaut?’ and I said, ‘Yes!’ ”
But while the Mercury 13 tested as well, or better, than the men in many tests, NASA didn’t have interest in sending women to space at the time. “I didn’t think I’d ever be able to go up.”
Funk is a pioneer in aviation. She was the first female Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) inspector and the first female air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). “I’ve been flying forever. I have 19,600 flying hours,” Funk said.
The billionaire space race is heating up
Interestingly, Bezos won’t be the next billionaire going to space. Hours after Funk’s flight announcement, Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson went on Twitter to announce he’s also going to space. The British billionaire plans to be on board a test flight of his company’s rocket plane on July 11. Virgin Galactic plans to start offering commercial space flights in 2022, while Elon Musk’s SpaceX is starting private flights in September. Blue Origin says details on New Shepard seat sales will be available soon. Ironically, Funk paid $200,000 for a Virgin Galactic ticket in 2010. There’s no word on whether she’s looked into Virgin Galactic’s refund policy.
At the end of the Bezos Instagram post, Funk was told she’s going to be an astronaut. After 60 years of waiting, she only had a one-word reply.
“Finally!”
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North America’s largest waterways are an overlooked asset. Launch your own low-stress, high-yield river adventures at these locations. Pack this durable paddling, kayaking, and rafting gear, then go with the flow.
1. Lower Mississippi River
The Big Muddy has received more recognition as a canoe and kayak destination in recent yearsbut it remains underutilized by paddlers. That’s a shame, because the lower Mississippi River offers countless options for surprisingly wild overnight trips. Launch from Memphis and plan on a five-day, 98-mile float to Clarksdale, MS. The route features a blend of river towns and hidden backwaters, wooded islands and side channels, with camping available on gravel- and sandbars. Pick up rental canoes, arrange a vehicle shuttle, sign up for a guided trip and receive plenty of Mississippi River beta from Quapaw Canoe Company.
2. Columbia River’s Hanford Reach, Washington
If you can get over its checkered history as a nuclear waste burial site from the Cold War, a 51-mile section of the Columbia River in Washington’s Tri-City area is a great off-the-radar float tripfor canoeists or kayakers. The 195,000-acre Hanford Reach National Monument protects the final remaining non-tidal, free-flowing stretch of the Columbia in the US. Wildlife abounds between Priest Rapids Dam and Richland: elk, coyotes, bald eagles and pelicans, along with vibrant stocks of bass, sturgeon and salmon. Camping in the national monument is outlawed but you can pitch a tent on state land near the Ringold Fish Hatchery for an overnight trip. Check out Northwest Paddleboarding in Richland, WA, for outfitting.
3. Suwannee River Wilderness State Trail, Florida
Whitewater in Florida? You’ll find easy rapids and much, much more on this designated water trail spanning over 200 miles across the Florida Panhandle from Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico. The Suwannee River takes its source in the vast Okefenokee Swamp, flowing crystal clear over limestone shelves with deep blue springs, abundant wildlife and free camping on sand beaches. Plan a four- to five-day, 72-mile canoe or kayak trip on the upper river from Fargo to Live Oak. You can paddle the river year-round. Suwannee Canoe Outpost in Live Oak offers rentals, shuttles and logistical support.
4. Upper Missouri River Breaks, Montana
The endless grasslands of Great Plains blend into badlands spires and deep coulees in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument in central Montana, south of Havre. Lewis and Clark history comes alive on the 149-mile stretch of designated Wild and Scenic River, with painted sandstone cliffs and knife-edged box canyons. Set aside four days to paddle the 65-mile White Cliffs section between Coal Banks and Judith landings, east of US 87. You’ll find wilderness campsites virtually unchanged since they were described by the Corps of Discovery and plenty of silence: Motorized vessels are not permitted in the summer months. It’s easy to set your own vehicle shuttle or rely on the services of Missouri River Outfitters in Fort Benton. The company also offers guided trips and canoe rentals.
5. Hudson River Greenway Water Trail, New York
There are multiple options for overnight trips on New York State’s Hudson River. Launch from Henry Hudson Park, just south of Albany, for a 30-mile float trip to Germantown. This section of river features a gentle current and abundant bald eagles, with overnight camping available at Grays Point in Hudson River Islands State Park. Steiner’s Sports offers sales and outfitting services in Valatie and Glenmont, NY, servicing this section of the Hudson River.
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This article was produced under a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard.
When it comes to paddling, it’s critical to know that no matter how calm and docile any body of water, conditions can change in a moment. Being prepared with the right equipment, plan, and simple safety practices can literally be the difference between life and death.
And this all starts with a fundamental rule to keep in mind: When launching any paddling trip, your outerwear choices need to follow the probability that if things can go wrong, they will. That means: If you’re going to be on the water, you need to be prepared to be in the water. Wearing clothes and layers that will dry fast and stay insulated when wet can be framed simply: Dress to stay dry.
The right clothes are part of the right equipment that keeps you paddling safe. Beyond a safe boat, board, or fishing kayak, and the necessary life jacket, the next most critical piece of gear is your clothing. Again, assume you could end up in the water, separated from your craft, and prepare for it—especially when paddling in cold water, where hypothermia can set in quickly. Dress to stay dry in well-insulating layers, and relying on a wetsuit or a drysuit—dictated by the temperature of the water, not the air. Drop the denim and dress for immersion every time you paddle.
After all, the best offense is good defense. If you foresee an errant swim and plan accordingly, you’ll ensure a paddling trip that’s memorable for the right reasons.
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“Pristine backcountry” isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions Los Angeles. But the nearby Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area offers a surprisingly easy escape from potholes and population density. Hiding in plain view above (insert your least favorite L.A. freeway), the 153,000 acres of sage-covered slopes and oaky canyons are laced with over 500 miles of hiking trails stretching from central L.A.’s Griffith Park to outer Malibu. Home to more than 1,000 plant and 500 animal species, it’s been called the world’s largest urban national park.
Winding through it all is the Backbone Trail, one of the longest continuous trails in Southern California. At 67 miles, it threads through one of the largest Mediterranean-type ecosystems on Earth. It doesn’t take long to completely forget you’re near a mega-city better known for crushing dreams than recharging souls, yet the route is largely unknown, even to locals.
Thru-hiking urban SoCal’s answer to the Appalachian Trail in one shot isn’t really an option at present given the shortage of campgrounds. The best way to bag the Backbone is by spreading it out over several day hikes. Two favorite legs are found at opposite ends of the trail. For A-list cityscape views with prime Pacific Palisades people-watching, the Backbone’s eastern trailhead at Will Rogers State Historic Park starts 20 miles from downtown. For vertiginous, front-row Pacific Coast hiking you can often have all to yourself (seriously), the place to start is the trail’s western terminus at Point Mugu State Park in Ventura County.
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Currently there’s a 23-ton, 100-foot-long Chinese rocket in a decaying orbit over the Earth going 17,300 miles per hour. Experts believe it will be falling to Earth this weekend. The truly terrifying part is that these same experts don’t know when it’s going to crash or where.
“It’s potentially not good,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at Harvard’s Astrophysics Center told The Guardian.
Last month, the rocket, a China National Space Administration (CNSA) Long March-5b core stage, launched the first module of China’s new space station into low Earth orbit. Since then, the rocket has been falling back to Earth.
The chances the rocket will hit anything are small. After all, 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. In fact, Chinese officials downplayed the idea it would hit anything at all, saying it would likely fall into international waters. Having said that, the last time CSNA used this same kind of rocket, falling debris supposedly hit the Ivory Coast village of Mahounou.
To be sure, this isn’t the first time things sent up to space came back down in an uncontrolled manner. In 1977, pieces of the U.S.S.R.’s nuclear-powered Cosmos 954 fell across northwestern Canada, spilling radioactive debris. Then in 1979, pieces of Skylab, the first U.S. space station, came down across Western Australia. In May, part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 landed on a farm in Washington state. To date, there have been no deaths or serious injuries due to falling space debris.
The Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit space research and development organization that’s tracking the rocket, now predicts it will land in the ocean off the eastern coast of Africa. However, it should be noted that in the last week they’ve also guessed it was going to land just off the western coast of Australia or on Sudan.
U.S. Space Command, which is also tracking the rocket, says they won’t be able to pinpoint a location until a few hours before reentry. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said there were no plans to shoot down the satellite.
“We’re hopeful that it will land in a place where it won’t harm anyone. Hopefully in the ocean, or someplace like that,” Austin told reporters.
With this in mind, when you’re making plans this weekend, you might want to add “Find a good satellite tracker” to your to-do list.
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As seasons change, our outdoor passions blend from one right into another. Of the activities that complement one another best and mix the most smoothly together, there’s a particular alignment between mountain biking and snowboarding. The way the two sports feel, the approach to terrain, and the mindset of flowing with speed from snow to dirt: I’ve certainly discovered the commonality between the two seemingly different sports. A longtime passion for snowboarding led me to become a professional photographer. Being a resident of Southern California, a little ways from fresh snow, means that maintaining fitness between snow adventures is a must—so I can hang with the athletes when I’m on assignment back at altitude. Thankfully I discovered how to balance the yin of mountain biking to the yang of snowboarding. The endurance benefits are only one factor, though. The shared feelings for both sports only multiply when you factor adrenaline.
And I recently discovered I’m not the only one after this recent photo assignment in Snowshoe, WV. In deep Appalachia (about midway between Charlottesville, VA and Charleston, WV) I meet up with two mountain bikers and two snowboarders, each who have been embracing this same joint pursuit—discovering another sport to spice up their lifestyle committed to one or the other.
This particular vision spawned from the mind of pro mountain biker Carson Storch, of Bend, OR, motivating him to approach his drink sponsor, Red Bull, to bring an ambitious idea to life: build a custom bike slash snowboard park that weaves in and out of the other and allows an ultimate collaboration where slopestyle meets freeride. Red Bull obviously takes to innovative projects like this and they partnered up to invite fellow teammate Jaxson Riddle (mountain bike) and snowboarders Luke Winkelmann and Sean Fitzsimmons to showcase the possibilities. The crew chose Snowshoe for its location, known in the mountain bike world for its world-class downhill course (and on the seasonal flip-side, regarded as a wicked fun resort to snowboard). Additionally, since winter out East begins to melt sooner than most ranges in the West, Storch and company approached Snowshoe’s mountain manager, who crafted hybrid dirt-snow terrain park that was more than up for the challenge.
Wild antelope and buffalo run free in Vermejo—a sprawling 560,000-acre nature reserve and ranch in northeastern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The landscape preserves secrets that readily reveal themselves to travelers on foot. In Season 2, Episode 5 of Run Around the World, Bryon Powell, Knox Robinson, and Sabrina Stanley explore the history and unique landscape of the preserve. Over the span of one week—and a 30-mile ultramarathon—they witness why it has, and will remain, one of the last untouched regions of the West.
Catch Season 2 here:
And if you missed Season 1, here are all the episodes:
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Running around the world from Oman to Ushuaia, Champion ultra runner Meredith Edwards unknowingly battled anemia. One day her “life blew up” and the journey beyond the finish line into the little known world of extreme sports medicine reveals how she found her health and the podium again.
Season 2, Episode 4 is a riveting tale of accountability and the commitment of today’s extreme athletes to maintain performance while pushing new levels of human potential.
Catch Season 2 here:
And if you missed Season 1, here are all the episodes:
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