Speed hiker and ultrarunner Mikhail "Misha" Popov died last week of heatstroke following a solo training run in Death Valley, California. He was 34. On Tuesday morning, he drove to West Side Road with his partner, Sarah Spelt, to complete a six-mile solo training run to Badwater. Spelt said she regretted not being able to talk him out of the route, which he didn't start until noon. "I said, 'Mish, you can't try to get across here.' I pictured him stranded in bushes in the heat, stuck, dying. I... Read More
Soon you'll be able to purchase condensed and powdered beer and soda for your next multi-day expedition into the wilds. Pat’s Backcountry Beverages, an Alaska-based company, is launching a line of concentrated-liquid beers and sodas that are designed to lighten your load. All that’s required is a special bottle, which has a built-in pump to pressurize the contents, a tiny pouch filled with the beer or soda, carbonate, and some water. You put the carbonate into a cup attached to the... Read More
Over 5,000 people were evacuated over the weekend as strong winds fanned wildfires in Spain's Canary Islands, prompting governments to issue travel warnings. A fire on La Gomera Island forced the evacuation of around 1,000 tourists and residents by ferry and is threatening to decimate Garajonay National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site that contains woodlands that have survived for over 11 million years. “We are living through hell, we have asked the central government for more resourc... Read More
A jet skier managed to breach the security system at John F. Kennedy International Airport after his jet ski broke down, forcing him to swim ashore. Daniel Castillo was out on Jamaica Bay around 7:45 p.m. when his jet ski began taking on water. After his friends, who were out on the water with him, failed to come to his aid, Castillo started swimming toward land. Eventually, he reached the airport runway, scaled the airport's 8-foot perimeter fence, and entered one of the terminals—undet... Read More
NBC’s Olympics coverage has come under heavy criticism, and, not surprisingly, a new poll shows that viewers aren’t necessarily happy with the Peacock’s coverage. A recent Gallup poll found that 59 percent of Americans would prefer that NBC show all Olympic events live and then again, tape-delayed, in primetime. Only 12 percent said that they prefer the Games being shown just on tape-delay. Among those watching the Olympics “a lot,” 71 percent prefer the live-and-... Read More
