Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy as seen from space Photo: NOAA GOES-13 When Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey, around 8 p.m. last night, it lived up to the deadly reputation forecasters feared, and the death toll from the storm has continued to rise today. NOAA's GOES-13 satellite…

After spending all my life camping in the mountains of the eastern United States, I've fallen in love with the southwest Texas desert, and I'm in the process of learning about those techniques and equipment that will work in that very different environment. No trees, blazing sun, the ground too hard to set stakes, fairly constant strong winds... The first problem to solve would be creating some shade... My Integral Designs Siltarp, which works great in the forests of Virginia, is useless as a sunshade, being almost transparent. Are there any tarps out there that would be suitable for sunshade duty, or is a piece of black six-mil poly my best bet? Bill Stell Charlottesville, VA

Courtesy of thor_matt83 on Flickr.Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has sustained an injury to his lower back that will keep him off of the track for what remains of the season, Reuters reports. The Munich doctor who diagnosed the injury Monday said that Bolt could do damage to his hamstrings…

How to start from scratch and expand your horizons

Outside magazine, July 1997 I Am Monkey Flower Be the edible plant, urged the Queen Diva of foragers, and my wilderness hikes would yield a bounty of strange-looking, odd-smelling, but altogether damn tasty grub. Gastronomy meets botany, and the Weed Woman is your guide. By Michael McRae “Here, try…

I'm going hiking on the West Coast Trail, and my boots have Vibr soles that are very slick on wood when it's wet. Since it constantly rains on the West Coast and I'll be traversing many wooden bridges and ladders, I was wondering if you could suggest a boot with a sole better suited to wet conditions. Dan Ottawa, Ontario

By Stephen RegenoldThe twice-annual Outdoor Retailer trade show is an exhibition of thebest outdoors equipment in the world. New this year, GearJunkie.comlaunched an inaugural “Best in Show” award for the Summer Market tradeshow, held in early August. After four days in Salt Lake City at theshow — and some…

Outside magazine, March 1997 Oh, Brothers When trouble came to the happy but peculiar Isle of Sark, it took the form of twins By Richard Todd Although, as it turned out, there are far better reasons for going to the Isle of Sark, I admit that…

The Smith I/O was already one of our favorite pairs of goggles—and now it’s even better, thanks to a new magnetic lens-swapping system

Ownership of archipelago hotly contested