Would you a take a year of your life to get outside, work hard on public lands, and learn some skills, for a minimal stipend? Some members of Congress—from both parties—are betting you might.

Andrew “Bob” Harris recently became the first person with Down syndrome to climb the Grand Teton

A hotel should be more than just a place to sleep. These new ski-town lodges go above and beyond.

Trying to get your head around the growing number of models now built for both pavement and dirt? We break it down.

Arctic adventure and high malaise in pursuit of the Northwest Passage

The only problem you’ll have in the planet’s ultimate adventure mecca is deciding what to do first

It drives with the confidence of a Wrangler but offers better gas mileage

The legendary Mercedes SUV gets softer and more manageable for more drivers

As an avid reader of your column, I knew I could come to you for advice. Does anyone make a waterproof backpack? I commute to work on my bike and need my stuff to stay dry. Specifically, I would really like to find a weatherproof pack that can carry my laptop. (And we get a lot of weather over here in Iceland.) I've seen courier bags from Timbuk2 and Chrome, but nothing really sings out to me. And, while we're at it, why doesn't anyone make a bag out of Gore-Tex XCR or something similar? Douglas Keflavík, Iceland

Years ago you recommended The North Face Snowshoe sleeping bag to me, just the ticket for a dp 58 hours in Lapland's freezing rain! Since your record is one for one, I seek your advice again for a compact, light sleeping bag (down is out due to allergies) to use when backpacking in Croatia in August. We'll be sleeping hut-to-hut while walking in the countryside, while also spending some time in cities. Do you think Design Salt's silk liner is good enough for such a trip, or do we need an ultralight sleeping bag? Jan Helsinki, Finland