Category Archives: Features

Rafting the Tuolumne: “Each visit changes your life forever”

As we headed towards a raging Clavey Falls, I took a deep breath and gripped my paddle with white knuckles. During the biggest runoff in a decade on the Tuolumne, the steepest drop on the state’s wildest river looked like … Continue reading

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Peak-bagging, paragliding highlight Bavarian trek

Though we’ve climbed our share of mountains, we’d never ascended one like this. Instead of trudging uphill for days in boots and backpacks, my brother Dan and I didn’t even break a sweat in the hour it took to reach … Continue reading

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Cycling through snow in a Yosemite spring

Exploring Yosemite’s snowbound high country, quiet and deserted, richly rewards hardy trekkers who labor to reach it in winter. Though there’s also much to like about the easy access mountain roads provide in summer. These two elements come together for … Continue reading

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Uribe lifts team with bat, heart

In the annals of major league pranks, the “silent treatment” is a classic. When a batter hits an exciting home run, his teammates ignore him in the dugout, as if his feat was beneath their notice. Whoever invented the joke … Continue reading

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German mountains, culture reward visitors to Berchtesgaden

Even before the party started, our Bavarian trek was proving worthwhile. Few mountain ascents feature hot sausages and cold beer in a comfortable cabin, but my brother and I ordered just that on one of Germany’s highest peaks. Share this:

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Actor’s shows bring Muir to life

John Muir never wanted for words when it came to protecting the wilderness, especially his beloved Sierra Nevada mountains. But what would the father of American environmentalism say if he were alive today?

“I’m back, and I’m really ticked off!” Muir might roar. “I’m back to track down Lord Man, to make him a better beast, because California, the home that I love, is on the brink of being lost.” Continue reading

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Young-at-heart veteran strengthens A’s bullpen

To Alan Embree, the years have been kind. Nearly two decades of professional baseball have made the friendly Athletic a well-traveled veteran, an October star and a World Series champion. Share this:

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Sea life attracts divers to Great Barrier Reef

Two gray reef sharks glided effortlessly across our path, their razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the beams of our flashlights. In that moment, nothing else was visible in our pitch-black underwater world. Share this:

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Avoiding epics from Yosemite to Mammoth

Four days into a 50-mile winter trek, our team reached a steep and formidable ice slope. We quickly recognized that this grade was our most hazardous obstacle so far, because to climb it, we would have to risk a wild … Continue reading

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