Just about everyone I know is talking about the August 21 eclipse. I’ve also started exhibiting symptoms of ecliptomania, a term coined (I believe) in 1991, when an eclipse in Hawaii to the island. Like so many interstellar preppers, I’ve armed myself with cheap paper shades and newfound , from “annularity” to “umbra.” As the otherworldly overlap approaches, I’m making anxious internet searches and phone calls to friends, perusing Google Maps for two-lane back roads that my wife and friends and I might take to get ourselves into the eclipse totality area fromÌęthe 99.5 percent occluded area near our home in Newberg, Oregon, exactly five miles from the edge of the approaching shadow of the moon.

There’s just one other detail that will make our once-in-a-lifetime experience complete: music. The hippest ancient philosophers Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle advanced the idea of musica universalis—the music of the spheres—that the movements of the sun, moon, and planets thrum with interplanetary harmonies that we can’t hear but shape our reality. Hence, it feels necessary to consider the ten most fitting musical numbers for the core of the eclipse, which, like the greatest pop songs, is a few minutes long. Coincidence?

“Cosmogony,” Bjork

Bjork’s music (and live shows) took a trippy, outer-spacey vibe with 2011’s Biophilia album, as evidenced by gorgeous tracks like “Cosmogony.” It’s a dreamy, woozy, gut-stirring lullaby, by turns searching, calming, and full of pathos: And they say back then our universe / Was an empty sea, until a silver fox / And her cunning mate began to sing / A song that became the world we know.

“Don’t Bother They’re Here,” Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid, a drone duo from Austin, Texas, weaves aural tapestries ringing with mesmerizing harmonies that are simultaneously tender and taut. Their entire 2007 double album, And Their Refinement of the Decline, would be a fitting soundtrack, but start with this track and “A Meaningful Moment Through a Meaning(less) Process.”

“Dreamlove,” The Bright Light Social Hour

The Austin-based psychedelic rockers released their second full-length album, Space is Still the Place, in 2015 after years of touring the United States and cranking tunes in their van. Inspired in name by Afro-futurism pioneer Sun Ra’s 1974 film, Space Is the Place, the whole record’s blistering, tranquil, and futuristic harmonies rumble with a cavalcade of meaty riffs on Hammond organ and electric guitar. Spacing out like a desert mirage one second, pulsating like a house music DJ the next, “Dreamlove” is interspersed with dreamy synths and layered, eerie vocals that will have you bobbing your head as you watch the sky.

“The Planets,” Opus 32, Gustav Horst

Written around 1916, this seven-movement suite for orchestra is a truly beautiful trip, especially the second movement, also known as “Venus, Bringer of Peace,” a shimmering skyscape of harps, flutes, oboes, glockenspiel, and solos on violin. With its mournful ascending French horn intro, one can’t help but hear the influence on American composer John Williams—specifically the first few bars of “Ben’s Death and TIE Fighter Attack,” and “Leia’s Theme” from Episode IV: A New Hope.

“Also Sprach Zarathustra,” Richard Strauss

A classic in many forms. Whether it’s a recording of Strauss’ eery, 30-minute tone poem written in 1896 (the version known from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film, 2001: A Space Oddyssey), Deodata’s funky interpretation featured in the iconic Peter Sellars movie Being There, or one of jam band Phish’s improvisatory takes (like Ìęrecorded in 2010), the composition is an ideal soundtrack for celestial travels.

“Moonbuilding 2703 AD,” The Orb

The ambient house music pioneers led by Dr. Alex Paterson are best known for the early ’90s track “Little Fluffy Clouds,” the first on their debut 1991 record, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűs Beyond the Ultraworld. Some 25 years later, the Orb would release this spacey paean to lunar bodies, meandering yet crisp and skittering with staccato, upbeat rhythms.

“Peace Piece,” Bill Evans

From Evans’ 1959 landmark jazz record, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, “Peace Piece” is a pastoral soundscape of vivid, chirping notes overlaid on an ostinato, an oscillating two-tone background played on the bass keys with sedative tranquility, building the contrasting voices to a serene conclusion. Black Ray-Ban Wayfarers not included but recommended.

“Dark Star,” Grateful Dead

The music never stops. Fifty years since they formed, the band’s appeal lives and grows, as evidenced by Amazon’s recent, six-part Long Strange Trip documentary, Dead and Co.’s stadium shows, and more and more music remastered for fresh ears. Countless jams by the “band beyond description” would be apropos, but “Dark Star,” the band’s famously long, searching fugue, is a good place to start.

“Eclipse,” Pink Floyd

Could it be any other? Whether or not you believe in the urban legend that it’s a psychedelic soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon can be synced pretty perfectly as an eclipse soundtrack. The whole record’s lyrics, soaring guitars, sociopolitical dissection, and rousing choruses were spawned from the band’s haziest, most creative era. Turn it on 40 minutes before totality to hear “Eclipse,” Roger Waters’ grand, two-minute-three-second climax at the big moment. And all that is now / And all that is gone / And all that’s to come / And everything under the sun is in tune / But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

“Here Comes the Sun,” The Beatles

Inevitably, when the sun reemerges from behind the shadowing moon, eclipse watchers report rapturous feelings of oneness with Mother Nature, the cosmos, and our fellow humans. Then the party really starts. What better time to pump up George Harrison’s ode to optimism, recorded for Abbey Road in 1969 at Eric Clapton’s house. Here comes the sun. It’s alright!

The post How to Choose Your Solar Eclipse Song (Plus 10 Ideas) appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

To make a single 12-ounce can of beer takes about 60 ounces of fresh water, a five-to-one ratio. It adds up, especially when you ­consider that the U.S. produces more than six billion gallons of beer each year. Despite the West’s exceptionally wet winter, the nation’s supply of potable water isn’t getting any bigger, or safer. So brewers across the country are thinking about how that water is used and what exactly constitutes fresh.

Last March, , in Escondido, California, introduced . Gross? InÌętheory. But a senior brewer claims that it’s one of the best pale ales Stone has ever made.Ìę

Others are taking steps with less of an ick factor. One goal at New Belgium’s recently opened facility in Asheville, North Carolina, is to find ways to drop that ratio to 3.5 to one. To start with, they’ve installed a smart water system to detect inefficiencies. , in Paso Robles, California, is going a step further, building its own treatment plant and recycling water fromÌęthe brewing process to be reusedÌęby the city.

Meanwhile, Portland, Oregon, breweries are getting political. The area takes its water from the , which is fed by a watershed that has been off-limits to humans since 1895. But recently, storm runoff and erosion ­generated by logging on federal lands has threatened the state’s water. Enter the , formed in 2015 by the conservation group Oregon Wild to educate the public and the industry about the dangers of polluting aquifers. There are now 45 members. (Full disclosure: my operation, Wolves and People Farmhouse Brewery, is one.)

Now the OBA is ramping up toÌęfight and public-lands protections. “I say itÌęa lot in my work, but I don’t sayÌęit often enough,” says MarielleÌęCowdin, outreach coordinator for . “Great beer begins with clean water.”

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Fruit beers are some of the best being made today. It was Belgians who first added fruits—peaches, currants, raspberries, cherries—to lambic, an ancient tart style. American versions like New Glarus’s Wisconsin Belgian Red rose to prominence in the early 1990s. Others tried, but a lambic’s ingredients can throw the brewing process off balance and result in drain-pour vinegar. “You need to match the acids and flavors of two things that grow themselves—yeast and fruit,” says Jay Goodwin, of California’s Rare Barrel. “It’s like trying to raise two kids who get along perfectly.” Eventually, the best brewers learned to wrangle the fruits and wild yeast strains necessary to tame them, leading to a sweet-sour renaissance come summer.

There’s now in Portland, Oregon, that has doubled in size since 2010. David Logsdon, of Oregon’s Logsdon Organic Farmhouse Ales, has even grafted Belgian cherries onto his trees for his Cerasus Flanders red ale, which earned a gold medal at the 2014 World Beer Cup. Don’t be surprised to see a slew of fruit beer options this summer, and if you see one of these, drink it.

Atrial Rubicite

, Austin, Texas
This Texas Hill country brewery has won well-deserved fame for its line of rustic, experimental brews using pure well water, locally grown and malted grains, and ambient microflorae (yeasts and bacteria, for fermentation). To make Atrial Rubicite, their first sour fruit beer, Jester King’s brewers added hundreds of pounds of raspberries to oak-aged sour beer and refermented it all to dryness, resulting in a garnet colored brew with a mouth-crackling berry bite. The hard-to-find, Lambrusco-like result is a 5.8 percent ABV of extraordinary character.

Wisconsin Belgian Red Cherry

, New Glarus, Wisconsin
New Glarus, established in 1993, has achieved wide acclaim for its path-breaking, American made, Belgian-style fruit beers only available in the Badger State. Belgian Cherry Red, ruby-hued and 4.0 percent ABV, is brewed with a pound of whole sour Montmorency cherries per bottle, local wheat, and Belgian malt, then aged in oak tanks and balanced by German Hallertau hops which have been aged for a year in the brew house.

Gillian Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale

, Chicago, Illinois
Goose Island, a standout Chicago brewery owned by Anheuser Busch since 2011, excels with complex, farmhouse-style brews incorporating fruit. At 9.5 percent, the orange hued Gillian is stronger than most saisons, and it’s dosed at various stages with strawberries, white pepper, and honey, and Belgian and champagne yeasts that impart sour and funky flavors that develop during extended oak barrel aging.

Peche ‘n Brett

, Hood River, Oregon
Logsdon (named for founder & brewmaster Dave Logsdon) is not only a small Belgian-style farmhouse brewery but highland cattle farm and Belgian cherry orchard, too, with an eye-popping view of the glaciated North Face of Mount Hood. Their sought-after Peche ‘n Brett is created with “Seizoen Bretta” (their award-winning saison, which is refermented with a proprietary blend of Brettanomyces yeast strains), to which is added over a pound and half per gallon of fresh, local, organic peaches. It’s the taste of summer, bottled.

Blushing Monk

, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Belgians call a beer made with raspberries framboise, and this 9.2 percent ABV version does not skimp on the stuff. On the contrary, the berry flavor is almost overpowering—jammy and intense. Which could make this a good dessert beer. Cheesecake, ripe cheeses, and other creamy big desserts would do well beside it. Or that icon of summer: the ice-cream float.

New Glarus Wild Peach

, New Glarus, Wisconsin
To make this appealing, sour brown ale, New Glarus adds Michigan peaches to spontaneously fermented beer that has aged one, two, even three years in oak. The result: a ripe peachy, tart, funky miracle.

The post The Fruit Beers of Summer appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Bulova Precisionist Champlain Collection

Precisionist Champlain Collection by Bulova

Rule #1: A watch with a quartz movement is simpler and far more accurate—and if the battery dies, you simply replace it. But if you’re looking for an heirloom, consider a mechanical watch with automatic movement. It’ll run you at least $600.

Tag Heuer Aquaracer 500m

Aquaracer 500m chronograph by Tag Heuer

Rule #2: Bigger is better, but only to a point. The face shouldn’t be wider than your wrist; something in the 42-to-44-millimeter range should be about right.

Seiko Sportura Alarm

Sportura Alarm chronograph by Seiko

Rule #3: Life is complicated enough. Don’t make it worse with a bunch of gauges and dials you won’t ever use.

Bell and Ross BR02-92 Phantom Rubber

BR02-92 Phantom Rubber by Bell and Ross

Rule #4: Speaking of which, unless you’re a scuba diver, anything more than ten meters of waterproofness is just for show.

Victorinox Swiss Army Airboss Automatic

Airboss Automatic by Victorinox Swiss Army

5. A rubber watchband is great because it can expand and contract as the temperature fluctuates. Just make sure it’s hypoallergenic.

Oris Carlos Coste Limited Edition Cenote Series

Carlos Coste Limited Edition Cenote Series by Oris

Rule #6: For the bezel, steel is your best option. And remember this phrase: 316L surgical-grade. The superlow nickel content really is better for your skin. It’s not marketing hooey.

Rule #7: Neither is the superiority of a sapphire crystal. It’s the hardest and most scratch-resistant next to diamond.

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This month, self-described beer nerd and șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű correspondent releases his new book, (Running Press, $20, ). The book is one part American beer history, one part review guide, and two parts brew-inspired travelogue, chronicling DeBenedetti’s reporting forays to breweries across the U.S. It’s also the perfect road-trip companion for beer lovers—second only, perhaps, to a designated driver. We caught up with DeBenedetti, who scored a prestigious Watson grant in 1996 to study the world’s beers and brewing techniques, to find out the roots of his beer fanaticism, what his favorite beer is, and the best American road trips to take this with a great brew as the goal.
Ìę
OUTSIDE: When did you first become interested in beer?
DeBenedetti: It started when I was a freshman in college. The guy who was supposed to be my roommate didn’t show up, and the school didn’t make me move, so I turned the other half of my dorm room into a mini brewery and the dorm lounge into my brewpub.
Ìę
That must have been popular.
The idea was popular, and then people tried my first beer. I’ll never forget handing out the bottles, filled with pride and expectation. I had glued beautiful hand-drawn labels on each one. Everyone took a taste, and my friend Lincoln just turned and spat it out as far as he possibly could off the porch. He was like, “Good God, what is this?” I got better.
Ìę
And eventually you got the Watson grant to travel the world studying beer. How long was it?
It was a 12-month trip that started in England. I eventually hit 14 countries and 59 breweries throughout Europe and West Africa, where I was studying rural brewing methods that used millet and sorghum instead of barley. In Europe, I lived in an 1800s brewing tower, camped in hop fields, apprenticed in the oldest commercial English brewery (Shepherd Neame), and basically wandered all over Belgium, Holland, Germany, and the Czech Republic with a backpack, a guitar, and a journal.
Ìę
How many beers did you drink?
Well, I tried about 350 or 400 new beers, but I wasn’t trying to hit some land-speed record. For me it was about wandering from place to place and meeting these individuals, seeing who would take me in and give me a little job to do and maybe let me stay at the brewery. It was incredibly exciting, and it totally changed my life.
Ìę
You traveled pretty extensively for this book, too. How many places in the U.S. did you get to?
The book is composed of beer travels that I’ve done over the past, say, ten years. I’ve always been the kind of guy who wants to pull over at a brewery when I see one. But over the past year or so, I set out to cover as much of the new American craft-beer culture as I could, and I managed to hit more than 20 states.
Ìę
What were some of the highlights from the year on the road?
Well, for one I went to Anchorage in mid-January. It was minus 15 degrees. Most people were like, “Why the hell would you go to Alaska in mid-January,” and frankly the answer is “For good beer.” I made my way down to Juneau to visit the Alaskan Brewery and ended up going powder skiing with one of the brewery employees on Douglas Island, a snowy tidal island in the Gastineau Channel, and serving as a mock avalanche victim for Geoff and Marcy Larson, who are the founders of Alaskan Brewing and who volunteer training recovery dogs. The beer tasted especially perfect that day.
Ìę
What was the most surprising thing about researching the book?
Just how widespread great beer culture is in the U.S. It’s literally in every part of the country. One of the happiest days I had was driving across Lake Pontchartrain, in Louisiana, from New Orleans up to Covington, where I was going to visit Abita Brewing Company and Heiner Brau. There were these heavy stormy skies. And as if on cue, the Allman Brothers were blasting on the radio, “Statesboro Blues.” I’d never been to Louisiana before, much less the rural parts north and outside of Covington, and I ended up having one of the best days of the trip. It was a huge surprise to me to find such a vibrant craft-beer culture in Louisiana. It was such a treat.
Ìę
In the book, you mention that the U.S. is in the midst, and has been for some time, of a renaissance in beer culture. How did that start?
I could go on for days pinpointing people and places where it took hold, but the gist is that it was in Northern California and in Oregon around the late seventies, when American breweries had really vanished to the point where there were just about 40 or 50 breweries in the entire United States. You had scores of pioneering people who tasted beer in Europe and who learned to home-brew. One of those people was Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada, which is now one of the two or three largest craft breweries in the United States. You also had people like Bill Owens, who started Buffalo Bill’s Tavern in Hayward, California; the Widmer brothers of Portland; and the Red Hook story up in Seattle. Now we have 1,800 breweries and brewpubs, with an estimated 700 in planning stages across the country. Even so, that’s less than the 4,000 breweries a much smaller America supported in 1872. It was—and is—a genuine movement.
Ìę
Come up with a favorite beer over that time?
The stock answer is “My next beer,” because there are so many new ones coming out almost every day. I was literally sitting at a beer bar last night with some friends, and when I looked at the list I realized I hadn’t tried 90 percent of the beers on it. I live near Portland, and I go to beer bars practically every day. That’s how fast it’s changing.
Ìę
Give me your favorite beer at the moment then.
I’d probably say the whole family of traditional farmhouse ales, beers that originally came out of southern Belgium. They hit that sweet spot of alcohol percentage and yeastiness and spice and character. Now American craft brewers are pulling off incredible variations of these styles, even some aged in oak barrels. Some of the best are coming out of Oregon’s Logsdon Farmhouse, Baltimore’s Stillwater, and Hill Farmstead of Vermont. Also, there’s nothing better than a good pilsner on a hot day.
Ìę
You may not believe it, but I worked at a brewpub for two years, and over the course of it I developed a hops allergy, meaning I can’t drink beer.
You poor, poor man. What you need to do is look into the new batch of hopless beers. This is a new craft-brewing trend that goes back to the Middle Ages. Before that, all beer was unhopped and spiced with other herbs, and a lot of home brewers and craft brewers have been rediscovering the traditions. I just tasted one from Gilgamesh brewery near Salem, Oregon, and the beer is called Mamba. Instead of hops, it’s spiced with black tea and orange peel. Man, it’s delicious. You can drink it like Lipton all night long.
Ìę
Sounds great.
Other breweries are experimenting beyond hops, too. Captain Cook used to spice his beers with spruce tips. He’d come ashore when he was exploring the Pacific Northwest to gather spruce tips and then home-brew on the boats with it. It became the inspiration for Alaskan Brewing Company’s Winter Ale. They use spruce tips—in addition to hops, unfortunately for you—to give it a spicy backbone.
Ìę
Do you ever get tired of knowing so much about beer?
It’s a blessing and a curse. People ask me a question about beer and I could go on for an hour. But I did get to write a book about it. And the fact is, I am still learning, too.
Ìę
What do you hope people will take away from the book?
I hope they get truly inspired to explore. And I hope that when people open up this book and don’t see their favorite beer or brewery, it’s not because it’s not worthwhile. It’s because this book is meant to be a starting point, not an encyclopedia. The most important thing is to get out there and start trying new things in new places. You should try as many as you can, because you just might find the best beer of your life.
Ìę
Five Roadtrip-Worthy Craft-Beer Spots (as excerpted from The Great American Ale Trail)

MARSHALL WHARF BREWING
OURAYLE HOUSE BREWERY
LOGSDON ORGANIC FARMHOUSE ALES
DOGFISH HEAD BREWINGS AND EATS
LITTLE YEOMAN BREWING

Marshall Wharf Brewing

2 Pinchy Lane, Belfast, Maine
207-338-1707;
Established: 2003 (bar) and 2007 (brewery)

Located right on the pier next to the tugs of Belfast—a fishing village first settled in 1770—the Marshall Wharf brewery was built in the town’s original granary in 2007. A combination patio- and bocce-court-equipped beer bar, seven-barrel brewhouse with eight-spigot taproom, lobster pound (so you can buy some fresh-caught on fall mornings to take home), and a 12-tap seasonal beer garden, Marshall Wharf is truly a one-stop affair.

Order Up: Cant Dog Imperial IPA

Ourayle House Brewery

215 7th Ave., Ouray, Colorado
970-903-1824;
Established: 2005

In the home of North America’s premiere ice-climbing festival, Ourayle House is marked by a mangled whitewater kayak hanging on a makeshift fence. Inside, this “one man, one dog” operation is festooned with discarded ice axes, crampons, and carabiners hanging willy-nilly on the split-and-varnished salvaged-timber walls. A woodstove crackles in one end of the room. In short, this is a little slice of heaven.

Order Up: The mild and mellow Biscuit Amber

Logsdon Organic Farmhouse Ales

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales’ big red barn

785 Booth Hill Rd., Hood River, Oregon
541-490-9161;
Established: 2011

Founder and longtime brewing-industry veteran Dave Logsdon just opened this brewery on his family’s beautiful working farm outside of Hood River, complete with a big red barn (where the kettles, tanks, and barrels live), pets, horses, and highland cattle. About eight miles from the north face of Mount Hood (with incredible views of the peak’s 360-foot-thick Eliot Glacier) and the sail-sports mecca of the Hood River Gorge, it’s one of America’s most picturesque breweries.

Order Up: Seizoen Bretta, a malty, yeasty saison with an addition of Brettanomyces yeast adding fruitiness, acidity, and woody, earthy, almost leathery notes

Dogfish Head Brewings And Eats

320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
302-226-2739;
Established: 1995

Sam Calagione’s Dogfish Head beers (and Discovery Channel show) have inspired legions of fans. A coast-drive road trip to his original two-story Dogfish Head location in the center of Rehoboth Beach makes for an excellent pilgrimage. There are always more than 20 Dogfish brews and a cask (including pub-only drafts). There’s also a micro-distillery project gathering steam on-site, solid pub grub, and live music.

Order Up: Punkin Ale, a delicious fall seasonal of 7 percent alcohol that will make you reconsider beers made with the orange veggies

Little Yeoman Brewing

12581 Dallas Lane, Cabool, Missouri
417-926-9185

An hour and a half drive south of Springfield on a leafy farm in the Ozarks, Little Yeoman is a minuscule 80-gallon brewery with big dreams. For now, the only way to try the beers is to drive out to the middle of the Mark Twain National Forest, look for a converted-keg mailbox, and pay a visit. There, in a modest two-room barn, Chad Frederick (whose commute to work is a short walk through the woods) has made many fans who make regular return visits, sometimes camping on the grounds, gathering around a woodstove, and sipping from homemade ceramic mugs.

Order Up: the popular, medium-bodied Porter

The post Beer Nuts appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Blake Davis fly-fishes the world; Ernest Shackleton’s whisky of choice resurfaces; the annual circus in the Himalayas.

Higher Education

A year-long fly-fishing world tour

Hillbilly Handfishin'

Hillbilly Handfishin’

This summer, College of the Atlantic grad Blake Davis, 22, sets off for a year-long fly-fishing world tour courtesy of a $25,000 Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship. The only requirements of the 60 coveted annual grants for ­independent study are that you leave the U.S., travel solo, and drop a progress report in the mail at least four times a year to prove that you’re alive and on topic. We asked correspondent Christian DeBenedetti, who received his own Watson Fellowship in 1996 to study the beers and brewing techniques of the world, to catch up with Davis and find out who indeed had scored the better project.

OUTSIDE: Congratulations. I was pretty sure nothing could beat a year-long beer-drinking research tour, but communing with the trout of the world might take it.
Davis: I grew up in western Massachusetts, where people fish for trout, but I was after “trash” species because they were more abundant. The experience of fishing is more than catching fish. I think the reason a lot of people pick it up is to feel connected to the wilderness, to have something reflective, meditative.

OK, but not in the Ganges. That would be gnarly.
I’m actually going to be up in the mountainous north of India, looking for a fish called mahseer, because it’s similar to carp. That will be the most rural experience.

Do you have to live off these fish you will theoretically catch?
No, but I will be learning a lot. Fly-fishermen are monitors of the environment—what’s going on with the rivers. We’re talking about global climate change. Fly-fishing itself can be an indicator of health in our waterways.

Ah, that’s noble. Did I tell you I tried 400 beers during my year?
It’s surreal: I just cashed the biggest check of my life. Pretty good for a person who usually has a three-digit bank account. I would love to catch a tarpon. I’ve made thousands of tarpon flies, but I’ve never even seen one. I’m going to go for it in Costa Rica.

And supposing you don’t land one?
I think I’ll know when it’s time to move on. Come to think of it, I might head to Argentina. There’s some world-class trout down there.

In the Spirit of It

Shackleton’s long-lost whisky

This summer, nearly two years after two crates of Scotch whisky left on Ross ­Island by Ernest Shackleton during his 1907 Nimrod expedition were recovered, Glasgow distillery Whyte and Mackay releases its much-anticipated Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt Whisky, based on that 100-year-old blend. To re-create it, Whyte and Mackay’s master blender, Richard Paterson, analyzed the recovered stock over eight laborious weeks, then mixed together 25 eight- to thirty-year-old malts to clone the singular taste of the Mackinlay’s original. As for Shackleton’s supply, it’s back on ice beneath the floorboards of the hut where it was discovered—a perpetual toast to the famously profligate explorer. $228;

This Season on Everest

The annual circus in the Himalayas

The post News from the Field: August 2011 appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

CORSICA IS A RARITY, an oddity, its language as endangered as its Corsican red deer. It's been invaded and owned by nearly everyone, including Greeks, Arabs, Romans, Brits, Pisans, Genoese, and the French. It was independent for only 14 years, before being reclaimed by France in 1769, right before Napoleon was born there, which perhaps explains why the little tyrant was so pissed off. If you buy a house here now, the Corsicans may blow it up, as certain separatist groups have done in the past, just to show you how pleased they are about foreigners coming in. Their towns are in the mountains because they kept losing the ones by the sea.

But if you come only to hike, you've found the best-kept secret (from Americans anyway) in the Mediterranean, its most mountainous island, crisscrossed by trails that offer medieval stone villages set against pinnacles and chestnut groves. This is the Mediterranean I dream of, a summer island too fantastical to be real. How can that perfect white stone village exist right there, perched on that mountain?

People have been hiking here since the last ice age, almost 10,000 years ago. Today, the GR20 is the most famous trail, running the length of the island north to south for more than 100 miles. I opted for the 60-mile Mare a Mare Sud, a five- or six-day hike across the southern part of the island, and my thoughts were primarily on food.

My wife, Nancy, and I started in Porto-Vecchio, a medieval walled town on the southeast coast. It was the middle of June, perfect sunny skies. We'd bought new ultralight packs and felt very flashy, except, like a total rube, I'd weighed mine down with a laptop. On day one, this brought me almost to fisticuffs with a café owner because I focused more on my computer than on his food. We quickly made up and soon he poured us glasses of his own myrt, a local liqueur made from purple myrtle flowers gathered high on the mountain. It was the most intense histamine shock I've ever had, like breathing in all the pollen in the world, but I loved it. Nancy loved it, too, so the owner gave us a bottle for our hike, more glasses were poured, and it was a rollicking night. They may blow up your house, but Corsicans will also smother you in love.

We set off the next morning late and straight up a 3,000-foot mountain, carrying our bottle of myrt. So much for ultralight. Views of the sea going light blue into white sand, an open trail with white rock and evergreen forest. That odd Mediterranean feeling of remote physical beauty and the center of culture at the same time.

We stayed that night in our first gßte d'étape, a kind of bed-and-breakfast set up for backpackers (recommendations at /mare-mare-sud; from $50), in the mountain village of Cartala­vonu. We ordered Aubergines de Madame Monti, an eggplant recipe that's been in the owner's family for at least 130 years. We had brought our tent and bags, but this was an error. It's not legal to camp anywhere along the trail, and campsites for tents are few and far between. Who would want to miss the gßtes and the meals anyway? The Europeans we met already knew these secrets. We had the largest packs on the trail.

The next day was a long, tough hike to Carbini, a tiny town on a hilltop with spectacular views, but that was only the first leg. Our afternoon leg was to Levie, which would've been an easy traverse along the hillside if you followed the road. But our trail dove straight down into a ravine, then straight back up. I consoled myself with thoughts of the Giovannali brotherhood back in Carbini, who had it worse. Building a lovely white stone church and bell tower and calling themselves “the Johns,” they flipped the bird at the Pope, so he persecuted them. An early chapter in Corsican rebellion, the most recent being the design of these trails. You can almost hear the laughter from the towns.

The trail offered several more days of truly amazing calf burners, but we found consolation on day four at Le Ranch, in Sorbollano, a small bed-and-breakfast run by a French hottie who likes horses. Here we had our best meal of the vacation, prepared by her mother—duck, in the lightest gravy, with stuffed courgettes (zucchini) and a fancy local dessert of cheese and strong liqueur fixed like whipped cream, with several fruit sauces and a small chestnut torte. At the end, salad with a special ritual for the small radishes, dipping each in a bit of salt, then devouring it with buttered bread. Wine throughout, of course. My first backpacking trip in which I was getting tipsy every night and gaining weight every day. My first backpacking trip, also, in which every day I saw a new medieval village, finding Zonza on day five as we traversed above cliffs or St. Lucie later that afternoon, clustered in tight rings on a hilltop below. When we arrived again at the shore, we continued traveling north along the west coast to Porto, with its red-rock cliffs and castle perched at the harbor entrance. We swam in the ancient sea and wondered how any of this was possible.

Turkey

Chill on an Undiscovered Beach.

EVERY SO OFTEN, you stumble upon a place so beautiful you want to scream about it from rooftops and keep it a closely guarded secret. The Olympos Lodge, in the small village of Cirali, Turkey, which sits on one of the most gorgeous, uncrowded stretches of the Mediterranean, is such a place. Hop a flight south from Istanbul to Antalya, then take an hour-plus cab ride to Cirali and the Olympos Lodge (from $175; ) and its 13 simple guest bungalows. You won't be spending much time in your room—the lodge's lush garden, complete with resident ducks and peacocks, spills onto an expansive beach. Grab a sea-view garden chaise and spend your days swimming in the teal water and watching Turkish gulets sail by.

Want active culture? Stroll five minutes down the beach to the Olympus ruins, where the backpacking set crashes in nearby treehouses. Or hike the slopes of 8,343-foot Mount Olympus, where you can access the Lycian Way trail (), which hugs much of Turkey's coastline; on the hillside you'll find the Chimaera, a natural-gas flame that's guided sailors for thousands of years. But mostly just chill and savor outdoor meals of feta-stuffed peppers, manti (a ravioli-like dish packed with yogurt, lamb, mint, and lemon), and honey-drenched baklava. If you're lucky, your bungalow neighbors will be from Belgrade and share their homemade grappa.

Croatia

Road-Trip the Coastal Highway

WITH ITS 1,185 ISLANDS along the Balkans' western edge, Croatia calls itself “the Mediterranean as it once was.” Neither modernity nor tourism has drastically changed the place yet, so if you wish you'd seen Italy 50 years ago, rent some wheels in Zadar (from $40 per day; ) and motor down Dalmatia's Adriatic Coastal Road. The 200-mile, two-lane, cliff-hugging E65 to Dubrovnik is an embarrassment of gastro and adventure pit stops. You're immediately surrounded by five national parks, including Paklenica, where a scramble in canyons in the Velebit range is rewarded with smooth-pebble beachside campsites ($5; ). Further south on Peljesac Peninsula—wine country—visit the Milos Vineyard, in Ponikve village, where Frano, the owner, is as poetic as his wines are bold. You'll get a true taste of Croatia with salt-water-dripping-fresh oysters at Vila Koruna restaurant (Tito's fave), on a sheltered bay in Mali Ston. Cut the ignition at Dubrovnik's five-star Grand Villa Argentina (from $270; ) and get out on the water for a sunset kayak tour; Dalmatian wine, cheese, and olives on nearby Lokrum Island included ($47; ).

Crete

Multisport in Mountainous Valleys.

THE LARGEST of the Greek islands (at 3,200 square miles), Crete is in many ways the least “Greek isle” of all. Get yourself to the right parts and it's a vast and mountainous place echoing with history and demanding hardier travelers than those who hit the clubs on the coast. While the steep, deep, 11-mile-long Samaria Gorge—the Zion Narrows of the Med—remains the island's marquee adventure draw, it's the more serene, mountain-ringed AmĂĄri Valley, in the island's center, that hides a secret hiking gem.

In the AmĂĄri, stuccoed villages gleam in the spring sunshine. Crowds simply don't exist here, unless you count the sheep. Pilgrims and hikers share the thrill of scaling 8,058-foot Mount Psiloritis (a.k.a. Ida, the mythical home of Zeus), a nontechnical peak best descended, snowpack permitting, by glissade. Explore the AmĂĄri on your own, or check out KE șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Travel's eight-day Crete itinerary: a week-plus of sea kayaking, trekking, and plunging into the winding Samaria Gorge (from $1,165; ).

Sicily

Bike Italy's Spiciest Island.

Sicily

Sicily

IT'S ONLY DAY THREE of our 220-mile cycling trip through Sicily, but I already get Don Corleone's attachment to this island punted into the sea by mainland Italy.

No wonder the mythical Mafia boss was so protective of his turf: While honor killings and extortion are more than just legend in some parts of Sicily, today I'm living la dolce vita. The largest island in the Mediterranean sprouts wild oregano, smells of citrus, and harbors some of the world's most important Greek and Roman ruins.

The 75-degree autumn sun beats down on our 17-person Ciclismo Classico peloton—a crew of 35-to-65-year-old American cycling fanatics—as we head from the Baroque southeastern seaside city of Siracusa and eventually out to the Aeolian Islands (the La Bella Sicilia trip starts at $4,695; ). Our two Italian guides, Enrico Pizzorni and Paolo Nicolosi, have titanium lungs, a vast knowledge of Italian history and culture (e.g., never drink cappuccino after 10 A.M.), and a serious sense of humor.

“It's very hard to get in a fight with a Sicilian,” rants Pizzorni, who is from Piedmont, as he and Nicolosi, a native Sicilian, get into a wildly gesticulating standoff over trip logistics and bicker like brothers. “They're always trying to get around things.”

At the moment, Nicolosi, who's known throughout the island as “the King of Sicily,” is hammering up a steady climb in his sleek Acqua & Sapone riding kit, with no hands, while belting out Italian arias a cappella. We Americans, on the other hand, sport Arrogant Bastard Ale jerseys and bonk—at least I did—on the 60-mile ride to the hilltop city of Ragusa, the centuries-old hideout where crusaders rested on their way to conquering Jerusalem.

After we settle into the Locanda Don Serafino boutique hotel, the hippest (and only) rehabbed 19th-century mansion I've ever slept in, we step into the street, which is crowded with jugglers, fire eaters, clowns, and street musicians who've turned this World Heritage site into a five-night bacchanalia—the annual Ibla Busker, a raucous street fair where performance artists from all over Europe test their best conceptual work and everyone drinks too many Negronis.

At dinner, after we've sampled a few bottles of local Cerasuolo Avide-Barroco frappato, Pizzorni tells us how to catch an octopus. “My grandfather taught me,” he says. “The trick is to turn his head inside out and bite it on the brain.”

I'm skeptical but slightly preoccupied by the edible sculpture of eggplant ricotta that's just been placed in front of me.

We eventually eat and cycle our way to the seaside city of Taormina, where Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor used to hide from the paparazzi, and hike to the sulfuric crater of active Mount Etna. Then we hydrofoil north to Lipari, the hub of the Aeolian Islands and the backdrop for the film Il Postino. We've cycled more than 200 miles, drunk too much Sicilian pinot, chardonnay, and Nero d'Avola, and eaten pizza with crust as thick as my skull. I haven't bitten an octopus on the brain. I'm saving that old fishing trick to make my living after I move to Lipari.

France

Trek the Alpes-Maritimes.

THE TOP REASON TO TREK the southeastern slice of France wedged between Provence and Italy? After a week or two of seven-hour hikes through cobblestone villages in the Alpes-Maritimes and across the Alps, you'll actually earn that Campari on ice when you reach the CĂŽte d'Azur.

Set off in summer to ensure lodges are open and for the region's guaranteed sunshine. From Larche, the 120-mile route passes into Mercantour National Park and over the 8,763-foot Pas de la Cavale. By this time you'll have noticed the second reason to hike here: the abundance of chamois, marmots, and ibex prancing in the towering sandstone cliffs, and a dearth of fellow backpackers. No need for a tent or substantial food, because a gĂźte d'Ă©tape (about $40 per person; ) will be your home along the way. Ask back-slapping locals at dinners of mutton, handmade pasta, homegrown greens, fresh-fruit-filled pastries, and wine where all the tourists are and they'll tell you that most people only go to the Riviera.

Schedule a day for the Vallée des Merveilles, where 35,000 Bronze Age petroglyphs are strewn along the path and across red-rock monoliths guarded by glacial lakes. Two days later, when the Mediterranean finally comes into view, there's still the matter of a 3,400-foot descent separating you from Menton and the coast. Your tootsies will be moaning, but that's easily remedied by the bath-warm sea.

Sardinia

Climb Oceanside Crags.

ALONG WITH JAPAN'S Okinawans, the people of Sardinia boast one of the highest rates of centenarians in the world. The reason could be the scenery alone: The island's vivid sea is ringed with soft-sand beaches and pinnacles of pink and gray granite. Sport climbers flock to Cala Gonone, on the east coast, near the Gulf of Orosei, where some 800 ocean-view routes await (find more beta at ). Deeper in the interior, the Barbagia area (“Land of Barbarians”) offers 1,000-foot-deep gorges and soaring limestone walls. șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű the town of Dorgali, monster routes like Hotel Supramonte—a 1,300-foot, 11-pitch 5.14a—draw some of the world's best big-wall experts. Bunk at the villa-like Su Gologone hotel (doubles from $250; ), ideally located for exploring Barbagia's prehistoric ruins. But this is Italy, so save some time for eating. The restaurant at Su Gologone is beloved for its porceddu—tender roast suckling pig—washed down with a glass of local red. With fare this good, life seems too short indeed.

The post Corsica appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

ON THE LEFT
Columbia’s moisture-wicking Omni-Dry Mountain Tech Thermal Base­layer. ($60; )

Few‘s acrylic Moa Hunter Sweater, for the bold. ($54; )

Aigle‘s lightweight Polartec recycled-fleece Walker Track Jacket. ($105;

Obermeyer‘s insulated Tungsten Jacket is tricked out with everything from an iPod-compatible interior pocket to a removable powder skirt. ($290; )

Aigle‘s Oxney Pants look like wool but are actually water-resistant polyester. ($150 )

Scott‘s waterproof Tundra Glove has a stash pocket on the back of both, a goggle wipe on one. ($65; )

At 88mm underfoot, Elan‘s all-mountain 888 Ski was a tester favorite last year—and remains the most versatile ski in their line. ($1,050; )

Thanks to the hydrophobic foam on the frame, Adidas‘s ID2 Goggles retain less moisture around the lenses, so they’re nearly impossible to fog up. ($150; )

Oakley‘s 100 percent wool Deco Beanie. ($24; ).

ON THE RIGHT
Helly Hansen‘s Iceberg Hoodie has moisture-wicking polypropylene on the inside, merino wool on the outside. ($85; )

Line Ski‘s Logo Pattern Hoodie is 100 percent cotton. ($75; )

The ski-specific Sidewall Jacket from Patagonia has a powder skirt, tons of pockets, a helmet-compatible hood … you get the picture. ($275; )

Oakley‘s waterproof and lightly insulated 10th Mountain Gloves are perfect for mild days. ($55; )

Too blue for you?Red‘s Theory Helmet comes in four additional, more subdued colors.($120; )

The spherical lenses on ”țŽÇ±ô±ôĂ©‘s Fathom Goggles have a scratchproof coating, and the strap hinges pivot, making for a perfect seal, even over a helmet. ($89; )

Styles for Resort Snowboarders

Styles for Resort Snowboarders

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ThirtyTwo‘s Bamboo Crew is equal parts bamboo and cotton, with a touch of spandex. $52;

Because Orage‘s full-zip Focus Jacket is lined with microfleece, it’s warmer than it looks. $90;

The waterproof, highly breathable eVent fabric in O’Neill‘s Vapor Jacket can handle even the warmest and wettest spring days. $390;

Quiksilver‘s waterproof Eco Circle Pant is lightly insulated and cut from 100-percent-recycled polyester. $200;

Burton‘s GMP R.P.M. Eco-Leather Gloves are soft and fleece-lined. $85;

Burton‘s all-mountain Vapor Snowboard is named after its ultralight Space Age materials. $1,000;

Switch up your look with Anon‘s Figment Goggles; they’ve got interchangeable straps. $95;

The removable ear pads in Bern‘s Watts EPS multisport helmet mean you can use it all year. $90;

Sunglasses

STYLISH, FUNCTIONAL SHADES FOR ALL CONDITIONS AND PURSUITS

Sunglasses

1. COSTA DEL MAR PUMPHOUSE
Whether you’re playing in the snow or water, these modern aviators annihilate glare and let your eyes relax—plus Costa’s new 580 Silver Mirror optics (copper here) provide striking clarity, as only glass lenses can. $209

2. KAENON POLARIZED BASIS
With classic styling and gray lenses, the Basis is great for driving or just rambling around town. Planning a fly-fishing detour? Polarization means you can go straight from street to stream.$299

3. TIFOSI TORRENT

The cold shouldn’t keep you from cycling, but fogged eyewear just might. No worries with the Torrent: Ventilated lenses nix condensation, and a hydrophilic rubber nosepiece and temples grip the sweatiest skin. $60

4. OAKLEY SPIKE

The Spike offers not just Terminator looks but huge coverage, including the best peripheral view of the bunch, plus the lenses filter out 100 percent of all UV rays, not just UVA and UVB. $200

5. RUDY PROJECT MASTERMIND

Not only do the gray photochromic ImpactX lenses in these svelte shades automatically adjust to changing light and preserve natural color; their military-grade plastic is also designed specifically to bend but never break. $170

6. SMITH PROPHET

Behind the Prophet’s slick exterior beats the heart of a geek: Easily swap out lenses to match conditions with a twist of the temple; rose-colored lenses enhance depth perception on the slopes. $149

Watches

SIX WATCHES THAT BLUR THE LINE BETWEEN WORK AND PLAY

Sunglasses

Ìę

1. OCEANUS MANTA
Don’t let its refined looks fool you. The solar-powered Manta is packed with technical breakthroughs, including the ability to sync itself with an atomic clock six times a day. $1,095

2. VICTORINOX CHRONO CLASSIC XLS MT
With two LCD windows, this timepiece packs far more functions than its sleek appearance would suggest, including a chronograph, alarm, and perpetual calendar all operated by a single crown. $1,095

3. TISSOT T-TOUCH EXPERT
It’s like an iPhone for your wrist. The touchscreen/face controls an altimeter, thermometer, and compass, among other functions. $995

4. CITIZEN ECO-DRIVE PERPETUAL CALENDAR
Constantly having to change the date is an annoyance of the past with this looker; a perpetual calendar takes care of that for you. Nor do you have to worry about swapping batteries. The subdials double as a solar panel that works even in low-light conditions. $550

5. LUMINOX 1400
This one might look mild-mannered, but Luminox supplies watches for the Navy SEALs, so durability isn’t optional. The waterproof 1400 has a steel bracelet and an antireflective curved sapphire for maximum visibility. $800

6. TIMBERLAND STEPROCK
With its stainless-steel casing and rubber strap, this watch is meant to take a beating. But the multifunction face—with chronograph, alarm, date, timer, and 24-city bezel for tracking time around the world—ensures it’s equally suited for international “working” holidays. $235

AprĂšs Styles for Men

LEFT

Helly Hansen‘s cotton Shelter Shirt. $60;


With reclaimed-fleece innards and a wool exterior, Patagonia’s Quilt Again Jacket is all you need on cool fall days. $120;

Days getting colder? Horny Toad’s down-filled Tornado Vest is a good choice. $150;

All the women in the office gave Quiksilver‘s perfectly faded Norpac Jeans the thumbs-up. $70;

The big frames on Dragon’s Brigade Sunglasses amp the attitude while the polarized lenses kill glare. $115; .

RIGHT

Nau‘s organic-cotton Polo-Tariat Long Sleeve Stripe Shirt. $95;


With its DWR coating and hood, Oakley‘s poly-cotton Tanker Jacket fends off light snow easily. $135;


Holden‘s hemp-and-twill Dischord Jacket might look casual, but it’s 100 percent waterproof. $330;


Lucky’s Vintage Straight Corduroy Jeans. $88;

With hydrophilic nose pads and temples and polarized lenses, Ryders’ Tarmac Sunglasses offer plenty of bang for the buck. $70; .

Men’s AprĂšs Shoes

FROM PLUSH TO BOMBER, THE BEST OFF-SLOPE FOOTWEAR WE COULD FIND

Mens Apres Shoes

Ìę

1. MERRELL MELBOURNE

$90 Need a winter performance shoe/barhop moc/ “Fetch some more wood, honey” slipper? This one’s got it dialed: secure fit with slide-in ease, full faux-fur innards, tough toe box, and grabby outsole.

2. PATAGONIA MAUI MID
$75 After a day in viselike race boots, nothing felt better than stepping into these marshmallowy, fleece-lined numbers. That’s not corduroy up top; it’s water-resistant pigskin. But they’re far from porky.

3. TIMBERLAND FROZEN COAST MID BOOT
$120 This slip-on has an extremely relaxed fit, an upper of waterproof felt and suede, and a wraparound rubber outsole. The SmartWool footbed and lining make for superior warmth, comfort, and wicking.

4. UGG AUSTRALIA WORLEY
$150 Why sacrifice style in the slop? The vintage design of these soft leather brogans belies their comfort and winter cred. At the forefoot and heel, you’ll find thick sheepskin lining on the inside, grippy rubber patches on the outside.

5. CLARKS IRONHEAD
$110 You can always count on Clarks for all-day comfort and utility; their shoes immediately feel broken-in yet provide plenty of support. Here, trad leather looks combine with a springy sole for a do-it-all four-season boot.

6. TECNICA MONTANA II WOOL SD
$260 Rock the cowboy look all winter. Oiled suede, synthetic-shearling insulation, and a classic hiking-sole lug pattern handle the snow, and a side zip and button closure make donning and doffing a cinch.

Winter-Ready Tech Products

SERIOUSLY FUN GADGETRY TO ENHANCE YOUR ACTIVE LIFESTYLE

1. PENTAX OPTIO W60
Not only is this 10MP digicam waterproof down to 13 feet; it operates at subfreezing temperatures. Add HD movie capture, a 5x wide-angle zoom, and a glare-proof screen (seriously) and you’ve got the ultimate adventure point-and-shoot. $330

2. SLACKER G2
Grab this digital radio and hit ‘s intuitive interface to choose from more than 100 free stations or progressively customize your own. (It works.) Playlists upload via Wi-Fi or your computer. 25 or 40 stations; $250

3. CREATIVE VADO
An iPod-size, rechargeable videocam with a pop-out USB plug, the three-ounce Vado features a 2x digital zoom, 2GB of memory, and up to two hours of recording. Sniff at the 640-by-480 resolution all you want; it looks great on a computer. $100

4. PANASONIC SDR-SW20
Retro in looks only, waterproof down to five feet, and built to take a fall. After hours of testing this camcorder on Colorado’s Upper Animas River, we had only two wishes: that it was hi-def and had a smoother zoom. $400

5. ALTEC LANSING ORBIT
The best “It’s so cute!” speaker we’ve tested yet. This 360-degree-sound unit boasts shock resistance, 24 hours of playback, and incredibly loud, clear audio for its size. $40

6. LG DECOY
This slick slider phone integrates a nice detachable Bluetooth earpiece in back, a 2MP camera, music and video downloads via V Cast, and plenty of Web-based bells and whistles. $370 .

Winter Hats

KEEP YOUR EARS WARM THIS WINTER

Winter Hats

Ìę

1. SPACECRAFT TITAN
It’s got a story as cool as its looks. This mild-weather, 100-percent-acrylic beanie was handwoven at a family-run co-op in the mountains of Bali. $25

2. BULA ACTION BEANIE
If we had an eco-award, the Action would win it. It’s half bamboo and half wool, and the natural coloring is free of artificial dyes. $28

3. ARC’TERYX BILLI BRIM HAT
The thick knit of this acrylic-and-wool hat is so stretchy, it could accommodate even Seth Rogen’s ‘fro. $35

4. PISTIL BEATRIX

It might look like it came straight from your grandma’s knitting basket, but this chunky acrylic hat has a fleecy liner that bolsters its warmth. $28

5. COAL THE FREEZIN’
Can’t find the hat you wore as a kid? This eighties-inspired acrylic lid is the next best thing. $20

6. DOHM-ICEBOX SUPER SOFT BEANIE
Handcrafted on an antique knitting machine in Boulder, Colorado, this mostly merino-wool beanie has a soft and fleecy headband liner. $31

7. OUTDOOR RESEARCH SONIC BEANIE
This low-profile skullcap fits perfectly beneath a ski helmet, and its 98 percent windproof earflaps are membrane-free, so you won’t feel like you’re wearing earplugs. It’s the warmest, most technical hat here. $26

8. CHAOS BARA
This knitted baseball cap is made from 100 percent organic cotton and comes with tie-down earflaps. If you’re cautious enough to wonder whether or not you can pull this off, you probably can’t. $24

Women’s Slope Styles

LEFT
I/O Biocompatibles‘ jersey-knit Uni LS Crew is as soft as merino wool can be. $80;

Special Blend‘s insulated, waterproof Saga Jacket has a detachable hood. $180;

Burton‘s Fly Pants are insulated and waterproof. When you get too warm, crack the thigh vents. $140;

Dakine‘s lightweight, leather Torino Glove is perfect for warmer days. $40;

Smith‘s Intrigue Helmet has faux-fur ear pads and trim and a removable, washable mesh liner. $120;

The scratch- and fog-resistant lenses on Anon‘s Solace Goggles aren’t interchangeable, but the straps are. $140;

Forum‘s 144–154cm SuperStar Snowboard is an all-mountain ripper, with a deep, responsive sidecut and softer flex than the company’s men’s boards. Pair it with Forum’s women-specific and quick-to-adjust VSP Bindings for the perfect do-it-all setup. $480, $200;

RIGHT
Fuzzy and fitted, Kjus‘s slightly retro Dras Graphic Knitted Jacket is made from lamb’s wool, angora, and nylon. $179;

Merrell‘s Spruce Pants are slope-worthy (waterproof and breathable) and, thanks to a low-rise cut and stylish back pockets, extremely flattering. $130;

Dakine‘s Knitwit Hat is mostly wool, with a fleece band. $30
Deep pockets and a front zipper that extends well past your chin ensure you’ll stay extra cozy in Kjus‘s 550-fill Val Down Jacket. $429

VonZipper‘s Chakra Goggles have just enough bling to turn heads. More important, their dual-layer, spherical anti-fog­ lens presents the mountain in high-def. $115;

AprĂšs Styles for Women

LEFT
While we wouldn’t wear Athleta‘s nordic-inspired cotton Slalom Sweater cross-country skiing, it’s a no-brainer for just about any other activity. $89;

Merino wool with a touch of stretchy, spandex-like material makes I/O Biocompatible‘s Women’s Signature Track Pant comfy enough for curling up by the fireplace, but it’s also flattering enough for wandering around town. A zippered stash pocket means you can leave your purse at home. $100;

With fully taped seams, sweater-like cuffs, and a faux-fur lining, Volcom‘s waterproof wool-and-polyester Galena Insulated Parka will keep you dry and cozy all winter. $250;

Badgley Mischka Couture Eyewear‘s Boyd Sunglasses have unbreakable titanium frames and deliver 100 percent UV protection. Their gray gradient lenses are just dark enough for bluebird days. $495;

RIGHT
Mountain Hardwear‘s moisture-wicking and shape-holding Lightweight Power Stretch Long Sleeve Crew is perfect for aerobic activities like snowshoeing but stylish enough for the bar. $60;

Royal Robbins‘ brushed-nylon-and-Lycra Avani Pants have an adorable cut and feel finer than silk. $65;

In colors like “sugarplum” and “lavender,” Scapegoat‘s girly-but-technical Sadie Vest has DWR-coating, PrimaLoft insulation, and a scrunch-down-around-your-face hood. $225;

Coal’s Jacquard-woven Nordic Hat‘s soft acrylic threads eliminate the typical beanie-induced itch. $25;

Badgley Mischka Couture Eyewear‘s Otis Sunglasses offer the same features as above, in a different frame.

Merrell‘s waterproof and wool-lined Puffin High Boots kept testers’ feet dry and warm during a slushy afternoon at Whistler. $150;

Women’s AprĂšs Shoes

SIX STYLISH OPTIONS FOR COLD WEATHER

Women’s Apres Shoes

Ìę

1. HELLY HANSEN SKULD
$150 Trade your ski socks for the 14-inch Skuld’s faux-fur lining. These leather boots with knee-high laces are as appropriate for the concrete jungle as they are for aprĂšs in Sun Valley.

2. KEEN WINTHROP CLOG
$85 Don’t be afraid to venture outside in Keen’s Winthrop leather clogs. These rugged kicks grip icy sidewalks with ease, and the naturally water-resistant boiled-wool lining keeps your toes dry.

3. MERRELL LILY
$140 Head downtown in these ankle-high leather boots. They’ve got beauty and brains: A memory-foam forefoot eases pressure, and a Vibram sole can tackle unsure footing, even in a blizzard.

4. CROCS NANOOK
$50 This isn’t your grandma’s garden shoe. The velvety Nanook slipper doesn’t have the ergonomic design that made the brand a phenomenon, but they’re cute enough to wear snuggling with a strapping beau by the fireplace.

5. PATAGONIA STUBAI WATERPROOF
$160 Witness the second coming of plastic soda bottles in the Stubai. The partially recycled fleece lining keeps feet warm when the mercury drops, and the ingenious outer soles have paper-thin slits that afford suction-cup-like traction on slick snow and ice.

6. SIMPLE TOEMALE
$85 Go green and slip into the comfy, fleece-lined, organic-hemp Toemale. The tough rubber tread is cut from a car tire.

The post Styles for Resort Skiers appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

(1) Hamilton Khaki Seaview Founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 116 years ago, Hamilton has learned a thing or two about making watches. This rugged and water-resistant automatic has all the functions you use daily—namely a date box and two time zones—and none that you don’t. $1,995;

(2) Bell & Ross BR02 This one is all about the deep. With its huge, ultra-luminous numerals, beefy rubber strap, and a decompression valve for serious scuba diving, the mechanical automatic BR02 is certified to a very rare depth rating of 1,000 meters. $9,900;

(3) Festina Shockwave Don’t be fooled by its sleek carbon-fiber face. This chronograph’s classic “engine” is the Valjoux 7750, a superaccurate automatic movement that was introduced in 1974 but remains the gold standard of Swiss engineering. Put it this way: It’s the timepiece equivalent of a Porsche 911 Carrera. $5,995;

(4) Alpina Manufacture Regulator Providing you keep it on your wrist, this surgical-grade stainless-steel automatic never needs winding. But you’ll want to take it off anyway: The see-through crystal back lets you inspect the watch’s inner workings. $3,750;

(5) TAG Heuer Aquaracer Chronotimer With both analog time display and a backlit digital readout, the Aquaracer is equally at home in the boardroom and, of course, on the boat: It’s water-resistant to 300 meters, and the stopwatch is accurate to 1/100 second. $2,800;

(6) Oris TT3 Chronograph Black The TT3’s stealthy carbon-fiber dial is more functional than it looks—there’s a stopwatch, tachymeter, and date window, and the surprisingly luminous hands are easy to read in low-light conditions. $3,750;

(7) TX World Time Take a closer look at the dial and you’ll see it: Thanks to four independent, German-quartz-controlled motors and six hands at work, this stainless-steel timepiece displays the hour and season in 24 cities around the world. $450;

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PORTSMOUTH ISLAND, NORTH CAROLINA – On a weekend last summer, while the rest of the beachgoing world descended upon overrun sand traps like Nags Head and Virginia Beach, I took a 4×4 and a shortboard and made for Portsmouth Island. There are a few selling points to this skinny, 18-mile-long barrier island in the northernmost part of North Carolina's Cape Lookout National Seashore. The surf, for one—you can catch punchy beach-break waves all along the eastern, Atlantic-facing shore. The fishing's not bad, either—bring a spinning rod and some shrimp and you'll pull in as much drum as you can eat. Also, the whole damn place is uninhabited. Except for a smattering of cabins near its middle, all that's to be found is miles of sea oats and dunes and the Atlantic coast's finest, most surprisingly reachable beach camping. There's not a paved road on the entire island, so the Park Service permits beach driving, which does wonders for people who secretly harbor redneck alter egos, like me.

Malia Jones

Malia Jones, your guide to summer. Check out more of Malia, including an interview, photo gallery, and exclusive video.

Ìę

Fly into Wilmington (US Airways flies direct from LaGuardia in less than two hours), rent a vehicle, and drive the three hours to the town of Atlantic. Go to Morris Marina and catch a 40-minute ferry ride to Portsmouth Island (round-trip, $14 per person or $75 per vehicle; ), but don't board before renting a kayak at the marina ($150 for three days). Portsmouth offers only a few lodging options with roofs and walls, such as the unfortunately named Kabin Kamps (from $100; ). Pass the cabins by, head for the beach on the eastern shore, and pitch your tent above the high-tide line. Paddle out to the west side of the island and explore the miles of tidal marshes. Upon returning to your campsite, you'll notice, well, nothing. No lifeguard towers, no Rollerblades, no wafting scent of hair gel mixed with sunscreen. Just a big, white beach that's all your own.

The Easiest Catch

fly-fishing rock creek, montana

Hats off to Montana fly-fishing

MISSOULA, MONTANA – There are fishing purists who throw fits if another angler comes within 100 feet. In general I agree with this principle. But not in June, not in southwestern Montana. As fat, ugly salmonflies hatch and die by the thousands on Rock Creek, some 20 miles east of Missoula, the trout spend a good month slapping the surface of the 52-mile freestone river, and they don't care how many orange or yellow stonefly imitators are floating over their heads or how many hacks are elbowing for backcasting room on the shoreline.ÌęSo go, fight for space, get tangled in the cottonwoods, splash around. You'll still catch fish. Purists: There might be some open water above mile 21 on Rock Creek Road, where the holes in the road turn back sedans.

Fly into Missoula, secure a vehicle with four-wheel drive, and rent a fully furnished cabin on the creek (from $95; ).ÌęFor fishing advice delivered by a gravel-voiced old-timer who knows every riffle on the river, stop at Doug Persico's Rock Creek Fisherman's Mercantile, just off I-90 (). Warm up in town with the aspiring novelists at the Old Post Pub, where the food is bad, the music is slightly better, the waitstaff are beautiful, and the hatch chart on the wall is to be trusted, for the most part (). Afterwards, drink and gamble around the corner at the Oxford Saloon. If you're still on the poker table at 4 a.m., the bartender will serve you a free chicken-fried steak ().

Lights Out

How Not to Spend Summer

Collecting prize money for killing gophers at the Gopher Count festival, in Viola, Minnesota, June 19

Spitting seeds for four days at the Watermelon Thump, in Luling, Texas, June 26–29.

Literally watching paint dry at the National Fence Painting Championship, in Hannibal, Missouri, July 3–5.

Calling mosquitoes at the Great Texas Mosquito Festival, in Clute, Texas, July 24–26; contestants try to lure the biggest bug with their voices.

—CLAIRE NAPIER GALOFARO

GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA – The summer solstice at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is a throng of shuttle buses, clicking cameras, and vendors hawking I GC booty shorts. But on the less frequented North Rim, there's a nighttime solstice party where you can watch the skies erupt in peace. Under the orchestration of Arizona's Saguaro Astronomy Club, a score of astronomers from across the country converge to set up powerful telescopes on the terrace of the Grand Canyon Lodge, a castle-like stone building perched on the edge of the canyon (doubles, $100; ). For eight nights, more than 100 people—hikers, amateur stargazers, passersby—stop for a quick peek through a scope and end up staying, starstruck, as late as 5 a.m. Since the Grand Canyon has one of America's darkest night skies, you can see Saturn's rings, storms on Jupiter, and millions of stars glittering like galactic bling. Exploit the extra daylight with a quad-busting, nine-mile round-trip hike on the North Kaibab Trail to the Roaring Springs waterfall, 3,050 feet down the canyon. Afterwards, refuel with the lodge's brand-new Grand Cookout dinners. The chuck-wagon-style beef brisket, roasted chicken, and fresh-baked biscuits will sate the most astronomical of appetites ($35 per person). Nearest airport: Flagstaff, Arizona, a somewhat daunting 200 miles away.

Flatwater Freedom

GRAND MARAIS, MINNESOTA – The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is one of the largest wilderness areas east of the Rockies. It's also one of the most heavily trafficked: More than 200,000 people ply its 1,200 miles of routes annually. So while the weather's best in late summer, I go toward the end of June, when the water is cool, the smallmouth are biting, the blackflies are disappearing, and the Boy Scouts hoping to earn their tree-carving badges have yet to arrive.

Fly into Duluth and pick up a canoe on your way to Grand Marais at Sawbill Canoe Outfitters ($85 for three days; ). There are nearly 80 entry points to the Boundary Waters; ignore most of them and enter at East Bearskin Lake, 26 miles from Grand Marais up the Gunflint Trail highway (entry permits, $16 per person; ). A 2.5-mile paddle plus a short portage lead to Alder Lake, where there's a perfect camping spot on the tip of the main peninsula. Bring a lightweight rod and cast a Rapala into the rocks just offshore. With any luck, you'll catch dinner to fry over the fire. The next night, stay six miles away in a lakeside cabin at the Old Northwoods Lodge, bear-and-lumberjack kitsch at its finest (doubles, $120; ). Before leaving, dine on Lake Superior trout at the Angry Trout Café (), a refurbished fishing shanty on the harbor in Grand Marais.

The Backyard

ANYWHERE, USA – Look, I'm a patriot. I like beer. And having mostly overcome a scarring childhood incident involving a bottle rocket, the San Francisco police, and a hefty insurance claim by a downstairs neighbor, I like fireworks again. So don't get the wrong idea when I tell you to stay home on the Fourth of July. But for God's sake, do stay home. Something like 41 million Americans will celebrate by going somewhere, making this the busiest travel period of the summer. Even if you're the kind that digs the woozy high of flirt-flirt honking as your convertible crawls through a carbon monoxide haze—which, I think, makes you a high schooler—consider that July 4 is traditionally the deadliest day of the year on our nation's roads. The second-deadliest? July 3. And anyway, I've devised the ultimate at-home party: a few friends, lots of beer, barbecue (see The Guide, page 65), and a kiddie pool. You can add bottle rockets—just don't shoot any into the neighbor's window.

Great Green North

STRATEGY: THE WELL-PACKED WEEKENDER

Seven items to have at the ready:
1. Rubbermaid’s 75-quart DuraChill Cooler, which keeps beer cold for almost a week ($43; rubbermaid). 2. Sweat- and waterproof K2 Endurance Sunblock ($13; ). 3. Patagonia’s wrinkle-free Vitaliti polo shirt, which looks better at dinner after you’ve worn it hiking ($55; ).4. Smith’s gold-rimmed Bellaire sunglasses ($100; ). 5. Hi-Tec’s V-Lite Radar II eVent light hikers, which can double as trail runners, since they’re built onrunning lasts ($120; ). Drive west an hour to Baddeck and set up camp at the Chanterelle Country Inn, a solar-heated B&B where the organic dinners mean wild mushrooms, fresh mussels from the harbor out back, and, until July 15, lobster; for the rest of the month you're stuck with the snow crab (doubles, US$158, including breakfast; ). Then load up your bike and drive out to 200-year-old Acadian villages, through Highlands National Park, and, if 18 percent grades don't dissuade you, to the majestic north end, where you can take a guided sea-kayak tour through pilot whale feed zones (US$100; ). Before leaving Baddeck, unwind at a ceilidh, the old Celtic precursor to the rave, with fiddles, tin whistles, and (in place of ecstasy) the island's own single-malt whiskies.

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The Uncrowded Mountain Town

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TELLURIDE, COLORADO – Between the weekends of Memorial Day and Labor Day, the town of Telluride hosts no fewer than 15 festivals. Think about that. On any given Saturday, you might have to share this remote outpost's epic hiking trails, casual restaurants, and approximately 23 parking spaces with either hordes of slamgrass fans (the Bluegrass Festival), a gaggle of oeno­philes (the Wine Festival), or an army of downward-doggers (the Yoga Festival). But crowds are the last thing you want to see here. Placed at the dead end of a box canyon and surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks, Telluride offers as good a setting as any town in America for a quiet summer idyll. So there's only one celebration worth attending: The Nothing Festival. For three days, there are zero planned events—but something incredible does happen. Hotels open up (try the Telluride Mountainside Inn; doubles, $119; ), Main Street empties out, and a few visitors breathe easy. How to spend those days? Just bring your hiking boots and follow the directions on telluridenothingfestival.com: “Thank you for not participating.” Nearest airport: Montrose, Colorado, 70 miles away.

America's Oktoberfest

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PORTLAND, OREGON – Nothing says summer like 60,000 people raising glasses of beer into the air and letting loose a spontaneous cheer that makes Yankee Stadium sound like the baking section at Borders. Welcome to the OBF, or Oregon Brewers Festival, which takes place every July in Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park. With 72 participating breweries from around the country, it's the finest outdoor tasting in the world that doesn't require speaking German. The beer's cold and often of the hard-to-get variety—I'm partial to Allagash White, a spicy Belgian-style wheat beer. By the end of the day, the local blues bands sound much better than they are, and as the sun sets, those cheers grow longer and a hell of a lot more infectious. The wise visitor, though, doesn't spend all four days at the festival: With more than 270 miles of bike routes in the city, plus Forest Park, the nation's largest urban forest, Portland offers ample opportunity to work up a healthy thirst (rentals, $28 for a half day; ). Freshen up at the Heathman Hotel and browse their library, which contains first editions signed by the likes of Kurt Vonnegut (doubles, $230; ). Then go drink up and scream ($5 for an official mug, $4 per beer; ).

The Non-Hamptons

LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK – For discerning New Yorkers, the North Fork of Long Island has long provided a much more relaxing escape than the Botox-injected Hamptons side. But as word gets out that North Fork wineries like Bedell are rivaling their cousins in Napa, there is some concern among locals that things may not stay so quaint. My suggestion? Stay home and pretend to visit. A few things you could imagine and then brag about at the watercooler: sailing from Preston's dock, in Greenport, on a restored 1906 schooner while slurping down fresh oysters (day trips on the schooner Mary E, $38; ); tromping through Shelter Island's vast nature preserve; kiteboarding Peconic Bay ($100 per hour with Island Riders; ); bathing with locally made goat's-milk soap at the North Fork Table & Inn (doubles, $275; ); or riding the 40-mile North Fork bikeway toward Orient Point beach with the sun and salt water on your face (daylong rentals, $28 at the Bike Stop, in Greenport; ). Your co-workers will be none the wiser, and I won't get in trouble for letting the secret out. Nearest airport: MacArthur Airport, 50 miles from Greenport.

True Grass

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GRAND TARGHEE, WYOMING – Perhaps you're one of those people who holds to the misguided notion that bluegrass music is for hippies. If so, you may be familiar with Telluride's annual jam-o-rama, which is a great party and a good place to go if you like Hacky Sacks and Ani DiFranco. Real bluegrass festivals, on the other hand, are about impromptu circles of fiddlers and banjo pickers in which solos are passed around with far more reserve than whiskey.

Go to Targhee and you'll see. Fifty miles across Teton Pass from Jackson Hole, at Grand Targhee Resort, the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival (three-day pass, $125; ) hosts 6,500 people over the course of the weekend, compared with the 10,000 who choke Telluride per day. Mountain-town favorite Tim O'Brien headlines, but listen closely to Tony Trischka's Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular. The two banjos (never a good idea) can be abrasive, but Trischka plays with Michael Daves, a Georgia-born guitarist with a gut-wrenching high tenor that's far more Joe Strummer than Jack Johnson. For a break, ride Targhee's new lift-accessed mountain-bike park. If you can score a room in the resort (doubles, $125), look for the headliners picking and passing bottles in the lobby, and don't say a word.ÌęNearest airport: Jackson Hole.

Moon Paddle

[photo size="full"]1498501[/photo] [sidebar hed="STRATEGY: THE SURPRISE DIRECT FLIGHT"] Easy routes to the regional airports mentioned in this story: Delta flies from Atlanta to Jackson Hole in just under six hours (from $370; ). Continental flies from Houston and Dallas to Montrose, Colorado (from $400; ). Allegiant Air flies regularly from Las Vegas to Duluth (from $270; ) and Missoula ($140). And barring any planning hiccups, Horizon Air will offer direct service from Los Angeles to Flagstaff starting this June ($200; ).

TOMALES BAY, CALIFORNIA – It wouldn't be hard to miss the coastal village of Marshall, an hour north of San Francisco on Highway 1—only 100 or so people live here, and the place looks kind of scrappy. But gritty is in these days, and last summer, restaurateur Pat Kuleto turned Marshall into the home of the North Coast's most serenely stylish digs. Nick's Cove & Cottages is a cluster of gussied-up fisherman's cabins, complete with water-view decks and bedside cheese plates. Next door, Nick's roadhouse serves oysters caught out front and pinot noir from up the road. But the reason to go is the full moon on Saturday the 16th: As night falls, kayak due west from your cabin, past Hog Island, and visit Tomales Point's tule elk herd (daylong rentals from Point Reyes–based Blue Waters Kayaking, $60; ). When you return to shore, moonlit wine tasting and oyster slurping await on the deck of your cabin (doubles, $300; ). Nearest airport: San Francisco.

Lightning Show

walter de maria's lightning field

MOTHER NATURE’S LASER SHOW: Walter de Maria’s Lightning Field

QUEMADO, NEW MEXICO – Whoever named the two-diner town of Quemado (translation: “Burnt”), in southwestern New Mexico, had a way with words. The place attracts a fair amount of lightning strikes. That's why sculptor Walter De Maria put his installation, the Lightning Field, which combines highbrow art with one of the last great remote landscapes in America, nearby.

Fly into Albuquerque, rent a car, and drive three hours southwest to Quemado. At a small white gallery-like space that could be in SoHo, you'll await a grizzled cowboy who drives precariously fast in his truck and drops you off 45 minutes later at a three-bedroom cabin overlooking the fields. Your provisions: enchiladas, whatever libations you've brought, and orders to wander. The installation consists of a surreal one-mile grid of 400 stainless-steel poles in the lightning-happy high desert. The display is best viewed from the back porch, with a cold Negra Modelo in hand. Book far in advance—you can rent the cabin for only one night ($250 per person with maximum six-person occupancy; ). What to do with the rest of the weekend? Doesn't really matter, if you're lucky enough to see lightning strike out the back door. But there are plenty of weird attractions around that could exist only in New Mexico—the Very Large Array of radio telescopes, near Socorro, for instance.ÌęSpend the next night in the emerging artsy town of Truth or Consequences and soak at the Sierra Grande Lodge (doubles, $130; ).

Treasure Island

SANTA CATALINA, CALIFORNIA – In the early days of Hollywood, Santa Catalina Island's sand coves doubled as Tahiti and its mountains stood in for the Wild West. A 76-square-mile island located 25 miles southwest of Los Angeles, Catalina has retained its flair for drama because 88 percent of the place is a land trust. Charter a sailboat on the mainland in Marina del Rey (from $100 per day; ), five miles from LAX, and sail five hours to Catalina. Catalina's port town of Two Harbors provides immediate access to the island's 50-mile network of rugged hiking and mountain-biking trails (daylong bike rentals from Two Harbors Dive & Recreation Center, $53; 310-510-4272). For cozier digs than the berths on your boat, stay at the Banning House Lodge, which has 11 ocean-view rooms (doubles, $216; 800-626-1496). To branch out from the sails and trails, sign up for Two Harbors' annual buffalo-chip contest, during which townsfolk gather at the pier to throw buffalo dung onto the beach. The record toss—187 feet—is waiting to be broken.

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