In August of 2025, professional adventure cyclist Sarah Swallow spent over a month bikepacking from the Pacific Ocean to the Eastern slopes of the Rockies. Her goal? To scout a new formal bikepacking route developed by the Adventure Cycling Association which stretches from the Mississippi River to Oregon: The Golden Gravel Trail. Sarah breaks down the highs and lows of her mostly solo bikepacking trip.

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Andy Cochrane hails from a Park Service cabin in Minnesota and has lived the life many dirtbags dream of. He spent years on the road, funding his travel through skillful storytelling and photography. While out on a long trail run, he realized something was missing, and decided to create it. As he brought friends and community members on board, he discovered someone else had the same idea.

It quickly starts to look like Andy, Ian MacLellan and Rickey Gates are in a race to complete the 50 Classic Trails of America, and the result will undoubtedly shape the future of trail running. 

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 As a high school teacher in Santa Maria, CA, Taylor Mihelic understands the power of a field trip. Whether it’s plant identification hikes through the forests, or habitat restoration projects on the coast, Taylor gets the best out of her students when there’s adventure in the air. During her summer break this year, Taylor took her own field trip on the tour divide bike race, exploring the edge of her limits and teaching herself a lesson in optimism along the way.

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Our book, States of Adventure, 30 stories adapted from The Diaries, is out in the wild. See if it's available on your local shelves or order it here: geni.us/StatesofAdventure

Time spent outside as kids can extend into our adult lives in incredible ways. Jay Inslee’s passion for being outside shaped his path from his three terms as governor of Washington all the way to the national level. His pioneering policy work is having an impact in Washington state and proving that change is possible if we bring our determination to the world’s biggest problems. 

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Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order. 

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Looking for a gift that will inspire? Our book,⁠ States of Adventure⁠, 30 stories adapted from The Diaries, is out in the wild. See if it's available on your⁠ local shelves⁠ or order it here:⁠ geni.us/StatesofAdventure

And Then What Actions

• Learn More about Oak Flat (Access Fund | Apache Stronghold)
• Adelita Grijalva’s Save Oak Flat From Foreign Mining Act

Loss can create an emotional cocktail when something or someone is unceremoniously ripped from our life. Amie Renaud and Joanna Henry invite us along through their circuitous roads through grief. 

After the sudden end of a relationship, Amie embarks on a grand bikepacking trip. Right as she’s finally settling in, she finds herself picking up the pieces again. Joanna hadn’t reconciled the loss of her brother. But a visit from an uninvited, and surprisingly tenacious, guest, forces her to reckon with those unresolved feelings.

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Kuat Racks 

Oboz : Nominate your favorite trail org for a chance to win $1000 donation from Oboz

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order. 

Diaries+ You can join today and we'll send you the Diaries theme song to use as your ringtone. Gift memberships available too.

Looking for a gift that will inspire? Our book, States of Adventure, 30 stories adapted from The Diaries, is out in the wild. See if it's available on your local shelves or order it here: geni.us/StatesofAdventure

Shane Schieffer just swam the entire length of Lake Powell self-supported in 11 days. He also just turned 50 years old and had no previous experience in long distance swimming. Shane talks about following through on personal challenges, no matter how far-fetched they seem at the moment.    

Check out ⁠Shane's Instagram for his videos that documented his swim.

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Oboz Through Dec 19th, nominate your favorite trail org⁠ for a chance to win $1000 donation from Oboz

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 30% off your next order by Dec 2nd

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.

Looking for holiday gift ideas? Consider States of Adventure, 30 stories adapted from The Diaries, is out in the wild. See if it's available on your local shelves or order it here: geni.us/StatesofAdventure

What do we want and what do we need? Sara Holzknecht started skiing every month of the year as a way to shake off the unexpected upheavals of life and the pandemic. Then her kids wanted in. Gabby Markel was living a dirtbag dream, but something was missing. She confronts the less glamorous aspects of vanlife and grapples with feeling untethered from community. 

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Washington Discover Pass: Get your Pass at discoverpass.wa.gov

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 30% off your next order.

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.

Our book, States of Adventure, 30 stories adapted from The Diaries, is out in the wild. See if it's available on your local shelves or order it here: geni.us/StatesofAdventure

Mount Bachelor, one of America’s largest and beloved ski resorts, was put up for sale in August of 2024 after two decades of contentious corporate ownership. Sensing a sliver of opportunity, a high school teacher, a housing appraiser and local home builder launched a community campaign to put this ski hill back in the hands of locals. What started as a Facebook thread, snowballed into a legitimate would-be buyer with $100 million in local backing that collided into Wall Street players, the specter of climate change and the looming reality that the joy of skiing is no longer a simple business to run.

This is the 2nd episode in a two part series. Start with Part 1

Submit your Short by Nov 16th

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Oboz 

Washington Discover Pass: Get your Pass at discoverpass.wa.gov

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order.

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.

Our book, States of Adventure, 30 stories adapted from The Diaries, is out in the wild. See if it's available on your local shelves or order it here: geni.us/StatesofAdventure

Mount Bachelor, one of America’s largest and beloved ski resorts, was put up for sale in August of 2024 after two decades of contentious corporate ownership. Sensing a sliver of opportunity, a high school teacher, a housing appraiser and local home builder launched a community campaign to put this ski hill back in the hands of locals. What started as a Facebook thread, snowballed into a legitimate would-be buyer with $100 million in local backing that collided into Wall Street players, the specter of climate change and the looming reality that the joy of skiing is no longer a simple business to run.

Submit your Short by Nov 16th

Support comes from

⁠Oboz⁠ 

Kuat Racks 

Washington Discover Pass: Get your Pass at discoverpass.wa.gov

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order.

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.

We seek solitude. We find that place a little further out to camp, a couple of extra miles down trail. Sometimes curiosity pulls us farther off the beaten path. Maybe the late afternoon feels just a little more perfect in an isolated basin. But what happens when the darkness closes in, leaving us with only a bubble of tepid light from a headlamp?

Welcome to our annual Tales of Terror.

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Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.

Some people look at ranges and imagine lines. Kílian Jornet looks at continents. Last week, Kílian completed a truly incredible adventure that was hiding in plain sight. Over the course of 31 days, the renowned mountain athlete climbed 72 fourteeners in the lower, 48 connecting them all by bike. Before he left Washington, we had a chance to sit down and talk about how he approaches projects like States of Elevation. 

Want to write a Short for the Diaries? We’re accepting submissions through Nov 16, 2025. More info 

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Washington Discover Pass: Get your Pass at discoverpass.wa.gov

Ka’Chava Go to https://kachava.com and use code DIARIES for 15% off your next order. (don’t tag on social)

Diaries+ Members-- Their support is powering the Diaries- thank you! You can join today.