Finding Your Next Adventure at Home: A Resource Guide.

Find inspiration from epic adventures, moving stories, and ways to expand your knowledge from home in this curated selection of films, literature, and podcast recommendations from the RecSports Outdoor Recreation staff.

Check back often as we add our team’s latest favorites to the list!

• A Longhorns’ Guide to Getting Outside (UT RecSports)
• Recommendations for Getting Outside during COVID-19 (Leave No Trace)
• Are the Trails Closed? How to Find Out (Leave No Trace)
• NatureRx: Health benefits of spending time in nature (Cornell University)
• National Outdoor Leadership School: Wilderness medicine videos, case studies and practice tests.
• The Ten Essentials: Packing tips for when you head into the backcountry (REI)
• The Hidden Worlds of National Parks (Google Arts & Culture)
• Backpacking Light: Resource for all things backpacking.
• iNaturalist: Website and app that helps you identify plants and animals around you.

• Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival: A curated list of free festival films to view at home
• Mountainfilm Festival: Short films
• Patagonia Stories: A collection of films and articles to inspire you
• Redbull TV: Free films about Redbull athletes, skiing and climbing videos

Tip: Try finding e-book versions of these at UT Libraries or your local library.

• A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean | A beautiful novella about fly fishing and life in the mountains of western Montana. A great book for under a shady tree or stuck inside by the fire.
• A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold | Combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America’s relationship to the land.
• Big Two Hearted River by Ernest Hemingway | A short story that brings you back to the simple joys of being in nature, and also might help you feel comfort in solitude.
• Born to Run by Christopher McDougall | A book that looks through the lens of an indigenous Mexican tribe, to discover the secret’s of the world’s greatest distance runners. An evaluation of the roots of running and its impact on us both physically and mentally.
• Botany in a Day by Thomas J. Elpel | An introductory guide to identifying the major plant families in North America. Great for someone looking to get into botany.
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer | Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants.
• Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey | Written while Abbey was working as a ranger at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah, Desert Solitaire is a rare view of one man’s quest to experience nature in its purest form.
• Endurance by Alfred Lansing | Account of British explorer Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole.
• Goodbye to a River by John Graves | The author’s account of his journey down a section of the Brazos River in north-central Texas.
• I Worried by Mary Oliver | Poet Mary Oliver uses language to put you in nature, even if you can’t be there physically.
• Into the Wild by John Krakauer | A story about Chris McCandless who hitchhiked to Alaska in April 1992 and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley.
• Into Thin Air by John Krakauer | A great book that provides insight into the realities of commercial mountaineering upon Mt. Everest.
• Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard | A book by the founder of outdoor clothing company Patagonia in which he shares a few stories from his life and the principles and guidelines that define the company. A great take on how to incorporate sustainability in business.
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding | “A group of boys are stranded on an island without adults, what could go wrong? As Connor’s sister put it, ‘maybe the first book in the genre of ‘The Hunger Games’?”
• My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir | The journal entries of John Muir from his first stay in the Sierra in 1869. This book played a large part in the naturalist movement in America.
• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George | A book about a young boy who runs away from home to live in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York.
• NOLS Cookery | Ever wondered how the RecSports adventure trip guides cook up such great outdoor meals? This book will put you on the right track.
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London | Great book for dog lovers and those with an adventurous spirit. The story follows a dog’s life in the frozen Alaskan Klondike.
• The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko | Thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever, down the entire length of the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, during the legendary flood of 1983.
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway | A Hemingway classic. A short but very thoughtful read, a favorite for the outdoors.
• The Peace of the Wild Things by Wendell Berry | Wendell Berry is a classic poet for being in or dreaming of the backcountry.
• The Push by Tommy Caldwell | Professional climber, Tommy Caldwell’s account of his life and monumental climb of the Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
• The Wood-Pile by Robert Frost | One of Frost’s more understated poems. It paints a very peaceful picture of a wintertime New England forest.
• Wild by Cheryl Strayed | Story of one woman as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail. Good for anyone interested in trying longer hikes.

• The Cutting Edge | The Cutting Edge presents in-depth interviews with the world’s best climbers, after they return from new climbs. Really great inspiration for training at home so that you can be strong when climbing season opens again!
• Alpinist | Similar to The Cutting Edge, this podcasts features interviews and oral histories with climbers and community members to entertain and educate listeners with everything from dramatic and humorous adventure tales to in-depth discussions of the most significant issues in the climbing world today.
• Outside | Outdoor related stories brought to you by Outside Magazine.
• Radiolab | A great podcast series that covers a number of different topics. Most are not related to the outdoors, but the podcast linked here is about trees and how cool these guys are.
• The Curious Climber Podcast | Two professional rock climbers interview other climbers but “don’t talk that much about climbing.”
• The Dirtbag Diaries | Great adventure stories from climbing, skiing, hiking, biking, running, and travel.
• The Firn Line | Stories and interviews about the lives of mountain climbers.
• The Sharp End | A podcast from Accidents in North American Climbing. Stories about close calls in the outdoors. These are great learning experiences to think about how you will be prepared to handle the risks with going into the backcountry.

When the time comes to venture out again, check your local, state, and national park websites for updates on openings and restrictions which may vary from park to park.

• Austin Parks and Recreation
• Texas State Parks
• National Park Service