Wild

When I first received La Sportiva’s Ultra Raptor 3 Mid GTX in the mail, I was hesitant. My limited prior knowledge of La Sportiva, as a shoe manufacturer, was that their footwear is traditionally targeted towards the slim and elongated foot, of which mine are not.

REVAMPED FOR 2026, Osprey’s Stratos (men’s) and Sirrus (women’s) backpack series offers a little something for just about everyone. Available in 24L, 34L, 36L and 44L volumes (designs and features differ accordingly), the extensive Stratos/Sirrus range caters to various walking pursuits, from short and light daywalks to adventures spanning several days.

The Nullarbor (Latin: ‘no trees’) is renowned for its astonishing flatness and its vast expanse of treeless terrain. Yet concealed beneath the desert surface is a cave network of staggering beauty, grandeur and scientific value. I took this photograph in 2023, in midwinter when the core of the Milky Way lies directly overhead.

Wild’s 2026 Spring Issue (#201) is a special one, with perhaps the most environmental content we’ve run in a while. Two features—one on the Nullarbor, the other on the Tyndalls—look at the threats facing wild places, as does a smaller piece on the Great Koala NP. There’s also conversation with legendary environmental campaigner Karen Alexander. And all that’s in addition to the Green Pages. And our Takayna coast walking feature could probably be considered conservation-adjacent too.

If you spend enough time outdoors, you eventually develop a fairly ruthless relationship with gear. Does it work? Does it last? Is it worth carrying? At Wild, those are questions we ask constantly, and over the past couple of years we’ve put a fair amount of Sea to Summit kit through its paces, from sleeping mats in the Snowies and a full sleep system on a cold Blue Mountains night to a collapsible cook set crammed into a sea kayak.

Tasmania is famous for Lake St Clair, Australia’s deepest freshwater lake and the southern gateway to the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. Unbeknownst to many, some of Australia’s worst logging is flattening eucalyptus forests at their highest reaches within 50km of this famous destination, and bushwalkers finishing at this stunning lake after their iconic traverse of the world-renowned Overland Track drive out through forests that are being flattened at an alarming rate.

In 1976, a group of concerned citizens, among them Bob Brown, gathered to determine what they could do to halt the proposed destruction of one of the planet’s most precious places—the Franklin River. They decided to create what is now known as The Wilderness Society. Fifty years on, to celebrate its birthday, members of the society gathered to paddle the river where it all began. Our experience paddling the Franklin River begins with the most important piece of information: river levels.

In the last issue of Wild, we discussed Arc’teryx’s use of Gore-Tex’s Pro ePE material; not only is it PFAS-free, it’s thinner, quieter and lighter. It’s abrasion-resistant, too. All this comes without any loss in waterproofness; in fact, it’s enhanced. Which is just as well, because last Northern-Hemisphere winter, I spent two weeks road tripping testing out Arc’teryx’s Rush Jacket and Bib shell outerwear.

Toying with the idea of participating in your first trail-running ultra? Two years ago, Wild Earth Ambassador Michael Kelly decided to have a crack, and hasn’t looked back since. Here are a few of the lessons he’s learnt along the way. “Why the hell am I here?” These are the words I was muttering to myself while hunched over vomiting, 48km into my first 100km ultra. It was 32°C, no one was around, and I was slogging up the Bluff in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

It’s no secret that I’m a Whippa packs fanboy. These packs are super light, super tough, and super functional. They’re Aussie-made, too, up in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. So when Whippa came out with the claim that their Skimo Ultralight Mountaineering pack was, and I quote, “our best pack yet!” I sat up and took notice.