IndefinitelyWild is Gizmodo's new sub-site covering adventure travel in the outdoors, the vehicles and gear that get us there and the people we meet along the way. Here's everything you need to know.
Photo: Sherman Thomas
What's with the name? "We need the tonic of wilderness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because they're unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature." — Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Who's Wes? Longtime readers will remember me from Jalopnik, where I was that site's first Road Test Editor, starting in 2007. I used the know-how (and paycheck) from my time at Gawker to launch Hell For Leather, the first motorcycle publication to target young readers. In 2012, HFL was rolled into RideApart, a motorcycle consumer portal I co-founded. You may have read some of my ramblings in one of the print magazines I write for, including Playboy, Wired and Rolling Stone.
So how has covering bikes and cars set me up to write about the outdoors? Well, I've learned an awful lot about publishing along the way and before I rode bikes, before I drove cars, I grew up outside. Now, I'm getting the opportunity to combine my ur-passion with my profession.
I spend a lot of time outdoors, but I'm by no means some crazy survivalist in the Bear Grylls mold. I've never sipped my own urine, only tried grubs once and can usually be found with a backpack full of the kind of tools and materials that can make even the most extreme of conditions very comfortable. To me, the point isn't just to test yourself, it's to have some fun in the process too.
I guess the whole idea is that I'm more like you than most people writing about this stuff. And, if I can make it through various misadventures like the ones you'll be reading about here, odds are you can too. The outdoors is a neat place to be, I want to show you that, then show you how easy it can be.
I'm frequently joined on adventures by Wiley, my 16-month old puppy, Lara, my ever-patient girlfriend and various other lowlife scum. You'll probably be hearing from them, too.
What Will IndefinitelyWild Cover? Me, my friends and Wiley will be going places, doing things, then telling you about them in long-format features. For each and every one of those trips, we'll also be breaking down the travel, skills, vehicles and gear necessary, showing you how to recreate the experiences on your own.
Adventure Travel: The journeys, the destinations and how to find both.
Skills: From fire making to big game hunting, IndefinitelyWild will show you how to do it.
Vehicles: Reviewed from the perspective of the adventure traveler, which motorcycles, trucks and bicycles will work best for you in the wilderness?
Gear: The multitools, GPS navigators, soft shells and long underwear. How do you use them, which ones work best and how can you save money buying them?
Personalities: Who are the people shaping our natural environments? Who designs our gear? Who's going to rescue you when you're stranded halfway up a mountain. We'll introduce you to them and take you into their lives.
Design: The instant, mobile architecture that is tents. The symbiotic relationship with a backpack. The heft of a good knife. IW will take you behind the scenes and show you how they're conceived and produced.
Civilization: We live in the city too. What are the projects and practice we can do at home? How can your outdoor skills be adapted to everyday life? How can we fill our need for adventure without leaving town?
Is That It? No. What I'm actually doing here is taking advantage of Gawker's Kinja publishing system and the revenue it makes possible to bootstrap this new company. With Kinja's traffic, revenue and recognition, I'm able to overcome some of the biggest hurdles in the way of building a new business. You know, one where I'm doing the writing and no one's trying to tell me what to do.
Update: I should probably mention that in July, Gawker and I decided that we liked working together again so much that we'd make our little arrangement permanent. So IndefinitelyWild will exist on the Kinja platform permanently, but don't worry, no one's trying to tell me what to do.
Join me on my adventures via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or follow along right here on IndefinitelyWild.Gizmodo.com.