About Trail & Summit

Trail & Summit was built around the conviction that hiking is one of the most accessible physical activities available — requiring no gym membership, no expensive equipment to start, and no special athletic background — and that the main thing standing between most people and a more active relationship with wild places is a lack of clear, practical information about how to start well.

My name is Nathan Cole. I’ve been hiking and backpacking for eighteen years across the American West, the Appalachians, and internationally in the Alps and Patagonia. I’m a certified Wilderness First Responder and have spent time leading hikes for a mountain club in western Colorado, where I learned through direct observation what beginners actually need to know versus what experienced hikers assume everyone knows. The gap between those two things is where most preventable hiking problems live.

What We Cover

Trail and destination guides reflecting current conditions with honest difficulty assessments. Gear reviews prioritizing field performance over specification comparison. Safety and skills content addressing the specific knowledge gaps that produce the most common hiking incidents. Nutrition, training, and preparation content grounded in sports science and field experience.

Questions, corrections, and trail reports: editor@trailandsummit.com