The muddy trail levels out and we stop to catch our breath. Which is good, because hiking with my eyes covered has been a pain in the ass. A voice says: “You can take your blindfold off now.” I squint ...

Packing a warm jacket and hat to ward off the December chill, Kristie Cowling hiked among thick pines and rocky outcroppings above 7,000 feet in California’s Sierra Nevada – increasingly hopeful that ...