profile

Hi! I'm Alec, an outdoor writer, photographer, and content creator.

Alec Sills-Trausch

Alec is a landscape photographer and outdoors storyteller with a zeal for pushing boundaries in the wild. He enjoys hiking, backpacking, and visiting remote places, allowing him to photograph locations the rest of the world shies away from. In addition, Alec loves to write about his travels and craft articles that help educate and inspire others to find their joy in nature.

PostsLinks
Featured Post

This is the best week of the year to buy a backpacking tent

Huge sales don’t come around often, and if you’re a camper or backpacker, you know how expensive high-quality tents can be. At $400, $500, or even $600 a tent, it’s a sizeable investment and a big decision for most folks. That’s why outdoors people should jump at the deals for the pricier items when sales come around. In this case, grabbing some backpacking tents. If you can save $200 on a tent just by buying it now versus in 10 days, it’s a brilliant financial move! Full transparency: I own...

about 12 hours ago • 1 min read

Today is the start of the 2024 REI Anniversary Sale. It's the biggest of the year, and top brands are up to 30% off (or more if you look at the REI Outlet. Members also get 20% off one full-priced item and one REI outlet item. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I'll be back next week with more gear picks. My Picks For the Sale I wrote a big article that highlights 32 great deals, but I'll share my seven favorites below! 1. Ignik Gas Growler Deluxe - 25% off A big backyard propane tank...

2 days ago • 1 min read

Hi ya'll! It's been a while—I know. I've been back from Australia for a couple of weeks now, and life has been busy, busy. I turned 32 the day after I returned, and for the next week, my sleep schedule was not at all aligned. It's probably the worst I've slept since I was 1. And then it's been catching up on life, writing new articles, and starting to book summer travel. (I have some AMAZING places I think you'll love seeing and learning about.) But after exploring the Northern Territory, we...

12 days ago • 2 min read

Note: Hi! You might notice this is coming from a different email address. Don't fret; it is still me. With email rules changing, I moved to an email hosted via my website, which looks more official. Hopefully, the email gods smile down on me. The weather's warming up, and backpacking season will be here before you know it! Some of you surely have all your gear lined up and ready to go, but others may need a few additions or be totally new to backpacking. If the latter is you, I know how...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

Hi ya'll! I'm writing this from Tasmania, Australia, and likely from the future, where I'm some 15-18 hours ahead of the United States. (So far, no news to report as Friday wraps up over here!) For the last week, we explored three National Parks in the Northern Territory: Kakadu, Litchfield, and Nitmiluk. It was warm (90+) and humid (80%), but they're slowly entering their dry and cooler seasons. The last couple of days were way better than the first when I started sweating almost...

about 1 month ago • 1 min read

I love talking about gear. It's one of those ever-changing and "fun" things in the outdoor space that is slightly different from just the classic hiking and traveling. As many may know, REI is having its March Member Moment, where all members receive 20% off a full-priced REI item. Combined with your dividend, it's a really nice chance to score gear at a heavy discount. If you haven't used your coupon yet, today, March 25, is the final day to get your discount. (Your dividend won't expire for...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Watching the aurora borealis in -27F temperatures A couple of weeks ago, I was in Fairbanks, Alaska, and even trekked further north into the small town of Wiseman inside the Arctic Circle to witness the northern lights. Wiseman, 63 miles north of the Arctic Circle, is nearly entirely off the grid and has a year-round population of nine. Yes, you read that correctly. Nine whole people live there year-round. (They're easily outnumbered by sled dogs.) Both Fairbanks and Wiseman offer some of the...

2 months ago • 4 min read

Hi everyone! This one will be short because I just returned from a work trip to Fairbanks, where I hardly slept due to chasing the northern lights. And then Jaimie's birthday is this weekend, so we're packing up for a little weekend trip up north. So, life's a bit chaotic, but some photos from the trip are below. (I'll have more soon.) But I wanted to let you know that REI is having a flash sale until March 11 on backpacking tents that are the cream of the crop. It's until supplies run out,...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Some personal news! Today is my one-year cell-iversary! A year ago today, I had a bone marrow transplant and received my own stem cells back into my body. Funny enough, I produced so many that I got more the following day. (So technically, I have multiple cell-ivesaries haha). It was an arduous process for my family and me, but I am happy to report that one year later, I'm cancer-free and so stoked to get back to living life without worry! To all who donated, sent messages, and prayed, thank...

3 months ago • 5 min read

This week, I've been in NYC for the IMM Travel Conference, where I was fortunate enough to get 1:1 meetings with tourism destinations across the US and the Globe. It's pretty crazy to think that just two years ago, I had never worked with a tourism destination and was just plotting how to make this entire freelance business work. While having a meeting doesn't mean anything, it's a great way to stand out, and I'm confident that these will lead to some amazing opportunities this year and going...

4 months ago • 6 min read
Share this page