Oh, I will tell you what the deal is! It Started Outdoors has a few fundamental principles that separate us from other outdoor, hiking, and travel blogs:

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First-Hand Experience

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We only write about things that we have experienced in person. We cannot stand travel blogs that talk about “Top Ten Things You Need to do in _______,” but the writer has never done any of those things.

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Original Photos

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You won’t find any stock photos here. All the images that appear on this site are real photos captured by us and are not altered in Photoshop.

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Honesty

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We will tell you when things suck. We aren’t sponsored and (unfortunately) no one pays us to write about our experiences. We do it for the love of the game. We have nothing to gain or lose from what we write, so there is no reason not to be completely honest.

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We Get It

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We don’t live in a van or jet-set around the world as international nomads. We have full-time jobs. We get a limited time to explore the world, so we know the struggles of training for hikes or planning vacations on top of everything else in life. Time is the only thing you can’t get more of, so we focus on making the most out of every adventure and sharing what we learn. More about us.

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We Do A Shit Ton Of Research

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We spend an alarming amount of time behind the screen mapping hikes and studying travel destinations. Before we travel, we do a deep dive into the depths of Google search results, we read countless books on the history of the area, and we’ll watch several movies or documentaries about the destination. Complete Immersion. While it’s a lot of work, we love the process and are happy to share what we learn and put it in one spot for you on It Started Outdoors.