The rain pitter-patters on the windows as I add another log to the wood-fired oven heater. Outside, dusk is settling in and the bird-song that had been soundtracking our afternoon is starting to dim.

From Outside contributor Tim Neville’s award-winning story of living in total darkness for 82 hours in a dark cave, to Pam Houston’s tale of the mental health benefits of Icelandic horses, these ...