Sometimes, going off trail is what brings you home again

“Offtrail. It’s more than a place. It’s a mindset.”

That’s the tagline for The North Face’s newest trail shoe, the Offtrail Ultra. During a whirlwind trip with The North Face in Chamonix, those words became more than a few lines of copy printed on a mug or another piece of swag.

They became the unofficial theme of the entire experience, and, if I’m being honest, looking back on this past year (or more), they help explain much of my recent history.

But before I get into that, I think it’s worth sitting with those words for a minute. Because words are powerful things. And perhaps more importantly, we don’t all interpret them the same way.

Offtrail isn't always a dirty word

For me, “Offtrail” can mean a literal departure from the marked path. It can mean choosing the harder way, the less obvious way, or simply the way that looks a little more interesting. At times, going off-trail intentionally can be thrilling and fun. 

In a literal sense, it can mean running to a vista to get a better view. It can be a physical place, but it can also be a state of mind. Figuratively, it can mean taking that fun side quest that piques your interest, going out on a limb, doin’ the thing you thought you couldn’t.

However, I’ve found that going off trail unintentionally is way way way less fun and highly stressful. In the literal sense, being lost in the backcountry tends to bring on, for me, a mild sense of panic when I realize there are no cairns near me and I am so small and vulnerable to the elements, even if moments ago I was having a Certified Great Time.

The feeling of being off trail, lost, alone, and very defenseless has a way of speeding up the pulse. And not in a good way. Figuratively, too, being off trail is very unfun, and lends itself to the feeling best captured by the iconic words of Marcellus Wallace (ikyk), “I’m pretty fuckin’ far from ok.” And again, personally speaking, there's been a lot of that feeling this year. It's been a stretch of unexpected deviations followed by wondering how to scramble back to the figurative trail I swear to god I was just on.

And right before this trip to France I was on one of those less-than-fun, unintentionally off-trail panicked diversions. So heading out to Chamonix, for a fully planned diversion, I was hoping something would settle the ol’ noggin’. I prayed that some dirt would help the parasympathetic nervous system kick on, as it were.

After a 30-plus-hour travel day, a lovely migraine, and some quality time dry-heaving into a shopping bag in the back of a taxi, I was finally deposited at a gorgeous chalet in Chamonix, sans luggage. As I stepped out of the car, I looked down at the welcome mat.

“Offtrail. It’s more than a place. It’s a mindset.”

I looked down at the mat again.

“Offtrail indeed.”

Home comforts, high country

Don’t worry, this isn’t all doom and gloom and travel woes, and to be honest, the crazy travel day didn’t phase me much. And if there is a time and place to lose your luggage, it’s on a trip with The North Face. From the moment my feet touched the hardwood floor of the house, I knew that I was both on track and off (in the best way). I was there for whatever adventure lay before me.

The North Face brought together media from across Europe and the U.S. for a few days in France, running trails and putting the Offtrail Ultra through its paces. There was wonderful food, conversations that covered pretty much every topic you can think of, and delicious, oversized s’mores. That gave the Americans a chance to teach our European friends the proper way to toast a 'mallow. We also learned, to our horror, that some of them had never watched The Sandlot. Insane.

Over the next three days, my fellow media folks and I spent countless hours running various trails throughout Chamonix. And while there was a Big Race happening during all of this, you may have heard of it? UTMB? We didn’t exactly go out of our way to see much of it. Selfishly, I was glad for that. I get overwhelmed by these big events. The reason I love trail running is it's my place to be quiet and away from it all. And what this shoe, even this event, was trying to achieve is what a structured race often can’t: seeing things off the beaten path.

This trip was executed incredibly well, no detail left out. The North Face team (and PR teams) captured the essence of what the Offtrail Ultra was designed for and built an entire experience around those capabilities, while seamlessly adapting the brand’s identity to the setting. We scrambled up rocky slopes, traversed across narrow ridges, and ran through a wicked rainstorm. And the shoe excelled at all of this, though I still don’t like the toe-off portion of the outsole and found it to be a hindrance on the uphills. A minor detail in an overwhelmingly positive experience.

When Offtrail goes Ultra

Originally, I brought my size W7 with me, but alas, it was in my bag that arrived after our second run, so I wore a size W7.5 for the majority of the trip. This is my normal size; however, everyone agreed that if you have narrow and/or low-volume feet, go down a half size. If not, get your normal size. 

Even with the slightly roomier shoe, I felt confident while running on and off trail. I didn’t even tape up my ankle (tape was in said lost luggage), which normally induces a small (large) amount of anxiety and trepidation on technical trails. Not so. The Offtrail Ultra had my back (and ankles).

On the final run, we literally ran into a rainstorm and ended up taking the most direct, steepest trail off the mountain. Pouring rain, wet trail, slick rocks. If there was ever a time to lose traction, this was it. Nope. All good. And if you know anything about how insanely critical I am of shoes, especially stability and confidence-inspiring abilities, it’s saying a lot that I felt carefree.

The trip wasn’t just about being off-trail, galavanting in the mountains and eating, though there was obviously plenty of that to be had. The on-trail (off-trail?) experience felt centered on finding a sense of adventure, but then we all returned to basecamp to “stop exploring, just for a moment.” Another tagline, but just for the accommodations. And I think it's important to linger on these words for a moment, too.

The trip offered an experience that, writ large, I think we all tend to strive for, but sometimes fail to achieve. That which is: balance. Of not leaning too far in one direction. And sometimes it’s not possible to feel balanced. As I said earlier, being unintentionally off-trail is often unavoidable. It's unintentional, after all. However, sometimes it is possible to find moments or long stretches of centeredness.

The trail that lies before me again

Looking at my previous few weeks and months leading into this trip, and now that I think about it, much of my life, if I’m getting really philosophical, feels like I oscillate between opposite poles. I’m either totally engrossed in something or seemingly detached. I get swept up in something and go all in. And when I’m done with it, when the interest fades, perhaps because I was so deeply in it before, it can feel like I’ve left a huge space where that intense passion once was. Almost like I was never fully engrossed in it in the first place. 

And if I find myself off course, off-trail as it were, I tend to focus relentlessly on whatever I think will get me back to baseline, with a level of single-minded determination that would put Captain Ahab to shame.

This trip reminded me that finding a sense of center doesn’t always have to happen on a macro scale. Or cause such a jarring departure from one pole to the other. I doubt I’ll ever be able to hum along at a steady level anywhere; some of us just aren’t built that way, and that’s OK. Maybe the goal isn’t to exist in a constant state of balance, but to find smaller moments of it.

Sometimes that means being completely single-minded about the adventure in front of you. Other times, it means focusing on nothing more than breathing in and breathing out while sitting, shivering, in a glacial river. And maybe, over time, those small moments can add up to something bigger: longer stretches of feeling centered, calm, and, well, a little less off-trail.

During our time in Chamonix, long days in the mountains were followed by slow days at basecamp. We learned about breathwork and cold plunging. There was time to move, and time to be still. By allowing myself to gently move from one pole to the other, my body seemed to find its own sense of center in a period of time that felt less than balanced otherwise. Small shifts, not big ones. I felt a little calmer. A little more settled.

The balance of off/on trail, be it literal or figurative, on this trip was particularly effective: it delivered the exploration and adventure The North Face is known for, while creating space for the restoration and relaxation that make those moments outside feel more meaningful. It reinforced the idea that adventure isn’t just about pushing farther; it’s also about knowing when to pause, reset, and return to the trail with fresh legs and fresh eyes. 

And then, in those moments of calm, when you’re looking for a bit of excitement, it’s fun to intentionally step off the trail to see what’s just beyond your view.

Shop The North Face Offtrail Ultra - Men Shop The North Face Offtrail Ultra - Women