Interested in $1 million? Want to spot this year’s epic Northern Lights forecast? Outside has you covered in this edition of our weekly news roundup.
Published September 5, 2025 10:53AM
Interested in a million dollars? Want to spot this year’s epic northern lights forecast? Outside has you covered in this edition of our news roundup for the week of September 1.
Here’s the First Clue to Find a Buried Canadian Treasure Worth Nearly $1 Million
Interested in a million dollars? Outside is following a newly announced treasure hunt aiming to put gold in your pocket.
North American treasure hunters have cause to celebrate as the first clue in a treasure hunt is posted online. It offers a hint to the location of a chest of gold worth just under $1 million. A mining group hid the trove somewhere in the country’s vast wilderness, and the fortune is waiting for the first scrappy hunter to solve the clues and find it.
Just like art dealer Forrest Fenn’s legendary hidden treasure, which had hunters scouring the American West for a decade, clues for this treasure hunt are provided through cryptic poetry, at least so far.
The “master clue” is a 13-stanza poem that mentions everything you need to know to find the treasure. And we’ve posted it on our website. Additionally, another clue was released this week. It reads:
Though crystal clear and calm it seems,
This mirror hides more than it gleams.
A single step may seal your fate,
Best not disturb the water’s state.
This Fall Could Bring the Best Northern Lights in Decades. Here’s How to See Them.
If you’ve been waiting to book a Northern Lights trip, it’s time to make it happen. This autumn is expected to kick off one of the strongest aurora seasons in decades—think last year’s low-latitude displays, and potentially even better.
That’s because the sun has reached its roughly 11-year peak of activity, known as solar maximum. The bright star causes auroras by sending charged particles whizzing through space. When those electrons and ions crash into our atmosphere, they spark kaleidoscopic sky swirls that aurora hunters, like me, travel the world to see.
We polled space weather experts, astrophotographers, and aurora guides for their top tips on enjoying “solar maximum”—the 11-year peak of Northern Lights activity. Click “Read More” for their tips and tricks to spot an epic atmospheric show.
In Separate Events, Two U.S. Hikers Fall to Their Deaths
Two hikers fell to their deaths in separate events at different popular wilderness areas in late August. The tragedies prompted rescuers to reiterate the importance of practicing safety on both technical and non-technical hiking trails.
After motor vehicle deaths and drownings, falls—usually while hiking—are the leading cause of accidental death in U.S. National Parks. Incidents like these highlight the importance of both hiking within one’s physical limits and staying on established trails.
On August 27, a 73-year-old woman fell from the Highline Trail in Montana’s Glacier National Park, according to the National Park Service. She was hiking with a large group between the Big Bend and Triple Arches formations when she stumbled and slipped off the side of the path, out of sight of her companions. Rescuers found her body 450 feet below the edge of the trail.
Two days after the tragedy in Glacier National Park, a 24-year-old man fell 40 feet from the top of Whittleton Arch, a sandstone formation located in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge.
Ahead of your next backcountry hike, check out the National Park Service’s “Hike Smart” list to ensure you’re adequately prepared and equipped for adventure.
