The First Thing I do is Cut the Straps Off

Reader Poll: Do You Use Trekking Pole Straps?

Whenever I get a new pair of trekking poles, the first thing I do is to cut off the straps. I don’t like them. And while I use trekking poles religiously, I don’t like the feeling of having my hand trapped in a strap if I fall because it’s a great way to break a [...]

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Blue Line to Blue Line by Eric Schlimmer

The Trans Adirondack Route Guidebook and Map Set

Wouldn’t it be great if you could hike a long distance wilderness route, hundreds of miles long, inside the United States without having to travel all the way to Alaska? Now you can and there’s even a guidebook for it called Blue Line to Blue Line: The Official Guide to the Trans Adirondack Route, written [...]

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Lowepro Dashpoint 20 Camera Case

Lowepro Dashpoint 20 Backpack Camera Case

What’s the best way to carry a point-and-shoot camera when you’re backpacking so that your camera is easily accessible when you want it, it doesn’t get in the way of normal activity, it’s in a waterproof compartment to protect it from rain, and it won’t slip off a hip-belt or shoulder strap and disappear forever. [...]

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Crossing a Scottish Peat Bog

How to Hike Across Peat Bogs: Fear No Moor

We don’t have peat bogs in the continental United States and it’s difficult to learn the skills for safely hiking across them in Scotland, England and other parts of the world without first-hand experience. While you can avoid peat bogs and stay on well-defined paths or tracks that circle around them, you are missing out [...]

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Mt Tremont Trail

Mt Tremont – Return to the White Mountains

I’ve hiked in the White Mountains so much that it hurts to be away from them for too long, and while I enjoyed my recent hiking vacation in Scotland and The Lake District, June is my favorite month to hike in the Whites. So when my wife suggested we take a short mid-week vacation in [...]

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Hayeswater

The Kentmere Horseshoe, Harter Fell, and High Street

A few weeks ago, I visited Heather and Alan Rhodes of Pacerpole who live near Windermere in the Lake District, one of the most popular places for hiking in the United Kingdom. It was my first visit to the Lakes and they were eager to take me hill walking so I could experience the lovely countryside [...]

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MLD TrailStar Pitched Low

The Problem with Pyramid Shelters

The problem with many pyramid style shelters (such as the MLD Duomid, the Solomid, and the Trailstar to name a few) is that they suffer from low angled walls which reduce the amount of usable interior space inside. Granted, all lightweight backpacking shelters are compromises between comfort, function, weatherproofness, and weight, but there are times when I [...]

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