Philip Werner

Philip Werner quit his corporate job in 2010 to become a full-time hiker, guide, and outdoor writer. Since then he's hiked over nine thousand miles, become an adept fly fisherman, XC skier, and written over 3000 backpacking and hiking articles for SectionHiker.com.

Becoming a Naturalist

For many years, my primary motivation for hiking and backpacking has been to experience a form of meditation practiced by Buddhists called walking meditation. This differs from sitting meditation because the practitioner is moving outdoors with their eyes open, paying close attention …

Read More »

How Big is your Backpacking Knife?

This article is in response to Jason’s Klass’ post In defense of the knife. Jason believes that a knife is important to carry in the backcountry. His preference is a 2.6 oz. Spyderco Delica 4. A perfectly logical choice, except maybe the …

Read More »

Vegan Sleeping Bags

I have a reader, named Randy, who contacted me recently seeking advice on 3 season synthetic sleeping bags. He’s adopted a vegan lifestyle and doesn’t want to use a goose down bag. This will be his first sleeping bag so I volunteered …

Read More »

The Human Burrito

human-burrito

This is NOT a backpacking recipe! It's a technique I learned for warming an hypothermia victim during my Wilderness First Aid certification class in Vermont recently. The Human Burrito is based on vapor barrier survival techniques that I've written about in the …

Read More »

Wilderness First Aid Certification

I just got back from an inspiring certification course on Wilderness First Aid taught by SOLO and sponsored by the Green Mountain Club in Vermont. SOLO is one of the leading wilderness medicine education groups in the US and has trained over …

Read More »

Cold Cold World Backpacks

Cold Cold World Chernobyl Backpack

I was out today doing some gear testing, trying to figure out the best way to carry snowshoes on one of my existing backpacks. It looks like the system shown here is pretty workable: I’ve stowed the bottoms of my Atlas 830 …

Read More »

Montbell Thermawrap Jacket

The Montbell Ultralight Thermawrap Jacket is a lightweight insulation layer (a size XL is 9.1 oz.) that is exceptionally warm.  I wear it directly over a base layer, replacing bulkier garments like a fleece pullover. It’s also windproof, which means I can shed an outer shell layer …

Read More »

Grabber Hand Warmers

Last winter, my wife bought me some Grabber Hand Warmers to heat up my sleeping bag in cold weather. I didn’t pay much attention to them for almost a year until I tried one last weekend and I was blown away. These are …

Read More »