Mt Lafayette is the highest peak on Franconia Ridge and the most popular because day hikers and backpackers can stop at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s nearby Greenleaf Hut to refill their water bottles and buy lunch. It can also get very busy on summer weekends with AT Thru-hikers and tourists, …

It can be difficult to anchor a tent to a wooden camping platform if it has to be staked out to set up. You usually need to prepare for this in advance by bringing extra cordage to rig up long guylines or platform hooks that you can drop between the …

The MassDrop Pine Down Blanket is an inexpensive down comforter ($100) that’s been augmented with cordlocks, drawstrings, and cord channels so it can be used as a blanket, a top quilt, or even as a hammock underquilt with some minor augmentation. It’s insulated with 850 fill power, water-resistant, white duck …

My favorite trail breakfast consists of three packs of instant wheat cereal and dried fruit and nuts. You just need to boil water to make it. I like to make mine the consistency of soup because the extra liquid helps me rehydrate in the morning and because it makes it …

Time for some more house cleaning. I get a lot of free samples from gear manufacturers to review and like to redistribute them to my readers before they take over my house or my wife kills me. All of the items below are used, but in very good to excellent …

Outdoor Research’s Protector Sun Gloves ($20) are fingerless gloves designed to protect your hands from the sun. I originally bought them for fly fishing to reduce my sun exposure, but I’ve also started wearing them for all of my hikes as an insect barrier. They weigh next to nothing and …

The Ursack AllMitey is a bear-proof and critter-proof food storage bag for camping and backpacking. It differs from Ursack’s other food storage bags, (the Ursack Major, Ursack Major XL, and Ursack Minor), which are either bear-proof or critter proof, but not both. If you’re not familiar with Ursacks, they’re soft …

The Patagonia Houdini Jacket is an ultralight jacket designed to help you stay warm in cool windy weather. It’s not waterproof or insulated but provides a windproof layer to prevent the cold air from stripping away the heat trapped in your baselayer or mid-layer clothing. Wind shirts and jackets like …

The REI Passage 2 is a comfortable two-person camping tent that’s ideal for car camping, base camping, and short backpacking trips. It has two doors and two giant vestibules with plenty of external gear storage. But what sets this tent apart from others is its internal livability. The tent interior …

Outdoor Retailer is a trade show held every summer where outdoor gear manufacturers come together and show off the gear they plan to bring to market in the upcoming year (2020). The big themes at the show were a move by the industry to eliminate single-use bottles and PFC’s (more …

The NEMO Siren 45 is a bed-style lightweight quit that weighs 21 oz and is insulated with 850 fill power RDS down. It’s an updated and redesigned version of the NEMO’s 30 degree Siren Ultralight Down Quilt (still available on Amazon), which has horizontal baffles instead of the new vertical …

The Gossamer Gear Mariposa 60 is a lightweight backpack that weighs 30.7 oz. It’s ideal for weekend backpacking and long distance trips, particularly if you prefer a backpack that has lots of pockets and a frame, like a more conventional backpack, but weighing half as much. The Mariposa is also …

Blueberry Mountain is a small mountain in Evans Notch that has an easily accessible alpine zone and great views without a lot of climbing. It’s located near Brickett Place off Rt 113 and overlooks a private estate, pond, and well-maintained trail system that the owners have made accessible to hikers. …

Bug season can be unpleasant, but it’s no reason to give up hiking and backpacking. You just need to cover up with insect-proof clothing and wear bug dope. If you never hike when insects are active, you’re not going to get much hiking and backpacking done, are you? Here’s a …