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.

Mount Norwottuck and the Horse Caves

Horse Caves

On Saturday, I headed out for a hike in Western Massachusetts in Mount Holyoke Range State Park, just south of Amherst College. A number of major trails systems run through the area including the 114 mile Metacomet-Monadnock Trail (M&M) which is now …

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Hiking is the Way I Feel Time

Appalachian Trail Boardwalk

When I go backpacking, I reconnect with the natural flow of time. During the day, I keep track of the time by how many miles I’ve walked on the map. I wake up in the morning, at twilight, without an alarm, and …

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Lightweight Backpacking Gear List

Cuben Fiber Tarp

On April 2nd, I gave a demonstration about lightweight backpacking to a dozen hikers from the NY-NJ Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club in Harriman State Park, just outside of New York City. Lessons Learned For this demonstration, I brought along a …

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Rothiemurchus by Helen Fisher

Pass through the ancient Rothiemurchus Caledonian pine forest

The clearest way into the Universe is through a Forest Wilderness. — John Muir A great highlight for me during the time I spent in Scotland at the end of February with Kim, was spending some time in Rothiemurchus. We’d arrived there after …

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