US outdoor manufacturers and retailers have adopted a new sleeping bag temperature rating standard called EN13537 that was originally developed in Europe. While it helps consumers compare different sleeping bags, it can be a bit difficult to understand. EN13537 Explained There are …

Dan Doan. There’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. I came across a few of his hiking guides on Sunday as I was going through my bookshelves, weeding out books I haven’t used in a long time, for donation …

Last weekend I spent Saturday night on top of Mt Cabot in northern New Hampshire. It was a stormy night and I was glad to take refuge in Cabot Cabin, a fully enclosed house, near the mountain’s summit. Sleeping in this fully …

It's been a while since I've done a section hike on the Appalachian Trail, but I got back to it on Saturday, completing a very short section that I'd missed last Autumn along the Kinsman Ridge Trail in The White Mountains. This …

Solo Backpacking I do a lot of solo backpacking. I got started when I hiked the Long Trail in Vermont in 2008. No one I knew wanted to come along, but I still wanted to go, so I did it by myself. …

The North Country of New Hampshire does not disappoint. That’s what I was thinking about 5 miles into a grueling backpacking trip I took last weekend along the Kilkenny Ridge, covering 32 miles and climbing 9,000 feet in two days. The Kilkenny …

If you stick with this backpacking thing long enough, there will come a time when everyone in your family and all of your friends refuse to hike with you because you hike too fast or too far in a given day. When …

I had a big walk on Saturday, climbing another 4,000 footer on the White Mountain List named Owl’s Head (4,025 ft), hiking the 18 mile round trip with about 2,500 of ascent in exactly 9 hours, starting from the Lincoln Brook trail …

It’s well known that long distance hikers become eating machines and have to struggle to get enough calories to maintain their body weight on hikes that last for months. But as a section hiker, I rarely have the opportunity to go backpacking …

The weight of stuff sacks can really add up if you go overboard with them. I’ve eliminated most of them from my packing system, but I still use two 8L Sea-to-Summit Ultra-Sil Waterproof Stuff Sacks to protect my down sleeping bag and …

I often bring along a plush (we used to call them stuffed) animal when I go hiking. A surprising number of other hikers and backpackers do this as well. Why? Well it started as a prank that my wife would play on …

Most people don’t realize that hiking trail design is a spin-off from landscape architecture where trail designers deliberately plan vistas and trail features to heighten our experience of natural beauty. Given that background, some element of the pleasure we experience hiking and …

Here is my Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid Review based largely on my experiences using this shelter during the 13 day TGO Challenge, this year in Scotland. Andy Howell has also published a review of the cuben fiber version, which I also suggest …

I got back up to the White Mountains on Saturday and climbed Middle Tripyramid (4,140 ft) on the White Mountain 4,000 footer list. I’m getting near the end of that list and hope to finish it off by early autumn. Saturday’s hike …