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 nice thousand miles, become an adept fly fisherman, XC skier, and written over 3000 backpacking and hiking articles for SectionHiker.com.

Sawanobori – Japanese Shower Climbing

First Big Drop - Warner River, NH

Philip kayaking in New Hampshire I was reading the Japanese version of the Montbell site last night and came across an interesting sport I’d never heard of that has a following in Japan, called Sawanobori, or Shower Climbing. It combines all of …

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Vargo Titanium Non-Stick Pot

Vargo Titanium Pot

Brain Vargo makes some really nice Titanium camping cookware that’s lightweight and very functional. This little pot has a capacity of 0.9 Liters and weighs 3.9 oz on my digital scale, but a 1.3 Liter model is also available for $10 more …

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Welcome to the Alpine Zone

Help Preserve the Delicate Balance of the Alpine Zone

The area above treeline in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is called the Alpine Zone. It is an inhospitable place for plant life which is exposed to extreme conditions including high wind, heavy cloud cover, high precipitation, low temperatures and a …

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How NOT to hang a Bear Bag

When I was hiking a section of the AT recently near Crawford Notch in New Hampshire, I came across this bear bag hanging on a tree at the Ethan Pond Shelter. I was stunned when I saw it because it’s one of …

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Moose Jaw – A Real One

I hiked past a moose skeleton on my last  Appalachian trail section hike through the Mahoosuc Range, which crosses the border between New Hampshire and Maine. Moose are big animals and it was a pretty impressive sight. The picture above is of …

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Best Backpacking Toilet Paper

paper-towels-as-tp

The best toilet paper for backpacking is a paper towel. Regular toilet paper just doesn’t stand up to the humidity. I like using Brawny paper towels: they’re scored down the middle of each sheet, so it’s easy to tear off a half …

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How to Use LineLock Guy Line Tensioners

The guys at RVOps in the UK publish a lot of really great gear reviews and how-to videos on YouTube. Here’s one that caught my eye last week about how to use LineLocks, an ultralight guy line tensioner. I’ve owned these for …

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