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.

Alcohol Stoves: Timing Your Boil

Long-distance AT hikers love to obsess over pack weight and gear choices. Eventually any extended or thru-hike planning effort will come to a decision on what stove to bring. For me, this was quickly remedied by the statistics on what kind of …

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Edinburgh Sunrise

Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh

This morning I climbed Arthur’s Seat (250 m), an extinct volcano that towers over the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, at dawn. I climbed this same hill almost 26 years ago, to the day, after arriving here as a graduate student in 1983. …

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What if REI became an Outdoor Recreation Utility?

REI Down Sweater

This is a highly speculative article about the future of outdoor manufacturing and retailing, building on my research on environmental sustainability  in the outdoor industry and over 20 years of professional experience in product development and product management. If you’re not familiar …

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Exploring New Hampshire’s White Mountains

The Wilderness Map Company, publishers of the Green Mountain Club’s Vermont’s Long Trail Waterproof Hiking Map, has just released a new Tyvek map called “Exploring New Hampshire’s White Mountains.” This map is not available online, but I got a first edition copy on …

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