My friend Martin left a comment on my last trip report, saying the he was beginning to see the appeal of hiking the Appalachian Trail. To put this in context, Martin lives in the UK and hikes a lot in Scotland. …

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 …

Chris and I attempted to complete a 5.3 mile segment of the Appalachian Trail on Saturday from Mt. Wolf (3,498 ft)  to South Kinsman Mountain (4,358 ft). But mid-August weather conditions were typically atrocious with very high humidity,  nearly continuous rain, and …

Today was the second day in a row where temperatures have been over 90 degrees F in Massachusetts and firing up my stove was not on the agenda. So I decided to try Packit Gourmet’s Cajun Ranch Chicken Salad this evening, which …

Franconia Notch is a spectacular mountain pass in the White Mountains. It is one of several major notches that the Appalachian Trail traverses in New Hampshire including Kinsman Notch to the south, Crawford Notch at the southern foot of the Presidential Range, …

 Backpacking gear is expensive and you need to take care of it to extend its lifetime. Here’s a checklist of gear maintenance tasks I try to do the morning after I get home from a backpacking trip: Air out my sleeping bag or quilt to make …

The weather was perfect on Saturday for a traverse of Franconia Ridge, a very exposed section of the Appalachian Trail in the New Hampshire’s White Mountains that runs from Mt. Liberty to the northern shoulder of Mt Lafayette. Total mileage for this …

I’ve been using ultralight (sub 8 oz) carbon fiber hiking poles this year from Gossamer Gear and Backpackinglight.com. Hiking with them is a fantastic experience. They’re incredibly lightweight and easy to reposition with a flick of the wrist, greatly reducing arm fatigue. …

  Ibuprofen (trademarked at Advil or Motrin) is so popular amongst hikers and climbers that it is often called Vitamin I. Ibuprofen is an over the counter pain reliever and anti-inflammatory that can speed recovery during training or the main event. Muscle …

  I’m not a big soup eater on the trail, so I was blown away when I tried a Packit Gourmet’s Tortilla Soup last week (2.7 oz) on a long backpacking trip. I made this meal on one of those nights when …

There’s a tradition of charity unto others called Trail Magic on the Appalachian Trail and other long distance trails in the US. It takes many forms. Sometimes, people will leave cold drinks and snacks at trail crossings for thru-hikers, or they’ll pick …

I started a 9 day trip on the 100 mile Wilderness section of the Appalachian Trail last Saturday, but ended up getting shuttled out after 6 days and 74 miles due to a knee/quadriceps overuse injury. Staying out for 6 days on …

Shaw’s Lodging in Monson, Maine has had over 50,000 hikers as guests, mostly Appalachian Trail thru-hikers or section hikers. I’ve always heard great things about it from other hikers and I wasn’t disappointed when I started my 100 mile wilderness section hike there …

Benefits of Dehydration Dehydrating your own backpacking meals is a great way to add variety to your backpacking menu, save money, and eat a healthy diet. But those benefits aside, I’ve found that dehydrated food help with backpack volume reduction, weight reduction, …