I'm traveling this week and just got back from a fantastic dinner at Carmines, and excellent Italian restaurant on Rush Street in Chicago. Incredible food. I had an appetizer tonight that I have been planning to bring on my next section hike …

Last weekend I was hiking a section of the Long Trail in Vermont and I met up with an Appalachian Trail thru-hiker who asked me what time it was. I was a little surprised that they guy wasn’t wearing a watch and …

When we think about which wild animal encounters to avoid in the backcountry, bears, snakes, and mice are on the top of most backpackers’ lists, not the homely porcupine. Perhaps porcupines should be taken a bit more seriously. You see, porcupines love …

I made a lot of changes to my gear list on my last Long Trail section hike from Clarendon Gorge to Bromley Mountain, particularly around my sleep system, changing from a hammock to a tarp tent. Despite some condensation issues with the …

On my last backpacking trip, the temperatures were warm enough that I could bring one of my lighter weight sleeping pads, a Torsolite, designed and manufactured by Bozeman Mountain Works, a boutique gear manufacturer that specializes in ultralight synthetic insulating clothing and …

I got back last night from a tough 32 mile section hike on the Long Trail in Vermont. I had originally planned to do this section in 3 easy days but ended up compressing it down to 2 days by hiking a …

I originally became a devotee of freezer bag cooking because I like to eat clean. Dehydrated mashed potatoes, Knorr soup mixes, or ramen noodle packs are full of salt, MSG and other horrible ingredients that will pickle your liver. Give me a …

  The Marmot Pounder is a 40 degree sleeping bag filled with synthetic Primaloft, intended for summer camping. This is a very simple sleeping bag with few frills. It has a full length zipper, a mummy hood, and a slinky nylon shell. …

Picture this. You are forced to wear long pants on a backpacking trip because the black flies are biting, you hate wearing DEET or you are concerned about catching Lyme disease from ticks. The weather is hot and you start to sweat …

The Hennessy Hammock Supershelter contains three components: an Undercover, an Underpad, and the Overcover. The Undercover is a waterproof, windproof, Silnylon layer that provides another layer of material under the hammock protecting your back from the cooling effects of the wind (9.0 …

I just got back from an epic 40 mile hike section of the Long Trail in Vermont, hiking northbound from Rt. 9 to Rt. 11/30. The weather was great. We had a little rain the first night before our first day of …

Jack’s ‘R’ Better (frequently abbreviated JRB) is a boutique manufacturer of quilts and other accessories for Hennessy Hammocks, such as The Nest, a down underquilt for insulating the bottom of a hammock in colder weather to extend its temperature range. They also …

I’ve owned my REI Sub Kilo 20 down sleeping bag for about 2 years. It’s a pretty utilitarian mummy sleeping bag that provides good value at a good price ($239). Like all down bags, it  compresses down very well and takes up …

Picture this. You get to camp, but it’s pouring rain and you need to get your hammock set up as soon as possible. If you own a hammock, you know that it can take about 5 minutes to get the entire Hennessy …