April Fools Spoofs

AllTrails, the leading publisher of trail guides and maps for hiking, camping, mountain biking, climbing, and snowsports announced today that it had developed a new AI (artificial intelligence) called TrailGPT for proofreading and correcting the crowdsourced trail reports and recommendations submitted by …

Darn Tough, makers of the #1 most durable wool socks used by hikers, announced a new consumer service called ReFluff, that lets sock owners put the original cushion back into their old merino socks for a nominal fee. Darn Tough socks are …

Mountain House Food Corporation announced the formation of a new subsidiary called Dog House Foods to brand and market a new line of freeze-dried camping meals for dogs, called “Doggy Bags.” These nutritious meals for dogs are designed to make your dog feel …

The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) announced a new way to measure the volume of backpacks, daypacks, and hydration packs in a way that is universally understandable by the American and Canadian public. “Consumers have long struggled with trying to understand backpack volume …

Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced today that she’s taking a leave of absence from the Supreme Court to hike the Appalachian Trail. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do and what I want, I usually get,” said Ginsburg recently in an interview …

The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) announced plans today build an underground parking garage at The Highland Center, its conference center hotel in the Crawford Notch, at the foot of the Presidential Mountain Range near Mt Washington in New Hampshire. The new garage …

Beginning this April, the US Forest Service will be offering skiers rides up to Tuckerman Ravine and the Sherburne Ski Trail on the Tuckerman Taxi, a snowcat with an extended and heated customer cabin capable to carrying 12 passengers per trip. The …

MATC, the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, announced that it will decommission the Kennebec Ferry Service, a canoe ferry across a dangerous and remote section of the Kennebec River, and replace it with a zipline for Appalachian Trail Hikers. Citing a sharp increase in the number …

Forget mail drops. In an effort to relieve trail town and post office congestion, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and Google Express have launched a new resupply initiative using cargo drones called Air-Drops, so that thru-hikers can resupply on the Appalachian Trail without …

The release of the movies “Wild” and “A Walk in the Woods” in 2014 resulted in a huge backpacking boom that saw a 1000% increase in the number of thru-hikers and section hikers on the Appalachian Trail. Things were never quite the …

Camping stove giant Jetboil, Inc, a division of Johnson Outdoor Products, announced a new bio-fuel powered ultralight camping stove today that burns biomass, eliminating the need to carry or resupply camping gas canisters. The new stove called “The Jetboil BioBoil”, is designed …

Klymit, makers of the award winning Inertia X Frame sleeping pad and a leading outdoor product manufacturer, has announced new Universal Load Lifter technology that can lighten the loads carried in daypacks and backpacks by up to 40 per cent. Compatible with …

Ultralight backpack maker Gossamer Gear announced a new backpack today that includes a rechargeable iPad Pocket™ for ultralight backpacking. Built using Kinetic Recharger Technology™, the iGorilla™ backpack automatically recharges your iPad or any other USB compatible electronic device by converting the energy produced by …

Here’s a must have for the backpacking gourmet: an ultralight mini grater (available on ebay) for grating and adding fresh cheese, ginger, cinnamon, or chocolate shavings to your freezer bag meals and drinks. Weighing only 0.6 oz, this 4 sided box grater …