Backpacking Skills

When purchasing an insulated jacket for backpacking, should you buy one with a hood or without? I think it really depends on how you plan to use it with the other clothing you carry. In three-season weather, I bring a hoodless insulated …

My fingertips froze on a winter hike last February when I took off my gloves to adjust a pair of ski goggles and my hands came in contact with fresh snow. It was freezing out and the wind was blowing, the snow …

Winter day hiking and snowshoeing require a higher degree of physical fitness than hiking during the rest of the year because you need to carry more clothes, gear, emergency supplies, food and all of the water you need in sub-freezing weather. How …

“I never felt so helpless,” said a doctor friend of mine as we discussed the mock accident scenarios we practiced during a Wilderness First Aid certification course I took recently. “I’m used to having medical tests, and instruments, and nurses around me when …

I used to get up extra early on the days when we’d drive to the mountains for winter hiking, so I could boil water for my water bottles. Since we’d meet in downtown Boston at 5 AM, this meant getting up at …

I do a lot of winter day hiking in some pretty remote and mountainous locations, but I’ve only ever carried one head lamp, a Black Diamond Spot, which I’ve owned now for several years. That changed over the weekend when I bought …

After many years of hiking and hiking with other people, I’ve concluded that the shoe industry is fundamentally broken and the cause of untold suffering in the hiking world. There are huge individual differences between people’s feet: people have hammer toes, bunions, …

There is no single weather forecast that will tell you what the temperature, wind, visibility, snowpack, and trail conditions will be for every location in the White Mountains. As a winter hiker, you will need to piece together forecast data and trip …

My ultralight backpacking friends will roll their eyes in dismay when they hear I’ve started carrying a 9.4 ounce Silky GOMBOY 240 Pruning Saw on my shoulder season and winter hikes. But I believe that the gear you carry on a hike or a backpacking trip …

The function of a baselayer is to keep your skin dry and to wick perspiration up to an insulating mid-layer garment that will keep you warm even though it’s damp. While some people prefer a wool baselayer over a synthetic one because …

I was introduced to accident analysis as a teaching methodology a few years ago when I took the Appalachian Mountain Club’s (Boston Chapter) Winter Hiking Program. I sat their riveted as Mohammed Ellozy, a well known White Mountain hiker, climber, AMC leader, …

If you’re renting mountaineering boots for the first time or you’ve just bought a pair, here are a few tips for avoiding blisters at the back of your foot on top of your Achilles tendon. These blisters are incredibly painful and will …

While there will always be a heated debate about what the best water bottles or hydration system required for winter hiking is, I think we’d all agree that the minimum requirements for winter use are as follows: The water you bring on …

Ultralight backpacks tend to be a lot lighter than more mainstream backpacks with internal or external frames and generally fall under 2 pounds in weight. There are exceptions to this and some UL packs are heavier than two pounds, but it’s a …