Backpacking Skills

No trees for that hammock? No problem. This is irony: I’m a hammock camping fanatic, surrounded by the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in North America, yet I moved into a neighborhood devoid of trees. My entire 2-acre lot is barren, and while I’ve …

I do a lot of solo camping before and after day hikes when I’m up in New Hampshire’s White Mountains for the weekend. It’s a great way to save money, get a good night’s sleep between hikes, and get a little privacy …

Backpacking stoves can greatly increase your comfort and safety on multi-day trips and in challenging weather conditions. There’s nothing like hot food at dinner to warm you up after hiking in the rain all day or hot coffee after sleeping in a …

Resupply and Mail Drops Mail drops are a common way for long distance hikers to resupply on a long hike. Thankfully, post offices here in the states and abroad will hold packages for pickup by hikers and people who are just passing …

The first question that most volunteer trail adopters ask is “When do I get to paint a blaze?” I know, because it was one of the first questions I asked when I volunteered to adopt a trail on Mt Washington. But there’s …

One of my readers, a guy named Tim, is having problems getting all of his backpacking gear into his backpack. This is something I’ve wrestled with too. I had a few breakthroughs this year though, based on some advice from a more …

Last weekend I went on a difficult 2 night backpacking trip that involved a 19 mile traverse of the Presidential Range in New Hampshire, including 15 miles of fully-exposed, above-treeline hiking. We had great weather, but you never know what is going …

There is nothing more enjoyable than hiking with friends in the backcountry. However, preparation is essential for any wilderness trek.  When hiking in a group, it’s important for everyone to be on the same page regarding our navigation.  Agree in advance to some …

The biggest challenge I face on most backpacking trips is eating enough. The problem is that the food I bring or resupply in towns is boring and doesn’t have that much variety. Ramen noodles, rice sides, couscous, pasta, mashed potatoes, refried beans – …

The big story last week was the accidental death of a solo hiker, Kate Matrosova, who died from exposure between Mt Madison and Mt Adams in New Hampshire’s Northern Presidential Mountain Range. A so-called “expert hiker”, she attempted to traverse Mt Madison, Adams, Jefferson, …

I headed back into the winter woods to practice building a winter fire, a survival skill that I want to master in case I ever need an emergency fire. (see Winter Survival Fire Lighting Skills – Why Don’t We Teach Them? and  Winter …

I'm still at it this winter, building practice snow shelters and caves in my front yard. This time, I built a simple snow cave featured in the Revised Edition of Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book, which is the illustrated …

Cross-country skiing is a popular sport in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and one that complements the excellent winter hiking and snowshoeing in the region. It also provides access to winter views, such as the one of Mt Crawford here from the banks …

Reflectix Home Insulation is great stuff for making homemade MYOG backpacking projects. Consisting of bubble wrap sandwiched between two layers of tin foil, it’s relatively inexpensive, easy to find at home improvement stores, highly malleable, and thermally efficient. I’ve also been using Reflectix …