For Beginners

Buying a rain jacket for hiking and backpacking can be a very confusing process. If you look at the jackets that are available, it can be difficult to figure which ones are best suited for hiking and which are really made for skiing, mountaineering and climbing. Then there are the …

Backpacking and hiking gear has a nasty habit of failing when you least expect it or you need it the most – in the dark, when it’s pouring rain, or in the middle of nowhere. Knock on wood, I’ve never been stranded by gear failure, but it can be damn …

In 2004 I met a couple thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail and asked if they’d taken any practice hikes. The husband said; “We didn’t want to take any practice hikes before our attempt because we were afraid that we might not like hiking.” Though his response was delivered as a joke, …

Have you ever observed the footwork of a very experienced hiker? They tend to walk very efficiently, at a constant pace, often without looking at their feet. It’s something I do unconsciously now, but it took a couple of year of serious hiking to internalize. Take Small Steps For example, …

When I go backpacking, I carry a small stuff sack with my tent stakes and extra cordage. I typically carry betwen 6 and 11 tent stakes with me, extra paracord and Kelty triptease. This is one of the more general purpose elements of my gear list, but it’s worked well …

Have you ever used a quilt instead of a sleeping bag on a backpacking trip? I confess, I haven’t. But I took my first tentative  step in that direction on my last backpacking trip. Instead of a quilt, I used the 50 degree rectangular sleeping I carry in summer, a …

If you want to become an ultralight backpacker, you need to be willing to experiment on yourself. There’s only so much you can learn by reading articles, asking questions on forums, or watching youtube videos. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to take some risks and try out a …

I love day hiking, backpacking, peak bagging, long distance trekking: you name it. Being outdoors and propelling myself on my own two legs gives me tremendous joy…even when it rains. I also derive tremendous satisfaction from learning and using new hiking, backpacking and mountaineering skills. Learning what to do and …

One of my regular readers contacted me recently about a car break-in they experienced at a trailhead parking lot in the White Mountains. Unfortunately, it happens, despite the efforts of the park service to patrol these lots. Your best protection to prevent a break-in is to not leave anything in …

If you stick with this backpacking thing long enough, there will come a time when everyone in your family and all of your friends refuse to hike with you because you hike too fast or too far in a given day. When that happens you are going to have to …

If you backpack in bear country, you need to learn how to hang a bear bag  (unless a bear canister is required by the local authorities.) No one ever formally taught me how to do it so I developed my own techniques, which I am continuously refining. But whatever your …

There’s an expression used in the White Mountain Guide called book time. It refers to the suggested time cited in the Guide that it would take an inexperienced hiker to complete a trail segment. It’s based on the following metric: 30 minutes for each mile of distance or 1,000 feet …

I had to laugh when I watched this video about hanging a bear bag and all of the things that can go wrong in the process. If you’ve tried this yourself, you’ll know exactly what I mean. How many times have you tried to hang a bear bag, with darkness …

Last week, one of my regular section hiker readers asked me to write a post explaining how I got back into backpacking after a 20 year hiatus. My wife blames herself for this one. To preface, I had always been day hiker from my teens on, although casually. I did …