One-pot backpacking meals are a satisfying and low-cost way to eat well on backpacking trips. Made with Knoors rice sides, noodles, pasta, stuffing, wheat cereal, or oatmeal, some added protein like tuna, chicken, bacon, or sausage, or nuts and dried fruit they’re …
Read More »Frequently Asked Questions
How to Eliminate Spare Clothing from your Gear List
Many ultralight backpackers bring extra clothing on trips that they never wear and end up carrying for no purpose. Doing this has a ripple effect, because it means you need a larger backpack to carry the extra clothing, which is probably going …
Read More »How to Fill a Water Bottle from a Shallow Stream or Spring
It’s happened to all of us. You arrive at a backcountry stream or spring ready to refill your bottles or hydration bladder and filter water only to find they’re almost dry, running at just a trickle, or very shallow. Here are a …
Read More »When Should You Put on Rain Pants?
Wearing rain pants when you’re hiking or backpacking can be a mixed bag because you’re going to get wet whether you put them on or not, when it starts to rain. Huh? Isn’t rain gear supposed to keep you dry? Good luck …
Read More »How to Sharpen Crampons
? With winter just around the bend, this is a good time to start thinking about checking your winter hiking gear and sharpening your crampons. Crampons work best when they’re sharp enough to assertively bite into ice. The problem is that they …
Read More »Why Do Waterproof/Breathable Rain Jackets Wet Out?
The biggest dirty little secret in the outdoor industry is that waterproof/breathable rain jackets won’t keep you dry. It doesn’t matter if you buy a high-end $450 Arcteryx Gore-tex Parka or wear your bathrobe, they’ll both Wet Out in continuous rain and …
Read More »How to Navigate with GeoPDF Maps
Most US Government Land Management Agencies, including the United States Geological Survey, the National Park Service, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Land Management publish FREE maps using a format called GeoPDF. Like Adobe PDF documents, these maps …
Read More »What is it Like to Sleep in an Appalachian Trail Shelter?
What is an Appalachian Trail Shelter? Appalachian Trail Shelters come in many different styles and sizes. Most are built-in a lean-to style with one wall open to the elements, but here are many different shelter designs in use up and down the …
Read More »How to Keep Your Backpacking Gear Dry with Trash Compactor Bags
The first thing I do when I pack my backpack is to line the inside with a thick trash compactor garbage bag, like the kind you can buy in a supermarket. These plastic bags are very tough, last a long time, and …
Read More »Used Backpacking Gear and Clothing – Where to Buy
Backpacking gear is super expensive, but you can save a bundle of money if you buy it used. Most backpackers have bought or sold used gear at some point in their backpacking careers. I’ve done both myself. It’s good way to try …
Read More »What Should You Put in a Bear Bag?
Bear bags are intended to protect your food on backpacking trips and to prevent bears from becoming accustomed to eating human food. “A fed bear is a dead bear”, as the saying goes, and no one wants to see a bear killed …
Read More »When is a Pump Water Filter or Purifier Better for Backpacking?
Pump water filters and purifiers are often better suited for filtering water from muddy puddles, silt-choked rivers, and other sketchy sources than squeeze-style water filters, bottle filters, chemical purifiers, and UV purifiers. Unlike other methods, they use a two-stage process to remove …
Read More »Do You Need to Stay in the White Mountain Huts When You Hike the New Hampshire Appalachian Trail?
I ran into some section hikers in Maryland who asked me if you need to stay in the Appalachian Mountain Clubs (AMC) Huts when you hike the Appalachian Trail through New Hampshire. Absolutely not! Priced at $150 per person/night, you get a …
Read More »Can You Cook Food in a Jetboil?
Most backpackers who buy Jetboil stoves, buy the Jetboil Flash or Jetboil Zip models without realizing that they’re designed for boiling water to rehydrate freeze-dried or dehydrated backpacking meals and not simmering food slowly on a low flame, which is what people …
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