Editorials

The Appalachian Mountain Club has invited me to give a 90 minute talk and workshop on Adding Navigation and GPS Apps to Map and Compass for Backcountry Navigation at their Annual Summit Meeting on January 28, 2017 (9:30-10:55 AM) at the Four Points Sheraton in Norwood, MA (just outside Boston.) …

I find it helpful to write a set of New Year’s resolutions each year about the things I want to learn and accomplish during the next 12 months. Since my life and work revolve around hiking, backpacking, camping, and writing, I get to set goals that are both fun and which …

Before we turn the page on another year and start the clock again afresh in 2017, I wanted to take a moment to remember some of the hiking friends that I lost this year. While my memories of them still remain fresh and vivid, they will be missed by those …

Arlette Laan or ‘Apple Pie’ as she’s known in New Hampshire’s close-knit White Mountain hiking community, is one of the region’s most accomplished hikers. A triple crown hiker who’s completed the AT, CDT, and PCT, among other long trails, she’s the first woman to complete a White Mountain Direttissima, a continuous unsupported …

Mountain guiding is a service industry, and a mountain guide is really no different from your taxi driver, your waitress, your hairstylist, or any other person or company catering to your wants and needs in the provision of a particular service. In the case of the mountain guide, their service …

I was out at Outdoor Retailer last week checking out the new backpacking and hiking products that consumers will see in late 2016 and early 2017.  This is a huge trade show attended by 1400 gear manufacturers and 46,000 attendees, all industry professionals from retail buyers and the outdoor media …

I quit my corporate job six years ago today. Up till then I’d told myself that I could put up with all the bullshit “for the money,” but it was eroding my soul. I needed to hike my own hike and follow own my moral compass instead of killing myself to …

When I was a kid, my mom got me interested in making mobiles, you know, kinetic hanging art. To this day, that’s what I think about whenever I see mouse hangs, or whatever they’re called, in Appalachian Trail Shelters. First the basics: It’s spring and the mice are hungry. If …

Massdrop is an online retailer that sells niche products to enthusiasts at a discount. If you’re not familiar with them you should sign up on their website and check out the member deals that they’re offering. They’re one of the few retailers that sell ultralight backpacking gear at a good …

One of my readers, Michael Howard, asked me to write a post about the history of Section Hiker and the lessons I’ve learned about blogging. Michael is thinking about starting his own outdoor blog. In the Beginning Section Hiker isn’t my first blog. I’d started a few others previously in …