Editorials

The Hults Bruk Bjork Splitting Axe is a lightweight axe with a 30″ long handle that’s good for splitting soft woods or dry wood with a straight grain. It’s perfectly good for around the house and splitting seasoned wood, but doesn’t cut it for splitting freshly cut green wood or …

Outdoor Retailer is a trade show held every summer where outdoor gear manufacturers come together and show off the gear they plan to bring to market in the upcoming year (2019). It’s a very social event where you get to catch up with old friends, drink a lot of beer, …

Most US National Forests allow people to harvest firewood for personal use, but you must have a Forest Service-issued permit and you must follow specific guidelines, which can vary from forest to forest (The BLM sells similar permits for the land they manage.) In my neck of the woods, you can harvest up to 5 cords of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

If you can’t afford one of REI Adventures 1% Glamour Camping Tours in Africa and need to keep your vacations closer to home, here are some lovely car camping gifts for you and your family to bring a little luxury to next car camping expedition. 1. Snow Peak Pack & Carry Fireplace …

I didn’t see it coming. My wife and I have been bitten by the car camping bug. It all started last winter when my wife wanted to camp out in the mountains so we could get a clear view of the Geminids meteor shower without any urban light pollution. We …

I like reviewing backpacking gear, in part because it gives me an excellent excuse to go backpacking and day hiking a few days per week. But I’m very picky about the gear I review because it has to be useful for the objectives, route conditions, and weather that I expect …

I spent three days last week in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show, a twice annual exhibition where manufacturer meet retail buyers and the press to show them new products and product prototypes which will be available to consumers anywhere from six months to two years in …