Editorials

Backpackers aren’t born that way and it’s not an easy hobby for most people to stick with over time. But if you’ve caught the ‘backpacking bug’, it’s a passion that provides many challenges and rewards for the mind and body. Here’s my …

The vast majority of hiking clothes, including rain jackets, used by hikers and backpackers aren’t actually made for hiking or by people familiar with hikers’ needs, but for skiers, climbers, runners, and suburban dads and moms. So it’s no wonder that most …

The past few weeks have been frightening. There’s the fear that we or our loved ones will get sick and require hospitalization or die. There’s the fear that everything we’ve worked for all of our lives is forever gone, that we will …

Many backpackers think that “the trail” is probably the best place to avoid the coronavirus pandemic and they’re heading for the hills. But how much of this is wishful thinking, when many of the local services in rural communities that hikers take …

Is the Outdoor Community on Drop.com (formerly MassDrop) dead? It’d be a shame because it is the ONLY PLACE to buy really high-quality lightweight backpacking gear at heavily discounted prices. For example, Dan Durston X-Mid-1 Tent for $200 Granite Gear X60 Backpack …

How do you know that the piece of backpacking gear or clothing you’re about to purchase is the latest updated model and not one from an earlier year that the retailer is trying to pass onto the consumer to get rid of …

Trekking pole tents use hiking poles for setup instead of dedicated tent poles. While this saves weight, it also introduces an element of risk that is worth considering if one of your trekking poles were to break during a trip. Trekking poles …

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 …

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, …

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 …

Whenever I see a backpacker carrying wide-mouth Nalgene bottles, I cringe, because I know that three of them add 15 ounces to the weight of their backpack that could be easily eliminated. For example, a one liter wide-mouth Nalgene bottle weighs 6.2 …

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 …

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: …

How long have you been a couple? Ralph and I met in 1987 on a Sierra Club car camping trip to Baja California (to see the migration of grey whales) and have been together ever since. Though we didn’t see any whales …