Latest Posts

Therm-a-Rest Altair Winter Down Sleeping Bag Review

Puffy 3" Draft Collar

The Therm-a-Rest Altair 0 degree down sleeping bag is a very comfortable cold-weather sleeping bag that is excellent for side-sleepers or winter backpackers looking to shave more weight off their winter gear list without breaking the bank. Often called a top bag …

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AMC Hut Crew Packboards

AMC Galehead Hut Croo with Packboards

When I was hiking up to Galehead Hut and South Twin Mountain over the weekend, I ran into two members of the AMC Galehead Hut Crew (traditionally spelled “Croo”) who were packing out garbage and returning with a load of fresh food …

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The Best Year of My Life

Backpacking in the White Mountains

“This has been the best year of my life”, I told Sam as we were climbing Wheeler Mountain in Maine. She replied, “You don’t hear many people saying that these days.” Isn’t that the truth? It’s been 5 years now since I …

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Aiming Off – A Compass Navigation Technique

Aiming Off Compass Navigation

Aiming off is a cross-country navigation technique for finding a destination like a shelter or a landmark that is located along a natural or man-made landscape feature (also called a linear feature) like a stream, a ridge, or a path. Instead of setting …

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