Latest Posts

Winter Fire Building Practice Trip

Winter Fire in a Snow Pit

This trip was motivated by an accident report I read about in Appalachia Magazine where the victim couldn’t get a fire started in winter conditions. The Appalachia Accident Editor recommended that winter hikers practice winter firelighting skills which is a topic that’s left out …

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Granite Gear Leopard AC 58 Backpack Review

Granite Gear Leopard AC 58 at at the summit of Middle Tripyramid Mountain (4140')

This is an in-depth review of Granite Gear’s Leopard AC 58 backpack for winter use. Here’s a quick summary of my conclusions. Read on if you want the details. Summary The Leopard AC 58 is billed by Granite Gear as an alpine-ready …

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Frostnip on Mt Moriah

Guthook, Hikerbox, and Pam

It took less than a minute for my fingertips to freeze, but I could tell I had a problem right away from the pain. We’d stopped to put on goggles and facemasks when we encountered strong easterly winds and blowing snow on Mt …

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How does the insulation in a Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Work?

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Insulation

Have you ever wondered how the insulation in a NeoAir works? It’s surprisingly simple. All Therm-a-Rest NeoAir air mattresses have the same honeycombed air baffles, shown in the photo above. These run from one side of the air mattress to the other, …

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