Latest Posts

Backpacking Partner Compatibility Test

Hiker Reading New Yorker Magazine

If you stick with this backpacking thing long enough, there will come a time when everyone in your family and all of your friends refuse to hike with you because you hike too fast or too far in a given day. When …

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Owl’s Head Revisited

Owls Head Mountain (center) with Franconia Ridge in the Background

I had a big walk on Saturday, climbing another 4,000 footer on the White Mountain List named Owl’s Head (4,025 ft), hiking the 18 mile round trip with about 2,500 of ascent in exactly 9 hours, starting from the Lincoln Brook trail …

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Carrying Too Much Food?

Stuffed Food Bags

It’s well known that long distance hikers become eating machines and have to struggle to get enough calories to maintain their body weight on hikes that last for months. But as a section hiker, I rarely have the opportunity to go backpacking …

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Mountain Laurel Designs Cuben Fiber Stuff Sacks

MLD Cuben Fiber Stuff Sacks

The weight of stuff sacks can really add up if you go overboard with them. I’ve eliminated most of them from my packing system, but I still use two 8L Sea-to-Summit Ultra-Sil Waterproof Stuff Sacks to protect my down sleeping bag and …

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