Trail Guides, Gear Reviews, and Backpacking Tips
Backpacking Food and Hydration
This is a revised, revamped and expanded version of an article I wrote in 2010. It includes a spreadsheet of food items I eat on trail, tips for maintaining weight, town stop strategies, and a basic overview of my eating Read More …
When it comes to choosing hiking destinations, I don’t have any specific formula or preferences. Sometimes I look for pure wilderness experiences in remote locations. Other times I’m drawn by historical, cultural, culinary, and in the case of this particular Read More …
It has long struck me that Energy Bars are basically just trail mix in wrappers with a glucose syrup twist. That being the case, whilst pottering around on Amazon the other morning I thought I’d do a little bang-for-my-hiker-buck comparison. Read More …
For lightweight and ultralightweight backpackers, the combined weight of food and water will regularly exceed that of all the gear they are carrying. For example, five days food equates to approximately 10 lbs (4.5 kg). Half a gallon of water Read More …
Over the past twelve years, I’ve chosen to go stoveless on most of my three-season hiking trips. Here’s a quick summary of the hows, whys and wherefores behind that decision: Why? Time, convenience and weight. Whilst realizing it’s not a choice Read More …
I love to backpack. I love a morning coffee. The conundrum lies in the fact that during three season hikes, I rarely carry a stove. For winter excursions, I generally only cook at night. It’s one of those “going lighter” Read More …
Since 2009, OPSAK bags (made by LOKSAK) have been an integral part of my backpacking kit. Irrespective of the season or environment, I’ve carried these odour proof storage bags for more than 900 nights in the backcountry, including the entire 18 month, 14,300 mile, 12 Read More …
“A hungry stomach seldom scorns plain food.” ~ Horace (65 BC – 8 BC) Food tastes better in the outdoors. I guess it’s a combination of fresh air, beautiful surroundings and all that exercise you’re doing. It also represents the Read More …
When I first saw the term “Liebster Award“, I thought it was some sort of prize that Mags’ German born wife had given him for being a good hubby (i.e. Lieber translates to ‘dear’ in English). I soon discovered it Read More …
“In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria.” – Dave Auerbach
‘To cook, or not to cook, that is the question: Whether it is nobler in the tummy to suffer, The Pangs and Rumbles of going cold, Or to take a stove against a Wave of hunger, And by opposing it; Read More …
When it comes to backcountry cooking, Teresa “Dicentra” Black has made it her mission to expand the minds, as well as the stomachs of her fellow backpacking enthusiasts. Her book and website, both of which are titled One Pan Wonders, contain a multitude of recipes that are Read More …