Trail Guides, Gear Reviews, and Backpacking Tips
There is no universal blueprint as to how you should backpack. We all have our own motivations, needs, and levels of experience. That said, one thing upon which everyone can agree is that hiking is substantially easier and more enjoyable, Read More …
“Thru-hiking is 90 percent mental” is one of those statements that you regularly hear in the US long-distance hiking community. Indeed, it has been repeated so often in articles, online forums, and books that it seems to be accepted as Read More …
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.” ~ Henry David Thoreau Going lighter in the wilderness is more about perspective than it is pack weight. It represents a Read More …
May your lung capacity increase Your calluses grow Your smile lines deepen And your sense of wonder be forever childlike. Almost forgot………may all your trail runners be bought at a 40% discount. Here’s to a great 2017! ~ Cam
On December 29, 2012, I finished the longest journey of my hiking life. A 14,342 mi (23,081 km), almost eighteen-month odyssey called the 12 Long Walks. I had planned to end my trip at the Appalachian Trail’s southern terminus of Read More …
Dusk is like the Sun’s Happy Hour. Work has finished. The Moon has taken over the celestial reins. Time to kick back with a drink or two and enjoy the fruits of one’s labour. I suspect that the Sun is Read More …
Missing a sunrise while out in the wilderness, is the backcountry equivalent of listening to Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water without catching the opening guitar riff. Here are five reasons why I’m always up before the sun: 1. Every sunrise Read More …
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of looking at things.” ~ Henry Miller Hiking abroad often means leaving your comfort zone – linguistically, socially, culinarily and culturally. The extent to which you are able to “embrace 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 …
Long day in the office……….mind beginning to wander …………..thinking about an upcoming hiking trip I have planned. The Proclaimers, “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)”, is on in the background ………….still love that song after all these years …… hmmm……what other songs Read More …
When thru or section hiking a long-distance trail, backpackers regularly hitch into and out of towns for purposes of resupply and R&R. While there is obviously no surefire formula to hitchhiking success, there are certain tips and techniques that can Read More …
My theoretical introduction to the world of ultralight backpacking came in the late 1990s, in the form of Ray Jardine’s, The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker’s Handbook. [1] In 2003, I received my practical baptism courtesy of a gentleman by the name Read More …
“How far have you hiked today?” About thirty miles. “Seriously?” Yes. “Why don’t you stop and smell the roses?” I chuckle every time I hear this line. Do the people asking the question actually think about what they are saying? Do Read More …
“On Thursday, June 16, five members of the Camp Sherman Hasty Team responded to Carl Lake in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness area to locate a lost Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hiker………Sterley (the hiker in question) told team members that her Read More …
The first time I saw a Donate button with a “Buy Me a Meal” tagline on a hiking blog, I immediately thought of that famous line from Dickens’ novel, Oliver Twist. You know the one I’m talking about. When Oliver Read More …
While hiking just south of Agua Dulce on the Pacific Crest Trail, I met a fellow rambler who went by the name of ‘Big Sky’. We ended up walking and chatting together for about 40 minutes. Near the end of Read More …
Yesterday I came across a copy of Cows of Our Planet, one of Gary Larson’s legendary The Far Side comic collections. A wonderful celebration of all things bovine, it got me thinking about some of the memorable cow encounters I’ve had during Read More …
Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that quite a few hiking blogs are coming out with “Great Ideas for affordable Christmas Gifts” posts. You know the ones I’m talking about. Useful items that you can pick up for $25, $50, Read More …
The coolest llama train I ever saw was the first llama train I ever saw. It was in Peru’s Colca Canyon (one of the world’s deepest) in July, 1996. Specifically, the second day of a five day hike I was Read More …
“The path wound its way through the snow laden trees. The forest had an ethereal quality, that made me feel as if I was floating rather than hiking. It was mid-November in the Appalachian mountains. Winter was coming.” ~ Cam Read More …