Wilsons Promontory Southern Circuit
I left Australia in my early 20’s. I’m now in my mid-40’s. Over the years I’ve returned to my homeland on many occasions, and whenever I do I try to get in as much hiking as possible. One place I Read More …
Tag: Backpacking
Gear Review: Montbell Tachyon Anorak
Over the past seven years, the Montbell Tachyon Anorak wind shirt has been a mainstay of my backpacking kit. Indeed, rarely does a day in the backcountry go by when I don’t wear it at some time or another. Considering that Read More …
The Narrows Top-Down Route
Situated in Utah’s Zion National Park, The Narrows Top-Down route is one of the most spectacular short hikes in the United States. Stretching some 25 km (16 miles) from Chamberlain’s Ranch to Temple of Sinawava, it follows the course of the Virgin Read More …
The Thru-Hiker’s Gear List
An follow-up / expanded version of this article, The Thru Hikers Gear List Vol.2, appeared in April, 2018. It includes gear recommendations from nine more of the world’s most accomplished long distance hikers including Andrew Skurka, Justin “Trauma” Lichter, Heather Read More …
A Quick & Dirty Guide to Corsica’s GR20
The GR20 is a spectacular 180 km (112 mi) trail, that winds its way along the jagged spine of Corsica’s mountainous centre. Despite the rugged nature of much of the terrain, it is a hike that is within the capabilities Read More …
Tips for Hiking in Tick Country
Alongside mosquitos, ticks are at the top of the vector class when it comes to disease transmission. These little bloodsuckers can carry and transmit viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Indeed, when it comes to spending time out in the wilderness hikers Read More …
Review: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Square Flat Tarp
Over the past year I have used the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Square Flat Tarp in a wide range of environments. Testing grounds have included regular excursions into Mexico’s Sierra Madre, the traverse of Badlands National Park, and above treeline routes Read More …
Is Thru-Hiking Really 90 Percent Mental?
“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 …
Trip Report: Montana’s Beartooth Mountains
“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.” ~ Lewis Carroll, ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass’ This is a long overdue trip report from a hike I did in the Beartooth mountains last year. I’ve Read More …
The Thru-Hiker’s Diet
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 …
Bartram Trail Backpacking Guide
The Bartram Trail is a 116 mile (187 km) pathway through the Appalachian mountains of Georgia and North Carolina. It was voted by readers of Backpacker Magazine to be the No.1 U.S. long distance trail for solitude. Sure enough, when Read More …
Hiking and the Art of Sustainable Wealth
“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 …
The Lost Coast Trail Backpacking Guide
I’ve always loved the ocean. Growing up on the east coast of Australia, it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Swimming, fishing, diving and surfing. Walking and running along its shores. Waves rolling in. Read More …
A Hiker’s Ode to the New Year
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
Blood Mountain
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 …
Books for Hikers and Backpackers
All of the works listed below have a place in my library at home. They represent a mixture of educational and philosophical texts; with a sprinkling of humour and social commentary thrown into the literary mix. The books are listed Read More …
Florida Trail Backpacking Guide
Stretching almost the entire length of the “Sunshine State”, the Florida Trail (FT) winds its way more than 1000 miles from Pensacola beach in the north to Big Cypress National Preserve in the south. Along the way it passes through Read More …
Dusk
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 …
Review: Hyperlite Mountain Gear 2400 Southwest Backpack
I recently dubbed 2016 as the “year of the Big Carry.” For the traverse of Southwest Tasmania, I started with forty-two pounds (19 kg); twenty-eight (12.7 kg) of which were food. For the early September hike along the Sangre de Cristo crest, I Read More …
Why I Rarely Miss a Sunrise
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 …