Trail Guides, Gear Reviews, and Backpacking Tips
A combination of driving rain, high winds, and temperatures just above freezing, represents some of the most challenging weather that a hiker can face. In these conditions, hypothermia and frostbite (if the thermometer subsequently drops below 0°C / 32°F) are Read More …
“A giant thirst is a great joy when quenched in time.” – Edward Abbey, “Desert Solitaire” (1968). Not drinking enough water may well be the most common mistake made by hikers and backpackers. Whether you are walking in the heat or the Read More …
Some four and a half years after finishing the 12 Long Walks – of which the Calendar Triple Crown constituted the last three hikes – the PCT, CDT, and AT continue to be the trails I am asked about the Read More …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
“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 …
“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 …
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 …
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 …
“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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …