Trail Guides, Gear Reviews, and Backpacking Tips
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 …
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 …
The Pindus Mountains are situated in the north of Greece near the Albanian border. In 2001 I spent ten days exploring this extraordinary area. One of the highlights of my stay was a multi-day trek called the Pindus Horseshoe. Beginning Read More …
Employing a GPS as your primary navigation tool is like using a calculator to do basic addition. Push a few buttons, tap, tap, tap on your smartphone and voilà! Little in the way of grey matter required. And therein lies the Read More …
The Alpine Pass Route is a 340 kilometre (211 miles) hiking trail that spans the breadth of Switzerland. Starting in Sargans on the border with Liechtenstein, it passes up and over sixteen mountain passes before reaching its western terminus at 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 …
In western countries, the majority of people backpack without the assistance of guides, porters or travel agencies. Yet when many of these same hikers journey to developing nations, they make the decision to go on guided treks. Why? Guided Trekking Read More …
The Badlands of South Dakota is one of the jewels in America’s National Park System. It combines a fauna-abundant prairie land with a moonscape of other-worldly rock formations, to form one of the country’s most unique natural environments. Last month I hiked Read More …
Theoretically speaking, tents are easier to set up than tarps. Same deal every time; give or take an extra guyline or two. Tarps on the other hand require a little more thought and creativity. Options are many and your choice Read More …
The Badlands of South Dakota. An ethereal maze of buttes, pinnacles, spires and cliffs. Sculpted by the elements over thousands of years, this fossil-rich region combines otherworldly rock formations with a fauna-abundant prairie land to form one of North America’s Read More …
On the afternoon of September 5, I completed an eight day traverse of Colorado’s Sangre De Cristo (i.e. “Blood of Christ”) mountains. My route began in the town of Salida and finished at the informal trailhead for Blanca Peak, just off Read More …
Four Routes. Four States. Four opportunities to ramble around some incredible backcountry areas. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a while! The first three hikes of the upcoming series will take place in parts of the lower 48 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Southeastern Serpentine Trail (SST) is a 583 mile (938 km) trek through the southern part of the Appalachian mountains. It passes through four states and consists of a combination of the Foothills, Bartram and Benton Mackaye trails, along with the Smokies section of Read More …
Last week I shared a photo on social media of three friends of mine on the Sierra High Route. What I didn’t mention is that two of the ladies pictured, namely Christy “Rockin” Rosander and Nancy “Why Not” Huber, are Read More …
Between 2010 and 2015, I hiked more than 19,000 miles (30,577 km) carrying a Mountain Laurel Designs Burn. This included multi-week trips in Australia, New Zealand and the calendar year triple crown of 2012 (plus eight of the other 12 Read More …