Backcountry adventure and cuisine for aspiring hiker trash
Post-hike Gear Review
What worked, what might get changed, and what if anything sucked After every hike I go through my LighterPack for that trip and cogitate over how the gear all worked out for me. One’s kit is always a work-in-progress, but you eventually get to…
Selecting a Bag or Quilt
The one part of your kit that you shouldn’t sweat the cost. Buy once, cry once. (Nunatak Arc 30 pictured) If I had it to do all over again, the first piece of gear that I would purchase would be my quilt or sleeping…
Choosing A Tent
So, you’ve decided to join the ranks of smelly hiker trash, but you don’t have any gear yet. Get ready to pore over a bunch of choices and spend some money! You can cobble together a lot of your gear pretty cheaply, but if…
72 Hours Til FT
It’s almost time to start packing Most of the time when you find somebody’s pre- or post-trip report online, it is accompanied by a beautiful photo of all of their gear, meticulously positioned for optimal “pop.” It says “look at all my cool gear!”…
Guthook’s AT App
Guthook’s trail apps just might change the way you hike One of the more time-consuming annoyances for me when preparing for a hike has always been the whole map/guidebook thing. Obviously it’s pretty dumb to ever go on a hike without a map of…
Ultralight Christmas
Santa was good to me this year Yeah, I made sure that Santa was good to me by giving myself a couple of gifts! However, my family’s game was strong too. First up is a new Anker PowerCore 10,000 QC battery to charge my…
Winter Gear Review
What worked and what didn’t on my recent section hike This was a typical southeastern winter hike on the AT. Daytime temps reached the 40’s at times, lows were down as far as 15 degrees. Got a bit of snow, faced some wind and…
SWD Lunch Box
A waterproof option for food storage On my last hike I tried out the new Superior Wilderness Designs Lunch Box as my food storage system (I am currently awaiting a custom Long Haul 50 pack). I liked it. A lot. I, like many hikers,…
Lose Weight With a Quilt
PACK weight, not body weight! The vast majority of new backpackers use sleeping bags, and why not? After all, that’s what everybody has always used, right? I used to be one of those people too, until I learned about backpacking quilts. The premise behind…
HMG Echo II Tarp
The perfect AT section hike shelter The Hyperlite Mountain Gear Echo II Tarp is my shelter of choice on nearly all of my Appalachian Trail section hikes. Why? When I section hike the AT, I’m usually planning to stay at the shelters. I LIKE…
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