Serious illness in remote areas can end poorly. Knowing your group's fitness level, experience, and lightweight ethic are key parts to a successful self-rescue and a happy ending. Read More...
After taking a Wilderness Trekking course from Andrew Skurka and Don Wilson, I wanted to try the Philmont Scout Ranch in a UL style. By stepping out of my existing comfort zone, I discovered a whole new one. Read More...
Making a baffled down quilt is simple compared to making a baffled down sleeping bag. Both are described in this article, with the emphasis on the quilt. Read More...
The interactions between retailer and consumer can have a dramatic influence on the gear carried and experience had by a consumer. We examine the tools both retailers and consumers can use in evaluating gear and determining the best lightweight options for individuals. Read More...
Getting emotionally disturbed boys working together to take a backpacking trip is a big job... with many setbacks, limited gear, and almost no budget. Read More...
We've covered several skills of assessing and avoiding fire. Whether passing through, sheltering in, or simply going near a fire area, there are particular hazards beyond immolation to be aware of. Read More...
We can now distinguish parts of a fire, know some basics of wildfire behavior, and are familiar with the fundamental suppression method. We come to the crux question: how do you get away? Read More...
As light hikers, we cover large distances and travel more deeply into remote areas than many other wilderness users. As a result, we're more likely than most wilderness users to encounter uncontrolled and unreported fires. How do you assess the fire and anticipate its movement? What do you do? Read More...
The performance of a particular alcohol stove fuel is generally related to the amount of heating energy in that fuel, which changes when you blend water into different alcohols. But how does it change, and which blend should you use? Read More...
It would be so nice to have a light pulk strapped onto my pack so that I more or less would be able instantly to switch back and forth between pack and pulk. Witness the creation of the Incredible Rulk! Read More...
Light alcohol stoves are very popular, but there is a lot of confusion over what sort of alcohol should be used and whether blending different alcohols together has any effect. In this, Part One, we comprehensively examine the performance and safety of three common alcohol fuels and of a range of blends. Read More...
You have been invited on a summer backpacking trip that will cover 30 miles in one day, including 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, and your anticipated pack weight will be 15-20 pounds. You have 15 weeks to prepare. What is the best way to get your body and mind ready for such an outing? Read More...
2008: A Year of Change. Follow Jim Bailey on his rabid quest to hike every possible weekend between March and November, despite living in New England with its record-breaking weather. Read More...
While practice is the real key to improving the quality of your homemade gear, there are some tools and techniques that can help you along the way. Knowing which tools to have and how to best use them will maximize the quality of the gear you build. Read More...
Wet reentry is one of the most common rescues you'll perform while packrafting. Be sure to work the kinks out of your technique ahead of time so this self-rescue tool will be honed when you need it. Read More...
Foot entrapment among submerged rocks is the leading killer of whitewater boaters. Think about it: the most common way to die while boating is by doing something OUTSIDE your boat! Read More...
This light fleece top is designed as a light winter pullover for snow conditions. It is very simple and styled as an anorak, rather than opening right down the front. Read More...
Seven packrafters with a total of over thirty-five years of experience under their bums share the safety gear they won't be without, skills that have kept them coming back for more, common - and dangerous - mistakes, and real life rescue stories. Read More...
There you are, way out in the wilderness in bad weather, getting ready for dinner, and your canister stove fails. Now what? Rescue in the field is possible for many problems: learn rescue how-to and the technical details of why it has happened. Read More...
Seven packrafters with a total of over thirty-five years of experience under their bums share the safety gear they won't be without, skills that have kept them coming back for more, common - and dangerous - mistakes, and real life rescue stories. Read More...
While perhaps a touch extreme, running Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (RRR) is not uncommon within trail running circles. But within hiking circles, this trek does not seem to garner much attention, when there are few trips, mile-for-mile, hour-for-hour, that compare. In one day, you pass through 1.6 billion years of geology (four times) and span the grandest Big Ditch in the world (twice). Read More...
Seven packrafters with a total of over thirty-five years of experience under their bums share the safety gear they won't be without, skills that have kept them coming back for more, common - and dangerous - mistakes, and real life rescue stories. Read More...
Instructions for designing and making a silk and down baffled vest (all natural fibers) plus some of the challenges the author met along the way. Read More...
Want to try tenting in the snow, but haven't done it before and not sure how? Haven't time in the evening to build a snow cave or an igloo just for one night? We walk you through the basics of what gear you need, how to choose a good site, how to create a platform, and how to pitch your tent (or a tarptent if you are brave). Read More...
Fate stepped in and pushed me down some steps in November 2006, breaking my fibula at the ankle, requiring surgical repair. I asked my surgeon if I could backpack the following summer, and he said "If you can get your pack down to thirty pounds, you can backpack." My lightweight journey was launched in earnest. Read More...
Foremost among the challenges that spring hikers face is the presence of melting snow and the prospect of continuously wet feet. Ryan Jordan presents his two favorite footwear systems for cold or warm spring conditions. Read More...
Steve Hinkle relays that carrying all the comforts of home ultimately made for a miserable trail experience, and how shedding "comforts" was actually more pleasant in the long run. Read More...
After using the original snow stakes in extreme conditions, the design has been enhanced to extend the life of both your snow stakes and your guylines. Read More...
Cold & wet: really only good when it describes your dog's nose. But you can still be comfy in these conditions with the right (lightweight) gear. Read More...
This silnylon mountain poncho covers both you and your pack against some of the worst weather, allows ease of movement on mixed terrain, and isn't prone to condensation. Read More...
Roman Dial demystifies whitewater for the packrafter wanting to understand the natural progression of learning to packraft in the context of increasingly difficult whitewater. Read More...
Packrafters need to limit their gear so it fits on the bow of their six-foot-long craft. This means dehydrated food for dinner, sleeping under a tarp and wearing wet clothes dry. What is river running like when big rafts haul the food and gear...Can an ultralight packrafter be enticed to the dark side? Read More...
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