Winter hiking can be a tranquil even surreal experience when done properly.  The peace of walking through cold and wintry scenes captured in the outdoors is considered by many to be a great way to spend a day.  Additional precautions are needed when hiking in the winter, however, as winter weather can create a number […]

Cave hiking is considered to be an extreme sport in some circles. However, extreme sport tends to mean that the people who participate have little regard for safety and that is not true with cave hiking. Cave hiking is a recreational sport that is quite challenging and requires skills of varying levels depending on the […]

In Michigan, being outdoors can mean relaxing on a sandy beach or getting lost in the wilderness. One of the hidden places described below will let you do both. Here are three places that you haven’t seen in magazine articles and guide books. Michigan Outdoors – Rivers You can float the Manistee River from Baxter […]

Why learn about medicinal plants? Certainly, backpackers shouldn’t leave the first aid kit home, but it can be useful and interesting to know a few plant medicines too. Whether you are someday in a survival situation, or you just lost your first aid kit and have a terrible headache, wouldn’t it be nice to find […]

Poly-Wood is a term quickly sweeping the country, not because it is new on the scene.  Perhaps because the United States is starting to catch on to what two very innovative men found out a long time ago in a garage in Indiana?  Poly-Wood HDPE plastic lumber is the ideal recycled material for constructing outdoor […]

When planning a camping trip, there are some things that you can pack or do before you leave for your trip that will help you to spend your vacation relaxing and having fun rather than cleaning your site, making trips to the local store to buy accessories or having to deal with something that your […]

Don’t get me wrong – I’m as cranked for a boat ride on Flathead Lake of Montana as the next guy.  There’s just nothing quite as relaxing, mellow and laid back as piling onto a party barge pontoon boat and setting out to cruise the lake, especially if there are enough brews and some good […]

Those of us who work in large cities often wish to get away from the maddening crowd and spend some time in a peaceful location (those of you who have never felt like this…should stop reading this article and get back to work!) where you can feel the arms of nature. This wish has been […]

Making clothes? If you enjoy backpacking AND sewing, go for it. As for myself, I started buying gear again after the first hundred tedious hours of sewing . Then I discovered that there are some backpacking clothes you can make cheaply and quickly. Making Hand Warmers Stick your hands inside a pair of socks and […]

Lightweight backpacking or ultralight backpacking certainly enable you to travel more miles in a day. I can easily go farther in my running shoes, with my fifteen-pound pack on, than I could with heavy hiking boots and a forty-pound pack. That isn’t all, though. Going light also means more comfort, more freedom and even more […]