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 […]

Many hikers who are bored of the normal marked trails, and discovered wilderness areas have come to a new adrenaline rush: mountain hiking. Hiking several hundred feet above sea level gives those with a taste for the extreme the rush they are looking for. If you are that kind of hiker, then mountain hiking is […]

I started moonlight hiking when I was a teenager prowling the streets and fields of Michigan. I later found that if I timed my backpacking trips to coincide with a full moon, I could hike every night. The two primary motivations for doing this are the adventure and mystery of night hiking, as well as […]

Solo backpacking means peace and quiet. No one to talk to means no words are put between you and the beauty around you. The miles just flow. It’s entirely up to you to say when you eat or take a break. Want to jump in that alpine lake? It’s your decision alone. It’s a unique […]

Solo backpacking means peace and quiet. No one to talk to means no words are put between you and the beauty around you. The miles just flow. It’s entirely up to you to say when you eat or take a break. Want to jump in that alpine lake? It’s your decision alone. It’s a unique […]

Sleeping bag liners for camping? My friend Dion made fun of my “poor excuse for a sleeping bag,” but it kept me warm as the temperature dropped to the low forties, and it weighed only five ounces. We were camping on the banks of the Manistee River in Michigan. So, how did it a sleeping […]

Hiking clothes and backpacking clothes need to function to a higher standard than everyday clothes. That’s why they’re often more expensive. Shop all the sales you want, and you will save money, but that extremely expensive waterproof/breathable coat will only be marked down to “very expensive.” Time for some more radical ways to find cheap […]

Why survival tips for backpackers? Certainly backpacking may never become a matter of wilderness survival for you, especially if you are careful in your planning. Still, getting lost or twisting an ankle far from any road is always a possibility. In any case, learning a few new things from time to time is a great […]

Survival skills just for backpacking? Why not? For ultralight backpackers like myself, skills replace gear, and therefore weight. If you spend any time in the wilderness, it also just feels good to know you can deal with whatever comes up. Survival means staying warm and dry, hydrated, uninjured, and finding your way out of the […]

I couldn’t believe it.  The big plan: stay in nice Bellingham, Washington motels, and alternate that with camping in the countryside slightly north of Bellingham.  We were off to the coast to visit our little girl going to college in Bellingham, Washington at Western Washington University.  We should have realized when we were getting camping […]