With the onset of winter, hikers in California turn to Joshua Tree in the Mojave Desert. Hiking Ryan Mountain is good way to see an excellent summit view of the park. Joshua Tree – Ryan Mountain If you’re looking for the best view in Joshua Tree National Park, Ryan Mountain is the undisputed winner. Make […]

Welcome Creek Wilderness – our spring-time challenge in a strange and wonderful little corner of the Montana back country world, just off the blue ribbon trout stream, Rock Creek.  We should have thought it through a little more, but just needed to get out and do a nearby trail.  So Evie and I threw our […]

The Pacific Crest Trail runs over the mountain ranges dividing the west coast and the rest of the nation. There is a lot of history tied to the trail and it offers great hiking. Pacific Crest Trail – History Running from the border with Mexico to the Canadian border, the Pacific Crest Trail was used […]

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 […]

Many nights in the backcountry are far from dark.  A bright moon and a sky full of stars can throw off enough light to allow for reading a book, but add cloud cover, mountains or trees and it gets dark awfully fast.   When you need to see in the dark, you have two choices – […]

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 […]

The Pacific Crest Trail runs over the mountain ranges dividing the west coast and the rest of the nation. There is a lot of history tied to the trail and it offers great hiking. Pacific Crest Trail – History Running from the border with Mexico to the Canadian border, the Pacific Crest Trail was used […]

Having a good time is pretty high on everyone’s to do list, especially when surrounded by awesome views and super-awesome friends.  We hike, bike, climb, camp, raft, fish, hunt, four-wheel, sleep and eat – among other things – in the backcountry.  If not done properly, that’s a lot of wear and tear on our natural […]

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 […]