After spending the past few months section hiking the AT in New Hampshire and Maine, I did a big section down in southwestern  Massachusetts on Wednesday, finally finishing the state. As usual, I got off to an early start, sneaking out of the house at 5am (we're visiting relatives for Thanksgiving in Western MA), and drove down to the Great Barrington area for a dawn start. I got lost a few times trying to find the trail head I wanted, straying into NY at one point, but eventually found... Read Full Story

I am planning on experimenting with Bivy sacks this winter as a lightweight shelter for mountaineering and next spring under a tarp as protection against rainsplatter. I pulled together this list of the bivy sacks so I could compare them by weight, fabric, and price. I think I have most of the sacks available on the market today, excluding bug bivies, sleeping bag covers, and micro solo tents like those from NEMO. I've also left out the bivy sacks from Bozeman Mountain Works which are no lon... Read Full Story

Bivy sacks were first developed as solo shelters for mountaineering, climbing, ultralight backpacking and adventure racing where participants were interested in light weight and highly compressible gear. The original bivies were little more than waterproof sleeping bag covers that protected extreme athletes from rain or provided them with a temporary emergency shelter. However, in recent years, a new class of bivy sacks has evolved that incorporates high tech breathable fabrics like Gore-Tex... Read Full Story

When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, we used to drive to a place in the suburbs called Ralph's Army Navy Surplus to buy camping and backpacking equipment. There wasn't anything like REI or EMS back then. Ralph's was one of those special stores, packed to the gills with interesting stuff, and I used to love going there to look at everything from tube tents and fishing rods to gas masks and wool army blankets. First Floor – Men's and Women's Technical Clothing, Stoves, Filters, Glov... Read Full Story

Yaktrax walkers are a traction device that you can attach to your shoes to prevent slipping on ice and snow. They are made using an elastic mesh that wraps around the sole of hiking boots, trail runners, or even dress shoes. Wire is coiled around the elastic and provides traction that bites into frozen surfaces to keep you from slipping. Although they have an attachment system similar to Kahtoola Microspikes, Yaktrax have a tendency to pop off of your shoes far more frequently. They also hav... Read Full Story

I've taken my 4 season Scarp 1 Tarptent on two late autumn backpacking  trips over the past few weeks and I thought I'd write up some notes about my experiences so far. We're right on the cusp of full winter conditions in New England, so you should expect at least one more update on the [...] Related posts:Scarp 1 Tarptent Preview I bought a new tarptent called the Scarp 1...Insider’s Guide to the Squall 2 Tarp Tent This post is literally about the inside of the...DIY Hi-Visibi... Read Full Story

I have two short sections of the Appalachian Trail left in New Hampshire and had hoped to complete one of them this weekend, a 2.7 mile stretch (requiring 14 miles of hiking) from the Skookumchuck Trail at the northern foot of Mt. Lafayette (5,260 ft) to Mt Garfield (4,500 ft). To hike this section, I had to hike in to the Garfield Ridge Trail (AT) up the Skookumchuck Trail, a distance of 4.3 miles with about  2,700 feet of elevation gain. Unfortunately when I got to treeline and the AT... Read Full Story

I give in. I'm finally going to publish a list of the 10 hiking essentials on my blog. But you have to watch this video my hiking partner Chris sent me. It's got these great pack goats in it named Peanut and Rooster and some ham radio operators, who were the original social network in my book. It's not that I think the 10 essentials are bad or misleading. The problem is that there are never 10. People are always trying to sneak extra things on the list. So, here is Peanut's list of 10 Hikin... Read Full Story

This past Tuesday, I heard a great talk on Winter Hiking Safety given by Mohamed Ellozy, a leader with the Boston AMC Winter Backpacking Program and former Appalachia Magazine accidents editor. I thought I'd summarize the key points he made during his talk and the accident summary he related us to drive home his points. I've been thinking about them all week. The Key Points The summit is optional, but getting back to your car is not. If the weather forecast is bad, go someplace else that's ... Read Full Story

When I went backpacking last weekend, I experienced ideal conditions for developing hypothermia. I was hiking through heavy mist and light rain, which grew heavier as the day wore on. Temperatures were in the low 40's F and the wind was blowing at about 20 miles an hour. After a few hours of this, I got soaked and cold. The durable water repellent (DWR) coating on my Gore-tex shell had stopped shedding rain. Gore-tex clothing is made by sandwiching a Gore-tex layer between two moderately por... Read Full Story