Mountain Hardware Stronghold 10 Person Base Camp Tent One of our regular section hiker readers recently asked "What is the difference between a 4 season tent and a 3 season tent?" It's a good question because the distinction is blurry. Moreover the phrase "4 season tent" is a misnomer since it refers to winter tents, which you might not use the rest of the year because they could be too heavy or too hot. The chief differences between winter tents and 3 season ones are wi... Read Full Story

I really like reading hiking and outdoor memoirs because they combine personal insights and emotions with the writers' experience of everyday routine, physical trials, town encounters, and natural wonder. There's a richness in them that you don't often find in autobiographies or more episodic trail journals and trip reports. I was working on my holiday gift lists this weekend and thought I'd pull together a list of my favorite hiking memoirs for you. I've read many of these and can recommend... Read Full Story

Winter camping, hiking, backpacking and mountaineering are not without peril. If you have never done them, it's best to receive some training from your local outdoor club or a professional guiding service before you try it yourself. I just started last year myself after a three day Intro to Mountaineering Class with a guide in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It was an eye opening experience. If you are located in New England and are interested in becoming a 4 season hiker, there are a ... Read Full Story

(All photos courtesy of Martin Rye) Some big news last week. I was selected to participate in the 2010 TGO Challenge. This is an annual coast-to-coast hike across Scotland held every May. As you can imagine, I am very excited about this since only a handful of Americans participate each year. This year's event will be held from May 14-28 and approximately 300 hikers will attempt the traverse. The object of TGO Challenge is to foster good fellowship among walkers within the framework of a ch... Read Full Story

When the weather starts getting a little colder and darkness falls before 6PM, I add a few luxury items to my pack on overnight backpacking trips, like a mini-lantern and a paperback book to pass the time at night. On my last backpacking trip, I tested a Black Diamond Orbit Lantern and really liked it. It weighs just 4.8 oz, including 4 AAA battiers, and retails for $29.95. I own other LED camping lanterns like the Brunton Lamplight, but the Orbit is a little better for reading at night... Read Full Story

The main reason I bring a camping towel on a backpacking trips is to wipe down the outside of a wet tent or shelter before packing it away for the day.  It's a neat little trick to cut down on extra water weight and leaves you with a drier shelter when you set it up the following evening. I rarely use one on myself and just dry myself off with my clothes using my body heat to dry them out. Body heat is really good for that. I also don't bother with a commercial camping towel like... Read Full Story

I stopped in at The Mountain Wanderer Bookstore on my way back from backpacking up Mt. Garfield and the AT last weekend. It's a neat little shop in Lincoln, NH that carries excellent maps and a unique selection of books that focus on the natural areas in New England, including the Catskills, Adirondacks, Vermont, and the White Mountains. For example, they have a bunch of books privately published by the Randolph Mountain Club (RMC.) This is the trail maintenance organization that maint... Read Full Story

I finally got out backpacking this weekend and tried out the Thermarest NeoAir ($149.95) sleeping pad. This is an inflatable pad with an R-value of 2.5 weighing 14 oz in a size regular. The only other popular sleeping pad on the market with a comparable R-value is the Thermarest Ridgerest ($25) which also weighs 14 oz and has an R-value of 2.6. Beside cost, the main difference between these two sleeping pads is thickness. The NeoAir is 2.5 inches thick and the Ridgerest is slightly over... Read Full Story

I took Friday off from work this week and headed up to the Whites for some backpacking. It's been a few months since I had a chance to sleep outdoors and I was looking forward to tryng out some new gear in the late Autumn weather. My objective for the weekend was to bag Mt. Garfield (4,500 ft) and hike a few more miles of the Appalachian Trail. As usual, I did a careful job preparing for this hike, studying my maps and guides and carefully forecasting the weather. Proper preparation is ... Read Full Story

Tis the season where we need to start thinking about holiday gifts for our hiking and backpacking friends and family. It's tough to find great gifts that these picky fanatics will appreciate and since I fall into that target category, I thought I'd help you out with a few suggestions. (I hope my wife is reading this post!) Finding good gifts for outdoor lovers that cost under $50 is actually rather difficult, but you'll find something for everyone in this list including: dog owners, beg... Read Full Story