Backpacking Light
Latest
Coming Soon – Backpacking Light Coverage of the Summer 2009 Outdoor Retailer Show (Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2009)
What can you expect from our coverage of the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market next week?
Wilderness Trekking School Summer Initiation
The summer of 2008 got Backpacking Light's Wilderness Trekking School off to a great start. We ran three trips in three wildly different locations: Northern Rockies, Pacific Northwest, and Desert Southwest. Each allowed for a unique experience and permitted us to focus on the core curriculum of the Wilderness Trekking format.
Shangri-Lite at 62 – Haute Route at 20 Pounds or Less
On the Haute Route, a 21-pound pack is over-inflated. At sixty-two well-used years, I submitted myself to random weight checks to remain sub-twenty pounds and passed most of them. Making the formula feasible are the huts and hotels which always appear just when you've had enough.
Philmont Scout Ranch: How Light Can You Go?
After taking a Wilderness Trekking course from Andrew Skurka and Don Wilson, I wanted to try the Philmont Scout Ranch in a UL style. By stepping out of my existing comfort zone, I discovered a whole new one.
Ultralight Backpacking in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca
With dozens of peaks above 6,000 meters (nearly 20,000 feet), Peru’s Cordillera Blanca range is one of the highest, most rugged sections of the Andes, and the most heavily glaciated of any mountains in the planet’s equatorial zone. It is a well-known mountain climbing destination, and hundreds of kilometers of hikeable trails have made the range increasingly popular among trekkers.
Packrafting Utah’s Escalante River in Late March
At 1.6 cfs in the Escalante, would there be more packrafting or raft-packing for our intrepid explorers?
The Performance of Alcohol Fuels for Backpacking Stoves
Part Two: Water/Alcohol Blends
The performance of a particular alcohol stove fuel is generally related to the amount of heating energy in that fuel, which changes when you blend water into different alcohols. But how does it change, and which blend should you use?
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Sleeping Pad Review
Backpacking Light has been able to spend time with a pre-production Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Pad in the laboratory, in our living rooms, and in the field. Does the product deliver?
The Performance of Alcohol Fuels for Backpacking Stoves
Part One: Three Straight Alcohols and Alcohol Blends
Light alcohol stoves are very popular, but there is a lot of confusion over what sort of alcohol should be used and whether blending different alcohols together has any effect. In this, Part One, we comprehensively examine the performance and safety of three common alcohol fuels and of a range of blends.
*** ALERT *** APPALACHIAN TRAIL HIKER FOUND!
*** ALERT *** APPALACHIAN TRAIL HIKER FOUND!
Train Yourself to Hike a 30-Mile Day
You have been invited on a summer backpacking trip that will cover 30 miles in one day, including 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, and your anticipated pack weight will be 15-20 pounds. You have 15 weeks to prepare. What is the best way to get your body and mind ready for such an outing?
My UL Frenzy: Twenty-Five Weekends of Backpacking in the White Mountains and Beyond
2008: A Year of Change. Follow Jim Bailey on his rabid quest to hike every possible weekend between March and November, despite living in New England with its record-breaking weather.
Packraft Wet Reentry Photo Demo
Foot entrapment among submerged rocks is the leading killer of whitewater boaters. Think about it: the most common way to die while boating is by doing something OUTSIDE your boat!
Uncovering the Truth: Underground Doping in the Long Distance Hiking Community
When Jason Goldman* (not his real name) completed a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in less than 100 days, not too many people paid attention: it had been hiked faster by others. But this was Jason's third thru-hike of the PCT. His previous two were completed in 183 and 174 days, respectively...
Not a Day on any Calendar
Backpacking Light's Wilderness Trekking School Photo Essay.
Staff Videocast: Cowboy Coffee
How do BPL Staffers stay warm, hydrated, and caffeinated in the backcountry?
Reflection on the Wild Coast: A Photo Essay
Adventurers Erin McKittrick and Bretwood Higman summarize their 4000-mile trek in photos and prose.
2008 Backpacking Light Staff Picks
Backpacking Light staff pick their favorite gear of 2008.
Lightweight in Wonderland
Circumnavigating Mount Rainier's premier walk with lightweight gear has J. Sinclair Oal grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
Wanderlust: Backcountry Meandering with My Family in the Wallowa Mountains
Join Regina WB for her annual family trek to Blue Lake in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, Wallowa Mountains.
