Archives (*)

Yellowstone River Packrafting

An Introduction to Packrafting in the Yellowstone River Corridor between its headwaters and Big Timber, MT.

Photo Essay: Spanish Peaks, Lee Metcalf Wilderness, Montana

Photos from a Scout trek across the Spanish Peaks in Southwest Montana, with some insight into how we incorporate an ultralight ethic into groups.

Salvation in Skykomish

Trail Angels to the rescue on the PCT and AT. Chapter 11 from Lawton Grinter's new book I Hike: Mostly True Stories from 10,000 Miles of Hiking.

Close Encounters with Hypothermia

An unexpected rainstorm and inadequate gear threaten to end one hiker's PCT dreams, and potentially his life. Chapter 3 from Lawton Grinter's new book I Hike: Mostly True Stories from 10,000 Miles of Hiking.

How Packs Work

The evolution of the frameless backpack and an analysis of current technology and features of four lightweight packs: the Golite Jam, Mountain Hardwear Thruway, Black Diamond Demon, and the authors MYOG Black and White pack.

Just Say No To Wicking: Non-Traditional Base Layers Based on a Next-to-Skin Fishnet Model

24 Hours: Packrafting the Grande Ronde River

A new installment of the "24" series - stories about "24 hour" overnight trips.

Windshirts: 2012 State of the Market Report – Part 2: The Present and Future of Windshirts

Weatherproof, lightweight, breathable. Might the windshirt be the ultimate tool in the lightweight backpacker's arsenal?

Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness: Photo Essay

Photos and a Gear List from the 2012 Ultralight Backpacking Boot Camp.

The Bio-Bio Trek, Chile

Volcanoes, hot springs, and breathtaking vistas in the Chilean Andes.

Gilham Butte: Behind the Redwood Curtain

The Pilgrimage via Grasshopper Ridge

The 2012 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic

Is this the longest, toughest, roughest or hardest? The beauty of it is that at the finish no one knew or cared. Every competitor was left with indelible experiences, challenges accepted and honestly won or lost. Each had started with a clean slate and had accomplished every step in the wilderness through their own efforts. -Adrian Crane, writing about the Classic in Ultrarunning (1986)

A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 6: Ultra-Violet Light Methods

Lamar

Ryan and a group of Scouts search for solitude in Yellowstone National Park's Lamar River Valley

A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 5: Filtration Methods

A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 4: Chemical Methods

A look at several different chemical techniques for treating water in the backcountry.

A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 3

Part 3 of this series takes a critical look at several water treatment technologies available to backpackers

A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 2

Remove, kill, or inactivate? Part two of this series analyzes the legal and technical definitions as well as the practical significance of water purification and filtration.

A Survey of Water Hazards and Water Treatment Methods – Part 1

The first part of this series provides an overview of the threats that can exist in untreated (and in some cases treated) water sources. Squeamish and hypochondriac readers be warned.

A Lightweight Guide to the Crown of the Continent

Backpacking and Packrafting Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness