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Latest
Indoor Girl Takes on a Yurt
Baby steps: out of love for her outdoorsy husband, Margie looks before she leaps and books a weekend in a Utah yurt, THEN learns the definition of "yurt."
Winter’s Tone
The sights, sounds, and moods of the Ozark Trail.
Hiking Hells Canyon Rim to Rim
Crossing the deepest river gorge in North America with unmaintained trails, poor communication, and a little conflict: will frustration be followed by triumph or a turn-around?
Continental Divide Trail Project Report: Hopewell Lake, NM, August 2011
An open letter from a grandfather to his two grandsons, about his CDTA volunteer time.
Mistaken for Strangers
Trip report from the New Mexican high desert: three fellow BPLers (strangers but for the forums) and a father-in-law unite to experience the thoughtful introspection and cheerful relationship inherent in a group backcountry trek.
Across Iceland by Packraft
Encountering waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, rivers, volcanoes, and boiling hot springs during a difficult but delightful Icelandic summer.
Lightly Burdened Pilgrims: Trip Report and Photo Essay
My wife and I retraced the steps of Martin Luther on the 500th anniversary of his famous pilgrimage to Rome... it wasn't quite the thru-hike I had anticipated, but it had a satisfaction all its own.
Trip Report: 2010 Teton Crest Expedition
Our seasoned crew decided early on a mostly off-trail trip on a high route through the Teton Range. With no navigational resources but map and compass, we planned to formulate our route day by day as we progressed north to south through mountains.
Hiking Through Hyperbole: A Walk in the Clouds
With nearly constant cloud cover and a few mornings waking up to a thick layer of snow on the ground, the focus of the last days on the trail went from staying dry to just staying warm.
Hiking Through Hyperbole: Blisters and Fire
Blisters, hiking solo, and lightning-started fires marked the stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail from northern California through Oregon.
Hiking Through Hyperbole Part 2: The Snowy Sierra
The desert portion done, fear (and trail gossip) centered on snow in the Sierra, with six major passes above 11,000 feet.
Hiking Through Hyperbole: The Vortex of Fear
Tackling the Pacific Crest Trail is a big job, made harder by a stream of scary stories filtering down from other hikers.
Valley Hopping in the Cordillera Huayhuash – Global Test Photo Essay
Hopscotch over lakes, skip the main trail, and discover the jewels of Peru.
SUL with My Kid Brother
Planning a 2-day, 20-mile trip with my 11-year-old brother meant going SUL, as he wasn't going to tolerate being babied with a lesser load.
Philmont Redux: A Returning Scouter’s Report
Nearly 40 years after his first visit, Tom brought his son's Troop to experience the magic of Philmont - and the magic of lighter packs!
Fear and Loneliness on the Ozark Highlands Trail
The Ozark Highlands Trail winds through the Boston Mountains of northern Arkansas for approximately 165 continuous miles. Planning to yo-yo it for my first thru-hike, I had to come to terms with adjusted expectations.
Hiking The Diablo Trail: A Conservation Success Story
In 1993, Save Mount Diablo, a charity that works to acquire and preserve land on and around the San Francisco Bay Area’s Mount Diablo, proposed a multi-use recreation trail to showcase the region’s cooperation efforts to preserve area land. In 2007, they produced the first map highlighting the thirty-mile trail.
MYOG Goes to the Mountains
To test his latest creation, a sub-5-ounce pack, Jamie filled it with the rest of his MYOG kit and took to the Great Smoky Mountains.
Rapids, Wolves, and Winter
With amazingly light loads that included skis, packrafts, dry suits, winter camping gear, and a week’s worth of food, we set out to visit the Frank Church Wilderness in winter to prove a point.
Skiing the John Muir Trail
When the snow resembles cement and you're making one mile per hour or less at times, what would YOU do?
