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Latest
Musings: Hiking in Grizzly Country
Musings about backpacking in grizzly bear habitat.
Unresting Event
See how backpacking and forest ranger work in the High Uinta Wilderness and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument influenced Ben Kilbourne’s record, Unresting Event.
Lessons from Moving Fast
Ben Kilbourne explores the experience of moving fast through a vast mountain landscape and what you can learn from the experience.
The Best of Backpacking Light: 2022 Highlights
Highlights of 2022 - the most popular, most engaging content and featured highlights, forums, education, and more.
BPL Live! Tour, News, and Q&A
Join us for BPL Live! and take a tour of Backpacking Light, find out what's new, and get answers to your questions about Backpacking Light, using the website, getting the most out of your membership, and more!
Hiking and Backpacking Injuries and Other Medical Issues Dominant inReach SOS Incidents
Data from 10,000 inReach SOS incidents show that hikers and backpackers needing emergency assistance for injuries and other medical issues is the predominant inReach use case.
Garmin inReach Messenger (Preview/Updated)
The Garmin inReach Messenger provides seamless messaging across cellular, WiFi, and satellite networks for only 4.0 ounces. It offers some compelling features over its closest competitor, the Zoleo Satellite Communicator, including an on-device display that makes it a viable standalone device when used without a smartphone.
Can Apple’s New iPhone 14 Replace Your Garmin inReach?
Should/will the iPhone 14 replace my Garmin inReach (or similar satellite messaging devices)?
Backpacking is Pointless, and That’s the Point
Maybe not everything about ultralight backpacking has to be optimized.
The Backpacking Tithe Revisited
Further reflections on short trips vs. thru-hiking.
Ultralight Cottage Gear Makers Reflect On The Last Few Years
Cottage backpacking gear makers face supply chain and logistical challenges but find fulfillment in other aspects of their operations.
Longest Known Soaking at Goldbug Hot Springs
A well-timed winter backpacking trip allowed for priceless solitude at an oft-crowded Idaho hot springs.
Canyons and Contemplation
Exploration and reflection on a backpacking trip in the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness
Tent Fitting the Easy Way
If you are struggling to find a shelter that fits, you aren't alone. We provide some (mostly useful) advice in the context of a pop culture tour.
Exploration, An Act of Imagining
The horizon is our reminder that the way things are now is not the way things have to be. Exploring, even just backpacking into the hills at the edge of town, expands the known and opens us up to the possibility of more.
Going Home
The transitions from the simple discomfort of the trail to the chaotic comfort of life at home happen by degrees. What can I learn from the trail that will allow me to experience home life in a new way?
What is a Backpacking Trip Failure?
Some things actually suck. We can still learn from them.
“Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia to Zion Journey Through Every National Park” by Conor Knighton (Book Review)
Mark Wetherington reviews a book about national parks and uses it to examine his own relationship with iconic public lands.
I’m Breaking Up with the West
Andrew Marshall uses a trip around the Collegiate Peaks Loop in Colorado to ponder his future in the American West.
How Biking to Trailheads Can Enrich Backpacking
Mark Wetherington explores how trading auto for bicycle for home-to-trailhead transportation impacts the hiking and backpacking experience.
