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Latest
The Overlook: Othering in the Outdoors
BPL columnist Ben Kilbourne was on a trail run when he suddenly found himself in a mask-related confrontation. What happened next got him thinking.
Standards Watch: Steve Seeber Interview
In this installment of Standards Watch, Rex interviews testing and standards development expert Steve Seeber.
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Three
In part three of his series on modern wildfires, Rex Sanders uses video and animation to help you visualize just how crazy this wildfire season has been.
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part Two
In part two of his essay series on modern wildfires, Rex Sanders explores how backpackers must adapt to the new normal.
Adapting to Changing Wildfires: Part One
In the first part of his series on modern wildfires, Rex Sanders runs through the most common dangers associated with wildfires - and what you can do about them.
Book Review: “The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands”
Backpacking Light columnist Mark Wetherington is no stranger to risk assessment. But this non-fiction account of search-and-rescue operations in North America gave him chills.
Q & A with Shilletha Curtis
Shilletha Curtis was awarded a Backpacking Light Diversity Grant in 2020 to help her prepare, acquire gear, and train for her next dream: hiking the Triple Crown. We caught up with Shilletha for a quick interview.
Learning Curve: In Over Your Head
The Learning Curve is a new column by outdoor journalist Maggie Slepian. In this installment, she talks about how easy it is to find yourself in over your head in the outdoors.
Improving R-values For Consumers
Sleeping pad R-values are not useful for many consumers, and the guidance from pad makers, retailers, and gear reviewers is inconsistent and prone to misinterpretation. This is a proposal for improved labeling and marketing of R-values.
Why I Walk
It’s four-thirty in the afternoon and I’m feeling a sleepiness only caffeine, napping, or walking can fix. English tea time. Spanish siesta. Utah amble.
Jeff Garmire is Attempting an Unsupported FKT of the Colorado Trail
Jeff Garmire is attempting a Colorado Trail FKT (fastest known time). Here's his approach, gear, tracking info, and more. He started today.
Can Wilderness Include Humans?
Am I willing to temper my desire for the pristine with an awareness that the pristine is a cultural construct?
Getting Lost in an Urban Wilderness
We don’t explore urban landscapes like we explore the wild. But maybe we can apply ultralight backpacking techniques to urban exploration.
2020-2021 Website Development Timeline
In this post, we share about Backpacking Light’s plans for its next phase of website development. Over the past several months, we have been vetting enterprise website development agencies. We have made our final decision and are excited to announce that we are building a new site and plan to launch it in 2021.
Backpackers Should be Amateur Naturalists
Ben Kilbourne explores the need for backpackers to be amateur naturalists in our effort to steward our natural environment.
On Racial Justice and Protecting Intimacy Between Humanity and Nature
If some of humanity is threatened, then our humanity's collective intimacy with nature is also broken.
First, Buy A Smaller Pack
Internet pundits often insist that new lightweight backpackers should buy a pack last, so that it will hold all their new gear and a week’s worth of food. Sometimes the advice is to buy the pack first, a little larger in volume than the backpacker thinks they’ll need. But both approaches can misfire, and I think there’s a better way.
2020 Backpacking Light Adventure Film Festival
Recorded version of the livestream of the 2020 Backpacking Light Adventure Film Festival. This content is available only to Premium and Unlimited Members.
More Reasons to Modify Gear
There are many good motives for altering equipment. Mostly we focus on reducing weight, fixing problems, or adding features. Here are a few more reasons.
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) – Resources for the Backpacking Light Community
This document provides information for the Backpacking Light community on matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus.
