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On-Trail Route Finding: When the Trail is Hard to Follow
"I've never been lost, but I was once a mite bewildered for a few days." - Daniel Boone
How Backpacking Light Has Helped Our Camp Fire Council Take Kids Backpacking
Developing a relationship with the outdoors and teaching others to do the same, introducing kids to the charm of the backcountry has a magic all its own.
BushBuddy Stove Tweaks
A few simple modifications to make your BushBuddy faster and even more covet-worthy!
How to Best Pack Your UL/Frameless Backpack with UL Gear
The advantages of having a lightweight, frameless backpack are huge - but without that heavy frame, the backpack has all the qualities of a large sack. For maximum comfort, you'll need to pack carefully, in a way that gives your backpack form and balance.
Make Your Own Gear: Igloos
Build an igloo using the “hub and spoke method” and lightweight backpacking tools.
Fast and Light Shoulder Season Footwear Tips
Avoiding wet feet in the shoulders seasons can be impossible. Follow a few simple principles to ensure your feet are happy, no matter the conditions!
What a Beginner Needs for Backpacking: Part 2
Clothing, Footwear, Group Gear (Water Treatment, Stoves and Fuel, Shelter). Basic training for the beginner and/or young backpacker, with a focus on Scouts.
What a Beginner Needs for Backpacking: Part 1
The Lightweight Lesson, Essentials, Backpack, Sleeping Bag and Pad, Personal Kit. Basic training for the beginner and/or young backpacker, with a focus on Scouts.
Backpacking and Hiking with an Umbrella
Francis is an umbrella advocate, eschewing typical rainwear. Find out why he's backpacked over 12,500 miles with an umbrella... and decide if you should follow his lead.
Mike Clelland’s Tiny Manifesto of Ultralight Backpacking Tips
Rotating feature with tips and illustrations from Mike Clelland!'s new book: Ultralight Backpackin' Tips
How to Use Trekking Poles: The Gas-Brake-Coast Method
Poking poles around for added stability is fairly intuitive, but the full promise of two more legs - greater endurance, building upper body strength, and reducing injury from stress or falls - requires some technique. Try Skip's straightforward and effective approach!
Backpacking versus Thru-hiking
Thru-hiking is not simply a longer version of a backpacking trip. Considering thru-hiking a long trail? Make sure you know what you're getting into and set yourself up for success.
Guidelines for Grizzly Country
While most grizzly behavior is predictable, there is always an extent to which animals are unpredictable, and thus hiking in grizzly country is inherently dangerous, even if the statistical hazard is very small. Read up on salient safety issues before your next late season backpacking or hunting trip.
Completing a Thru-Hike
What sets successful thru-hikers apart from the rest of the pack? Superfitnessawesomesauce? A trust fund? The best gear? The answer may surprise you.
Smartphone Navigation
Use the ubiquitous smartphone to get where you're going, with details on four apps that support maps for more places (not just the States). All you need do is supply the adventure.
Enjoying Backpacking with Kids: Part 2
The kid-sized kit: Gear should not become an end in itself. The point is to get out and enjoy the woods with kids. Ultralight gear is exciting because it enables kids to do things they could not otherwise do!
Enjoying Backpacking with Kids: Part 1
Everything boils down to a few simple rules that can encompass a surprising range of scenarios!
Fast and Light Winter Travel
Insights from the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Ski Classic.
Food Planning Using Pounds Per Person Per Day
Calculating how much food to take on a trip? My goal is to be perfectly satisfied during my time in the backcountry, but to walk out of the mountains with absolutely ZERO food. It is so gratifying to eat that last raisin on the last mile of the last day. If I can do that, the math worked out perfectly.
Backpacking Light 101: The Art of Ultralight
A Lightweight Primer to Backcountry Travel for the Uninitiated.
