What are your favorite backpacking blogs?

portlandhikers.org – trip reports and stuff centered around Portland but including Ooregon and Washington and beyond

Blogs or forums? There's a difference!

Forums:

http://www.portlandhikers.org, of course! It's an indispensable reference for anyone who hikes in Oregon, especial NW Oregon, or SW Washington. Retired Jerry is one of the big "guns" on this forum, having a lot to do with keeping up their excellent Field Guide. Thank you, Jerry!

http://www.backpacking.net, The Lightweight Backpacker, my favorite gear-related forum. Yes, I like this one, too, but I've been on TLB for over 6 years, and everyone there is like an old friend! That site is responsible for my being able to cut my total pack weight by more than half, and therefore be able to resume backpacking despite advanced age and a bum knee. Since then, I've squeezed another 3 lbs. off my base weight (now 12.0 lbs. including fishing tackle, camera and a few other items that tend to get left out of most gear lists), and some of that is definitely due to this forum. I'll never be an ultralighter because I like my creature comforts too much, but it's wonderful to have my gear weight down so I can go out for a week to 10 days without staggering under the weight!

Blogs:

http://sectionhiker.com/

http://www.hikinginfinland.com/

There are other blogs that I follow, but these are my favorites. Not only are they interesting, with a lot of variety and a lot of tidbits about gear and techniques, but they are updated almost daily or at least several times per week. They also regularly have a lot of interesting stuff. Now I know that most blog owners don't have that kind of time, but it's a bit discouraging to start following a blog only to find that it is updated at most every 2-3 months.

I read a lot – I always enjoy SectionHiker.com
My hiking blog is http://blog.trailcooking.com/

nordiclightpacking.com gives you access to a very interesting set of blogs about lightweight (what else?) backpacking in Northern Europe

Cheers.

Sarah's blog is one I check regularly, and she does update hers regularly, too!

I believe you turned me onto backpackinglight.com

Some of my favourites,

http://blogpackinglight.wordpress.com/

http://sectionhiker.com/

http://www.hikinginfinland.com/

http://bushwalkingskills.wordpress.com/

Here are my favorite Outdoor Blogs (I left out ones particular to climbing and snowsports)

Aaron Teasdale: Aaron Teasdale: http://aaronteasdale.blogspot.com
Bedrock & Paradox: Bedrock & Paradox: http://bedrockandparadox.wordpress.com
Caleb Sattgast: http://calebsattgast.com
Epic Riding | Bike | Ski | Blog: http://grizzlyadam.net
Going Places Quietly: http://samh.net/backpacking/blog
Light Pack Backpacking: http://lightpack.blogspot.com
PMags.com” target=”_blank”>: http://www.pmags.com
The Classic Report: http://classicreport.blogspot.com
The Confessions of Captain Swallowtail: http://epiceric.blogspot.com
The Roaming Dials: http://packrafting.blogspot.com
ADVENTUREinPROGRESS: http://www.adventureinprogress.com
Adventures in Onionism: http://garrettheonion.blogspot.com
Backpacking Light Magazine: http://www.backpackinglight.com
Backpacking North: http://backpackingnorth.blogspot.com
Bens Backwoods: http://bensbackwoods.blogspot.com
Boomer’s Lightweight Backpacking Blog: http://ccorbridge.wordpress.com
BrawnyView: http://brawnyview.blogspot.com
Brett on Stuff: http://www.brettonstuff.com
Chris Townsend Outdoors: http://www.christownsendoutdoors.com
Dondo Outdoors: http://dondo1.wordpress.com
Gear Talk with Jason Klass: http://www.geartalkwithjasonklass.com
Going lighter: http://goinglighter.blogspot.com
GossamerGear: http://gossamergear.com/wp
Ground Truth Trekking Blog: http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/blog
Hike With NITRO: http://nitrohikes.com
Hiking in Finland: http://www.hikinginfinland.com
The Initiative: http://www.theinitiativesite.com
LIGHTWEIGHT AND ULTRALIGHT BACKPACKING: http://jolly-green-giant.blogspot.com
National Geographic ADVENTURE: http://ngadventure.typepad.com/blog
Nordic Lightpacking: http://www.nordiclightpacking.com
North Country Trail News: http://northcountrytrailnews.blogspot.com
Onestep’s Ultralight Backpacking & Hiking: http://onestep4me.tripod.com/blog
OutdoorsWith.me: http://outdoorswith.me
run. bike. hike. annoy.: http://ultrapayne.blogspot.com
sectionhiker.com: http://Sectionhiker.com
Simplifatico: http://www.ryanjordan.com
Summit and Valley: http://summitandvalley.blogspot.com
The Journeyman Traveller: http://www.journeymantraveller.com
The North Shore…There and Back: http://northshore-thereandback.blogspot.com
The Ultralighter: http://ultralighter.blogspot.com
thebackpacker.tv: http://thebackpacker.tv
Thru-Hiker in the making: http://crazyrunnerguy.blogspot.com
Thunder In The Night: http://thunderinthenight.blogspot.com
Ultra-Lite Skunk Works: http://ultraliteskunkworks.blogspot.com
Trailspace Blog: http://www.trailspace.com/blog
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Blog: http://blog.hyperlitemountaingear.com
Light As Possible: http://lightaspossible.blogspot.com

Damn Sam! Read much?!?!

http://packrafting.blogspot.com/

http://sites.google.com/site/isawtman/

Mostly because he's local. However he seems to get into my "backyard" as much as I do even though he's 5 hours south. I generally check his site before I go out on a serious trip to check the status of trails. He just gives great description and is really into the trails. I can always count on his information. About really the only "blog" I check out that wasn't on your list Sam. lol Thank you the for the Andrew Slade blog though. I didn't realize he had one.

> Thank you the for the Andrew Slade blog though. I didn't realize he had one.

Yeah, he has some great North Shore related posts. I'm familiar with T-Man from the SHT listserv.

And yes, I follow a lot of blogs but I find my interest in them is both recreational and professional so I can get away with reading them at work from time to time ; )

I have a lot of those in Sam's list too. I don't necessarily read all of them very often, but it's great to just go through the bookmarks sometimes and catch up. Lately, I'm really enjoying blogs and journals from thru-hikers.

Here's a few more:

http://www.anotherlongwalk.com

http://benmayberry.net

http://outside365.com/

http://distancebackpacker.blogspot.com

Easy.

http://bedrockandparadox.wordpress.com– not always backpacking centric, but neither are my outdoor interests. Dave Chenault often challenges my intellect in his posts as well as my vocabulary! Seriously though, he approaches his experiences in the outdoors from an angle that I think is atypical and challenging for both himself and the reader.

HikinginFinland.com– Hendrik is obviously a favorite of mine because he produces such an excellent resource for the lightweight outdoorsman of any ilk. His blog has connected quite a few bloggers across the globe as well as serving as the hub to the European and Nordic fellow UL’er experience. If anything, check out his ‘Week in Review’ piece every Sunday when you get some spare time.

http://www.adventureinprogress.com/– BPL’s very own Damien Tougas is easily one of the best resources for the outdoorsman who also balances a career, wife, and young children- a true family man. His depth and transparency in his blog as well as his ability to balance his recreation and his other greater priorities is an encouragement to me. *Toesalad.com is a subsidiary website of his that focuses on minimalist running- excellent site.

theroamingdials aka http://packrafting.blogspot.com– Need I say more? I don’t know the guy but Roman’s reputation is widely well known, he appears a myth, a legend, and his experience outdoors is phenomenal. The only thing I have in common with him is that I carry a backpack full of gear, but I’ve panned nuggets of educational gold in his past posts. If only he contributed to BPL more often!

Simplifactico aka http://ryanjordan.com/– Ryan Jordan’s personal blog, great photography, excellent words from an individual with tons of experience and a breadth of knowledge of the outdoors from a lightweight perspective. Only bummer is his posts are so few and far between… still waiting for your next installment in the “24” series, those were excellent.

http://dondo1.wordpress.com– Dondo’s blog is trip report heavy which I prefer, he focuses on what matters most.

Riding the Wind aka http://antonkrupicka.blogspot.com/– not a backpacking blog, but Anton’s approach to trail running fits directly in the center of the lightweight philosophy- less is more. He averages 130+ miles a week of mountain running in Colorado with weekly elevation gain totals that make many of our yearly totals look like a walk in the park. He is also a reminder that you sometimes need very little to get to the top of a mountain, often just fitness, a pair of lightweight shoes, split shorts and a bottle- he’s an ego crusher for sure.

The Pain Cave aka http://desertpaincave.blogspot.com
Shameless plug. This is my personal blog that limps along like a sick dog. It receives my attention whenever I feel inclined, a place for passing thoughts and memories surrounding my love of trailrunning and occasional backpacking fits.

For nothing.
You guys may have just ruined my work productivity for the predictable future…

Must Be This Way, Andy Howell’s excellent and varied blog, covering a lot of UL and outdoors topics. Also has some very good articles by Colin Ibbotson.

Not sure how "Must Be This Way" didn't make it onto my list above. That's one I read frequently as well.

+1 on Ike's comment. Won't be getting anything done for a while…

My favorites are:

sectionhiker.com

hikinginfinland.com

lytw8.com

jolly-green-giant.blogspot.com/

This is one of my favorites.

http://www.backpack45.com

I read most of the ones on Sam's list and Sarah's blog, of course, and my friend Martin Rye's. It is a little hard to keep up with so many because I always seem to be writing, or hiking!

Here are a few more that I try to keep up with.

The Adventures of Tom and Atticus, http://tomandatticus.blogspot.com/
Alan Sloman, http://www.alansloman.blogspot.com/
BackpackingBongos, http://backpackingbongos.wordpress.com/
BlogpackingLight, http://blogpackinglight.wordpress.com/
Collected Musing of a Hill Wanderer, http://www.johnhennessy.co.uk/blog/
eBothy Blog, http://www.stravaiger.com/blog/
Helen's Wondering Wanderings, http://helenswonderings.blogspot.com/
Hiking, Climbing & Mountaineering (mostly) in Japan, http://i-cjw.com/blog/
Mountain Wandering, http://www.mountainwandering.blogspot.com/
Northern Pies, http://northernpies.blogspot.com/
Red Yeti, http://drw.me.uk/RedYeti/
The Solitary Walker, http://solitary-walker.blogspot.com/
Walking across What?, http://walkingacrosswhat.blogspot.com/
White Mountain Sojourn, http://whitemountainsojourn.blogspot.com/
WoodTrekker, http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/search/label/Books

Thanks for the props guys.

Sam and Eugene covered most of the stuff I read regularly, except some skiing stuff. Honestly I don't read too much BPing specific blogs, too much gear, too little hiking.

http://www.stevenhorner.com/

http://www.andyhowell.info/trek-blog/

http://lightweightoutdoors.com/

http://www.hikinginfinland.com/

http://sheddwellersmoments.blogspot.com/

http://minimalgear.blogspot.com/

http://www.backpacking-lite.co.uk/

http://laughing-knees.com/

http://i-cjw.com/

http://www.trailcooking.com/

http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2010/09/catching-up-with-erin-and-hig-and.html

http://helenswonderings.blogspot.com/

http://www.geartalkwithjasonklass.com/

http://terrybnd.blogspot.com/

http://www.petesy.co.uk/

http://jonathancraddock.com/

http://qbloggt.blogspot.com/

http://thunderinthenight.blogspot.com/

http://ultralightbackpacking.blogspot.com/

http://samh.net/backpacking/

http://hikinghq.net/

http://bedrockandparadox.wordpress.com