The Backpacking Light Podcast
The Backpacking Light Podcast explores the technology, gear, skills, and philosophy of backcountry wilderness travel through stories, interviews, and investigative reports.
Latest Podcast Episodes
Episode 142 | The 72 Hour Backcountry Reset
Why 72 hours in the backcountry delivers lasting mental reset: attention, stress, sleep, and decision-making—plus 24-hour options.
Episode 141 | Hiking at Night in a Blizzard
Critical winter layering, handwear, footwear, lighting, and navigation systems for safely hiking out through a sub-freezing blizzard at night.
Episode 140 | Winter Storm Decisions
Use a six-question framework to decide whether to stay put or bail when winter storms, terrain, and fatigue raise backcountry risk.
Episode 139 | Repair Kits
Learn how to build ultralight repair kits using context, consequence, and capability. Ryan Jordan compares short-term and expedition trips and addresses how to fix shelters, packs, footwear, lighting, and water treatment without carrying excess gear.
Episode 138 | Plan-Focus-Trust
Learn the Plan–Focus–Trust framework and discover how preparation removes fear, presence builds clarity, and trust turns small wins into lasting confidence – a mindset for wilderness travel and life goals.
Episode 137 | The Risk Control Continuum
Learn how to manage backcountry risk using the Risk Control Continuum framework: use hazard triggers, control layers, and field tools like the HEAT and ECG checklists to detect drift, make better decisions, and stay safe in the backcountry.
Episode 136 | Fringe Season Layering
Debunk wicking myths, optimize thermoregulation with hydrophobic base layers & utilize shell layers effectively to help with fringe season layering in the backcountry.
Episode 135 | Field Notes – The Metabolic Cost of Bushwhacking
Understand how brush work, impedance work, and hazard work explains the true metabolic cost of bushwhacking and how resistance, rhythm, and stability impact energy.
Episode 134 | Sleep Quality in the Backcountry
Disrupted backcountry sleep affects recovery, judgment, and safety. Learn how altitude, stress, and gear impact rest, and discover strategies for better sleep.
Episode 133 | Human Waste Management
In episode 133 of the Backpacking Light podcast, we challenge traditional cathole practices, advocating for pack-out systems in alpine, desert, and high-use areas based on science and LNT ethics.
