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Backpacking Light

Pack less. Be more.

You are here: Home / Archives for philosophy

Why I Walk

Sep 15, 2020 by Ben Kilbourne

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.

Backpacking, essay, literature, long-distance, philosophy, stories, tradition, Walking

On Racial Justice and Protecting Intimacy Between Humanity and Nature

Jun 12, 2020 by Ryan Jordan

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.

antiracism, environmental issues, philosophy, racism

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First, Buy A Smaller Pack

May 18, 2020 by Rex Sanders

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.

philosophy

Packing Light with 95 lbs: 40 Days Without Resupply in Far-Eastern Russia

Apr 28, 2020 by Tully Henke

This is a story about a 40-day backpacking trip in the Far East (Russia) where I started with a pack that weighed 95 lb (43 kg).

philosophy, russia

Backpacking and Long-Distance Hiking in the Time of Covid-19

Mar 28, 2020 by Andrew Marshall

We need to take a hard look at what it means to be a long-distance backpacker in 2020 – what types of trips should be off the table, what types of trips are still okay, and how to keep yourself sane if you can’t make a backpacking trip work this year.

Backpacking, covid-19, first aid, long distance hiking, philosophy

Beginner’s Mind: A Lifelong Ground Sleeper Takes to the Trees

Feb 13, 2020 by Andrew Marshall

After a lifetime of pole-supported shelters and sleeping pads, I’d decided to give hammock camping a try.

hammock camping, Kammok, philosophy, shelter systems

Buy Less, Do More with Good Enough Gear

Feb 11, 2020 by Rex Sanders

What you’re really hooked on is the dopamine rush from buying and trying new gear – which doesn’t last very long.

grandma gatewood, philosophy

Nature Therapy in the Backcountry (Traveling Light Towards Mindfulness and Wellness)

Jan 28, 2020 by Emylene VanderVelden

Nature Therapy in the Backcountry is an exploration of mindfulness, wellness, and the mental/emotional aspects of ultralight backcountry travel.

mental health, philosophy

Book Review: On Trails by Robert Moor

Aug 3, 2019 by Andrew Marshall

How do trails form? Why do trails form? Come to think of it, what is a trail? These are but a few of the (deceptively simple) questions author Robert Moor attempts to answer in his book On Trails (Simon and Schuster, 2016). Moor – a lifelong backpacker and Appalachian Trail thru-hiker in addition to being a writer – approaches his subject with lyrical language and journalistic due-process. The result is a book as quietly spiritual as it is wildly informative.

Book, philosophy

What is ultralight backpacking? (how we talk about ultralight)

Jul 14, 2019 by Ryan Jordan

To me, ultralight backpacking is the idea that one should solve a problem using as little as possible, but that which is used to solve the problem should be as effective as possible. Defined as such, the actual weight of individual pieces of gear, or one’s pack, matters less, and takes a back seat to the performance-to-weight ratio of a piece of gear.

philosophy

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