If you’ve read my posts about technology, you know I love iPods as trail companions. I’ve struggled lately on the trail: do I bring my iPhone (with camera, movies, music, GPS app - 5 ounces) or just go with my Flip Ultra (video camera that easily uploads to YouTube). To complicate matters, the new iPhone […]
In the latest issue of Backpacker Magazine are 33 tips for lightening your load. One I have pointed out before, but it is worth mentioning again: don’t leave behind items that can make your trip comfortable and/or satisfying. Example:
I have three sleeping pads: 14 ounces, 20 0unces and 36 ounces. Two are self inflatables: a […]
Your favorite music to help you sleep or to give you inspiration during an uphill slog can be a welcome backpacking companion. As long as it doesn’t add a lot of weight.The new iPod Shuffle 3rd Generation weighs all of .38 ounces — that’s right, just a tad over one-third of 1 ounce. Holds 1,000 […]
Backpacker Magazine’s Medicine Man, Buck Tilton says bear spray may be effective against snakes. On my upcoming trip to Cache Creek Wilderness, known as rattlesnake country, I think I’ll take my Grizzly spray.
Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.
In earlier posts, I mentioned that I have three ground pads: a 3/4 Thermarest, a full-size Thermarest and a down-filled Exped Downmat 7. The D7 is heaviest, but is thick and ground-insulating with an ultralight sleeping bag. In a Yahoo discussion group a guy was inquiring about the Gossamer Gear 1/4 inch pad. A reader […]
On one hand, you can argue that if you forget to take something, you’ll be lighter on the trail. But you may also be sorry. I have a detailed backpacking list. Yet, sometimes you need to check and double check. On my recent trip to the John Muir Wilderness, I found that I had […]
One of my ultralight backpacking partners, Wild Bill, and I just completed a quickie and butt-kicking 16-mile hike in the popular Ansel Adams/John Muir Wilderness in the Eastern Sierra.
I’ll do a trip report shortly, perhaps with video. But first I want to comment on an article in the latest issue of Backpacker Magazine with the […]
I got a comment on my recent liquid bandaid post from the author of HikerHell.blogspot.com and went to his site to investigate. His site talks about mishaps and deaths involving hikers and backpackers with the idea of helping others avoid trail tragedies. Says Hiker Hell’s blogger:
A must in every ultralight backpack is some form of first aid. I usually take duct tape (you can use to make a liquid in a 1.5 ounce and 2 3/4 inch high bottle (heavy compared with Bandaids) that you brush on: NEW SKIN LIQUID BANDAGE BOTTLE. In less than a minute the New Skin […]
I head off soon for a backpack in the Granite Chief Wilderness near Lake Tahoe. With some snow still on the trail and nights at 8,500 feet expected to dip into the 30’s, a hand warmer isn’t such an odd suggestion as an added comfort for very little weight. As a kid, I had a […]
