Last week I returned from a short, lightweight backpack to Mt. Eddy (9,025 feet), a great viewing spot for Mt. Shasta. A mile north of the City of Weed, California, on I-5, you take Edgewood Drive, follow it to Stewart Springs Road and you end up at Parks Creek Trailhead (13 mile drive on paved [...]
In many wilderness areas, as you plunge into rocky areas or scramble above tree line, the trail can seem to just disappear. On a recent backpack to the Emigrant Wilderness, I was reminded how important it is to pay attention to trail signs. Several times, we found ourselves off the trail, back tracking. In one [...]
I’m a member of and frequent shopper at REI. They have a good selection of goods and for the most part knowledgeable folks working there. I can walk around for hours touching, poking, feeling, examining and exploring. It’s actually a treat to spend two hours there even if I don’t buy something since I live [...]
I was checking out the weblog at Campman.com and came across a review of a new anti-mosquito patch. Campman says it’s ideal for kids. But when he says the patch kept the bugs off him as well, I knew I needed some. Especially, after my miserable backpack recently to Emigrant Wilderness where we were swarmed [...]
I love discovering new ultralight backpacking gadgets — anything that has multiple uses and is really light. I was at the local outdoor store, looking for a birthday present for one of my backpacking pals, when I discovered a plastic knife-spoon-fork utensil from “Light My Fire Spork.” It weighs less than a half ounce and [...]
I just returned from a backpack that reminded me why they call it wilderness. You always seem to remember the things that go wrong; the things you can’t control that are part of being outdoors. You look back and say, yeah, that was a great trip. Remember … What I’ll always remember on this trip [...]
I’ve written about how you can stay warm in a thin, light sleeping bag, even when the temperature is 20 degrees below the bag rating. I have to admit that when I checked the weather report for our upcoming trip to the Dardenelles near Sonora Pass in California, I got the chills: -Some patches of [...]
This week I’m preparing for my first backpack of the season. I’m kind of sad it has taken so long to get out on the trail. Last year, I was out by March. This year, with the mountains clearing of snow early in California and 50% less rainfall — and snow, I presume — I [...]
The title of the post may turn off some of you. But I’m trying to not only share the usual stuff you hear from experienced backpackers, but also the little things — done incorrectly — that can make your life miserable on the trail. I have always hated to get up in the middle of [...]
I’ve only come across rattlesnakes on two backpacks. In both cases, I saw them before they saw me and gave them a wide berth. Although I have a healthy respect for them, I learned in a wilderness medicine class that less than a dozen people a year are killed by snakes and most of them [...]
