Ready to Learn More About Ultralight Backpacking?
Join now to receive articles about lightweight hiking and to get my FREE ebook - 50 Ultralight Backpacking Tips. Find Out MoreWelcome! My goal is to help you feel more confident in the backcountry through informative articles and tutorials. Check out my Hiking Gear Guides, Backpacking Skills Articles and Trip Reports & Gear Lists from recent adventures.
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Best Backpacks For Thru-Hiking – (Advice From an Actual Thru-Hiker)
Finding the best backpacks for thru-hiking can be a difficult process with so many companies making great products. The specific requirements thru-hikers have for a backpack is what I’m addressing in this article. This is aimed at first-time thru-hikers

HMG Windrider 3400 & 3400 Southwest – (Long Term Review From a Thru-Hiker)
In this article, I will be breaking down and reviewing the HMG Windrider 3400 and the HMG 3400 Southwest. What are they about? What are their differences? Which one should you get? Let’s find out!

Best Mid Layers for Hiking – 7 of the Best Options in 2020
In this article, I’m covering some of the best mid layers for hiking and giving you all the information to understand what to look for. Fleece mid layers are traditionally used as a layer to go on above your hiking shirt or base layer and underneath a rain

50 Ultralight Backpacking Tips – FREE eBook
In this post, I’m giving you a sneak peek into my FREE Ultralight Backpacking Tips Book by sharing the first ten tips. At any time you can simply enter your email address to sign up for my newsletter and you’ll get the full book…

Appalachian Gear Company All-Paca Fleece Hoodie Review
The Appalachian Gear Company All-Paca Fleece Hoodie is a lightweight mid-layer great for hiking. The 100% Alpaca material makes the hoodie extremely breathable, making it ideal as active insulation when hiking and backpacking.

Cross Country Routes – My History & Gear Tips
I don’t love hiking. I realize that is an absurd sentiment for someone who has spent the past four years on long-distance trails and living in a truck to fund this lifestyle. But these trails were an easy way for an unskilled Midwesterner to get outdoors and there’s a lot of appeal..

Gossamer Gear G4-20 Backpack Review
The Gossamer Gear G4-20 Backpack is a 42L frameless, ultralight backpack. It is a reinvention of one of the original ultralight backpacks from Gossamer Gear called the G4. Instead of a dedicated frame, the G4-20 uses the integrated butt pad/mesh sleeve back panel.

Thru-Hike Gear List – What I used for 400 Miles In The High Sierra
This is a down and dirty thru-hike gear list, covering everything used on my 2019 adventure in the High Sierra. The gear I used on my Sierra trip is similar to what I used on the Appalachian Trail & the Continental Divide Trail. Gear on this list could be used on a thru-hike..

Sierra High Route (2019 Hiking Trip Report)
The Sierra High Route (SHR) or “Ropers’ High Route” was developed by Steve Roper in the 1970s. It is 195 miles long with about two-thirds off-trail hiking and the rest is on the John Muir Trail. A rugged hike, similar to the other two off-trail routes we hiked in the summer of 2019.

Southern Sierra High Route (2019 Backpacking Trip Report)
The Southern Sierra High Route (SSHR) was developed by Alan Dixon and Don Wilson in 2014. It is 100 miles long and the majority is off-trail travel mixed with sections on the JMT. Elevation loss and gain are high and the going is hard. Backpacking the Southern Sierra High Route…