There is no universal blueprint as to how you should backpack. We all have our own motivations, needs, and levels of experience. That being said, one thing upon which everyone can agree is that hiking is substantially easier and more Read More …
In 2017 I did a Reddit AMA at /r/Ultralight. Over the course of five or six hours, I was asked a bunch of hiking-related questions, one of which was, “Can you give me your best piece of advice for backpacking Read More …
When many people first head out into the wilderness, they feel like a stranger in a strange land. Out of their comfort zone. Odd sounds, weird smells, too hot, too cold, too wet, too much. The first time may prove Read More …
(Note: This year’s list contains many of your old favourites, along with 20 new additions. I realize that December 24 is very late for a Christmas gift post, but what the hey, this article has never really been about the Read More …
A couple of years ago I published an article titled 30 Signs You May Have Taken Ultralight Backpacking too Far. It was a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek take on those that may have imbibed a little too much on the UL Kool-Aid. Read More …
In 1997 I hiked the Alpine Pass Route (APR), a 340 km (211 mi) trail that spans the breadth of Switzerland. Starting in the village of Sargans on the border with Liechtenstein, the route traverses sixteen mountain passes before reaching Read More …
It’s been almost a year since I last posted on The Hiking Life. Even by my sporadic publishing standards that’s a long time between drinks. Indeed, it’s gotten to the point where I’m regularly receiving messages from readers asking if Read More …
Cabin fever is beginning to set in. On your 4.30 am walks around the neighbourhood streets, you’ve started carrying a potty trowel. Upon returning home, you’re eating your morning cereal out of a reconstituted Talenti Ice Cream jar, and during Read More …
Are you tired of compromising on campsites, trail diet, and the pace at which you hike? Here are fourteen reasons you might consider giving friends and significant others the flick, and instead team up with a donkey on your next Read More …
Six years ago I put together a whimsical list of 10 songs about walking; or more specifically tunes that included “walk“, “walkin‘” or “walking” in their respective titles. On my recent trip to the Alps, I jotted down a bunch Read More …
Earlier this year I wrote an article titled 14 Signs You are Carrying too Much Stuff in your Backpack. This time around I thought I’d address the other end of the load-carrying spectrum, and list some of the red flags Read More …
Food represents the most commonly fantasised about subject that occupies a long distance hiker’s mind. Yep, even more than that other one. That being the case, it stands to reason that no matter whether you are a gourmet, spartan or Read More …
There is no universal blueprint as to how you should backpack. We all have our own motivations, needs and levels of experience. That being said, one thing upon which everyone can agree is that hiking is substantially easier and more Read More …
Over the past few years, the most popular articles on “The Hiking Life” website haven’t been about outdoor skills, backpacking equipment, or trip reports from exotic locales. Nope, they’ve been about crappy hiker gifts that you can pick up for Read More …
Let me begin this long overdue post with an apology to my readers. I just arrived home after six weeks of hiking around the Scottish Highlands and Norway’s Lofoten Islands. Before departing I had planned to put up a quick Read More …
One of the things I’ve always loved about the wilderness is that everything is what it is. No masks, no motives, no hidden agendas. Mother Nature can be the hardest of taskmasters, but I’ve never found her to be disingenuous Read More …
I view backpacking equipment as a means to an end. And that end is to have the safest, most enjoyable experience I possibly can while out in the wilderness. With that philosophy in mind, I look for five basic attributes in Read More …
Over the past couple of years, the most popular articles on “The Hiking Life” haven’t been about outdoor skills, backpacking equipment or trip reports from exotic locales. Nope, they’ve been about crappy hiker gifts that you can pick up for Read More …
“With disturbing frequency, backpackers die in the mountains during the first snows of the season. Avalanche danger, hypothermia and obliterated trails are a threat to your life. Snow has closed the PCT in Washington as early as mid-September. In a Read More …
There is no universal blueprint as to how you should backpack. We all have our own motivations, needs, and levels of experience. That said, one thing upon which everyone can agree is that hiking is substantially easier and more enjoyable, Read More …