Francis Tapon the summit of Mount Aneto Photo by Francis Tapon
Guest post by: Francis Tapon
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Ultralight backpackers love to have endless and tedious discussions about how to shave off an ounce here and a gram there. They’ll blow an extra $50 just to get the pants that weigh a few feathers less than another pair of pants. These idiots are so obsessed with their pack-weight that they forget the whole point of backpacking: enjoying the wilderness.
I can describe ultralight backpackers accurately, because, sadly, I am one.
Indeed, I’m cursed with this ridiculous compulsion to chop every useless gram off my gear list. Read more »
Alex and a Fallen Redwood
Guest post by Alex Genadinik
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Hiking is one of the best forms of exercise there is. I can say that because it seems that throughout my life I have actually tried all the forms of exercise there are. I have done martial arts like Judo and Jiu-jitsu, played lots of different recreational sports, and until my late twenties played in an organized and competitive local semi-professional soccer league which required regular training, and where I saw people (and sometimes myself) get injured quite badly on a too-regular basis.
I kept playing competitive sports and risking serious injury until I myself got hurt. But my worst injury didn’t come from playing soccer. It actually came from doing severe damage to my back due to working very long hours at a computer. Read more »
Guest post by Gerry Gosselin
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Hunting season is upon us! As a non-hunter you can assume the primary hunting season for most game animals will run mid October until Jan 1. This is an important time of year for hikers and backpackers to be alert to their environment and dress safely.
No one wants to be accidentally fired upon while on a recreational hike. If you see a hunter, don’t be shy to make noise to alert him to your presence. Don’t wave your arms around, just yell out or use a whistle. Unfortunately you usually won’t be able to see a hunter before he sees you. State regulations vary, but the hunter is usually required to wear a certain amount of bright hunter orange clothing so as to be seen by other people (called hunter orange). When bird hunting only an orange cap is required. For deer hunting a vest is also required. Most game animals either don’t see in colors very well or don’t see hunter orange as a warning sign. There is an exception though, and that is wild turkey. Turkey season is particularly dangerous because turkeys see colors very well. A hunter is allowed to be dressed entirely in camo from head to toe during turkey season. Read more »
Guest post by Charles Martin
http://www.webcudgel.com/
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(Author’s Note: I use a few keywords in the place of actual names as the names are interchangeable. This is for every outdoors-man and almost every #sport# out there.)
You will read many articles/books/magazines on #SPORT# and most will emphasize not skimping on the gear and equipment you will use. While this is true for specific sports (rock-climbing, for instance), most of the gear tends to be variable based on budget and does not have to be the latest and greatest pieces you read about in #SPORT# magazine. If you are truly a beginner, you may not have even experienced #SPORT# and need to identify if you are truly cut out for it.
Whether you are truly a beginner, or an intermediate or advanced outdoors-man on a budget, there are several possible sources we do not consider when purchasing clothing, footwear, gear and equipment. The purpose of this article is to remind you of the other opportunities waiting out there. Read more »
Photo by Gerry Gosselin
Guest post by Gerry Gosselin
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Every hiker should have a compass right? Eventually I got around to picking one out, not because I felt I needed it, but because I’m a gadget whore and that itch needed to be scratched. A Suunto A-10 found it’s way into my possession for about $15 US. Then it sat in my bag for 2 years barely getting any use. I’m a novice day trip hiker who usually sticks to marked trails. Every now and then I get turned around but the areas I hike in Western MA don’t usually extend more than 10 miles in any direction before hitting a road. Getting truly lost was never a concern, only a minor nuisance.
This last Saturday June 12, 2010 I took a Compass, Map, Survival Course offered free by the State of Massachusetts. It’s a 10 hour course, half classroom and half in the field. The course was light on survival but very detailed on the map and compass work. Read more »
Photo by: Darren Lone Fight
Guest post by Darren Lone Fight
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Day Hiking, Multi-Day Hiking, and Weight
Getting outside and enjoying the outdoors is a great way to maintain and increase fitness levels, burn calories, and has the potential to be a very enjoyable hobby. Nevertheless, the enjoyment can be quickly lost when you’re lugging a pack, pouring sweat, and trying to remember why it is you’re on a trail in the first place. Lowering pack weight, then, becomes a very important component to maximizing your enjoyment of the outdoors and create a positive, healthy experience that you’ll want to repeat in the future. Hiking with a backpack falls very generally into two categories: day hiking and multi-day hiking.
Day hikers don’t need to carry such items as a tent or a sleeping bag, but the pack itself and whatever other supplies that are brought along with the hiker might weigh anywhere from 2-10+ pounds. While this weight is not negligible, it is nevertheless a significantly lighter weight than the average multi-day pack. This article will focus primarily on reducing weight in the larger packs of a multi-day hiker, but most of the general points made here can apply to a lesser degree to the day hiker as well.
For a multi-day hike, one has to carry many supplies for daily use. I’ll be speaking here of a weekend trip, since this is the kind of backpacking trip most of us are able to fit into our schedule (not to exclude the bearded and smelly Appalachian Trail thru-hikers and other multi-week and multi-month hikers). This means a half-day Friday, Saturday, and half-day Sunday (or roughly two full days of supplies). A Base-pack weight for a multi-day hike of this nature includes the “Big Three” of backpacking: the pack itself, sleeping system (sleeping pad/bag), and shelter system (tent, tarp, etc.).
The (Other) Things We Carry
On top of this base-pack, a backpacker will often carry: a first-aid kit, food, water, a compass, Read more »
gear, hiking, weight loss | Husky Hiker - Jim Bradley | 
1/29/2011 8:10 AM | 
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