Trampas Lakes – Pecos Wilderness – Carson National Forest, NM

October 16, 2019 Leave a comment

The Trampas Lakes are said to be two of the prettiest lakes in NM.

The perfect place to spend a couple nights and maybe bag a Summit or two.

After a long summer with little opportunity to hike….I was looking forward to getting out into the wilderness. So I planned a somewhat ambitious hike that would hit 4 alpine lakes and 2 summits in 3 days. I packed lighter than usual expecting some big elevation gain and headed off to the Pecos Wilderness of the Carson National Forest. What I didn’t know is this hike would be plagued with issues before it even started.

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TripTarp

TripTarp Review – Backpacking Trip Planning Tool and Lightweight Tarp

May 15, 2019 Leave a comment

When planning a backpacking trip, how do you make sure you have everything you need? Most backpackers rely on checklists. Weather it’s on paper, from memory, or printed on a tarp. Which is the case with TripTarp: a new Multipurpse backpacking planning tool I recently had the pleasure to review.

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Matilija Wilderness Backpacking – North Fork Matilija Creek Trail, California

May 8, 2019 1 Comment

The Matilija Wilderness in Southern California is indeed a wild place.
I recently did a 2 night backpacking tip of the North Fork Matilija Creek Trail in the Matilija Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. I wasn’t looking to do a lot of miles on this trip and even what I intended to do was cut short due to how difficult the trail is to follow.

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Guadalupe Peak Texas

The 5 Best Backpacking Trips in Texas

April 30, 2019 2 Comments

Texas is nearly devoid of public land. No public land means backpacking opportunities are scarce in the Lone Star State. Even though Texas has multiple State Parks, most are no more than a few square miles in total size. At any given State Park you could hike the entire trail system in a day leaving no real opportunity for backpacking. Luckily we have two National Parks in the Western mountains (yes Texas has mountains) and a small group of National Forests in the East. Together they offer some of Texas’ Best Backpacking Trips.

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Floating Bog Bridges

Crossing the Floating Bog Bridges of the Adirondacks, New York

April 24, 2019 Leave a comment

“Be careful up ahead! I fell in on the floating bog bridges.” What did that guy just say? The FLOATING bog bridges? As we would soon find out first hand the trail between Feldspar Lean-to and Lake Arnold is prone to flooding. Scratch that…has become a permanent 5-10 foot deep swamp. Some years ago ADK trail crews attempted to build bog bridges to get hikers across. But as water continued to rise the bridges have started floating and disintegrating.

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Big Agnes Husted 20F FireLine Pro Sleeping Bag Review

April 12, 2019 Leave a comment

What do you look for in a sleeping bag? For me there are four main features that determine the quality of a sleeping bag. In order of importance. Warmth, Weight, Size, Cost. Okay maybe cost is up a little higher in importance than I’m letting on. After all I have always relied on budget sleeping bags and have never bought a bag over $150.

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