The Official MyLifeOutdoors Guide for Treating Water in the Backcountry
Water filters: if you’re new to backpacking, or even going on longer day hikes, choosing the right one for you can seem daunting. There’s a lot of risks involved in making sure you have the right system to filter your water: if you don’t do it right, it’s easy to get sick, and no one wants to cut a trip short because of water-borne illness. Now, there are many different ways to treat water: from boiling it to filtering it,
Discovering Solitude: 7 Practical Tips for Finding Tranquility in the Backcountry
In my decade of backpacking experience, the outdoors have only become increasingly more crowded. This is a good thing in a lot of ways: more people are appreciating all that the backcountry has to offer. But for many of us, who first ventured into the outdoors to find a measure of solitude and silence, full parking at trailheads and crowded mountain summits aren’t exactly our vision of a fun retreat into the wilderness. So today, I’m sharing seven of my best
The Key To Warm Winter Camping
Winter camping: it's intimidating for one very crucial reason: The fear of being cold. You can buy all the nicest gear and a sleeping bag with a negative-billion-degree temperature rating. But even then, in my experience, you're still missing something that can make a big difference in your winter camping comfort. I believe that this one simple trick is the key to safe, warm winter camping - and you probably already can do it with the gear you already have. Check
Big 3 ULTRALIGHT MAKEOVER—Three Options to Cut Serious Weight!
By far, the heaviest things you carry into the backcountry are your tent, backpack, and sleep system. Depending on your setup, these Big 3 pieces of gear could weigh a combined 10 to 15 pounds on their own. But what if you're tired of carrying all that weight and have decided you want to go ultralight or even just shed a few pounds off your pack? This is the list for you. I have not just one, but three setups that will
5 Myths YOU Thought Were True About Backpacking
A few years ago, I was on a backpacking trip with my daughter and a few of her friends. She woke me up in the middle of the night shivering uncontrollably, slightly hypothermic, looking for help. And in my half-asleep, been-hiking-all-day, tired stupor, I said, "Did you try taking off a few layers?" Because I believed the myth that you sleep warmer naked. *face palm* Today we're going to talk about five myths you just thought were true about backpacking. Keep scrolling to read,
Every Way To Treat or Filter Water Outdoors (Almost)
When you are backpacking you need to be able to treat or filter your water. Even clear clean looking water can contain nasty Parasites that will make you sick. To stay safe you should always treat water or filter water. Thankfully there are a lot of differ ways to do so. Below is a list ranging from least to most expensive. Boil Water If you don’t have any other way to treat water you can always boil it to kill bacteria and
How Well Do You Know Your National Parks? – Take the Quiz
In honor of National Parks week (April 20-28) Test your knowledge with our National Parks Quiz. How well do you know your national parks?
Yosemite Bear Spray Ban – Why The Park System in Wrong
This summer my wife and I have a backpacking trip planned in Yosemite. As I started doing some research trying to plan and prepare for the trip I stumbled upon a strange Yosemite rule. Apparently bear spray is banned in the park being labeled as a weapon. This fact has made me uncomfortable. I have spent a lot of time in the backcountry, and have seen bears up close. While I have never been attacked by a bear, nor have
Washing Down Sleeping Bags and Jackets
If you spend anytime in the backcountry, chances are you own some down gear. Down sleeping bags and jackets are lightweight, incredibly warm, and super compressible. Just like everything else, down gear gets dirty (and smelly) and needs to be washed. But down gear is so delicate and expensive, that washing it is a little more complicated than just throwing it in with the rest of your laundry.I’m going to focus on how to wash two different types of Gear.
Slacklining – Fun, Inexpensive way to be Active Outdoors
I live in the middle of a flat, dry dessert. There isn’t much in the way of outdoor recreation. At least not locally. Not even a good bike trail. Being active outside is a challenge for my family. So I recently started looking for ways my family and I could spend some quality time together without diving several hours to be outdoors. My solution? Slacklining.Slacklining in Midland Texas. Any trek fans out there?Slacklining has appealed to me for sometime. It