Category: outdoors
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Contents1 Remember the 3s2 Common Sense3 First Aid4 Signaling5 Starting Fire6 Avoiding Fires7 Warmth & Dry8 Water9 Food10 Weather11 Navigation Remember the 3s You need air in 3 minutes (and to stop severe bleeding), to get warmth in 3 hours, water in 3 days, and food in 3 weeks. The Wisdom of Abo Dude touches on most…
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My recommendations on the following pages originated with backpacking, but most of the observations are applicable to a variety of outdoor activities. Related: Packing for the Camino (or other other hostel-2-hostel pilgramages) plus notes about packing light for travel. I also keep a list of my “gear for life“. I have pages covering: Ultralight Approach Around 2000…
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Many people under estimate the value of a good night of sleep. If you don’t cherish your sleep, you might want to read The Problem of Sleep which does a good job of documenting the value of sleep, what interferes with good sleep, and what the negative consequences of not getting enough sleep. There is some gear…
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Sleeping pads provide comfort which can enable a good night of sleep. Waking up in the morning feeling worse than when you went to bed is no fun. Some people can sleep on the bare ground or maybe 1/8″ foam pads for some insulation. Glen suggests that a minimalist pad works great when you make…
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Sleeping bags and quilts can provide light-weight and compact insulation for a good nights sleep. I have found that you get what you pay for when it comes to sleeping bags and quilts. It’s also important to have insulation and comfortable surface to sleep on top of (pads for most, hammock – with an under-quilt in…
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Historically the three best choices are Down, Polarguard (especially 3D and Delta), and Primaloft, though Climashield sounds pretty good and will likely replace Polarguard as the most commonly use synthetic in the next few years. Each of these materials has different performance characteristics. You will need to decide the relative weighting of these characteristics to…
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Shaped tarps can be exceptionally light weight while providing excellent storm protection. The downside of many shaped tarps is that they way you pitch them is limited compared to a classic flat tarp. Shaped tarps come in a variety of sizes and shapes. I have a separate post about “flat” tarps. There are also a…
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Tarps are often the lightest shelter to provide protection from the environment, provides more space / weight than other options, and let you stay connected to your environment when pitched open. Tarps can often be set up in a number of ways so they can provide protection for a group of people cooking and eating…
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Part of Mark’s Backpacking Guide TL;DR One of my joys has been introducing people to backpacking and wilderness experiences. Some people love it, others just couldn’t adjust. They were too used to climate controlled environments, were scared of wild life, and wanted a modern bathroom. Other “city people” jump right in and get into the…
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The following are rather incomplete notes I have made at one time or another about being in the outdoors in the face of cold, snowy conditions, with a focus on backpacking. It is not as complete as most of my posts about backpacking, though it will likely slowly improve when I stumble across something I…
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The post was corrupted and I haven’t been able to find a good archive of it. I pulled some text in from another page in May 2025 as a starting point, but this really needs a complete rewrite, updated references, and some corrections. I have run many tests, several of them better constructed since first…
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Everyone would agree that carrying less weight is a good thing. So no matter whether you are a ultra-light or heavy weight packers, losing un-needed pounds is productive. There are a number of ways to reduce the weight of your pack. Here are a few ideas which have been very helpful to me: Ultralight Twist…
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Minor Updates Aug 2022 The hike from Big Sur Station to Hot Springs is a 20 mile in and back trip. Sykes Hot Springs is one of my favorite places to take first time backpackers who are reasonably fit. The destination has a natural hot springs and a trout filled stream. The hike is pretty.…
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Review Item: BalloonBed Original Sleeping PadManufacturer URL: http://www.balloonbed.com/Manufacture Year: 2005Listed weight: 100g (3.5 oz)Weight as delivered: 85 g (3oz) + .7g (.2 oz) for a night of balloonsMSRP: £18.95 GBP (~US$38 depending on exchange rate) Description Brownish green fabric holster to hold balloons, small sack made from the same light material to hold all the items, balloons,…
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The following was Patagonia’s response to some questions about materials and testing which was posted in 2005 to a public forum. Most of this article matches my personal experience and still seems valid today. Mark Verber Innovation, that steamroller of change, has, over the past five years completely redefined the way people dress for the mountains – to…
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Ah, the second annual coastal father / daughter backpacking trip. We once again returned to Coastal Camp at Pt Reyes National Seashore. The hike is an easy 1.8 miles in and 3.1 miles out. These trips started because we wanted our daughters to fall in love with backpacking. We picked Point Reyes as the initial…
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Helen and Libby were on a mother / daughter campout, so it was a perfect weekend to get away for a fast and light backpacking trip. I was hoping for getting into the high country, but this year the Sierras have received more than 170% of the normal snow fall. I left work Friday afternoon…
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I started my hike of the Lost Coast in Shelter Cove. The view from the parking lot gives you a sense of the scenery for the rest of the hike. The Lost Coast is a great place to find solitude. The King’s Range rises from sea level to four thousand feet within three miles of…
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Backpackers have to protect their food against animals while they sleep. In most parts of the country correctly hanging food in a bear bags can be effective. Unfortunately bags won’t protect your food in locations with habituated bears whose response to backpackers is “Great, I get another treat filled piñata tonight”. In Yosemite I have watched bear tracking backpackers…