rec.backcountry has an informative thread. On the more concrete level: in winter camping/travel moisture is your enemy and your goal. Be warm through layers; keep dry through not overlayering. Be able to ventilate without chilling; be able to hydrate without…
Backpacking
Links and comments about backpacking, camping and long distance hiking at Two-Heel Drive
7500 is a lot of miles
by tmangan • November 13, 2005 • 0 Comments
Here’s a story about a guy who’s hiked The Appalachian Trial, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide trail. And he’s only 30. Here’s his trail journal. His thoughts on whether to hike th CDT alone: ALONE OR PARTNER?…
Lighten the load
by tmangan • November 12, 2005 • 0 Comments
A comprehensive description of the “lite” backpacking phenomenon by M. John Fayhee. One passage: No matter what was going on in the R&D departments of the myriad equipment manufacturers who were then jumping on the outdoor-recreation- craze bandwagon, there weren’t…
Scat, man
by tmangan • November 10, 2005 • 1 Comment
I realize I said just last week there’d be no more posts about bodily functions, but the Great Out of Doors blog has such a swell, concise guide to outdoor defecation that I’m compelled to break that promise. If someone…
All you can leave behind
by tmangan • November 9, 2005 • 0 Comments
A thread at Hikers HQ compares what people carry now vs. what they carried in their younger, stronger days. I’m sure the one guy was kidding when he said he never takes toilet paper anymore — he just uses the…
Taking a llama along
by tmangan • November 8, 2005 • 0 Comments
Our tourguide on the rainy hike to Tomales Point mentioned her company has taken “llama hikes,” which translates to: going camping in the backcounty and letting llamas carry most of the gear. Here’s a Usenet thread on hiking w/llamas. Sounds…
Why Californians are drawn to Wyoming
by tmangan • November 1, 2005 • 0 Comments
Because the countryside’s even more beautiful than it is in California. Sierra Soul recounts a summer road trip; if you’re in a hurry, just scroll down to the pictures. While you’re there, check out the tutorial on identifying poison oak.
It was so cold…
by tmangan • October 31, 2005 • 0 Comments
How cold was it? The night it hit -60F we went out for a midnight ski piling on every warm thing we owned. It was the most still, clearest night I have ever seen with a pretty near full moon…
The aroma of getting out there
by tmangan • October 31, 2005 • 0 Comments
Hiker Joe waxes philosophic on the changing seasons. I love the smell of my camping gear. Not that virginal smell of synthetics just purchased from MEC, but the scent of a tent, tarp, and pack after years of being buffeted…