Advice for heading out on a live-off-the-land adventure: Another consideration is the timing. It’s better to make such an excursion in the spring, when most of the native plants are at their peak. Buy several field guides and prepare yourself…
Backpacking
Links and comments about backpacking, camping and long distance hiking at Two-Heel Drive
Book review: “Zero Days”
by tmangan • November 8, 2007 • 1 Comment
The Mercury News has posted my review of Barbara Egbert’s “Zero Days,” which recounts her 2004 Pacific Crest Trail through-hike with her husband and 10-year-old daughter. Excerpt: Egbert and Chambers, who live in Sunol, started taking their daughter on backpacking…
A bivy for winter camping?
by tmangan • November 6, 2007 • 2 Comments
A reviewer at Outdoor Video Magazine describes camping a few nights with an Integral Designs eVent Expedition Unishelter Bivi. eVent fabric is supposed to be as breathable as it gets, which isn’t much, according to this review: Night 3 Sleeping…
Got yer eye on the Continental Divide Trail?
by tmangan • November 6, 2007 • 1 Comment
A story in the Bozeman Chronicle describes some of what you’re up against in this story about a Montanan who just finished it: For most of the hike, Horan traveled with a friend, Colorado resident Mark Dixon. But Dixon had…
Five days of camping and surfing on the Lost Coast
by tmangan • November 2, 2007 • 0 Comments
A writer for Forbes hiked in nine miles with five days’ gear — and a surfboard — to catch some of the finest waves in the West at a place called Big Flat. As the last shards of sunshine danced…
Delving into “Zero Days”
by tmangan • October 17, 2007 • 1 Comment
So 4WheelBob is not the only chaser-of-remarkable-firsts in my acquaintance. It so happens that a woman I work with hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2004 with her 10-year-old daughter, the youngest ever to hike the whole trail. Barb Egbert…
Dan on bivy camping
by tmangan • September 14, 2007 • 3 Comments
Dan Mitchell describes a couple days in the Sierra in which he was obliged to ride out a rain shower in the close confines of a bivy sack. He also had to figure out how one inserts one’s wet body…
Great tip for backpacking meals
by tmangan • September 12, 2007 • 1 Comment
Cutter passes along a suggestion on how to know if you’ve got the right amount of water for reheating your dinner. Instead of carrying a measuring cup, take along a measuring stick, or better yet, carve some notches in your…
Calipidder’s JMT report
by tmangan • August 29, 2007 • 0 Comments
Rebecca of Calipidder.com was finishing her John Muir Trail trek just as I was gearing up for the White Mountain Adventure. She now has several days of words and pictures posted, starting with this introduction, which includes links to each…