A quick overview of the Continental Divide Trail for planning purposes. Updated regularly. Read More ...

Continue reading A Quick and Dirty CDT Guide at PMags.com.

A planning guide and overview for planning a thru-hike or long backpack on the Appalachian Trail.
Read More ...

Continue reading A Quick and Dirty Guide to the Appalachian Trail at PMags.com.

A quick and dirty overview for transitioning from a traditional backpacker to a lighter weight backpacker. Chart to compare and contrast weights and prices,too Read More ...

Continue reading Lightweight Backpacking 101 at PMags.com.

Hike My Hike, Damn it! The one true, correct and absolute way to hike. My way. Read More ...

Continue reading Hike My Hike – Damn It! (HMHDI) at PMags.com.

An article I wrote for Backpacking Light.  A photo essay and a briefy synopsis of the  lightweight backpacking gear I used from the trail.

Check it out!

Continue reading Walking The Backbone – A Backpacking Light article at PMags.com.

In May of 2004, Rocky Mountain Sports Magazine published an article about the Nalgene bottle craze in Colorado. Not just for outdoor types, but seems EVERYONE has one of these lexan wonders. The magazine solicited stories about Nalgene bottles in various online Colorado outdoor groups.. Much to my surprise, they actually put my flip reply in the article.  Maybe it is because of my upbringing (or maybe I am just cheap!), but I can’t see paying $10 for a water bottle! 😉

Continue reading “It’s Just A Water Bottle at PMags.com.

Isaac Stokes is a neighbor of Marni and Josh. He also writes an outdoor column for the Boulder Weekly. Out of the conversations we had over shared beers, Issac thought an article about my more "down to earth" approach to lightweight backpacking would be interesting. So one day we sat down and talked about gear, trails and hiking. Except this time Isaac had a pen and paper.

Continue reading Come to the Lite Side at PMags.com.

An overview and comparison of ways to treat water in the backcountry for hiking, backpacking and camping. Read More ...

Continue reading Drop In The Bottle – Water Treament in the Backcountry at PMags.com.

Scary and/or amusing! My "Old Yeller" stove system  with many trail miles on it. It was 'retired' after the CDT with perhaps 6000+ trail miles on it!

Back in December 2005, we were dicussing stoves on the Pacific Crest Trail mailing list.
Mentioned my coat hanger pot stand. Some people were curious to see this system.

Well, I posted my pics. People were a bit..er amazed. See for youself. 🙂

The original e-mail:

For anyone who is curious, my lovely cookset with the  "bent coat hanger potstand" (TM).

The total cookset weight is below:

2 qt. Alum. Pot w/ tinfoil lid                 4.500 oz
Beer Can Stove                                  .375 oz
Windscreen                                        1.250 oz
Coathanger Potstand                            .875 oz
Ziplock Bag                                    .375 oz

I like a big pot for my thru-hiker appetite.

Continue reading Old Yeller Stove at PMags.com.

Over the years my base pack weight has become lighter and lighter. It took many miles and years of tinkering to get to this point, though!

I have been asked if I had gear lists for the different trails I’ve done. Up until now, I did not.

Since I am dealing with multiple trails and equipment from a decade of thru-hiking, I do not recall the exact weights. The BASE PACK WEIGHT is a guess for the earlier days. I also did not list every item, only the “biggies.”, Obviously, some of the items in 2009 are different from their 1996 or so counterparts. The lists should prove to be instructive, though.  I also have my current gear list posted (as of July 2012).

GEAR LIST FOR THRU-HIKES, 1997- 2006

Vermont’s Long Trail 1997
Appalachian Trail 1998
Vermont’s Long Trail 1999
Pacific Crest Trail  2002
Colorado Trail 2004
Continental Divide Trail 2006

BACKPACK
EMS 5500 (1996 Model)
EMS 5500 (1996 Model)
Camp Trails Scirroco (3500 CI)
LWGEAR -One Pound Pack (all mesh)
LWGEAR -One Pound Pack (all mesh)
Six Moon Designs Essence (2006 Version)

SHELTER
Walrus Swift
Walrus Swift
Walrus Swift
Campmor 8×10 Silnylon Tarp
Oware 5×7 SilNylon Tarp
Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape

Sleeping Bag
Feathered Friends Hummingbird
Feathered Friends Hummingbird
Feathered Friends Hummingbird
Feathered Friends Hummingbird
Feathered Friends Hummingbird
Feathered Friends Hummingbird

Sleeping Pad
Z-Rest
Z-Rest
Z-Rest
Z-Rest
Z-Rest (cut down)
Generic “blue foam pad” ( cut down)

Cooking
MSR Alpine Cookset
MSR Alpine Cookset

K-Mart Alum Pot

K-Mart Alum Pot (a little beat up)
K-Mart Alum Pot (really beat up)
K-Mart Alum Pot (d-low says it should be thrown away!)

MSR Whisperlite
MSR Whisperlite
Alcohol Stove
Alcohol Stove
Alcohol Stove
Alcohol Stove

Hydration
2 Nalgene Bottles
2 Nalgene Bottles
2 Gatorade bottles
2 Gatorade Bottles
2 Gatorade Bottles
2 Gatorade Bottles

1 Gallon Plastic jug

Nalgene Cantene
Nalgene Cantene
Nalgene Cantene
Nalgene Cantene

PUR Microfilter
Polar Pure
Polar Pure
Polar Pure
MP-1 Tabs
Iodine Tabs

Jacket
Generic Fleece Pullover
Generic Fleece Pullover
Generic Fleece Pullover
Marmot Driclime Windshirt
Marmot Driclime Windshirt
Montbell Light Shell Jacket

Rainwear
Windpants
Windpants
Windpants
Windpants
Montbell UL Rainpants
Montbell UL Rainpants

PVC Rainjacket
PVC Rainjacket
Generic Nylon Rainjacket
Generic Nylon Rainjacket
Golite Wisp
Golite Wisp

Footwear
LL Bean Cresta Hikers
LL Bean Cresta Hikers
Asolo 535s
various running/trail shoes
Nike Air Pegasuses
various running/trail shoes

BASE PACK WEIGHT (Estimated)
30 lbs
28 lbs (weighed at Boiling Springs ATC office)
17 lbs
13 lbs
10 lbs (I had a digital scale for this kit)
9lbs (I had a digital scale for this kit)

NOTES:

• I did not include most of my clothing as that has changed very little from the second LT hike in 1999. 

Continue reading The Evolving Gear List : 1997 – 2006 at PMags.com.