Our kitchen kit has evolved over the years as Steve and I have lightened up. Like most of the contents in our packs, the food prep equipment isn’t the latest in ultralight (UL) gear, but it’s pretty efficient and works for us. This is probably the one area that changes most frequently, as evidenced by …
The easiest way to lose pack weight is by getting the lightest equipment of the Big Three: the sleep system, pack and tent. It’s also the most expensive, since each of the big three can run into the hundreds of dollars. My approach is middle of the road, which is solidly in the “light” category …
There are so many small, shiny objects that vie for my inclusion in my pack but each one weighs something. It’s easy to say, “It’s not very big and it weighs nothing.” I had a small stuff sack in my hand that felt like air but weighed in at one ounce. Put 16 of those …
After watching the others saddle up at the Hunewill Ranch, it was my turn. It seemed so easy for others to mount their steed in one smooth motion. It was a big leap of faith for me. Nine hundred pounds of flesh stood before me, with her own cognitive system. I was well aware that …
I had trouble finding detailed information about how to hike the 31 mile (50 km), four-day Santa Cruz Trail in Peru. For being such a popular trail, planning a backpacking trip on the Santa Cruz Trail was difficult. Most people do it as a guided hike, but the track is well signed, and backpackers with …
I had trouble finding detailed information about how to hike the 31 mile (50 km), four-day Santa Cruz Trail in Peru. For being such a popular trail, planning a backpacking trip on the Santa Cruz Trail was difficult. Like most of the backcountry trails in the mountainous areas of this region, it’s an Inca trail, …
I got interested in Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) because I always seem to suffer from mild symptoms above 11,000 feet no matter how much I acclimate, including difficulty sleeping, headache, low-grade nausea and fatigue. I also develop significant puffiness around my eyes, an indication of Altitude Induced Peripheral Edema. When I hiked the John Muir …
I don’t think I cooked more than a handful of meals for immediate consumption during the six months prior to our hike on the John Muir Trail (JMT)—thank goodness my husband likes to cook, otherwise we would have starved while I prepped all the food for the hike. Whenever I’d think of an idea for …
The John Muir Trail (JMT), which traces a 210.4 mile path along the jagged spine of the Sierra, is one of the premier trails in the U.S. It’s only a fraction of the length of the 2,663 foot Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), with which it shares much of its length, but is one of the …
In July 2014 Ralph Burgess (from New York; London originally) set the southbound (SoBo) unsupported record on the 211 mile John Muir Trail (JMT) without even trying hard. Carrying all his food and supplies by himself for his entire trip with no resupplies (unsupported) he started at Happy Isles in Yosemite National Park and ended on top …