How to’s

Ultralight backpacking notes

April 27, 2011

I’m teaching a class tonight at REI about lightweight vs traditional backpacking. It’s a bit of a mock battle between me (representing lightweight) and a very experience backpacker Mike Little (representing traditional weight). I’m planning on printing out my notes and then trimming off the unnecessary paper. Gimmicky, no? Here are my notes for the [...]

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The calculus behind food selection

December 3, 2010

Ok, it’s actually algebra, but don’t fight it. Having calculus in the title makes it sound more intelligent. Right before my trip to the Seven Devil’s Mtns, I decided that I wanted to come up with a system for food selection. A way to break down caloric density so that making choices would be easy. [...]

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4 new foot care solutions I’m trying

October 28, 2010

One of the biggest problems I have on the trail is foot pain. I’ll wake up in the night with feet so swollen they won’t fit into my sandals. During the day, they become very painful to walk on, especially when I am going downhill. I’m trying to become more pro-active about my foot care [...]

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Don’t change, I like you just the way you are- packing clothes for trips

July 11, 2010

No, seriously, don’t change. I’ve been teaching a Backpacking Boot Camp with the Portland Women’s Outdoor Club, and one of my missions is to get the participants to bring fewer clothes. To me, leaving a few shirts and pants at home is an easy way to lose weight and bulk from your pack. So I [...]

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Training Aubrey for Hells Canyon: Stage #3

June 21, 2010

After doing some stair climbing, weight lifting, and her first overnight in the woods, Aubrey is now ready for the next step in preparing for our Hells Canyon backpacking trip. Step three: Building in distance. Making time to do distance training can be difficult, but they are an essential part of preparing for a multi-day [...]

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Series: Training Aubrey for Hells Canyon stage #2

June 13, 2010

After a couple of weeks of physical training, Aubrey set out on her next big step towards being prepared for our trip to Hells Canyon: she went on her first short backpacking trip. I recommend that people do this early on so that they can begin to feel comfortable in the woods. Aubrey borrowed some [...]

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Why you should hike in a skirt (or at least think about it)

June 7, 2010

I am going to break this down in one word: pee-ability. That is, the ability to pee wherever you want. Now, I’m a big fan of leave not trace and peeing away from the trail, but the are some times when you just really, really have to go. If you are a guy, dealing with this [...]

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Series: Training Aubrey for Hells Canyon stage #1

June 3, 2010

My roommate, Aubrey, would like to hike Hells Canyon with me this summer, but she has no backpacking experience. Our agreement is that if she will follow my training program for the next month, then she can go on the trip. She’s agreed and is working very hard. Because she doesn’t have a car, I’ve [...]

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