There's a lot of new gear I'm excited to try this year (like this new sleeping pad from Therm-a-Rest), but these experiments will have to wait until later in the year. For now, I've gone back to what I know and made some adjustments after testing out some new gear in the Japanese Alps. Last year,
Horror & Heartbreak On The Pacific Crest Trail (2018 Edition)
Is the Pacific Crest Trail a fantastic adventure that you should most definitely set out on? Yes. Is the Pacific Crest Trail a never-ending ride of epic views, happy times, and rainbow-farting trail angels? Not really. Is the Pacific Crest Trail a place where you could end up dead at the
2019: What’s On The Agenda
I am a huge proponent of using the "no plan is the best plan" life strategy as a means of lazily masking my unwillingness to engage in thinking about the future. So far so good. That said, I find predicting my plan for the year less an exercise in preparation and more a tool for me to look back
The CDT Resupply Guide: Class of 2018 Survey
Contrary to popular belief, Continental Divide Trail thru-hikers do not carry all of their food for the entire hike with them from the beginning (and if you're hiking the CDT then I would expect you to know this since chances are you've already done a long-distance thru-hike). If you're
Japanese Alps Traverse Gear List
Rain for a week straight, multiple typhoons, stupid levels of humidity, Japanese giant hornets, and a record-setting heat wave all made my 425 mi / 684 km traverse of the Japanese Alps quite interesting (but mostly just justified all the ramen I ate). Hiking in Japan is different, and
The PCT Resupply Guide: Class of 2018 Survey
Contrary to popular belief, Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers do not carry all of their food for the entire hike with them from the beginning. "Wait, so do you carry all your food for the entire hike with you the entire time?" If you're thinking about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, be ready for
2018: What The Hell Did I Do?
Congratulations! It's the third week of 2019 (goes fast, huh?) and we're all still here. I wonder if we'll be able to say the same thing after our next solar revolution. But does that mean that the sun is doing the revolution or that we're doing the revolution? I hope the latter; maybe it's just
The Best Bear Canisters For The Pacific Crest Trail
The bear canister: an essential piece of Pacific Crest Trail equipment that reminds thru-hikers of what they're truly afraid of out in the wilderness - being torn to pieces by a ravenous bear in the middle of their night (but we all there know there's scarier things than bears out there). If you're
The Best Stoves For Hiking The Pacific Crest Trail
Using data from the Pacific Crest Trail survey, I've come up with a list of the best PCT stoves. That is, if you decide to use a stove at all on the PCT (all the cool kids are stoveless). If you're planning a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike and you've told anyone about your crazy plan to cross the
