Now accepting applications for 2019 guided trips!

Back to the Brooks Range!Yesterday afternoon I began accepting applications for my 2019 guided trips. Through January 20, it’s an open application period — if you get your application in by then, I’ll consider it equally with all of the others, though I do give first priority to alumni and to applicants who were waitlisted…

Long-term review: LOKSAK OPSAK || Food storage enhancer

LOKSAK OPSAK bags are made of heavy-duty plastic and have a hermetic seal. When closed, the bag is airtight, waterproof, and odor-proof (the “OP” in OPSAK). On some trips, I use the 12″ x 20″ size ($6, 1.5 oz) as a lone food sack or as a liner inside a wildlife-resistant Ursack. I also like the 9″…

New hires! Anish and Stringbean to guide in WV and CO

This winter I’ve hired two more guides, cementing the roster as the most accomplished and knowledgeable team of backpacking guides on the planet. Yes, I’m boasting. No, I don’t think I’m exaggerating. Joe McConaughy (“Stringbean”) will be helping Alan Dixon (“Adventure Alan”) and me guide in West Virginia in early-May. And Heather Anderson (“Anish”) will be…

Just released: CalTopo app for Android

The website CalTopo has been my go-to mapping platform for four over years. I primarily use it to make and print topographic maps, including for all of my guided trips and high route guides. It has come a long way since I began to use it, with regular improvements to the user-interface and imagery database.…

Admission: Yes, I sleep with my food

In a post yesterday I shared my recommended food storage techniques. Some readers responded skeptically to my fifth method — sleeping with it — so I thought I’d discuss it more fully. I’m intentional about when and where I’ll do it, and I don’t have a death wish. First, a disclaimer Sleeping with your food seems riskier than…

Tutorial || How to store & protect food from bears & mini-bears

You’ve set up camp for the night and cooked dinner. Now what should be done with the Snickers, salami, peanut noodle dinners, and the other calories that will sustain you for the remainder of your backpacking trip? Protect from what? Most backpackers seem to protect their food overnight because they’re worried about bears. In places…

Program orientation: My 2019 guided trips

My 2019 guiding program is coming together. A few details are still being finalized, but everything should be settled by Monday, January 7, when the open application period will begin. For in-depth details about the trips, go here or follow other links below. This post is a succinct summary. Guide roster The program has always stood…

Review: Salomon Sense Pro 3 || Smooth speedster for soft ground

The Salomon Sense Pro 3 is a fast, smooth, and aggressively lugged trail running shoe that is best for narrow/low-volume feet and soft or loose surfaces. Even though the Sense Pro 3 will replace the Sense Pro 2 and shares nomenclature with the Sense Pro 1, it most strongly resembles the S/Lab Sense 6 SG, which was the…