On Friday, April 9, 2021 at 6pm MDT, I will be hosting a livestream with Joe McConaughy (“Stringbean”), who earlier this week set a new supported Arizona Trail FKT in 13+ days, averaging 60-70 miles per day. If you were following his journey on Instagram, Strava, or YouTube, it already probably struck you as pretty…

In a recent post on my favorite resources for researching the conditions that I will likely encounter on a backpacking trip, I plugged the Environmental Centers for Environmental Information, which tracks temperature and precipitation data for thousands of locations throughout the United States. It’s an extremely helpful website, but it can be difficult to navigate…

In late-November I tried calling Dr. Jason Cordeiro to schedule an at-home euthanasia appointment for Oden, our beloved 17 year-old orange tabby cat. I couldn’t hold myself together long enough to leave a coherent voice message, so we confirmed over text a date for the following week. But Oden bounced back before that dreaded day…

Nineteen years ago at the start of my first real backpacking trip — an over-my-head thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail — I was simultaneously over-, under-, and mis-prepared, and had justified many decisions on the basis of what if and just in case. For example, I had three methods of purifying water but only “water-resistant”…

Two podcasts from the past week that may be worth your time: Buzz Burrell interviews Roman Dial For this week’s installment of the FKT Podcast, Buzz interviewed Roman, which makes for a lot of legend in one episode. Roman is probably the best storyteller that I know, due to both storytelling skills and Alaska-themed content.…

The Sierra Nevada red fox (SNRF) is a subspecies of red fox that has become genetically isolated since the retreat of the last ice age and is one of the rarest mammalian carnivores in North America. High routes in the High Sierra — notably the Sierra High Route, Kings Canyon High Basin Route, and Yosemite…

A six-week hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, starting at the US-Mexico border on June 6, 2006, sounded hot and dry to me. But fifteen years ago I had no experience with southern California or deserts generally, so I didn’t know how to properly prepare my gear, supplies and skills. What clothing, sleeping bag, and…

On Friday we will be shutting down registration for Session 1 of our 9-week online planning course, which starts Monday, February 22. If you miss this opportunity, consider Session 2 or Session 3, which start March 15 and April 12, respectively. If the timing of these latter sessions works better for you, you can still…

In preparing for a backpacking trip, especially outings that are beyond the normal weekend getaway in a familiar place, I rely on a handful of tools that collectively help me to be more efficient and thorough in my planning efforts. Previously I’ve posted about two of the most important: Backpacking gear list, and Environmental and…

Eleven months ago the world was turned upside-down by Covid. For years I’d wanted to offer an online course, and last spring was an ideal opportunity — the expansive stay-at-home orders kept most people inside and also put a freeze on my guided trip program. Over a few weeks, Joe McConaughy (who was freshly unemployed)…