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Make your own: Fancy Feast Stove + Twig Stove Hybrid

By Andrew Skurka / November 28, 2012 /

By Matthew DePan I want to thank Matthew DePan for sharing with me his creation, and then generously submitting this article and the photos. His hybrid alcohol/twig stove (“the DePan Stove,” perhaps?) is an elegantly simple solution to addressing the pitfalls of each stove. If you have feedback or questions about Matthew’s design, please leave them…

Hammock Camping Part I: Advantages & disadvantages versus ground systems

By Alan Dixon / December 5, 2012 /

Short-term, low-risk outings are ideal for discovering the optimal applications for and extreme limitations of gear, supplies, and skills. If the test succeeds, the lessons can be integrated into longer and riskier itineraries; if the test fails, at least the misery was short-lived and non-consequential. This past year I used such opportunities — specifically my…

Hammock Camping – Part II: Types of backpacking hammocks, and spec comparison to ground systems

By Alan Dixon / December 7, 2012 /

Short-term, low-risk outings are ideal for discovering the optimal applications for and extreme limitations of gear, supplies, and skills. If the test succeeds, the lessons can be integrated into longer and riskier itineraries; if the test fails, at least the misery was short-lived and non-consequential. This past year I used such opportunities — specifically my intro-level…

Hammock Camping Part III: Helpful tips and resources for a virgin hammock camper

By Alan Dixon / December 10, 2012 /

Short-term, low-risk outings are ideal for discovering the optimal applications for and extreme limitations of gear, supplies, and skills. If the test succeeds, the lessons can be integrated into longer and riskier itineraries; if the test fails, at least the misery was short-lived and non-consequential. This past year I used such opportunities — specifically my intro-level…

Female hygiene: a backcountry guide and tips

By Trinity Ludwig / March 11, 2013 /

Introduction from Skurka: I’m qualified to write about many backpacking matters. Female hygiene best practices is not one of them. For this topic, I asked Trinity Ludwig to share her wisdom, figuring she must have a few pointers — in September 2012 she and her two hiking partners, Shelley and Sarah, finished an 11-month 1,785-mile…

Pre-Alaska water cooler conversation with a co-worker

By Andrew Skurka / July 25, 2013 /

Albert Kim, who joined me last month for a 7-day backpacking and packrafting trip in Alaska, put this video together using xtranormal. If you’ve ever tried to talk with a skeptical co-worker about your adventurous backpacking plans, you’ll especially enjoy this one!

Bugs, blisters, and bears: Video documentary of 7-day Alaska Adventure

By Andrew Skurka / July 29, 2013 /

Albert and Ashley stitched this video together with photos and videos from the second Alaska Adventure session, June 24-30. It’s a rough production, but it documents the trip well and gives a sense of what it was like. Enjoy.

A first-timer’s perspective on Alaskan adventure

By Krishna Dayanidhi / November 1, 2013 /

My name is Krishna Dayanidhi and I’ve gone on two trips with Skurka — one in the Yosemite high country and the most recent this past June in the Eastern Alaska Range. Both trips were out-of-this-world. Fantastic. If you haven’t signed up for any of his trips, drop what you are doing, including reading this…

Lessons learned in Big Bend National Park’s Mesa de Anguila

By Russell Johnson / January 2, 2015 /

Editor’s Note. Russell has been on two of my guided backpacking trips, and in April will join a third. He considers himself an “advanced beginner” backpacker, getting out a few times per year on trips of 2-4 days each. In mid-December I did a short trek with my wife and two sons at our favorite…

Northern Crux || Trip Report: Wind River High Route, Loop 8

By Rud Platt / August 24, 2016 /

By Rud Platt, Krishna Dayanidhi, and Nathan Roseberry We met in Alaska in 2013 on a guided trip with Andrew and Alan Dixon, and have gone on several backpacking excursions in the lower 48 since then. This year we opted for Loop 8 of the Wind River High Route, reportedly one of the hardest and most spectacular section hikes. That proved to be…