News
Tomorrow morning I drive up to Grand Lake, Colo., to greet the Adventure 2A and 2B groups as they exit from their respective 5-day outings. They’re our final set of trips this year, both in Rocky Mountain National Park and for the season. For the first time since I launched trips under my own company…
I have four spots available on our guided backpacking trips in Colorado next month. Check the trip schedule for the most current availability; right now these spots are on: Fundamentals 1A (Fri, Sept 6 through Sun, Sept 8): 1 spot Adventure 1A (Mon, Sept 9 through Fri, Sept 13): 1 spot Adventure 2A (Sat, Sept…
Last month I hosted The Trail Show crew for a multi-hour recording of Episode 82, which is now live. They’re a great group and it was a fun evening.
Last week an alumnus, Rod, sent me photos of Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers in the High Sierra, climbing over Forester Pass. The photos were taken May 26, but he didn’t know the party. (Update, June 7. In a recent Instagram post, these photos were credited to Justin McCormick, and are of Jonathan Frankson and Abby.…
The website that most readers are familiar with launched in late-2011, shortly before the release of the first edition of The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide. It was designed by Bracia, which like my company is mostly a one-man operation, and was a technological leap in my web presence. Its aesthetic was vastly superior to the preceding website,…
This winter I’ve been a guest on six podcasts, and will soon appear on two more. It wasn’t intentional — whether by coincidence or due to an increasing number of outdoor podcasts, I received an exceptional number of interview requests, and I always say yes. Most readers will probably be familiar enough with my own…
My business has become sufficiently large and reliable that I’d like some assistance in running it, especially the guided trip program. In its current one-man configuration, I’m too stretched by the workload and — more consequentially — too distracted by critical but routine tasks that are preventing me from working on higher-value projects. Ideally, I’d like to find one…
Ron Bell, the founder and owner of Mountain Laurel Designs, one of the most innovative and influential ultralight backpacking gear companies, will be joining Alan Dixon, Joe McConaughy, and me as a special guest on the Backpacking Fundamentals course in West Virginia, May 10-12, 2019. Ron last joined us in 2012, and I’m excited to…
This Sunday the open application period for my 2019 guided trips will close. Applications received through Sunday, January 20, will be considered equally; thereafter, they will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis for the spots leftover. If you are interested in a 2019 guided trip, I strongly recommend that you apply now. With the applications received…
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…