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Tutorial: How to Choose Your 2025 Backpacking Trips

By Katie Gerber / December 1, 2024 /

Before you can plan a trip, you have to choose it. To help you choose the best trip for you and increase your likelihood of successfully completing your objective, it’s helpful to have a strategic approach to trip planning. On December 3, Andrew and I hosted a livestream where we shared a framework and tools…

Tutorial: Plan a Backpacking Trip to the High Sierra

By Katie Gerber / May 30, 2024 /

The High Sierra is probably our favorite backpacking destination in the lower 48. The range is huge and intricate; the towering mountains are majestic; the off-trail travel is both blissful and exciting; road access is very limited; and the crowded, high-use areas are easy to leave behind. These are just a few of the reasons…

Video tutorial: How to plan a backpacking trip to Alaska’s Brooks Range

By Katie Gerber / April 10, 2024 /

The Brooks Range offers arguably the greatest wilderness trekking in North America. But it has no trails or bridges; it’s the subject of no guidebooks and few online trip reports; it’s crossed by only one road; and it’s home to a gazillion tussocks and mosquitoes — So how do you plan a successful backpacking trip…

Alaska trip planning tutorial: Join us April 9

By Katie Gerber / April 2, 2024 /

Alaska is home to arguably the best backpacking in North America and planning a trip there requires careful consideration of factors that are unique to that location. Join Andrew and I on April 9 for a discussion on how to plan a backpacking trip to places such as the Brooks Range, Wrangell-St. Elias, Denali National…

Women-specific backpacking tutorial: Join us March 26

By Katie Gerber / March 19, 2024 /

Join Kat Weyland and I on March 26 for a discussion, moderated by Andrew, about considerations for female backpackers that are different than those for males. Kat is based in West Virginia and has worked in outdoor education since 2004. She has thru-hiked the Appalachian and the Continental Divide Trails as well as backpacked through…

Video Tutorial: How to plan a backpacking trip in 7 steps

By Katie Gerber / March 7, 2024 /

Last night Andrew and I hosted a 55-minute tutorial on trip planning. If you joined us, thank you. If you didn’t, you can watch the replay below. Please join us for our next discussion at the end of the month about the ways in which backpacking is fundamentally different for women than men. Topics we…

Aquamira: Why we like it, and how we use it

By Andrew Skurka / March 1, 2024 /

For about twenty years and almost exclusively I have used Aquamira ($15) to purify backcountry water sources. And it’s been the only purification method used by the guided trip program that I started in 2011 and that has over 1,000 alumni. Last month two of these alumni emailed me separately, asking for a written explanation…

Trip Planning Tutorial: Join us March 6

By Katie Gerber / February 21, 2024 /

Join Andrew and I on March 6 for another tutorial livestream. The focus of this conversation is a deep dive on how to plan a backpacking trip. Join us on March 6 at 6:00pm MT here. Topic covered will include: Andrew draws from experience planning lengthy expeditions like the: And Katie from planning trips, such as:…

Tutorial: Gear and Skills for Desert Backpacking

By Katie Gerber / February 7, 2024 /

Yesterday, Andrew and I hosted a livestream focused on the foundations of backpacking in the desert. Topics we discussed included: In terms of the desert experience we’re drawing upon, here are the highlights: Andrew Katie Watch the event:

Tutorial: Backpacking in the Desert

By Katie Gerber / January 24, 2024 /

Join Andrew and I on February 6 for another Ask Us Anything livestream. The focus of this conversation is desert travel and backpacking. Join us on February 6 at 6:00pm MT here. Topic covered will include: In terms of the desert experience we’ll be drawing upon, here are the highlights: Andrew Katie Questions? If you would…