It can be frustrating to be out for a hike in wet weather and have your jacket fail, which is called wetting out. But why do rain jackets wet out? And what can you do about it? I’ve been hiking and backpacking for two decades, mostly in the wet Pacific Northwest weather of British Columbia. …
Advice
If you’re shopping for hiking clothing you’ve probably heard all kinds of great things about Merino wool. But Merino isn’t perfect – to start with, it’s expensive. You might be wondering, is Merino wool worth it? I’ve been hiking and backpacking for two decades (I even wrote a hiking guidebook) and have tried a lot …
If you’re heading out for a hike in the winter, you are probably going to encounter ice and snow. But how will you stop yourself from slipping? Should you bring microspikes? Or crampons? Or snowshoes? And what’s the difference? In this post, I’ll break down microspikes vs. crampons vs. snowshoes. I’ve been winter hiking and …
I live in Squamish, BC on Canada’s wet West Coast and it rains a lot here. If I waited for it to stop raining, I probably would never get outside. Hiking in the rain can be really beautiful if you know how to stay safe, keep dry, and have fun. I’ve got tons of rainy-day …
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Backpacking is a natural extension of day hiking as you trek further into the wilderness. The major downside is having to carry all that gear. I’ve been backpacking for nearly 20 years and have come up with lots of ways to reduce your backpack weight. I’m definitely not an ultralight hiker (more on what that …
Have you seen the price of prepackaged backpacking meals lately? I can’t believe how expensive they have gotten. It is so much cheaper to make your own grocery store backpacking meals. It takes a little bit much planning to put together your own hiking dinners, but I think it’s worth it. You save money, you …
Every few summers, I get stung by bees or wasps while hiking. Usually, it’s because I stumble across an underground nest I didn’t know was there. Stinging insects are a fact of life while hiking. But there are some ways to avoid them. After hearing reports of tons of wasp nests on my local trails …
If you’re human, you sweat when hiking. And that makes your hiking clothing smell bad. But you don’t have to throw away your stinky clothes. I’ve got a complete guide to getting the smell out of hiking clothes. The advice in this guide covers hiking clothing like base layers (long underwear) shirts, pants, fleece jackets, …
In the last few years snowshoeing has gotten really popular. And honestly, it’s about time. Basically, snowshoes let you keep hiking all winter long. And unlike skiing, there’s not much to learn. If you can walk, you can snowshoe. To get started snowshoeing, you need some winter hiking clothes, some snowshoeing boots and of course, …