Many people think backpacking season ends on Labor Day weekend. Well, they’re wrong! September and October can be great times to go backpacking, as long as you are prepared. Here are my top fall backpacking tips to make sure you have fun and stay warm. Research a Destination… and a Backup Plan (or Two) The first step of …
Backpacking
Finding a weather forecast for hiking can be tough because most weather apps just have forecasts for cities and towns. Since it’s so important to know the weather when you hike, I’ve put together a complete guide to the best weather apps for hiking. This guide includes: I’ve been hiking and backpacking for several decades, …
With lots of people stressing about backpacking reservations in BC, you might feel like you have to book backcountry camping months in advance if you want to go on a trip. But that’s totally untrue – there are tons of places to go backpacking in BC without reservations. I’ve been backpacking in British Columbia for …
I’ve lived in Squamish for a few years now, but before I moved here, I hiked in Squamish all the time. I’ve done tons of hikes near Squamish so I’ve put together a list of the best hikes in Squamish. Between hiking trails, mountain biking trails, and dirt bike trails, there are literally hundreds of …
There are two ways to hike the Ozette Loop in Olympic National Park. The first is as a day hike, which takes 4-5 hours. But I prefer the second way – as a backpacking trip. That way you get to camp on wilderness beaches and really savor the scenery. The Ozette Loop is gorgeous! I …
Like many outdoor sports, there are a lot of confusing hiking terms to learn. I spend a lot of time writing about hiking and teaching hiking skills and it can be easy to forget that not everyone knows all the hiking slang, jargon, and terminology. To help everyone out, I put together a comprehensive glossary …
I’m not a parent, but thanks to some good friends with children, I’ve spent quite a bit of time backpacking with kids. I wanted to write a post about how to start backpacking as a family, but I realized that I knew someone much more qualified for the job: Elliott, a 12-year-old backpacker. I’ve been …
So you want to try backpacking… exciting right? But it can also be daunting as there is lots to learn. I’ve been backpacking for almost 20 years, but I still remember what it was like to start out. I’ll walk you through it in this guide to backpacking for beginners. This handbook for first-time backpackers …
Ever since I discovered backpacking nearly 20 years ago, it’s been my favourite outdoor activity. Some of my most memorable backpacking trips have been close to home in British Columbia. So I put together a list of the best backpacking trips in BC. If you’re going to take time off to go backpacking, you don’t …
The Juan de Fuca Trail covers 47 challenging kilometres along the coast of southwestern Vancouver Island. I’ve hiked the trail twice, so I put together a Juan de Fuca Trail itinerary to help you get prepared for your trip. I also have several Juan de Fuca itinerary options for trips between 3 and 7 days …