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 …
Hiking gear
I’ve been hiking for over two decades, and for years I mostly wore hiking pants. Even though I wore leggings for running, yoga, and everyday life, I didn’t trust them for hiking since they kept getting ripped or they fell down. Enter hiking leggings! I got a pair of hiking leggings about five years ago …
So you want to go winter hiking or snowshoeing, but… what do you wear? How do you stay warm? And how can you transition your summer hiking wardrobe into the winter season? I definitely had all of these questions when I first started winter hiking and snowshoeing, and through years of trial and error (oh …
When we talk about going hiking, there’s a lot of chatter about “being prepared”. But what exactly does that mean? What things should you do before a hike? Over the years I’ve developed a bit of a routine before each hike. Keeping this simple checklist in mind makes sure that I stay safe on the …
Getting to visit Lake O’Hara in Canada’s Yoho National Park is likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. (Mostly because reservations are SO hard to get!) And you definitely want to make sure you have the right gear on your once-in-a-lifetime trip so you can stay warm, dry and happy. I’ve been to Lake O’Hara twice: One more …
You’ve probably seen those news stories: “Search and Rescue finds Unprepared Hikers Lost/Injured in the Woods”. But that’s never going to be you right? Yup, we all think it won’t happen to us. But it definitely could. No one expects to get lost, get stuck hiking in the dark or hurt themselves, but they do. …
I’ve done a fair amount of backpacking, but I had some trouble deciding what to pack for my trip on the Berg Lake Trail in early September. The trail is at a high elevation in the Canadian Rockies, so I knew the weather would potentially be colder and wilder than I am used to. As …
Many women agree that women’s hiking gear and clothing kind of sucks. Most gear is designed for men and women’s gear is often an after thought. Some gear companies think they can make the same gear in pink, purple and teal and call it women’s gear. Nope! We need stuff that fits our bodies! Some …
Recently there’s been lots of buzz online about how women’s hiking clothing and gear is inadequate. It’s something I’ve written about before. This great article from Hannah Weinberger explains that historically there hasn’t been much gear designed to fit women’s bodies. In recent years the outdoor industry has tried to fix that, with varying degrees …
Getting outfitted for hiking and backpacking can seem overwhelming. When I was first starting out, I felt like there was so much gear on the market and that it was SOOO expensive. Plus I felt like the list of gear you need to buy for hiking and backpacking was never ending. That was over a …