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After more than 50 years of backpacking, this year I finally bought a Big Agnes collapsible chair because we were backpacking on the WA "Wilderness Coast". You spend a lot of time sitting looking at...

They don't pounce on your tent. They pounce on your head from behind, then shake and break your neck. One strategy is to put fake eyeballs on the back of your hat, because the scardy cats won't...

Always wear gaitors, Dirty Girl or Run Funky.. Keeps socks cleaner, less time wasted cleaning debris out of shoes. We use trail runner gaitors for long distance hiking.

Sorry, I meant "generally NOT painful".

Black toenails are familiar to ultrarunners.. it's why we size our shoes carefully, generally at least one size larger than street shoes. The black toenails are from impact with the front of the...

On my first long hike in 1974 I stopped at Andover, ME, not bored, just sick of hiking. It's a valid reason. If you are not into it, get off the trail.

Boredom is different. I shared a...

To quote the ultrarunners, "It's 90% physical, the other half is mental".
Anyway, good luck!

I've always found that fat is jet fuel for hiking. More so than carbs. You don't want to get energy from protein, it's for muscle repair...
Fat also gives you fuel without the insulin kick from...

Personally I found it underwhelming. Did not even stop for photo...

I've found more use for arm cooling sleeves, because you can always put more on, but only take off so many clothes. I think Moben was the brand. Attractive wild animal patterns; people complimented...

I think that the colder it gets, the more important it is to have a decent stove. Today's stoves are so light and efficient, compared to what I grew up with...

Trail name? Just curious...

I've used the standard Double Rainbow for about 10 years on dozens of trips on the PCT, AT, Oly Nat Park, Montana, and two trips to Iceland. It is an adequate tent IMO. The 42 oz weight seems...

I bought an Ursack that I have never used because the National Park Service (specifically Olympic Nat Park) does not allow them. You have to use an approved bear canister. FWIW

We use a few yards of tyvek as a ground cloth, picnic cloth, and as a floor in shelters under our bags. Our current piece has been going for 15 years, still intact and waterproof. We needed some...

After reading the sad story of the lady who died in Maine, lost a short way off the trail, I have no problem with this method. It might save a life...

We use the Montbell down sweather ($120+)r, happily for many years... but I saw something quite similar in Costco for about $20 and nabbed that too..

The beef stew has a burden of 49 g carbs to get only 15 g protein. Not a good source of protein, considering that you need 100-150 g/day depending on who you listen to.

By "Reese" products, what do you mean. Hershey's candy? OK... So you pitched your stove and you are eating candy.
And the long term effects of this will be...

I stayed in a Holiday Inn along the AT in Virginia, and all I have to say is this is not the Holiday Inn that I remember from my youth in the 1960's and 1970's. It was a premium hotel then. Now the...

hmmmm 868 miles, including some of the toughest hiking IMO. That's 72 days at 12 mpd, although probably throw in a week of zeros, so that's about 80 days. If you start April 15, you will finish...

I've camped down to -20 in the Adirondacks and in Montana... Half the battle is insulating yourself from the ground, the other half is high quality goose down, rated much lower than the temp you may...

Start out small and build skills and knowledge. The success rate of newbies trying to thru hike is vanishingly small... not to mention the sadness and pain involved.

Carry a handheld ham and get NOAA
https://www.weather.gov/nwr&in_desc=NOAA+Weather+Radio/

A tarp with a tent is a wonderful luxury. You can set up a windbreak and be outside the tent without getting froze/soaked/chilled. The extra weight is less than a quart water bottle. Be careful...