Backpacker AT "Insider Tips"

[wilconow]

I know some of you will say that I shouldn't be reading backpacker to begin with. Probably so. But, many do.

I'll let others reply first
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5 insider tips for the AT

Carry less stuff:

Only in the driest summers and in the central AT will you hike more than 4 hours without hitting a spring or stream. Likewise, towns come often enough that you rarely need to pack more than 3 to 4 days of grub and gas.


Skip the sunblock:

Most of the AT is in the woods, so leave it behind. Ditto for bug dope, except in NH and ME during June and July. And in many places you can streamline your first-aid kit, because a road and hospital are never far away.

Ditch your tent:


Unless you expect crowds, bug or cold weather, drop those 6 pounds and sleep in one of the AT many three-sided shelters. Most have room for at least six and they appear like clockwork almost every 8 miles.

Know the weather

A ranger once told us that the Smokies see more cases of hypothermia than the Whites - because many hikers don't pack warm enough for the inclement condistions that set in suddenly above 4000 feet.

Know the way:

The Thru Hiker's Handbook by Dan "Wingfoot" Bruce is a perennial bestseller for good reason. Get section maps from the ATC

[Just Jeff]

The only one I don't like is the "Ditch the tent." Ditch the tent and carry a backup poncho/tarp, fine. But ditching a shelter altogether is bad for all the reasons in the 643 WB threads on the subject.

And I guess it depends on how much you streamline the first-aid kit...still gotta be able to respond to some basic situations.

[SGT Rock]

I wonder what "insider" they asked?

[fiddlehead]

Yeah, Backpacker should be shamed for saying "ditch the tent".
I have problems with this company. They don't print "letters to the editor" unless they are in praise of them. (at least not mine or my friends that i know wrote them one)
They advertise for 4 wheelers, mt. bikes, motorcycles and BIG TRUCKS. All of those are ruining the backcountry.
They need to rethink their philosophy or rename their mag.

[fiddlehead]

And a 6 lb tent! Who's using those anymore?

[Doctari]

And a 6 lb tent! Who's using those anymore?

Yea, my "6 lb tent" sleeps 4 easily, with room for ALL of their gear & a dog or 3.

Said it before, I'll say it again: Backpacker is so out of touch it aint funny.

Doctari.

[The Hog]

Why buy a magazine that's so jammed with ads you can't find the articles? When you finally do find the articles, they're pushing products. No thanks.

[Two Speed]

Why buy a magazine that's so jammed with ads you can't find the articles? When you finally do find the articles, they're pushing products. No thanks.

Which would would make the articles advertisements, too. Given that, shouldn't they be paying us to read it instead of us paying to buy it? Just my $0.02

[Ridge]

Well, looks like Wingfoot got a free plug. That said ALDHA's "Online Companion" is just as good, and is free.

[Nean]

Which would would make the articles advertisements, too.

This is why you see thier clients guy elected man of the year.... in June; or weasel thier way into anothers (non client) interview. At Backpacker, it aint 'bout integrity. You pay them, they promote you, .

[Nean]

Well, looks like Wingfoot got a free plug. That said ALDHA's "Online Companion" is just as good, and is free.

Something tells me their "insider" got a free plug.

[Cookerhiker]

Besides their advice on tents, their recommendations on skipping bug repellant for all but NH & ME is off-base also, especially if you don't bring a tent. NJ, NY, CT, MA are mosquito heaven, especially in early summer. What are they thinking?

BTW, the only reason I'm getting Backpacker is it's coming to me free from something I did or joined or signed. I haven't subscribed to it since 1980.

[Mouse]

The absolute worst mosquitoes I encountered were in MA just south of Great Barrington, NOT NH and ME. And I used Deet as early as PA to keep the ticks at bay. Has Backpacker ever heard of Lyme Disease?

[MacGyver2005]

The absolute worst mosquitoes I encountered were in MA just south of Great Barrington, NOT NH and ME. And I used Deet as early as PA to keep the ticks at bay. Has Backpacker ever heard of Lyme Disease?

ROFL, actually yes; they have an entire article on it in the same issue!

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA-->ME

[Ender]

The absolute worst mosquitoes I encountered were in MA just south of Great Barrington, NOT NH and ME. And I used Deet as early as PA to keep the ticks at bay. Has Backpacker ever heard of Lyme Disease?

Amen brother! Ain't that the truth. They literally drove me off the trail there. I had a hissy fit after about the eighth gazillionth bug bite, stomped out to a random road, hitched into the nearest town, ate some town food, bought 100% deet (two bottles), vegged for a couple hours longingly watching the cars drive by, ate some more town food, and the hitched back out to the trail in the evening.

Massachusets state bird = Vampire Mosquito.

[Mags]

Mosquitochuessets. Bleech!

Gonna be worse this year with all the flooding and leftover pools of stagnant water...

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Methinks Backpacker's insider has indeed been inside for a very long time and is totally out-of-touch with the realities of backpacking today. Not carrying any shelter is the sort of foolish advice that could easily cause someone's demise. I saw a Backpacker magazine in a doctor's office yesterday - it caters to 4-wheelers and those who backpack into the woods a mile or so and set-up elaborate camps. It has nothing at all to do with the sort of backpacking discussed here and the material it contains is worse than useless to real backpackers.

[tlbj6142]

totally out-of-touch with the realities of backpacking today.

For the most part backpacker has been a good read (ads are part of the game). But what I find quite odd is the number of articles that are not about backpacking. In the past year there have been more and more biking and boating articles. I assume they have their own rags, why cover the same stuff in backpacker.

I have read that back-country usage is way, way down and that front country usage (day hikes, biking, boating) is way up. Might have something to do with the focus change.

And for those that think backpacker is "out of touch" you need to head over to your local (non-AT based) outfitter. Everyone who comes into the store wants the stuff they see in backpacker. Thur hikers, lightweight and ultralight weight hikers are the ones that are "out of touch". Well, actually, they are "highly specialized" minority. Now this is sort of a chicken and egg thing, but ask you local outfitter the last time someone came in and demanded a sub 2# pack with sub-3200ci capacity? Bet they say "what you talkin' about Willis?". Most folks think 5 miles in 4 hours with 8 hours of camp time is "what it is all about". As such, they have no interest in the same issues, and gear, "we" do.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I think tlbj6142 and I define the word backpacker differently. I see backpackers as people who consistently carry all the provisions necessary to sustain themselves for several days into the deep woods - not people who go into the woods once or twice a year or people who think backpacking is "5 miles in 4 hours with 8 hours of camp time". I call those hikers that backpack a little.

People who go to an outfitter with a Backpacker magazine in hand and buy what they recommend without doing their own research are really taking a serious chance of getting duped into buying whatever is sold by the heaviest advertisers in the magazine - not what is actually the best equipment.

Bottom line, I don't consider Backpacker magazine a trustworthy source for information about backpacking equipment. Your opinion may be different, but that is my opinion.

[Cookerhiker]

For the most part backpacker has been a good read (ads are part of the game). But what I find quite odd is the number of articles that are not about backpacking. In the past year there have been more and more biking and boating articles. I assume they have their own rags, why cover the same stuff in backpacker.....

I recall back in the late 70s, maybe early 80s that Backpacker covered backpacking exclusively while another magazine named Wilderness Camping dealt with other outdoor recreation - kayaking/canoeing, car-camping, cycling, ATVs. Each magazine was independently owned but financial pressures brought them together in a merger with the resultant magazine called Backpacker including Wilderness Camping owned by a disinterested third party Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. So at least dating back to that time, the magazine featured more than just backpacking.

Shortly afterwards, I dropped my subscription and therefore don't know what proceeded the next 25 years except the title has reverted to Backpacker but is not confined to the original content. Now that I'm somehow receiving it, I glance at the feature articles of where to hike and ignore the ads and gear write-ups.