What hiking adventures are on your “life list?” What the heck is a life list? Many people have a bucket list, filled with things they’d like to do before they “kick the bucket.” I prefer a list that helps me plan a full and satisfying life. I call it my life list. With each year […]
REVIEW: The High Sierra Trail
The High Sierra Trail is the thru-hike for people who can only spare a week of vacation. Unlike the longer John Muir Trail (JMT), which follows the Sierra Nevada north-to-south from Yosemite to Mount Whitney (or vice versa), The High Sierra Trail (HST) traverses the range from west-to-east. And unlike the JMT, the HST only […]
Book Review: Base Camp Las Vegas: 101 Hikes in the Southwest
I have a lot of hiking and backpacking guides on my bookshelf, but Deborah Wall’s Base Camp Las Vegas: 101 Hikes in the Southwest is a guidebook that threw me a curveball. I received a copy from the publisher while I was traveling and didn’t get a chance to take a good look at it […]
SoCalHiker Tech: DeLorme inReach Explorer Review
My first experience using the DeLorme inReach Explorer was along the John Muir Trail last summer. Not only was it reassuring to know that if I needed emergency care or evacuation, I would have dependable communication with search-and-rescue (SAR) but it proved useful in many other ways. The DeLorme inReach Explorer can provide you with […]
Review: Cairn
Monthly boxes of curated goodies seem to be everywhere, these days. Cairn has created one perfect for outdoor enthusiasts. What is Cairn? They describe it as “your monthly box of outdoor discovery.” It’s a monthly subscription service. Each month, you receive a box of curated products. It might include a hammock or headlamp, hiking socks, snacks, skin […]
Gear Review: Vargo Titanium Ascent Tent Stakes
It’s been said that to reduce weight backpacking, you should “count the ounces and the pounds take care of themselves.” With this credo in mind, I took the Vargo Outdoors – Titanium Ascent Tent Stakes out on a couple of recent backpacking trips. Here are my findings. Titanium is corrosion-resistant and has the highest strength-to-density ratio […]
Review: Grand Trunk Double Hammock
Have you tried camping in a hammock? Neither had I, so I was happy to give it a try. In conjunction with National Hammock Day (pretty sure I didn’t get the day off), Grand Trunk offered to let me take their Double Hammock for a test ride. We took it with us on our recent […]
Movie Review: Flip Flop Flippin’
Long trails have a gravity that pulls thru-hikers toward them with irresistible force. I’ve answered the call of the John Muir Trail — twice. But of all the long trails in the USA, none is better known than the grand-daddy of them all: the Appalachian Trail — or simply the AT. My curiosity about the AT was first piqued […]
