rucksacking

And So It Begins

The 2004 AT season has begun. Last year 1,750 people started, and 352 made it all the way to Katahdin; through February 20, 40 people have already started. Trailjournals.com, a site whose name I think speaks for itself, already has journals from some of this year's hikers. You can read them here.

Gear list fun, p.II

This 2001 article from Backpacker.com is a welcome field-test of two opposing backpacking philosophies. Though the sections on food made me wince, the overall outcome was what I've experienced: smarter+lighter=better. The article comes with a gearlist, too, for people into lightweight climbing.

Gear list fun, p. I

It's about time to start looking at your three-season list and getting, um, geared up for the coming season. The nice folks over at Backpackinglight.com have put together a nice prototype list here. Of course, I'd throw in an umbrella, too.

Ursus curses

You know how it goes: it's late at night, you've covered a lot of miles that day, and the last thing you want to do is string up your bear bag. Paul Nanian discusses the headache and heartbreak that is the art of dealing with bears.

Oh the joy of it all

If, for some reason, you have a lot of time on your hands to spend looking at gear online, gearfinder is for you. Though it could an Orbitz-type interface for comparisons, it has a respectably large database of products, most of which, sadly, are unneccesarily bulky and expensive.

More winter fun from BackpackingLight.com: a series of articles on backpacking in the cold.

Not content to wait for Spring to arrive to head outside? Check out this review of Go Lite's newest pack, the Delirium, over at BackpackingLight.com.

If you're seriously heading out there (we wouldn't), you'll also need a good soft shell to keep you warm. This article at Outside may just help.