Wilderness Backpacking

Any ideas. 50l

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Here is a Grand Canyon Backpacking video for anyone interested: https://youtu.be/dIcVcGCEWD0

Boucher Trail, Hermit Trail, Tonto Trail, Clear Creek Trail

Eight-day, seven-night, and over 80 miles backpacking below the rim in the Grand Canyon. My wife and I went backpacking from April 27, 2024, to May 4, 2024, in the Grand Canyon. We mainly used the much less traveled trails including Boucher Trail, Hermit Trail, Tonto Trail, and Clear Creek Trail, but we did us the corridor trails a little bit.

I'm thinking of taking 2 days off for Memorial Day weekend and would love to do a 2-3 day trip with my dog. Was thinking about doing an out-and-back to Gem Lake in the Emigrant wilderness but not sure how the snowpack will be..

I'm open to any suggestions, will be able to budget 2 days for travel, departing from San Jose. Willing to go as far as Southern Oregon or maybe SoCal as well.

Mostly have experience with trails in the Sierra near Tahoe but open to explore! TIA!

Hey, i want to get a hammock set up to use mostly in spring/summer/autumn on backpacking trips that last from a couple of days to maybe 2 weeks. However the choices in europe seem to be limited compared to US.

I am 193cm and 75kg.

I want to get a complete setup (Hammock with mosquito net, tarp, over/underquilt or sleeping bag). Do i even need a quilts when the minimum temperature will be 18°C at nights?

The setup should be as light as possible.

For now i came across Amazonas Adventure Thermo and the Hennessey Explorer (i heard it is overpriced for what it is).

I'm looking to purchase a wood-burning camping stove for an upcoming wild camping trip and wanted to know if anyone has any experience or recommendations.

My main option is the Biolite Campstove 2. I have some experience with it and I liked the option to charge devices, because I don't know how often I could do it otherwise.

I also heard some good opinions about the Solo. Simpler, lighter and with more efficient.

Any opinions, suggestions, recommendations welcome. Thanks!

Hey! I consider myself a strong hiker (nz & japan) but have less experience with camping and wildlife so I’d rather hike with a group and guide. I’m in my young 30’s and would preferably not be with a more mature group which most supported guided treks cater for.

Any idea of a travel group or trip company that I could join? Keen to do Northern California, Oregon, Washington into Canada (pct section L)

Thanks 🙏

After geeking out on backpacking info for a long time, I'm just starting to really get out there.

I'm thinking about food protection lately and am wondering if I'm not going a little nuts. I'm a weekend warrior at best and I live in the northeast of the US. There are bears in many of the places I will go, but I don't think many have hard canister requirements. Is it overboard to carry an Ursack Allmitey or a hard canister everywhere? I know some places have requirements but in many unregulated areas, many people do a simple hang, usually sub-par with a non-protective bag, without incident. For the places I'll be and the lengths of time I'll be out (2-3 days), if my food gets taken or ruined, I will not be happy, but I'll survive the hike out.

Is it really worth it to spend the money on and carry these upgraded food containers? From what I gather, rodents are more likely to get into your food than bears. What are your thoughts?

Thanks

Hello! Me and my wife are backpacking roughly 40 miles over 5 days in the banff backcountry; I was wondering if anyone on here has taken a similar path, and if so do you have any recommendations for smaller (3-5 mile) day hikes around any of the backcountry campsites we’re staying at? Or any other suggestions about the area. We are experienced so difficulty isn’t an issue, thanks!

Day 1: sunrise village to Egypt lake Day 2: explore Egypt lake area/day hikes Day 3: Egypt lake to shadow lake Day 4: shadow lake to twin lakes Day 5: twin lakes to vista lake trail head

I'm looking for suggestions for a gift for my backpacking partner.

10 years ago he asked if I would be interested in going backpacking with him. Neither of us had any experience with it, but we both decided to go for it. Nearly 10 years later we've bushwhacked in Alaska, canoe camped in Canada, hiked in the alps, and hit up a bunch of other US locations.

This summer will be our 10th year of going (big trip this year is a multi day trek in Iceland). I kind of want to surprise him with something.

Neither of us need any more gear. I was hoping for something more sentimental. Any ideas?

Hello all,

My Wife and I are planning to be in California mid-July and are looking for about 5 nights out on the trails, preferably a loop. We are thinking Yosemite, Sequoia, John Muir Wilderness, Inyo, etc. That type of area. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

I want to try chemical treatment of my water. However, I don't want to use a bandana to remove larger particles -- but something like a wide mouth water bag with a metal mesh filter cap. Anybody know of such a product?

I'm interested in picking up a bear can for solo or backpacking with a +1 on weekends. Currently have a Garcia, but being a 10L can, it's overkill for 1 - 2 nights, which is now the majority of my backpacking. I was debating between the Bare Boxer or BearVault BV425. They're almost the same weight. Bare Boxer seems more secure but the BV425 is more comfortable to carry from what I've read online. Wondering if anyone has an opinion or suggestion?

Taking my not outdoorsy wife on her first backpacking trip. Memorial weekend, 3 nights. Would love something not too far of a drive (Maybe 4-5 hours from LA max) without too many people since it's a busy weekend. High country would be nice with some water to swim in! Moderate difficulty.

Hi all, I’m looking to do either a collection of overnighters or a 2-3 night solo backpacking trip in NM in mid June. I’ve done multiple trips in Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains solo and with friends.

It seems like the two options are Gila or Pecos Wildernesses. Any reason not to do one of these? Any suggestions on trails, gear, temps?

For Gila I’m trying to figure out the footwear. Im afraid if wearing chacos and stubbing my feet on something, but I don’t want to do all the water crossings in boots.

For Pecos how do I know where there is still snow that time of year? I looks like mostly single night trips, what are the best ones?

need a "wide" for older toes. Altra quality sucks. used to be a go to. Top Athletic make my feet sweat. Leaning towards the Hoka Kaha 2 GTX. But Keen has nice wide toe boxes and have a decent reputation. advice? Thoughts?

Ive left it outside for over an hour now waiting for it to get a response but nothing

My friends and I (group of 4) are planning on doing a 7 day backpacking trip in our backyard of wyoming. Me being assigned to leader and planner of this project need help with a list of items to bring that will allow us to happily enjoy the beautiful outdoors. If any advice and or tips that anybody might have that would be great and much appreciated, thank you.

I’m exclusively a hammock camper, so I know nothing about tents, but my mother is joining me for a few backpacking trips in CO and she wanted some recommendations for tents! Her question below:

Hello, I am trying to decide what tent to get for a couple of backpacking trips this summer (3 days, 3 nights each). I don't want to carry a lot of weight, but I don't need the lightest of the lightest tent either. I would like to get a 2-person tent so I can have my pack inside as well. What is important to me is 1) waterproofness, 2) easy setup, 3) weight. I will sacrifice some weight (around a pound) if the heavier tent is more durable. I plan to get a footprint also. Price is not the most important thing, but given that I will likely not be using this tent a ton, I don't see the point in spending $1000 on a tent! I am hoping to be able to get something very decent in the $400 to $600 range.

Here are my top 3 choices so far: -Big AgnesCopper Spur HV UL2 Tent

-Big Agnes Tiger Wall UL 2 Solution-Dyed Tent

-Nemo Hornet OSMO Ultralight 2P Tent

I am 5' 1" so the footprint of any tent will likely accomodate me just fine.

Any recommendations or experience with the tents above you could share is greatly appreciated!

Edit: another reason she’s looking for a two person tent is so I can join her in it in Sweden for example, where most stretches of the hike will not have trees to hammock! :)

OK, so here's the story, I'll try to keep it as brief as possible.

My girlfriend and I have been very interested in backpacking for years now. We think of ourselves as cautious people, and decided to take this slow and steady. We did our first car camping trip about two years ago. Since then, we've turned a whole carload of gear into two light backpacks, and several garbage bags of trash into a ziplock bag. Last weekend, we were finally feeling ready to leave the safety of the car, but boy were we wrong.

It started off fine. We went to a beach where the parking lot is twenty minutes away with many other people. We walked a bit further, decided we were hungry, cooked some of the soup we dehydrated, and decided it was time for bed (we went friday night). We strung up our foodstuff on a tree branch 12 feet high and 6 feet out and looked for a place to set up the tent 200 feet away. We set up the tent like we were making our bed simply because of how much we'd practiced. Fell asleep and awoke to some loud waves.

What we didn't realize is that we had walked through a pinch point on the beach at the exact lowest point of the tide. When I set up camp I was working on the assumption that if it rose too high (which I already thought was crazy) we could just leave. We were trapped on both ends. At its highest point there was maybe a few feet of land between us and the tide. Take a look at the photo, I think it says more than I can. Keep in mind this was taken when the tide was still half way in.

We could've died a horrible death that night, and it was my fault.

Obviously after this we've taken about four thousand steps back and have vowed to not set foot in a park without a flushing toilet and water fountains before we a. Read The Backpacker's field guide cover to cover b. Take a wilderness first aid course and c. Both be able to do several pullups, run a mile with ease, and swim breast stroke indefinitely.

However, starting on the book as just made me realize how God damn stupid I was, and that maybe I should just pick up another hobby. I love camping and the wilderness, I've loved the memories I've made already, but I don't want to kill myself, my girlfriend and any first responders who try to save us.

Anyways, any advice appreciated, thanks in advance.

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I placed an order with Appalachian Gear Company on April 30th. I received an email on May 1st that the order had been received.

Since then, I've received nothing. No status or shipping. I reached out several days ago to get a status update and it was met with radio silence. I've reached out again today so we'll see what happens.

I've always tried to support cottage gear companies, especially ones in the same area as me (they're in NC, I'm in TN).

Has anyone had any experience with them? This is my first order with them. I've heard many great things about them and their gear. I did a lot of research trying to decide between AGC and Paka for an alpaca hoodie. That's a lot of money on a shirt! I'd have hoped for better CS from them 🤷‍♂️

I am looking for about a five day backpacking trip in a wilderness area with alpine lakes for backcountry fishing. I am mainly looking for designated wilderness areas in national forests because I would like the experience to be very secluded/remote and I want to be able to do dispersed camping.

Right now I have my eye on some wilderness areas in Colorado, but still unsure which ones provide the best alpine lakes for fishing/seclusion. Colorado is about as far west as I'd like to travel for his trip (but open to other states as well) and we would be going in late June.

If anyone has any spots or recommendations, feel free to message me or leave them here. Thanks.

After little success with the REI XeroDry I want to get a nicer rain jacket that will last me at LEAST 3 years. The more the better, I like the design of the Foray but OR's guarantee is less impressive than Patagonia's. I also have no idea what to think of GTX vs H2No. What would you recommend?

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