camping Tag

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces, because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.” — Yogi Berra Packing for an overnight trip can be intimidating.  When I first started backpacking, I was a compulsive over-estimator of how much food I actually needed to bring.  I packed my food out of fear, and I was usually dismayed when I returned to the trailhead carrying an extra 2-3lbs of food that I didn't need. After nearly two decades of climbing and hiking and backpacking, I'd like to think that...

Confession:  I used to think that trekking poles were for old people.  I incorrectly assumed that the only reason that people needed poles for hiking was to compensate for their lack of fitness and ability.  I thought of them as, "crutches for the weak".  I saw myself as the ideal specimen of hiker:  the speed of a gazelle, with the stability and surefootedness of a mountain goat - surely I didn't need the help of overpriced carbon-fiber sticks. I was wrong. So, so wrong. My very first backpacking...