Tomorrow is the beginning of my last eight day shift as a wilderness therapy guide in Southwest Utah. Then I will be departing to Nepal to start the Great Himalaya Trail. I’ve been at my job for over a year now, which might not sound like long, but it is for me. As a long-term...
The countdown is on. There’s 31 days until I depart for Nepal to start the Great Himalaya Trail. Right now, I’m finishing up my last month of work and sorting out details for the first leg of the hike. What I’m Doing to Prepare: I’m leaving my job as a wilderness...
Harmony House recently sent me a box of their Gourmet Soup & Chili Pack to test out. Wanting to try it immediately, I brought a few packages with me to work. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I work as a wilderness therapy guide in the Utah desert. Basically, I’m...
It has been a while since my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, almost five years in fact. While I’ve done quite a bit of hiking since then, I haven’t been on a thru-hike. That is changing this year. I’m hiking Nepal’s Great Himalaya Trail. Edit: Since writing this post...
I work in the high desert of southern Utah all winter long, going backpacking in the wilderness for stretches of 8 days at a time. I experience freezing temperatures, rain, hail, snow, and clouds that last all day, often in the course of a single work week. I bought the Feathered Friends...
Hikers are the worst to shop for. You never know what we already have, what we need or don’t need, or what gear is new and exciting versus out of date. We’re always trying to get our pack base weight down, so we don’t want anything extra we have to carry. Also...
The Cordillera Huayhuash (pronounced “why-wash”) Circuit is an up and coming trek in the Peruvian Andes and is said to be one of the most beautiful hikes in the world. It’s where the hardcore hikers go to avoid the crowds of the Cordillera Blanca. It’s remote...
That Granite Gear and Therm-a-rest combo. It’s been almost a decade now that I’ve been an avid backpacker, camper, and long-distance hiker. I’m sharing my personal backpacking gear list with you guys. This is the stuff that I bring into the mountains, and trust me, I...
This is the eighth full month that I’ve been living out of my car, and what a crazy experience it’s been. I’m currently considering getting an apartment because my car is nearing the end of it’s life and I don’t want to buy another. Before I do that though, I...
In my quest to reach an ultralight base weight, one of the first hurdles I came to was replacing my old synthetic sleeping bag with a down bag. I knew I would easily spend over $400 on this endeavor, so this was not a decision I took lightly. I needed something that I could use in spring...