Recently in the Camping Category
J.J. Briggs plans to leave Monday on her quest to complete the Pacific Crest Trail — 2,650 miles — in five months. The secret to success appears to be, in her mind, the supplies she packs: “Briggs has spent the past six months dehydrating food to eat on the trail. She has tuna, polenta, mashed potatoes and even some cupcakes. She’s been testing and eating all of her food for the past month to make sure it will work. She estimates eating about 2 pounds of food a day. Then there’s the water, which she’ll carry about 10-15 pounds of each day, particularly in the desert, where she won’t find many natural water sources.” Alandra Johnson in the Bend, Oregon Bulletin.
“Fog drifted off green hills bristling with cholla cactus and spiced with the scent of sage. The loudest sounds were the songs of meadowlarks. About 600 feet below, the ocean crashed on the boulder-strewn base of steep mountains riven by wind and water. The view lies at the 20-mile mark of the new Trans-Catalina Island Trail.” In the Los Angeles Times, Louis Sahagun describes the brand new 37.2-mile hiking route that traverses Santa Catalina island off of California’s southwest coast.
“Audubon’s Guidebook to New England soon helped me figure out the plant was bladder campion. Since that initial identification a dozen years ago, this flower has caught my eye everywhere in Maine, particularly on the edges of gravel roads in the north country. In short, one day it did not exist in my life, and forever after I have seen it far and wide.” Ken Allen says guidebooks aid the joy of discovery like almost no other piece of equipment. In Maine’s Kennebec Journal.
The Oregonian’s Terry Richards points to the key spots for outdoors nuts in the central Cascades, including the head of the Metolius, the Badlands, and Newberry Crater: “The national volcanic monument near La Pine has two gorgeous mountain lakes with lodges, a giant mound of black obsidian and a classic mountain bike trail around the rim of the caldera.”
“With camping gear and an overnight permit in hand, we chose the long route, a 22-mile round-trip hike that would take us past Hanakapi’ai to one of the island’s most secluded beaches, Kalalau Beach. To get there, we followed the Kalalau Trail through dense tropical forests where the trees had leaves the size of refrigerators and often drooped over the trail.” In the Boston Globe, Kari Bodnarchuk describes both the relaxing and the high-tension elements of exploring what travel writers have long considered one of the most beautiful islands on earth.
Backpacking Light staffers demonstrate efficient methods for brewing tea and coffee using simple utensils, pot cozys, refillable bags and the tried and true cowboy coffee technique.