From the late 1980s through to the end of the 1990s, I exclusively used hiking boots on all of my backpacking trips. They were waterproof, durable, grippy on slippery surfaces, and provided protection and stability for my feet and ankles. At the time, it was what (almost) everyone used for extended
My base weight is between 17-20 pounds, depending on what I’m bringing for the season. Maybe not as ultralight as some, but usually significantly lighter than the average bear. I usually cover around 10 or 12 miles a day, but I prefer to actually enjoy the hike, the views I find, and have time to hang around at camp rather than try to crush more miles than the next guy for internet cred, or whatever.
My usual stomping grounds are the Northeast and Mid Atlantic, where we have: jagged Tuscarora quartzite sticking up out of all the trails, fallen sticks and branches, lots and lots of thorns, acorns with needle sharp points on the bottoms, and pits of mud that never dry because they’re under so much shade the sunlight never touches the ground.
Those pictures of idylic mountains with well groomed trails and wide open skies, like the one that was on the box your tent came in? Yeah, that doesn’t happen around here.
My base weight is between 17-20 pounds, depending on what I’m bringing for the season. Maybe not as ultralight as some, but usually significantly lighter than the average bear. I usually cover around 10 or 12 miles a day, but I prefer to actually enjoy the hike, the views I find, and have time to hang around at camp rather than try to crush more miles than the next guy for internet cred, or whatever.
My usual stomping grounds are the Northeast and Mid Atlantic, where we have: jagged Tuscarora quartzite sticking up out of all the trails, fallen sticks and branches, lots and lots of thorns, acorns with needle sharp points on the bottoms, and pits of mud that never dry because they’re under so much shade the sunlight never touches the ground.
Those pictures of idylic mountains with well groomed trails and wide open skies, like the one that was on the box your tent came in? Yeah, that doesn’t happen around here.