I have a solar power bank that can also be charged with a cord, but it's pretty heavy and only gives me about 1.5 charges (at an incredibly slow rate). Any recommendations for upgrading that is reasonably priced?

I have been looking at maybe doing Isle Royale this year but it looks like the only time I can get off work will be too early in the season. I'll only have a gap from 5/5 to 5/19 and that has to include drive time from the DFW area.

That's a little early for the Rockies and I'm not wanting to hit the PNW yet.

I'm leaning toward the next most obvious choice, the Great Smokies, but open to other suggestions.

Difficulty-wise I don't need anything hard for hard sake. I actually wouldn't mind an easier hike. Isle Royale looked pretty casual compared to my usual forays and something of that level would be a nice change of pace.

What trips are you hoping to bag? Any and all recommendations are welcomed!

Here’s mine:

Alice Lake Loop - Sawtooth Wilderness - Idaho

Wallowa River Loop Trail - Eagle Cap - Wilderness - Oregon

The Enchantments - Alpine Lakes Wilderness - Washington

Four Pass Loop - Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness - Colorado

High Divide and Seven Lakes Basin - Olympic National Park - Washington

South Fork Trail - San Gorgonio Wilderness - California

Olympic Coast - Washington

Completed:

Timberline Trail - Mt Hood - Oregon

Cirque of the Towers - Wind River Range - Wyoming

Isle Royale National Park - Michigan

Which are your favorite GPS and non-GPS watches? For non-GPS watches, I'm sure Casio has some good models, but there are so many, any help to narrow down would be much appreciated.

My wife and I love backpacking together but she’s not up to some of the mountain adventures that I take without her. She has some reservations about the strength of her knees on climbs and long stretches uphill. As such, we mostly stick to destinations that are relatively flat on our trips. I know she’d love the views from up high, but I want to make sure she’s comfortable. We’ve talked about finding a trailhead that’s at a higher starting elevation so it decreases the amount of gain on the trail and she’s game.

So far, I’ve found the Cottonwood Lakes trailhead at 10K in the Inyo National Forest/Golden Trout Wilderness. Any suggestions on other trailheads like that in the western US (any state is fine) for a 2-3 night trip that start at a relatively high elevation?

I'm doing Whitewater Falls to Laurel Valley in a few weeks. Was wondering how things are this season. Water levels, mud, trail conditions, etc.

They are on sale for $60 right now and I am getting into backpacking. I figured it helps me get into this hobby without spending a ton while I’m still figuring things out but if I’d just be throwing away my cash then I’d look for a better deal.

Yesterday I had something funky happen. I was trying to descend off trail down to a creek and I was using the USFS caltopo layer on my phone. The first part of the descent was a mellow reasonable grade. I looked at the topo lines on my phone for reference. The next part of the descent had the topo lines about 50% closer together, so I figured the grade would be steeper. Well I ended up hitting a cliff that wasn't really illustrated by the topo lines. There was no way I could get down to this creek. Had I used slope angle shading on Caltopo, I would have seen that there was a line of black (60+ degrees, the steepest shade) hiding in between the topo lines. I could have saved myself some time and effort.

Slope angle shading is not just for evaluating avalanche danger, it's like having the topo lines enhanced in tricky terrain. If you don't ever use a phone for navigation, I recommend printing off of caltopo with the slope angle shading layer enabled if you plan on hiking in tricky terrain with lots of small cliff drops.

I'm partial to Peak Refuel because I find they have the most calories + protein for the punch.

Mountain House and Backpacker's Pantry will always be the OGs, but I feel like they've been surpassed over the years.

What say you? Stocking up for a trip to Patagonia, total of 12 days/10 nights in the backcountry (two trips), so looking for options.

​

EDIT: The authorities were too quick to the draw (and I amplified them) and it now seems like the injured guy hiked away from basecamp and got injured, and his buddy returned to basecamp to make the distress call.

Original: I can't even with this. It's got it all, including, remarkably, an Apple watch that saved someone.

"GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK - A 63-year-old hiker was rescued Friday at Grand Canyon National Park after he was injured in a fall and his group of friends left him behind to continue their "backpacking adventure," authorities said."

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/injured-grand-canyon-hiker-63-saved-after-friends-abandoned-him-to-continue-backpacking

Hi, First time posting here, so I'm not sure about the flair.

I'm used to hiking and backpacking but I always slept in hostels, so never in the wilderness. Thought maybe it's time I gave it a try !

If you had two nights in late October to go camping and hiking anywhere in Europe, where would you go ?

Anywhere we can reach by public transportation of course, no cars.

Thanks.

My family went backpacking in August of 1995, but I don't know where. We were in Northern California, potentially Yosemite or Emigrant Wilderness, or elsewhere in the Sierras? Does anyone recognize this location? I'd love to identify it!

Looking to go backpacking in the smoky mountains with a friend in mid october for 2 nights. I'm from the west coast and never been to the smoky mountains so would love some advice on hikes/trails to take as well as any camping site you recommend. Would prefer to stay away from crowded areas (I've heard AT is usually crowded).

In general, would love to hear words of wisdom! Also open to location suggestions for surrounding area

7 years ago when I started backpacking, I bought a cheap ultralight backpacking stove from Decathalon in Germany and brought it back to the states.

That EU sourced stove wouldn’t accept any of the fuel canisters at REI. The Decathalon stove used a different sized thread.

Now I have a Snow Peak Litemax stove, can i bring this to europe and easily find fuel canisters for it?

And WTF was up with that Decathalon stove?

For the third consecutive year, I’ve had to cut my multi week hike in the High Sierra short by a few days due to overall nauseousness and lack of appetite and just an overall inability to eat my trail food no matter how hard I try. I literally have to put it in my mouth and wash it down with water to avoid gagging it back up. I tried to pick foods that I think I would like but once I get out there, the thought of eating the stuff just makes me queezie. I’m fairly sure it has to do altitude sickness. I did notice I tend to have better luck with dried fruit, so maybe I need to refine what I bring. any ideas on how to make my hike more enjoyable by avoiding Any ideas on how to make my hike more enjoyable by alleviating this is most appreciated. (Generally hiking between Mammoth Lakes and Mount Whitney)

My usual backpacking area is the eastern sierras in California. Out here we are bare aware, and must have a bear canister with us.

I am moving to Spain in a month and I will bring my backpack in gear. It seems like there aren’t any bears in the common wilderness areas of europe, unless I go to very remote areas in Scandinavia or eastern Europe.

Can I leave my Bear Vault at home in the USA?

Hello. I'm going to dolly sods next week for 3 days of hiking and 2 nights, goal is around 25 miles total. I was wondering if anyone had reccomendations for the most picturesque route? Also, I've used alltrails in the past but it gets confusing, does anyone have a reccomended navigation app?

Thank y'all for any advice I am torn between the osprey atmos 65 AG and the osprey aether 65. I often bring new people to hike with me and will carry some of their gear so my load sometimes gets quite heavy. I also have older gear that weighs a lot and will go on multiple day trips. This will cause my bag to often get over 40 pounds which is the recommended max limit for the atmos AG. This makes me lean toward the Aether. I live in Louisiana however and the heat and humidity down here are extreme. My last trip often got well over 100 degrees. This makes me very hesitant to give up the superior ventilation of the atmos AG65. Which is the better buy???

Hi all, I am hoping someone is able to share some advice or experiences here! I am in the market for a new backpacking tent and have narrowed it down to the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo, and the more budget-friendly copycat MIER Lanshan Pro 1P.

For some background, I am 6’ 2” and 205 pounds so my biggest concern is finding a tent where my head and feet will not touch the side walls, as well as at a reasonable price (under $350ish). In my current tent, I have to lay diagonally and my feet and head touching the walls is still not completely avoidable. I would like to keep it under about 3lbs as well. I know the dimensions of the SMD Lunar Solo are more than enough for my pad, but I haven’t been able to find any information about users brushing into the side walls.

I sleep on a Long/Wide Big Agnes Rapide SL pad (25”x78”) with a Kelty Cosmic 20 Down bag.

Are there any fellow tall backpackers out there that have experience with either of these models? I know there are a few other similar threads out there, but wasn’t able to find what I was looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated and TIA!