Read: 12 mins. Mountain House freeze-dried meals have long enjoyed a loyal following by wilderness backpackers/ trekkers and emergency/ survival preppers for their convenience, light weight, deliciousness, and long shelf life. RightOnTrek, a Montana company, aims to bring healthier, more delicious options into the mix. How did their food taste?
Read: 4 mins. Hiking in hot weather can quickly drain someone's will to keep going, and finding ways to stay cool had been consistently sought after by my outdoor friends and I during long hikes/travels or when out in exceptionally scorching, hot temperatures. The Chill Pal Mesh Cooling Towels had helped with that while also having served double duty as fever reducers.
Read: 4 mins. Wood stoves are a great, inexpensive, more environmentally-friendly alternative to fuel can-based products like the popular Jetboil, and for years, my go to was the Solo Stove. However, despite all the benefits the Solo Stove offers, its inability to be packed small and its high cost made me look for alternatives for wilderness backpacking and for emergencies as part of a bug out bag. As it turned out, I much prefer the copycat.
Read: 14 mins. A week ago, I took my young son on his first backpacking trip into the Sierra Wilderness on a multi-day journey. Naturally, my wife was worried for our safety, and that gave me the opportunity to finally purchase something I had been eyeing for a while: an emergency GPS satellite communication device. I looked into SPOT, Garmin inReach, and various other products, but ultimately went with Garmin for its reliability and Iridium global, satellite network. How did it work for the trip? Did it send timely updates on our status and whereabouts?
Read: 5 mins. Going hiking, backpacking, camping, or looking to stock up on emergency food? Freeze-dried food is an EXCELLENT option. In this review, we will taste the new Granola with Milk & Berries, and cover how freeze-dried food is made along with some of our Mountain House recommendations.
Read: 4 mins. My first, serious attempt at landscape night photography during a scheduled, 4-day backpacking trip under a half moon was inspired by a photo I once saw on an REI membership card. Here is how the Yosemite photo was taken and edited.