Most hikers (and, well, most of the other regular humans we know) suffer from some sort of knee problems: either after 10 km of hiking, after 30 miles or just when going downhill with a heavy pack. I am no different – I used to always get knee pain when hiking and I couldn’t even […]
British walker’s guide to hiking in USA
I recently relocated from London, UK, to Portland (Oregon), USA, and had no doubt that my hiking life was not over, but actually started a new chapter. After hiking for so many years, hiking the the USA shouldn’t be that hard, right? Well, after 5.5 years in the UK, I am by now a fully […]
Gear Review- Haglofs Gram Comp 25 Backpack
Picking a day pack is a very sensitive issue for hikers, almost as much as footwear and big trip backpacks – they are very personal and can be very controversial. I have experimented with more than my share of day packs, trying to find the combination of the features and volume (22-27 litres) I want […]
Wrapping Up 5.5 Years of Walking in Britain
Just over 5.5 years ago, in November 2010, I moved to the UK in search of a more outdoors-oriented life than what I had previously in Israel. This has been mostly successful, and I have enjoyed walking in Britain, exploring an extremely interesting island that surprised me in many ways and made me the walker […]
How to walk 25 miles a day
I love walking long trails, but with limited time I needed to find a way to make it work: go fast or go long. I have written about the difference between going fast or going long (days) and explained how this connects to the ultrapacking concept. At the core of ultrapacking and completing longer trips […]
Is ultrapacking the way to go?
It seems that today, there are a million and five ways to move on two legs, all involving various schools of thoughts and methods. I have tried many and I almost always find some limitations, especially as I keep getting older, fitter and with much less time. My biggest concern at this point in my […]
Eating my hat and praise for the microadventure concept (with a caveat)
In February, I was under very clear instructions in terms of outdoors adventures: I need to be near home (within easy reach) and in a place where I would have constant cell phone reception. The reason for that is that my wife was nearly due to have our son. Those conditions meant I needed to […]
Expedition Kit List – Cape Wrath Trail Gear List
Most regular hikers/backpackers/thru-hikers/hill-walkers have a pretty standard gear list that they have tried and tested, and use almost every time they go out (with some minor adjustments). Most of us don’t have tons of shelters and sleeping bags, but 2-3 at best; we also don’t have many stoves, or packs, or anything else. We tend […]
Cape Wrath Trail 2016 – blurring the line between backpacking and ultrarunning
Last May I walked the Cape Wrath Trail, which had been one of my goals ever since I got to the UK; needless to say it was an amazing adventure, but it caught me off guard. I was partially unprepared, partially overwhelmed and mainly – I didn’t quite make all the way: I skipped a […]
The Pennine Way Part 2 – Chasing Abigail From Hebden-Bridge to Thornton-In-Craven
The Pennine Way was England’s first official national trail, crossing three national parks along its 268 miles (430 km). Starting from Edale in the south, the Pennine Way climbs through the Peak District, continues through the south Pennines to the Yorkshire Dales, the north Pennines and then to the Northumberland national park, ending at Kirk […]
Leave No Trace – UK adjustment
If you go outdoors in the USA you seem to be truly alone as there are no signs that other people have ever been there; not always, but in most places that has been my experience. If you go hiking in the UK, on the other hand, it feels like all the people you have […]
Gear Review – Ribz Pack
Sometimes we get hooked on weird gear, really, just the weirdest things that there is a good chance you’ll never need – unless you do? I got the Ribz under with the idea that I think I’ll need it, not sure how, but I want it. It is a very odd pack, and I get […]
Why should you have a cozy and how to make one
Cooking outdoors is a source of great debates – the opinions are many, probably as many as there are backpackers, but there is a simple tool that most will agree upon: the use of a stove cozy. It is a small and light tool that does nothing but increase the efficiency of your pot and […]
Dealing with solo weekend guilt
There is a real problem in being torn between two worlds, between the family/home world and the outdoors. It is almost like having a demanding mistress but knowing the demand exists only in your head. I guess this guilt exists with any hobby or personal activity that takes us away from home; but there is […]
What acivities can you do outdoors?
We have already discussed the fact that we go outdoors to have fun, and as much as just being helicoptered to the middle of nowhere for a few hours with an icebox full of beers and snacks sounds great, most people want to actually do something when they are out – but what? The outdoors […]