As an avid outdoors enthusiast, I love easy to pack snacks that don’t spoil readily and are simultaneously nutritious and delicious! Naturally, there are tons of products on the market that fit the bill to a tee! Kind, Cliff, Blue Diamond, Kashi, etc. Actually, most food brands have some sort of product that they market to the “healthy,” “outdoor”, crowd. However, as I also try to keep environmental as well as economical concerns on my mind as I shop, I find that hardly any

1. Technology- by far the greatest thing to happen to the fly fishing enthusiast has got to be the advances in gear and applications due to advances in technology. From ultra lightweight tools that allow us to get into the backcountry more easily to a weather forecast you can check on your phone before heading out. 2. Carbon fiber- Your Grandfather's fly rod was made of Bamboo… you heard me right. While they’re mainly collectors items now, my father still has one and so do I.

No one likes doing dishes, especially not in the backcountry. Using specific pots to cook meals means a heavier load to carry not to mention the eventual dirty dishes to tend to. While it’s nice to have a gourmet wilderness meal now and again there are a few ways to cut back on camp kitchen work and still enjoy good eats. One particularly easy way to drop dish weight and enjoy good meals comes with a little planning. This simple plan includes seeking out foods that come in pa

Hiker hunger is a blessing and a curse. Sure, I can beat most eating challenges I come across, but gluttony has its downsides. While at home resting my foot I still had 'the hunger,' but was no longer burning those calories. I ate like I didn't know where my next meal was coming from and in six weeks I had gained nearly 40 pounds. I had no idea I gained so much weight until the night before climbing Katahdin. I jumped on a scale in the bathroom and was shocked when I saw 210.

There are countless ways to stay entertained on the trail. You can take in the views. You can sing the song that has been stuck in your head all week ("Summer Night" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Hey, don't judge me! It's not my fault it's such a great song). You can call out the flora and fauna you come across. You can talk about the NBA playoffs (oh goodness, it's almost over and then we’ve got nothing!). We have, however, an option to stay entertained most can o

In my previous posts I’ve laid the groundwork for an understanding of the basics of fly-fishing. This was mostly a selfish pursuit because I wanted my readers to have a basic understanding of not only the terminology but also the "art." Some of which may have been lost through my meandering prose. Hopefully, from now on when I say I took my 8wt rig with a floating line and a 9ft leader and tied on a royal wulf before heading up the creek, you dear reader will be able to foll

As the saying goes: “If you want a job done right you have to do it yourself.” This is becoming more and more apparent with the foods we eat. The amount of processed and artificial products taking the place of natural foods is overwhelming. Many mass produced foods easily at hand bring with them a whole list of side effects that can affect not only health in the long term but energy and mood in the short term. Though many natural food producers are becoming more available

The percentage of Northbound thru hikers that quit within the first week is 25%, these hikers don't even make it out of Georgia. Another 25% don’t make it to Damascus, VA. Only 10-15% of thru hikers will complete the 2189-mile journey to Katahdin this year. Why do most people quit? Well besides the fact that it’s hard, they don’t follow the “6 P’s”. Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Andy and I have been planning like madmen over the past month gearing up for our

Get the proper and natural fuel you need to go the extra distance by mixing up your own trail mix. GORP (good ol’raisins and peanuts) has been a staple of backcountry gourmet for years, but lets face it—it’s boring. Raisins and peanuts are great power foods that provide protein for energy and vitamins to keep you going, however, there are plenty of other nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, you can add to the mix giving your trail fuel an extra kick of flavor and nutrients. Unfor

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you have to hang up your pack and mothball the rest of your gear. It seems once the low temps, snow, and ice start showing up a lot of backcountry athletes pack it in for the off season. This doesn’t have to be the case, getting out in the snow and cold is certainly more challenging than the warmer sunny days of summer, but that’s what its all about, a challenge, right? There are lots of benefits to getting out in the colder middle mon