hike the NatioNal parks

New local hikes sectioN 

yosemite 

olympic 

grand teton 

acadia 

smokies 

rocky mountain 

yellowstone 

grand canyon 

hike 

Weekends 

Near You 

Turn-by-turn 

guides 

Hike 

Forever 

17 tips for 

lifelong 

fitness 

the 

Mountains 

Made Easy 

Dayhike to state 

high points 

NatioNal 

parks 

178 trails, views, 

and campsites 

crater lake 

zion 

glacier 

sequoia 

shenandoah 

canyonlands 

and more! 

tested light and tough apparel

#MontanaMoment | Grand Prismatic Spring near West Yellowstone, MT—Gateway to Yellowstone National Park 

“My fi rst look at the spring from atop the hillside was the fi rst time I saw Yellowstone for what it was: Mother 

Nature’s canvas. The bold colors, the immense size of the crater, the thick blanket of steam coming off the 

spring on a cold early morning—all amazing feats of beauty.” BRAD BECK 

VISITMT.COM

advertisement 

step out of bounds 

in Montana with Backpacker 

Meet A Few of the Step Out of Bounds Contest Hopefuls: 

Roseann 

& Saveria 

Hometown: 

Pasadena, CA & 

Austin, TX 

To Step Out of 

Bounds Means: 

“Shaking it up!” and 

“Doing something 

different and unexpected 

and owning it.” 

Goal as Montana 

Ambassador: “To see as much of Montana as humanly possible, 

which I know is just going to make me want to come back and 

explore more.” 

Elizabeth 

& Daniel 

Hometown: 

Eugene, OR 


Bounds Means: "To 

start each day by bike 

commuting, picking our 

own food around town, 

and living a minimalist 

lifestyle.” 


Ambassador: “To let others in on some of the awesome 

adventure opportunities available in Montana with our video and 

blog entries.” 

John & Andy 

Hometown: 

Boulder, CO 


Bounds Means: 

“Not merely going on 

a trip but grabbing the 

experience by the horns 

and making the most 

of every moment,” and 

“Seizing each day to 

the fullest and taking 

opportunities to enjoy 

what's in front of you." 

Goal as Montana Ambassador: “To explore the beauty 

Montana has to offer, catch some fish and fry them up at camp, 

and sleep under the stars.” 

Alison & Cori 

Hometown: 

Seattle, WA 


Bounds Means: 

“Getting out of your 

comfort zone, going out 

and doing something 

new, courageous or 

exciting.” 


Ambassador: “To 

make people feel as if 

they're going on the trip with us! I want people to laugh with us, 

sweat with us, and take in the mighty views.” 

Check out who won the Step Out of Bounds Contest to become 

the 2014 Montana Ambassador at backpacker.com/visitmt 

backpacker.com/visitmt

The Subaru Forester.® 

Motor Trend’s 2014 

Sport/Utility of the Year.® 

The Subaru Forester ® has done it again, winning the coveted 2014 Motor Trend Sport/Utility 

of the Year ® award. Subaru is the only three-time winner of this prestigious award and the 

only brand with four consecutive years of record-breaking sales. Come see why there’s a 

whole lot to love about Subaru. Love. It’s what makes a Subaru, a Subaru. 

Forester. ® Well-equipped at $ 22,195 * 

Subaru and Forester are registered trademarks. *MSRP excludes destination and delivery chargers, tax, title, and registration fees. Dealer sets actual price. 2015 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Touring 

pictured has an MSRP of $34,990.

contents June 2014 

the manual 

skills 

33 Start a fire with 

flint. Master this 

technique before 

you need it. 

34 Cheat Sheet: 

Peakbagging 

Alpine expert 

Gerry Roach 

shares his top 

advice for summit 

scrambles. 

PHOTO BY (FROM TOP) HARRY LICHTMAN; ANDREW BYDLON; JULIA VANDENOEVER (GOAT) 

features 

58 

2014 National Parks Guide 

Perfect summer: Our scout 

delivers the ultimate hikedrive-camp 

odyssey for every 

region in the country. 

BY BRENDAN LEONARD 

72 

Young at Heart 

Want to feel like a 5-year-old? 

Thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail. 

BY KATIE LEI 

74 

Hike Forever 

Afer nearly 50 years exploring 

Wyoming’s Wind River 

Range, Joe Kelsey shows how 

to turn “over the hill” into “on 

top of the mountain.” 

BY MARK JENKINS 

82 

My Partner Ate My Socks 

Goats are the perfect pack 

animals: agile, compliant, and 

low-impact beasts of burden. 

Maybe. 

BY CASEY LYONS 

Cover Yosemite (page 96) by 

Ian Shive / TandemStock.com 

58 

trips 

go big 

10 Boundary Range, AK 

Dare to trek the continent’s 

wildest corner. 

12 The Experience: Long- 

Distance Hiking 

It doesn’t matter which trail 

you take; true wilderness 

escape is all about time. 

16 Life List: The Original 

Haute Route 

What if the best day you ever 

had in the mountains lasted a 

week? It will on this 53-mile 

hut trek through the heart of 

the Alps. 

18 Insider’s Guide: Sequoia & 

Kings Canyon National Parks 

Giant trees. Soaring granite 

peaks. Alpine lakes by the 

dozen. Guidebook author 

Mike White shares his secrets 

for finding solitude and scenery 

in this iconic paradise. 

go local 

22 To-Do List 

Tackle New England’s Presidential 

Traverse on the solstice, 

see harbor seals in Northern 

California, toast a St. Louis hike 

with local beer, and nine more 

trips and picks near you. 

24 Weekends 

Discover a private alternative 

to Colorado’s popular Four 

Pass Loop, get a workout on 

Indiana’s Knobstone Trail, and 

explore the diversity of New 

England’s White Mountains. 

30 Done in a Day: State 

High Points 

These summits deliver bigtrip 

payoffs on a short-trip 

schedule. Your targets: Mt. 

Mansfield, VT; Humphreys 

Peak, AZ; and Sassafras 

Mountain, SC. 

44 82 

Swifcurrent Lake, 

Glacier National Park 

36 Pass/Fail: 

Assemble an overnight 

kit for $100 

Can you really 

get core gear on a 

tight budget? 

38 Trail Chef: 

Energizers 

Make your own 

tasty, nutritious 

trail snacks. 

40 Photo School: 

Reflections 

Nail the perfect 

lake shot with tips 

from a pro. 

survival 

44 Out Alive: 

Flash Flood! 

Learn from three 

canyoneers who 

were swept away. 

48 Saved By: A 

Plastic Bag 

Use this common 

item to stay alive. 

gear 

51 Field Test 

The best apparel 

for every climate 

54 Field Notes 

Trail runners, an 

ultralight tent, and 

more 

56 Roundup 

Portable power 

06 editor’s note 

08 #trailchat 

96 uncovered 

BACKPACKER.COM 

03

A PART OF PEOPLE’S ADVENTURES 

SINCE 1892 

ETA 

LITE 

Patent Pending Technology. 

Compact. 

Powerful. 

Fuel Efficient. 

www.primuscamping.com 

Tonto 

Plateau 

overlooking 

Granite 

Rapids, 

Grand 

Canyon 

The Milky 

Way arching 

over 

a prairie 

campsite at 

Badlands 

Klahhane 

Ridge, Olympic 

Glow of the lava 

lake on top of 

Kilauea, Hawaii 

Volcanoes 

360 degrees 

of peaks from 

Copper Ridge, 

North Cascades 

Double rainbow 

arching rim to 

rim across the 

entire Grand 

Canyon 

Sunset at 

Murphy Camp 

on the White 

Rim Trail in 

Canyonlands 

Zion from 

(trailless) 

Horse Ranch 

Mountain 

DEPUTY EDITOR & DIGITAL DIRECTOR 

Anthony Cerretani 

SENIOR EDITORS Casey Lyons, Rachel Zurer 

GEAR EDITOR Kristin Hostetter 

ASSISTANT EDITOR Maren Kasselik 

DIRECTOR OF ONLINE PRODUCTION Katie Herrell 

WEB DEVELOPER John Williams 

TABLET MEDIA SPECIALIST Crystal Sagan 

Clouds Rest in Yosemite 

STAFF PICKS Best national park view 

DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Trent Knoss 

SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR Sarah Stewart 

NORTHWEST FIELD EDITORS 

Ted Alvarez, Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan 

SOUTHWEST FIELD EDITOR Annette McGivney 

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kelly Bastone, 

Jim Gorman, John Harlin, Steve Howe, 

Tracy Ross, Buck Tilton 

WRITER AT LARGE Steve Friedman 

OFFICE MANAGER JoAnn Thomas 

I.T. SPECIALIST Tony Pene 

EDITORIAL INTERNS Stasia Callaghan, 

Dylan Riessen, Rachel Sayers 

ART 

PHOTO EDITOR Genny Fullerton 

MULTIMEDIA SPECIALIST Andrew Bydlon 

JUNIOR DESIGNER Brennah Rosenthal 

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Ben Fullerton 

The Windows in Arches 

FIELD SCOUTS 

Nancy Bouchard, Andrew Matranga, 

Dave Miller, Joel Nyquist, Peter Rives, 

William Rochfort, Chelise Simmons, 

Bill Velasquez, Allison Woods 

Grand Teton’s sunrise 

shadow, from 

Copyright 2014 © Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. 

the summit 

CHAIRMAN & CEO Efrem Zimbalist III 

PRESIDENT & COO Andrew W. Clurman 

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CFO Brian Sellstrom 

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS 

Patricia B. Fox 

SVP, CONTENT AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT 

Jonathan Dorn 

VICE PRESIDENT, SALES AND MARKETING, 

OUTDOOR AND MOUNTAIN GROUPS Al Crolius 

VICE PRESIDENT, CONTROLLER Joseph Cohen 

VICE PRESIDENT, RESEARCH Kristy Kaus 

Magazine 

Publishers 

of America 

Anywhere 

high in 

the Maze, 

Canyonlands 

ACTIVE INTEREST MEDIA 

OUTDOOR GROUP 

GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

Matthew Bates 

GROUP PRODUCTION DIRECTOR 

Barb Van Sickle 

ACTIVE INTEREST MEDIA 

300 CONTINENTAL BLVD. SUITE 650 

EL SEGUNDO, CA 90245 (310) 356-4100 

o 

OUTDOOR •r 

RETAILER •d 

DAILY • 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Dennis Lewon 

ART DIRECTOR 

Bryan Nanista 

GROUP PUBLISHER 

Jeff Tkach 

(303) 235-6411 jtkach@aimmedia.com 

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR 

Sharon Houghton 

(303) 235-6412 shoughton@aimmedia.com 

MIDWEST ACCOUNT MANAGER 

Charlotte Sibbing 

(312) 730-7173 csibbing@aimmedia.com 

EASTERN ACCOUNT DIRECTOR 

Top of Half Dome, 

JoAnn Martin 

Yosemite 

(917) 577-0191 joannmartin@aimmedia.com 

EASTERN ACCOUNT MANAGER 

Matt Higgins 

(203) 246-9577 mhiggins@aimmedia.com 

WESTERN ACCOUNT MANAGERS 

Nick Freedman 

(707) 775-3353 nick@mediahoundsinc.com 

Johanna Wolf 

(707) 775-3353 Johanna@mediahoundsinc.com 

DETROIT ACCOUNT MANAGER 

Keith Cunningham 

(248) 763-0526 keith-cunningham@sbcglobal.net 

MARKETPLACE MANAGER 

Ileana Morales 

(303) 253-6467 imorales@aimmedia.com 

PREPRESS MANAGER Joy Kelley 

PREPRESS SPECIALIST Galen Nathanson 

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR 

Kelsey McCarthy 

DIRECTOR OF INTEGRATED MARKETING 

Courtney Matthews 

DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST 

Amy Lewis 

EVENTS DIRECTORS 

Sheri and Randy Propster 

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Jenny Desjean 

DIRECTOR OF RETAIL SALES Susan A. Rose 

RETAIL SALES MANAGER Maureen Myatt 

NEWSSTAND ANALYST Bernadette Shaia 

GROUP NEW BUSINESS MANAGER 

Kathleen Donahue 

FREELANCE SUBMISSIONS 

backpacker.com/guidelines 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

letters@backpacker.com 

Sunrise from 

Camp Muir, Mt. 

Rainier 

EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICES 

5720 Flatiron Parkway, Boulder, CO 80301 

SELLING BACKPACKER 

To sell Backpacker in your retail store, call 

Integrated Marketing Concepts at (800) 201-3591. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS & READER PREFERENCES 

Backpacker Subscription Department 

PO Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235 

backpacker.com/subservice 

backpacker@emailcustomerservice.com 

(800) 666-3434 (386-597-4318 outside the U.S.) 

Please include name and address as they 

appear on the magazine mailing label with all 

correspon dence. Allow 8 weeks for change of 

address. To remove your name from promotion lists, 

write to the address above. 

Anywhere 

in the Grand 

Canyon— 

from the river 

looking up. 

Yellowstone 

—every road 

from the 

back of a 

Harley, and 

stopping 

and hiking at 

every bearwarning 

sign 

The vista from 

Glacier Point in 

Yosemite 

Double O Arch in 

Arches 

Waterwheel 

Falls in the 

Grand Canyon of 

the Tuolumne, 

Yosemite 

04 

BACKPACKER.COM

BlackDiamondEquipment.com 

Photographers (clockwise from top left): Andrew Burr, Sandra Salvas, Andrew Burr


SINCE 1892 

editor’s note 

BY DENNIS LEWON 

Summer Starts Here 

DonÕt let prime hiking season slip 

by. Take advantage of the coming 

months with pointers from this 

issue. 

When last summer ended, I made a vow: 

hike more next summer. Family obligations, 

deadlines, chores—the normal stuff— 

had chipped into my trail time. I still got out, 

of course, so as the months went by I didn’t 

think much about a missed weekend here 

or there. But in the fall, with the days getting 

shorter and winter weather looming, I 

found myself looking back at the calendar 

with a twinge of regret. Where had the best 

of the hiking season gone? 

That won’t happen to me again this year. 

I’m starting my summer planning now, 

with this issue. Here’s how you can, too. 

Celebrate National Trails Day. 

Kick off the season right: Put some 

sweat equity into the trails you use. But I’m 

not gonna sugarcoat it. Trail work, using 

shovels and picks and handsaws 

and McLeods, is hard. 

Cutting brush is hard. Moving 

rocks is hard. Digging drainage 

channels is hard. I know 

because twice a year, my staff 

and I help build and maintain 

trails in Heil Valley Ranch, a 

local Boulder mountain park. 

But you know what’s even 

harder? Hiking with no trails 

at all. So volunteer for a work 

crew, join a trail event, or just go 

for a hike on National Trails Day 

on June 7. For more ideas see 

page 22 and go to americanhiking.org/national-trails-day. 

Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and 

Glacier when I was 8 years old. 

I can still picture the arm-size 

trout that slipped a hook in Yellowstone 

and the marmot that made off with a 

loaded daypack in Glacier. Want a truly 

memorable summer adventure? Pack 

three years’ worth of trips into one. We’ve 

crafted nine surefire itineraries, for hikers 

in every part of the country, in “Wonders of 

Our World” (page 58). 

Hike with someone older—and 

someone younger. 

That’s the advice from Joe Kelsey, 75, who 

still backpacks and climbs in Wyoming’s 

Wind River Range (“Hike Forever,” page 

74). You’ll learn what’s possible from those 

older than you and what’s current (or going 

to be) from those younger, says Kelsey, himself 

a role model on how to make the most 

of the season. I’ve already got this one covered, 

with plans to hike Hawaii Volcanoes 

National Park with my mom and my kids. 

But this summer, that’s just for starters. 

What’s on your list? 

Doing my share at 

Boulder’s Heil Valley 

Ranch 

CLASSIC 

TRAIL 

Lightweight. 

Convenient. 

Powerful. 

Trusted and timeless design. 


Visit more than one 

national park. 

I’m sure I went on numerous 

summer vacations as a 

kid. But there’s only one that 

really sticks out: the road trip to 

New Look! 

Welcome to a brand new BACKPACKER. 

We’ve revamped our trips, skills, survival, and 

gear sections—starting on page 10—to deliver 

essential hiking and camping information married 

to a design that will inspire. We’ve also added a 

new department, #trailchat (page 8), where we 

showcase reader views and news. And learn more 

about hiking to our cover shot in Uncovered (page 

96). Let us know what you think of these changes 

at letters@backpacker.com. 

iPad Extras 

Get our iPad edition for bonus content. 

Watch a video of Out Alive survivors (page 43) 

describing their epic escape. 

Explore Wyoming’s Wind River 

Range with trail picks from guidebook 

author Joe Kelsey. 

See a gallery of gorgeous shots 

from Tomas Kašpar, our Photo 

School expert (page 40). 

+ More! 

PHOTO BY ANDREW BYDLON 

06 

06.2014

FULL-FEATURED 

YOUTH PACK 

WANDER 

70L & 50L 

ADJUSTABLE 

VersaFit suspension allows torso 

adjustability so the pack can “grow” 

with the child 

FULL-FEATURED 

Comfortable, durable and 

lightweight for extended trips 

RAIN COVER 

Integrated, custom-fit rain cover 

included in a dedicated, 

quick-access storage pocket 

Boone Speed 

Find out more at GregoryPacks.com


SINCE 1892 

#trailchat 

YOUR OPINIONS, PHOTOS, AND FEATS 

High Points 

Watch Kolby “Condor” 

Kirk age before your 

eyes in the selfie-aday 

video he shot on 

the Pacific Crest Trail: 

backpacker.com/PCTs 

e l fi e . 

MSR 

Hubba 

Hubba 

Big 

Agnes 

Copper 

Spur 

Other 

REI Half 

Dome 

Ryan Boone 

The guy who 

brings a speaker 

for playing the 

worst music 

you’ve ever 

heard, gets 

sloppy drunk, 

and dances. 

Didn’t see that 

on the list but it 

should be #1. 

Bob SoWel 

Oh to disappear for 5 

months... 

PCT 

MVP 

KING OF 

TENTS 

BAD 

BEHAVIOR 

Sean Harrison 

It’s Zach Galifianakis!!!!! 

Quick: 

Name the 

best tent 

of all time. 

Impossible? 

That didn’t 

stop readers 

from 

chiming 

in on their 

favorite 

shelters. 

Certain types of people make terrible hiking partners. Your number 

one annoyance? A snoring tentmate. Runners-up: litterbugs 

and whiners. Angie 

@butterflies_27: The chatty 

Kathy the whole darn time 

PROFILE 

STOVE 

Compact. 

Portable. 

Stable windscreens. 

Large cooking space. 


One Question For... 

Kristin Gates 

Last year, Gates, 26, became 

the first woman to solo-traverse 

Alaska’s Brooks Range, covering 

1,000 glacier-strewn miles in 51 

days. We asked: What was the 

scariest moment? 

Caption This 

Kevin Dietrich photographed 

this grizzly 

cub in Alaska’s 

Chugach National 

Forest. 

WINNER 

Kurtis Banchero 

“Mom and I would 

love to have you 

over... for lunch.” 

David Kane 

“I, Yogi Bear, do solemnly 

swear that I’ll 

support and defend 

the Constitution...” 

Glen Taylor 

“I’ll give you a fivesecond 

head start 

then I’m comin’.” 

Just afer breaking 

camp along the 

Kongakut River, a pack of 

wolves came right toward 

me. Then, half of them ran 

up into the hills and the 

other half ran into the thick 

willows. Five minutes later, 

I found out why they were 

spooked: An 800-pound 

male grizzly was towering 

over a caribou carcass just 

a couple hundred feet away. 

He had stolen their kill.” 

Your Top Shot 

Read the full interview and 

see photos at backpacker 

.com/brooksrange. 

Daniel Fox snapped this self-portrait last September 

while hiking in a Mendenhall Glacier cave 

near Juneau, AK. Want to see your image here? 

Enter at backpacker.com/photos. 

08 

06.2014 

Join the conversation: backpacker.com/trailchat

THE TRAVEX ® FREEDRY COTTON LOOKOUT T-SHIRT 

The best-ever combo of technical performance and cotton comfort. Built with 

our exclusive FreeDry Cotton, a microfiber technology that dries faster 

during elevated activity. Natural fabric comfort, shrink-resistant material, 

and quick-dry performance that will never wash out. Guide built and 

tested with Eddie Bauer kayaker Ben Stookesberry. 

EddieBauer.com/Travex

011 

06.2014 

trips 

go big 

Long-distance hiking 

Best of the Alps 

Sequoia and Kings 

Canyon National Parks 

go local 

Your June agenda 

Perfect weekends : 

Colorado, Indiana, 

New Hampshire 

State high points 

No trails. No place names. No 

people. Welcome to Alaska’s 

Boundary Range, one of the 

wildest spots in North America. 

In 2012, photographer Marc 

Adamus spent 35 days walking 

250 miles solo across this 

barely mapped, glaciated 

terrain. He captured this shot 

around day 10: “I’d spent 80 

percent of the day before on 

ice,” he says. “Then I found this 

patch of summer.” For more 

beta on the area, which hugs 

the coast south of Juneau into 

British Columbia, go to backpacker.com/boundaryrange.

012 

go 

big 

Cast of characters: Bandanas, body odor, 

and beards are thru-hiker hallmarks. 

The long view: Rhododendrons bloom 

on Tennessee’s Grassy Ridge in June at 

mile 372 on the AT. 

the experienCe 

More is Better 

Long-distance hiking 

For long-haul hikers, time has a way of putting things 

into perspective. By Casey Lyons 

I 

believed what I had to in the beginning. Mostly, that my 10-week hike on 

the Appalachian Trail was the same as 10 weeklong trips. I was wrong, 

but how could I have known? I could barely even focus. Not with the din 

of unread email, urgent deadlines, and calendar alerts playing like a soundtrack 

through my life. It was a week before I stopped feeling those phantom vibrations 

in my phone pocket. It was two weeks before I stopped missing the whiz-bang 

instant gratification and started being free. 

In this hyper-connected world, any individual’s purview is pretty much 

unlimited. I could Skype with my nieces in the Philippines, catch up with old 

friends without the hassle of talking, and search for a soulmate with an online 

form. Existing beyond our own physical reach is a point of pride in this modern 

life. We strive for it; we need it. And I thought I needed it, too. 

So when I decided to long-distance hike, I didn’t know it yet, but I was rejecting 

this modern world with the cold finality of Connection Lost. And I wanted to 

think I’d grow, personally, mile by mile, but that’s not what happened. Instead, I 

shrank—fast—to the exact size of one human being. It’s a 

scale I knew nothing about. 

The transition wasn’t easy. At first I worried—about 

bears, about how dirty my hands really were, about 

whether my headlamp’s batteries would last all the way 

to the gear shop in Neels Gap, Georgia. And a few days 

went by and I was bug-bit and animal-hungry. My back 

hurt, my feet hurt, I smelled like a hobo—hell, I’d have 

robbed a hobo for a Hot Pocket. 

Then around three weeks, there’s a shift. You get 

your trail legs, but can only realize this as an absence— 

you’re no longer robot-stiff in the morning, and hiking 

actually feels good and normal and right. The days 

glob together. Worry is replaced by wonder, and then 

wonder by sheer, beautiful, uncomplicated existence. 

You’re floored by the way tree bark looks when the 

afternoon shadows give it infinite depth, the sight of a 

caterpillar silhouetted through a beech leaf, the 

PhoTos By (fRom ToP) Ben Benvie; mARk vAnDyke 

06.2014

The Ascend MS4400 Trail Pack makes it easy to bring everything you need on a big adventure. The pack's load 

adjustment and support system help you shoulder everything you fit in its ample 4400 cubic inches of storage space. 

Available at Bass Pro Shops, BassPro.com and other fine retailers. Visit BassPro.com/Ascend for more features.

014 

the experience 

GO BIG 

way a summer cloudburst sounds 

when you can’t get out of it and don’t 

care, because being wet has been a 

condition of life forever and now it’s 

part of yours, too. 

You touch rocks with your hands 

and feel the trail with your feet. You 

suck water straight off the earth 

(sometimes without even filtering 

it), and you divide things into two 

groups: That which you can do something 

about, and That which you can’t 

do anything about anyway, so what’s 

the use. You leave that second group 

in a privy somewhere around the 

Smokies—the one with no roof, no 

walls, and a view of the deep, old forest. 

You bathe in a mountain stream 

and it makes you feel better than you 

ever thought possible. 

Then one morning, you open your 

tent door and you know, sure as dew 

glistens in the sun, that you are just 

exactly where you should be. There’s 

no distinction between you and the 

woods and the trail, because you are 

all part of the same bigger organism, 

all characters in the same larger picture. 

And that’s what everyone means 

when they say, “Hike your own hike,” 

and “The trail will provide.” 

You nap in a meadow atop a 

Tennessee bald because the wind 

whisks the grass in a way that makes 

you want to dream. You smile like a 

fool, and you lick your peanut butter 

spoon after it falls in the pine duff 

At home: 

Tent or stay at 

shelters like this 

one at mile 2,145 

on the AT. 

without even thinking about it—sort of like a 5-year-old 

kid (page 72). You wake up at dawn and fall asleep at 

dusk, and you feel this is somehow right. You make 

m emories and friends and sign the trail register with 

a new—and strange—name. You take your watch off 

and mail it home, and the idea that the same ragged, 

calendar-synced world is dragging on without you is 

like a fairy tale. 

Because when we’re striving to extend ourselves as 

far over the planet as possible, what we’re really after 

is connection. We’re just casting as wide a net as we 

can for it. But only when we give up the hunt do we 

find what we’re looking for. So go. Find a trail—one of 

the famous ones, or one closer to you—and learn what 

it’s like to be there. Learn about life at the exact size of 

one human being. 

6 tips for 

would-be 

thru-hikers 

1 

You can’t train up 

to 20-mile trail 

days—expect a 

couple weeks of 

body break-in— 

but you should 

be in shape. Start 

here: backpacker 

.com/getfit. 

2 

Keep town stops 

quick. Plan nutritious 

meals and 

send yourself 

packed boxes to 

post ofces close 

to the trail. 

3 

Make yourself a 

1-ounce alcohol 

stove: backpacker.com/alcoholstove. 

4 

Get your head 

around hitchhiking, 

because you’ll 

do plenty of it in 

order to resupply. 

5 

Carry an umbrella. 

Nothing 

fancy, just a 

non-collapsible, 

drugstore umbrella 

and cut 

the handle off 

(to save weight). 

You’ll always have 

a dry place to 

cook, consult your 

map, and just rest. 

6 

Get full beta for 

the AT, PCT, and 

CDT at backpacker.com/ 

longtrails. 

PHOTOS BY (FROM LEFT) DMITRI ALEXANDER; JOHN BRYANT BAKER; BRETT HOLMAN / TANDEM 

06.2014

016 

Life List 

GO BIG 

The Original 

Haute Route, 

France and 

Switzerland 

Link Mont Blanc with the Matterhorn 

on this weeklong epic 

through the heart of the Alps. 

BY BRENDAN LEONARD 

C 

linging to a fixed ladder a thousand 

feet above a glacier, my heart 

pounds so hard I can feel my pulse. 

Even though a fixed line protects me from a 

fall, the air beneath my feet delivers a scaryfun 

jolt of adrenaline that floods my veins. 

Three hundred feet above me, a steel mountain 

hut perched on the 11,000-foot Col de 

Bertol’s knife-edge ridge—my home for the 

night—casts a shadow over my sweat-soaked 

face. Behind me, the Swiss Alps soar a mile 

above the glacier. I’ve been moving for almost 

eight hours—over ice, snow, glacial moraine, 

and now this short via ferrata—on the fourth 

day of my August journey along the Original 

Haute Route, a 53-mile hut trek linking 

Chamonix, France and Zermatt, Switzerland. 

When I planned this gig six months ago, I 

wanted to walk through the Alps—not look 

up at them. So I opted for the high-altitude 

route, which promised glacier travel, crampons, 

ice axes, and alpenglow—elements 

that live high above the Alps’s villages and 

valleys, where most other Haute Route spinoffs 

dwell. I also wanted a crowd-free experience, 

and, from this precarious granite ledge, 

I see strikingly few others. 

I continue hand over hand up the ladder 

to the Bertol Hut, built in the 1890s and hosting 

big-route climbers ever since. Inside, I 

kick off my boots and drape my spent limbs 

over a chair angled toward the windowed 

06.2014

The author and companions cross a moraine in front of the Matterhorn 

on the sixth day of the trek. 

The crevassed approach to Tête Blanche requires a rope. 

A hiker relaxes in front of the Schonbiel Hut (the route’s final shelter), 

with a view of the Matterhorn’s north wall. 

Photography By PatitucciPhoto 

walls, which showcase a 270-degree, filmstrip 

view of the Southern Alps. You can’t get 

that on the lower-elevation routes. 

Perhaps other Haute Route trekkers 

skipped this high-altitude passage because 

of the near-vertical approaches to huts like 

this one. Or maybe they stopped researching 

the route when they saw the phrase 

“ice axe required.” But with a guide, 

anyone capable of hiking for a week 

straight can do it. We average less than 

8 miles a day and each hut comes with 

warm beds and hot meals—mountaineering 

chops definitely not required. 

Before dawn, our group of three 

scarfs a hot breakfast and ropes up 

for the 3-mile march up the mellow Glacier 

du Mont Miné. Craggy summits and snowy 

domes slowly appear as dawn approaches, 

my boot soles gently punching through 

the crusty snow. When we reach the top of 

12,172-foot Tête Blanche, the high point of the 

Haute Route and our only summit, the sun 

pops over the horizon, setting the 14,000- 

foot points of the Matterhorn and the Dent 

d’Hérens alight with orange alpenglow. As the 

light washes across the snow-curtained north 

faces, I know this is the way the Haute Route 

was intended to be enjoyed. Right down to 

the cappuccino awaiting me just 3 miles away. 

Do it Plan six or seven days for this 53-mile trek. From Geneva, take the Geneva-Chamonix shuttle 

from the airport ($40 USD). Make hut reservations two months in advance at sac-cas.ch (about 

$45-$70/night, includes meals), and plan to taxi from Champex to Mauvoisin Dam (about $275) 

on day two or three. Season Mid-July through early September Guidebook Haute Route Chamonix 

to Zermatt Glacier Trek by Francois Matet ($50; chesslerbooks.com) Guide Cosley & Houston 

Alpine Guides (about $2,100/person, includes meals and hut fees; cosleyhouston.com) 

backpacker.com

018 

insider’s guide 

GO BIG 

Alpine zone: Dusy Basin offers classic 

High Sierra scenery, but that’s just one of 

the landscapes you’ll find within the parks’ 

13,145 feet of vertical relief. 

Sequoia and 

Kings Canyon 

National Parks, 

California 

Plan the perfect trip amid the nation’s most 

plus-sized scenery. BY KELLY BASTONE 

PHOTO BY HARRY LICHTMAN 

06.2014

www.SALEWA.com 

GORE-TEX ® SURROUND 

The world‘s first 360 degree waterproof 

and breathable outdoor lifestyle shoe. 

BREATHABLE SOLE 

Kevlar fabric sole keeps your feet 

cool, dry, and protected. 

Available at: Backcountry.com | MountainGear.com | Zappos.com 

AWARD WINNER: GEAR INSTITUTE – BEST NEW GEAR and OUTDOOR INDUSTRY AWARD – BEST OF SHOW

020 

insider’s guide 

go big 

The Payof 

You’ll need a forklift 

to hoist your 

jaw back into place 

after gaping at the 

nation’s biggest tree 

(General Sherman), 

the Lower 48’s tallest 

peak (14,494-foot Mt. 

Whitney), and one of 

the continent’s deepest 

gorges (8,000-footdeep 

Kings Canyon). 

And those are just the 

superlatives: Even 

the lesser-known 

sequoia groves and 

high-alpine granite 

basins are among the 

West’s most spectacular 

landscapes. They’re 

also some of the most 

remote; five roadless 

wilderness areas 

surround the parks’ 

865,257 acres. Better 

clear your calendar. 

Your guide 

Mike White, 61, of Reno, 

Nevada, has written two guidebooks 

for the area and hiked 

all of the parks’ 850 trail miles, 

as well as those in adjacent 

wildernesses. “Of all those, 

maybe one trail seemed disappointing,” 

he says. “They’re that 

amazing.” 

1 

base 

circumference: 

103 feet 

height: 

275 feet 

Volume: 52,500 ft 3 

(could hold 199,000 

basketballs) 

Pick a side 

The Sierra Crest prevents any road from bisecting 

the parks, so driving between the precipitous eastern 

escarpment and the west side’s sequoias and canyons 

takes a full day. No time for both? If you’re hungry for 

peaks, hit the east, says White. “On foot, you get that 

awesome mountain scenery right from the approach, 

and within a day or two you’re at the apex of the Sierra.” 

On the other hand, tree-huggers will want to head west, 

where the parks’ giant specimens reside. Bottom line: 

The best trips include both. 

Photos by (clockwise from right) bergreen PhotograPhy; harry lichtman; 

courtesy; ron reznick / tandem 

06.2014

1 Photographers’ 

dream: Sunset illuminates 

this wall 

of granite (known 

as The Palisades) 

in Dusy Basin. 

2 Record holder: 

Mt. Whitney isn’t 

just the Lower 48’s 

tallest peak; it’s 

also the secondmost 

prominent, 

rising 10,080 feet 

from its base. 

Muir Grove 

Lodgepole 

campground 

General 

Sherman 

Bishop 

Willow Campground 

Dusy Basin 

395 

Mt. Whitney 

East-side secret 

Stage at Willow 

Campground ($20; Inyo NF; 

760-873-2483) to access 

White’s favorite short trips, 

like Larmarck Lakes (6 miles 

return), Treasure Lakes (8 

miles return), or his top overnight, 

Bishop Pass Trail to 

Dusy Basin (16 miles return). 

“There’s no place more stunning 

than Dusy, a 1,300-acre 

bowl of sparkling ponds 

nestled among jagged towers 

at 11,000 feet,” White says. 

Indulgence 

“Erick Schat’s Bakkerÿ 

in Bishop is touristy, but the 

sandwiches are great, and they 

make a Monterey Jack cheese 

bread that’s really decadent.” 

West-side strategy 

“Lodgepole Campground 

offers the best access to the big 

trees,” White says. Visit the 

Giant Forest before 10 a.m. or 

after 5 p.m. for relative solitude. 

Then make the 2-mile (oneway) 

hike to Muir Grove, one of 

the parks’ best-kept secrets. “A 

dozen giants grow in a nearperfect 

circle.” Got a few more 

days? Hike the famous, 39-mile 

Rae Lake Loop. “It’s popular 

and permits are a pain, but the 

scenery is absolutely worth it.” 

Weeklong tour de force 

The best imaginable way 

to spend five or six days is 

hiking 44.5 miles on the John 

Muir Trail from Onion Valley 

to Whitney Portal, White says. 

“It requires a shuttle, but you 

can hire one [see right] if you 

don’t have two cars, and this 

is definitely the only-live-once 

trip to make.” Not only does 

this segment feature the JMT’s 

finest alpine scenery, but 

it also sets you up for a Mt. 

Whitney summit. “Permits* 

from Whitney Portal are 

almost impossible to get, but 

starting at Onion Valley lets 

you avoid that bottleneck,” 

White explains. Log a prehike 

overnight at one of three Inyo 

National Forest campgrounds 

near the trailhead (Grays 

Meadow, Onion Valley, and 

Lower Grays Meadow; $16-18/ 

site; recreation.gov). En route, 

White recommends nights at 

Charlotte Lake (.5 mile off the 

JMT near mile 7.5; nice sunset) 

or Lower Vidette Meadow 

(mile 8; near a lush drainage) 

and at Tyndall Creek Frog 

Ponds (mile 17; good swimming 

in shallow pools and 

better solitude). For the hike’s 

grand finale, camp off-trail 

near Hitchcock Lakes and rise 

early for the 13-mile final day, 

which includes a 4-mile, packfree 

side trip to Whitney’s 

summit before ending at 

Whitney Portal. 

* Get a USFS Kearsarge entry and 

a Whitney Portal exit permit. 

Reserve up to six months ahead 

(recreation.gov.) or try for a walkin 

spot at 11 a.m. the day before 

your entry. Info: (760) 873-2483 

2 

Trip Planner 

Go mid-July to 

September for 

snow-free access 

to the alpine zone; 

May to June for 

wildflowers and 

fewer crowds. Get 

there East side 

Fly into Reno, NV, 

and drive three 

hours to Bishop 

for groceries and 

permits. West 

side Fresno is the 

closest airport. 

Permit Required 

($15/trip May 23 

to Sept. 27; free 

at other times). 

Reservations 

begin March 1 for 

the following year: 

bit.ly/SEKIpermits 

Guidebook 

Sequoia & Kings 

Canyon National 

Parks: Your Complete 

Hiking Guide 

by Mike White 

($25; wildernesspress.com) 

Shuttle eastsidesierrashuttle 

.com; $85 first 

passenger, $25 

each additional 

Info nps.gov/seki; 

(760) 873-2500 

THE INSIDER’S 

BOOKSHELF 

IN OUR IPAD EDITION 

AND AT BACKPACKER 

.COM/INSIDER 

BACKPACKER.COM

022 

go 

local 

Rock the park 

Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga 

Valley’s outdoor music venue, 

opens for the season on June 8. 

Hike a 4.1-miler through the national 

park on the Ledges Trail, then 

catch a concert. On the schedule: 

Tim McGraw on June 8 and Jimmy 

Buffet on June 24 (theblossommusiccenter.com). 

Trip data 

bit.ly/0614Cuyahoga 

Water levels in 

Zion’s Virgin River 

can be dangerously 

high until midsummer. 

Check bit.ly/ 

NarrowsConditions 

before you head out. 

Dayhike the Narrows 

If you missed the 

overnight permit window 

for this life-list trip, it’s still 

doable by day—a loooong 

day. Nab a permit (bit.ly/ 

NarrowsPermit), drive twoand-a-half 

hours northeast 

of Sin City to Zion, and 

sluice through the cool, wet 

canyon this summer. 

Summit Charleston 

Peak Ditch triple-digit 

temps in favor of vertical 

relief on an 8.3-mile (oneway) 

hike through bristlecone 

woods to a chilly, 

11,880-foot summit via the 

South Loop Trail. Or, for a 

shorter day, take off on the 

North Loop Trail for a 5.2- 

mile out-and-back to the 

peak’s airy ridge. Trip data 

bit.ly/0614Charleston 

TO-DO LIST 

Trail run 

Test out your 

trail runners (page 

54) through mixed 

maple-and-oak 

woods, across lakeside 

meadows, and 

past a few territorial 

squirrels in celebration 

of National Trails 

Day (see bottom 

right) at Colonel 

Francis Beatty Park 

in Matthews. You 

can participate in an 

untimed 2K fun run or 

timed 6K or 11K races 

($10 to $55/person 

depending on race 

length; bit.ly/CharlotteNTD). 

Give back 

Picture this: 

From your river valley 

vantage, the ragged, 

jade peaks of the 

Colonel Bob Wilderness 

rise to the west, 

while coastal giants 

Stovepipe Mountain 

and Moonlight Dome 

hog your view to 

the east. It’s hard to 

believe this is charity. 

Seattleites can observe 

National Trails 

Day by maintaining 

the West Fork of the 

Humptulips River 

Trail #806 in Olympic 

National Park. Don’t 

forget to bring your 

favorite backcountry 

libation for the campfire 

potluck Saturday 

night (free; bit.ly/ 

SeattleNTD). 

Toast your hike 

If you’re an outdoorsman and a beer sn ob, 

check out Scratch Brewing Company in Ava, Illinois. 

The alehouse brews with locally farmed and foraged 

ingredients (nettle! elderberry! dandelion!). In June, 

co-founder Marika Josephson says you can expect 

a basil pale ale, a maple sap porter, and a lotusinfused 

farmhouse ale (scratchbeer.com). No doubt 

it will taste even better afer a 2.2-mile loop past prehistoric 

petroglyphs in the Piney Creek Ravine (bit.ly/ 

PineyCreek) or a weekend jaunt through the Garden 

of the Gods (our pick: backpacker.com/R2R). 

Garden of the Gods, IL 

PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) DAVEMARTIN / AP / CORBIS; TRAVIS BURKE; 

HARRY LICHTMAN; ISTOCKPHOTO.COM / RANDIMAL; ROBERT DEJONGE; TAYLOR REED; 

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM / THINAIR28. TEXT BY MAREN KASSELIK 

06.2014

A northbound hiker 

passes over Mt. Clay, Mt. 

Jefferson, and Mt. Adams 

(lef to right) on the 

Presidential Traverse. 

Dayhike the Presidential Traverse 

Long New England days, meet long New England trail. Now is the perfect time to attempt 

the famed, 23-mile, eight-summit Presidential Traverse, when the weather is stable and the 

lower slopes sport a handsome layer of lupine. Learn the essentials at backpacker.com/prestraverse. 

More of a night owl? Make this epic even more epic: Try it under a full moon on June 

13 (details at backpacker.com/moonlitprestraverse). 

See harbor seals 

Stop YouTubing baby animals: 

Harbor seal pups infiltrate 

the Northern California coast every 

spring (peak cuteness in May). 

For your best chance at glimpsing 

these furry blubber balls, head to 

Point Reyes National Seashore for 

a 9.4-mile out-and-back to Drakes 

Head, a point on the southeastern 

shore of a 2,000-acre estuary 

where the seals sunbathe. (Note: 

By June, the pups will be indistinguishable 

from the adults, but 

still at this spot.) Contact (415) 

464-5137; nps.gov/pore 

Hunt for 

treasure 

Take the kids to 

League City’s 

Countryside 

Park to celebrate 

National Trails 

Day with a scavenger 

hunt. The 

tykes will learn 

about forestry 

and keeping our 

parks clean at 

booths along 

the trail. Other 

perks: rafe, 

swag bags, and 

a family hike 

(free; bit.ly/ 

HoustonNTD). 

See Lake Michigan’s eastern 

coastline from the sandy shore. 

Hit the beach 

Sleeping Bear Dunes— 

replete with 450-foot-tall 

dunes, miles of sand 

beaches, inland lakes, and 

old-growth hardwood 

forests—earned designated 

wilderness status in March. 

Sample the best of the 

National Lakeshore, which 

stretches along 35 miles 

of Lake Michigan, on the 

3.5-mile Dunes Trail, an 

out-and-back through the 

sand hillocks to a secluded 

beach. Pack smart: Enjoy 

an early-season swim and 

a gourmet picnic lunch. Trip 

data bit.ly/0615Dunes 

Celebrate National Trails Day on June 7. Find hiking, trail 

work, and other events near you at americanhiking.org/ 

national-trails-day. Check out the activities we’re most excited 

about at backpacker.com/2014NTD. 

The summer solstice will bring around 15 hours of daylight to 

the Lower 48 on Saturday, June 21. Seize the day by attempting 

Oregon’s 41-mile Timberline Trail or another one of America’s hardest 

dayhikes: backpacker.com/hardesthikes. 

backpacker.com

024 

weekends 

trips/ 

go local 

From Buckskin Pass, look 

west (where you came 

from) and identify Snowmass 

Peak, Snowmass 

Mountain, and Capitol 

Peak (lef to right). 

campsite 2 

Willow lake (mile 15.3) 

Snowmass 

Mountain 

Loop 

Colorado 

W 

hen I unzip my tent door 

at dawn, two things are 

abundantly clear: For one, highcountry 

air is good for my lungs 

and my soul. For another, it’s 

obvious why the Four Pass Loop 

is a perennial life-list trip. But you 

won’t find this private view of the 

striated, brick-red Maroon Bells 

on that busy route. I’m camped 

beside an alpine lake just north 

of that track, below the pyramidal 

giants on the last day of a 

quiet, three-day adventure—a 

three-pass loop that only shares 

3.8 miles with its popular alternative. 

It’s led me to deserted 

campsites and atop a Fourteener, 

14,099-foot Snowmass Mountain. 

I’d trade the extra 12,000-foot 

pass for that any day. 

By Maren KaSSelIK 

Turn-by-turn 

From the Snowmass 

creek trailhead 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Follow the Snowmass 

creek Trail southwest 

and south 6.3 miles to 

a beaver dam (pass 

through a livestock 

gate at 1.2 miles). 

Cross the gentle, 

knee-deep water or 

shimmy across logs 

to the beaver pond’s 

western shore. Pick 

up the Snowmass 

Creek Trail again; reach 

Snowmass lake at 

mile 8.3. 

Follow signs for 

Buckskin Pass and 

pick up the Pack Trail, 

continuing 6.4 miles 

east over Buckskin and 

Willow Passes to a fork 

at mile 14.7. 

Stay east (hiker’s right) 

and track .6 mile on 

the footpath to Willow 

lake at mile 15.3. 

Retrace your steps to 

the fork and continue 

7.7 miles north on the 

Pack Trail to the 

trailhead and your car 

(cross an unnamed 

pass at mile 16.9 and 

dip back below treeline 

at mile 18.8). 

campsite 1 

Snowmass lake 

(mile 8.3) 

For primo sunrise alpenglow 

on 14,099-foot 

Snowmass Mountain’s 

silvery slopes, set up 

camp at one of two 

established sites on the 

lake’s eastern shore (no 

fires; first-come, firstserve). 

You’ll catch the 

behemoth’s reflection in 

the lake outside your tent 

door and be tucked away 

from the wooded sites 

east of the lake. 

Trip stats 

Distance: 23.6 miles 

(add 5 miles to bag 

Snowmass Mountain) 

Time: 3 days 

Difculty: 

snowmass Creek tH 

1 

Spend night two on a ledge 

overlooking blue-green 

Willow Lake, 100 feet below. 

Set up your tent near 

the fire pit amid the grove 

of pines, which open south 

to the lake. 

add a summit 

Snowmass Mountain 

Nab one of the state’s 

spiciest, non-technical 

Fourteeners—class 3 

scrambling with a class 

4 section—on a 5-mile 

out-and-back from Snowmass 

Lake. First, track .9 

mile off-trail around the 

southern shore to the 

scree field. From here, 

it’s 1.6 miles up steep 

talus (gain 3,000 feet) 

to the Elks’ knife-edge 

ridge. A final, 50-foot, 

class 4 summit push 

leads to the top of Colorado’s 

fifh-most remote 

Fourteener (see page 34 

for peakbagging tips). 

Scan the ridgeline to see 

14,131-foot Capitol Peak 

to the northwest and the 

14,000-plus-foot Maroon 

Bells to the southeast. 

Season 

Winter snowpack typically 

abates by mid-June (call 

ahead to check and visit 

bit.ly/CO14ersConditions 

for recent, user-submitted 

updates), but be wary of 

thunderstorms through 

August. The aspens turn 

gold in late September. 

Do it Trailhead 39.200231, -106.994023*; 38 miles south of Glenwood Springs on Snowmass Creek Rd. Gear up Alpine Quest Sports in Glenwood 

Springs; alpinequestsports.com Permits Free; self-issue at trailhead Custom-centered map bit.ly/BPmapSnowmass ($15) Contact (970) 925-3445; 

bit.ly/MaroonBellsWild Trip data bit.ly/0614Snowmass 

N 

snowmass 

Mountain 

3 

2 

5 

4 

PhOTO BY GLENN RANDALL 

*Plug these lat/long coordinates into Google Maps for turn-by-turn driving directions. 

06.2014

ELEVATE YOUR 

SENSES 

Visit Colorado Springs for 

unforgettable adventures. 

Gear up for the vibrant beauty of the Colorado Rockies. Hike 

through Garden of the Gods Park or trek a Pikes Peak mountain 

trail while you enjoy blue skies and fresh mountain air. Our parks 

and trails ofer outdoor fun beyond hiking from rock climbing 

and rappelling to horseback riding and discovering wildlife. 

Plan your visit today and get ready to elevate your senses. 

Download our 

FREE APP 

and order your 

FREE GUIDE 

today at: 

VISITCOS.COM

026 

weekends 

go LoCaL 

925 ft. 

1,007 ft., 

Leota TH 

1 

620 ft. 

0 mi 572 ft., Delaney 

10 mi 20 mi 

County Park TH 

4 

2 

3 

5 

Turn-by-turn 

From Delaney County 

Park 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Hike 1 mile southeast 

through a low-lying 

ravine on the Knobstone 

Trail (KT); stay 

east and southeast 

on the path as it undulates 

over forested 

hills to Herron Hollow 

(mile 6.6). 

Continue 1.6 miles 

south to Banes Hollow 

Road. 

Follow the gravel 

path west to a white 

blaze at mile 8.7. 

Veer south onto the 

KT and walk 8.1 miles 

south and west to Elk 

Creek Lake at mile 

16.8 (cross IN 56 at 

mile 12.1). 

Proceed east 7.1 miles 

on the Knobstone to 

the Leota trailhead. 

view. Find your secluded 

perch amid the 

pines between the path 

and lake. See rolling 

farmland across the 

horseshoe-shaped pool 

and cast a line for bluegill, 

channel catfish, and 

largemouth bass. 

The hills 

The complete 58-mile 

Knobstone Trail serves 

up more than 20,000 

feet of elevation 

change. While the rest 

of the state is tennis 

court-flat, southern 

Indiana owes its rutted 

terrain to the last Ice 

Age, when glaciers 

receded and melted, 

leaving behind dunes, 

knobs, rivers, and lakes. 

Knobstone Trail Sampler 

Indiana 

T 

oeing off the soft dirt, I haul my body and 32-pound pack 

up and over another gentle, 360-foot slope. It doesn’t 

seem like much, but string a dozen of them together, and it 

adds up. In two days, I’ve climbed more than 3,600 feet through 

this impressionist painting of rolling hills and meadows laden 

with brilliant yellow and purple wildflowers. It reminds me, 

yet again, that backcountry adventure is alive and well east of 

the Mississippi. This stately southern Indiana oak, hickory, and 

beech forest hosts a section of the state’s longest footpath (58 

miles), complete with hidden, trailside lakes and hilltop overlooks 

that reveal golden farmlands. Westerners, keep your airstarved 

peaks. This gem is all ours. BY STuaRT PECK 

Campsite 1 

Herron Hollow 

(mile 6.6) 

Find this flat spot—rare 

on this hike—just .1 mile 

east of the path in a lowland 

valley between two 

knobs (no established 

sites on this trail). Pitch 

your tent in a grove of 

tall, skinny pines and 

grand oaks, west of a 

confluence of two small 

creeks (not reliable; plan 

to carry in water for days 

one and two), and listen 

for the tapping of the 

red-bellied woodpecker. 

Campsite 2 

Elk Creek Lake Campsite 

(mile 17.9) 

From this peninsula, 

snag the hike’s best 

Do iT Shuttle car 

38.642517, -85.885921; 90 

miles south of Indianapolis 

on Leota Rd. (no commercial 

option) Trailhead 

38.724693, -86.032605; 

20 miles northwest of 

the Leota trailhead on 

Delaney Park Rd. Gear up 

REI in Indianapolis; rei 

.com Season May and 

June for shade and 

wildflowers, but water 

is scarce. September 

through November for 

golden maples and cooler 

temps. Permit None 

Custom-centered map 

bit.ly/BPmapKnobstone 

($15) Contact (317) 232- 

4029; bit.ly/KnobstoneInfo 

Trip data 

bit.ly/0614Knobstone 

Trip stats 

Distance: 23.9 miles 

Time: 3 days 

Difculty: 

ILLuSTrATIoN by VIKKI CHu 

06.2014

WIN 

A 

Salsa Spearfish 3 

Mountain Bike 

Nights in 

Spearfish* &2 

REGISTER ONLINE 

VISITSPEARFISH.COM/ADVENTURE 

When you venture to Spearfish—located between Mount Rushmore National 

Memorial and Devils Tower National Monument—you’ll find rugged trails, 

challenging inclines, daring switchbacks and extreme beauty in every direction. 

Black Hills 

Area Map 

SPEARFISH PART OF YOUR AMERICAN JOURNEY IN SOUTH DAKOTA 

VISITSPEARFISH.COM • 1-800-344-6181 RESERVATIONS 

Request a FREE South Dakota Vacation Guide • 1-800-S-DAKOTA • TravelSD.com 

*One entry per household. No purchase necessary. Open to all legal U.S. citizens, 18 years 

and older. Void where prohibited by law. See website for official sweepstakes rules.

028 

weekends 

GO LOCAL 

Carter Range 

Traverse 

New Hampshire 

I 

used to think short trips 

were short on scenic 

variety. Not in the Whites. I can’t 

stop gawking at the panorama 

of clustered peaks I encounter 

after climbing nature’s 

Stairmaster to 4,833-foot Carter 

Dome on the first day of this 

23-mile jaunt. After catching 

my breath, I descend through a 

treed corridor into the subalpine 

zone. Suddenly, I’m standing in 

another world. An overgrown 

patchwork of deciduous leaves, 

ferns, and mosses engulfs me 

as the color scheme changes 

from muted browns and grays to 

emerald. The Northeast wilderness 

reveals its full spectrum as 

I walk from summit to solitude. 

BY MACKENZIE MURPHY 

Turn-by-turn 

From AMC Pinkham 

Notch Visitor Center 

1 Cross NH 16 and take 

the Lost Pond Trail .9 

mile south to its junction 

with the Wildcat 

Ridge Trail. 

2 Turn east and walk 3.9 

miles along 4,000-foot 

Wildcat Ridge, to a fork 

at mile 4.9. 

3 Veer northeast (hiker’s 

lef) onto the Carter- 

Moriah Trail. Walk 1.6 

miles (summit Carter 

Dome at mile 6.4). 

4 Turn east onto the 

Black Angel Trail (mile 

6.6). Hike 4.4 miles to a 

junction. 

5 Go southwest (hiker’s 

right) onto the Wild 

River Trail at mile 11 and 

trek .8 mile to Spruce 

Brook Campsite . Day 

two, continue 6.1 miles 

southwest and west to 

a fork at mile 17.9. 

6 Turn northwest onto 

the Nineteen Mile 

Brook Trail and hike 

1.5 miles to the Carter 

Notch Hut (mile 19.4). 

7 Instead of retracing 

your steps over the 

rollercoaster Wildcats, 

continue 3.6 miles 

northwest (descending 

2,000 feet) to the 

Nineteen Mile Brook 

trailhead. 

Campsite 

Spruce Brook (mile 11.8) 

Spend the night away 

from the popular Whites 

in the less-traveled Wild 

River Wilderness. This 

subalpine tract guarantees 

solitude (and 

balanced days). More 

bonuses: fire pit and water 

access (the Wild River is 

50 feet away). Find three 

sites in these windprotected, 

moist lowlands 

(first-come, first-serve). 

Stay longer 

Turn this big-mileage 

overnight into a threeday 

adventure by bedding 

down in the AMC’s 

Carter Notch Hut (mile 

19.4) on day two. The 

stone shelter sleeps 40 

in two adjacent (unheated) 

bunkhouses 

(BYO sleeping bag) and 

offers homemade meals 

during summer and fall 

(about $100-150/person; 

reserve at bit.ly/Carter- 

NotchHut). 

Don’t miss… 

…the best viewpoint on 

the Carter-Moriah Trail, 

which overlooks the 

sprawling 23,700-acre 

Wild River Wilderness. 

At mile 5.5, take the 

signed spur .1 mile southeast 

to the rocky outcrop. 

By early summer, the lowland 

deciduous forests 

will explode with Pacific 

Northwest-like vibrancy. 

DO IT Shuttle car44.302003, 

-71.220888; 13 miles south of 

Berlin on White Mountain 

Rd. (Commercial option: 

AMC Shuttle; $10/person; bit 

.ly/AMCshuttles) Trailhead 

44.257184, -71.252666; 3.7 

miles south of the Nineteen 

Mile Brook trailhead on 

White Mountain Rd. Gear up 

AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor 

Center in Coos County; 

bit.ly/pinkhamnotch Season 

Spring and summer for classic 

New Hampshire hiking; 

fall for hardwood foliage; 

winter for solitude (bring 

snowshoes with heel risers) 

Permits Purchase a $5 weekly 

rec pass online or at the 

White Mountain NF ofce in 

Campton. Custom-centered 

map bit.ly/BPmapCarter ($15) 

Contact (603) 536-6100; 

bit.ly/WhiteMtnNF Trip 

data bit.ly/0614Carter 

Mt. Washington 

Trip stats 

Distance: 23 miles 

Time: 2 days 

Difculty: 

1 2 

Carter Notch 

Hut 

AMC Pinkham 

Notch Visitor 

Center 

Wildcat Ridge 

Trail 

MoriahTrail 

3 4 

7 

Carter Dome 

Nineteen Mile Brook 

trailhead 

Black Angel Trail 

Cypress Brook 

6 

Nineteen Mile 

Brook Trail 

N 

Spruce Brook 

Wild River Trail 

Spruce Brook 

Campsite 

5 

GOOGLE EARTH IMAGERY: GOOGLE 

06.2014

Details That Matter 

Renegade GTX ® Mid 

Shown here in Stone. 

Available in men’s and women’s styles. 

HANDCRAFTED IN EUROPE 

These are some of the details that have earned LOWA’s reputation for building the world’s most comfortable and durable outdoor footwear since 1923. 

To see the entire 2014 line of LOWA Boots, visit www.lowaboots.com 

© 2014 LOWA Boots, LLC. GORE-TEX ® is a registered trademark of W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. 

VIBRAM ® , the Octagon Logo, and the Yellow Octagon Logo and the color Canary Yellow 

are registered trademarks of Vibram S.p.A. 

LOWA’s exclusive MONOWRAP construction wraps the foot in a fi rmly supportive polyurethane 

(PU) frame that allows us to use lightweight upper materials while maintaining great support. 

We’re big fans of PU because it’s the most durable midsole material available – in fact, boots 

made with PU last on average at least twice as long as boots made with other midsole materials. 

TAKE A HIKE ON US 

Try a pair of LOWAs for FREE at our Demo Centers…Discover for yourself 

what our acclaimed comfort, fit and performance feel like. 

Find out more at www.lowaboots.com/democenter

030 

done in a day 

go local 

From Mt. Mansfield, look 

north to Lake of the Clouds. 

State High Points 

Bag these lofy peaks and be home for dinner. 

Mt. Mansfield, VT 

1 

Sunset Ridge Trail, Mt. Mansfield State Forest 

Check out a sea of emerald peaks from Vermont’s 4,393-foot 

apex after just a 2.4-mile trek. The only New England high 

point that (1) isn’t road-accessed, (2) is easy to get to (just 22 

miles east of Burlington), and (3) is actually worth the climb, 

Mansfield tops our list of dayhikeable pinnacles. You’ll pop 

into the alpine zone at mile 1.5 for an exposed ridgewalk to a 

summit that offers near-constant mountain vistas. Plan for 

about six hours round-trip and head out on the Eagles Cutoff 

Trail, the switchbackless alternative to the popular CCC path 

(because that’s how real Vermonters hike). Hit the Sunset Ridge 

Trail at mile .7; turn north. Don’t miss the .2-mile spur at mile 

1.3 to overhanging Cantilever Rock, where vistas of enormous 

Lake Champlain stretch across the western horizon. Back on the 

main trail, hit the ridge and ascend .9 mile over talus to the airy high 

point known as the Chin. Take in bird’s-eye views of the high points 

of New Hampshire (in the Whites 75 miles east) and New York (in the 

Adirondacks 60 miles west). Note: The summit trail doesn’t open for 

the season until Memorial Day. Trip data bit.ly/0614Mansfield 

Humphreys Peak, AZ 

2 

Humphreys Trail, Coconino National Forest 

Rising more than a mile out of the woods, the long-extinct volcanic 

San Francisco Peaks offer unobstructed vistas of the range’s pineand 

aspen-covered slopes, the Colorado Plateau’s high-desert vastness, 

and—on a clear day—the Grand Canyon. And, just 10 miles 

north of Flagstaff, the peaks are easily accessible on a seven-hour 

hike with 3,367 feet of elevation gain. Highpoint the tallest pinnacle 

of the bunch—12,633-foot Humphreys—on a 10.6-mile out-and-back 

from the Humphreys trailhead. Summer incentive: Cool off in 

Arizona’s only alpine tundra region on Humphreys’s southern 

slope. Trekking northeast, traverse a meadow filled with lupine 

and poppies in late July and switchback beneath aspens. At mile 

4.2, cross the 11,800-foot alpine tundra pocket on Agassiz Saddle; 

continue a mile north, tracing the west ridge of the volcano’s 

basin. Atop its broken caldera, scan 360 degrees for a panorama 

of Arizona’s beloveds: the Big Ditch 75 miles northeast, the Painted 

Desert 50 miles east, and Sedona’s red rocks 50 miles south. Trip 

data bit.ly/0614Humphreys 

Sassafras Mountain, SC 

3 

Foothills Trail, Table Rock State Park 

This 3,554-foot Appalachian summit delivers a quintessentially 

Blue Ridge view into four states from the Eastern Continental 

Divide—so why is it often overlooked by Southerners? It probably 

has something to do with the parking lot just a football field away 

from the Sassafras summit. Don’t write this high point off, though: 

Because you can all but drive to the top, most visitors remain blissfully 

unaware of the 8.4-mile out-and-back option that leads you 

through a quiet ravine choked with mountain creeks and granite 

bluffs. Plan for about eight hours total (2,702 feet elevation gain) 

and head east from Laurel Valley (36 miles northwest of Greenville) 

on a segment of the 77-mile-long Foothills Trail. Meander 2.1 miles 

through a lush gorge (home to black bears) beneath 30-foot maples; 

pass 2,400-foot Chimneytop Gap and continue through an understory 

of mountain laurel and rhododendron (blooming in June). 

Crest the summit and enjoy the well-earned 360-degree views of 

the forested, 6,000-foot Southern Appalachians. 

Photo by MarC ShaFFer. text by Shey kieSter 

Details That Matter 

Our super supportive PU MONOWRAP ® construction, lightweight waterproof/breathable uppers and rugged NXT 

outsole provide comfort, stability and traction – everything you need in a great fast packing/speed hiking shoe. 

HANDCRAFTED IN EUROPE 

www.lowaboots.com 

NEW Innox GTX ® Lo 

NEW Ferrox GTX ® Lo 

© 2014 LOWA Boots, LLC. 

GORE-TEX ® is a registered trademark 

of W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. 

TAKE A HIKE ON US 

Try a pair of LOWAs for FREE at our Demo Centers…Discover for yourself 

what our acclaimed comfort, fit and performance feel like. 

Find out more at www.lowaboots.com/democenter

FOURTEENER 

24 

the camelBak ® nv Back panel 

provides multi-directional air 

flow to keep you cool no matter 

where the trail takes you 

INTEGRATED 

VENTILATION 

vertical and horizontal 

channels maximize 

ventilation 

ARTICULATING PODS 

innovative pod design 

curves to your Back as 

you move 

BREATHABLE STABILITY 

lumBar pod staBilizes load 

and allows air flow 

ABOVE ALL 

ULTIMATE VENTILATION 

LEARN MORE: CAMELBAK.COM/ALPINE

t h e m a n u a l 

s k i l l s 

Burn, baby, burn 

Perfect 

your flint fire-making skills 

with this step-by-step guide from 

survival expert Tom Sciacca. 

text by SArAh l. StewArt 

ben fullerton 

(1) Gather dry sticks ranging from toothpick-thin, 4-inch-long twigs to forearm-size logs; arrange in piles according 

to size. (2) Prime your tinder. best bet: rub a dime-size amount of Vaseline into a cotton ball. or: Shred 

cedar bark, cattails, or milkweed pods into hair-like fibers, then tuck into a bird’s nest-shaped cluster of other 

tinder, such as dry grass and pine needles. (3) Place tinder on the ground near gathered sticks; layer some of the 

smallest twigs on top. If breezy, use your pack or body as a windbreak. (4) Pinch the steel between the thumb 

and index finger of your dominant hand. Grasp handle of flint rod between thumb and index finger of other hand. 

(5) Put rod tip directly onto tinder; tilt steel toward you at a 45-degree angle to the rod, and make contact with 

flint where rod meets handle. (6) using a quick motion, pull rod toward you while holding steel stationary. Sparks 

should ignite the cotton ball immediately. (7) blow gently for two to three seconds at a time until tinder and 

twigs burn. Add wood to grow the fire. Gear pick: Swedish fireSteel Army ($19; 1.8 oz.; campingsurvival.com) 

33 

06.2014 033

s k i l l s 

cheat sheet 

0 6 . 2 0 1 4 

Peakbagging 

Climb higher 

and safer with 

tips from a 

veteran mountaineer. 

KING 

OF THE 

MOUNTAINS 

Gerry Roach has 

been snagging 

summits for nearly 

six decades. In 

1985, he became 

the second person 

to climb the highest 

peak on all 

seven continents, 

and he’s written 

more than a 

dozen books on the 

subject, including 

Colorado’s 

Fourteeners ($23; 

fulcrumbooks 

.com). 

1. DON’T OBSESS 

ABOUT THE RÉSUMÉ. 

Select summits that are well 

within your capabilities, then 

gradually move on to tougher 

tests. And remember a peak 

need not be among the Denalis 

and Everests of the world in 

order to be epic: “It’s not the 

list, it’s the love,” Roach says. 

2 . 

Stay healthy. 

Above 14,000 feet, high-altitude cerebral or pulmonary 

edema afects up to 1 in 100 climbers and can kill in less 

than 24 hours. Confusion, fever, rapid heartbeat, shortness 

of breath, cough, or extreme fatigue signal it’s time to 

descend immediately—even if it’s the middle of the night. 

3. Get inspired Roach’s favorite read: Below Another Sky by Rick Ridgeway ($15; us.macmillan.com), a 

memoir of the renowned climber’s return to the Tibetan peaks that claimed his friend 20 years prior. 

4. LEARN LIGHTNING PROTOCOL. 

Most climbers know that to avoid afernoon storms, they 

should be off the summit by noon. But we also know the best 

laid plans can go awry. If lightning threatens, seek a low-lying 

area or cluster of shrubs or trees of similar height. Crouch, 

boots together, on balls of feet—ideally on grass or dirt rather 

than rock—and avoid standing water. Put hands over your 

ears and duck your head to lower your profile. Disperse the 

group; if a bolt strikes one, others can administer CPR. 

6.MASTER 

OFF-TRAIL 

TRAVEL. 

Scan between the 

route ahead and 

your feet, keeping 

in mind the next 

waypoint: “You 

should always be 

able to point to 

your destination.” 

20 FEET 

7. KNOW WHEN 

TO TURN 

AROUND. 

If weather, daylight, and 

fatigue are against you, 

turn back. The peak will 

be there another day. 

8. ASCEND 

GRADUALLY. 

Being fit doesn’t make you 

immune to altitude illness—it 

may actually make you more 

likely to sprint too high too 

fast. Roach’s rule when sleeping 

above 10,000 feet: 

FROM 

10,000 

TO 15,000 

FEET, 

aim for 

1,000 feet 

elevation 

gain per day. 

ABOVE 

15,000 

FEET, 

average 500 

vertical feet 

per day. 

15,000 feet 

5. 

Class up your 

playlist. 

Power through 

climbs with rousing 

classical 

numbers. Roach’s 

picks: Bach’s Toccata 

and Fugue in 

D Minor and big 

vocals à la Andrea 

Bocelli and Luciano 

Pavarotti. 

9. SAVOR SUCCESS. 

Start a summit ritual (Roach’s: immediately 

touching the highest point). And if time 

allows, take it in: “I like to spend whatever 

extra time the day presents on the summit,” 

he says. “I spent three hours atop 26,360- 

foot Gasherbrum II on a perfect day in the 

Himalayas. It was grand.” 

10. Flip the script. 

“When we are 20 and have the most life to 

lose, we take the greatest chances. Then 

we get old and conservative when we have 

little life to lose. It should be the opposite. 

I plan to try K2 when I’m 85. If I make it, 

hooray! If I die trying, it’s been a good run.” 

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SUPERCORN. TEXT BY RACHEL SAYERS 

034 

BACKPACKER.COM

SMART PHONE 

3X 

VIDEO GAME 

4X 

PORTABLE FUEL CELL 

POWER CHARGER 

RUNNING WATCH 

3X 

ACTION CAMERA 

4X 

GPS 

3X 

MP3 PLAYER 

4X

skills 

pass/fail 

the challenge 

Buy a complete 

camp kit for $100 

Can a penny-pinching 

backpacker assemble 

essential overnight 

gear (pack, stove, tent, 

bag, pad, and headlamp) 

for less than a 

Benjamin? And will 

the bargain stuf really 

work in the feld? Our 

guinea pig goes shopping—and 

hiking—to 

fnd out. 

By Ted Alvarez 

key skill 

Dive into BACKPACKER’s 

April Gear Guide, and you’ll 

soon realize you could easily 

spend a grand or more outfitting 

yourself with new, highperformance 

overnight gear. 

But what if you just want gear 

that’s good enough—and your 

budget is a whole lot less? 

With research, an Internet 

connection, and a little Goodwill, 

I set out to prove that a 

budget-minded backpacker 

could successfully equip 

himself with has-beens and 

wannabes for less than your 

REI annual dividend. 

My first purchase was 

encouraging, even if the rendezvous 

with an anonymous 

Craigslist seller felt more like 

a drug buy than a gear swap. 

We met in the neon-bathed 

parking lot of a seedy fastfood 

joint. “Did you bring the 

stuff?” He did: a 30°F synthetic 

Lafuma sleeping bag, 

a BACKPACKER-approved 

Brunton Raptor stove, and 

an Energizer headlamp—all 

for a screaming $44 (talked 

down from $60, because 

that’s what was in my wallet). 

Nothing shady about it, but I 

did feel a little sly as I peeled 

off into the night with my 

killer score. 

But my initial confidence 

got a reality check when I 

watched eBay auctions and 

Steepandcheap.com specials 

soar out of my price range 

while I still needed a tent, 

pad, and pack. Big-box to the 

rescue: My local Fred Meyer 

carried a decent-looking, 

5-pound Glacier’s Edge 

Bandon tent—a bulky fit for 

a pack, true, but only $30. 

Sold. Second Ascent, a firstrate 

Seattle used-gear shop, 

turned up a $10 Cascade 

Designs RidgeRest foam pad. 

Though I was nervous from a 

lifetime babied by inflatable 

pads, sacrifices had to be 

made in the name of austerity. 

Afer a tour of Goodwill 

yielded only ratty Dora the 

Explorer kid packs and broken 

luggage, I turned again to 

Craigslist and won a scuffed 

purple L.L. Bean women’s 

overnight pack for $15. The 

fit was too short for my 

torso, but the thick, padded 

hipbelt and shoulder straps 

were unexpectedly luxurious, 

Source gear strategically, ideally of-season. Craigslist, secondhand shops, and 

discount sites unload stock in winter and mud seasons. Also: Consider splurging 

for comfort. Even $200 would’ve nabbed a new Black Diamond pack ($70), a new 

Alps Mountaineering bag ($45), and a used inflatable Therm-a-Rest pad ($35). 

ILLuSTRATIoN By JACoB THoMAS 

036 

backpacker.com

06.2014 

and the main compartment 

swallowed all of my overnight 

essentials. Total cost of my 

new kit: $99, plus nearly two 

weeks of searching. 

Any gear can handle 

perfect weather, so for a 

trial run I embarked on a 

shoulder-season test night 

with my fiancée. Nighttime 

temps on the eastern slope of 

the Cascades hovered in the 

mid 20s, and I had to search 

through foot-high piles of 

lumpy, iced-over snow by a 

dim, too-narrow headlamp 

beam for a bare patch on 

which to camp. The Glacier’s 

Edge featured rickety poles 

that unlinked in the sleeves 

and stakes that bent on first 

use, but the shelter stayed 

up. The small “rain fly” that 

perched atop it like a toupee 

seemed unlikely to withstand 

a mild gale (luckily, it didn’t 

have to). But even with its 

cramped foot-to-head floor 

space and flappy walls, the 

tent had solid headroom 

and space for our gear, and 

offered adequate shelter for 

two. My sleep did suffer, but 

not from the foam pad as 

I’d feared: The pounded-flat 

insulation in my bag made its 

30°F rating feel closer to 45, 

and I woke every couple hours 

to cold spots—despite wearing 

a puffy, hat, and pants. 

The verdicT 

PASS 

...but barely. In ideal summer 

weather, my mongrel kit 

would’ve been a good value. 

Tougher three-season conditions, 

however, pushed its 

limits of durability and comfort. 

But have I slept worse 

in better circumstances and 

encountered bigger gear fails 

from more expensive stuff? 

Absolutely. 

shop sMArT 

A cheapskate’s guide to sourcing budget-friendly gear 

eBay 

craigslisT 

usedgear 

shop 

discounT 

siTes 

Big Box 

pros 

Refined search 

and alerts can 

locate deals on 

specific items. 

Bulk deals aplenty, 

plus typically 

lower prices and 

less competition 

than eBay 

High-quality, 

name-brand used 

gear, at 20 to 50 

percent off 

New gear at 20 

to 80 percent off; 

Twitter and email 

deal alerts make 

shopping quick 

and painless. 

Rock-bottom 

prices for new 

gear; great if you 

forget a crucial 

accessory or 

other equipment 

cons 

Requires hours of 

searching, monitoring, 

and vetting 

to avoid scams 

No-frills search 

tool necessitates 

careful sifing; 

purchases usually 

require an inperson 

meetup. 

Typically higher 

prices; selection 

somewhat limited 

by season 

Specials ofen 

come in odd 

sizes or colors, 

and shipping 

costs can eat into 

discount. 

Lower quality, less 

durable, ofen 

bulky, heavy; don’t 

expect any of it to 

survive a season 

of hard use. 

Tip 

Pepper sellers with 

questions to assess 

gear quality and their 

knowledge. 

Look for closet 

cleaners: If a seller is 

unloading multiple 

items, they’re ofen 

open to a low-ball 

offer for the lot. 

Tell a salesperson 

your budget; they’ll 

steer you toward 

sound decisions 

(without any upsell). 

Deals don’t last, so 

if you see something 

you like, buy now 

(you can always sell 

it on Craigslist). 

Best for fair-weather 

hikers; don’t rely 

on big-box for 

mountaineering or 

shoulder-season 

items. 

B 

HE DIDN’T TAME THE WEST. 

HE MADE IT WILDER. 

uffalo Bill celebrated the 

West and everything it stood 

for. Freedom. Adventure. 

Wide-open excitement. 

All of that lives on in the 

town he created, Cody, 

Wyoming. So saddle 

up your mountain bike, 

break out your hiking boots 

or hop on board a white water 

river raft, it’s time for fun. 

Enjoy the nightly rodeo, live 

music, great dining and 

shopping. Just up the road, 

you’ll find all that’s wild 

in Yellowstone National 

Park. Yes folks, Cody is the 

wildest way into Yellowstone.

s k i l l s 

trail chef 

trail shakes 

ingredients 

Vanilla Almond 

cup egg white 

powder* 

¼ cup freeze-dried 

bananas, ground 

(use a coffee grinder 

or food processor) 

1 tsp ground flax seeds 

1 squeeze packet 

almond butter 

1 Vanilla Clif shot gel 

Strawberry 

Vanilla Almond 

Mocha Cocoa Peanut Butter 

strawberry 

cup egg white powder 

1 packet cashew or 

coconut butter 

cup freeze-dried 

strawberries, ground 

2 tsp black chia seeds 

1 strawberry Clif shot 

gel (contains caffeine) 

Mocha Cocoa Peanut Butter 

cup egg white powder 

¼ cup freeze-dried 

bananas, ground 

1 packet hot chocolate 

mix 

2 tsp freeze-dried/ 

instant espresso 

1 packet peanut butter 

direCtions 

Quick and 

Tasty Trail 

Energizers 

Tired of the same old 

bars? Switch it up with 

these great-tasting, onthe-go 

treats. Jealous 

friends guaranteed. 

Do the shakes pictured 

above look like trail food? 

We were skeptical, too, until 

our new Trail Chef, Jennifer 

Bowen, showed us how easy 

they are to make—all you 

need is a .6-ounce, $4 tool. 

“They started as a gym 

drink,” Bowen says. “I soon 

realized they’d provide tasty 

nutrition on the trail, too. They 

balance protein, carbs, and 

fat—and keep you hydrated.” 

Bowen earned her stripes 

during nine seasons as a 

backcountry cook for trail 

crews in Yosemite and other 

Sierra hot spots. She’s also 

worked as a caterer, cooking 

teacher, and a chef in five-star 

hotels (now she’s a private 

chef in Boulder, Colorado). 

Her philosophy: “Trail food 

should always be delicious!” 

Look for more of Bowen’s 

savvy in issues to come. 

At home Combine all nonpacket 

ingredients in a ziptop 

bag. 

on the trail Knead nut butter 

packets so they are fully 

blended and sof (tip: keep 

them in your back pocket). 

Drop your ball whisk (see 

below) into a wide-mouth 

bottle, then add 6 ounces water 

and all ingredients. Close 

lid and shake vigorously for 

30 to 45 seconds, until lumps 

are gone. Add about 6 more 

ounces of water and shake 

again until fully blended. 

Chef’s tool BlenderBall wire 

whisk. “It weighs almost 

nothing, flattens for easy 

carrying, and banishes 

lumps. I also use mine for dry 

milk, pudding, soup packets, 

and sauces,” Bowen says. It 

comes with a BlenderBottle 

($9), or buy just a replacement 

whisk ($3.50; .6 oz.; 

blenderbottle.com). 

PHoTo BY AnDrEW BYDLon. rECIPES BY JEnnIfEr BoWEn. TExT BY rACHEL ZurEr 

038 

backpacker.com 

*Egg white powder adds flavorless and digestible protein and texture. Look for it in 

the baking aisle or at health food stores (sometimes called “egg white protein”).

06.2014 

Bacon Krispy Bars 

Yes, we’re recommending a baconmarshmallow 

combo. Trust us. Bonus: 

They make a great quick breakfast when 

paired with a shake (lef). 9 servings 

equiPment and ingredients 

• 4-quart pot (preferably nonstick) 

• rubber scraper 

• 9-inch square baking pan, lightly oiled 

4 ½ cups cinnamon toast cereal 

½ cup rolled oats 

¼ cup ground flax seed 

cup chopped pecans 

½ cup cooked crumbled bacon 

or precooked bacon bits 

4 cups mini marshmallows 

5 tbsp butter 

at home Combine first five ingredients 

in a bowl. In 4-quart pot, melt butter. 

Add marshmallows and melt over 

medium heat, stirring continuously. 

As soon as marshmallows are fully 

melted, remove from heat. Add cereal 

and bacon mixture. Stir with a rubber 

scraper until well incorporated. Transfer 

mixture to baking pan, pressing with the 

flat side of the rubber scraper until the 

top is relatively level, without smashing 

cereal pieces. Allow bars to cool at 

room temperature for at least an hour. 

Don’t refrigerate; that will cause the 

bars to harden (they’ll last about five 

days without refrigeration). Cut into 

nine squares. Wrap each bar in plastic 

wrap or parchment (if using parchment, 

keep bars in a sealed plastic container 

to maintain chewiness). 

island Luau trail mix 

Larger chunks make this snack easier 

to grab and customize your favorite flavor 

combinations. 5 servings 

SAVOR 

THE 

ADVENTURE 

directions 

Mix together ½ cup each: 

• dried mango, cut into 1-inch chunks 

• Pork jerky (thai-flavored if possible), 

cut into 1-inch chunks 

• Large Japanese-style rice crackers 

• okra chips (available at specialty and 

gourmet markets) 

• Whole salted cashews (choose a chililime 

or sesame flavor if available) 

GeT More SnACk reCIPeS 

AnD TeChnIque SLIDeShoWS 

In our IPAD eDITIon AnD AT 

BacKPacKer.com/traiLchef. 

Wherever your 

adventure may take you, 

you can count on Mountain House for hot, 

delicious meals that are simple to prepare and 

ready to enjoy in just minutes. Lightweight, 

convenient and easy to pack and carry along, 

Mountain House meals both satisfy and replenish. 

Look for Mountain House foods at your 

favorite outdoor or online retailer. 

www.mountainhouse.com

s k i l l s 

photo school 

06.2014 

Mountain 

Reflection 

What’s better than a 

perfect alpine sunset? 

Seeing it doubled. Here’s 

how to nab the shot. 

By Photo Editor Genny 

Fullerton 

spot: Cathedral Peak, yosemite 

specs: f/22, 15 seC, iso 100, 16mm foCal length 

tools: graduated nd filter, triPod 

stalk your target 

the best reflections are of 

well-lit mountains in calm, 

shadowed water. this happens 

most ofen at dawn or 

dusk, and not just in big lakes; 

small tarns can be even more 

still. Walk around and vary 

the camera’s height to try out 

different perspectives: in a 

perfect composition, the reflection 

extends as far across 

the water as possible (easiest 

with a small pool), the tip of 

the peak is unobstructed, and 

foreground details help make 

clear which way is up. set 

up a tripod to keep the shot 

framed as the light evolves 

and to steady long exposures; 

if there’s any movement in the 

water, lengthen your shutter 

speed to smooth ripples. 

Balance the light 

make sure the mountaintop 

and sky aren’t overexposed. 

Best: use a graduated neutral 

density filter (below). Workable: 

settle for exposing the 

sky properly; you can fix dark 

areas later. 

stay awhile 

don’t pack up too soon: the 

clouds ofen light up when 

the sun is just below the 

horizon. Plan to arrive early 

(sunrise) or stay late (sunset) 

and snap away, or use your 

camera’s interval settings to 

capture pics every 30 to 60 

seconds. Choose the best 

ones at home later. 

tomas kasPar 

get the gear 

Graduated Neutral Density Filter forget fancy post-processing: the best way 

to capture a high-contrast scene is with this old-school tool, a gray filter that fades to 

clear, acting as sunglasses for part of your lens. Place it so the filter’s darker half blocks the 

scene’s brightest part. a two-stop filter blocks approximately three-quarters of the light, 

which is enough to balance out most scenes. in the mountains, a sof transition from gray 

to clear is the best choice. Buy the size that fits your lens; goods ones start at around $30. 

Your turn 

Go to backpacker 

.com/photoschool to 

submit your reflection 

photos for critique 

and see a slideshow of 

more shots by Kaspar. 

040 

backpacker.com

skills 

get out more 

06.2014 

IFFY WEATHER? 

KEEP RAIN GEAR 

AND PACK COVER 

HANDY. 

Pack 

Smarter 

Stay dry, carry less, 

and boost comfort 

with tips from our 

Get Out More team. 

Problem I always pack too 

many layers for warm-weather, 

multiday trips. 

Fix Your core trail clothes 

should consist of a three-layer 

system: a next-to-skin baselayer, 

an insulating midlayer, 

and a weatherproof outer shell. 

Beyond that, hikers only burden 

themselves by bringing 

extras “just in case.” If you’re 

packing a puffy, leave the 

fleece behind. And how many 

baselayers do you really need? 

For three-season conditions, 

we recommend two: one for 

hiking and one for sleeping. 

Problem How do I keep my 

gear dry without adding a lot of 

pack weight? 

Fix Just like with clothing, 

layers are the key. Start with 

a pack cover, which keeps 

your packbag from getting 

saturated and heavy. But don’t 

stop there, because it won’t 

seal out all leaks, especially 

between your pack and back. 

Ultralight drybags weigh just 

a few ounces and allow you to 

separate, organize, and waterproof 

your gear. And (bargain 

alert!) you can always line your 

pack with a trash compactor 

bag. Expecting monsoons? 

Combine all three. 

Problem With my tent and pad 

lashed to the bottom of my 

pack, the load feels bouncy. 

Fix Get that tent off the bottom 

of your pack! Heavy items 

belong higher and closer to 

your spine. Ditch the stuffsack 

and try fitting tent components 

inside the packbag (segregate 

wet items). No room? Strap 

the tent under your toplid, so its 

weight settles onto your hips. 

Pads are light enough for the 

bottom, but inside is better; 

avoid lashing inflatables to the 

outside, where they’re more 

susceptible to punctures. 

Need a fast fix? Email 

getoutmore@backpacker.com. 

SEE OUR GET OUT MORE 

TEAM IN PERSON. BRIAN 

PATTON AND KIM DINAN 

GIVE SKILLS AND GEAR CLINICS NA- 

TIONWIDE. FIND ONE NEAR YOU AT 

BACKPACKER.COM/GETOUTMORE. 

PHOTO BY COURTESY; TEXT BY THE EDITORS 

Award winning. 

Original. 

Accept no imitations. 

Copper Spur UL3 

3lb 11oz 

Fly Creek UL2 

1lb 12oz 

Outfitting Dirtbags Everywhere... 

Tents • Sleeping Bags • Pads • Apparel 

Brittany Grifth checking for scorpions, Turkey. Photo: Andrew Burr

The palm-sized Solio BOLT 

is only 136 grams yet packs 

power for all of the essentials. 

STILL WASTING MONEY ON 

DISPOSABLE BATTERIES? 

For your next backcountry adventure ditch disposable batteries for good. 

Power your gear with unlimited, free energy from Solio. Check out our 

favorite lightweight, USB-rechargeable gear — all powered by Solio. 

facebook.com/solio

T H E M A N U A L 

s u r v i v a l 

out alive: swept away 

“It had only been 10 minutes since 

the frst drops fell, but the current 

was rising fast, swallowing our 

knees and tugging at our legs.” 

ANDREW BYDLON 

Joe Cain (pictured), 43, 

Jason Fico, 44, and David 

Frankhouser, 44, survived a 

fash food in Zion National 

Park’s Spry Canyon on July 

24, 2010. 

As told to Joshua Prestin 

Watch Cain and Fico describe 

their slot-canyon disaster at 

backpacker.com/outalive. 

043


out alive 

0 6 . 2 0 1 4 

WATER CRASHED THROUGH THE 

70-FOOT-HIGH SLOT CANYON, PUSH- 

ING SAND AND DEBRIS AGAINST 

MY BODY AS I TRIED TO CHIMNEY 

HIGHER TO ESCAPE IT. 

My two friends did the same, but it was no 

use. Foam lapped against our necks. Beneath 

the surface, the torrent felt as heavy as wet 

concrete. I glanced downcanyon at the 

45-foot cliff behind us. The roar of water piling 

onto the rocks below sounded to me like 

certain death. 

My friends, David and Jason, and I were out 

for a July weekend of camping and rappelling 

in Zion National Park. Jason had canyoneered 

before, and though David and I were firsttimers, 

we found his stoke for the slots contagious. 

This trip was our payoff for several 

years of climbing at Red Rocks near our Las 

Vegas homes. This is what we’d trained for. 

We woke up early and secured a day-use 

permit for Spry Canyon, a technical slot consisting 

of 12 rappels through sculpted sandstone. 

The 20 percent chance of afternoon 

showers felt low-risk —we had also researched 

Spry’s watershed and learned that it’s tiny 

(see “key skills,” page 47) compared to the 

vast wilderness encompassing it. We hit the 

trail mid-morning after another group and 

took our time scrambling up slickrock to Spry 

Canyon’s entrance under bluebird skies. 

Each time we turned a corner, it felt like we 

were the first ones to set foot there. The darting 

shadows and beams of sunlight dancing 

on the sandy floor illuminated the cavern. 

Our sense of self-reliance increased around 

each bend, feeding our anticipation of ultimate 

escape. We made good time through the 

first half of the canyon and marveled at the 

towering red walls above us. 

We only had three rappels left when thunder 

rumbled overhead, at around 2 p.m. Our 

sliver of sky had gone dark with thunderheads 

and we were above the first of three 

successive rappels, where the canyon is 

boxed in by narrow and steep walls. We didn’t 

need a second glance to know we should get 

out fast. 

I threaded the rope through my belay 

device, and as it slid through my hands I thought only about 

how quickly we could make the next two descents. Twenty 

minutes? Thirty? I felt a slight drizzle start when I touched 

down five minutes later. I unclipped and walked 20 feet to the 

edge of the next rappel, a sheer, 45-foot drop that ended in a 

jumble of boulders and sand. When I turned around, Jason 

was descending and the rain was intensifying. Water began to 

slither down the canyon walls. 

David Frankhouser later 

returned to the base of the 

second cliff he was swept over. 

FIRST DROP 

45 FT. 

SECOND DROP 

60 FT. 

As Jason unroped five minutes 

later, muddy water was already 

pooling around my ankles. We 

looked at each other in panic. David couldn’t climb to the rim 

from where he stood above us, so he shouted, “Coming down!” 

while Jason and I scoured the gritty, wet walls for handholds, 

anything to help us get above the canyon bottom. 

I looked up at David, who was now rappelling down a waterfall. 

We could hardly hear him shouting over the peal of thunder 

and the roar of rushing water. It had only been 10 minutes 

since the first drops fell, but the current was rising fast, 

PHOTO BY COURTESY 

044 

BACKPACKER.COM

Adventures NYC 

Discover outdoor adventure in your own backyard! 

Saturday, June 21 

11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

Central Park 

New York, N.Y. 

Bandshell at 72 nd Street 

Sunday, June 22 

Marine Park 

East 33 rd Street and Avenue U 

Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Free rain or shine events 

Featuring kayaking, 

stand-up paddleboarding, 

climbing, biking, and more! 

For more information, 

visit www.nyc.gov/parks. 

PRESENTED BY


out alive 

www.fallraven.us 

www.fallravencanada.com 

@fallravenusa 

Greenland No.1 Special Edition 

Inspired by our frst climbing jackets 

from the 1960’s, this classic jacket 

is perfect from city to summit. Crafted 

in Fjällräven’s signature G-1000® 

Eco with leather details. 

Vidda Pro Trousers 

Tese heavy-duty outdoor pants are made 

with our tough-as-nails G-1000® Original 

to withstand even the harshest conditions. 

Find the Fox: 

Moosejaw Peter Glenn Pilgrim Surf & Supply 

Tent ‘N Trails Seed People’s Market 

swallowing our knees and 

tugging at our legs. I knew 

the water would pull us 

all over the ledge if it continued 

to rise. I turned to 

Jason: “Let’s set the next 

rappel fast. Maybe we can 

still get out.” 

Then the sky opened. 

When David splashed 

down waist-deep onto our 

ledge, we knew we were 

out of options. We grabbed 

the rope. We were worried 

about getting pinned 

under the flood, so we 

didn’t tie in. The current 

pressed harder against us 

and foam from the waterfall above filled 

our mouths and noses. 

We wedged ourselves between 

the canyon walls, trying to chimney 

upward. Branches floating by scraped 

my face. We were only a couple of feet 

off the ground, but we didn’t dare climb 

higher for fear of losing our traction. My 

body felt secure, but I couldn’t control 

my mind. 

I was the only one who had seen 

over the next cliff. I thought about how 

we would drown if we were knocked 

unconscious in a fall. I wondered how 

long we could hold on, or if the apex of 

the storm might pass and we’d somehow 

be saved. I thought about how my 

wife would explain to my kids that I 

wasn’t coming home. How my 2-year-old 

daughter wouldn’t even remember me. 

Then something knocked my footing 

loose—some flotsam or a surge of turbulence, 

I’m not really sure. All I know is I 

slammed into David and Jason, dislodging 

them and sending them tumbling. 

And then I was cartwheeling over the 

edge, falling through space. 

I landed hard, striking my tailbone on 

the canyon floor. Before I could react, 

I was sucked back under the 45-foot 

waterfall. It felt like being trapped inside 

a washing machine. The weight and 

power were crushing. 

A minute passed. My lungs burned. 

Then the water spit me out. I bobbed 

at the edge of the pool for a moment in 

disbelief; I was still breathing, I wasn’t 

paralyzed, and I could hang on to some 

nearby rocks to avoid being swept over 

the next cascade. 

But I couldn’t see my companions. I 

scanned for them in the turbulent falls 

and the canyon downstream to no avail. 

046 


I THOUGHT ABOUT 

HOW MY WIFE WOULD 

EXPLAIN TO MY KIDS 

THAT I WASN’T COM- 

ING HOME. HOW MY 

2-YEAR-OLD DAUGH- 

TER WOULDN’T EVEN 

REMEMBER ME. 

Then I heard a voice. 

I looked up to see three canyoneers 

on the rim 25 feet above me. They’d 

noticed us rappelling behind them and 

knew we would be in trouble when the 

storm hit, so they’d circled back after 

exiting. It was only a 25-foot scramble 

up to where they were, but I couldn’t 

do it. My backside throbbed in pain—I’d 

shattered my tailbone and fractured my 

pelvis when I fell. One of them lowered a 

rope and they hauled me up. 

Blood spurted out of a slice in my 

knee, and the group applied pressure 

with a bandana. It hurt, but I could only 

think about my friends. My rescuers 

hadn’t seen them tumble over the falls. 

One of the party members took off along 

the canyon rim to search. 

The next five minutes were the longest 

of my life. I was alive, but as the rain 

began to fade, so did my hope for David 

and Jason. I didn’t believe they could 

have also survived the fall. 

Then I heard one of the others 

announce he’d spotted them. They’d 

been swept over yet another cliff, the 

final 60-foot drop to the canyon’s exit. 

Jason had broken his femur, but David 

was okay. They’d holed up amid some 

boulders while the canyon drained. 

An hour later, Spry Canyon was dry 

except for a few residual pools. We put a 

headlamp into strobe mode to signal for 

help, and soon saw a return signal flash 

back from the park road, a mile away. 

The canyoneers stayed with us because 

Jason and I were unstable. A couple of 

hours later, in the failing daylight, rangers 

appeared. They flew me out on a 

stretcher suspended below a helicopter. 

All I could think about was getting home 

and hugging my kids.

Product of the Year 

Novel 

Awards 

2012 

Product of the Year 

Novel 

Awards 

2012 

0 6 . 2 0 1 4 

key 

skills 

Slot Canyon 

Emergency Guide 

Use these tips to familiarize 

yourself with the terrain 

before you head out and react 

correctly if things go wrong. 

Spry Canyon’s small watershed 

still flash-flooded when a 

storm hit it directly. 

watershed 

route 

Research the watershed 

The watershed is the 

area drained by a 

particular canyon. In 

large ones, rain can fall 

miles away or hours 

prior and still cause 

flooding downcanyon. 

In small watersheds, 

a direct hit from a 

thunderstorm can still 

cause havoc because 

there’s nowhere else 

for the draining runoff 

to go. 

Prepare 

1) Check the forecast 

for the immediate area 

and distant regions 

that could affect the 

watershed. 

2) Has it rained recently? 

Saturated ground 

can speed flooding. 

3) Map escape routes. 

Unexpected rain coming? 

Know how to get 

out or get high fast. 

Danger signs 

1) A sudden rise in 

water level 

2) Floating debris in 

the water 

3) A sudden change in 

water color (to muddy) 

4) An audible roar or 

gurgle in the canyon 

5) The smell of fresh 

rain or mud 

React 

1) Never try to outrun a 

flash flood; you can’t. 

2) Seek out higher 

ground on the inside of 

a bend or just below an 

obstacle or diversion— 

even a foot or two of 

height can make all the 

difference. 

3) Lighten up—removing 

your pack will keep 

you quick and nimble. 

No piece of gear is 

worth your life. 

4) Swim defensively: 

Float on your back, 

keeping your feet up 

and facing downstream. 

Use your arms 

to protect your head if 

you get swept into the 

current. 

5) Let the flood subside: 

It can take up to 

24 hours for a flash 

flood to abate, so be 

patient and continue 

your descent when the 

flood has completely 

drained. 



@fallravenusa 

Keb Trousers 

Crafted in G-1000® Eco with stretch panels in 

key areas, these award-winning trousers 

feature ultimate freedom of movement. 

Exceptional ventilation on the thigh and 

calf make them perfect for warm 

summer conditions. 

Friluft Backpack 

Tis trampoline style daypack keeps your 

back cool while comfortably carrying all your 

hiking/camping essentials. Recently selected 

for Best Ventilation by Backpacker Magazine. 

Comes in 35L, 45L and 55L 

A TRIMBLE COMPANY 

047 

Find the Fox: 

R.E.I. Paragon Sports Moosejaw 

Hudson Trail Outfitters Backcountry

survival 

saved by 

06.2014 

Plastic 

Bag 

If you don’t already 

carry a virtually 

weightless plastic bag, 

here are six reasons 

you should. We asked 

survival experts how 

they’d put the humble 

shopping sack to use. 

Filter water. 

Punch a few pinholes in the 

bag’s base. Layer in grass 

until the bag is half full 

(cedar and pine needles 

work, too). Add 2 inches of 

sand or cooled charcoal. 

Add water; the output will 

be cleaner and easier to 

purify. –Kellie Nightlinger, 

Wild Woman Outdoors 

Make a whistle. 

Cut a half–inch–wide 

by 3–inch–long strip from 

the bag. Pinch it with your 

thumbs (nails facing out) 

and stretch it taut between 

the heels of your palms. 

Blow into the gap between 

your thumbs. Three quick 

bursts followed by a pause 

is a universal distress signal. 

–Tom Brown, Jr., Tom 

Brown, Jr.’s Tracker School 

Slip one over each sock. 

Instant waterproofing and 

insulation. –Tom Brown, Jr. 

Purify water. 

Fill your bag halfway with 

water. Place it on the 

ground and prop it open. 

Line the bottom with rocks. 

Heat more stones in a 

campfire (10 minutes does 

it; never use riverstones as 

they may explode) and add 

the hot rocks to the bag 

until bubbles form. (Note: 

This method may release 

toxins from the bag, so only 

use it in true survival situations.) 

Let sit for five minutes. 

–Kellie Nightlinger 

Irrigate a wound. 

Add a few cups of purified 

water to the bag, then twist 

it until the water gathers in 

a corner. Poke a small hole 

in the bag and squeeze. 

–Mykel Hawke, Lost 

Survivors 

Make water in a 

transpiration bag. 

Harness plant photosynthesis. 

Get step-by-step 

directions at backpacker 

.com/transpirationbag. 

–Lisa Fenton, Woodsmoke 

Wilderness Survival School 

See a slideshow with more uses at backpacker.com/plasticbag. 

PHOTO By BeN FuLLerTON. TexT By dyLAN rIeSSeN 

Compared to conventional aluminium poles, carbon poles are lighter, stiffer 

and corrosion resistant. As a 4-part version of the new Approach range of 

super compact with only 39 cm packed size. Find your perfect model at: 

www.komperdell.com/en/poles/trekking/carbon

ADVERTISEMENT 

STRAIghT FROM ThE SOURcE 

To REcEIVE fREE pRoDucT INfoRMATIoN DIREcTly fRoM ouR ADVERTISERS, cIRclE ThE NuMbERS oN ThE 

ATTAchED poSTcARD ThAT coRRESpoND To ThE pRoDucTS AND SERVIcES lISTED bEloW. 

APPAREL 

1. EDDIE BAUER (800) 426-8020; 

eddiebauer.com 

2. FEAThERED FRIENDS handcrafted 

down gear and premier expedition 

outfitter. featheredfriends.com 

AUTOMOTIVE 

3. SUBARU Ready for adventure. 

That's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru. 

subaru.com 

4. TOYOTA toyota.com 

DESTINATION 

5. ALASKA ALPINE ADVENTURES 

Exploring Alaska’s great national parks 

and wildlife refuges since 1998! 

(877) 525-2577; 

alaskaalpineadventures.com 

6. BIg WILD ADVENTURES The most 

experienced backpacking company 

in the Western uS. (406) 848-7000; 

bigwildadventures.com 

7. BRYcE cANYON cOUNTRY 

Get your free bryce canyon area 

planning guide today! (800) 444-6689; 

brycecanyoncountry.com 

8. cODY, WYOMINg come to cody, 

Wyoming-—the wildest way into yellowstone. 

(800) 393-2639; yellowstonecountry.org 

9. cOLORADO SPRINgS cONVENTION 

& VISITORS BUREAU visitcos.com 

10. MONTANA Epic views bookended 

by Glacier and yellowstone National 

parks. visitmt.com 

11. NORTh DAKOTA TOURISM Start your 

legendary journey with a free North Dakota 

travel guide. (800) 435-5663; ndtourism.com 

FOOTWEAR 

12. hANWAg handmade bavarian 

footwear for hiking and climbing since 

1921. hanwag.de 

13. LOWA outdoor boots and shoes 

from Germany. lowaboots.com 

14. SALEWA The only blister-free 

footwear in the world. (303) 444-0446; 

salewa.us 

15. ScARPA The most innovative 

hiking, backpacking and trail shoes on 

the market. scarpa.com 

16. WRIghTSOcK patented double layer 

socks, anti-blister socks. wrightsock.com 

gEAR 

17. ALPS MOUNTAINEERINg Quality 

affordable gear. (800) 344-2577; 

alpsmountaineering.com 

18. BASS PRO ShOPS Gear up at bass 

pro Shops for your outdoor adventure! 

(800) bASS-pRo; basspro.com 

19. BIg AgNES big Agnes produces 

award-winning sleeping bags, pads and 

tents. (877) 554-8975; bigagnes.com 

20. BLAcK DIAMOND black Diamond 

designs and manufactures equipment 

for rock climbing, alpinism and skiing. 

blackdiamondequipment.com 

21. BRUNTON American creator of the 

finest optics and outdoor gear since 

1894. bruntonoutdoor.com 

22. cAMELBAK camelbak.com 

23. cRAZY cREEK our new Air chair 

plus offers ultimate sit and sleep comfort! 

(800) 331-0304; crazycreek.com 

24. DEUTER functional and innovative 

backpacks since 1898. deuterusa.com 

25. DOWNTEK Water Repellent Down - 

changing the way revolutionary brands 

think. (800) 792-3696; down-tek.com 

26. FENIXLIghT LIMITED high 

performance lED flashlight. fenixlight.com 

27. FJÄLLRÄVEN Swedish fjällräven 

is an internationally renowned outdoor 

clothing and equipment purveyor. 

fjallraven.us 

28. gREgORY gregorypacks.com 

29. hELINOX 

bigagnes.com/products/helinox 

30. hIgh SIERRA (888) 368-1304; 

highsierra.com 

31. hILLEBERg ThE TENTMAKER 

hilleberg tents: the highest quality 

backcountry shelter for demanding 

users. (866) 848-8368; hilleberg.com 

32. JAcKS 'R' BETTER LLc 

lightweight down quilts, hammocks and 

camping accessories. (800) 595-0413; 

jacksrbetter.com 

33. KOMPERDELL SPORTARTIKEL 

AMBh Made in Austria: poles (trekking, 

racing, towing, carbon), gloves, and 

underwear. 3-year warranty. komperdell.com 

34. KOVEA cO, LTD kovea.com 

35. LED LENSER ledlenser.com 

36. OSPREY PAcKS INc Since 1974 

osprey packs has created innovative, 

high performance gear that reflects 

a love of adventure and a devotion 

to the outdoors. (866) 284-7830; 

ospreypacks.com 

37. PRIMUS-NORTh AMERIcAN gEAR 

primus-the legendary camping brand 

of backpacking stoves, laterns, and 

cookware. (888) 545-8215; nagear.com 

38. SOLIO LIghTWEIghT SOLAR POWER 

solio.com 

39. WESTERN MOUNTAINEERINg 

producing quality goose down 

sleeping bags in the uSA since 1970. 

westernmountaineering.com 

MIScELLANEOUS 

40. FORMATION SD formationsd.com 

41. WILD PLANET FOODS 100% 

sustainably caught seafood—delcious, 

high protein, and omega-3s. 

(800) 998-9946; wildplanetfoods.com 

NON-PROFIT 

42. WILDERNESS VOLUNTEERS 

Weeklong adventure service trips in 

cooperation with public land agencies. 

wildernessvolunteers.org

T H e m A n u A l 

g e a r 

Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer 

Mammut Ascona Shirt 

Start with a moisture-wicking baselayer 

with good stretch and UV protection. In 

sunny conditions: Add a fip-up collar that 

shields your neck. 

Lightweight pufes use sewn-through 

construction to save weight. Stitch lines 

through the inner and outer shell create 

chambers that keep the down from shifing 

without requiring extra material. This 

technique can create cold spots, so be sure 

to keep a shell handy on gusty days. 

Make sure your layers ft well together. There 

should be a little extra room between each 

one to prevent binding, but not so much that 

there’s extra space to heat up. 

Clothes for Every 

Condition 

How do you find top-performing apparel in a field crowded with layers of all types and 

prices? First, you cast a wide net (we started with 140 samples). Then you recruit testers 

who spend more time outside than in. Ours logged 700-plus trail days over six months. From 

Arizona to Iceland, we saw 186 days of rain (and plenty of sizzling sun) and temps from 5°F 

to 95°F. Our goal? Find the best three-season garb for every climate. By Kelly BAsTOne 

ben fullerton 0 6 . 2 0 1 4 051

g e a r 

field test 

HIGH AND DRY 

Layers for alpine hiking should shield against intense 

sun and adapt to big temperature fluctuations. 

directly on my skin, so 

even afer 3,000-foot 

climbs in Colorado’s 

Park Range, I never 

felt soggy or chilled 

once I reached the 

high summits.” The 

shirt’s tall collar and 

UPF 40 rating rebuff 

alpine sun, and the 

antimicrobial treatment 

keeps stink 

to tolerable levels 

during three-day trips. 

mammut.ch Reader 

service #101 

Mammut Lugano/ 

Ascona Shirt 

Get flannel comfort 

with trail performance. 

This snapfront 

shirt feels like 

peach-sof cotton, 

Treat Your 

Feet 

Prevent blisters and 

boost comfort with 

these top socks. 

Ghost Whisperer $320; 7 oz. 

Lugano/Ascona $85; 11 oz. 

but the all-synthetic 

blend of polyester (58 

percent) and nylon 

wicks away moisture 

“like a chamois cloth,” 

reports our tester. “The 

fuzzy texture kept 

sweat from sitting 

Mountain Hardwear 

Ghost Whisperer 

Down Jacket 

It’s as changeable as 

the Rockies in July: On 

sun-baked afernoons, 

this superlight, 

compressible (to cantaloupe 

size) puffy 

disappeared in testers’ 

packs. But when 

nighttime temperatures 

in Colorado’s 

San Juan Mountains 

dove to 40°F, the 

premium 850-fill, 

water-resistant down 

let testers stay out, 

gazing at the stars, 

instead of retreating 

to their sleeping 

bags. The tissue-thin, 

10-denier ripstop 

nylon is breathable 

and drizzle-resistant. 

Yes, the price is steep, 

but you’ll find yourself 

wearing this jacket yearround, 

making it worth 

the dough. mountainhardwear.com 

Reader 

service #102 

Chockstone Midweight Active Pant $95; 14 oz. 

Mountain Hardwear 

Chockstone Midweight 

Active Pant 

Few sofshells feel 

so cool while offering 

top-notch durability 

and weather resistance. 

This four-way stretch 

nylon fabric (fit is 

form-fitting) shaded 

our tester’s legs 

from searing sun on 

Colorado’s Mt. Sneffels, 

where the 40°F mornings 

called for pants, 

not shorts. The DWR 

treatment kept him 

dry in dewy meadows, 

and he “enjoyed total 

freedom of movement 

while bouldering and 

scrambling,” thanks to 

the gusseted crotch 

and articulated knees. 

mountainhardwear 

.com Reader service 

#103 

DRESS FOR SUCCESS 

LEARN HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR EXISTING 

LAYERING SYSTEM AND IMPROVE TRAIL COMFORT WITH TIPS 

FROM GEAR EDITOR KRISTIN HOSTETTER. 

BACKPACKER.COM/LAYERING101 

Wigwam Weather Warrior 

“They’re ideal for all shoulder-season conditions, from rainy and 20°F to sunny and 65°F,” 

says one tester. This calf-high sock blends wool (17 percent) with Outlast acrylic, which regulates 

temperature by changing states: The fibers’ polyester sheath stays intact, but the acrylic 

inside liquefies as it absorbs heat from skin (the process creates a warming effect). $17; 3 oz.; 

shop.wigwam.com Reader service #104 

PHOTOS BY BEN FULLERTON; COURTESY (SOCKS) 

052 BACKPACKER.COM 

All weights according to manufacturer’s specifications.

0 6 . 2 0 1 4 

HOT AND HUMID 

Steamy summer hikes call for 

breathable, quick-dry clothing. 

CHILLY AND WET 

Thwart raw, damp conditions with clothes 

that insulate against the elements. 

Upslope Full-Zip Hoody $159; 1 lb. 

Trail Tee $70; 3 oz. 

Loggerhead Longsleeve $65; 9 oz. 

a good shell in rain; 

once wet, wool is slow 

to dry. mountainkhakis.com 

Reader 

service #109 

Salomon Field Pant 

Dynafit Trail Tee 

“It’s the next best thing 

to naked,” swears our 

tester, who wore this 

gauzy tee on muggy, 

85°F hikes along 

Michigan’s Indian River. 

Credit the hollowcore 

polyester fibers 

(which channel heat 

away from the skin) 

and smooth mesh 

panels on the back and 

underarms, which vent 

high-sweat zones. And 

at 3 ounces, this shirt 

weighs less than some 

sunglasses—but costs 

more than your cable 

bill. dynafit.com/en 

Reader service #105 

Patagonia Upslope 

Full-Zip Fleece Hoody 

It feels like a comfy 

sweatshirt, yet this 

hooded jacket is 

made of moisturewicking 

R1 fleece, which 

impressed testers in 

conditions where you 

need “just a little extra 

something at night.” 

But it’s much more 

than a warm-weather 

camp coat. Thanks to 

its gridded interior, “It’s 

also less bulky, warmer, 

and more breathable 

than most fleeces of 

comparable weight and 

price,” says one tester, 

“so I can wear it yearround.” 

patagonia.com 


Bergans Utne Shorts 

Perfect for hiking in 

scorching temps, these 

barely-there nylon 

shorts balance stretch 

and quick drying time. 

“I wore them for two 

weeks straight, climbing 

on sun-roasted 

faces at Idaho’s City 

of Rocks, on hot hikes 

(up to 90°F), and impromptu 

swims,” says 

a tester. bergans.com 


Utne Shorts $79; 10 oz. 

Howler Brothers 

Loggerhead Longsleeve 

“Awesomely silky,” 

one tester says of this 

relaxed-fit, 100-percent 

poly Henley (the women’s 

version substitutes 

a zipper for the two buttons). 

“It wicks sweat 

fast and keeps me from 

clamming up beneath 

bulky midlayers,” he 

says. Bonus: The lens 

wipe sewn into the hem 

is perfect for clearing 

fogged sunglasses. 

howlerbros.com 


Mountain Khakis 

Rendezvous Quarter 

Zip Shirt 

More breathable than 

a typical synthetic 

puffy, this midweight 

merino wool sweater 

became testers’ go-to 

insulation for spring 

and fall hiking in 40°F 

to 50°F temperatures. 

“It doesn’t bunch up 

when I wear it with other 

layers,” reports one 

tester afer climbing in 

frigid Joes Valley, Utah. 

“Wool feels cozier than 

fleece in chilly, sleety 

weather,” says another, 

who topped it with a 

puffy for mid-winter 

camp-outs in subfreezing 

temps. Pair it with 

Field Pant $165; 13 oz. 

Rendezvous Quarter Zip Shirt 

$120; 15 oz. 

Engineered for wet, 

sloppy trails, this 

sofshell is waterproof 

from the knees 

down. The windproof 

nylon kept our tester 

comfortable in bitter, 

45-mph winds 

in Iceland’s Skaftafell 

National Park. 

And while another 

tester was postholing 

through knee-deep, 

wet snow on a fall hike 

in Colorado’s Rocky 

Mountain National 

Park, the Field Pant 

pinch-hit for gaiters. “I 

appreciated that the 

fabric didn’t wet out 

and freeze from hours 

of tromping through 

the slush,” he reports. 

salomon.com/us 


Farm to Feet Adventure Sport Greensboro Low 

Ample, dense cushioning underfoot reduces foot fatigue on long-mileage, 

rough-trail hikes. “Afer a 14-mile, off-trail hike in Grand Staircase-Escalante National 

Monument, my socks were caked with sand, but my feet were surprisingly 

happy and blister-free,” reports our Utah tester. The tradeoff for plush padding? 

The merino-synthetic blend (with 41 percent nylon and 2 percent spandex) are 

somewhat slow to dry. $15; 1 oz.; farmtofeet.com Reader service #111 

FIND YOUR SHELL 

OUR TESTERS RATE THE 

YEAR’S TOP RAINGEAR, 

FROM ULTRALIGHT TO 

ULTRATOUGH AT BACK- 

PACKER.COM/SHELLS14. 

Testers: Drew Allred, Kelly Bastone, John Bouchard, Dennis Lewon, 

Casey Lyons, Bryan Nanista, William Rochfort, Ben Russell 

053

gear 

field notes 

Face Off 

Both of these trail runners 

are made for the mountains: 

One is best for minimalists, 

the other shines on rough 

terrain. 

Topo Athletic MT 

Mammut MTR 

201 Dyneema 

Topo Athletic MT 

Support is minimalist, with a 2mm 

drop and maximum flex throughout 

the midsole, but a triple layer of EVA 

protects feet from all but direct hits 

on rocks. 

These are ideal for runners who prefer 

a light, fleet-footed feeling and 

like to sense the trail underfoot. “I 

also love them as camp slippers on 

backpacking trips,” says our tester. 

The shallow, multi-directional lugs 

are grippy on packed trails and dry 

rock slabs. 

As we’d expect from a shoe this 

light and affordable, its lifespan is 

shorter. The thin, textured synthetic 

upper held up well, but the toecap 

began to peel afer about 100 miles. 

Best for forefoot strikers and 

ultralighters, these minimalist 

shoes shine on singletrack. 

1 lb. (m’s 9); $100; topoathletic 

.com Reader service #112 

Support/ 

Protection 

Feel 

Traction 

Durability 

Verdict 

Details 

Mammut MTR 201 Dyneema 

A substantial heel counter and 

an EVA midsole create “excellent 

stability and support,” according 

to our finicky tester, who has had 

three ACL surgeries. 

“The lacing system, which 

integrates into the webbing sidesupports, 

pulls the entire upper 

securely around my foot like a hug,” 

says a tester. 

With deeper lugs and a more aggressive 

tread, the MTR “can handle 

sketchy washed out trails, mud, and 

dicey descents,” says our tester. 

“Afer 250 miles, the Dyneema 

upper is totally unscathed. And the 

honeycombed lining fabric shows 

zero signs of pilling.” 

Bridging the gap between running 

shoes and light hikers, the 

Dyneema will serve heel-striking 

runners and dayhikers well. 

1 lb. 5 oz. (m’s 9); $159; mammut 

.ch Reader service #113 

phoToS By (fRoM LEfT) BEn fuLLERTon (2); CouRTESy (3); TExT By kRISTIn hoSTETTER 

054 

*average per 3oz pouch

06.2014 

TESTERS: KELLY BASTONE, MARTY COMBS, HANK GRANT, KRISTIN HOSTETTER, TRENT KNOSS, CASEY 

LYONS, WILLIAM ROCHFORT, BOB SHAVER, MICHAEL WHITENER 

Quick Picks 

splurge bargain ultralight 

ESEE-4 

Do you need a half-pound knife with a 

fixed 4.5-inch blade for backpacking? 

No. But here’s why you might want this 

one: heirloom materials, durability, and 

craftsmanship. The 3/16-inch-thick, 

full-tang steel holds its razor edge, 

even after a winter’s worth of processing 

tinder. The grippy composite handle 

provides precision control no matter 

the job. $174; 7.9 oz.; eseeknives.com 


Energizer High Performance Headlight 

This durable headlamp pumps out 

200 lumens, unheard of for a sub- 

$40 model. “On a moonless night in 

Arizona, the spot beam stretched 75 

yards on high while I was gathering kindling,” 

says one tester. Two big buttons 

make toggling between four modes 

(high/low spot, high/low flood) easy, 

even with gloves on. Run time tested 

at 32 hours (on high). Gripe: It’s bulky. 

$38; 3.8 oz.; 3 AAAs; energizer.com 


Big Agnes Scout Plus UL2 

This sub-2-pound, single-wall shelter 

pitches with two trekking poles, yet it 

withstood strong, sustained storms in 

Utah’s Uintas. It also offers conveniences 

typically found in heavier, freestanding 

domes: plentiful organization and a 

14-square-foot vestibule. Interior space 

is a tad stingy (29 sq. ft.), but packed 

size is stellar (5 x 20 inches): “I’ve grown 

zucchini bigger than this tent,” says our 

tester. $350; 1 lb. 14 oz.; bigagnes.com 

Reader service #116

gear 

roundup 

Portable Power 

Find the charge that’s right for you. By Cameron Martindell 

We’re unabashed gadget lovers–for 

navigation, photography, video, music, 

camp reading, and more—but all 

devices become dead weight (literally) 

without juice. Luckily, there are 

more ways than ever to recharge 

off the grid. How to choose? If you 

can count on sunshine and will be 

out for a long time, go with solar. If 

not, and price is not a deal breaker, 

consider chemical chargers. Plan 

to do lots of cooking or campfire 

lounging? Check out thermal 

devices. And if your budget is tight, 

mechanical is for you. 

PRODUCT HOW IT WORKS PROS CONS CHARGE 

TIME 

# OF IPHONE 

CHARGES 

WEIGHT PRICE CONTACT 

iLAND FLY with 

Battery Pack 

Goal Zero Guide 

10 Plus Solar Kit 

A 65-square-inch, 

flexible silicon solar 

panel charges a 2,100 

mAh battery. (Battery 

capacity is measured 

in milliamphere 

hour, or mAh. Higher 

numbers mean more 

power but also more 

weight and bulk.) 

The stiff, 72-squareinch 

panel charges 

four AAs (included), 

which are housed in a 

USB-compatible battery 

pack. Capacity: 

2,300 mAh 

Super-light and 

slightly more durable 

than the Goal 

Zero Guide 10 

Charging efciency 

and AA versatility: 

“With the batteries, 

we could charge 

anything in sight, 

even a weather 

radio and a light-up 

Frisbee.” 

Slower charge 

times; awkward in 

use (“The external 

battery dangles 

by the power cord 

when I have the 

solar panel lashed 

to my pack during 

charging,” says a 

tester.) 

Heavy 

Full sun: 

9 hours; 

Partly 

cloudy: 11 

hours 

Full sun: 5 

hours; 

Mostly 

cloudy: 10 

hours 

1.1 

1.3 

9 oz. 

1 lb. 4 oz. 

$140 

$130 

iland-solar.us 


goalzero.com 


PHOTOS BY BEN FULLERTON

06.2014 

PRODUCT HOW IT WORKS PROS CONS 

Brunton 

Hydrogen 

Reactor 

Insert the 3.5-inch, 

cigar-shaped hydrogen 

“core,” wait a 

few seconds for the 

green light, and plug 

your device into the 

USB port (there is no 

onboard battery for 

power storage). 

Works any time, in 

any conditions, as 

long as oxygen can 

flow freely around 

the unit. “I charged 

my phone on the 

go in the mesh side 

pocket of my pack,” 

says a tester. 

Pricey; no way to 

know how much 

charge is lef in a 

partially used core 

CHARGE 

TIME 

no 

onboard 

battery 

# OF IPHONE 

CHARGES 

One core 

nets about 2 

charges 

WEIGHT PRICE CONTACT 

10 oz.; 2.8 

oz. per core 

(refillable 

at select 

locations 

for $3-$7) 

$170; 

$20 per 

core 

brunton.com 


MyFC 

PowerTrekk 

Insert a fuel puck 

and add a half-ounce 

of water to the 

reservoir. A chemical 

reaction creates 

energy, which gets 

stored in the onboard 

1,500 mAh battery. 

A slightly more 

affordable 

chemical charging 

solution; pucks are 

recyclable (but not 

reusable) 

Testers felt it 

was “finicky.” The 

PowerTrekk must 

be level, still, and 

exposed to oxygen 

while running; more 

moving parts mean 

it’s less rugged than 

the Brunton. 

3 hours 

One puck nets 

about a 60% 

charge 

10 oz.; 4 oz. 

per puck 

$150; $4 

per puck 

powertrekk.com 


FlameStower 

A metal blade rests 

in a fire or stove’s 

flame and transfers 

heat to a thermoelectric 

regulator. 

Put cold water in 

the reservoir and the 

temperature difference 

makes power. 

This system 

works with most 

stoves (not ideal 

with models that 

have integrated 

windscreens). No 

new parts or special 

cookware are 

necessary. 

Don’t expect a full 

charge unless you 

plan a long night by 

the campfire. 

no 

onboard 

battery 

1.5 hours of 

cooking netted 

a 30% boost 

10 oz. $90 flamestower.com 


Eton Turbine 

2000 

Turning the crank 

produces electricity 

that’s stored in a 

2,000 mAh battery. 

“It’s infallible! The 

most dependable 

power source is 

me.” 

Strong arms and 

stamina required! 

Got kids? Recruit 

them to do some of 

the cranking. 

2 hours of 

cranking 

nets 

a 75% 

charge 

A full battery 

provides 1 full 

charge 

8 oz. $80 etoncorp.com 


SUMMIT 40 INTERNAL FRAME PACK 

ADVENTURE 

SUMMIT 

HIGHSIERRA.COM

Great pyramid: Grinnell Point reflects 

in Glacier National Park’s Swifcurrent 

Lake, a common sight on trips 

ending—and beginning—in the park’s 

Many Glacier region. 

photo by harry Lichtman

2 0 

1 4 

NatioNal 

Parks 

sPecial 

b a c k pa c k e r 

Wonders 

of our 

World 

by brendan leonard 

The only Thing beTTer Than hiking in one national park? 

hiking in Two. or five. and enjoying ThaT american birThrighT—The 

road Trip—in beTween. clear your calendar, 

pack your car, and use These nine iTineraries To launch 

your perfecT drive-and-hike vacaTion. 

page 

59 

06.2014

Your Guide 

Brendan Leonard 

Pacific 

Northwest 

Crater Lake, Smith Rock, Wallowas, Olympic 

3 

There may be nothing 

more American 

than apple pie, 

but a road trip 

linking national 

parks sure comes 

close. It combines 

everything I love 

about adventure: 

the open road, endless 

backcountry, 

and the ability to 

change the itinerary 

on a whim. 

I’ve been roadtripping 

since 

2011, living out of 

my 2005 Chevy 

Astro and a tent. I 

wrote a book about 

the first 20,000 

miles—The New 

American Road Trip 

Mixtape—and am 

still going strong 

afer 75,000 miles. 

These are my best 

hike-drive-camp 

routes. 

Olympic National Park 

90 

Smith Rock 

State Park 

Bend 

WA 

1 

OR 

START Crater Lake National Park 

Share two of America’s 

most dramatic 

mountain ranges with 

...almost nobody. 

DAYS: 9-10 

DAY 1 

It only took one spin 

around Crater Lake 

National Park’s 33-mile 

loop road to convince 

me that its rapid-fire, 

deep-blue vistas add 

2 

84 

Wallowa 

Mountains 

Baker City 

DRIVING TIME: 22 

HOURS/1,100 MILES 

up to one of the finest 

scenic drives in the 

park system. Even 

better: With such good 

windshield tourism, 

few visitors are motivated 

to leave their 

cars—which means 

solitude starts where 

the pavement ends. Hit 

the 2.6-mile Mt. Scott 

Trail to the 8,934-foot 

summit to fit the entire 

drive’s worth of scenery 

into a viewfinder. 

Finish the loop, then 

motor 115 miles northeast 

to camp in Smith 

Rock State Park, where 

50-story tuff and basalt 

cliffs bookend Oregon’s 

high desert. 

DAY 2 

Hike the Misery Ridge 

Trail, a 1.5-mile slalom 

between volcanic 

tuff towers, to see the 

Cascades (Mt. Hood, 

Three Sisters, and 

Mt. Jefferson) on the 

western horizon. Let 

your anticipation 

build as you drive 

east toward Baker City 

and the ste ep granite 

peaks of the Wallowa 

Mountains. Grab supplies 

in Baker City and 

a campsite at the Two 

Color Campground 

before five days of 

backcountry solitude. 

DAYS 3-8 

DON’T 

SKIP 

Now for the wilderness 

feast: the fiveday, 

41-mile East Eagle- 

Imnaha Loop, dotted 

with old-growth forests, 

alpine lakes, and 

the 9,572-foot summit 

of Eagle Cap. The three 

big passes—Horton, 

Glacier, and Hawkins— 

reward sustained 

climbing with endless 

alpine views. Mark 

Glacier and Mirror 

Lakes on your map— 

get there in the afternoon 

for a swim, then 

(1) Crater Lake’s rim 

has tons of easy-access 

viewpoints. (2) Rack up 

for world-class climbing 

at Oregon’s Smith Rock. 

(3) It’s a rough, rocky 

trail through Eagle Creek 

Canyon in Oregon. 

camp and wake up 

early to snap photos 

of the peaks reflected 

in the calm morning 

water (see page 40). 

DAYS 9-10 

Catch up on calories 

and news behind 

the wheel on an 

all-day drive along 

the Columbia River 

Gorge to Washington’s 

Olympic Peninsula. 

Stay at the Hoh 

Campground (reserve 

ahead) and head out 

the next morning 

for an overnight on 

the Hoh River Trail, 

along the waterway 

and through oldgrowth 

rainforest with 

views of the snowy 

Olympics above. Grab 

a campsite at Lewis 

Meadow at 5.4 miles, 

or tackle 5.5 more 

miles and 3,800 feet of 

elevation gain to camp 

beside Hoh Lake. 

Trip Planner Crater Lake NP: $10/vehicle; nps.gov/ 

crla. Smith Rock: $5 entry, $5/person per night; no reservations; 

oregonstateparks.org. Wallowa Mountains: 

Camping at Two Color Campground is $5/night; no 

reservations. Parking at the East Eagle trailhead 

is $5/day; self-issue permits at the trailhead; bit.ly/ 

Wallowas. Olympic NP: $15/vehicle; nps.gov/olym; Hoh 

Campground: $12/night; no reservations. Backcountry 

permits: $5 + $2/person per night; reservation info at 

(360) 565-3100 

PRINT AND GO Create custom maps for 

these routes with our Map Maker iPad 

app at backpacker.com/mapmaker. 

PHOTO BY (FROM LEFT) JUSTIN BAILIE; COURTESY; GREG VAUGHN; HANK CHRISTENSEN; MICHAEL F. JONES (3). ILLUSTRATIONS BY DANIEL ZALKUS 

60 

06.2014

R O A D 

RULES 

COUCH-SURFING 

ETIQUETTE 

WANT A HOT SHOWER? STAYING WITH FRIENDS IS WAY CHEAPER THAN 

GETTING A HOTEL ROOM. BUT MAKE SURE YOU’RE THE KIND OF GUEST 

WHO IS INVITED BACK. ALWAYS: 

Establish rapport with spouses, children, pets. Be fun. Bring your own 

shampoo, soap, loofah. Keep your stuff together. You were invited to use the 

couch, not the whole house. Cook for your hosts. If your cooking is not so 

great, buy dinner. Bring beer for the fridge. Or wine. Or some flowers. Know 

which one is appropriate in advance. 

Conquer the Last 

Frontier from ocean 

to mountains in less 

than 400 miles. 

DAYS: 7-12 


D AY 1 

ALASKA 

HOURS/370 MILES 

John Muir once said, 

“To the lover of wilderness, 

Alaska is one of 

the most wonderful 

countries in the world.” 

See what he means: 

Start in a kayak, daytripping 

6.5 miles from 

Miller’s Landing (a mile 

south of Seward) to 

Seward, Kenai Fjords, Denali 

Caines Head State Park. 

Stretch your legs on a 

tour of WWII-era Fort 

McGilvray, overlooking 

the Gulf of Alaska. Car 

camp at Waterfront 

Park in Seward for tentdoor 

views of glaciated 

peaks 2 miles across 

the bay, and bald eagle 

fly-bys off the beach. 

If this isn’t the best 

municipal campground 

in America, I’ll eat my 

Gazetteer. 

D AY 2 

Drive 11 miles northwest 

to Kenai Fjords 

National Park for an 

8.2-mile round-trip hike 

to Harding Icefield, 

a 700-square-mile 

expanse of snow and 

rocky peaks. Tent 

at the Black Bear 

Campground. 

DAYS 3-5 

Take the Crow Pass 

National Historic Trail, 

a two- or three-day, 

21-mile, one-way hike on 

talus slopes and snowfields 

along the Iditarod 

National Historical Trail 

(shuttle info at right). 

A stout, 2,100-foot 

climb up to Crow Pass 

from the Crow Creek 

trailhead gives way to 

a mellow descent into 

the Eagle River Valley. 

Find a campsite just 

after Crow Pass on day 

one. Punch your Alaska 

backpacker’s card with 

a chilly, knee- to waistdeep 

crossing of the 

Eagle River at marked 

fording locations on 

day two (there’s no 

bridge; make sure to 

unclip your waistbelt 

and sternum strap), and 

pitch your tent at the 

established Twin Falls 

campsite (mile 16.5) that 

evening. 

DAYS 7-12 

Take the shuttle 

bus to access the park’s 

backcountry. Denali 

has plenty of big views, 

big mountains, and big 

animals, but no trails 

or permit reservations, 

so work out your itinerary 

with park rangers 

based on what units are 

available—try McKinley 

Bar West (Unit 15) or 

Eldorado Creek (Unit 

43) for good photo ops. 

2 

3 

DON’T 

SKIP 

Trip Planner Seward: 

Sea kayak tours or rentals 

from Miller’s Landing 

($45/single, $55/double, 

tours $120/person). 

Waterfront Park: $10/tent; 

cityofseward.us. Kenai 

Fjords NP: nps.gov/kefj. 

Crow Pass Trail: No permit; 

(907) 345-5014; dnr 

.alaska.gov. Shuttle: $100/ 

person; (907) 694-8888; 

alaskashuttle.net. Denali 

NP: $10/person; nps 

.gov/dena; campground 

reservations $22/night; 

reservedenali.com; 

backcountry permits are 

in-person only. 

Denali National Park 

3 

1 

D AY 6 

Head to Denali National 

Park via Anchorage (hit 

the Bear Tooth Grill for 

the garlic cilantro fries 

and beer), and camp at 

the park’s Riley Creek. 

Anchorage 

Kenai Fjords 

National Park 

Crow Pass 

START Seward 

(1) Dall sheep visit 

Denali’s Savage River 

Valley in fall. (2) The 

park’s famous green 

buses are the only way 

to access the backcountry. 

(3) Hike to this view 

overlooking the Harding 

Icefield in Kenai Fjords.

START Redwood 

National Park 

Mt. Shasta 

1 

5 

Truckee 

395 

Yosemite National Park 

Mono Lake 

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 

Mt. Whitney 

Death Valley National Park

PHotos BY (fRoM Left) sCottsPikeR.CoM; JAMie CoMPos; toM & PAt LeesoN; RACHiD DAHNouN 

See the redwoods, 

climb a pair of classics, 

and get your 

Yosemite passport 

stamped on a onestate 

tour de force. 

DaYS: 12-14 

D AY 1 

California 

DriviNg Time: 17.5 

hourS/940 mileS 

Redwood, Mt. Shasta, Yosemite, Death Valley 

Here’s the best way 

I’ve found to take in 

California’s diverse 

landscapes: Start at 

the ocean and gradually 

work your way to 

the top of the Sierra. 

Begin at the Redwood 

National Park visitor 

center in Orick when 

it opens at 9 a.m., grab 

one of 50 daily permits 

for the Tall Trees Grove, 

and hike 2.6 miles 

among the ancient 

R o A D 

RuleS 

TipS from 

hYpermilerS 

giants. Cruise south 

on US 101 and east on 

CA 299 to the Panther 

Meadows campsite at 

7,500 feet on the flanks 

of Mt. Shasta. 

DAYS 2-4 

If snow conditions are 

good, climb Avalanche 

Gulch (two to three 

days; crampons and 

ice axe are mandatory, 

though the route 

is non-technical; late 

May and June typically 

have the best snow 

conditions, but this 

year’s snowpack may 

be thin). Link Horse 

Camp to Lake Helen, 

then scout the route 

up through a cliffband 

called the Red Banks. 

Refine your glissading 

technique on the 

descent. Stay another 

night at Helen Lake. 

(If snow coverage is 

spotty, detour southeast 

94 miles to Lassen 

Volcanic National Park 

for a 19-mile overnight 

to Snag Lake on the 

Summit Lake Trail. 

D AY 5 

Stow your mountaineering 

gear in the 

trunk (for now) and 

drive the shore of Lake 

Tahoe. Swing by Mono 

Lake to check out the 

limestone tufas that 

poke out of its shallow 

waters, then camp just 

outside Yosemite at Big 

Bend Campground. 

DAYS 6-7 

Drive to 

Yosemite’s Sunrise 

Lakes trailhead (get a 

maximize Your mpg. 

Windows up, AC off. Nothing 

on your roof rack? Take it off. 

Never brake or accelerate hard 

(unless it’s an emergency). Don’t 

idle: Shut the engine off if you’re 

sitting more than 30 seconds. 

2 

don’T 

skiP 

(1) Walk among ancient 

redwoods in Northern 

California. (2) Half 

Dome dominates the 

view from the Clouds 

Rest summit trail in Yosemite. 

(3) Black bears 

abound in wild California. 

(4) Limestone tufas 

rise from Mono Lake. 

reservation in advance 

or try for a walk-up permit), 

and find aesthetic 

perfection written in 

granite and high-dive 

cascades on a 14.5-mile, 

out-and-back overnight 

to Clouds Rest. Start 

along the southern 

shore of Tenaya Lake, 

then stroll through 

wooded valleys and 

wildflower meadows 

before starting a 1,000- 

foot climb. Tent below 

the summit. Tackle the 

exposed ridge to the 

9,931-foot peak, looking 

down on Half Dome 

and watching waterfalls 

pour into Yosemite 

Valley. 

DAYS 8-11 

Drive southeast to 

Lone Pine beneath 

the 10,000-foot-tall 

Sierra. Then climb 

higher, on Whitney’s 

Mountaineers Route, to 

the 14,495-foot summit 

(three days, 6,135 feet 

elevation gain; class 

3 and 4 scrambling; 

ice axe needed in late 

spring, helmet yearround). 

Or walk it via 

the Mt. Whitney Trail 

(see page 21). 

DAYS 12-14 

It’ll be hot, but no 

California road trip 

is complete without 

Death Valley National 

Park. Stay at the Texas 

Spring Campground 

and drive to the Devils 

Golf Course, where 

salt sculptures mark 

1,000-foot-deep salt 

beds, and Badwater 

Basin, the lowest point 

in North America. 

Trip Planner Redwood NP: nps.gov/redw. Mt. Shasta: 

Climbs require self-issue Wilderness Permits (free) and 

Summit Passes ($20/person) available at the Bunny Flat 

trailhead; fs.usda.gov/stnf. Lassen Volcanic: $10/vehicle; 

permits required (free). Big Bend Campground: $19/ 

night; reserveamerica.com. Yosemite NP: $20/vehicle; 

reserve wilderness permits up to 24 weeks in advance 

($5 each plus $5/person; nps.gov/yose); Mt. Whitney: 

Reserve wilderness permits up to 6 months in advance 

at recreation.gov. Death Valley NP: $20/vehicle; Texas 

Spring Campground is $14/night 

3 

4 

backpacker.com 63

Coast-to-Coast 

Got plenty of time and gas money? Follow this route to pack as much 

backcountry diversity as possible into a cross-country epic you’ll talk 

about until the day you die. 

Olympic NP, WA 

Tour the coastline on a three-day 

trek from Hoh River to Third Beach. 

Mt. Rainier NP, WA 

5 

Hike to Camp Muir, the 

10,080-foot staging point 

for summit attempts. 

Yosemite NP, CA 

One day: Upper Yosemite 

Falls. Two days: Clouds 

Rest. 

Grand Teton NP, WY 

Pack two days with 

peaks on the Cascade 

Canyon-Paintbrush Loop. 

Death Valley NP, CA 

Don’t miss Ibex Spring 

and Racetrack Playa. 

Arches NP, UT 

See Delicate Arch, Park 

Avenue, and Devils Garden. 

Zion NP, UT 

Check out Angels 

Landing and hike The 

Narrows. 

15 

Yellowstone NP, WY 

Drive Lamar Valley; hike 

Specimen Ridge. 

80 

Canyonlands NP, UT 

Badlands NP, SD 

Sample the Sage Creek 

area, then swing by Mt. 

Rushmore. 

Dayhike the Chesler Park Loop. Got 

a week? Float Stillwater Canyon. 

Grand Canyon NP, AZ 

Dayhike the Grandview Trail 

to Horseshoe Mesa, or overnight 

on the Hermit Trail. 

Rocky Mountain NP, CO 

PADDleR’S DeTOUR 

90 

Explore Wild Basin; bag Longs 

Peak; dayhike to Emerald Lake. 

PHOTOS BY GRANT ORDELHEIDE (LEFT); PAUL REzENDES

R o a d 

Rules 

Remove bug guts 

fRom youR windshield 

Always keep a spray bottle of full-strength Simple 

Green in the car. Spritz it on the windshield, then 

scrub with a gas station squeegee. 

voyageurs nP, mn 

Explore the Kab-Ash Trail 

by foot or Kabetogama 

Peninsula by kayak. 

boundary waters, mn 

Explore the islands on 

Saganaga Lake. 

Apostle islands national 

lakeshore, wi 

Do it two ways: Hike the 

Lakeshore Trail, then paddle 

out to Sand Island. 

Adirondack high Peaks, ny 

The Great Range Traverse is 

worth the four days. 

Acadia nP, me 

Watch day break over the 

continent from 1,532-foot 

Cadillac Mountain. 

white mountain 

national forest, nh 

Trek Franconia Ridge, 

then conquer Mt. 

Washington by car. 

70 

PAddleR’s detouR 

dolly sods wilderness, wv 

Overnight the Breathed 

Mountain Trail. 

shenandoah nP, vA 

Summit Old Rag Mountain 

for a view of the Blue Ridge. 

green mountains, vt 

Spend two days on the 

Stratton Pond Loop. 

mammoth Cave nP, Ky 

Take the ranger-led 

Wild Cave Tour. 

81 

great smoky mountains nP, 

tn/nC 

Explore Cades Cove and 

visit Clingmans Dome, 

Tennessee’s high point. 

see forever: stand at yavapai overlook above the 

grand Canyon’s bright Angel trail (lef). watch dusk 

settling over the smokies from mile high overlook. 

bACKPACKeR.Com 

65

1 

2 

(1) Get this view of Mittens and Merrick (right) Buttes 

in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park near the Utah- 

Arizona border. (2) Antelope Canyon is famous (and 

popular) for its easy-access jaunt to an impressive 

sandstone cathedral. (3) The Grand Canyon’s Hermit 

Trail is rough, but the sweat equity earns vistas you’ll 

have all to yourself. 

3 

River meets rock on 

this tour around the 

Colorado Plateau. 

DAYS: 10-11 



START Zion National Park 

DAYS 1-5 

UT 

AZ 

Southwest 

Zion, Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon 

DON’T 

SKIP 

If it’s in the 

desert and it’s on a 

postcard, there’s a 

very good chance 

you’ll see it on this trip. 

Start huge: the Zion 

Traverse—five days 

89 

Grand Canyon National Park 

Bryce Canyon National Park 

Page 

Goosenecks 

State Park 

Monument Valley 

163 

and 48 miles spanning 

sandstone peaks, slab 

walls, and deep-red 

slots, starting from Lee 

Pass. You’ll see Kolob 

Arch, possibly the largest 

freestanding arch 

in the world and hike 

through meadows and 

past sandstone walls 

and beehive-shaped 

formations. On the 

West Rim Trail (day 

three), get campsite 4 or 

5 for the best views, and 

on day four, make sure 

to take a side trip to 

do the wildly exposed 

Angels Landing Trail, 

standing tall in the 

middle of Zion Canyon. 

Climb to East Rim 

campsites, and on day 

five, let gravity propel 

you downhill into the 

wavy white sandstone 

formations of the upper 

east canyon. Meet your 

shuttle at the East Rim 

trailhead, then drive 

80 miles northeast 

to Bryce Canyon and 

reserve two nights in 

North Campground. 

Grab a $2 shower at the 

Lodge at Bryce Canyon. 

D AY 6 

Drive to Sunrise Point 

for dawn painting 

Bryce’s hoodoos warm 

pink, then walk among 

them on the 8-mile 

Fairyland Loop. 

D AY 7 

Head 90 miles southeast 

to Page, Arizona, 

stopping for a guided 

tour of the glowingred, 

wind-sculpted 

sandstone of Antelope 

Canyon. Continue to 

Goosenecks State Park, 

and pull over at the 

viewpoint 1,000 feet 

above where the San 

Juan River folds back 

onto itself repeatedly. 

Take US 163 south (you 

may recognize it from a 

scene in Forrest Gump) 

to Mittens Campground 

in Monument Valley. 

D AY 8 

Drive the 17-mile 

loop road passing 

1,000-foot-high sandstone 

formations and 

PHOTOS BY (FROM LEFT) ANDREW PEACOCK; CHUCK HANEY; LAURENCE PARENT; ANDY PORTER; ANDREW BURR 

66 

06.2014

the 450-foot Totem 

Pole. Next stop: the 

South Rim of the 

Grand Canyon, and 

a site at the park’s 

Mather Campground. 

DAYS 9-11 

Hike the two- or 

three-day rim-to-river 

out-and-back past 

sheer drop-offs and 

rockslides on the 

less-trafficked Hermit 

Trail. After 7.5 miles 

dropping 3,800 vertical 

feet on the rough 

trail (it hasn’t been 

maintained in more 

than 80 years), set up 

your tent at Hermit 

Camp. Take some time 

to explore—you’re only 

1.5 miles from Hermit 

Rapid, one of the biggest 

cataracts on the 

Grand Canyon stretch 

of the Colorado River. 

Hike back up and out 

the next day or take a 

leisure day and hike 

down to the beach 

at Granite Rapid, 

where you’ll stand on 

river-deposited sand 

and gain an up-close 

appreciation of the 

Colorado’s power. 

Hike to the heart of 

canyon country. 

DAYS: 5 



DAYS 1-2 

I fell in love with the 

Moab area more than a 

decade ago, after reading 

Edward Abbey’s 

Desert Solitaire. Here’s 

what I’d do if I only 

had a few days to see 

it. First stop: Arches. 

Target spring or fall 

for temperate weather 

and set up near Moab, 

camping two nights 

at one of the 450 BLM 

UTAH 

Arches, Canyonlands, 

Goblin Valley 

and National Forest 

drive-in campsites 

near town (best bets: 

Big Bend and Goose 

Island campgrounds). 

Dayhike the 7.2-mile 

Devils Garden Loop, 

passing eight arches. 

Next day, hike the 

3-mile round-trip to 

Delicate Arch. (Yeah, 

it’s busy, but you won’t 

care when you see it.) 

Then round-trip the 

2-mile trail through 

Park Avenue in late 

afternoon when sunlight 

pulls long shadows 

across the canyon. 

D AY 3 

DON’T 

SKIP 

Leave Moab 

southbound for the 

30-mile drive to 

Canyonlands National 

Park’s Needles District, 

and the 11-mile Chesler 

Park Loop. It leads 

across slickrock, in and 

out of side canyons, 

and finally through 

Chesler Park, a broad 

desert meadow surrounded 

by Dr. Seussworthy, 

100-foot-tall 

sandstone spires. 

Connect to the slotcanyon-esque 

Joint 

Trail, a .3-mile-long 

trench sunk between 

20- to 40-foot-tall 

boulder walls. That 

night, check into the 

Goblin Valley State 

Park campground (109 

road miles west of 

Canyonlands) for two 

more nights. 

DAYS 4-5 

Spend the morning 

on an entry-level slotcanyon 

loop through 

Little Wild Horse and 

Bell Canyons, and the 

afternoon exploring 

the mud-sculpture 

hoodoos at Goblin 

1 

Valley. Next day, hike 

the 5-mile Ding and 

Dang Canyons loop, 

a step up in technical 

difficulty with a 

couple of bouldering 

moves up and down. 

Trip Planner Moab: 

Some campsites reservable 

at recreation.gov. 

Arches NP: $10/vehicle; 

(435) 719-2299; nps.gov/ 

arch. Canyonlands NP: 

$10/vehicle; (435) 259- 

4711; nps.gov/cany. Goblin 

Valley SP: $8/vehicle; 

(435) 275-4584; bit.ly/ 

GoblinValley; campsites 

$18/night; reserveamerica.com 

Trip Planner Zion 

NP: Zion Adventure 

Company shuttle; $49/ 

person; (435) 772-1001; 

zionadventures.com; 

backpacking permits are 

available 3 months prior; 

$10/two people; zionpermits.nps.gov. 

Bryce 

Canyon NP: $25/vehicle; 

North Campground $15/ 

night; recreation.gov. 

Antelope Canyon: Tour 

is $40/person; (928) 698- 

3384; navajotours.com. 

Monument Valley Tribal 

Park: $5/person; camping 

is $20/night; (435) 727- 

5870; navajonationparks 

.org. Grand Canyon NP: 

$25/vehicle; permits 

available 4 months prior; 

$10 plus $5/person per 

night; (928) 638-7875; 

nps.gov/grca. Mather 

Campground: $18/night; 

recreation.gov 

(1) In Moab, grab a burger and a shake at Milt’s on E. 

Mill Creek Drive. (2) Delicate Arch in Arches National 

Park frames the La Sal Mountains. 

2 

24 

Goblin Valley State Park 

191 

Canyonlands National Park 

Arches National Park 

START 

Moab 

BACKPACKER.COM 67

sample four alpine 

playgrounds on the 

Continental divide. 

dAys: 14-16 

dRivinG tiMe: 17 

houRs/1,029 Miles 

DAYS 1-2 

I like to imagine the 

Rocky Mountains as 

a buffet, and when 

I’m in the vicinity, I 

heap my plate tall. 

R o A D 

RuleS 

the AuthoR’s 

hARd-won tips 

The 

Rockies 

Rocky Mountain, Wind Rivers, 

Yellowstone, Glacier 

Here’s how to do that: 

Reserve two nights 

at Moraine Park’s 

drive-up campground 

in Rocky Mountain 

National Park and hike 

10 miles round-trip 

from the Glacier Gorge 

trailhead, past alpine 

lakes, to one of the 

best lunch spots in the 

park, a rock peninsula 

in Mills Lake. Next 

day, drive 30 minutes 

south to the trailhead 

for Longs Peak and 

take your pick: an 8.4- 

2 

1 

mile, round-trip hike 

to Chasm Lake and 

lunch below Longs’ 

famous Diamond east 

face (chill option), or 

summit 14,259-foot 

Longs via a 15-mile 

round-trip on the 

Keyhole Route (start 

hiking by 2 a.m. to 

avoid afternoon 

thunderstorms July 

through August). 

D AY 3 

Beat it northwest 

420 miles on I-80 to 

Pinedale, Wyoming, 

gateway to the Wind 

River Range, and a pullin 

site at Fremont Lake 

Campground (opens 

early July). 

DAYS 4-7 

Prep your pack and 

fishing gear for a 

three- or four-day, 

(1) Bison roam Yellowstone’s 

valleys. (2) Grab 

a cuppa at Montana 

Coffee Traders outside 

Glacier. (3) Titcomb Basin 

lies deep in the Wind 

Rivers (see page 74). 

(4) In July, wildflowers 

replace snow in Glacier’s 

Hanging Gardens. 

32-mile hike into 

Titcomb Basin, a route 

linking one broad glacial 

cirque to the next 

with plenty of chances 

to cast a line for brook, 

rainbow, cutthroat, 

or golden trout. Head 

north to Jackson for 

burgers at Snake River 

Brewing and a bunk 

at the Grand Teton 

Climbers’ Ranch. 

DAYS 8-10 

don’T 

skiP 

The best two-day 

Tetons sampler follows 

the 20-mile 

Cascade Canyon- 

Paintbrush loop, 

traversing a series 

of steep-walled canyons 

with the Tetons 

overhead. Grab one 

of the two sites at 

Holly Lake and skip 

rocks in the shadow 

of the Tetons to the 

south. In the morning, 

tackle the climb to the 

Paintbrush Divide, and 

stop for lunch next 

to Lake Solitude and 

a view of the craggy 

summits of Teewinot, 

Mt. Owen, and the 

Grand Teton. From 

the trailhead, drive to 

the park’s Gros Ventre 

Campground. 

DAYS 11-15 

Go where the wild 

things are—moose, 

bighorn sheep, bison, 

and maybe bears 

(both kinds)—on the 

Specimen Creek 

Trail in Yellowstone 

National Park. Trek 

past lodgepole pines 

and meadows to 

flower-fringed Shelf 

Lake (reserve campsite 

WE5) and back 

for a 15.6-mile roundtrip. 

On your way out 

of the park, hike the 

.6-mile Fountain Paint 

Pots Trail to tour geothermal 

features. 

DAY 16 

The grand finale lies 

farther north among 

the terraced peaks 

of Glacier National 

Park. Drive Goingto-the-Sun 

Road 

to Many Glacier 

(car-camping available), 

and round-trip 

10.7 miles up the 

Ptarmigan Creek 

valley through the 

Ptarmigan Tunnel, to 

a view of Elizabeth 

Lake and the rainbow 

cliff bands above the 

Belly River Valley. 

Trip Planner Rocky Mountain NP: $20/vehicle; (970) 

586-1206; nps.gov/romo. Moraine Park Campground: 

$20/night, reservations recommended (recreation 

.gov). Wind River Range: No permits; info at (307) 739- 

5500, fs.usda.gov/btnf. Grand Teton NP: Entrance: $25/ 

vehicle; (307) 739-3300; nps.gov/grte; backcountry permits 

are required, $25; pick up in-person after May 14, 

show up early. Grand Teton NP: Climbers’ Ranch bunks; 

$25/person; reservations at (307) 733-7271; americanalpineclub.org. 

Gros Ventre Campground: $22/night; 

no reservations. Yellowstone NP: $25/vehicle; (307) 

344-738; nps.gov/yell; backcountry permits may be 

reserved by mail or fax anytime after Jan. 1; $25; info at 

(307) 344-2160. Glacier NP: $25/vehicle; (406) 888-7800; 

nps.gov/glac 

Bottled water is for suckers. Buy a 5-gallon water container and never miss a 

chance to top it off. Put a can opener in your glove box. And a corkscrew. And 

a bottle opener. Make a playlist that’s 1.5 times your expected driving time. 

Starbucks has the most consistently clean bathrooms. Get the smallest 

car you can sleep in (most mid-size station wagons have fold-down backseats). 

You can ofen pick up free Wi-Fi from parking lots of closed libraries. 

A 50-pack of wet wipes is cheaper than a hotel room shower. The $80, 

all-access annual pass to the national parks is worth every cent. Reserve 

popular sites and permits in advance to avoid drive-up disappointment. 

PHoToS BY (FRoM leFT) InGo ARndT / MInden PICTuReS; CHuCk HAneY; AARon kRAFT; CHARleS GuRCHe 

68 

06.2014

Glacier National Park 

Columbia Falls 

15 

ID 

MT 

Yellowstone 

Grand Teton National Park 

Wind River Range 

Pinedale 

WY 

CO 

80 

START Rocky Mountain National Park 

3 

4

Acadia, the Whites, the Greens, Adirondacks 

NORTHEAST 

an overnight along the Lye 

Brook Trail. After 9.5 miles 

of hardwood forest, arrive 

at the Vondell Shelter, dip 

a toe in Stratton Pond, and 

listen to the loons laugh. 

Go from the Atlantic 

Ocean in Maine to a sea 

of peaks in New York. 

DAYS: 10-11 

DRIVING TIME: 10.5 


D AY 1 

You can’t get much farther 

northeast than Maine’s 

coast. Take the ferry from 

Stonington to Acadia 

National Park’s Isle au 

Haut. Drop your gear in 

one of five lean-tos .3 mile 

from the dock, and hike 

the 4.2-mile Western Head 

Trail to see Atlantic breakers. 

Then climb 2.1 miles 

to the aerial view from the 

summit of 308-foot Duck 

Harbor Mountain via the 

Cliff and Goat Trails. 

D AY 2 

Pack up and hike 3.8 miles 

on the Duck Harbor Trail 

to the Town Landing, and 

grab a lobster roll while 

you wait for the return 

ferry. From Stonington, it’s 

a four-hour drive to the 

Dolly Copp Campground 

in New Hampshire’s White 

Mountains. 

DAYS 3-4 

Prep your daypack for a 

full-service Presidential 

Range overnight and set 

out early: 3,000 feet of 

climbing separate you and 

the Madison Spring Hut 

via the 4-mile Pine Link 

Trail, and you’ll want to 

be there for 6 p.m. dinner. 

Crash in a luxe bed (sheets 

provided) and after breakfast, 

tag the barren summits 

of 5,793-foot Adams 

and 5,367-foot Madison. 

Back at your car (the way 

you came), drive 190 miles 

west to Vermont’s Green 

Mountains, and tent near 

Manchester at a site called 

Camping on the Battenkill. 

DAYS 5-6 

Tour Vermont’s largest wilderness—replete 

with bobcats 

and black bears—on 

DAYS 7-11 

DON’T 

SKIP 

Drive north to the 

Sharp Bridge Campground 

in Lake George, New York, 

for your last big hike: 

the three-day, 30.6-mile 

back way up Mt. Marcy 

via Panther Gorge. Bed 

down in the Panther Gorge 

lean-to (primitive) and tag 

three of the Adirondacks’ 

four highest summits: Mt. 

Haystack, Mt. Marcy, and 

Mt. Skylight. 

Trip Planner Acadia NP: $20/ 

vehicle; reserve campsites; 

(207) 288-3338; nps.gov/ 

acad; the Isle au Haut Ferry is 

$20/person, first-come, firstserve; 

isleauhaut.com. White 

Mountain NF: Dolly Copp 

Campground; $20/night; recreation.gov. 

Madison Spring 

Hut: reservations required; 

$125/night; outdoors.org. 

Green Mountains: Camping 

on The Battenkill is $31/night; 

(802) 375-6663; campingonthebattenkillvt.com; 

Vondell 

Shelter is $6/night. Mt. Marcy: 

Sharp Bridge Campground; 

$18/night; reserveamerica 

.com; (518) 668-4447; adk.org 

View the shoreline of Isle au 

Haut from the Cliff Trail in 

Acadia National Park. 

Gorham 

Adirondack High Peaks 

93 

START Acadia National Park 

White Mountain National Forest 

91 

87 NY 

NH 

ME 

VT 

Manchester 

Lye Brook Wilderness 

PHOTOS BY LAURENCE PARENT (LEFT); PAT & CHUCK BLACKLEY 

70 

06.2014

Southeast 

Smokies, Shining Rock, Shenandoah 

time (recommended; tent at 

Rocky Knob Campground 

midway). 

DAYS 6-8 

Traverse all the big 

names in Appalachia. 

DAYS: 6-8 

DRIVING TIME: 10.5 


DAYS 1-2 

DON’T 

SKIP 

Walking a third of 

the AT would be awesome, 

wouldn’t it? Too bad most 

of us can’t take that much 

time off work. But we can 

do a road-and-trail trip and 

take in a lot of the same 

scenery. Start in the Great 

Smoky Mountains, touring 

some of the southern 

Appalachians’s deepest 

woods on the 13.2-mile 

loop of the Anthony 

Creek, Russell Field, and 

Appalachian Trails. You’ll 

hit mountain laurel meadows 

(blooming pink and 

purple in May and June) 

and see big views of the 

North Carolina side of the 

Smokies. Spend the night 

in the Spence Field Shelter 

(permit required) and, in 

the morning, tack on a 2.4- 

mile round-trip sidehike to 

the summit of Rocky Top, 

fringed with wind-stunted 

pines and views that go on 

forever. 

D AY 3 

Back at your car, motor east 

to the Blue Ridge Parkway 

for an 8-mile out-and-back 

to the top of Shining Rock, 

via a ridgetop meander 

along the Art Loeb Trail 

with views falling away on 

both sides. 

DAYS 4-5 

You’re now six hours from 

Shenandoah National 

Park (the short way), or a 

leisurely, scenic two days’ 

drive if you stay on the Blue 

Ridge Parkway the whole 

Shenandoah National Park 

Whenever you make 

it to the Shennies, stay 

in the Loft Mountain 

Campground, and pack up 

for the Rockytop Loop, a 

two-day, 13.1-mile sampler 

that goes big on ridge views 

before descending to a 

campsite alongside Big Run 

at mile 6.8. 

Trip Planner Great Smoky 

Mountains NP: (865) 436-1200; 

nps.gov/grsm; backcountry 

permit required, $4; (865) 436- 

1231. Rocky Knob Campsite: 

$16/night; reserveamerica 

.com. Shenandoah NP: $15/ 

vehicle; (540) 999-3500; nps 

.gov/shen. Loft Mountain 

Campground: $15/night; recreation.gov; 

self-issue a free 

backcountry permit at visitor 

contact stations. 

Morning mist rises over Cades 

Cove in the Great Smoky 

Mountains National Park. 

VA 

BLUE RIDGE PKWY 

TN 

START Great 

Smoky Mountains 

National Park 

Asheville 

Shining Rock 

NC 

R O A D 

RULES 

KEEP FROM 

KILLING YOUR 

COPILOT 

Don’t sing along with the car stereo. 

Ever. Share food. Pay for alternate 

tanks of gas. Avoid buying truck stop 

burritos. Interact with your friend 

more than your smartphone. 


71

Katie Lei, 24, from Portland, OR, drew a picture every day of her 21-week trek, and created this list with input from many hikers. 

Her book of drawings, Doodles Does the PCT 2013 ($15), is available at lulu.com/spotlight/doodlesdoes.

ackpacker.com 073

HIKE 

Approaching Titcomb 

Basin, a favorite spot 

of Winds expert Joe 

Kelsey (right)

After four decades of backpacking 

and climbing in Wyoming’s Wind River 

Range, 75-year-old Joe Kelsey is living 

proof that, while time may stop for no 

one, it might just slow down for hikers. 

by Mark Jenkins 

FOREVER 

Trip photography by Ken Driese 

Portrait by Shaun Fenn Photography 

Plus: Stay-ft tips for 

backpackers of any age. 

075 

BACKPACKER.COM

Thanks to horse support, the 

author and Joe Kelsey carried 

only daypacks on a journey 

deep into the Wind River 

Range. Right: The two trade 

stories near camp in Indian 

Basin. 

Joe Kelsey was moving gracefully on granite. 

Long and lean, with meaty hands, he 

studied the rock before him and eyed the 

vertical face before deftly stepping up. Every 

move was precise, assured, unhurried. His 

weight balanced on his toes, Joe rose up the 

backcountry cliff with methodical ease. He 

never missed an essential foothold, never 

made an awkward move. 

It was the first time Kelsey and I climbed together— 

at 11,000 feet in the heart of the Wind River Range in 

the heart of Wyoming—but we’d been corresponding 

for years. See, Kelsey is the keeper of records for these 

remote mountains. Almost every summer I hike into 

the Winds with a partner and put up a new climb on 

a granite wall (just as Kelsey himself did a quartercentury 

ago). We name the route, give a full description 

and date of ascent, draw a line on a photo, and 

send it all to Kelsey. “Indian Paintbrush,” 10 pitches, 

west face of Sacagawea; “Dark Side of the Moon,” 

12 pitches, west face of Fremont; “Trepidation,” 9 

pitches, unnamed tower northwest of Squaretop. 

A climber and backcountry explorer by craft and 

a writer by temperament, Kelsey has been meticulously 

cataloging information about the Winds 

from alpinists, backpackers, fishermen, cowboys, 

and horsepackers for 40 years—often fact-checking 

it on the ground himself. Kelsey’s third edition of 

Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Mountains, 

the local bible for backpackers and mountaineers 

alike, was published last year. He said he thinks it 

will be his last (19 years passed between the second 

and third editions; the first was published in 1981). 

No one else on earth has Kelsey’s knowledge of the 

Winds. The trails that are impassable due to deadfall, 

the lakes that still have indigenous brookies, the 

granite spires that remain unclimbed. If the measure 

of a man’s life is his lasting contribution to his community, 

Kelsey’s achievement can’t be underestimated: 

All those who care about the Winds, one of 

the greatest ranges in the world, owe him a debt of gratitude. 

But none of this was on my mind that cobalt-blue day in the Winds a few 

years ago. Instead, I was captivated by Kelsey’s poise on the rock. In his 70s, 

he still moved with confidence—using skills that are gained over many years, 

and then often lost in the waning ones. It was while Kelsey was defying both 

gravity and age that I realized I would be him one day. Or at least, I hoped to 

be him. This wasn’t so much an intellectual cognition, but a visceral epiphany. 

I too will be old! For an instant, the 20-year age difference between us vanished 

and I inhabited the body of a 72-year-old, able to cheerfully accept 

a gradual but inevitable failure of the flesh. Yes, I will slow down, but I’m 

already old enough to know that style matters more than speed. I admired 

Kelsey’s unspoken pride at still having the motivation and the ability to do 

what he first did more than 50 years earlier. Would I be capable of the same? 

Most of us don’t think a lot about being old. We of course have aging relatives, 

but in our narcissistic way, we see them as different from us. Their past 

seems like ancient history, their present defined and boring, their future 

076 

06.2014

dreadfully limited—whereas naturally our own brief 

history is who we are, our present unique in the world 

and our future sure to be fantastic. I know as a youth, 

and probably almost until age 30, it was practically 

impossible for me to imagine myself as an old man. 

Even into my 30s, my invincible vigor and ego overwhelmed 

any thoughts of decrepitude—I climbed 

mountains, bicycled across continents, kayaked big 

rivers. By my 40s, I could see the outlines of who I 

might be in later life, but it remained too distant to 

be instructive—I kept behaving as if I were in my 30s. 

It has only been in my 50s, when the exigency 

of the matter has appeared on my doorstep unbidden 

and unwelcome—back problems that required 

surgery, a wrist with arthritis, a surprising loss of 

strength at high altitude—that I suddenly feel what it 

will be like to be old. And it doesn’t feel so good. As 

my 79-year-old dad says, “Growing old ain’t for sissies.” 

Although much is made about the fear of death 

in our culture, I personally don’t carry this burden. 

I also harbor no desire to live as long as I possibly 

can. If you’ve attended the final years of any very old 

person, you know that life is not about quantity, but 

about quality. What matters is how you grow old. And 

it was on a trip into the Winds with Joe Kelsey that I 

found a blueprint. 

ON A COOL MORNING in late August, photographer 

Ken Driese and I meet Kelsey and his two closest 

friends, Katy and Julia, at the 9,350-foot Elkhart 

Bungee Jumped 

Mohr Keet of 

South Africa, April 

2010 (708 f.) 

Served as a 

National Park 

Service Ranger 

Lyle Ruterbories, 

in Glacier National 

Park, Montana; 

retired 2013 

Completed a 

Marathon 

Female: Gladys 

Burrill of Prospect, 

Oregon, 

December 12, 

2010 (9:53:16) 

Male: Fauja Singh, 

100, of the UK, 

October 16, 2011 

(8:25:17) 

Climbed Kilimanjaro 

(Couple) 

Martin and Esther 

Kafer, of Vancouver, 

British Columbia, 

October 2012 

Climbed Everest 

Yuichiro Miura of 

Japan, May 

23, 2013 

Climbed McKinley 

Tom Choate of 

Anchorage, AK, 

June 28, 2013 

96 

93 

92 

84 

& 

85 

80 

78 

Age didn’t stop these 

record-holders. 

Young 

at 

Heart 

Fitness for Life 

Expert advice for hikers of 

every age group 

By Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan 

20s 

& 

30s 

These are the glory years: 

You’re at your physical peak 

in terms of muscle-building, 

endurance, and sheer energy. 

Develop healthy habits and 

train with an eye toward 

your 70-year-old self. “We 

all take our youthful vigor for 

granted,” says Scott Johnston, 

coauthor of Training for 

the New Alpinism: A Manual 

for the Climber as Athlete. 

>STRENGTH TRAIN REGU- 

LARLY. Build muscle now, 

when higher hormone levels 

maximize growth. Get into a 

regular routine of weight lifting, 

resistance exercises, and 

jump training. Go to backpacker.com/hikeforever 

for 

exercises and a training plan. 

>STRETCH. Work on flexibility 

by stretching for at 

least 10 minutes a day, 

especially after workouts or 

hikes. Focus on your glutes, 

hamstrings, calves, and 

lower back, notes Courtenay 

Schurman, certified trainer 

and author of The Outdoor 

Athlete. 

>PREVENT INJURIES. At this 

stage, the biggest risk is 

from overuse, accidents, or 

yes, taking dumb chances. 

Ease into a new training program 

and consider a trainer 

to learn how to do exercises 

properly. Bonus: Strength 

training will also help prevent 

common joint injuries 

on the trail. 

“Don’t recklessly risk 

your life. It’s worth living 

a long one, if for no 

better reason than to 

spend it wandering the 

mountains.” –Joe Kelsey 

BACKPACKER.COM 077

Park trailhead near Pinedale. Katy and 

Julia are gorgeous blondes, playful and 

eager to get going, bounding down the 

trail ahead of us. Like so many mountain 

men before him, Kelsey is a loner, and 

Katy and Julia, his golden retrievers, are 

his constant companions. He tells tales 

about them as if they were his children, 

and he never goes anywhere, including 

deep into the Winds, without them (he’s 

had golden retrievers continuously since 

1972). Our route into the high country follows 

the well-trodden Pole Creek/Seneca 

Lakes Trails. “I’ve hiked this trail dozens 

of times,” Kelsey says mid-stride, “but I 

never tire of it.” 

Although Kelsey has curly gray hair 

and spiky black eyebrows, his legs are as 

brown and sinewy as someone half his 

age. It’s hard to imagine that he dreaded 

turning 40 and once felt like he’d “better 

get out there now, because next year I’ll 

“Now that I’m older, 

I seek out campsites 

with plenty of logs and 

rocks to sit on,” says 

Kelsey (foreground). 

be too old.” His stride is long and loping and when he’s not backpacking, he 

walks 4 miles a day with his dogs, to stay, he says, “barely fit enough for the 

mountains.” 

On our first day (of five), we hike a solid 15 miles with 3,000 feet of elevation 

gain into Indian Basin—this is not a weekend destination. Despite the 

distance, Kelsey stops and talks to everyone we meet on the trail. He wants 

to know where they’ve been, what they’ve seen, which lakes are good for 

fishing this year, which passes still have snow. Normally almost taciturn, 

this is the writer in Kelsey at work—inquisitive and engaged, squirreling 

away bits of information. 

Having hired packhorses to haul our climbing gear, our packs are light 

and we skim past Hobbs Lake, then Seneca, take Kelsey’s secret shortcut 

around Little Seneca, cruise by Island Lake, and make it to the glorious, 

sharp-toothed mouth of Titcomb Basin by nightfall. 

The next morning, we dogleg east to explore Indian Basin, the vast 

morainal landscape between the gray 

massifs of Fremont and Ellingwood 

Peaks. We spend that day and the next 

scrambling through pika-chirping talus 

and verdant meadows, Kelsey regaling 

us with the lore of his beloved mountains. 

“You know that peak was named 

after Albert Ellingwood, one of the finest 

mountaineers of the 1920s. He made the 

first ascents of Warren, Turret, Helen, 

WIND RIVER RANGE 

Sacagawea, and Knife Point, and, in 1926, soloed 

Ellingwood.” Kelsey maintains his history lesson 

while hopscotching across creeks and traversing 

ledges, as adapted to the terrain as a mountain goat. 

On the third night, we gather around the roar of 

a camp stove, watching dusk descend like a sable 

curtain. Far below, the high plains disappear into the 

gloaming. Katy and Julia, mud-spattered and wetdog 

stinky, curl up at Kelsey’s feet. 

“I gotta have a campsite from which I can see a 

100 miles,” he says. “I need the spaciousness. I don’t 

care what’s out there on the horizon, it just has to be 

a long ways away.” 

As long as I promise not to tell anyone, Kelsey 

acknowledges that he’s originally from New Jersey. 

“My Dad was an insurance salesman,” he says, stirring 

innominate noodles, oblivious to the mosquitoes 

probing his leathered face. “Come home, sit in his chair, 

smoke cigarettes, and read Annapurna by Herzog or 

Americans on Everest by James Ramsey Ullman.” 

Kelsey read these books too, but was even more 

inspired by backcountry meditations like Edward 

Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, Norman Maclean’s A River 

Runs Through It, and Annie Dillards’s Pilgrim at 

Tinker Creek. When he started climbing himself, 


40s 

& 

50s 

If you’ve been active until 

now, you should still 

be able to hike, climb, 

and train hard—but 

muscle mass begins to 

decline and fat increases. 

You may also be 

facing overuse injuries 

and increasing demands 

at home and work that 

threaten to keep you off 

the trail. Top priority: 

Stay active. And if you 

haven’t been training, 

it’s not too late; you can 

still build muscle and 

reap benefits in endurance, 

flexibility, and 

coordination. 

>MAKE TIME FOR THE 

TRAIL. “You need to 

schedule your exercise,” 

says Jim Sloan, author 

of Staying Fit Over 50: 

Conditioning for Outdoor 

Activities. That includes 

everyday activity (input 

lunchtime runs on your 

calendar) and bigger excursions 

(a few months 

ahead, block out a weekend 

or two each month 

for backpacking trips). 

>LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD. 

Hiking poles help reduce 

stress on your knees. 

Invest in the lightest 

gear you can, which 

directly relates to how 

quick and comfortably 

you’ll be able to hike 

(see backpacker.com/ 

ultralight). 

>KEEP CHALLENGING 

YOURSELF. “Continue 

to lif heavy weights,” 

says Dr. Stephen Anton, 

who studies aging at 

the University of Florida. 

“The amount may be 

less than what it was 

when you were younger, 

but always be pushing 

yourself.” Many people 

favor one side during 

workouts, so include 

single-leg exercises (like 

squats and jumps) to 

keep muscles evenly 

developed. 

“Hike with people older than you. They’ll 

show you what’s possible. And hike with 

people younger than you. They’ll keep you 

in touch with current techniques, technologies, 

and attitudes.” –J.K. 

078 

0 6 . 2 0 1 4

advertisement 

THIS SUMMER, BACKPACKER is on 

the road with the 14 TH annual Get Out More 

Tour—a one-of-a-kind mobile tour that brings 

BACKPACKER’S authoritative advice to 

life. The tour features in-depth retail 

workshops and presentations that inform 

and inspire active and aspiring outdoor 

enthusiasts. This year BACKPACKER’s 

road team will travel the United States 

from March through October educating 

consumers about the skills and equipment 

they need to GET OUT MORE! 

JUNE – JULY 2014 TOUR SCHEDULE 

›› TUESDAY, JUNE 3 6:00 PM Black Creek Outfitters 10051 Skinner Lake Dr, Jacksonville, FL 

›› FRIDAY, JUNE 6 6:00 PM Brasington’s Adventure Outfitters 2331 NW 13th St, Gainesville, FL 

›› SATURDAY, JUNE 7 1:00 PM Mosquito Creek Outdoors 170 S Washington Ave, Apopka, FL 

›› TUESDAY, JUNE 10 6:00 PM Eddie Bauer 4002 The Strand E, #530, Columbus, OH (Town Center of Easton) 

›› WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11 7:00 PM Eddie Bauer 37552 West Six Mile Road Livonia, MI (Laurel Park Place) 

›› THURSDAY, JUNE 12 6:00 PM Appalachian Outfitters 60 Kendall Park Rd, Peninsula, OH 

›› SATURDAY, JUNE 14 6:00 PM Eddie Bauer 781 Eastview Mall, #158, Victor, NY (Eastview Mall) 

›› TUESDAY, JUNE 17 7:00 PM EMS 400 Route 38 Moorestown Mall Moorestown, NJ 

›› WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18 6:00 PM Eddie Bauer 400 Commons Way Space 2455 Bridgewater, NJ (Bridgewater Commons) 

›› THURSDAY, JUNE 19 7:00 PM Campmor 810 Route 17 North Paramus, NJ 

›› SUNDAY, JUNE 22 MERRELL MUD RUN HARTFORD, CT 

›› TUESDAY, JUNE 24 6:00 PM Eddie Bauer 75 Middlesex Turnpike, Space 1068B, Burlington, MA (Burlington Mall) 

›› THURSDAY, JUNE 26 7:00 PM EMS 100 Dorset St, South Burlington, VT 

›› WEDNESDAY, JULY 9 6:00 PM Eddie Bauer 825 Dulaney Valley Rd Ste 4220, Towson, MD (Townson Town Center) 

›› THURSDAY, JULY 10 7:00 PM Eddie Bauer 1961 Chain Bridge Rd Space H5L, McLean, VA (Tyson’s Corner) 

›› TUESDAY, JULY 15 6:00 PM Footsloggers 139 Depot Street Boone, NC 

›› THURSDAY, JULY 17 6:00 PM Mast General Store 402 South Gay Street Knoxville, TN 

›› TUESDAY - SUNDAY JULY 22–27 FLOYDFEST FLOYD, VA 

›› TUESDAY, JULY 29 7:00 PM Alpine Shop 440 N Kirkwood Rd. Kirkwood, MO 

›› THURSDAY, JULY 31 6:00 PM Backwoods 6825 W 135th St, Overland Park, KS 

SPONSORED BY 

For more details 

please visit 

BACKPACKER.COM/ 

GETOUTMORETOUR



@fallravenusa 

though, his father was aghast. 

“‘It’s okay to read about it,’ he told me, 

‘but not to do it!’” 

In rebellious response, Kelsey became 

a member of the infamous Vulgarians, a 

clan of ’Gunks (Shawangunks, New York) 

climbers who were known for drinking 

hard and climbing bold. 

“My mother told me to take up golf. 

‘It’s something you can do when you get 

older,’ she said.” 

He slurps down his noodles and growls, 

“I hate golf.” 

KELSEY GOT A DEGREE in chemical 

engineering from Cornell and almost had 

a Ph.D. in physics before discovering the 

Winds in 1969. 

“I hiked over Jackass Pass with an 

80-pound pack, awoke the first mornin 

g, stared out at all the gorgeous peaks, and 

thought, ‘This is it!’” Kelsey says. 

“The Winds are all-encompassing. They 

have it all: perfect rock, lakes, 

couloirs, towers, flowers, elk, 

bighorn sheep, trout...” His 

scratchy voice drifts off at the 

wonder of it. 

The next year Kelsey 

moved to Jackson Hole, 

Wyoming, where he bought a 

cabin with no electricity and 

no running water. Forty-two 

years later, it still has neither, 

and Kelsey still lives there half 

the year, spending the cold 

part in Bishop, California, wandering 

the Sierra. For 20 years, 

Kelsey worked as a guide for 

Exum in the summer and 

labored indoors in Berkeley, 

California, through the winter 

as a technical writer. He still 

speaks fondly of the guiding. 

“There were then only 15 of 

us guides, and we were a band 

of brothers,” he recounts wistfully. 

They climbed the peaks 

with pitons and fished in the 

creeks with tent cord for line, 

safety pins for hooks, freeze-dried corn for 

bait. “The camaraderie ran deep,” Kelsey 

says, standing up and walking off toward 

his tent. 

The next morning, we’re up before the 

sun, hovering around our purring stoves. 

The air is cool violet and there are no 

clouds, not a one. They wouldn’t dare mar 

the magnificent pageant of color—pink to 

yellow to white to blue. We can already 

tell it’s going to be one of those irreplaceable 

days. 

We load our packs with ropes and gear 

and tramp up through a narrow cleft at the 

base of Elephant Head, an 800-foot granite 

buttress. Kelsey thinks he remembers, out 

of the thousands of acres he’s reconnoitered, 

a nice set of apartment-size boulders 

for climbing. And sure enough. 

“Au pied de l’éléphant,” proclaims 

Kelsey as we halt among giant toes of granite. 

Although he quit guiding in his late 

60s—“when the clients became faster than 

I was,”—he’s still game for old-fashioned 

Even in his 70s, Kelsey 

has no reluctance trying 

out new routes, like 

this one on a crag near 

Indian Basin. 

Abisko Hybrid Jacket 

Durable G-1000® Lite and quick-drying 

MT fabric make this the perfect lightweight 

travel or active wear jacket. Use as a layering 

piece during colder seasons. 

Gaiter Trousers No.1 

Multi-functional and hard-wearing, these 

pants are tough on the trail no matter the 

conditions. Unique zip-of gaiters turn trousers 

into shorts for warm weather hikes. Te frst 

of their kind, the Gaiter Trousers are the 

perfect trekking companion. 

Fjällräven Stores: 

Boston, MA Boulder, CO NOLITA, NY 

Seattle, WA SOHO, NY Vancouver, CAN 


60s 

& 

Up 

Joe Kelsey is proof that the 

golden years can still be hiking 

years: Though physical capabilities 

will inevitably decrease 

as we age, the good news is 

that staying active is one of 

the best ways to slow the 

decline—both physically and 

cognitively. At this stage, you 

might be dealing with arthritic 

joints, balance issues, and the 

wear and tear of decades of 

adventure—but smart training, 

adequate recovery time, and 

most of all, continuous activity 

can extend your trail time into 

your 70s and beyond. 

>EASE UP. Low-impact activities 

like swimming and hiking 

hills will keep you fit for the 

trail but spare your joints a 

pounding. “And set your own 

recovery time according to 

“Expect that you’re 

going to be able to stay 

active longer than you 

think.”-J.K. 

080 

0 6 . 2 0 1 4

cragging. We flake the ropes, rack up, 

and pull on rock shoes. 

Now you might think a man in his 

70s might be a little creaky for hard 

climbing, but not Kelsey. He moves 

upward like a dancer. Of course, he’s 

not the only senior hiker to remain 

physically fit at an age when most 

people are looking at photo albums, 

not making them. Heck, Earl Shaffer, 

the Appalachian Trail’s first thruhiker, 

trekked it for the third time at age 79. But unlike record-setters, 

whose feats can appear unattainable for us mortals, Kelsey’s 

path seems like one I can follow: Keep doing what you love. Go 

for a short hike if you can’t go for a long one. Use packhorses if 

you’d rather spend your energy climbing backcountry rocks than 

carrying a heavy load. 

At lunch we lie in the meadow, close our eyes and swap 

stories. This is the finest gift of the mountains: to be utterly 

unattached to the outside world. We are in an alpine meadow 

so close to the sky we need only reach out our arms to touch 

it—while the rest of humanity is far down below, entangled in a 

morass of emails and tweets and text messages. The spiritual 

freedom of this recognition gradually fills us like a snowfield 

fills a tarn. For a while we simply listen to the exquisiteness of 

nothingness, allowing ourselves to be absorbed into the landscape, 

to become part of the mountain like the purple fleabane 

and the flecks of feldspar. 

I am dozing, in a dream-like state but still conscious of the 

warm rock under me and the sun upon my skin, when I once 

again fast forward to inhabit the body and mind of my older self. 

I can see that I will enjoy what I presently still resist: taking my 

time, observing more than doing, accepting limitations. I can 

imagine no longer constantly pushing, but rather accepting the 

world for what it is rather than what it should be, and myself, not for 

what I will become, but for what I already am. 

After a three-hour siesta, we rally for one last climb. 

Our objective: a well-featured crack that provides Kelsey the 

opportunity to use all the maneuvers stored in his muscle memory. 

Hand jam and high step, counterbalance, constancy, fluidity. 

From the side he appears to be 

climbing right into the sky, as if at the 

top of the rock wall he might step out 

onto a cloud. 

Pulling onto the summit, Kelsey 

looks at me with his hazel eyes, 

pushes back his mop of gray hair, and 

says simply: “This is a great life.” ■ 

Mark Jenkins wrote about Tibet’s unclimbed 

mountains in January 2013. 

HIKE IT 

Guidebook 

author Joe Kelsey 

dishes three of his 

favorite Winds trips 

in our iPad edition 

and at backpacker 

.com/kelsey. 

Training Tip 

Log your miles, 

map and share treks, 

and access 1000s 

of trips with our free 

smartphone navigation 

app: backpacker.com/GPStrails. 

how your body parts feel,” 

advises Kelsey. 

>WORK ON BALANCE. 

Standing on one leg, doing 

lunges, and hiking on uneven 

terrain will maintain coordination 

in daily life. 

>DRINK UP. Older people are 

more prone to dehydration, 

and the sense of thirst tends 

to decline even when we’re 

low on fluids. Drink before 

you’re thirsty—when your pee 

is light-colored or clear, you’ll 

know you’re fully hydrated. 

>ADJUST EXPECTATIONS. 

So what if you can’t go as 

hard and fast on the trail as 

you used to? That doesn’t 

mean you can’t still get there. 

“Don’t measure yourself 

against others. If you 

haven’t yet learned there’s 

nothing to prove, now is a 

good time.”-J.K. 

BACKPACKER.COM 081

“Hi. 

My name is Lunar. 

082 0 6 . 2 0 1 4

I’d like to carry 

your pack. 

And eat your socks.” 

solution or a surefire way to ruin a good hike? 

Is goatpacking the ultimate ultralight 

Casey Lyons investigates. 

Photography by Julia Vandenoever

Draco strains against the leash. He’s got his front legs 

splayed, his back arched and horns held stiffly high, 

his coin-slot eye staring me down. I can tell what he’s 

thinking: Keep pulling that rope, pal. 

Clay Zimmerman, the man who rented me Draco 

and his comrades, Lunar and Eclipse, told me that I’d 

be communicating with the goats by the end of the trip. 

I’m pretty sure this isn’t what he meant. 

I take a half-step toward Draco, then lean backward 

into the leash right on the “boy” of “That’s a good boy, 

Draco!” Draco shuffles his hind legs forward. And rests 

on his knees. I drop the leash and sit on a rock, removing 

my carefully chosen beige hat to sponge off some 

sweat. “You’d think I was leading the damn thing to 

slaughter,” I say to Julia, my companion. She lowers her 

camera (goat-struggle shot number 6,000) and looks 

at me. I don’t have to wonder what she’s thinking. “It’s 

time,” she says. 

Time for the spray bottle, she means. Clay had 

warned me against this tactic. In fact, during the whole 

three-hour orientation he gave me, this was pretty 

much the only thing he said not to do. “To be clear,” I’d 

said, because clarity on this seemed important, “can I 

use the spray bottle for motivation?” 

“Absolutely not,” was his quick answer. “Only for 

discipline.” 

By this point on day two, we should be 10-plus miles 

into a 50-mile trek along the Highline Trail in Utah’s 

High Uinta Wilderness, but we’re still within sniffing 

distance of the trailhead, and I’m pretty sure the goats 

know it. I’m pretty sure they think if they hold out a little 

longer, maybe they can bring the whole thing down. 

Certainly they’re making a good go at it. My attempts 

to move the pack string so far have escalated like the 

verbiage on overdue bills. Sunny enthusiasm gave way 

to bribery (I’d tried enticing them forward a few feet at 

a time by dangling treats in front of them—and went 

through the whole bag of alfalfa pellets in 20 minutes 

and 20 yards). Then came the plead-and-pull. The goats 

just chewed their cuds. Totally poker-faced. “The damn 

things are stonewalling me,” I said, maybe to no one. “They don’t even respect 

the hat.” (More on that later.) 

“I’ve got a new idea,” I’d said to Julia about an hour earlier in almost the exact 

same spot. “The goats seemed scared of the dark last night. They really hung 

close to us in camp, right? Maybe if we try to night-hike them, they’ll be too 

scared not to follow.” Julia encouraged the plan in such a way 

that I could tell she thought it sucked. The ideas were getting 

worse. The goats, too. At every chance they got, they’d aboutface 

and hike the other direction. Draco always in the lead. 

Draco. At 185 pounds, with splotches of black, white, and beige 

and a long white stripe running down his nose, he’s the runt of 

this pack string. Lunar, the largest, outweighs him by 30 pounds, 

and Eclipse sits somewhere in the middle. Draco stands aloof 

from the group, exuding annoyance at the amateurishness of 

all this. I’m thinking he’s the alpha. I’m thinking there’s no better 

way to change their minds about who’s in charge than to depose 

the apparent leader. I’m thinking, Casey Lyons, beastmaster. 

But when I attempt to put Draco in his place by hauling him 

into the lead, past Lunar and Eclipse, Lunar lowers his head and 

gives him the horns, sending me crashing through a stand of 

saplings to avoid getting gored. I make a go at Lunar, but moving 

him is like trying to push-start a tank. 

Our options are exhausted now—except for the one. Julia’s 

been lobbying for the spray bottle for an hour, but up to this 

point I’ve been reluctant to break Clay’s one rule. And then, sitting 

trailside on that rock, I experience one of those moments 

of profound, trip-saving clarity. “What if,” I say to Julia, standing 

and placing my hat back on my head. “What if, instead of spraying 

them to get them motivated, we use the bottle to discipline 

their bad behavior?” 

“Okay...” 

“Which is being unmotivated.” 

“I like where this is going.” 

We choose Eclipse, who always seems to be hiding behind 

something. Julia switches the spray bottle to stream and holds 

the nozzle a millimeter from his snout. When I pull and he 

doesn’t come, she bellows forth a bird-scattering “No!” and gives 

him the business. 

It’s like someone shot him out of a cannon. 

LET ME JUST SAY that hiking with goats wasn’t always on my 

radar. I’d always been interested in the animals, in a spectacle, 

watch-it-eat-a-tin-can kind of way. But when I heard about goatpacking, 

I had visions of myself skipping through flowery, alpine 

fields with just a daypack while a loyal and proud goat followed 

me like, well, a dog. A dog 

with a beard and horns. So 

basically a demon dog. But, 

you know, friendly. 

Nights, my new goat friend Clockwise from top: Eclipse 

would lie by the campfire showing his winning form at 

and I’d lean against him and tug of war. Goats are surefooted 

on- and off-trail, once 

snack on goat cheese produced 

by one of his many off- 

Reports of goats’ stubborn- 

you manage to get them going. 

spring. Something —definitely ness are not overstated, much 

not mutton—sizzling on a spit. to our author’s dismay. 

After dinner, I’d produce my 

pan flute, and play ancient 

songs under the bowl of 

stars—fertility songs, or something 

about Dionysus and wine, maybe. 

And since I am a sucker for wine, cheese, and easy hiking, I 

was a prime candidate for goatpacking. But don’t think it’s out 

of (pure) laziness. I once schlepped 60 pounds of water and a 

birthday cake into Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park 

after the others I was with had weight-related meltdowns. That 

084 0 6 . 2 0 1 4

Our OptiOns are exhausted nOw— 

except fOr the One. up until this 

pOint, i’ve been reluctant tO 

break clay’s One rule.

eclipse teeters forward, lands 

hard on his chest, and his head 

thuds on the ground. ‘so, uh,’ i say 

to Julia. ‘i think he might be dead.’ 

time I was the mule. Now I wanted to be on the other 

side. Plus, goatpacking spoke directly to the part of 

me that scored “shepherd” on a career aptitude test 

in college. I needed to try it. 

A growing number of hikers have had the same 

itch over the last decade. They come for the goats’ 

trail strengths (unlike horses, donkeys, and llamas, 

the beasts are easy to corral, walk the same pace as 

people, and since they graze as they go, you don’t 

have to feed them) and stay for the companionship. 

Each summer, a small but fervent subculture of goatpackers 

meet up to swap tips, stories, and sperm from 

promising sires at a yearly rendezvous put on by the 

North American Pack Goat Association. The organization 

counts upwards of 100 members and rising. 

In California and the Pacific Northwest, you can 

hire a wrangler and his flock to transport your gear. 

Stringing us along: Goats 

always determine the hiking 

order, but it’s up to the people 

to try and figure it out—by trial 

and error. 

But there’s only one person in the country 

who, for $30 per goat per day (twogoat 

minimum), will let you take them 

for a spin all by yourself. 

What self-reliant backpacker wouldn’t 

want to try the DIY version? But first, I needed the perfect hat, an emblem of 

my authority. Like a Boy Scout leader, or a forest ranger, or a statie, it would 

have to say, “Here is the kind of man we can follow, unquestioningly, because 

he has the foresight to protect his neck from the sun.” Something that has 

visual weight, like a goat’s horn package. And, for me to fit in, it’d have to match 

their color palette: beige. 

That’s how the deluxe Tilley hat and I ended up on Clay’s front porch on a 

hot July day, looking at a man who looks like a goat. His head is narrow but long, 

topped with a dense thicket of close-cropped hair, and his set, square jaw hides a 

row of big teeth that look like they could work a cud. He tells me he’ll grow out the 

goatee when he retires from the US Civil Air Patrol in a few months. 

The other thing peculiar about Clay is his voice, big and booming enough 

086 06.2014

advertisement 

This Summer, BACKPACKER is on the road with the 

1 ST annual Get Out More Tour—Women’s Edition—a oneof-a-kind 

mobile tour that brings BACKPACKER’S authoritative 

advice to life. The 50+ event Tour features in-depth retail 

workshops and presentations that inform and inspire active 

and aspiring outdoor women while covering the unique 

challenges women face while hiking, camping and backpacking, 

the specialized equipment designed specifically for women 

and the current state of fashion in the outdoor industry. 

* 1 st annual 

Get Out More Tour 

Women’s Edition 

may – july 2014 Tour Schedule 

* * 

THURSDAY, MAY 8 5:00 PM-8:00 PM Benchmark Outfitters 9525 Kenwood Road Ste 24 Blue Ash, OH 

TUESDAY, MAY 13 7:00 PM Alpine Shop Kirkwood, MO 440 N Kirkwood Rd, Kirkwood, MO 

THURSDAY, MAY 15 6:30 PM Moosejaw 1445 West Webster Avenue #9, Chicago, IL 

TUESDAY, MAY 20 6:30 PM REI 750 American Blvd W, Bloomington, MN 

THURSDAY, MAY 22 6:30 PM Fin and Feather 125 Iowa 1, Iowa City, IA 

FRIDAY, MAY 23 6:00 PM Fin and Feather 125 Iowa 1, Iowa City, IA 

Join us for a night on the water 

TUESDAY, MAY 27 7:00 PM Canfield’s 8457 W Center Rd, Omaha, NE 

THURSDAY, MAY 29 6:30 PM Moosejaw 439 W 47th St, Kansas City, MO 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4 6:30 PM JAX Outdoor Gear 1200 N. College Ave Ft. Collins, CO 

THURSDAY, JUNE 5 6:30 PM REI 1416 Platte St, Denver, CO 

MONDAY, JUNE 9 7:00 PM Neptune Mountaineering 633 S Broadway St, Boulder, CO 

JUNE 12 - JUNE 15 FIBARK SALIDA, CO 

THURSDAY, JUNE 19 6:00 PM Appalachian Outfitters 60 Kendall Park Rd, Peninsula, OH 

TUESDAY, JUNE 24 6:30 PM REI 600 Settlers Ridge Center Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 

THURSDAY, JUNE 26 6:30 PM Casual Adventure 3451 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 

TUESDAY, JULY 1 7:00 PM REI 63 W Aylesbury Rd, Timonium, MD 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 6:30 PM REI 200 W Ridge Pike #115, Conshohocken, PA 

* 

TUESDAY, JULY 8 7:00 PM Campmor 810 New Jersey 17, Paramus, NJ 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9 7:00 PM REI 49 Fitzgerald St, Yonkers, NY 

For more details 

THURSDAY, JULY 10 6:00 PM REI 71 Raymond Rd, West Hartford, CT 

please visit 

TUESDAY, JULY 15 6:30 PM REI 22 Chapel View Blvd, Cranston, RI 

BACKPACKER.COM/ 

* WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 6:30 PM REI 375 Cochituate Rd, Framingham, MA WOMENSEDITION 

sponsored by

to carry across open canyons, which comes in handy 

for summoning wayward animals. He has the bearing 

of a career military man with an answer for everything. 

“Don’t ever touch their horns,” he tells me. 

“They think of it as a challenge.” And, “Goats hate 

water. They will do anything to avoid getting their 

feet wet.” 

Then he puts on his beige, full-brimmed hat (for 

I have chosen wisely) and takes me around back, 

where his “boys”—all 20 of them—hang in the fencedin 

acre that looks like a petting zoo. “Boys” might 

be misleading. “Boys” makes me think of rec soccer 

teams and Little League. If regular goats are boys, 

these dudes are outlaw bikers. It’s not just their onboard 

weapons (horns); they look like mythical creatures 

with oversized goat bodies grafted to horse legs. 

That is exactly the point: Good packers are the tallest 

and most “gung-ho” (Clay’s word) of the lot. And Clay 

is their leader. They flock to him, bum-rushing the 

door to their pen, horns and goatees everywhere. A 

few let out desperate, longing bleats. 

Then, like some pastoral version of Santa, he calls 

them out by name: There’s Orion, Glacier, Elf, Mask, 

Wiley, Vulcan, Black-Jack, Tank, Truck, Kiko, Buck, 

and of course, Bob. He separates out my goats—three 

of his best packers, he says: Draco, of the Alpine breed, 

and twin brothers Eclipse and Lunar, both Alpine/ 

LaMancha mixes (and kind of a package deal, hence 

three goats for our group of two—one per person usually 

does it). When I pet Lunar, he showers skin flakes 

from a few saddle-worn spots. It’s like stroking someone’s pet dog—that’s been 

stuffed for a decade. 

BEFORE WE CAN see Rock Creek late on our third day, 

we can hear it. We drop our packs and the spray bottle at 

the bank. It doesn’t look far across, maybe 15 feet, but the 

water is roaring and there’s no sign of stepping stones. 

I go in alone first to scout. The creek is freezing—it 

drains an alpine lake basin, after all—and by my third 

step I’m in knee-deep. The creek bed, which is obscured 

below whitewater, is a jumble of semi-smooth river 

stones. But with a hiking pole for balance and burdened by just a daypack, it’s 

an easy crossing. I want to say I feel compassion for the goats, bringing them 

face-to-face with a genetic-level fear like this, but that’d be lying. They’ve been 

putting me through stubborn hell for half a week, and now it’s payback time. 

I’m on the far bank, toweling off my feet when I hear splashing. It’s Julia! 

And she’s got Eclipse! 

She’s a third of the way across by the time Eclipse’s front hoof touches the 

water, and the force of his balk jerks her to a stop. She wobbles like a drunkard 

but then, her face flushed (I wasn’t the only one thinking “payback”), she 

furrows her brow, pulls the leash up onto her shoulder like an old sack, and 

lurches forward. Eclipse is powerless against momentum like this. 

And then the pair is ascending the bank in front of me, like a train running 

on rage. At the appropriate distance, the leash connecting Eclipse and Lunar 

jerks taught and he comes. Then Draco’s in the drink. Then we’re across. 

And then, maybe 50 yards later, the goats start getting vocal again as we 

climb away from the river. The bleats grow more savage and depressing as 

we climb. Suddenly, Eclipse’s knees quiver and his weight teeters forward. He 

lands hard on his chest, and his head whips forward from his neck and thuds 

a perfect fi t should go unnoticed 

ryderseyewear.com

on the ground. Then his tongue rolls out. “So, uh,” I say 

to Julia. “I think Eclipse might be dead.” 

She’s silent. 

“Oh, man. Clay’s going to be so pissed.” 

Still silent. 

I pan the scene—a 200-pound animal lying across 

the trail, its eyes with as much life as the lamb in the 

butcher shop window. 

“What, uh,” I begin, because I am a beige hat-wearing 

man of solutions. “What should we do with the body? I 

mean, clearly, we have to take the pack, but, uh, I don’t 

even know if we can roll him off the trail.” 

In Julia’s continuing silence, I remove my hat. Then 

there’s movement. Eclipse, always hungry, is sliding 

his head along the ground so he can side-mouth some 

purple flowers. “He lives!” I say. 

And then, perhaps propelled by fear, perhaps 

because they can smell the far trailhead now, we 

find a rhythm. Julia and I walk ahead, and the goats, 

now unleashed, follow just far enough back to keep 

us within earshot. We stop to wait for them and holler 

to let them know where we are, then listen for 

the bells they wear around their necks. From time 

to time, we hear a distant clinking accompanied by 

frantic bleating, and we backtrack to find some goat 

afraid of some puddle. We walk at an overall speed of 

1 mph—their pace. They lead us from behind. I have 

long since packed the hat. 

It’s clear now: They’re in charge. In camp, we set 

down our packs in a grassy meadow. Brown-rock 

Water hazard: Despite his body language, Draco is 

well acquainted with stream crossings, having passed 

Clay’s test and been designated “gung-ho.” Still, every 

time goats see water, it’s like the first time. 

TEMPEST SERIES 

ACTIVE LIGHT PURSUITS / MULTI-SPORT 

These women’s specific, high-performance, multi-sport 

packs were designed with fit and style in mind, to enhance 

any outdoor adventure. 

40L 

30L 

20L 

16L 

9L 

6L 

PHOTO / DAN HOLZ 

Robin finding placements in the canyons of Indian Creek, UT.

What is your 

outdoor 

story? We want to 

hear from 

you. 

Tell us what you love 

about your outdoor 

lifestyle. 

If you read Backpacker 

content across any of our 

printed or digital formats, 

we want to hear from you! 

At Backpacker, it’s our 

never-ending goal to deliver 

information—across all media 

platforms—that readers will 

love. With every issue, web page, 

tablet edition, and ebook, we 

want to inspire you and deliver 

tons of useful information for 

your outdoor lifestyle. 

Your input will help us accomplish 

this goal. We invite you to 

participate in our reader survey. 

Because we value your time, we 

are ofering you the chance to 

win 1 of 3, $250 Gift Cards. 

Please take our survey today: 

backpacker.com/2014readersurvey 

Can’t wait to 

hear from you. 

ridges surround us on all 

sides. Highlights of snow 

persist in the high-alpine 

shadows. I remove the goats’ 

30-pound packs (an even split 

between the three of them). 

Then, I brush and preen the 

trio one by one. I sink a stake 

into the earth and tie them 

to it so they don’t wander off. 

As we prep dinner, the goats’ 

bleats are whisked away by 

the breeze—not exactly the 

pastoral scene I was imagining, 

but darn close. More 

important, the easy pace 

and light pack let me enjoy 

the evenings and our bottle 

(glass!) of peaty scotch, rather 

than grouse about doing 

chores after a long day. I’m 

starting to feel something like 

companionship as I watch 

them there working their 

cuds, indifferent to the mosquitoes 

and me, doing their 

thing—sort of like I might 

feel toward a dog. A dog 

with a diva temperament 

that doesn’t really like me. 

So, you know, the neighbor’s 

chihuahua. 

On our final morning, we 

hike down to Moon Lake, which 

is thrumming with car campers. We are 

a sight to behold. “What’s it like hiking 

with them goats?” a guy asks as we pass. 

“Harder than it looks,” I answer, which at 

this point is true. We’re in lock step. We 

can now anticipate the goats’ confusion; 

we have them in the correct order—Lunar, 

Eclipse, Draco—we’re not taking their miscues 

personally, and we know that we can 

only go as fast as they can. 

Charlotte, Clay’s wife, is waiting for us with 

the trailer when we get to the trailhead— 

somehow, despite everything over the last 

few days, within 20 minutes of when 

we’d anticipated. We load up and tell her 

about the trip. She considers it—the slow 

pace, the difficulties with 

motivation—then she tells us 

what she and Clay realized 

not long after we’d started: 

A pack goat is ready for the 

trail at age four, hits his prime 

at age seven, and is ready for 

retirement by 10. Both Lunar 

and Eclipse are 10; Draco is 11. 

Or, as Charlotte says plainly, 

“Those goats are old.” In the 

effort to give us experienced 

animals, they’d given us ones 

Salad bar: Even above treeline, goats find plenty of 

plant matter to satisfy their palates. They eat as they 

hike, which means their poop is indistinguishable from 

a deer’s and you don’t have to feel sheepish about 

leaving it lie on the trail. 

that are, quite literally, ready to be put out 

to pasture. 

We part ways at the Salt Lake City airport 

as passersby wonder what a trailer 

full of goats is doing curbside in departures. 

I can hear Draco, Eclipse, and 

Lunar bleating softly as we walk away, 

but I resist the urge to turn. Sometimes 

the leader’s grasp over the led—no matter 

how unshakable it looks—is just a matter 

of managed perceptions. I tell myself they 

bleat for me. Casey Lyons, beastmaster. ■ 

Senior Editor Casey Lyons only wears the beige 

hat for his wife now. 

Get Your Goat 

High Uinta Pack Goats, Evanston, WY; (877) PACK- 

GOAT; highuintapackgoats.com Cost $30/goat (two 

goat minimum—they like company). Packing Goats 

will carry up to 25 percent of their weight (28 to 50 

pounds). Shuttle Clay Zimmerman offers airport 

pickup and shuttle services for $.30/mile. Renters can 

also borrow Clay’s trailer for $50. Route planning Ontrail 

is preferred, but goats are sure-footed off-trail in 

scree and talus. Season June to September 

090 

0 6 . 2 0 1 4

TRAILHEAD 

ADVERTISEMENT 

2 SOCK PERFORMANCE 1 SOCK FEEL 

Our patented Double Layer technology features an inner 

sock of moisture wicking Dri-WRIGHT polyester to 

keep the feet dry and comfortable. The outer 

sock interacts with the inner sock to absorb 

friction before it passes onto the skin. 

No Blisters Guaranteed! 

For 10% off enter code: BPTH 

www.wrightsock.com 

AMERICAN HIKING 

SOCIETY – 

NATIONAL 

TRAIL DAYS 

This NTD - Saturday, June 7 - 

put some adventure in your day! 

Explore wild places and discover 

new outdoor activities such as 

hiking, horseback riding, biking, 

trail building, canoeing, and 

more. All for FREE! 

Find an NTD event near you at AmericanHiking.org/NTD 

ENTER THE 4 TH ANNUAL 

PHOTOGRAPHIC 

MEMORIES CONTEST 

We’re looking for photos that capture 

the essence of your national parks 

experience. Maybe it’s a landscape, a 

wildlife pic, or a great family moment. 

Our staff judges will select the top 

three photos, awarding the Grand 

Prize Winner TamronÕs new Ultra 

Telephoto Zoom, First Runner-Up a 

Tamron All-In-One Zoom Lens, and 

Second Runner up a Tamron Ultra 

Wideangle Zoom. Winning images 

will also be featured in the 2015 

edition of Grand Canyon Journal. 

Deadline for entry is 7/31/14. 

yellowstonepark.com/tamron 

TAMRON’S PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION IN NYC 

Join TAMRON’s photography instructor, Ken Hubbard, as he shares 

his talent with New York City residents on Saturday, June 21, 2014 in 

partnership with Adventures NYC. He will take you on a journey through 

the country’s most picturesque landscapes. Ken has had nationwide 

gallery showings of his portrait and landscape photography and teaches 

enthusiasts how to take better photos at workshops across the country. 

For additional details and to register for this FREE event, please visit: 

Backpacker.com/tamronnyc 

2013 Grand Prize Winner, Tyrel Hulet 

National Trails Day is made possible by the generous support of: 

ROGUE WALLET 

Sitting on a thick wallet all day is a great way to ruin your back. We 

created a wallet to better fi t your front pocket. Over thirty designs 

available. Made in Maine from bison leather to ballistic nylon. We’re 

sure you’ll see something you like. Unconditionally guaranteed for two 

full years. 1-800-786-1768 

Rogue-Industries.com 

CHECK OUT BACKPACKER.COM/ENTERTOWIN FOR THE LATEST PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS.

Paid Advertisement 

Pacific Health 

Nutrients for Knees 

Climb Mountains and Run Marathons with Wear Resistant, 

Shock Absorbent Knees 

Recently, we received this letter from an 

avid hiker: 

I was hiking with my wife last summer on the 

Pine and Cedar Lakes trail in Bellingham, 

WA. It is a 2 mile hike to get to Pine Lake 

and the view is really beautiful. The climb 

starts off steep and stays at a healthy incline 

for about the fi rst mile or so. It then levels 

off to probably a 3-4 degree grade for the 

second half of the uphill leg. 

It was the middle of June and you could hear 

caterpillars falling out of the trees. They 

blanketed the trail and all you could do was 

to try to not step on them, which was nearly 

impossible. 

My lower back felt sore during the way up 

and it was a relief when the steepness of the 

trail became less severe. It was good that we 

decided to rest and have lunch at the lake so I 

could recover from the mild discomfort. 

On our trip down my body really started to 

ache. The steep grade towards the end of 

the trail did a number on my knees. I use to 

run marathons back in the day and I think I 

might have worn the cartilage down to nothing 

during my running years. Anyway, with 

each step down this trail my right knee became 

more and more infl amed. By the time 

we made it down I had forgotten about the 

beautiful scenery and all I could think about 

was the throbbing of my knee. 

I told my wife how bad my knees were hurting 

and that’s when she pulled a bottle of this stuff 

called Lurosil out of her bag. She said Lurosil 

products were developed to address joint and 

muscle soreness and that her chiropractor had 

recommended it to her during ski season.* 

She gave me two tablets and said that after 

a week I might be hiking with less discomfort.* 

I fi gured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try, 

not expecting much difference. But I did begin 

taking it regularly and couldn’t believe 

how well it worked. The results have been 

amazing! 

This summer we’ve graduated to the 

Yellow Aster Butte Trail in the Mt. Baker 

National Forest—a trail that’s probably 

twice the distance with a much steeper overall 

grade than the Pine and Cedar Lakes. My 

knees haven’t let up once.* Sure, I was tired 

after the long day, but my knees and my back 

felt great.* Not even a hint of discomfort.* 

Cheers to that! 

Thanks, 

Jason C. 

Bellingham, WA 

Lurosil was developed in Whistler, BC 

by a skier who was tired of sore knees.* 

The proprietary formula is designed to 

support joint health and ease joint discomfort.* 

Reported benefi ts include the 

feeling of ‘shock absorbent’ knees, the 

ability to bounce down a mountain when 

skiing, or glide lightly as if fl oating on 

pavement when you run, and an overall 

feeling of being spry and strong.* 

Runners, skiers, tennis players, and athletes 

the world over trust Lurosil to help them feel 

mobile, loose, and free of discomfort.* 

To learn more call 855.820.4047 or visit 

www.LUROSIL.com. 

LUROSIL.COM 855.820.4047 

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

scarpa.com/kailash-gtx 

YOUR GUIDE FOR OUTDOOR PRODUCTS 

MARKETPLACE 

You only get 26,320 days, more or less. How will you spend them? 

trekking poles 

camp furniture 

Distributed exclusively by Big Agnes 

bigagnes.com 

Photo - Devon Balet

MARKETPLACE YOUR GUIDE FOR OUTDOOR PRODUCTS 

WHEN SELECTING A TENT… 

CHOOSE WISELY. 

unna 

Light, simple, very comfortable, and 

fully free standing all season solo tent 

in our red label line. 

For over 40 years, Hilleberg has been making 

the highest quality tents available. 

Conceived and developed in northern Sweden, 

Hilleberg tents offer the ideal balance of low 

weight, strength, and comfort. 

Order a free catalog online at 

HILLEBERG.COM 

Vegan Friendly 

Metal Free 

Sports Compatible 

Recyclable 

14 Colorful Options 

Trim-to-fit 

up to a 48" waist 

Moritz Becher/Outdoor Guide 

Made in USA 

© 2014 by MacNeil IP LLC

UnCovereD 

Hike to tHis montH’s Cover sHot. 

“No temple made with human hands can 

compare with Yosemite.” 

–John Muir 

Yosemite 

National Park, CA 

Don’t miss this preview of Yosemite Valley from the Tunnel 

View overlook when entering the park from the south. 

spLasH zone 

the park is home to 

six 1,000-foot-plus 

cascades, including 

north america’s 

highest, 2,425-foot 

yosemite Falls. 

tHE park’s olDEst 

monolitH... 

114 million years old 

1 

...anD its yoUnGEst 

87 million years old 

Love potion? 

the native ahwahneechee 

believed inhaling 

bridalveil’s mist 

improved chances 

of marriage. 

expeCt 

CompanY 

300 to 500 black 

bears live in the 

park. 

3,000 ft 2,000 ft 

620 ft 

3 

room to roam 

yosemite is the size 

of rhode island. 

2 

Bridalveil Fall 

HeaDs Up! 

the world’s longest 

pinecone (nearly 

23 inches) was collected 

in yosemite. 

1 El Capitan 

no ropes? no problem. summit 

the 3,000-foot monolith on a 12- 

mile out-and-back from the Upper 

Yosemite Falls trailhead. trip 

data bit.ly/0614elCap 

2 VallEy loop 

skip the shuttle tour in favor of 

permits in general, all backcountry overnights (and Half Dome) require a permit (bit.ly/Yosepermit), which is available 

up to 24 weeks in advance. Cost $5 plus $5/person ContaCt (209) 372-0200; nps.gov/yose 

096 

06.2014 

this 17.2-mile Yosemite highlight 

reel, which winds around the 

valley (easy to hike it in chunks 

instead of the whole thing). trip 

data bit.ly/0614valleyLoop 

3 Half DomE 

scaling this iconic hulk is a Yosemite 

rite of passage. But skip the 

mist trail conga line and day-trip 

permit hassles: overnight hikers 

can usually secure a Half Dome 

permit (75 backpackers per day 

get the free add-on), so incorporate 

it on a 32.9-mile, three- or 

four-day loop that tags mt. Watkins 

and sunrise mountain. trip 

data bit.ly/0614HalfDome 

BACKPACKER (ISSN 0277-867X USPS 509-490) is published nine times a year (January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October, and November) by Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc., an 

Active Interest Media company. The known office of publication is 5720 Flatiron Parkway, Boulder, CO 80301. Subscriptions are $19.98 per year in the U.S., $29.98 in Canada, $41.98 elsewhere 

(surface mail). Periodicals postage paid at Boulder CO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BACKPACKER, PO Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235. GST 

#R122988611. BACKPACKER publications, including GearFinder®, Waypoints®, and Adventure Travel®, are registered trademarks of Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. © 2014 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. 

All rights reserved. Volume 42, Issue 313, Number 5, June 2014. Subscribers: If the postal authorities alert us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a 

corrected address within 2 years. 

Photo by ian shive / tandem. text by maren kasselik

WHEREVER 

THE TRAIL 

TAKES YOU. 

TATRA GTX 

The lightweight and slim-profile Tatra GTX performs 

just as well on the neighborhood trails as it does in the 

middle of the backcountry. With Gore-Tex lining and our 

flexible, proprietary Vibram sole, this boot provides a 

comfortable and smooth hike no matter the terrain. All 

styles including the leather-lined Tatra are hand-crafted 

in Europe, part of the tradition we’ve kept since 1921. 

www.hanwagboot.com

hike the NatioNal parks

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?