OUR STORIES

If only that gear could talk! We all have those items that bring back the best memories when we see them. This is where those memories are shared as stories.

THE SKILOPING TETONS TRAVERSE
Words by Kaitlyn Boyle, Photos from Ben Gavelda and Will Stubb Photo: Ben Gavelda If you Google "Top wedding and honeymoon destinations," surprisingly, the Tetons don't come up. Instead, Maldives, Hawaii, Italy, Greece, Mexico, Bora Bora, Bali, St. Lucia, Paris, the Caribbean, Thailand, Fiji, and Seychelles top the Google…
1 June Tour de Mont Blanc (pre-season)
Hiking from Les Houches to Brévent. Very deep snow above 2200 meter. Trail mostly not visible. Brought crampons. Helpful but snowshoes would have been better. Conditions from Brévent summit (ski station) towards Col de Brévent too treacherous. Options: 1) go back towards Les Houches 2) Descend to Planpraz and on down to…
STEENS MOUNTAIN SCAMPERS WITH STRATTON AND SADIE
Words and Photos from Sadie Ford In a remote mountain range in Oregon known as the Steens, special conditions were present. There was more snow than the area had seen in last 50 years - or so I was informed by a local one-eyed handlebar-mustache-wielding all-American rancher, who would spit into his chaw bottle in between…
A LIFE OF MILES: FOR A BIG GOAL, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT IN MIND?
Words and Photos from Jeff Garmire Thirty thousand miles and always counting, give or take a few yards or inches, all done on foot. Jeff Garmire (@thefreeoutside) is still heading out whenever he can to "make up for 2020." Some of these miles were racked up diesel engine-style, nice and steady, all day long. Some were…
Halfway Point on Hiking All of the Trails in The White Mountains
I started this journey at the New Hampshire/Canadian border on June 19, 2022 as a gentle mist fell and the trees swayed in the wind. I started this journey knowing that it would be the most difficult and beautiful thing I’ve done. On April 5, 2023, I watched as my completion reached 50.1%, a number that I never thought I…
ONE HUNDRED DIVIDED BY EIGHT: DEEDRA ZEEH IN THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL'S 100-MILE WILDERNESS
Words & Photos by Deedra Zeeh What do you tell others about a 100-mile walk in the woods? How do you describe it? Do you tell them that you feel more alive than you have in years? Do you tell them that there were days you hated it and convinced yourself you would never go back? Do you tell them about the distinctive sites,…
RETIRING INTO ULTRALIGHT: A SHAKEDOWN ON THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL FOR SOME ELDER GO-GETTERS
Words, Photos, and Video from Garrett Martin The adventure set in the thru hike community is known for its generosity and concern for its fellow backpackers. One gesture that demonstrates this beautifully is when one hiker offers to share their experience and wisdom by doing a "Shakedown" for another hiker. Having a…
WITH SPRING COMES UNICORNS: AN ODE TO BACKCOUNTRY SKIING’S BRIGHTEST SEASON
Words and Photos from HMG Friends and Contributors: Shaun Mittwollen, Taylor Bracher, Ian Provo, Brett Davis, and Kaitlyn Boyle Spring just hits different on the slopes! We reached out to friends to get their take on what makes this time of year so special for backcountry skiing, and the following love fest spells out all…
Ok how about anyone trying: INFINIT?
1/ 10/23 Anyone try infinit meal replacement? Thanks.
MIND OVER MILEAGE: FINDING FORTITUDE ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL
Words and Photos by Max Kiel Fortitude /ˈfȯr-tə-ˌtüd: strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage I'm not going to lie; my time spent thru hiking the Appalachian Trail pushed me to close my psychological limits. Day after day, week after week, month after month, I…
A LIFE OF MILES: PUSHING FORWARD WHEN THE TRAIL GROWS COLD
Words & Photos by Jeff Garmire Thirty thousand miles and always counting, give or take a few yards or inches, all done on foot. Jeff Garmire (@thefreeoutside) is still heading out whenever he can to "make up for 2020." Some of these miles were racked up diesel engine-style, nice and steady, all day long. Some were covered…
Q&A: TWO FRIENDS PACKRAFTING THRU KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
Words & Photos by Nathan Shoutis and Thomas Kinsley Thomas and I started packrafting in the early days of Alpacka Rafts – around 2005- when it was still a one-woman operation working out of a garage in Eagle River, Alaska. We first met on the south end of Kodiak Island, Alaska, working at a remote field camp for Fish and…
AN ALASKAN ODYSSEY BY WHEEL AND WATER
Words by Bjorn Olson Howdy, Trailheaders! I wanted to introduce myself along with the rest of the small team that will be joining me this fall on a previously un-attempted fat bike and packraft trip through an intriguing and rarely visited corner of Alaska. Our little cadre of three will be made up my girlfriend who is,…
YOU DON'T NEED AN ANKLE TO PACKRAFT
Photos by Jessica Kelley One of three recipients of the Kyle Dempster Solo Adventure Award, Jessica Kelley followed a circuitous broken-ankle led journey through a variety of modes of wilderness travel to finally hatch her own 1,300-mile bike and packraft trip in Alaska. Can we have an introduction to who you are – the…
A DESERT FISH OUT OF WATER
Words & Photos by Rich Rudow What a South Westerner learned on a week-long Appalachian Trail section hike from Rangeley to Caratunk, Maine. Roots. Millions, and millions of roots. Within 100 yards of leaving the trailhead at the Highway 4 crossing of the Appalachian Trail (AT) outside of Rangeley, Maine, I realized that…
STILL ON THE LOOSE
Words by Brad Meiklejohn A recent news story described me as “an aging adventurer.” After my initial indignation, I checked the mirror and seeing age 58 reflected, I had to agree. Better distinguished than extinguished, I suppose. We are all getting older. I never thought that I would live this long. I’ve been a skier,…
AND NOW FOR A LOOK AT THE WEATHER. INTRODUCING METEOROLOGIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER, MICHAEL DEYOUNG
Words & photos by Michael DeYoung (@michaeldeyoung) I’m Michael DeYoung, and I am a former Air Force meteorologist. For the past 30 years, I have been a travel and adventure photographer with a commercial career that’s seen thousands of publication credits in magazines, books, calendars, and advertisements. Two years ago,…
AND NOW FOR A LOOK AT THE WEATHER: A LITTLE CONVERSATION WITH THE CLOUDS
Words & photos by Michael DeYoung (@michaeldeyoung) Former Air Force meteorologist and professional photographer Michael DeYoung continues his series about the weather with a deep dive into the clouds. They hold a lot of useful information you can use in the midst of an adventure if you know what to look for. Grab a…
METEOROLOGICAL CRYSTAL BALLS: HOW TO GET ACCURATE FORECASTS FOR BACKCOUNTRY LOCATIONS
Words & Photos from Michael DeYoung (@michaeldeyoung) Spencer Glacier, like most Alaska glaciers, is disappearing. I've seen dramatic shrinking in my lifetime (I've been photographing the same glaciers for 30 years) just as I have of other nearby, accessible glaciers such as Portage. This gorgeous tucked away gem's…
AND NOW FOR A LOOK AT THE WEATHER: DECIPHERING MOUNTAIN MYSTERIES
Words & photos by Michael DeYoung Former Air Force meteorologist and professional photographer Michael DeYoung continues his series about the weather with a look at the complexity of forecasting what’s going on in the mountains. Like all his posts, this one’s highly detailed and busting with information you can use to grow…
AND NOW FOR A LOOK AT THE WEATHER: UNDERSTANDING THE WONDERFUL, WILD, AND WACKY DESERT
Words and Photos by Michael DeYoung A backpacker on the eastern Tonto Trail in Grand Canyon National Park starts hiking before sunrise to avoid heat stress later in the day. The Tonto is largely shadeless, and on this day in late April, afternoon temperatures soared into the 90s. The presence of only high clouds doesn't…
REUNITED WITH RIBBONS–BACK INTO THE REAL WORLD ON CANADA'S GREAT DIVIDE TRAIL
Words & Photos from Eloise Robbins If any trail could heal my soul, it would be this one. Wild and remote, the Great Divide Trail follows the squiggly line on the border between British Columbia and Alberta for over a thousand kilometers. It showcases some of the best scenery in the Canadian Rockies, maybe in the entire…
AN ULTRALIGHT APPROACH TO SURVIVING HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENTS
Words & Photos by Matt Wordell and Zach Voss Our names are Matt Wordell (@mhwordell) and Zach Voss (@retroscope). We’re based in Boise, Idaho. We travel to remote areas around the world with leading Volcanologists to assist research projects, capture photos and video, and produce short films and other content for use by…
A SWING AND A HIT: FAT BIKING AND PACKRAFTING FROM KOTZEBUE TO POINT HOPE, ALASKA
Words and photos by Bjorn Olson @Bjørn Kim and I stopped riding our expedition-loaded fat bikes so I could point my camera at a weather-worn and information-filled sign. “Welcome to Kotzebue,” it read. “An Eskimo village 35 miles north of the Arctic Circle.” We had flown to the village a few hours earlier, assembled our…
TRAVERSING THE AUSTRALIAN ALPS WALKING TRACK IN WINTER WITH THE OATES
In the winter of 2018, Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ambassador Mark Oates and his twin brother Andy tossed ski-laden Porter packs over their shoulders and set out to complete the Australian Alps Walking Track. It wasn't their first time having been introduced to it at the tender age of 18 and again fifteen years after that.…
FEELIN’ F.A.B. - EXTREME NORDIC SKIING ON THE ALASKA MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS SKI CLASSIC
Words by Taylor Bracher // Photos & Video by Taylor Bracher & Emily Sullivan, on Ahtna and Upper Tanana Athabascan Lands “Holy!... Shit!” Emily yells out in short spurts between deep breaths. “It’s just as bad as I remember!” It is too difficult to discern if she’s laughing or crying. Probably both. We walk across the icy…
A FLOW THROUGH THE BOB
Words Ian Provo / Photos by Sean Kerrick Sullivan, Ian Provo, & Neil Provo A few summers ago, my brother and I set out to recreate our first grand adventure. It had been 10 years since our first DIY, self-supported, extended trip through the wilderness, and we were eager to see how we had progressed in that time. In 2008,…
UNDERSTANDING FREEDOM BY WAY OF THREE MAGAZINES AND TWO LITTLE BELLS
Words & photos by Tina Currin It was only three months into our grand living-in-a-van experiment when my husband, Grayson, and I decided that it was high time to visit Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska. After years spent languishing at our desk jobs and shoving a handful of repetitive running routes into the…
WHAT IS THE EXPIRATION DATE OF ADVENTURE?
Words & Photos by Brett Davis It seems like in this modern age that everything has an expiration date, and that those dates are getting shorter and shorter and shorter. It used to be, so I am told, that when one bought an appliance back in the day (1940’s, 50’s, 60’s) that they could count on it lasting for more than ten…
NOTHING MISSING
Plans put on hold. Frenzied weekends or meticulously stacked PTO hours all idling but raring to jump into action. WE NEED ACTION! "How is that these other adventure peers are out there getting after it? What am I missing out on this time?" Many of us are climbing the walls, having heartbreaking stare-downs with gear, and…
ONE LAST HIKE WITH A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND
Words and Photos by Sarah Strattan The jar of Chandler's ashes had sat on my shelf for months now. I've seen people keep their loved one's ashes in urns, proudly displayed above a fireplace or similar location, but this just felt weird for some reason. For one thing, it wasn't the ashes of a human but rather those of our…
52 WEEKS: HIKING NONSTOP THROUGH CANCER TREATMENT
Words and Photos by Rebecca Sperry @sockedinhikes In the summer of 2015, I discovered hiking. It was simple–I wanted to go hiking one day, and my husband didn't, so I went by myself and got hooked. The sense of empowerment that I felt from setting out solo and the confidence that it gave me was tangible as I descended my…
SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW: A TREK THROUGH PERU'S AUSANGATE CIRCUIT
Words & Photos by Dan Oliver @danofosho "Hola, cuanto a Upis?" "Trienta cinco." "Si bien, vamos!" And like that, I'm saddled up on the back of a motorcycle heading to a trailhead deep in the mountains of southern Peru. After a few tough sections of rocky roads with steep inclines, we flatten out, and the driver lays the…
THE FULL BULL
Words & Photos by John Baker Several years ago, I stumbled across a trip report of this place, and it sounded like one of the most awful yet amazing missions I had ever heard of. I read a few more trip reports which made it look just as brutal. To be clear, I am an average paddler on my best days, and the guys who wrote…
PUTTING IT ALL OUT THERE AND GETTING IT BACK TOGETHER ON THE COLORADO TRAIL
Words and Photos from: Lauren "Yardsale" Jones They call me Yardsale. An obligatory trail name gifted to me due to the ridiculous mess I make at camp with my clothing strewn about on branches, logs, and tent nevertheless with constant respect to Leave No Trace practices. As a Colorado resident, Yardsale also shows up when…
PACKRAFTING BELIZE: CAVES, WATERFALLS AND REMOTE JUNGLE PADDLING IN THE LAND OF THE MAYA
Words & Photos by David Plante I’ve been fortunate to have paddled many rivers in the Canadian North over the past three decades using hardshell canoes, folding canoes, oar rafts, SOAR boats, and kayaks. Two milestones happened this past year- I retired after 35 years as a veterinarian and discovered ultralight backpacking…
WILD TRAILS
Words & Photos from Brad Meiklejohn As we turned up the valley leading to the pass, the low level of anxiety that had been in the background for three days moved to the front of my mind. The pass appeared difficult on the map, perhaps impassable without ropes, which we were not carrying. If we couldn’t get over the pass,…
FOR ITS OWN SAKE: CAMPING AS AN END AND NOT A MEANS
Words & photos by Huw Oliver From the first time I saw one as a child, sleeping bags held a strange kind of fascination for me. I remember asking to sleep in one of my parents’ bags indoors, thinking that somewhere in that tube of squishy warmth, there was a portal to somewhere else, somewhere more exciting than my…
STRAIGHT BACK THROUGH THE SIERRA NEVADA, MORE OR LESS
Words & Photos by Katelin Reeser @katethewild We stood confidently before the iconic range that lay just beyond the desert, The Sierra Nevada. Once again, we would become awe-inspired by the golden light, the plentiful water, and the soaring granite. It was our second time hiking through the Sierra. The first time, we were…
A STUFF SACK PILLOW, AN ARTIST, AND AN ALBATROSS MEET ON MIDWAY ATOLL
Words, Artwork, & Images by Eric Baker I'm sitting in the middle of a seabird colony on Midway Atoll, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of Albatross. Oblivious to my presence, they're caught up in their frenzied social interactions with one another. Un-paired birds gather in small groups to practice their elaborately…
THOUGH YOU MAY WANT TO COWBOY CAMP
Words and Photos by Tina Haver Currin @tina I made a mistake last week. A big mistake. Here on the Pacific Crest Trail, rain has been sparse, and tent sites frequently provide nothing if not a difficult pitch—think soft sand or lumpy lava rock. As such, most (ok, most ultralight) hikers routinely do something called…
SUBJECTIVE DANGER ON ARIZONA'S MOGOLLON RIM TRAIL
Words and Photos by Scott Nechemias (@snechemias) It was a slow, continuous slide on a 35-degree angle towards the bottom of a mud pit nestled underneath an overhang of red rocks in Sycamore Canyon, the first water source I had seen in 15 miles. Unfortunately, accessing it might involve never returning to solid ground.…
THE SITUATION IS THE BOSS, MAN: GETTING ALL THE BUTTONS PUSHED IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS
Words and Photos by Rebecca Sperry @sockedinhikes Onward we go with our The GRATEFUL DEAD documentary "Long Strange Trip" inspired series. In it, Steve Parish–perhaps their most infamous roadie–described the period during the "Wall of Sound" era that featured the PA and speaker system that was the size of a small town. He…
CLEARLY UNKNOWN: THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE AESTHETICS OF ARTIST GEOFF MCFETRIDGE
Words by Geoff McFetridge, Photos from Geoff McFetridge and Ely Phillips Top Photo Courtesy of Ely Phillips Artist Geoff McFetridge is one of those lucky individuals that has known from a young age just what he wanted to be. That early start got him a gig at 24 years old as the Appointed Art Director of the Beastie Boys…
THE SITUATION IS THE BOSS, MAN: STRAIGHTFORWARD CANYON ADVENTURING*
(*Some Penalties May Apply) We’re marching forward with our The GRATEFUL DEAD documentary "Long Strange Trip" inspired series. In it, Steve Parish–perhaps their most infamous roadie–described the period during the "Wall of Sound" era that featured the PA and speaker system that was the size of a small town. He reflected on…
A QUICK PITCH FOR SAFETY ON THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL
Words & Photos by Eloise Robbins Over the last hour, dark clouds had rolled in. They spread across the sky like a bruise. Thunder had turned from a distant rumble to a roar that rattled my molars. Sheets of rain already obscured the other side of the valley. The storm was almost on top of me. Paradoxically, I’d spent the…
BIG QUESTIONS. SOLID ANSWER FROM THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL
Words & photos by Kaitlyn Cramer One hundred days. I tried to banish the words from my skull with nothing more than fleeting success. I could hush them only briefly when I stopped to pull my sunglasses off my nose and bask in the vivid pink of cactus blossom or squint into the distance to imprint a hazy vista into my…
THE SITUATION IS THE BOSS, MAN: A GRIZZLY TALE
We’re continuing along in our The GRATEFUL DEAD documentary "Long Strange Trip" inspired series that featured a noteworthy quote from Steve Parish–perhaps their most infamous roadie. He was an active crew member during the "Wall of Sound" era that featured the PA and speaker system that was the size of a small town. He…
A THRU HIKE RUINS YOU
Words & Photos from Sydney Hosford Every time I pull out my 2400 Windrider to head out on another adventure, I’m reminded how once you start, you can’t go back. They assured me, to walk for hours, days, and months on end does nothing short of tear up your gear, deteriorate your body, and mercilessly break your heart. Those…
THE SITUATION IS THE BOSS, MAN: SOMETIMES IT'S BETTER NOT TO KNOW
The GRATEFUL DEAD documentary "Long Strange Trip" had an interview with Steve Parish–perhaps their most infamous roadie, and an active crew member during the "Wall of Sound" era that featured the PA and speaker system that was the size of a small town. He reflected on the chaotic and unhinged ordeal of transporting the…
REVERENCE FOR THE GRANDEST ROCK
Words & photos from Josh Alameda El Capitan, a three-thousand-foot vertical granite monolith of the natural world. An icon to outdoor adventure seekers across the globe. It stands alone, dominating the view of Northern Yosemite Valley, dwarfing the famous Half Dome in the distance, and flanked by the most magnificent…
THE SITUATION IS THE BOSS, MAN: A CANOEING COLD WAR IN THE BOUNDARY WATERS
Words & Photos by Hansi Johnson @Hansski The GRATEFUL DEAD documentary "Long Strange Trip" featured an interview with one of their roadies from the "Wall of Sound" era–when they used the PA and speaker system that was the size of a small town. He reflected on the chaotic and unhinged ordeal of transporting the equipment…
SOUP'S ON
Words & Photos by Sarah "Sniffles" Legg Usually, rainy days have a negative connotation, but I tend to thrive in them. Not only does it cool down the day, wash off the Earth, and rid those annoying gnats while you’re hiking, but it also gives you a pretty amazing dramatic effect for singing and dancing. I am always sun…
STORM CATS, ZEUS, AND VIEWS–AN ULTAMID FACES IT ALL IN THE ANDES
Words & photos by Cass Gilbert (@whileoutriding) It’s one thing to pack your favourite ultralight gear when the conditions are ‘just so.’ It’s another to rely on it come hell or high water. I admit it. When it comes to camping, I’m more of an idealist than a pragmatist. I tend towards the spot with the splendid view over…
HIGH ANDEAN ADVENTURES IN ECUADOR
Words & Photos by Ed McCord You know the story. Stellar blue skies on the bush flight in and the same on the flight out, with absolutely horrendous, miserable rainy weather sandwiched in between. Such was the tale of my 2019 Mt. Drum summit attempt that ended up thwarted by extreme avalanche conditions. The Wrangell-St.…
PASSION FOR THE PULK - FREEDOM FROM A PLAN IN SWEDEN
Words and Photos from Iona Pawson I love it when places surprise you. When you have a preconception about an entire country’s wilderness, but you take a gamble, agree to an expedition, and soon realize how wrong you were! Take for example, Sweden. Thoughts of cross-country skiing over rolling Nordic terrain, reindeer…
CLAGGY WEATHER AND ULTRALIGHT SMORGASBOARDING
Words & Photo by Eszter Horanyi @eszter The situation really was mostly our fault. Standing in fog on a New Zealand ridge, Scott and I contemplated our zero-visibility. We knew that up was the general direction we wanted to go, but we also knew that the topo map we were using had the trail in the wrong location. Our…
WET ALDERS AND STILL FROZEN TOES
Words & Photos by Steve “Doom” Fassbinder This pack and I have shared and collectively created far too many tales to tell in just one sitting. From Pakistan to the desert Southwest, Tajikistan to Alaska, we’ve been through it. Trust me when I say, if this pack could talk – it would certainly have more than a few bad things…
THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER
Words & Photo by Jessica Kelley My rugged little Summit Pack has not yet been to the top of any summit, anywhere. Instead, it’s been tossed in the bottom of a packraft, covered in thick river silt, and used as an on-deck drybag while I paddled from Eagle to Circle on the Yukon River. During that trip, it safely cradled all…
PASSING TESTS WITH FLYING COLORS. EXCEPT BLACK.
Words & Photo by Jeremy Cronon Fifteen minutes after leaving Mt. Rintoul Hut in New Zealand, I stepped above tree line. As I peeked upward, tilting my head slightly to shelter as much as my face as I could from the onslaught of wind and rain, I saw a bleak landscape. The barren rock, coated in slick lichen, stretched…
THE JUNCTION’S FUNCTIONS MEET DOOM’S RAMBUNCTION
Words & Photos by Steve “DOOM” Fassbinder Hi folks, Steve (Doom) Fassbinder here. The team over at HMG asked me to share a bit about my travels and thoughts about the Junction pack, but it seems fitting to give a bit of a history lesson first. Because unlike this pack, I didn’t just fall out of the sky all perfect and…
TO THE ARRIGETCH WE MUST GO
Words, Photos & Video by Eric Bernhoft Gates of the Arctic National Park is one of the most difficult places to reach that I’ve traveled to. To even glimpse the majesty of the Brooks Range of Alaska and the wilder-gems hidden there, one has to drive hundreds of miles North of Fairbanks, Alaska along the dirt/gravel Dalton…
WHAT’S LOST AND FOUND ALONG THE WAY: AN APPALACHIAN TRAIL ODYSSEY
Words and Photos by Liz Kidder @lizkidder I had never backpacked before. I hadn't even day-hiked all that much when I first learned of the Appalachian Trail. And yet, I was completely drawn to the idea of a thru hike. What a romantic adventure! I had spent the better part of my teens and twenties getting wasted and…
PUSH BACKS IN THE ADIRONDACKS: A FOUR-DAY SUMMIT CHASING TRIP IN THE HIGH PEAKS WILDERNESS
Words by Max Kiel, Photos by Dan Oliver I anxiously stared at my watch, waiting for the clock to strike 2:00 pm. The date is Saturday, September 25, 2021, and I was at work at Confluence Running, a running specialty store in my hometown of Goshen, NY, counting down the minutes until my shift was over. It's not that I…
THE SITUATION IS THE BOSS, MAN: SURVIVING A NINJA-SNOWSTORM IN THE CAIRNGORMS OF THE HIGHLANDS
Onward we go with our The GRATEFUL DEAD documentary "Long Strange Trip" inspired series. In it, Steve Parish–perhaps their most infamous roadie–described the period during the "Wall of Sound" era that featured the PA and speaker system that was the size of a small town. He reflected on the chaotic and unhinged ordeal of…
“IT WILL BE FUN," SHE SAID: A FRIENDLY INTRODUCTION TO PACKRAFTING ON THE COLORADO RIVER
Words and Photos by Eszter Horanyi The sand was never-ending. Each step was an effort, and the grains of sand building up in my shoes were starting to press against my toes and the arches of my feet, grating between my heels and socks, making walking highly uncomfortable. I gave a glance behind me. Meghan had her shoes off…
GOAT CHAPERONES, BUTT SCOOTS, AND TECHNICOLOR SUNSETS IN THE GORE RANGE
Words and Photos by Scott Nechemias @snechemias It was mid-July, I was standing a little above 12,000 feet in the Gore Range, staring at the descent from a pass my brain had already unhelpfully started referring to as the "Death Chute." After doing the last 500 feet of the climb on all fours due to the extreme angle of the…
NO ROOM FOR ELEPHANTS; WHY I HIKE AND KEEP HIKING
Words and Photos by Zac Boston After encountering countless people on the Appalachian Trail, it's easy to see that something obviously causes a shift in life, leading us all to devote a sizable chunk of time to walk in the woods. Often, thru hiking a long-distance trail requires one to quit their employment, leave behind…
GETTING THE BIRD ON THE ARIZONA TRAIL
Words & Photos by Taylor Bell So, there's this one bird called the elegant trogon. You might call it the holy grail for birdwatchers in this country. It's a beautiful, exotic-looking bird, and it's extremely rare in the U.S. In fact, it's so rare that less than 100 pairs of elegant trogons nest here every year—and each of…
A WINDRIDER IN THE WINDS
Words & Photos by Matt "Chili Mac" Morelli Dirty, cut, beaten, soaked; and that is just how my pack looked. The crew and I had been pioneering the Greater Yellowstone Traverse for nearly a month by the time we stumbled out of the Gros Ventre Range and in to Pinedale, Wyoming. My legs had been shredded in a multi-day…
HAVE PACK, LET’S GO TRY SOMETHING
Words by Brett Davis // Photos by Brett Davis + Steve "Doom" Fassbinder I packed my first ever Hyperlite Mountain Gear pack during the Summer of 2015. Two friends and I had eleven days of gear and food laid out in organized chaos across a flat-bed trailer in North Pole, AK. As I contemplated the packing task at hand, my…
Hitting Day 100 of My 14 Month Project (And An Unexpected Biopsy)
Day 100 came during a cancer recurrence scare and I decided to go hiking instead of staying home to wallow in fear and self-pity. (Going hiking was the right choice.) The weather was pristine, the trails were not. I’ve hiked this short three mile loop before in 2020 and recalled the trails being broken out. This time,…
PHOTOGRAPHER MATT FOLEY AND HIS PORTER PACK EXPLORE SKIING IN GREENLAND
Words and Photos from Matt Foley While Matt Foley may be most well-known behind a camera, he's no stranger to getting out in front of the big adventures where he captures his stunning images. As evidenced by this trip account from his recent foray into the wilds of Greenland, he shares how he set himself to be ready for…
AN ODE TO A FAVORITE PIECE OF GEAR
We've all got that one tenured item that has earned its place at the top of the "Never Leave Home Without It" list. What's yours? Take a pic, tell us why you love the thing so much, and share your most cherished memory with it. Time to pay tribute to your favorite piece of gear!
TAKING BABY STEPS TO THE TOP–RAISING A FUTURE ADVENTURER
Words and Photos from Kat Englishman It all started when a few of our good friends and fellow parents began asking my husband and me if our eight-month-old baby girl had fallen asleep in the hiking backpack. They'd ask us eagerly, "Has Filly napped in the pack? Oh man, we loved that stage", to which we'd reply with a…
Reaching 40% Traced (Days 50 - 90)
It’s been a while since I last posted here about my attempt to hike all of the trails in the White Mountain Guidebook, 30th edition, but I’ve reached two big milestones and wanted to hop on and share what I’ve been up to. In my last post, we were in full-blown foliage-mode here in the Northeast. Now, we are in some strange…
A GRAND CANYONEERING ADVENTURE: PIPE CREEK TO PHANTOM RANCH
Words and Photos by Peter Bugg @bugglife One of my favorite video games is Plants vs. Zombies. The opponents in successive levels get incrementally harder in such a way that the objectives remain challenging but doable, and you never lose interest from either boredom or frustration. Recently, I’ve been applying a similar…
Winter Hiking Goals
The snow storm that’s starting to creep into the White Mountains today has me thinking about winter hiking. Last year I set a goal to hike the 48 4,000 footers in New Hampshire. I made it happen and had a lot of fun working towards that goal throughout the winter. Does anybody have any goals they’re hoping to achieve this…
LOOKING BACK ON THE FIRST FORTY-NINE DAYS OF TRACING THE WHITES
Miles upon miles stack up on the odometer of my 2011 RAV4. Dirt cakes itself to my calves, refusing to budge even after scrubbing. Specks of black mark my skin regardless of how much I try to keep myself clean, and it feels pointless since I’ll be dirty again the next day anyways. I’ve racked up over 500 miles in…
Just for Entertainment I phone 14 and other anomalies
Copied from Mountain High Ski Area website "Have you ever fallen on the mountain? Have you ever had the cops show up when you did? CHP responded to the resort multiple times this week when guest's phones automatically notified them. Crash detection is directly connected to CHP dispatch. You can see how this could be a…
Colorado Early Ski Season Conditions
Walton Creek Living in the high Rockies of Colorado certainly has its advantages. I haven’t been anywhere else that October resort skiing is a slam dunk. Arapahoe Basin opened on Sunday, October 23rd, but I was in New York watching the Rangers lose until the 26th. So my season started there on 10/27, and I can’t complain…
37.81819, -108.79699: THE COORDINATES OF AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE
Words and Photos by Brett Davis & Cody M. Perry For 100 days, we had a drone stranded in some exceptionally rough terrain. After nailing the main sequence in a film project we're working on, the drone got sent off to start knifing shots of the surrounding landscape. We were a small group of river runners and filmmakers…
WHAT HAS YOUR GEAR BEEN UP TO LATELY?
Stories and pics if you got 'em. You have our approval to blow up this spot.
El Capitan Comes Alive at Night
Handfuls of climbers charging El Cap in the dark. Star gazing is amazing, but watching the lights travel up 3,000 feet of cliff is on a whole new level. When most of Yosemite is asleep, there is a highway of climbers working together to pull off something that seems impossible. If you are sitting close enough, you can hear…
WHAT HAS YOUR GEAR BEEN UP TO LATELY?
My Daybreak Ultralight Pack and Camera Pod pulling double duty (photo pack & photographer's assistant) on a personal project shooting wildfire landscapes. This trip is to far Northern California in the McKinney Fire in the Klameth National Forest.
My experience on the Appalachian Trail with HMG
The bizarre part of this story is that I don't wear a HMG pack. I'm also partially sponsored by another gear company. I came to the AT determined to finish the AT - and the triple crown - as quickly as I could. I was aiming for 100 days, and I was pretty close to being on pace. But I changed my plans and took a ton of…
REFLECTIONS ON BACKCOUNTRY SKIING WITH CODY TOWNSEND AND IAN PROVO
Words and Photos from Cody Townsend and Ian Provo Maybe you heard that there’s a new member of the Hyperlite Mountain Gear pack family! The Headwall 55 is a backcountry ski pack for the chill people who work hard and put in long hours to get to the top, just to see it all go downhill. But they love it that way, and we’re…
Thoughts on Slow Hiking?
Hi all, Over the past few months I've been practicing something I call slow hiking. I've noticed over the past few years I've become too obsessed with metrics. Distance, pace, elevation, photos, etc. It's almost as if my watch at the map app have become more important than the hike itself. Hikes started becoming another…
Flag guy
If you've spent a significant amount of time on the trail, perhaps you have experienced the old-fashioned way in which news travels. Not by tweets or snapchats or whatever the kids are using these days - but by word of mouth. In a similar manner to the old mantra "loose lips sink ships", the spoken word really travels…
The Importance of Staying Flexible
Last week I was fortunate enough to spend a week with my partner in the Canadian Rockies. This place has always been special to me and last summer we thru-hiked the GDT, traversing nearly the entire range. Our plan was to start picking away at the remaining overnight hikes in the Banff area as we had done nearly all of…
Hyperlite Pod Uses
Hey everyone, I would love to hear about how you use your Hyperlite Pods! I just ordered a Small Pod and I was surprised when it can hold my Ultamid, my Half Insert for the Ultamid, and my stakes! I am so happy with the Small Pod and am excited to use it on the trail! I would love to hear more about how you use yours!
SUNKEN COSTS HAVE NO BUSINESS IN SMART ADVENTURING
Words from Diana Davis, Photos by Brett Davis This could be bad. I feel a few sprinkles mist my face as I look up at the looming gray moving in overhead. Hiking in the rain, paddling in the rain, camping in the rain–no problem. I have solid rain gear and an awesome Hyperlite shelter. Climbing on loose rock, surrounded by…
Andy Neal on Hiker Podcast, Plus-Sized Modeling, and Social Media’s Double-Edged Sword
Hello, my name is Oats, and today I’m excited to chat with Andy Neal, host of the Hiker Podcast, outdoor influencer, creator, and hiker extraordinaire. Now, the last time Andy and I chatted was in 2020. I lived in a school bus and was fresh off the Colorado Trail, and he was in the midst of season one of Hiker Podcast.…
Twenty-Five Hikes, Ten Percent Traced, Entering August
“A gentle mist kissed my cheeks as I strapped on my pack and headed towards the US/Canadian border. A cold front had blown in overnight and the trees swayed in front of me. It felt like a dream and from the moment that I got out of my car, I smiled. This time I wanted to take it all in, to go slow and stay present. Last…
Versa Kayaking!
Fairies and bluebirds on The AT?
8/08 If flying fairies and talking blue birds suddenly appeared, I would not be surprised. The hypnotic magic of the AT cannot be explained- it's other-worldly.
MEGA PINTS AND MEGA VERT ON THE GR20 IN CORSICA
Words and Photos from Dan Oliver It started with one of those nights where the forest sounds like an ocean, the winds gusting with such force that you lay awake, fighting to recall how well you checked for dead limbs above you before setting up camp. This time, however, it was jet lag that had me up, not the lingering…
Emily AKA Dim Sum and Her Advice for International Thru-Hikers Following in Her Footsteps
Hi y’all, Oats here! This week, our spotlight is shining on Trek Blogger Emily who flew to the PCT from London and has been making stellar updates, sharing photos, tales from the trail, and details on all things new and unexpected in sunny Southern CA ever since. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The…
Alyssa’s Powerful “Why” and How It’s Kept Her on Trail Time and Time Again
Hello, my name is Oats, and today I’m joined by Trek Blogger Alyssa, who has had an absolutely wild 48 hours. After being helivaced out of the Sierra Mountains due to severe altitude sickness, Alyssa is sharing all the things you want to know about life on trail (and then some). The “then some” includes her touching…
Zero Waste Honey on the Appalachian Trail
Hi y’all, Oats here! I’m the Social Media Wiz for The Trek back on IG Live with another interview from the Appalachian Trail. Today I’m delighted to chat with Honey, a Trek Vlogger taking on a monumental challenge. She’s not only walking 2,200 miles from GA to ME, and not only vlogging it along the way (which if you’re in…
Hiking Through Cancer: An Interview with Rebecca Sperry
After being diagnosed with cancer in 2020, Rebecca Sperry underwent years of treatment all while being in graduate school, working part-time, and hiking over 1,000 miles mostly in the White Mountains National Forest of NH. You may know her as a Hyperlite Ambassador or from her wonderful articles and think-pieces on…

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