Winter

Last minute gifts for hikers

By |December 22nd, 2015|12 Gifts, 2015 posts, Current|Comments Off on Last minute gifts for hikers

Sage shares 4 more ideas for cheap & functional hiker gifts. Most of these 4 gift ideas are things you can put together in the last minute, & will make your hiker smile. Try drying some fruit or veggies, make up a batch of trail cookies, or dig out a handful of freezer bags to stuff your hiker's stocking with.

More Hiker Holiday Treats

By |December 18th, 2015|12 Gifts, 2015 posts, Current|Comments Off on More Hiker Holiday Treats

Sage suggests some great hiker gifts and gear for under $50. Did you know you can buy rain gear that works for under $40? You can give your hiker the gift of cleanliness in the backcountry with a few of the tips on Day 8. Want to put trail worthy treats in the stocking? Find Sage's snack attack favorites on Day 6.

Gifts & Gear suggestions- Upcycled

By |December 16th, 2015|12 Gifts, 2015 posts, Current|Comments Off on Gifts & Gear suggestions- Upcycled

Gift & gear suggestions for hikers under $50. Sage shares some of her favorite trail worthy gear in her 12 days of Christmas blog posts. Adjust her recommendations to fit your hiker's style- maybe they are more a kilt hiker than a skirt walker... but there is something for every style of adventurer in this guide.

Stoking adventure fire: 5 books to get you through winter

By |December 10th, 2014|2014 posts, AT, Current, Japhy Ryder, PCT|Comments Off on Stoking adventure fire: 5 books to get you through winter

Last week up at the mountain it rained on top of a beautiful fresh pile of 11 inches of fluffy powder. When I went to bed I had been excited to get up, gear up, and head up to Mt. Bachelor for my first day of the ski season. Reading the report in the morning dashed my hopes- all that beautiful snow was now encrusted by a lens of heavy snow.

The snow mess meant that instead of having a wonderful morning of playing in the mountains I was going to have to turn my focus back to the endless ruble pile of my own personal life maintenance. Adam and I recently returned home from a few months of work down in the Mojave, and we have stacks of mail to sort, a yard to clean up, firewood to split, map sets to edit, a kitchen remodel to plan, huge lists of projects to sew, build, create … The to do list is huge and overwhelming.

Distractions under these circumstances are welcome. I need reminders that adventures and free time exist. Following an adventure or two, watching movies about hiking, and reading books about fresh air and freedom are my remedy for feeling overwhelmed. Below I have listed 5 of my favorite books to help stoke your expedition fire and stave off the winter blues. Happy armchair adventures!

5 adventure books to get you through winter:

Rowing to Latitude, Jill Fredston

I discovered this book years before I started thru-hiking, and it planted some kind of seed that wouldn’t die. This book helped me realize that people do crazy sounding adventures- like rowing around Alaska- year after year. Jill and her husband, Doug, treat their summer adventures just as […]