Ultralight Backpacking

  • Home
  • Tag: Ultralight Backpacking

12 Gifts For Hikers, Day 6

By |December 17th, 2014|12 Gifts, 2014 posts, Bigfoot Trail, Current, Japhy Ryder|Comments Off on 12 Gifts For Hikers, Day 6

12 Days of Trail Gifts For Under $50
Gift 6: Snack Attack
Good trail snacks never stick around long enough to reach their expiration dates, and most hikers would rather eat a delicious bar than some granola thingy they can find in the store down the street. I have a secret bar stash that I draw from to keep me fueled on weekend trips, and I love finding tasty bars in my christmas stocking to replenish the cache. Below you will find a list of some of my favorite bars, and a little movie of Adam having a snack attack during a hot day on our Japhy Ryder Route hike in 2011.

1) Huppy Bars are yummy and nutritious bars created by my friend Lyndsay Hupp in Flagstaff. These bars have mostly organic ingredients & spirulina to get your greens in the backcountry. There are 5 excellent flavors, Coconut Date Ginger and Chocolate Berry Love are two favorites. Huppy Bar has a Bundle Of Yum holiday pack that I hope finds it’s way into my stocking this season.
2) Nut butter single serve packets. Not much beats the protein punch you can get from nut butters, and there are some absolutely delicious options in little packets these days. One of my favorite nut butters is Wild Friends Vanilla Espresso Almond Butter.
3)Picky Bars make delicious bars here in Bend, OR. The texture & flavor of these bars are great, and they are really good for you.

4)Honey Stinger makes all kinds of honey based treats, but their protein bars are really something special. There is not much better than sinking my teeth into a 20g Mint Chocolate Honey Stinger when I get the 10am snack attack. The chocolate coating can get a bit […]

Read More

12 Gifts For Hikers, Day 4

By |December 15th, 2014|12 Gifts, 2014 posts, Current|Comments Off on 12 Gifts For Hikers, Day 4

12 Days of Trail Gifts For Under $50
Gift 4: Feet Treats

Feet are on the front line of any hike. Their condition and comfort can make or break an adventure, and there are a few things you can give your hiker’s feet to make them more likely to be stoked about being pounded into the ground for thousands of miles.
Dirty Girl Gaiters add sparkle as well as blister protection! These lightweight gaiters cover the opening of the shoe and the neck of the sock to prevent dirt, rocks, stickers, & bees from flopping in as you walk. Before getting a pair of these I had to wear my shoes really loosely and dump the rocks out at every break. Now my feet are less dirty at the end of the day, and I rarely have debris pile up in my shoe. My socks stay cleaner & last longer because they aren’t as gritty. If you can’t tell, I LOVE these gaiters. I’m guessing your hiker will too. You can choose from a bunch of fun patterns (they remind me of 80’s rollerskating rink outfits), and I bet she’d make up a custom pair if you found the perfect purple unicorn glitter print that she doesn’t have in stock.

Plantars Facsiitis Sleeves from Feetures! help keep my plantars Facsiitis from getting out of hand on the trail. If your hiker suffers from this form of foot misery this is a gift that has the power to turn a whole hike around. I wear mine each night as I sleep, and along with foot strengthening exercises, my PF no longer has me hobbling down the trail.

Socks!! We hikers trash socks, we need socks, we love socks! I like […]

Read More

12 Gifts For Hikers, Day 2

By |December 13th, 2014|12 Gifts, 2014 posts, Current|Comments Off on 12 Gifts For Hikers, Day 2

12 Days of Trail Gifts For Under $50
Gift 2: Lightweight Libations!

Every hiker has to drink water, but plain water can get boring, and some water requires a disguise in order to ingest.

Add some pizzaz to your hiker’s beverage bar by tossing some of these treats in their stocking. When they mug up on their next adventure they will have you to thank!

 

 

Coffee:

Starbucks Via packets make an amazing cup of coffee from a small packet of powder. Last winterAdam’s mom gave him a pack of the Christmas Blend Via and we happily “brewed” them up each morning of our Idaho Hotsprings bike tour last summer.

 

 

 

Mount Hagen Organic Instant Coffeemakes a pretty tasty cup of joe, and the production ethics of the company are in line with the wilderness your hiker will be sipping it in.

 

 

Hot or cold:

Ginger Honey Crystals make up one of my favorite backcountry drinks. These are spicy, sweet, and are soothing to an upset stomach

Chai Powder is absolutely excellent cold or hot. Some of my favorites are the Trader Joes Chai Powder and Oregon Chai packets

Cold:

Nunn Tabs create a refreshing drink that does a good job of covering up cow water. Nuun is a little out of the average hiker budget, but most will appreciate having the opportunity to drink it up.

Crystal Lite Pure is a bit more normal, but still can be hard to find in some trail towns. These are a good daily drinker.

Powdered Coconut Water is AMAZING! I really like coconut water in the front country, and to be able to drink it up on the way up a steep, hot climb on the trail just feels right. Coco Hydro is just one of many delicious brands out there.

End of day Celebration:

BACKCOUNTRY […]

Read More

Idaho Hot Springs Bike Trip

By |August 27th, 2014|2014 posts, Bigfoot Trail, Bikepacking, Cat Food Can Stove, Current|Comments Off on Idaho Hot Springs Bike Trip

When I returned home from the Bigfoot Trail Adam had a surprise- he had planned a bike tour!! Not just any old bike trip, but one that would be mostly on dirt roads and take us to over a dozen hot springs! I was stoked to get back on my Salsa Fargo and check out Idaho with Adam- a real summer vacation!

We drove out from Bend to Idaho past a few smokey fires, through the heat of the high desert, and past the smelly feed lots of the Snake River Valley to a small town along the Payette River, Crouch, ID.We chose to start our tour in Crouch because the southern portion of the 500 mile route was closed due to a landslide near Ketchum. Our plan was to ride the northern half of the Idaho Hot Springs Mountain Bike Route (IHSMBR) clockwise, and take the Lowman Cutoff to return to Crouch, the lowest point on the route. After enjoying some fine beer from the Payette River Brewing Company we found a camp site and prepped our bikes. Velcro and buckles attach our Bedrock Bags frame bags, handle bar bags, and seat bags in a nice streamlined way. After some rearranging and finagling we were able to fit everything so we didn’t have to wear backpacks.

 

After driving around a bit we found the perfect spot to leave our truck (Chisos) during the ride: the Starlight Theater Parking Field. Crouch is a very tiny town that happens to have a large outdoor theater with camping and event parking. The woman I spoke to in the Box Office was more than happy to let us park there and wished us well on our adventure.

And then we […]

Read More