TRIP PLANS

FOR EVERY
REGION

SKILLS SPECIAL

HOW TO DO
EVERYTHING
GET READY FASTER SLEEP WARMER
O

SHRINK YOUR PACK ASSESS RISK

O

PITCH A BOMBER TARP

AND 33 MORE TIPS & TRICKS!

15
WILD HIKES
TESTED
BOOTS FOR
AMERICA’S EVERY HIKER
HIGHEST, LOWEST,
DEEPEST AND
BIGGEST TERRAIN

BACKCOUNTRY
NAVIGATION
STAY FOUND.
HERE’S HOW.

PLUS THE BEST

NEW HAMMOCKS
Alpine Start Hoody
Trail Trekking Poles
Mission 55 Pack
Find your ground in
MISSOULA, MONTANA
There’s this place where, if you had a mind to, you could open your front
door (or unzip your tent), set out on foot, and end up in Glacier National
Park roughly four days later (give or take, depending on how many
huckleberry patches and lazy river bends you savor along the way).
Missoula, Montana is a sublime example of Mother Nature’s bounty. Three
rivers and seven wilderness areas meet here in this transcendent mountain
town. It’s ecstasy for the outdoorsy, and pulsates with arts, culture, food,
drink, rich roots and the best people around.

Missoula will steal your heart and never let go. There’s no single reason
why you’ll fall in love with it, but be assured, you’ll fall hard. The allure is
immeasurable. It’s a collage of intimacy and grandeur, history and horizon,
creativity and vitality. An infinite palette of earthly greens and browns invite
you to keep climbing. Cafés and breweries summon. Strangers smile at
each other like old friends. And, a river really does run through it—right
through the center of town. It’s just the right size to get lost in, and to also
find your ground.

It’s a no-brainer base camp for short hikes, day treks and backcountry pack
trips. Missoula is 360 degrees of blue-sky splendor and an astonishingly
vast network of hiking trails. Pace yourself according to elevation gain
and distance, with diverse paths around every corner, along sparkling
waterways and at the base of any mountain or foothill. You’re rewarded
with views of snowcapped peaks, the shape of the river as it carves through
town, profusions of wildflowers, maybe even an elk sighting. Hug the edge
of a hillside and zigzag switchbacks. Catch the sunrise from any peak,
and watch the valley take its morning bath in mesmerizing early light.
The birdsongs and dew-drenched grasses make it all worthwhile. You
can bookend your day with a breathtaking portrait of the sunset from yet
another mountaintop, giving new meaning to the phrase “paint the town.”
Missoula has a path with your name on it. Many, actually. You could spend
a lifetime roaming the hills and mountains in and around our town, and
maybe you should.

We treasure these open spaces. They’re a soul-satisfying requisite, and

conservation is key. Our Open Space program is dedicated to preserving
wide expanses of precious, natural land. And with the new Mount Dean
Stone initiative—Missoula’s largest open space opportunity yet—you could WATERWORKS HILL OVERLOOKS
(after your multiday trek to Glacier, of course) find yourself walking from DOWNTOWN AND THE UNIVERSITY
Missoula’s South Hills all the way to Yellowstone National Park (again, if you
had a mind to).

Nurtured by nature, culture is alive and well in Missoula. Once you’ve SUNSET FROM THE “M”
climbed mountains and forded streams, keep your senses turned on
for some city-sized entertainment. With a setting as inspiring as ours, a
thriving cultural scene is inevitable. Take in live music, good eats and a local
craft brew by the river’s edge. Missoula’s ability to give on that front has
grown immensely just this year. You can float the Blackfoot River, hop out
onto the riverbank and catch a national act in the new KettleHouse 4,000-
seat amphitheater. KettleHouse Brewery is a Missoula icon best known for
its award-winning Cold Smoke® Scotch Ale and their new venue has given
a hearty boost to Missoula’s emerging national music scene. Another local
favorite—Big Sky Brewing—is also unveiling a new amphitheater design this
year. This “backyard music-festival feel” is yet another symbol of community
pride and our fierce dedication to living well.

Don’t just settle for a mere taste of Missoula. Devour it.


DOWNTOWN TONIGHT FEATURES
LOCAL FOOD, LIVE MUSIC AND CRAFT
BEER EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT
DURING THE SUMMER
Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness
This 60,000-acre wilderness complex to the north of
Missoula welcomes a variety of hiking, backpacking,
horseback riding and bicycling opportunities on developed
trails.
Blue Mountain Recreation Area
4,900 acres of off-road trails for hikers, equestrians and
bicyclists. There are also two wheelchair accessible loops,
handicap parking and restrooms. Find breathtaking views in
this 41-mile trail system, and a forest-fire lookout.
Pattee Canyon Recreation Area
A favorite Missoula recreation area for years, this 3,200-
acre spot has an abundance of ponderosa pines and a
network of scenic foot, horse, bicycle and cross-country ski
trails.
Quick HIKES
Mount Sentinel (The “M”)
A quick hike that’s all about the incline and the fresh
air, ascending the “M” offers an essential glimpse of the
Missoula Valley.
Waterworks Hill
Multiple trails encourage exploration and every bend
shares something new. Hike to the ever-evolving rock and
stone community-made peace sign.
Mount Jumbo (The “L”)
A system of trails spreads out in all directions, and in the
spring the arrowleaf balsamroot flower paints the entire
face of the mountain yellow.
Blue Mountain
Succumbing to the wilderness surrounding Missoula, these
trails deliver sweeping views and a sense of out-of-town
adventure among its many twists and turns.
Pattee Canyon
Several trails crisscross acres of a thickly wooded
wonderland where getting lost is as easy as finding your
way back.
 contents
August2017
Canyonlands
National Park

65
features

58
AMERICA’S WILDEST HIKES
Extreme Attraction
On a trek from the Lower
48’s lowest point to its
highest, our scout explores
the draw of backcountry
extremes. Plus: 14 more
wild trips. BY MARK JENKINS

71
The Sharpest Tool
in the Shed
After decades of service, one
of the Pacific Crest Trail’s
legendary trail maintainers
prepares to hang up his saw.
BY SHAWNTÉ SALABERT

75
SKILLS SPECIAL
Secrets of the Guides
Want to hike like a pro?
These men and women
make their living in the
outdoors. Learn from their
tips, techniques, and tales.
BY TED ALVAREZ

84
Baptism by Fire
Smokejumpers battle
blazes in some of the coun-
try’s most remote wilder-
ness areas, and we only see
the danger. This firefighter’s
photos show us the beauty.
PHOTO BY ETHAN WELTY

BY THOMAS HANEY

Cover: View of Mt. Adams

KT YB OTO HP

from Washington’s Goat

Rocks Wilderness, photo by
Ryan Lilley. Beta: page 96

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 05
 contentsAugust2017

33

43

16

the play list the manual

14 North Cascades, WA 22 Boch Hollow State
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT) MATTHEW HOSFORD; JAMES Q MARTIN; ETHAN WELTY

Celebrate peakbagging Nature Preserve, OH

season on 7,685-foot Mt.
Blum, a glaciated pinnacle
amid crinkle-cut ridges and
hanging lakes.
16 Life List: Volcán Telica,
Nicaragua
Travel through a tropical
rainforest to camp on the
slopes of an active volcano.
18 West Clear Creek
Wilderness, AZ
Cool off in a desert oasis.
20 Insider’s Guide:
Sonoma Coast, CA
Get the local scoop on the best
hikes for ocean views, redwood
groves, and tide pools.
21 Geopinion: Bag It
Gross but true: Hikers
are pooping all over the
Adirondacks’ High Peaks.
Here’s the solution.
Find secret falls in this
summer-perfect spot.
23 Weekends
Hike above Lake Superior to
a quiet backcountry camp in
the Porkies; sluice through the
country’s deepest canyon in
the Hell’s Canyon Wilderness
of Idaho; and tackle a wild
path through Pennsylvania’s
Hickory Creek Wilderness.
28 The Experience:
Superhikes
For ambitious adventurers,
there’s nothing like a trip into
the discomfort zone.
30 Done In a Day: Show Time
Catch the total solar eclipse
from these front-row seats in
the backcountry.
skills
33 Cross a Talus Field
Move efficiently on rocky slopes.
34 Cheat Sheet:
Nighttime Navigation
Find your way home even when
you can’t see it.
36 Pass/Fail: The Presidential
Traverse in a Day
Can a seasoned mountaineer
best this classic ridge?
38 Trail Chef: DIY Yogurt
Add fresh, creamy flavor
to your summer menu.
40 Photo School:
Shoot for the Moon
Turn down the lights and turn
up the drama.
10 editor’s note
12 #trailchat
96 uncovered
survival
43 Out Alive: Flooded
A canyoneer gets pinned by a
Southwest monsoon.
46 Saved By: A Headlamp
It’ll light your way, repair your
gear, and catch your dinner.
48 Den Mother: Wild Edibles
Survival salad sound good?
Here’s how to forage safely.
gear
51 Field Test: Hammocks
Sleeping on air has never been
easier—or more comfortable.
54 Round Up: Footwear
Keep your feet happy with new
models for light and hard duty.
56 Field Notes
Get fresh picks from our testers.

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 07
 GPS
ENABLED™

STAFF PICKS What’s the most extreme thing you’ve done outdoors? (See more ideas on page 58.)

Camped on a southern Arizona sky

island during a thunderstorm (bad EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ART DIRECTOR
idea, great photos) Dennis Lewon Mike Leister

Peed while hiking, as if I didn’t

have 30 seconds to stop PUBLISHER
DEPUTY EDITOR Casey Lyons
DESTINATIONS EDITOR Maren Horjus Sharon Houghton Crossed an ice bridge
303.253.6412 on Mt. Rainier that
Skied a Fourteener ASSOCIATE GEAR EDITOR Eli Bernstein was cracked on both
ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR Adam Roy shoughton@aimmedia.com sides
Ate fish at 15,000 ASSISTANT SKILLS EDITOR Corey Buhay
feet in an Ecuadorian MIDWEST ACCOUNT MANAGER
mountain refuge Charlotte Sibbing
(didn’t end well)
NORTHWEST FIELD EDITOR Ted Alvarez 312.730.7173
ROCKY MOUNTAIN FIELD EDITOR csibbing@aimmedia.com
Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan
EASTERN ACCOUNT MANAGER
SOUTHWEST FIELD EDITOR Annette McGivney
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kelly Bastone, Lesli Krishnaiah
William M. Rochfort, Jr. 303.253.6353
Backpacked for five days WEB DEVELOPER John Williams krishnaiah@aimmedia.com
with a toddler in Alaska’s
I.T. SPECIALIST Tony Pene
grizzly country, carrying WEST COAST ACCOUNT MANAGER
dirty diapers in a bear EDITORIAL INTERNS Maggie Sweeney,
canister Tyler VanderMolen Tanya Foster
805.816.4354
tfoster@aimmedia.com
ART
MARKETPLACE ACCOUNT MANAGER
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR Genny Fullerton
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Giovanni Corrado Leone Jennifer Hall
PHOTO ASSISTANT Louisa Albanese 303.253.6419
Accidentally went off jhall@aimmedia.com
a 25-foot cliff while
backcountry sledding CORPORATE SALES
FIELD SCOUTS Had a panic attack on
JoAnn Martin
a first-date hike
Nancy Bouchard, Paul Chisholm, joannmartin@aimmedia.com
Ryan Horjus, Aidan Lynn-Klimenko,
Scott Monte
Laura Lancaster, Kristin Pope,
Go to backpacker smonte@aimmedia.com
Ethan Schowalter-Hay, Ryan Wichelns Climbed to upper Elves
.com/fieldscouts Chasm in the Grand
for their weekly Canyon in sandals
reports.
ACTIVE INTEREST MEDIA SENIOR MARKETING DIRECTOR Alex Aufmann
OUTDOOR GROUP ASSOCIATE MARKETING DIRECTOR Amy Lewis
GENERAL MANAGER EVENTS MARKETING MANAGER Caitlyn Pepper
Jonathan Dorn MARKETING MANAGER Tina Rolf
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North Sea cold-weather Allen P. Crolius
survival training with acrolius@aimmedia.com PREPRESS MANAGER
the Norwegian air force GROUP PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Joy Kelley Did yoga (dancer’s pose)
PREPRESS SPECIALISTS on the edge of a cliff
Barb Van Sickle
at Black Canyon of the
Idania Mentana, Galen Nathanson
Gunnison National Park
SALES ASSISTANT
Lori Ostrow

Copyright 2017 © Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc.

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08 08.2017
LOSE YOURSELF
IN NATURE.
JUST BE SMART
ABOUT IT.
SIPSAFE
LETS THE GOOD STUFF THROUGH
editor’s note BY DENNIS LEWON Summer School
Take your trips to the next
level—farther, safer, and
PHOENIX more memorable—with our
Jason Cleghorn new online classes.
Top overnight:
Peralta to Backcountry Navigation
Charlebois Spring, We partnered with the
the Superstitions Colorado Outward Bound
School to bring this iconic
institution to your home.
Outward Bound instructor
Siena Fry teaches map
CHICAGO and compass skills, route
Erica Zazo SAN FRANCISCO planning, navigation tricks
Favorite dayhike: Paulina Dao for challenging conditions,
NYC anywhere in Favorite dayhike: The Matt and more in this seven-
Justin Matthiessen Davis-Steep Ravine loop part course.
Bailey State Park that starts in Stinson Beach.
The ladder next to the creek Wilderness First Aid Basics
SEATTLE is just magical. When you’re miles from the
Anastasia LOS ANGELES trailhead, 911 isn’t always
Allison Brad Stapleton an option. Don’t go into
Favorite thing Favorite the backcountry without
about hiking SEATTLE knowing how to treat
overnight: the
around Seattle: Jason common injuries like cuts,
new Backbone
variety! Bickford sprains, concussions, and
Trail
other minor traumas. In this
class, instructors deliver
BOSTON step-by-step guides on how
SAN
Dan Nelson to help an injured hiker so you
FRANCISCO
never have to think, “I wish
Daniel Markey
I’d known.”
DENVER
Outdoor Photo School
ATLANTA Heather Balogh
Shoot like a pro with tips
Stan Gentry Rochfort
from a pro. Adventure
Tip: Avoid the Tip: Outdoor gear
photographer Adam Barker
busy trails of the shop Feral Mountain
walks you through every
northern ’burbs is a great place to find
aspect of taking better
and head south to hiking buddies, get trail
photos, from composition
Arabia Mountain beta, or catch an open-
and lighting to gear and
or Chattahoochee air movie on a warm
processing, for landscapes,
Bend State Park. Friday night.
action shots, and more. If
you want to bring back trip
memories that will stay vivid

Local Hikes Just Got Better

Let our new regional scouts help you find the best hikes and trail events near you.
forever, take this class.

Thru-Hiking 101
Whether you dream of thru-
hiking a long trail or tackling
THE EVIDENCE IS IN, and it’s conclusive: (meet them above) will provide their picks for top one in sections, this course
Hiking is really, really good for you. Recent trails within a few hours’ drive—from easy-access covers everything you need
studies have shown the world what you and I weekday escapes to soul-satisfying trips worth to know to make your journey
already know—spending time outdoors improves a long weekend, and from short family treks to a success. Serial thru-hiker
physical and mental health. That’s why hiking expert-only epics. Liz “Snorkel” Thomas offers
should be a part of our day-to-day lives, not a Each week, they’ll look at the weather forecast, hard-won tips on planning,
rare treat relegated to vacations. And that’s the seasonal highlights, and permit issues and make training, gear, nutrition,
reason we kick off every issue with The Play List go-now recommendations based on the most resupply, and the all-
(page 14), the magazine’s largest section, entirely current conditions. And to keep the stoke going, important mental game that
devoted to local trails and hiking advice. our scouts will tune into the local hiking scene helps some hikers stay on the
But we can only cover so many places in those and post weekly updates on trail events, hiking trail when others don’t.
pages—with limited space, we can’t provide clubs, gear sales, festivals, and more.
PHOTOS BY COURTESY

a trail for every reader, every issue. So we’ve It’s the kind of resource I wish was available Our classes’ self-paced
created a new channel on our website devoted when I first moved to Boulder a decade ago. format lets you take them
entirely to the local hiking scene in metro areas Fortunately, there are lots of trails in Colorado, whenever you want, on
across the country. and I’m still discovering new ones every year. any device, as long as
For each region, we’ve identified at least one I’m looking forward to seeing what I learn from you have wifi. For details
local scout who has deep knowledge of the area’s our Denver scout. and registration, go to
parks, open spaces, and wilderness. These scouts Find your region at backpacker.com/local. Q aimadventureu.com.

10 08.2017
Why
mile 22
feels like
mile 2.
#trailchat
YOUR OPINIONS, PHOTOS, AND FEATS
T HE L ONG WAY ’ROUND
Sacred trails the world over help hikers
discover deeper truths about the world and
themselves. But what truly makes a path
transformative? E L I S A B E T H K WA K- H E F F E R A N
treks a new 170-mile loop in Montana in
search of the pilgrimage she needs.
I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y J A CQ U I O A K L E Y

Healing Hikes
When we shared Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan’s story of looking
for peace on the Sacred Door Trail in the wake of her divorce
(“The Long Way ‘Round,” May 2017), readers immediately
empathized with her experience. “My life, her words,” wrote
Kari Rockwell. “The trees heal the pain.” Daniel Lewis shared
his own story of looking for solace in the wild. “I retreated to
the forest within hours of a breakup and backpacked my heart
back to health,” he said. “Shenandoah National Park was my
fortress of solitude.” And one reader shared his own plan to
walk himself back to center. “After my divorce, I decided this is B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 83

the year to do the Long Trail,” wrote Patrick J. Kane.

This Land is Your Land Cactus Country

WEEKEND
WONDERS
LOCAL HIKES WITH
BIG-TRIP VIEWS
@backpackermag
THE SCIENCE
Tag your ’grams #trailchat for a chance to be featured here
and on our Instagram feed.
OF LAYERIN
STAY COMFORTA
IN ANY WEA
O
ATER 5-MINUTE
SHELL EAS
OUS PLANTS
T CAMP

From Redwood National Park to Katahdin Woods

and Waters, America is one of the best places in the
world for hikers—and this July, we’re celebrating it.

PHOTO BY KEN CONGER / DENALI NATIONAL PARK, ILLUSTRATION BY JAQUI OAKLEY

Go to backpacker.com/hikeamerica for exclusive
online articles on:

How to BBQ in the backcountry

America’s best historic trails
Our favorite US-made gear
The top hikes for watching fireworks

Backtracking
In “Pitch the Perfect Camp” (May 2017),
we identified Gothic Basin’s location as
Washington’s Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
Reader George Chambers pointed out that it’s
actually located 35 miles away at the state-
administered Morning Star Natural Resources
Conservation Area.

In our June issue, we suggested that parents

and their kids hike to Franconia Brook
Campsites after visiting New Hampshire’s
Franconia Falls (page 78). Peter Larsen
pointed out that the campground is now on the
opposite side of the Pemigewasset River.
@katiey22
Joshua Tree National Park
The best way to dodge the summer desert heat: Avoid the sun. Katie Yarborough
snapped this picture before the day’s first rays illuminated Cholla Cactus Garden.

12 08.2017
Photo by Geoff rey Braught

cotopaxi.com/gearforgood
Each Del Día product gives new life to leftover fabric. It’s made by employees
with complete creative control. And each pack is one of a kind.
014
08.2017

the
play
list
This month’s top
trips and picks
 Cure summit fever.
1 NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON

The window is short on the biggest mountains, so take advantage of late summer’s perfect conditions
and go now. Ready for its close-up: Mt. Blum in the North Cascades. The 7,685-footer is dotted with tiny,
snowmelt-fed hanging tarns and smashed between crinkle-cut ridges, offering a top-of-the-world vantage
over the Cascades, including 7,060-foot Hagan Mountain (far right on ridge) and 10,781-foot Mt. Baker (out
of the frame, to the right of the photographer).
It’s just 4.8 miles to the glacier-encrusted summit, but you must climb more than 7,000 feet in that span.
From the Baker River trailhead, follow the silty waterway .5 mile north, then cross over to the east side via a
suspension bridge. There, a vague social path follows Blum Creek 2.8 miles to the Blum Lakes, half a dozen
pools below their namesake mountain. Find a campsite (first-come, first-serve; permit required), then make
the final 1.5-mile push up the peak’s southern flank. (It’s only class 3, but adrenaline junkies can find a more
technical ascent on the north face.) If you don’t want to miss the best light, do as photographer Ethan Welty
did and bivy near the summit. Contact nps.gov/noca
play list

LIFE LIST

The Dragon’s Lair

2 Venture to the Ring of Fire to camp on
Nicaragua’s Volcán Telica. BY VICKIE LILLO

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW HOSFORD (LEFT);

THE MEADOW IS PERFECT. Coconut
palms sway in the breeze, revealing flat-
topped peaks behind them, the ground so
plush that the sleeping pads stay rolled up.
After a 6-mile trek through a rainforest, I’m
up and see a narrow plume of smoke twist
into the sky from the crater of Volcán
Telica, 300 yards away.
It’s nerve-racking, but this is what
we asked for. My husband, son, and I
civil war, Nicaragua, the second-most
impoverished nation in the Western
Hemisphere, still lacks the infrastructure
to lure tourists beyond its storied surfing
beaches. Most of the country remains
relatively primitive, a patchwork of virgin
CASEY QUARTERMAN

happy to be inside a tent, the ocean breeze
rustling through the mesh and a chorus
of bullfrogs serenading me. I lie back and
enjoy the peaceful moment, wondering
why I was so anxious about camping on
an active volcano.
That’s when I feel the earth move. I sit
wanted to hike on living earth. Unlike
Hawaii’s strictly regulated lava zones and
Indonesia’s danger zones, Volcán Telica
offers a middle road: backpacking up to the
edge with low risk of a violent eruption. So
we headed to Nicaragua in June.
More than 20 years removed from
rainforests, fertile lowlands, and white-
sand beaches. That it’s also a geothermal
hotbed seems too good to be true.
But one night on the rumbling beast
makes me a believer. The first morning,
hefting overnight packs, we set out for

16 08.2017

TELICA
LEÓN
MANAGUA
3,481-foot Telica. Locals driving ox carts
nodded to us as we walked through bean
fields toward the steaming summit. Then,
we ducked beneath flowering guanacaste
trees, spiky bromeliads decorated with
red blooms, and overgrown strangler
fi gs, the humid air thick with the smell
of photosynthesis. When the dense
vegetation gave way to open meadows
peppered with rock outcroppings, we
could feel the breeze off the Pacific.
Near the top, our guide said we could
Telica smolders after an
October thunderstorm.
ditch our packs and crawl on our bellies
to the edge of the crater. From afar, it
looked like a cone of red clay, but then,
my face inches from the surface, I saw life:
roots and green tendrils spidering out of
the ground. Occasional poofs of steam
clouded my vision.
Telica last blew its lid in May 2015, giving
rise to an ash plume that surged nearly
3,000 feet into the sky. No one was hurt
because the tech down here is advanced
enough that the guides can predict the
A hiker peers into
Telica’s caldera.
eruptions before they occur (you can, too,
at their weather watch site: ineter.gob.ni).
Nevertheless, when I peered over the lip
to see red veins of 1,000°F magma oozing
through the caldera, an explosion did
cross my mind.
After, we set up camp in the highest
grove of palm trees and faced our tents
toward the Cordillera de los Maribios,
a smoldering chain of 1,000-foot-tall
mountains. That’s when I felt the rumble.
The image of those lava-red veins flashed
in my head, but instead of fear I felt excited
to know what lies beneath me. It was
nature’s heartbeat. Q
DO IT See into Telica at the midpoint
of a 12-mile out-and-back from Los
Hervideros de San Jacinto, a field of
boiling mud pools, on the volcano’s
southeastern flank. Set aside six hours
for each leg. GET THERE Rent a car or
take a bus to San Jacinto from Léon,
12 miles away. Certain guide services
provide transportation. SEASON Year-
round: December to April will be hot
and dry; May to November will be rainy.
Aim for shoulder season. GUIDE Sonati
Tours (sonati.org) offers this trip for
around $55/person (includes gear
and food), and all profits go toward
conservation and education.
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 17
play list

Cool off.
3 WEST CLEAR CREEK
WILDERNESS, ARIZONA

Midsummer in the Arizona backcountry

doesn’t have to be an exercise in
heat tolerance—if you know where to
look. Photographer Elias Butler took
the Calloway Trail (#33) 1 mile to its
terminus at West Clear Creek. Then,
where others turn around, he kept
going. Boulder-hop, swim, and follow
social paths 5 miles downstream
(west), and you’ll land at this watery
oasis, he says. It’s slow going, so plan
to camp en route when you find a flat
section of high ground. (Note: This area
can flash flood. Turn to page 43 for tips
on how to avoid catastrophe.) Contact
bit.do/coconino-red-rock-district
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 19
play list

INSIDER’S

4
GUIDE

Sea World traversing coastal hills en route to one

of this area’s best spots for discovering
urchins, hermit crabs, and anemones at
Sonoma Coast, California low tide.

A wild shoreline and pristine beaches make Sonoma County’s coast a Cliffs and breakers
primo getaway any time of year. Explore its two state parks and more than Enjoy cool ocean breezes and panoramic
two dozen named beaches in summer, when morning fog often gives way

PHOTOS BY RACHID DAHNOUN (LEFT);

views of the surf churning below black cliffs

to dazzling afternoons—and you’ll want to come back again and again.
BY KELLY BASTONE
The insider
Outdoor photographer Rachid Dahnoun
makes weekly trips to Sonoma’s coast
to fi ll his portfolio with images of
seaside cliffs and towering redwoods.
He’s covered every inch of the 30-mile
coastline from Salt Point to Bodega Bay.
Redwoods and seashells
Dahnoun likes to link groves of sky-
tickling redwoods with teeming tide pools
by hiking the Pomo Canyon Trail to Shell
Beach. The 7-mile round-trip starts from
the redwood grove at the Pomo Canyon
Campground (above Willow Creek) before
ISTOCK.COM / ANTHONYROSENBERG
on the Kortum Trail. The 8-mile out-and-
back begins at Wright’s Beach and heads
north, rambling across meadow-topped
headlands to Blind Beach. Scan for shiny
patches on the sides of the stone monoliths
atop the bluffs; Dahnoun thinks they were
wooly mammoth back-scratchers.
Oceanside car campground
All 27 sites in Wright’s Beach Campground
($35/night) offer fast access to the Kortum

We like to think we have it good here at SoCal: Deer Canyon Trail,

BACKPACKER, but Randy Propster has it better. Crystal Cove State Park
No 5 As ambassador for the Get Out More Tour, he Escape the hubbub of
GOM gives clinics at gear shops across the country L.A. and tent beneath
TOUR Follow Randy. and hikes in between (find him near you:
backpacker.com/getoutmore). After touring
an oak canopy at the
quiet campground
the Golden State this spring, he gave us these 3.3 miles in. Contact
recommendations for epic adventures. crystalcovestatepark.org

20 08.2017
 GEOPINION

6
Oh, Crap!
Let’s try a new system
when it comes to
managing poop in the
Adirondack Mountains.
BY OLIVIA DWYER

IN EARLY MAY, I FOLLOW A TRAIL that contours the eastern slope

of Hurricane Mountain, a 3,694-foot peak in New York’s Adirondack
Mountains. A gust pulls gray clouds apart like wool, and I see the neon
green of new growth in the hardwoods below. As I turn uphill, I spot
another sign that hiking season has arrived: soggy toilet paper clumped
under a shrub just inches from the trail.
Human waste is turning popular routes in the ’Daks into putrid corridors.
While there’s little evidence of serious impact on the environment or
public health—yet—what hiker wants to see pristine wilderness marred by
poop? What’s more, it’s a potential crisis for the recreation-based economy.
Here’s the solution: free WAG bags at trailheads.
WAG bags are heavy-duty, double-lined plastic bags with mutant-
Get this view from from
strength closures. Inside, a gel or powder neutralizes waste, which you then
the 2-mile trail that links Fisk carry to a frontcountry trash can. They’ve been used to clean up popular
Mill and Stump Beach Coves mountains in the West, where climbers—and their poop—are concentrated
in Salt Point State Park. in small areas. Mt. Rainier has required them since the early 1980s. As the
federal government downsizes staff and squeezes budgets, high-traffic
wilderness zones like Mt. Whitney and Canyonlands have removed toilets
and mandated WAG bags.
Trail, the hiking path to Duncan’s Landing The same crowding is now happening in the High Peaks, located in the
(an overlook above the most violent waves), and northeastern corner of Adirondack Park’s 6 million acres. There, Mt. Marcy,
Coyote Hole (a Paleolithic rock structure that housed the state’s high point at 5,344 feet, splits the clouds alongside the other
native Pomo and Coast Miwok people thousands of 46ers, a collection of 46 peaks above 4,000 feet. The region’s management
years ago). Aim for sites 5 through 9, which sit right plan—which is minimal, only limiting group size—was completed in 1999,
on the black-sand beach, for unmatched ocean views a year when about 82,000 hikers visited. The plan was slated for revision
from your tent door. every five years, but the 1999 document remains untouched.
Meanwhile, the waste piles up. In 2016, more than 111,000 hikers visited
Seal encounter the High Peaks. The nonprofit Adirondack 46ers club has registered
A colony of 50 to 100 harbor seals occupies a finishers since 1925; when I completed my 46ers in 1996, I was No. 3,945.
peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the Russian Now the organization has more than 10,000 members. Officials are
River in Goat Rock State Beach. Visit them at the end catching on, kinda: Two years ago, forest rangers used helicopters to drop
of a .5-mile hike north along the trailless beach. In six box privies (as rustic as they sound) at high-traffic trail junctions in the
August, they often splash in the estuary, where they’re High Peaks. But demand exceeds supply, and hikers are still dropping trou
safe from sharks. in the woods without burying the results.
Yes, veteran hikers know better. But beginners often don’t. If this were
Trip planner a national park, a ranger at the entry kiosk would intercept any first-time
SEASON Year-round PERMIT Day-use fees vary hikers and peakbaggers for a Leave No Trace primer. But there are no
park to park CONTACT parks.ca.gov gates to the Adirondacks, nor are there government-run welcome centers.
Education and outreach fall to local gear shops, parking attendants, and
nonprofits like the Adirondack Club (ADK), which runs the High Peaks
Information Center. There, below Marcy, staffers offer tips and tricks to
Central Cali: Skyline-To- NorCal: Granite Lake new visitors—but the main routes in the High Peaks are so busy that even a
Sea Trail, Castle Rock & Trail, Trinity Alps perfectly crafted 6-by-6-inch cathole is sure to hit someone else’s.
Big Basin State Parks Wilderness Instead, ADK and other nonprofit groups could fund and organize free
Trek 29.5 miles through Mountains, waterfalls, WAG bags at trailheads, with a sign that explains how and why they work.
the Santa Cruz Moun- and wildflowers highlight That would provide clarity to those hikers so uninformed, inexperienced,
tains to the Pacific. this 10.3-mile out-and- or just oblivious that they’d leave a bowel movement on trail.
Contact bit.do/big- back. Contact bit.do/ No, it won’t be easy. But what’s the alternative? It’s time for Adirondack
basin-redwoods trinity-alps-wild backpackers to clean up their own mess. Q

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 21
play list

Enter fantasyland.
7 BOCH HOLLOW STATE
NATURE PRESERVE, OHIO

Lord of the Rings, Avatar, Peter Pan,

Pocahontas—when we saw this
photo, our staff proffered all the usual
suspects for fictional paradise. But
this place is real and it’s stateside—in
Ohio, no less. Even more surprising?
Corkscrew Falls remains a kind of
local secret, so chances for solitude
are high—even in midsummer—says
photographer Katie Yarborough.
Less than four years ago, it was on
private property, but now Corkscrew is
contained in Boch Hollow State Nature
Preserve, which means anyone can
go. It’s only a matter of time before it
becomes a classic, so find the cataract
now, .5 mile from the unmarked
trailhead just east of the intersection of
Zwickle Road and OH 664. You need a
permit to hike in the preserve (free; bit
.do/corkscrew-falls-permit). Contact
bit.do/boch-hollow
 WEEKENDS
Test the Waters
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness

8 1 of 3
State Park, Michigan
Sitting on the pebbly shore, Lake Superior licking my toes and the midsummer sun tickling my
back, I have every reason in the world to make my camp right here. It’d be worthy of this magazine,
but I’m just 3 miles into an 18.6-mile overnight and I have a hunch there’s something better ahead.
That’s how it is in the Porkies: Driftwood-strewn beaches give way to leafy corridors, and hardwood
forests open to rocky promenades. So I snap one more picture, strap on my pack, and keep going. It’s
usually bad form to pass up a sure thing, but, luckily, the Porkies are full of them. BY RACHEL SAYERS

River tumbles down smooth sandstone,

Turn-by-turn
From the Lake Superior
trailhead on Hwy 107
1 Descend 2.4 miles on the Lake
Superior Trail to the shoreline.
2 Turn west (hiker’s left) and follow
the lake 6.1 miles to the mouth of the
Big Carp River.
3 Veer south onto the Big Carp River
Trail and take it 1.5 miles to Shining
Cloud Falls .
4 Back on the main trail, continue 7.5
miles along the escarpment to Lake of
the Clouds Overlook on Hwy 107.
5 Follow the paved road 1.1 miles
back to your car.
Campsite
Shining Cloud Falls (mile 10)
Pitch your tent in a hemlock grove near
nature’s best white-noise machine. The
campground has room for half a dozen
tents (first-come, first-serve) and is
just a short, camp shoe-friendly walk
from Shining Cloud Falls. More a flume
than a vertical cascade, the Big Carp
bending through a natural channel, its
largest drop just 12 feet. If the campsite
is taken, backtrack .5 mile downstream.
Gone fishin’
Anglers will be hard-pressed to find
better backcountry access for hooking
a steelhead in the region than the Big
Carp River. Throw your line in the 1.4-
mile section between the river’s mouth
at Lake Superior and Shining Cloud
Falls. Brookies also hide in the pools
upstream from camp.
Naming rights
The Ojibwa natives thought the
forested ridgelines in this area
resembled the spines of a porcupine,
dubbing them the Porcupine Mountains.
Yes, you can find the mountains’
namesakes in the old-growth hardwood
forests—one of the largest tracts west
of the Adirondacks. Also cool: the large
population of black bears.
Music festival
If you’re into Americana or folk music,
time your trip around the annual
Porcupine Mountains Music Festival
(this year: August 25 to 27). The festival
is within the park boundary, so make
a “basecamp” of sorts in the Union
Bay Campground (starting at $18;
midnrreservations.com). It’s $90 for
a three-day pass. Find more info at
porkiesfestival.org.
DO IT TRAILHEAD 46.811318, -89.755020;
22 miles west of Ontonagon on Hwy
107 SEASON May to October; August
has ideal air temps, but beware the
blackflies PERMIT Required ($15/night);
obtain from visitor center CUSTOM MAP
bit.do/BPmapShiningCloudFalls ($15)
CONTACT bit.do/porkies TRIP DATA
backpacker.com/shining-cloud-falls
Trip stats
Distance: 18.6 miles (loop)
Time: 2 days
Difficulty:

MOUNTAIN WEST MIDWEST

Harvest your lunch. Follow your nose: Look for ripe beechnuts on
9 By August, you can forage It’s mint season. the forest floor; they’re tasty
these regional favorites. both raw and roasted.

NORTHEAST
PACIFIC NORTHWEST It’s high time for apples
ILLUSTRATION BY GIOVANNI CORRADO LEONE

Enjoy huckleberries right off the and blueberries.

bush (be mindful of bears, who
TEXT BY ASHLEY HALLIGAN (HARVEST)

also enjoy them).

MID-ATLANTIC
Wild pawpaws—
SOUTHWEST similar to mangoes—
Find pine nuts above 5,000
PHOTOS BY ISTOCK.COM (8)

litter the forest floor,

feet. (You’ll have to yank and persimmons start
them from their cones and to ripen.
shell them, of course.)
SOUTHEAST
WEST Elderberries grow in open
Scan for manzanita berries, meadows, while ramps—a
as well as mushrooms like type of onion—sprout from
chanterelles. shady areas.

Get tips on how to forage safely on page 48. B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 23

play list
No. 11 Join the Best. Trail Party. Ever.

WEEKENDS
What? You haven’t signed up for the 2017 Colorado Trail

10
Fest yet? You didn’t know that we join forces with the
Colorado Outward Bound School to throw a hiker party
on the finest terrain in the state? Well, now you know. In
September, we’re heading out with like-minded hikers (yes,
you) to tackle a 25-mile section of the Colorado Trail. The
2 of 3 four-day trek ends with music, a feast, and gear giveaways.
Get inspiration at backpacker.com/2016-colorado-trail-
fest, then sign up at bit.do/2017-colorado-trail-fest.

Hike It All
Hickory Creek Wilderness,
Pennsylvania
I wake to gathering sunlight and chirping sparrows, but I lie back
in my hammock. I have plenty of time for a restful morning—cup
of strong coffee and a big breakfast—before knocking off the
remainder of this 12.8-mile loop through the Alleghenies’ northern
hardwoods. The only designated wilderness in Pennsylvania with
trails, Hickory Creek is both wild enough to earn the highest level of
federal protection, and small enough to hike in a mellow weekend.
Maybe I’ll have a second cup of joe. BY NATHAN PIPENBERG

Turn by turn Bragging rights

From the Hickory
Creek trailhead
1 Head 1.4 miles west then
south through a corridor of
red maples and white oaks
on the Hickory Creek Trail
to a junction and the
beginning of the loop.
2 Continue south (hiker’s
left) to do the loop clockwise
for a longer first day, traveling
through stands of 60-foot-
tall eastern hemlocks and
along a stream to a small
meadow at Jack’s Run
at mile 7.1.
3 Continue on the Hickory
Creek Trail through sparser
forest and past sandstone
rock formations to the
Pennsylvania has just two
designated wilderness areas,
and the other is a collection
of tiny river islands. So tick
off this trip, and you’ll have
checked off every wilderness
trail mile in the state.
Route-finding
DO-NUT SKIP
To preserve the wilderness
12 THIS TRAIL.
character of this trail, land
managers went light on the
blazes. You’ll want a map If you love hiking (you’re reading this magazine)
(Trails Illustrated #738/739; and donuts (you’re human), then you’re going
natgeomaps.com) and to love the new 43-mile Donut Trail in Butler
compass. County, Ohio. Finished in 2016, the route passes
nine bakeries as it snakes from Middletown to

PHOTO BY (TOP) KENNAN HARVEY; ISTOCK.COM / GANGLIU10

original junction at mile 11.4.
4 Retrace your steps 1.4
miles to the trailhead.
Campsite
Jack’s Run (mile 7.1)
Pitch a tent in the small
meadow that’s trimmed
with black-eyed Susans
this time of year. Bring a
hammock: Two perfect trees
in the area make for a great
hang site. (Get tips and gear
picks for hammock camping
on page 51.) Find reliable
water in the brook just north.
DO IT TRAILHEAD 41.698591, West Chester via sidewalks. (Over-achievers
-79.252689; 15 miles south can access the 86-mile Great Miami River Trail
of Warren on Hearts Content
Rd. SEASON Year-round (it’s
skiable in winter) PERMIT
None CUSTOM MAP bit.do/
BPmapHickoryCreekLoop
($15) CONTACT bit.do/
allegheny-nf TRIP DATA
backpacker.com/hickory- for a chance to
creek-loop
INFO
Trip stats
Distance: 12.8 miles
(lollipop-loop)
Time: 2 days
Difficulty:

24 08.2017
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play list

WEEKENDS

13 3 of 3

Get Low
Hells Canyon
Wilderness, Idaho
Stand on top of a mountain and
everything recedes around you.
That’s fine, but I prefer the opposite
effect—when the world seems to
swallow you whole. That’s how I
feel now, midway through a 40-mile
epic through the country’s deepest
canyon. Towering, brown-and-green
walls crowd around me and the calm
Snake River, which bored this chasm
millennia ago. There’s a name-brand
canyon like this one in the southwest
corner of the country, but here,
beneath a canopy of ponderosa, The Snake River Trail #102
I don’t have to share. Well, except follows its namesake
through Hells Canyon.
for the bighorn sheep, elk, and
partridges. BY IDA KORIC

Turn by turn
From the Pittsburg
Landing trailhead
1 Pick up the Snake River
National Recreational Trail
#102 and take it 6 miles
south to Kirkwood , a good
turnaround point for those
looking for a quick overnight.
2 Continue south to Bernard
Creek at mile 20.7 .
3 Retrace your steps to
Pittsburg Landing. (Not down
for a mega day? Spend
another night at Sheep Creek
on your way back; it’s midway
between Bernard Creek and
Kirkwood, near mile 27.)
Campsite 1
Kirkwood Historic
Ranch (mile 6)
Rustic charm meets the
backcountry in a throwback
to the early 1900s. Historic
buildings remain largely
unchanged from when the
place was a sheep farm. Flush
toilets are nice, but the best
part is the creek-side camping
in the meadow. There are five
sites; if all are taken, continue
south on the trail to more
dispersed campsites.
Campsite 2
Bernard Creek (mile 20.7)
Pitch your tent in the meadow
among an array of summer
blooms. Water access is a
breeze, and intrepid visitors
can downclimb the canyon
to the Snake River (there is a
nice beach campsite down
there). Skip the old McGaffee
cabin unless you like mice.
Gone fishin’
Cast a line for steelhead trout,
walleye, and even monstrous
sturgeon in the Snake River.
(Or wait for the chinook
salmon run in fall.)
Make it longer
Sucker for suffering? Keep
going 5 miles south on the
main trail (#102), then split
east onto the Little Granite
Creek Trail (#112), which
heads 5 miles—climbing
more than 6,000 feet—into
the alpine zone. But a DIY
adventure through the 9,000-
foot Seven Devils Mountains
is awesome in its own right,
we promise. (Leave a shuttle
car at Windy Saddle.)
Make it shorter
Jet-boat outfitters offer
drops along Trail #102. Catch
a ride with the U.S. Mail boat
($219; hellscanyontours.com)
to Sheep Creek Ranch to
knock off the first 14.5 miles.
From there, you can continue
6.2 miles on foot to Bernard
Creek or head back north to
the trailhead, overnighting at
Kirkwood Historic Ranch.
DO IT TRAILHEAD 45.617565,
-116.462803; 20 miles
southwest of White Bird
off NF-493 SEASON March
through November; summer
is great for swimming and
flora, but temps can crest
90°F. Wait for late summer PHOTO BY BEN HERNDON / TANDEMSTOCK.COM
or early fall for best weather.
PERMIT None CUSTOM MAP
bit.do/BPmapHellsCanyon
($15) CONTACT bit.do/hells-
canyon-rec-area TRIP
DATA backpacker.com/
hells-canyon
Trip stats
Distance: 41.4 miles
(out & back)
Time: 3 days
Difficulty:

26 08.2017
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play list
Mt. Cabot
TH
Mt. Moosilauke
Beaver Brook
trailhead
Go Big:
14
THE EXPERIENCE
Superhike
Forget the comfort zone. Let ambition
be your guide. BY ANDREW DRUMMOND
­THE END IS NEAR. My headlamp
throws its dying light on a reel of rock and
dirt and root that had seemed endless,
except now I’m approaching the final
summit on my 48-peak thru-hike in New
Hampshire’s White Mountains.
A year ago, almost to the day, I heard
about a woman who climbed all the 48ers
in 10 days, like a thru-hiker. The route was
a masterpiece. In one of the most heavily
hiked ranges in the country, it offered a
new way to see a familiar place. Instead of
following all the overtrafficked paths from
overcrowded trailhead parking lots, she
linked the peaks by trail.
That planted the seed. It grew when I
received a phone call from a friend of a
friend telling me that Scott Jurek was about
to pass through the White Mountains on his
Appalachian Trail record attempt and, since
I knew the terrain, could I crew for him. I met
Jurek at Mt. Moosilauke the next morning
and went stride-for-stride with him for three
IN THE . . .in which we
CLUB
honor the best
15 hiking clubs in
the country.
28 08.2017
TH York Pond East
trailhead
Mt. Washington
days. We hiked and ran to exhaustion, slept
briefly, then did it again. I’d never moved
through the mountains like that before.
In short, I was inspired, which is how I
came to stand at Mt. Moosilauke’s Beaver
Brook trailhead on July 24, 2016—with 240
miles, 70,000 feet of elevation change, and
48 summits ahead of me.
I was giddy the entire first day, all six
peaks and 37 miles that brought me to a
dispersed campsite near Franconia Ridge.
But sometime around midnight, I woke
up shivering. In an effort to save weight, I’d
packed a bivy and a paper-thin sleeping
mat, but no bag. For the next four hours, I
toggled in and out of sleep. But a trip like this
demands a certain amount of self-delusion,
so at 4 a.m., I packed up and did it again.
I soon found my rhythm. Hike all morning,
succumb to a 20-minute nap on the side of
the trail, hike all afternoon, and bed down
in my bivy sack around dusk. A few hours
later, once the shivering starts, keep going.
How’s this for making the most of retirement? The more than 500 seasoned members of Seniors
Outdoors! tackle dayhikes across the Four Corners region twice a week. When conditions allow,
they switch it up by skiing or cycling—which makes sense because the Durango, Colorado-based
group has some of the country’s biggest, baddest terrain just out the backdoor. Check them out at
seniorsoutdoors.org.
Nominate your hiking club at intheclub@backpacker.com.
WHITE
M O U N TA I N
DIRETTISSIMA
240 70,000 feet
MILES of elevation change
48 summits 5 DAYS
OVER 23 H OU R S
4,000 feet 58 MINUTE S
Count ’em: The author’s route tagged
all 48 peaks over 4,000 feet in the Whites
(pictured: Mts. Liberty and Flume from
Franconia Ridge). Get beta at backpacker
.com/white-mountain-direttissima.
The sleep deprivation weighed on me, but
the alpine scenery soothed my mind. I was
awake and moving along the trail during the
golden hours at dawn and dusk as I strung
together peak after peak after peak.
I didn’t dwell much on pain or hunger or
fatigue. The enormity of the thing I’d chosen
to do carried me past those. It was like
climbing through a cloud bank on an airplane
and emerging into bright, steady sunshine. If
there was one emotion lingering in my heart
as I cruised along it was simple joy.
At 2:30 a.m., nearly six days after the
start, I neared the final summit: Mt. Cabot. I’d
arranged to have my girlfriend and her father
meet me near the top to join me for the end.
When a light blinked on in the forest ahead,
I figured it was them. But then an unfamiliar
voice said, “Hey, you mind if I hike with you?
I’ve been following your hike online and
wanted to come see you finish.”
I couldn’t believe it. Here was a guy who’d
driven and hiked into the night to see me
complete my superhike. With renewed vigor,
I hiked with my new companion until we
reached my girlfriend and her father. Then,
PHOTO BY ANDREW DRUMMOND
near the summit, they let me climb the last
peak alone. I touched the top, then scurried
back to the final trailhead to close it out in
just under six days.
And so I’d done it. I’d risen to the challenge
of the route and the terrain. But more than
that, I’d learned an important lesson from
Jurek: The only thing better than watching
something big happen is doing it, whatever it
is, yourself. Q
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play list

DONE IN A DAY

16
Show Time
A total solar eclipse sweeps across
the country on August 21. Catch the
spectacle from these three hike-in
Nab this view of the Grand
spots. BY MARA JOHNSON-GROH from Signal Mountain.

Signal Mountain Trail

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK,
WYOMING
Tip your hat to the celestial gods: The
PHOTOS BY (FROM LEFT) ISTOCK.COM / GANNET77; MARK KIVER. ILLUSTRATION BY GIOVANNI CORRADO
the Cove Hollow Trail on the out, hiking 2
miles through a canopy of oak, hickory, and
cedar to the lakeshore. (Head out around
noon to arrive at the boat launch by 1:21 p.m.
for peak viewing.) On the dock, listen for

LEONE. TEXT BY JUSTINE HARRINGTON (TWO-STEP) AND TYLER VANDERMOLEN (VISION)

eclipse’s path will cross the Tetons. You could confused warblers, vireos, and woodpeckers,
hop on any airy trail in Grand Teton National which may sing, thinking it’s dusk. After, loop
Park and guarantee yourself a great show, back to the trailhead by connecting the Wolf
but for a treeless summit (and a view of the Den Hollow and Cedar Lake Trails. Contact
iconic parapets), we recommend the 6.8-mile fs.usda.gov/shawnee
lollipop-loop to 7,720-foot Signal Mountain,
an isolated peak that rises out of Jackson Swamp Fox Passage
Hole Valley. Take the trail of the same name FRANCIS MARION NATIONAL FOREST, Vision Quest
past a small lily pond and through conifers SOUTH CAROLINA The only way you can safely view the
to an intersection near mile .7. Hike the loop total eclipse with the naked eye is head
by linking the Ridge and Lake Trails through At its tail, the eclipse crosses the lowland on at its peak. If you aren’t in the path of
lodgepole pines and meadows, past the swamps of South Carolina, which is great—if totality, meaning you won’t see it head
overlook at mile 3.5. Enjoy eclipse views you can find an opening in the canopy. We on or you’ll only see its partial phases, you
here, as well as vistas of the Tetons and Gros like the Swamp Fox Passage, which emerges should make a pinhole projector to save
Ventres. (Begin your hike before 10 a.m. to from the dense palmettos and longleaf your peepers.
get in position for prime viewing at 11:36 a.m.) pines near Turkey Creek. Check off a 7-mile
Contact nps.gov/grte section from the Witherbee Ranger Station; You Need
head northeast through the lowlands to A cardboard shoebox
Cedar Lake Trail Turkey Creek, where the pines give way to Aluminum foil
SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, ILLINOIS grasslands and open views. (The eclipse A sheet of white paper
peaks at 2:46 p.m.; leave around 10 a.m. to Tape
The total eclipse will last nearly three time it right.) Retrace your steps to make it a Scissors
minutes in southern Illinois—longer than 14-mile out-and-back, or continue 12 miles to A thumbtack
anywhere else in the country. Savor the the Halfway Creek parking lot at milepost 6
eerie darkness on a 4-mile lollipop-loop to (arrange a shuttle car). Dispersed camping is Steps
Cedar Lake. From the 1,750-acre pool, you’re permitted—if one moment of nighttime isn’t 1. Cut a Post it-size hole in one end of the
guaranteed wide-open views skyward. Take enough. Contact fs.usda.gov/scnfs box and cover it with a piece of taped foil.
2. Poke a small hole in the center of the
foil with the thumbtack.
3. Tape the paper inside the box, directly
opposite the foil.
17 Two-step through Texas. 4. Cut a hole in the bottom of the box
that’s big enough for you to see through to
the white paper.
Hike, swim, dance, repeat. It’s not a bad lineup for summertime in the Hill Country, and you 5. Stand with your back to the sun,
can do it all at Garner State Park, where the pavilion transforms into an old-timey dance holding the box over your head. Adjust
hall every night. Our recommendation: First, tackle the .5-mile climb up Old Baldy Moun- your position until the sun enters through
tain for a breezy throne and views down to Frio Canyon. Next, descend to the Frio itself, the pinhole and you can see a negative
which, as its name implies, is icy-cold year-round. When the lightning bugs start flicker- image of the eclipse projected on the
ing, head over to the pavilion for the Summer Dance (free; bit.do/garner-summer-dance). white paper inside the box.

30 08.2017
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truly become essential equipment.

Mike Libecki and Cheyne Lempe product testing while climbing in the
Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
Photo: Cheyne Lempe

MOU NTA IN HAR DWEA R

 ki l l s
M A N U A L
T H E

Cross a
Talus Field
Traverse loose rocks without breaking an ankle
with these tips from Chris Spanton, instructor for
Seattle-based outdoors club The Mountaineers.

1) Slow down. Don’t jump from rock to rock. Shift

your weight gradually, testing each stepping stone
to make sure it’s wobble-free. Probe rocks with
trekking poles if you’ve got them. 2) Aim for a
bull’s-eye. In general, a rock’s center of mass offers
the most stable landing. 3) Mind the moraine. At a
glacier’s edge, steer clear of rubble, which may not
have had time to settle. 4) Read the rocks.
PHOTO BY ETHAN WELTY. TEXT BY COREY BUHAY

Boulders covered with lichen should be plenty

stable (growth indicates they haven’t shifted in a
while), but tread carefully–lichen can be slippery.
5) Avoid snow patches. Late-season snow can
conceal crevices and unstable rocks. 6) Stick
together. Stay in tight single file to avoid sending
kicked rocks rolling onto other group members. If
the leader is dislodging a lot of rollers, reduce your
angle and use switchbacks. Gather the group before
changing direction. 7) Be flexible. Rock fields exist
in geologically unstable terrain. Don’t blindly follow
Test rocks before
tracks or cairns: Assess current conditions before
committing your
weight. Pictured: choosing a route. “Footprints aren’t necessarily a
Cirque of the sign of intelligent life,” Spanton says.
Towers, Wyoming.

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 33
skills

cheat sheet

Navigate at Night
Darkness catch you off trail and far from camp? Have no fear. Follow these tips from Army Mountain Warfare
instructor Sergeant Steve Jennings to stay on track without the sun’s help. BY COREY BUHAY

NIGHT DAY
FIND YOURSELF
Determine your precise position before the
sun vanishes. Not sure? Triangulate by taking
bearings off two landmarks and transferring
them to your map. You’re located where they 1
intersect.

X
X

AMPLIFY YOUR NIGHT VISION

Offset your gaze 10 to 15 degrees from the
point you want to view. This utilizes light-
sensing rod cells on the edges of your retina to
let you pick up more detail in the dark.

LEAPFROG 3
Use your partner as a landmark. Direct him ahead as far as possible along your bearing to mark your
place. When he’s just out of your headlamp’s reach, catch up. Repeat.

PACE OFF
When your route leaves little margin for error, like when
navigating back to a trail junction, calculate the length of
your stride and count steps. On your map, track distance
traveled to accurately measure progress.
TRAVEL SMART
1. Go long. Opt for easy
PRO TIP terrain even if it means taking
GO BIG Bring a lanyard. “You might a longer route and going
Locate small targets by way of large ones. Looking for a trip, and a compass tumbling around ridges or scree slopes
mountainside campsite? Go to the summit first (if it’s safe down a rock face isn’t so you’d go over in daylight.
and easy to do so), then get a compass bearing and work helpful,” Jennings says. 2. Aim to miss. On your
down toward the site from there. map, find a fixed “handrail”
PHOTO BY TK BY GIOVANNI CORRADO LEONE

like a stream or ridge that

leads past your destination.
Navigate first to that feature,
then follow it to your mark.
HUNKER DOWN FOR THE NIGHT
! !
3. Simplify. Use 90-degree
Terrain getting steep? Dangerous weather moving in? turns to go around obstacles.
Better call it quits before someone gets hurt. Count your steps to return
accurately to your bearing.
ILLUSTRATION

NEVER GET LOST Hone your navigation skills and fi nd your way anywhere. Learn everything from map-and-compass basics to staying on
track in the most challenging terrain in BACKPACKER’s online Backcountry Navigation course. To register, go to aimadventureu.com.

34 08
X.2017
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skills
pass fail
T H E CH A L L E N G E
Link 10 Peaks in a Day
A seasoned mountaineer battles a storm and his
ego during a single-day attempt of New Hampshire’s
Presidential Traverse. BY BASSAM TARAZI
STOP. The area ahead has
the worst weather in America.
Many have died there from
exposure even in the summer.
Turn back now if the weather
is bad.
THE SIGN was clear, but I
was on a mission. I’d just left
treeline on the Presidential
Traverse, a nearly 23-mile,
exposed ridge walk in New
Hampshire. Hiking it in a day
is a regional test piece, and
that’s what I aimed to do.
One of the toughest
hikes east of the Rockies, it
boasts nearly 18,000 feet
of elevation change and
10 summits above 4,000
feet—including 6,288-foot
36 08.2017
Mt. Washington, aka “Little
Everest,” the highest point
in the Northeast. But it’s the
weather, not the elevation,
that gives this hike its teeth.
The White Mountains sit
at a confluence of several
storm tracks. Air picks up
speed as it pours east over
the mountains, building into
a frenzy that routinely clocks
in at 100 mph.
But it was July, prime
summit season, and though
weather reports don’t mean
much here, only a little
rain marred the forecast.
Physically, I was in top shape,
and mentally, I was bolstered
by the memories of treks I’d
taken to Mt. Kilimanjaro,
Mt. Kinabalu, and Everest
Base Camp. Compared to
those climbs, this would be a
piece of cake.
I smiled at the sign and
walked on by, and when
a gusting fog ambushed
me on my way up 5,366-
foot Mt. Madison, the first
summit of my southbound
trek, I shrugged it off. A little
breeze? Bring it.
But as visibility dwindled,
so did my cavalier attitude.
Walking in thick mist, my
only guides were cairns and
sporadic blazes. On the
summit, a gale ripped over
the ridge with the roar of
a rocket. I was half-giddy,
half-terrified: The next three
summits were even higher.
I had been ready for
weather, but I didn’t expect it
to be as bad as it was. At the
top of 5,774-foot Mt. Adams,
my second summit, I was
shocked at how rattled I felt,
but I reassured myself this
was no Kilimanjaro. Onward.
Then a sign emerged: Mt.
Washington, 5.0 miles.
I could walk back to
Madison Spring Hut and no
one would think less of me
(especially if I didn’t tell them
I turned back). Or I could keep
going to Mt. Washington, the
traverse’s high point and the
brass ring my ego wanted to
grab. I sat down with a PB&J
to mull it over.
The rain will blow over,
I thought. Five miles? No
problem. Maybe it was the
PB&J talking.
For the next 90 minutes,
the wind battered my
progress and my resolve.
Is the weather getting
worse? How steep are the
climbs ahead?
I was full of doubt, but I
ILLUSTRATION BY JASON SCHNEIDER
pushed it away. What kind
of mountaineer would I be
if I turned back now, not
even halfway through my
objective? In New Hampshire,
for Pete’s sake? I kept going.
Another sign: Mt.
Washington, 3.1 miles. I was
in no man’s land, equidistant
from Madison Spring Hut and
Mt. Washington. Can’t turn
back now.
Pride drove me through
the storm. The final push
was like walking through
a hurricane. Gusts peaked
at 91 mph, I later learned.
This is hell, I thought. I was
fighting through every step.
I realized that sign at the
beginning of my hike wasn’t
for amateurs. It was for
thick-headed veterans.
It was for me. An amateur
would be drinking cocoa in
a summit hut, not soaked
to the bone and on the brink
of hypothermia.
When I stumbled into
the observatory on Mt.
Washington, the sudden
silence left me reeling.
I sat down, muscles
trembling, and frowned at
all the people shopping for
bumper stickers, enjoying
the day, and taking no
notice of me. The summit
is a hiker’s checkpoint; it’s
supposed to be where the
public looks on in adoration.
But that day, I didn’t feel
like a proud sailor come
ashore. I felt like a guy who
recklessly crashed his jet ski THE VERDIC T
on a crowded beach.
What was I doing here?
I was only halfway done FAIL
with my epic, but I didn’t Little Everest was no joke. I underestimated the Presidential
need another gale-force Traverse in bad weather. I was smart to bail before it was too
wind to remind me. I waited late, but in those conditions I shouldn’t have gone as far as I did.
for the feeling to return
to my fingers, then hailed
a shuttle van.
Mountaineering is about 4 QUESTIONS TO DIAGNOSE SUMMIT FEVER
momentary mastery over
nature and ourselves.
Preparation gets you to WILL GOING ON PUT ME WHO AM I TRYING TO
the card table, but each IN MORE DANGER? IMPRESS?
mountain has its own rules, Take a step back and If thoughts of future
its own odds, and its own make sure you’re social media posts or
ability to deal a bad hand operating with an barstool bragging rights
long after you’ve gone all in. acceptable level of risk keep surfacing, reassess
The mountains are always and plenty of margin for your motivations. What
clear in their warnings, but error. would you do if you
the irony is the more you weren’t allowed to tell
climb, the less you listen. IS GROUPTHINK A anyone about your trip?
That day in the Whites, FACTOR?
I hadn’t been listening. Are your companions AM I ENJOYING THIS?
Now, watching the rain being honest about their Mountaineer Alex Lowe
glaze the van window, I felt nerves or just playing once said, “The best
relief. There’s no shame in nice? Make sure everyone climber is the one having
calling off a summit bid—as chimes in and voices any the most fun.” Keep your
long as you try again when reservations. priorities straight.
the time is right.

Perched above Whale Lake, celebrating

the hike in with friends, Routt National
Forest, CO – Devon Balet

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skills

trail chef

Summer Yogurt Dishes

up her three favorite yogurt-based recipes.

Trail Yogurt Backpacker’s Manti

With a recipe this simple, you’ll make it all the time. 2 servings Pair your yogurt with spices and tortellini to make this
Turkish-inspired dinner. 4 to 5 servings
8 Tbsp. milk powder (use a high-fat powder like
Nido for a richer result) 4 cups shelf-stable tortellini
1 tsp. yogurt culture powder (purchase at your 1 cup trail yogurt
local health foods store) 1 clove garlic
1 3/4 cups water 2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. honey or vanilla sugar, to taste 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
AT HOME ­ Measure milk powder into a small zip-top bag. Put 1 Tbsp. dried mint
culture in a separate bag. pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
AT CAMP ­ Boil 1/4 cup water and pour into an insulated pinch salt
container to warm the metal. In a pan, mix milk powder and 1 3/4
cups water. Scald milk until the edges just start to bubble, then AT HOME ­ Place tortellini in a zip-top bag. Pour olive oil into
PHOTOS BY LOUISA ALBANESE

remove from heat, cover, and cool until it’s just warmer than body
temperature (15-20 minutes). Too much heat will kill the culture.
Too little will keep the yogurt from setting.
Empty the insulated bottle. Add yogurt culture and a few
spoonfuls of warm milk. Stir until powder has dissolved, then
add remaining milk. Mix well, secure the lid, and tuck the bottle
upright in your food bag or bear canister. (Wrap the bottle in
clothing to further insulate in chilly weather and be careful not to
shake, which will prevent setting.) By morning, you’ll have yogurt.
a leakproof container. Combine spices in a small baggie. (Pack
the red pepper flakes separately.) Right before your trip, add a
garlic clove to the zip-top bag. Pack ingredients for trail yogurt.
AT CAMP ­ Boil tortellini according to package directions.
Mince garlic and stir into yogurt with salt and 1 teaspoon olive
oil. Mix the rest of the oil with spice packet and salt. Top pasta
with yogurt sauce and drizzle with spiced oil. Garnish with red
pepper flakes for added heat, if desired.

38 08.2017
 coconut milk
from powder
cardamom
salt
trail yogurt
lime

Spread mango puree on

Pour mango mixture into a one-liter

add yogurt and juice from half the lime. Shake vigorously until
well-combined and frothy.
TIP Starting the rehydration process with cold water the night
before will reduce wait time in the morning.

Yogurt & Chia Pudding

Use this spin on a breakfast bowl to replace your oatmeal—

or your dessert. 2 to 3 servings

2 Tbsp. walnuts, chopped

2 Tbsp. unsweetened coconut
1 Tbsp. pepitas
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup trail yogurt

AT HOME Toast walnuts and coconut in a dry nonstick pan

on medium-high heat until fragrant. Remove from heat and let
cool. Put nuts, coconut, pepitas, and chia seeds in a small zip-top
bag. Pour maple syrup into a leakproof container.
Pack ingredients for trail yogurt.
AT CAMP Mix yogurt with all ingredients. Let sit for 5 to 10
minutes, then serve.
TIP Maple sugar can be used in place of maple syrup. Simply
dissolve it in a little warm water before adding to yogurt.
skills
photo school
Shoot for the Moon
Turn off the lights and turn up the drama. BY PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR GENNY FULLERTON
Increase your focal length.
It takes a long lens to make the
moon, at 240,000 miles away,
seem close. An effective focal
length of 200mm to 600mm is
your best bet.
Steady the camera.
A long focal length magnifies
everything, including movement
from your hand (or the shutter
itself). Use a tripod, the self-timer,
and the mirror lock-up feature to
eliminate shake during exposure.
Add context.
Put the moon in a landscape
by planning your shoot around
moonrise or moonset (when
it’s closest to the horizon).
Check times at weather.gov.
40 08.2017
Pick the best exposure.
It takes a tiny aperture to focus on
both the foreground and the distant
moon. Compensate by upping your
ISO and shutter speed. Remember:
The moon is moving, too, so keep
your shutter speed shorter than 1/4
second. Try HDR and/or bracketing
mode. Post-process to balance the
bright moon and dim foreground.
Consider composition.
Either frame the moon or use it
to encircle a foreground subject.
Juxtapose the moon’s circular shape
with natural lines like trees, grasses,
or stacked horizons. Balance the
image by staggering the moon and
prominent landscape features
on opposite sides of the photo’s
vertical centerline.
SPOT
WHITE SANDS
NATIONAL MONUMENT, NM
SPECS
F/20, 1/30 SEC, ISO 800,
600MM EFFECTIVE
FOCAL LENGTH
JOHN FOWLER
LENS TRICKS
A long lens will produce
save
money
the best quality—but
can cost thousands.
On a budget? Try these
workarounds.
1. Crop it. Though resolution will suffer,
you can shoot wide and crop in for a
post-production zoom job. 2. Rent a lens.
Specialty camera stores and online vendors
lend out their fleets for $20 to $40 per
day. 3. Check your camera. A crop sensor
multiplies the focal length, usually by a
factor of 1.3 to 1.6. If your camera has one,
you can get away with a smaller lens.
Downside: grainier photos. 4. Add a lens
extender. Stick one of these ($100 to $500)
under your lens instead of buying a whole
new one. You’ll lose some quality but save
space, weight, and money.
THE

COVER
CONTEST

Photo: Ian Plant

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and brought back
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PHOTOS. Now take
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COVER CONTEST.
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Try Tasty Bite®’s delicious ready-to-eat Thai,
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©2017 Preferred Brands International. All rights reserved.

 urvival
M A N U A L
T H E

out alive:
flooded

Before we had
time to pull our
rope, a curtain
of water
exploded out of
the slot canyon
300 feet above
and crashed on
top of us.

Eric Hanson, 33, and his

canyoneering party nearly
drowned in a flash food in
Zion’s Behunin Canyon in
August 2013.
PHOTO BY TK

JAMES Q MARTIN

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 43
survival

out alive

It was 5 a.m. in late August, peak monsoon season in horseshoe of house-size boulders, and the
torrent flowing from the nearby channel
Utah, and there were thunderstorms in the forecast. blocked the only exit. We’d have to get over
That was normal for this time of year, but the weather it somehow.
But before we had time to pull our rope
had been mild lately. My brother had driven to St. or look at our options, a curtain of water
George to visit, and the plan was to go canyoneering exploded out of the slot canyon 300 feet
in Zion National Park with two other buddies. Our above and crashed down on top of us. The
incoming surge carried the odor of all
objective? Descend through Behunin Canyon. With the things that had rotted in the canyon,
nine big, beautiful drops, it’s a Zion classic. sequestered in puddles and pools until
now. It smelled like death.
We dove under one of the boulders,
which overhung a few feet and offered
By reading guide books and studying canyon just to the right of him, landing 20 a little protection from the force of the
topo maps, we knew Behunin had a feet away from where I stood. Any minute waterfall. I could hear an occasional
lower flash flood potential than many now, Behunin was going to do the same— rock come crashing down onto our
other canyons in the park because it with the last member of our party still shelter. We were so close to safety, but our
collects water from a relatively small waiting to descend. Was I about to watch opportunity for escape had vanished. We
area. Unlike other canyons that can flash my friend get blasted off the cliff? There was messed up, I thought.
from a rainstorm miles away, Behunin nothing I could do but yell. The four of us communicated as best as
requires an especially intense storm right Luckily, he started down just as that first we could by yelling over the roaring water.
overhead. For that reason, it’s a better flow really began to gush. When his feet All our clothes were soaked. The bigger
rainy season option than most. touched the bottom, the four us shouted danger: being swept away or crushed by
With blue skies in all directions, we with relief. falling debris. Waiting it out wasn’t just our
approached Behunin via the West Rim But it was too soon to celebrate. We’d best hope; it was our only hope.
Trail. We stopped at the top of the first finished the technical section, but we were We huddled together. Thinking this
rappel to discuss our options. Once we still stuck: The bottom of the rappel was a might be the end, I shouted out a prayer,
dropped in, there’d be no turning back. But
stoke was high, and the weather looked
good. We roped up.
It didn’t take long for us to see why the One of the group
route is a classic. Rope length by rope peers down the
final rappel, just
length, we descended farther into a world before the flood.
of rust-colored rock. After the fourth
rappel, we hit sandy floor, almost 550 feet
from the canyon rim. The sun was shining,
and everything was going as planned. We
didn’t see a single cloud until the sixth
rappel, but even then the sky didn’t seem
all that threatening. We only had three
more drops to go, so we took our time to
savor the beauty.
Finally, we made it to the big payoff,
a 300-foot, two-stage rappel with Zion’s
entire panorama spread out before us. We
had been in a narrow slot with a limited
view of the sky for hours, but now we
could finally see the bigger picture: thick,
black rainclouds sweeping across the
landscape. And headed right toward us.
We quickly fixed the ropes. One by
one, the four of us rappelled 135 feet to
our midway station, where we reset for
the final 165-foot, free-hanging rappel.
Within minutes the weather changed from
a drizzle to a downpour. Just one more
PHOTO BY ERIC RETTERBUSH

rappel, I thought. We’re almost there.

I dropped down on the rope and looked
up at the three guys still standing on the
ledge. Rain pelted my face, and I noticed
rivulets beginning to track down the cliffs.
The rain fell harder as the second in our
party joined me at the bottom. Just as my
brother began his rappel, a burst of water
shot out of a channel from a separate

44 08.2017
“Lord, protect us. I pray a hedge of protection around us. Nothing will hit
us. We will not drown. We will not be swept away. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”
I sat waist-deep in flowing water, and rain dripped off my hat brim. I could key FLASH FLOOD SAFETY
skills BY TYLER VANDERMOLEN
barely see, but I knew my companions were as terrified as I was. I kept trying
to burrow deeper into the recesses of the boulder, but I couldn’t get any
more shelter. Stay calm. Stay calm. We’ve got to make it through this. I clung
Check the forecast. the danger zone if the
to two large rocks that I could feel moving as the sediment was pulled from
Scan the local weather water rises.
underneath. I couldn’t shake the thought: Someone is going to find my GoPro
report for precip.
and my parents are going to watch how their two sons died.
Remember: Storms Wear a helmet.
An hour later, the pounding of water still hadn’t abated. I began to shake
miles away can feed Tumbling rocks and logs
violently. My speech slurred. Hypothermia. I realized the four of us couldn’t
the drainage you’re in, can be more dangerous
wait it out much longer.
so clear skies directly than the deluge.
That’s when we noticed the deluge begin to slow. Just a little. Just enough
above don’t always
to spot a tumble of logs bridging the gap to the other side—a way out. The
indicate safety. Find a shield. Duck
four of us debated our escape, still having to shout over the noise. We
under an overhang or
knew we had to risk exposing ourselves to the full force of the flood if we
Do your recon. Some behind a nearby barrier,
didn’t want to freeze in place. Careful not to get swept away, we inched
areas are more prone boulder, or rock wall to
our way down and around the boulder, grasping anything to keep us from
to flooding than others. avoid falling debris and
slipping into the current. We made it to the edge of the water, where the logs,
During monsoon pounding water. Stay
probably thrown down the canyon by a previous rainstorm, formed a slick
season, avoid high-risk there until the flood
and tenuous crossing. It was our only option for safe passage, but a slip here
zones like narrow slots, subsides or a safe route
would be fatal.
and select routes that presents itself.
I watched as the others proceeded, crawling across the logs and then
leave you multiple outs.
climbing the boulder on the other side. I was the last to cross. I was shivering,
Read the flood lines.
and my backpack had filled with sand. My brother noticed me struggling.
Stay alert. Keep tabs The bathtub ring of
He grabbed my pack, hauling me up and over. I stood panting, finally out
on possible escape debris on the canyon
of danger, and the four of us stared at each other in silent disbelief. We had
routes as you descend. walls will tell you
emerged on the other side of the flood, alive.
Knowing the quickest how high the water is
We drove home in silence with the heater blasting. As the warmth crept
way to scramble back likely to get. Try to get
back in, we realized how lucky we were. When things go wrong in a canyon,
up gives you the best higher than the highest
they go wrong fast. I’ll never forget the way the water roared. I’ll never forget
chance of getting out of marooned log.
that power.
 survival
saved by
A headlamp
You never leave home without one. Now put it to use to
ensure you always make it back.
FLAG DOWN RESCUERS
Flash your light in groups of
three to indicate distress. If
you’re in a wooded area, tie the
headlamp to the end of a long
stick to reach over vegetation.
Wave it to create a visible arc.
Out of battery? Tap lightly
around the side of the lamp with
a sharp rock to separate the
silver cup behind the bulb. Use
the cup to reflect sunlight.
I G H T E N CATCH FISH
L UP
If your batteries die or you can’t
ignore your hunger, repurpose
reflective elements to attract
fish. Work loose the silver LED
RO
TA C T P
backing by pressing the edge
A I R C O N SER IE S of the disc with a sharp rock.
TRE K K IN G Then smash the headlamp
casing and fashion a gorge
hook (pictured) from a shard
of sharpened plastic. Braid
thread from the headband for a
serviceable fishing line. Rather
keep your lamp intact? Though
illegal in some states under
normal circumstances, holding a
light over the water at night will
attract plenty of species and lure
them to a waiting hook or net.
46 08.2017
START A FIRE
Strip and splice wires from
the guts of the lamp until you
can touch the ends to either
terminus of a AA or AAA
battery. (Partial charge will do.)
This shorts the battery, turning
the wire red-hot with electrical
current. Use it to ignite tinder,
but beware: Shorted batteries
are prone to small but sudden
explosions. Wear gloves and
glasses if you can.
REPAIR GEAR
PHOTOS BY LOUISA ALBANESE (LEFT); ISTOCK.COM / TAB1962
The lamp’s plastic casing is
just a little whittling away from
becoming a sturdy needle.
Break it open with a rock and
use a knife to hone splinters
into sewing tools. Use your
needle to work loose nylon
strands from the headband to
use as thread.
TREAT INJURIES
The elastic headband can
double as a compression
bandage or to hold a splint
in place.
 survival
den mother
Safe Foraging
Everything looks good when you’re starving. Let Den
Mother tell you what’s really on the menu.
If I don’t have a field guide
with me, how can I tell if a
plant is safe to eat?
- Caleb Gordon, via email
Plan A: Stick with what you
know. Odds are, you’re
familiar with yard plants—
clover, dandelions, and
chickweed—and other
common edibles. (See page
23 for the August harvest.)
Plan B is a song and dance
we call the Universal Edibility
Test. If you’re an impatient
eater, beware: this is not a
quick process.
First rule out known
baddies like poison ivy, then
wildcards like mushrooms,
many of which can kill you in
just one bite. About 95
percent of all other plants are
WHERE WILL YOU GO
IN YOUR LOWAs?
THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL. PATAGONIA. THE GRAND CANYON. BIG SUR. MOUNT SNOWDON. PYRENEES. MT BLANC. CAMINO DE SANTIAGO. CHAMONIX. THE MASAI MARA OF KENYA. NORWAY.
®
Lady Light GTX I Glove-leather lining option also available
GORE-TEX®, GTX®, GORE®, and GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY® and design are registered trademarks of W.L. Gore & Associates Inc. ©2017 LOWA Boots, LLC.
at least partially edible,
according to North Carolina
foraging instructor and author
Alan Muskat. Even so, don’t go
munching willy-nilly without
expert supervision unless UV purification pens the title of this page through
you’re really starving. are pretty effective. the bottom of the bottle.
Divide a plant into leaves, Can I achieve the same No dice? That means the UV
stems, and buds, and test effect using sunlight? can’t penetrate. (Strain
each separately. Nix anything - Shelby Terraza, via email murky liquid through fabric.)
with a foul odor or pale, milky When all’s clear, find direct
sap. Next step: Touch a small All UV rays destroy pathogen sunlight. Lay the bottle on a
piece to the inside of your arm. DNA, but unlike an easy-to- dark surface and hunker
ILLUSTRATION BY BRETT AFFRUNTI
If you’re reaction-free after 15 use Steripen, sunlight takes down; zapping germs this
minutes, try your lip and wait some coaxing. Grab a clean, way takes at least six hours.
again. Tongue’s next. If there’s clear plastic bag or bottle. A If over half the sky is gray,
still no reaction, ingest a small new PET water or soda bottle wait a full 48 hours. If the
piece and wait eight hours. works best. A clear Nalgene whole business is cloudy?
Getting ill? Bring it back up til will do if it’s not too scratched Best work on your rain dance.
your stomach’s empty. If up: Without near-perfect
you’re symptom-free, try a transparency (of both water Got a question for Den
small handful. Feel good after and plastic), the sun can’t do Mother? Email it to
eight more hours? Green light. its job. To test, try and read denmother@backpacker.com.
The Lady Light GTX®, designed to keep sensitive feet happy over many miles of trekking,
features a one-piece upper with no interior stitching, flat lace loops to prevent hot spots,
our patented lasted GORE-TEX® lining for a wrinkle-free fit with improved climate control,
and a shock-absorbing DuraPU™ midsole for long-lasting support and comfort.
It’s details like these that go into every LOWA, so you can get the most out of every hike,
trek or climb.
Leave your footprint #LOWABOOTS
(your pix could be in our next ad....)
 summitforsomeone.org

JUL 7–9 Mt. Shasta

JUL 7–11
CLIMBS
BSS

The Grand Teton

JUL 10–12 Mt. Shasta
MBB

JUL 17–21 Mt. Olympus

LIM

JUL 28–31 The Grand Teton

AUG 25–27 Longs Peak
2017
0 7

GET OUT MORE SEPT 1–3 Mt. Whitney

SEPT 15–17 Presidential Traverse
8 2
FS C

FEBRUARY
2018

Mt. Washington: Winter Ascent

FEBRUARY Orizaba
SFS

MAY Longs Peak

SF

JUNE Mt. Hood

JULY Mt. Moran
S

JULY Mt. Baker

AUGUST Palisades Traverse

MTN
MEISTER
PODCAST
 GET OUT MORE

COMING TO A
TOWN NEAR YOU
Join us for an entertaining and engaging
75-minute backpacking skills and gear clinic
(and of course...DOOR PRIZES!)
2017 EVENT DETAILS
JUNE
6 Fin and Feather Iowa City, IA 6:30 PM
7 Canfield’s Sporting Goods Omaha, NE 6:30 PM
8 Alpine Shop Kirkwood, MO 6:30 PM
10 Life Outside Festival Creve Coeur Lake, Memorial Park 10–4 PM
20 REI, Spokane Store* Spokane, WA 6:00 PM
rei.com/stores/spokane.html
21 REI, Boise Store* Boise, ID 7:00 PM
rei.com/stores/boise.html
22 REI, Sandy Store* Sandy, UT 6:30 PM
rei.com/stores/sandy.html
24 Adventure + Gear Fest Snowbird, UT 10–8 PM
27 Midwest Mountaineering Minneapolis, MN 6:00 PM
29 Appalachian Outfitters Peninsula, OH 6:00 PM

JULY
11 Walkabout Outfitter Harrisonburg, VA 6:30 PM
18 Ramsey Outdoor Succasunna, NJ 6:30 PM
19 REI, Cranston Store* Cranston, RI 6:30 PM
rei.com/stores/cranston.html
20 REI, Hingham Store* Hingham, MA 6:30 PM
rei.com/stores/hingham.html
21–22 Seek The Peak Festival Mount Washington Observatory All Day
North Conway, NH
26–30 Floydfest Floyd, VA All Day

AUGUST
4–6 Arise Festival Sunrise Ranch, Loveland, CO All Day
8 Roam’n Around Rapid City, SD 6:30 PM
10 Sunlight Sports Cody, WY 6:30 PM
15 REI, Issaquah Store* Issaquah, WA 6:30 PM
rei.com/stores/issaquah.html
*Registration Recommended

MORE DATES TO COME!

For a complete list of dates & details
visit backpacker.com/getoutmore

R
M A N U A L
T H E

The hammock life:

sleeping on air.

Consider 2017 the year of the hammock. They’re lighter, more

Hang Time weatherproof, and more comfortable—and manufactured by

niche brands and major companies alike. We tested 11 models over
eight months to bring you the best of the year. From ultralights
to hanging castles, there’s something here for every person who
wants to try something new and leave the ground behind.
From light to luxe, hammocks take a
star turn. BY HEATHER BALOGH ROCHFORT LOUISA ALBANESE

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 51
 gear
field test hammocks
1
Full-featured
hanging tent
1. REI Co-op Quarter
Dome Air
Our take This hammock
strikes a fine balance
between sleeping comfort,
weather protection, and
weight. Stomach- and side-
sleepers who hate the inevita-
ble “taco effect” of standard
hammocks will love the
design of the Quarter Dome
Air. Two poles, contained in
integrated sleeves at both
ends, prop the hammock
open at the head and foot,
creating a flat, rectangu-
lar sleeping surface. “I can
usually only nap in ham-
mocks, but I slept through the
night in this one,” says one
tester. The included 15-denier
nylon fly performed well in
light rain, but we’d prefer a
larger tarp for real storms.
Features The Quarter Dome
Air comes with rigging straps.
A mesh ceiling with a single
access door keeps bugs out,
but you can flip the hammock
over if you want to sleep
without it. Two pockets (one
inside and one outside) can
START SMART Follow these tips to ensure that your hammock setup is safe, comfortable, and low-impact.
DO Check local regula-
tions. Some protected
areas (Joshua Tree, for
example) have rules
against hammock use.
52 08.2017
each fit a water bottle, and
four corner guylines use
tension locks so hammockers
can adjust the tilt of the base
once inside.
Trail cred “The 81-inch length
easily fit my 6’2” frame with
room to spare,” says our Colo-
rado tester.
$219; 2 lbs. 1 oz.; rei.com
basecamp lounger
2. NEMO Cloudview
Our take Instead of cocoon-
ing you in folds of material
that block your peripheral
vision, the Cloudview keeps
you propped up and ready to
chat with your friends around
camp. Two 37-inch alumi-
num spreader bars hold both
the head and foot ends open,
working with stiff polyester
mesh panels to support your
torso like a recliner. A small
drop in the foot end keeps
your legs level for maximum
comfort. “I was exhausted
after a hike in Pennsylvania’s
Moshannon State Forest, and
this hammock was perfect
for relaxing back in camp,”
says our tester.
DO Use an established DO Seek out trees with
campsite, rather then trunks at least as thick
creating a new one and as your thigh. Smaller
disturbing more of the trees can snap under
environment. your weight.
3
Features The Cloudview
comes equipped with rigging,
and dots on the adjustment
hooks are a useful guide for
easily threading the straps.
This hammock also received
high marks for durability
thanks to its burly woven
polyester construction. A cup
holder and a tablet sleeve are
nice touches as well. Draw-
back: The weight means you
won’t be carrying the Cloud-
view far.
Trail cred “Setting up this
hammock was super intuitive.
It only took me a minute to
figure it out,” said our tester.
$170; 4 lbs. 7 oz.; nemo-
equipment.com
cold-weather fortress
3. Clark Outdoor NX-270
Our take Six storage spaces
hang from the bottom of the
hammock, and when stuffed
full of gear, they double as
insulation. Our tester stayed
warm down to 35°F without
an underquilt or pad. Interior
zippers provide access to the
pockets, so you never have to
battle the elements. Tip: Pack
DO Find trees that are
13 to 16 feet apart, then
adjust the tension of
your straps so that they
form a 30-degree angle
for the perfect hang.
soft items such as clothes at
the top, closer to your body.
Features Two fiberglass
poles arc over the head and
foot ends, providing a dome-
like structure and maintain-
ing the hammock’s width.
Our tester reports excel-
lent livability, and he had no
problem sitting cross-legged
while packing clothes into
the storage pockets. Mesh
lines the ceiling for bug pro-
tection. A weather-resistant
ripstop nylon weather guard
slides over the mesh to
create a shell that handled
a surprise snowstorm in the
Adirondacks, but testers still
wanted a fully waterproof fly
for heavy rain. The NX-270
does come with rope for
hanging but no tree-friendly
straps (see our tips below).
Ding: price.
Trail cred “I’m a tried-and-
true stomach sleeper, and I
PHOTOS BY COURTESY
was able to sleep like a baby,”
our tester reported after
spreading out in the NX-270’s
spacious interior during a trip
to the ’Daks.
$369; 2 lbs. 10 oz.; jungle-
hammock.com
DO Tie a piece of string
or attach a carabiner to
your rigging to create
a drip line, prevent-
ing water from running
down the straps and
into the hammock.
 TOOLS OF THE TRADE
Improve setup and boost comfort with
these hammock accessories.

7
5 6

ultralight lightweight double

4. Sea to Summit
Ultralight Hammock
Our take Weight is only half
the story with this hammock.
Despite the Ultralight’s gauzy
look, our tester lauded its
durability. High-tenacity nylon
fibers blended with mono-
filament nylon—made from
single threads rather than
multifilament yarn—result in
a fabric that’s just as strong
as regular ripstop nylon but
much thinner. This hammock
shows no signs of wear after
seven months in the field.
Features Testers praised the
Ultralight’s ability to squish
down to the size of an orange
in its stuffsack. Its slim profile
makes for cramped quarters,
though, and our 6’2” tester
couldn’t lay diagonally for fear
of falling out.
Trail cred “This hammock
excels in warm weather, as
cooling air easily passes
through the material. I was
able to stay comfortable on
muggy and calm evenings,”
said our tester after a trek
through North Carolina’s
Pisgah National Forest.
$90; 5.4 oz.; seatosummit-
usa.com
5. Grand Trunk OneMade
Double Trunktech
Hammock
Our take Most double-wide
hammocks are too bulky
for the backcountry. At less
than a pound the Trunktech
is lighter than many single
hammocks and packs down
to the size of a Nalgene. The
78-inch width and 126-inch
length easily accommodate
two adults, and our husband-
and-wife testers regularly
climbed in together to read
in camp. The TrunkTech’s
size-to-weight ratio also
makes it a good option for
larger hikers that feel con-
stricted when sleeping in a
single hammock.
Features “The fabric is softer
than my sheets at home,”
one of our testers says of
Grand Trunk’s proprietary
ripstop nylon. The material
is also sturdy enough to
endure puppy claws without
suffering a single scratch.
Trail cred “It takes up so little
space in my pack I brought
it everywhere, even if i was
sleeping in a tent,” says our
New York tester.
$119; 15.7 oz.; grandtrunk.com
6. Klymit Insulated
Hammock V
Good luck trying to get a
standard sleeping pad to fit
and stay put in a hammock.
For that reason, underqui-
lts have long been the go-to
defense against cold while
hammocking, but they’re
often bulky. New solution:
this uniquely shaped pad,
which has four wings that
contour to the hammock’s
shape and sticky rubber
grips that keep the mat in
place. The pad’s synthetic
fill and 4.4 R-value kept our
tester toasty in 3°F temps
during a cold snap in Vir-
ginia’s Jefferson National
Forest. But he noted that,
although it didn’t affect per-
formance, the wings spilled
over the sides of a single
hammock and were a bit of
a nuisance when climbing
in and out. Caveat: All that
warmth means high price
and weight.
$170; 2 lbs.; 47” x 78” x
2.5”; klymit.com
Want to see more hammock reviews, accessories and
tips? Head to backpacker.com/hammocks2017
7. Eagles Nest Outfitters
Helios Hammock
Suspension System
The splice-lock tension
system on these straps
(also found in REI’s rigging)
works like a fingertrap toy:
When there is no weight in
the hammock, the outer
rope slides up and down the
inner rope to easily adjust.
When someone climbs
in, the outer rope cinches
down, holding the entire
system in place. “Once you
select your trees it takes
less than two minutes to
set everything up using
the Helios straps,” said
our tester after a 20-mile
hammock-camping adven-
ture through Mississippi’s
Black Creek Wilderness.
Note: At 8’2” the standard
version we tested isn’t quite
long enough for all hang
sites, but the new Helios XL
straps ($45) come in at a
versatile 13’5”.
$35; 4.1 oz.; eaglesnest-
outfittersinc.com

DON’T Hang the low
point of your hammock
more than 18 inches off
the ground. Any higher
and you risk injury if you
fall out.
DON’T Anchor your DON’T Use regular DON’T Park your DON’T Forget to bring
hammock from dead rope as rigging. Flat, hammock near a water a tarp if you plan on
trees. Your weight can hammock-specific source. Leave No Trace sleeping in an uncov-
pull the tree down on straps minimize impact applies even when ered hammock and rain
top of you. on trees. (See ENO you’re off the ground. is in the forecast.
straps, above.)

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 53
gear
round up
1
Feet First
Boost comfort with the right shoes
for the job. From trail runners to
trail crushers, find what you need
among these five tester favorites.
1. GRIPPY LOW-TOPS
Treksta Libero
The Liberos combine the grippiness of an
approach shoe with the feel of a lightweight
hiker, and our tester approved. “They’re
ideal for hands-and-feet peakbagging,” he
said after vetting the sticky outsole in South
Korea’s Taebaek Mountains. He particularly
enjoyed the wider-than-average toebox
with its slight ridge under the ball of the
foot, which kept his feet comfortable
on full-day mountain missions. “My feet
relaxed and had room to spread out,” he
reported following a day of scrambling
in Colorado’s Indian Peaks. “That meant
less foot fatigue after many hours spent
on the trail.” Drawback: minimal support
means the Liberos max out at loads over 30
pounds. $135; 2 lbs.; m’s 8.5-12.5, w’s 7-12;
trekstausa.com
2. STABLE RUNNER
Merrell Agility Peak Flex
The Agility Peak Flex excels on the
steep, rocky, and muddy trails that one
of our editors runs above Boulder every
weekend. “My heel stays locked in place
when I descend, and it never feels sloppy
when I move laterally,” he says, crediting
the plastic heel molding and integrated
“double-lacing” system for the secure fit.
The laces bind the upper to the tongue,
54 08.2017
4
providing a snug feel without pinching.
Traction and midsole cushion are
about average for the category, but the
breathable mesh uppers and nimble feel
make them a good choice for backpackers
who prefer trail runners for summer hiking
with a light load. (If that’s you, check fit: Our
wide-footed tester says he prefers more
space in the toebox for all-day comfort with
a pack on.) Tradeoff: Low weight and mesh
uppers mean reduced durability. $130;
1 lb. 6 oz.; m’s 7-15, w’s 5-11.5; merrell.com
3. WATERPROOF LIGHT HIKERS
adidas Terrex Fast
GTX Surround
The Terrex punched its way through any
terrain we threw at it and never seemed
to slip. Its outsole sports minimalist,
triangular treads that mimic patterns
found on car tires, and the design and
5-millimeter lugs held fast in everything
from loose rock to ice. A tester who brought
them to Alaska never even bothered
to unpack his mountaineering boots,
choosing the Terrex for missions across
talus fields and over glaciers with up to 40
pounds on his back. Bonus: These boots
use the Gore-Tex Surround system, which
vents air through midsole channels to keep
your feel cool. “I didn’t sweat at all while
wearing the Terrex in warm weather in the
high country around Washington’s Mt.
Stuart,” says one of our testers. $225;
1 lb. 11 oz.; m’s 6-14, w’s 5-12;
adidasoutdoor.com
4. WOMEN’S DAYHIKER
KEEN Terradora
Our female testers praised the fit of these
boots, which allows for splay and swell
5
in the forefoot without compromising
comfort in the heel. “I wore them straight
out of the box for a 10-mile hike in Rocky
Mountain National Park without so
much as a hot spot due to the snug fit,”
one says, “but my toes still had room
to breathe.” A well-placed cushion at
the back cups the Achilles tendon and
minimizes slippage, which helped her
navigate the tricky terrain of Arches
National Park. “The Terradoras stayed
comfy in unstable sand, and never chafed
my heel by moving up and down,” she
says. While the outsole adheres well
to slickrock, the shallow tread doesn’t
provide much traction in mud. $140;
1 lb. 10 oz. (w’s 7); w’s 5-11;
keenfootwear.com
5. HIGH-MILEAGE STRIDER
Hanwag Banks II GTX
If you’re the type of hiker who scoffed
at each of the four previous models,
deeming them flimsy or simply not
enough boot, then the Banks II may be
more your style. No doubt they’re burly PHOTO BY LOUISA ALBANESE. TEXT BY THE EDITORS
(testers easily shouldered 40 pounds
with them), but they don’t feel like it. “I’ve
rarely used a boot that strides as naturally
as this one,” said one tester after trips
in Colorado’s Front Range, California’s
redwood forests, and Colombia’s
highlands. A flexible sole and a slight
rocker in the toe and heel make for superb
ground feel, which let him cruise over
rolling trails with ease. “I could let it rip
on downhills without fighting the boot,
despite its heavy-duty construction,”
he says. Ding: The soft outsoles showed
wear after days of hard charging on talus
and scree. $250; 2 lbs. 9 oz. (m’s 7);
m’s 8-14, w’s 7.5-11; hangwagboot.com
ALL WEIGHTS FOR PAIR OF MEN’S 9 UNLESS NOTED
 UP HERE IS
WHERE HIGH
STANDARDS
BEGIN
Va s q u e m a k e s t r a i l f o o t w e a r
for places where instinct is
the oxygen of adventure.

VA S Q U E H I K I N G . C O M | # T R U S T O N T H E T R A I L
gear

field notes

The latest
sandstone of Jordan’s
Wadi Rum with only a
minor abrasion.

word from $85; 8 oz. (size M);

w’s XS-XL; helly-
hansen.com

our testers lightweight

load monster
rocky ravines” with- KUIU Ultra 6000
stretchy
out any restriction.
women’s pants
She also praised the This pack was made
Helly Hansen Hild QD yoga-style waist, with hunters in mind,

PHOTOS BY COURTESY. TEXT BY THE EDITORS

which kept the Hild but you don’t have
Our tester loved the QD firmly in place. be tracking game to felt flimsy despite the
Hild QD’s mobil- “Leaning over with appreciate how light low weight. And the
ity during a week of a pack on but no it is: The Ultra 6000 wide hipbelt is cushy,”
trekking in Colombia. belt usually results holds 98 liters at says our tester, who
Lightweight, stretch- in plumber’s crack,” less than 4 pounds. used the Ultra 6000
woven nylon and she says, “but the A carbon-fiber frame over 100 miles in
a gusseted crotch four-way stretch knit and a featherweight- Idaho and Wyoming.
aided dynamic moves hugged my hips and yet-durable nylon pack He also lauded its
on the trail, and our never slipped.” Dura- body save ounces, and performance with
tester reports that she bility is impressive: the streamlined design 80 pounds aboard,
“hurdled logs, jumped Her pair survived lacks excess pockets praising the stability.
creeks, and climbed climbing the coarse and zippers. “It never “It felt like part of my
body,” he says. Ding: works for hikes and comfortable for such
The brain tended to rocky river crossings a minimalist design.
flop around and get as well, beach san- “It’s like going bare-
in our tester’s way dals won’t do. Enter foot, but with enough
when it was empty. the Z-Trail, which is protection for all but
Bonus: KUIU’s modular ultralight thanks to the rockiest trails,”
system lets you attach a 10mm-thick, zero- says a tester. We also
any of their packbags drop sole, but secure liked the Z-Trek ($60),
to the frame, which is enough for hiking which has a thinner,
sold separately. (and plenty durable; foamless sole for even
$425 (including in the Front Range, Note: The anti-scratch the sole has a 5,000- better ground feel.
frame, suspension, we’re believers. ROKA and hydrophobic coat- mile warranty). A thin Tip: Use Xero’s online
and packbag); 3 lbs. uses featherlight Zeiss ings are effective, but layer of foam makes sizing guide.
13 oz.; kuiu .com nylon lenses, which we our fingers smudged the Z-Trail surprisingly $80; 10.6 oz. (pair m’s
couldn’t fog, even on the inner lenses. 9); m’s 6-14, w’s 5-10;
a steamy run in sunny, $180; 0.9 oz.; roka xeroshoes.com
fog-free shades
mid-30s weather. .com
ROKA Vendee Ultra Credit a frame that sits
higher on your nose
ultralight sandal
Pick up these sub- than usual to allow
1-ounce wayfarers, airflow underneath. Xero Z-Trail
and you might dismiss Ribbed grips on the
them as gas station temples and nosepad Yes, regular flip-flops
cheapies. But after a keep the glasses in will suffice as summer
season of trail run- place without head- camp shoes. But if you
ning and ski touring squeezing pressure. want something that
 EXTREME
ATTRACTION

58 08.2017
 Only a handful of
people hike from
Death Valley (left)
to Mt. Whitney
each year.

What draws us to the planet’s outer edges?

On a trek from the Lower 48’s lowest point to its
highest, MARK JENKINS looks for answers.
PHOTOS BY (LEFT) MILES MORGAN / TANDEMSTOCK.COM;
MATTHEW KUHNS / TANDEMSTOCK.COM

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 59
Even the coyotes are desperate in Death Valley.
Descending into Badwater Basin, we see four of
them limping across a stretch of burning sand
called the Devil’s Cornfield. They’re emaciated,
ghostlike creatures—ribs poking out of their
thin coats, eyes blank, tongues drooping. The
temperature is a suffocating 106°F. If coyotes
can barely survive in this place, clearly humans
don’t belong.
Which is exactly why my wife Sue and
I are here. Death Valley ranks near the top
of the planet’s most inhospitable environ-
ments. At 282 feet below sea level, it’s the
lowest, driest, hottest place in the United
States. The highest temperature ever
recorded on Earth, 134°F, was registered in
Death Valley in 1913.
Heat isn’t the only hazard. Hiking away
from Badwater, we enter a stark, lunar land-
scape. The soil has fractured into hexago-
nal plates of white salt the size of car hoods.
It resembles pack ice; where the plates’
edges meet, jagged, foot-high ridges jut up
like saw blades. A slip would mean stitches.
And yet, the terrain is oddly uplifting.
Extreme environments bring clarity to the
essentials of life: air, water, shelter, food.
Temperate environs attenuate the truth.
They lull you into laziness. But wherever it’s
unbearably hot or cold, high or dry, wet or
windy, complacency is not an option. You
must respect your surroundings and adapt
The author’s wife, Sue Ibarra,
carries a water-heavy pack
across a plain of sharp-edged
salt formations.
60 08.2017
to the conditions or you’ll wind up burned,
frozen, or blown away.
Sue is so amped I can hardly keep up
with her. I tramp steadily across the disks of
salt, some of which quiver like sheet metal.
When my boots break through the thin
crust, the salt tinkles like broken glass. The
austerity of the landscape is overwhelm-
ing; I’ve never experienced anything quite
so alien. Most of the world has forests and
fields and signs of life. Not here. Even the
planet’s highest mountains have snow,
which means water, and life. Yaks and
wolves lick snow and humans melt it. But
here there is no water.
Shortys Well, our destination today, is
just a dry hole in the sand named after a
swindling prospector. We reach it after
three hours of hiking.
“Treacherous, wasn’t it?” Sue says
excitedly when I catch up with her after
nightfall by spotting the beam of her head-
lamp. “I just wanted to get through those
plates before dark.” We have hiked all over
the world together for more than three
decades, and the truth is she has always
been faster than me.
We eat in the moonless dark, but it’s still
over a hundred degrees, too hot to sleep.
We expected this. We just lie naked on top
of our bags, silent and sweating.
A big part of getting along in extreme
environments is expecting things to get
tough, and then accepting it when they do.
But that doesn’t mean we won’t be tested.
At dawn, as we’re packing up after a sleep-
less night, a swarm of tiny bees attacks us.
Our sweat is the only source of moisture
for miles and they begin stinging us on our
necks and backs and in our armpits. We
swiftly dump everything into our packs
and take off, slapping ourselves, alternately
cursing and laughing.
VVV
REMARKABLY, DEATH VALLEY’S geographi-
cal antipode, 14,505-foot Mt. Whitney, is less
than 100 miles northwest as the crow flies. It
snows on Whitney every month of the year
and the lowest recorded temperature is
-13°F. Neither Sue nor I have climbed it.
The proximity of Death Valley and Mt.
Whitney has intrigued me for years—the
Lower 48’s lowest point practically adja-
cent to its highest. It’s a distance that could
be covered on foot, although not easily:
One would have to patch together a mostly
off-trail route up and down bone-dry
arroyos, around endless sand dunes, and
over snowy passes. All in all, it would entail
roughly 150 miles and 30,000 feet of eleva-
tion gain across three deserts and three
mountain ranges.
I’ve been attracted to extreme terrain
since I was a kid, but this journey was an
unlikely obsession. I generally dislike heat.
I am a mountaineer; I prefer cold alpine
air. And I get no joy out of carrying a heavy
pack, either. I’ve had three hernia opera-
tions from humping huge loads on long
expeditions, so I only schlep monster packs
out of necessity, and that’s usually because
I need ropes and gear, not gallons of water.
And yet, for some reason, I was drawn to
the extremity of this endeavor—the searing
heat, the bitter cold, the Everest’s worth of
vertical. I didn’t spend a lot of time trying
to understand my own motivation. Some-
times, at least for me, it’s necessary to do the
thing to figure out why you’re doing it.
Naturally, I needed the right partner.
Someone who was capable of not simply suf-
fering, but finding personal gratification in
the struggle. Someone who was capable of
covering long distances on foot with physi-
cal ease and mental equanimity. Someone
who could tolerate a know-it-all adventurer
with poorly understood motivation. Luckily,
I married just such a person. Sue Ibarra:
mother, mountaineer, marathoner. Sue and
 America’s
Wildest Hikes
14 more places to get your extreme fix.
By Tyler VanderMolen

Most remote high point

Gannett Peak, WY

« When it comes to inaccessible state high

points in the Lower 48, there’s Gannett and
then there’s everything else. To climb the
13,804-foot peak, you’ll first need to tackle a
20-mile approach—it typically takes two days
just to reach basecamp. From there, ascend
to Dinwoody Pass and then Gooseneck
Glacier. Yes, the views are exactly what you’d
expect after hiking into the middle of the
Wind River Range. CONTACT fs.usda.gov/btnf
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) MARK JENKINS; JESSE ALBANESE; KENNAN HARVEY;

Tallest trees
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, CA

« You can’t comprehend the enormity of California’s redwoods until you stand at
the foot of one, staring up at a tree the size of a NASA rocket. You’ll have plenty
of the 300-plus-foot behemoths to choose from on this 12.4-mile hike. You’ll also
score ocean views and pass between 50-foot walls of foliage in Fern Canyon. From
the trailhead at the Prairie Creek Visitor Center, link the James Irvine and Miners’
ISTOCK.COM / SEARAGEN; BEN HERNDON / TANDEMSTOCK.COM

Ridge Trails to make a loop. CONTACT parks.ca.gov

Snowiest hike
Paradise, Mt. Rainier National
Deepest canyon Park, WA
Hells Canyon, OR/ID
« Like snowshoeing? You’ll love
« Sorry, Grand Canyon. With a max depth the trails out of Paradise, which
of 7,900 feet, Hells Canyon is more than a receives an average of 645.5
half-mile deeper. And it’s less crowded to inches of snow annually. Our
boot. Turn to page 26 for a 40-miler, or try the favorite: the 5.5-mile Skyline
56-mile Oregon Rim-to-River Loop: From the Trail, with its frozen waterfalls,
Freezeout trailhead, make your way to the massive snowfields, and
High Trail junction. From there, you’ll hike a panoramic views of Rainier, the
45.5-mile loop on the High, Temperance Creek, Tatoosh Range, Mt. St. Helens,
Oregon Snake River, and Saddle Creek Trails. and Mt. Adams. CONTACT
CONTACT bit.do/hells-canyon-rec-area nps.gov/mora

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 61
I have climbed Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro
and Orizaba together, bicycled across large
swaths of Europe and Asia, backpacked in
Tibet and Tanzania and Bolivia.
We guessed the 150-mile journey would
take 10 days. The best season to do a
Lowest-to-Highest (L2H) hike, we quickly
determined, is late fall. In the winter and
spring, the High Sierra is buried in snow,
and in summer Death Valley is deadly.
We would need to cache water and food
along our route. We’d need umbrellas for
the murderous desert sun and puffy down
jackets for the high-altitude cold.
At 6 p.m. on October 2, Sue and I
stepped out of the car at Badwater. We
ignored the heat-dazed coyotes and quiz-
zical tourists and set off across the desert
toward Shortys Well.
VVV
HUMANS HAVE COME and gone in Death
Valley for 10,000 years. The Timbisha Sho-
shone, who are believed to have lived here
1,000 years ago, moved with the seasons.
They subsisted on pinyon pine nuts and
screwbeans from mesquite trees, hunting
bighorn sheep and antelope with bows and
arrows, and conducting community drives
of the long-legged black-tailed hare.
This traditional way of life vanished after
the 1849 California gold rush. Twenty-six
wagons and a hundred white people found
themselves stranded in Death Valley that
first winter. When they finally escaped, after
one of the party died, one 49er is reputed to
have said, “Goodbye, Death Valley.”
Anyone who crosses the barren expanse
on foot can be forgiven for expressing the
same sentiment. And people do cross it.
Despite the hardships, we aren’t the only
ones to be tempted by the challenge. We
actually shared a ride with one kindred
spirit on the way to the trailhead. And
on our second day, marching up Hanau-
pah Canyon, we’re surprised to run into
another hiker, Adam. Both he and the pre-
vious day’s hiker are ultralighters, moving
fast, trucking 18 hours a day, wearing only
shorts, sneakers, and a little pack over-
loaded with water. We learn later that
neither of them made it to Whitney.
The number of people who successfully
hike from lowest to highest in an average
year can probably be counted on one
hand—less than a hundredth the number
that summit Everest. Yet, like everything
else, there’s a website dedicated to L2H,
founded by Brett “Blisterfree” Tucker. Tuck-
er’s website provides details of the route,
free maps, even a series of blogs by L2H vet-
erans. He describes Lowest to Highest as a
“scenic, silent journey across the wilderness.
Perhaps nowhere else on earth can a person
so quickly travel on foot between mark-
edly contrasting environments. . .” However,
another website describes it as a trek that
crosses “extremely dangerous, remote
terrain susceptible to extreme weather. Due
to the nature of the route, there is serious risk
of losing one’s life.”
We only hike with Adam for a short dis-
tance. He’s speeding along Tucker’s pub-
lished route, and we’re making up our own,
one which weaves through more high
country but passes no opportunities for
showers or cold beer. We’re not racing, and
we don’t want the natural rhythm of the
journey interrupted. Sue and I veer up trail-
less, waterless North Hanaupah Fork. At 9
a.m., the temperature is almost triple digits.
Ten miles from Badwater, we’ve traversed
the first desert and now must cross the first
mountain range, the steep, scrubby Pana-
mints. We hike in the blazing sun for an hour
and then hide in the shade for 20 minutes—a
system we’ll use for the next week. Clamber-
ing up one brushy wash after another, only
careful map and compass work keeps us in
the right drainage.
“Look at this!” Sue says suddenly as we’re
moving along a conglomerate cut bank. At
our feet lies the complete skeleton of a large
bighorn sheep. The horns have a full curl
and the front legs are broken. It appears the
animal fell from the cliff above. The bones
are sun-bleached and gnawed clean.
“I hereby christen this hellish ravine Dead
Ram Gulch,” I say, and note it on the map.
“How much farther?” Sue asks.
“We’re at 4,100 feet, 4,000 more to go.”
Ascending more than 8,000 feet in one
day is rare. Most Fourteeners only neces-
sitate a 4,000-foot gain. On big Himalayan
peaks, mountaineers rarely gain more than
3,000 feet in one day, which helps avoid
altitude sickness. But this isn’t the first time
Sue and I have tackled extreme vertical.
She once ran up 5,000 feet on a race from
Ouray to Telluride. On a climbing trip in
the Grand Canyon, a partner and I logged
20,000 feet of elevation change in 24 hours.
Which means we have a good idea of what
we’re getting into and how we’ll react.
We eventually haul ourselves up into a
thousand-year-old bristlecone pine forest
and make Mahogany Flat by 6 p.m. The
temperature is deliciously cool, but we’re
sweaty and dehydrated and immediately
pull on our puffies.
Sue stirs up one of our favorite backcoun-
try meals—mashed potatoes with chunks
Looking down on
Badwater Basin with the
Panamint Mountains
DONNA IKENBERRY; JOSE AZEL / AURORA PHOTOS; MICHAEL GREENE; TOM DEMSEY
in the distance
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) CHRIS MOORE / TANDEMSTOCK.COM;
 America’s
Wildest Hikes

Worst weather
Mt. Washington, NH

« Everyone who hikes here should know

Washington’s weather rep, but every year
people get in trouble because they don’t think
it can be that bad. It can (see page 36). The
mountain’s observatory recorded wind speeds
of 231 mph in 1934, and windchills at the summit
have been recorded at 100 degrees below zero.
Want a taste? Take the 8.2-mile Lion’s Head Trail
from Pinkham’s Notch. It’s steep, but the reward
is more solitude and better views than the
popular Tuckerman’s Ravine route.
CONTACT fs.usda.gov/r9

Most grizzlies
Cook Inlet, Lake Clark National Park, AK

« This isn’t the only place where grizzlies congregate in huge numbers, but unlike
the McNeil River and other well-known hot spots, you can backpack among the
bears here—if you’re brave enough. Do it on a 25-mile, off-trail hike from Chinitna
Bay, where it’s not uncommon to see as many as 20 bruins feeding along the
shoreline, to Silver Salmon Creek. Go between July and October when salmon runs
are at their peak. CONTACT nps.gov/lacl

Wettest hike
Mt. Waialeale, Kauai, HI

« In Hawaiian, Waialeale
means “rippling water” or
“overflowing water”—an apt
name for the rainiest place
in the U.S., where scores of
cascades pour down the
slopes. Get a full immersion in
the Blue Hole, a deep canyon Most remote lake in Lower 48
at the mountain’s base that Rock Creek Lake, Weminuche Wilderness, CO
served as a filming location
for Jurassic Park. It’s only a « OK, this one is debatable. But given that Rock
3-mile hike from the trailhead Creek Lake is 20 trail miles from the nearest
near Keahua Arboretum, road, and the county it’s in has the fewest roads
but dense vegetation will per capita in the Lower 48, we think it’s a good
make you work to reach the bet. From the Needleton backcountry train stop,
Weeping Wall, where water make your way through popular Chicago Basin,
streams down. CONTACT over Columbine Pass, to the Vallecito Creek and
dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp Rock Creek Trails. CONTACT fs.fed.us/sanjuan

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 63
of chicken breast—while I map out the next
day’s hike. After a restless night, tromping
20 miles in the heat, and ascending more
than 8,000 feet, it’s time for extreme sleep.
VVV
HOMO SAPIENS EVOLVED in largely low-
elevation, temperate environments. We are
not physically adapted to extremes. Unlike
a polar bear cub or a kid goat or an antelope
fawn, a naked newborn human is incapable
of surviving severe heat or cold. However,
according to paleoanthropologist Rick
Potts, the head of the Smithsonian Human
Origins Program, natural selection was
not only a matter of survival of the fittest in
the physical sense. Drastic environmen-
tal changes meant that evolution favored
humans that were adaptable. Extreme envi-
ronments encouraged us to develop the
means to protect ourselves from the harsh-
est conditions.
Still, some humans migrated to such
harsh environments that they developed
what are called micro genetic adaptations.
Inuit tend to have shorter, rounder fingers
and limbs and a rotund body, which is the
most efficient form for conserving heat,
essential for survival in the Arctic. Tibet-
ans have lived at 12,000 feet long enough
to have become genetically adapted to
high altitude—one reason chain-smoking
Sherpas do so well on Everest.
“Homo sapiens were the only group of
early hominids to emigrate over the entire
world,” psychologist Marvin Zuckerman,
one of the early theorists in risk-taking, has
said, “so I think humans as a species are
characterized by novelty- and intensity-
seeking behavior.”
Evolutionarily, for the survival of a clan
or tribe, there was clearly an advantage to
having some individuals willing to take
risks—to hunt game beyond the moun-
tain. But what is the benefit to the individ-
ual risk-taker? Psychologists have been
inventing experiments to answer this
question for 50 years.
64 08.2017
Clockwise from left: Sue Ibarra at the end
of day six, northwest of the Coso Range;
bighorn sheep skeleton in Dead Ram Gulch;
food and water caches were essential.
Calling such individuals adrenaline
junkies is tempting, but adrenaline is typi-
cally secreted as part of the fight-or-flight
response. A dollop of adrenaline may be
what drives people to ski fast, sky dive, or
bungee jump—but this is self-evidently
not the reason people climb mountains or
walk long distances, because there’s sure
no adrenaline in trudging along, one step in
front of the next.
Some studies suggest this behavior might
have something to do with dopamine, the
brain’s feel-good neurotransmitter, but the
connection is unclear. Does a naturally
higher level of dopamine promote risk-
taking? Or, in the act of taking risks, do we
get a shot of it, which encourages us to push
onward?
Or maybe it’s just about sex. In “Who
Dares, Wins,” a study published in Human
Nature in 2001, psychologists at the Uni-
versity of Liverpool found that “females
prefer risk-prone, brave males to risk-
averse, non-brave males and that men are
aware of this preference.”
I don’t have high hopes for a definitive
answer. As Francis Spufford wrote in his
history of British polar exploration, I May Be
Some Time, humans have wandered inten-
tionally into extreme hardship for ages, and
they “are notoriously bad at saying why.”
VVV
THE NEXT DAY, we drop down into the
pebbly desert of the Panamint Valley,
where cloud cover blesses us with a
reprieve from the heat. By evening, to our
surprise, it begins to rain, and the tempera-
ture drops almost 50 degrees. We erect our
tent on an alluvial bench beside a small
creek bed. The rain keeps coming. In the
time it takes to boil dinner, the rain trans-
forms the dribbling stream beside our tent
into a river of rushing, mud-heavy water. It
occurs to us that we are, in fact, camped in
a flash-flood zone. We hurriedly move the
tent to higher ground.
“It would be ironic to drown in the
desert,” I say.
“And stupid,” Sue replies.
We relish the incongruity of drifting to
sleep in the desert to the sound of pelting
rain. In the morning, it’s still raining. The old
road we had walked down the day before is
ripped open, a reddish-brown river coursing
through the freshly cut ravine.
We pop open our umbrellas and walk in
one push all the way across the Panamint
Valley, up and down countless sheer-sided
arroyos. When we reach the foot of the
Argus Range, just after lunch, it’s still raining.
We’re both cold and tired. We put up our tent
and take a deep, satisfying, two-hour nap.
By late afternoon, the rain has stopped
and we continue on an old burro track,
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT): MARK JENKINS (3); ETHAN WELTY; JERRY GREER;
passing the rusted debris of the Minnietta
mine. In the early 1900s, gold and copper
were discovered here. Where native life
had left few marks on the land—rock art,
mainly—mining permanently altered the
GRANT ORDELHEIDE; JEANINE LOVETT & DAVE HARTLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
landscape. We discover old wagon roads
spidering off in every direction and aban-
doned mines up every canyon.
Once, I stop and enter one of the dark,
broken-timbered holes, following narrow-
gauge iron rails by headlamp to the first col-
lapse. I imagine the miners who dug deep
into the earth here, the desperate souls who
put up with the madness of extreme heat
for the dream of a big payout. I wonder, Are
we so different?
VVV
IN THEIR BOOK Extreme: Why Some People
Thrive at the Limits, authors Emma Barrett
and Paul Martin write that “most people
who operate in extreme environments are
not big sensation seekers (and neither are
they impulsive).” Rather, people who go
on expeditions “display high levels of self-
control and achievement orientation.” For

Most confusing terrain
The Maze, Canyonlands National Park, UT
« There’s a reason The Maze has previously made BACKPACKER’s list of “America’s
10 Most Dangerous Hikes”: remoteness, few marked trails, and head-spinning
terrain make it a challenge for the most savvy canyon hikers. Even seasoned park
rangers are required to leave detailed itineraries and communication plans before
setting out. Got the navigation chops? Take the 5.8-mile Maze Overlook Trail from
Maze Overlook (accessible by 4WD), and bring along a 30-foot rope to lower
backpacks down tricky spots. CONTACT nps.gov/cany
Closest whale encounter
San Juan Islands, WA and Baja, Mexico
« Yes, you can spy whales from trails
up and down the West coast if you’re
lucky, but there’s nothing like kayaking
next to one at sea. Two options: Paddle
among orcas on a kayak-camping trip
in the San Juan Islands, or head south
to Baja’s Laguna Manuela to see gray
whales (pictured). It’s one of the few spots
where DIY kayaking is allowed during
winter breeding season (guided tours are
available elsewhere). CONTACT
sea-quest-kayak.com; kayakbaja.com
America’s
Wildest Hikes
Most wildflowers
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN/NC
« Experiencing some extremes is downright
pleasant. Exhibit A: Hiking in the Smokies, amid
1,600 species of flowering plants. The most
impressive blooms occur from the beginning of
spring through mid-July. Where to go depends
on which flowers you want to see, but one of our
favorites is the 3.5-mile round-trip to Andrews
Bald via the Forney Ridge Trail, where you’ll spot
Catawba rhododendron and brilliant orange
flame azalea in June. Also keep an eye out for
tiny purple-fringed orchids, which dot the trail in
the summer. CONTACT nps.gov/grsm
Tallest waterfall
Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park, CA
« At 2,425 feet, the West’s most iconic waterfall is
a head-turner no matter how you get there. But
since the Yosemite Falls Trail is one of the most
popular hikes in the park, we suggest going the
long way, on a backpacking trip along the North
Rim Trail (El Cap to Tenaya Canyon is a 30-mile
tour de force). You can camp just upstream from
the top of the falls and walk down for a sunset
view when most daytrippers are gone. With this
year’s record snowpack, the falls should put on a
show all summer. CONTACT nps.gov/yose
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 65
a large variety of reasons—childhood expe-
riences, chance, challenge, opportunity,
identity, self-esteem—they may be unusu-
ally attracted to extreme environments,
“but their ability to survive and thrive there
will depend on other qualities.”
In 2016, Dr. Peter Suedfeld, professor
emeritus in psychology at the University of
British Columbia, was awarded the Cana-
dian Honours Polar Medal for his research
into the psychological effects associated
with isolation in polar stations. According
to the award citation, Suedfeld “has pro-
vided key insights into the leadership styles
and personality characteristics of individu-
als who thrive in extreme conditions.”
Suedfeld has spent a lifetime under-
standing the difference between those
who survive extreme circumstances and
those who perish. He has studied concen-
tration camp survivors, polar explorers,
mountaineers, and adventurers. I called
and caught him at his university office
where, at age 81, he’s still working away.
Contrary to what Hollywood might
have you believe, the most important
character trait of an adventurer is not
physical toughness. Instead, it is mental
flexibility: “The ability,” says Suedfeld,
“often under extreme stress, to think
through and solve a problem.” Mental flex-
ibility is defined by being willing to try
multiple times, using different methods,
to find a solution. In other words, it is the
opposite of stubbornness.
According to Suedfeld, the second char-
acter trait of adventurers and survivors is
emotional resilience. “When something
goes wrong, some people interpret it as a
disaster and lapse into catastrophic think-
ing. Others simply view it as a challenge. The
latter don’t despair; they bounce back and
find some way to cope with the situation.”
Suedfeld says the best adventurers are
not just thoroughly prepared; they antici-
pate the unexpected and “overlearn” useful
responses, so that in stressful situations
they can do the right thing automatically.
I hear him laugh on the phone. “You
know what explorer Roald Amundsen said:
‘Adventure is just bad planning.’”
MT. WHITNEY INYO
MOUNTAIN
LONE PINE RANGE
OWENS LAKE
SIERRA NEVADA COSO RANGE
WILDERNESS
MOUNTAIN RANGE
N UT 25. CONTACT usda.gov/fishlake
66 08.2017
VVV
OUR JOURNEY IS not an adventure by
America’s
Amundsen’s standards, largely because Wildest Hikes
of meticulous preparation. We just need to
keep moving.
By the third desert crossing, I learn that
walking in extreme heat can be surpris-
ingly meditative. You can’t move quickly,
only steadily. Your brain is baking. After a
while your body does the walking for you
and your mind detaches.
About 100 miles into our journey, as we
cross the Coso Range Wilderness Area,
I can clearly see myself as if from an air-
plane. I’m floating in the sky, looking down
on this person walking along. I can see my
path stretching out before me and behind
me to both horizons. All the thousands of
twists and turns over dozens of years are
smoothed out. The trajectory is as continu-
ous as the flight of an arrow. I can see the
path of my childhood leading to the path
of my adulthood, the path of my passion as
a boy becoming the path of my career as
a man. I can even see the end of my path,
which does not disturb me, but actually
gives me solace.
Our lives are always so rushed that it’s Least-visited national park
almost impossible to see where we’re going Isle Royale, MI
or where we’ve been. It’s like looking out
the window of a train, the world chutter- « Technically, the real title goes to
ing by. But the mind reorients when you a remote park in Alaska, but in the
move at the pace humans were designed Lower 48, it doesn’t get better than
to move, one step at a time. Walk long Isle Royale. The island park saw fewer
enough, and the mind, as if set free, rises than 25,000 visitors in 2016, some 11
into the sky. It’s a form of detachment that million less than the Smokies. Explore
can help you endure extreme conditions. pristine beaches and primeval forest—
We cover 20 miles of desert that day. and lots of moose habitat—on a
At 11 a.m. the following morning, we 16.2-mile hike from McCargoe Cove to
reach Dirty Socks Springs, which stink Rock Harbor. CONTACT nps.gov/isro
badly, but support thousands of migrating
birds. We then walk across Owens Lake,
sucked dry by the thirst of Los Angeles. At
nightfall, we are at the base of the Sierra,
the last desert behind us, the highest
mountains ahead.
First thing in the morning, we hike north
and cross the Los Angeles aqueduct, the
concrete-lined canal that transformed
Owens Lake into a dust bowl. We march
AUTHOR’S ROUTE
BLACK
MOUNTAINS
DEATH VALLEY RANGE
PHOTOS BY (TOP) VIKTOR POSNOV; TOM BEAN
NATIONAL PARK
Largest Organism
Pando, Fishlake National Forest, UT
« The aspen grove known as Pando
dwarfs all contenders, covering 106
acres. It’s made up of almost 50,000
BADWATER
PANAMINT BASIN genetically identical trees that share
MOUNTAIN a single root system and weigh an
ARGUS RANGE RANGE estimated 6,600 tons. Take it all in on a
WILDERNESS
15-mile loop on the Lakeshore National
Recreation Trail from Doctor Creek on
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30th An
 Sue Ibarra nears
13,700-foot Trail Crest
after summiting
Mt. Whitney.
up between 10,371-foot Wonoga Peak and
8,625-foot Timosea Peak, passing from
scrub oak into junipers and finally, grate-
fully, into cool glades of fat ponderosa pines.
We gain more than 6,000 feet just in the
afternoon and camp at 9,000 feet. It’s the
first night I actually use my sleeping bag.
At daybreak, we hike through a forest of
dead, gnarled, burnt-orange conifers. We
lunch beside blue glacial lakes. Invigorated
by the stunning landscape, we kick steps up
the blanket of white and cross 12,300-foot
New Army Pass. After more than 100 miles
of desert, nothing is so glorious as snow.
We posthole through thigh-deep powder
(less glorious), then camp near a pond at
11,200 feet. We stay up drinking hot choco-
late, watching the granite peaks fade from
pink to purple to black. In the morning, the
surface of the tarn is frozen.
VVV
HIKING ALONG THE crest of the Sierra turns
out to be a bit tricky. There’s 2 feet of snow
on the northern aspects, with hidden holes
between the boulders. With the extra weight
of a pack, one misstep could break a leg. At
times, I wish we had crampons and ice axes.
It’s slow going, with a lot of up and down, and
we only make 5 or so miles before dark.
Our last camp is right on the crest, at
13,300 feet, near Discovery Pinnacle. We
have a 360-degree view. To the east we look
down into the Owens Valley and the gray
68 08.2017
humps of the Inyo Mountains. To the west
lies ridge after ragged ridge of the Sierra. To
the south rise Mts. Mallory, LeConte, and
Corcoran; and to the north, snowcapped Mt.
Whitney. It feels good, familiar, to be back
in the alpine: wind, granite, snow. Both Sue
and I were raised in the Rockies, so this is
our natural environment. But our comfort
zone feels particularly surreal after going
from one extreme to the other—from a vast
furnace to an alpine freezer. Sure, we could
have spent a few hours milling around Bad-
water Basin with the tourists, then driven to
the Whitney trailhead and hiked up in a day,
experiencing both places in short order. But
then we wouldn’t have walked through the
trance-inducing heat. We would not have
understood the primal, barbarously beauti-
ful appeal of the desert, and felt the relief of
coming home to the mountains. I no longer
wonder why I was drawn to this journey. As
some sage once said: To do is to be.
That night the temperature drops into
the teens, almost 100 degrees colder
than our first night in Death Valley. Our
bags barely keep us warm, and Sue has
the stove going before dawn. We eat a big
breakfast, lingering in our last camp. At
sunrise, the air finally begins to warm.
We’re in no hurry. It’s day 11, and we’re only
a few hours from our goal.
Eventually, we pack up and begin
plunge-stepping north. Within an hour we
intersect the Whitney Trail, which has been
smoothed into an ice luge from all the foot
traffic. We’ve encountered very few people
during our trek, so it’s a jolt to see a line of
hikers. But I don’t begrudge them. If we
wanted solitude, we could have targeted
Mt. Williamson, only a few miles north of
Whitney. At 14,389 feet, it’s only 115 feet
shorter, yet it sees just a handful of ascents
per year. If it was just about the experience,
not the bragging rights, Williamson, a more
remote mountain with a much more chal-
lenging trail, would see a lot more hikers.
But I understand the allure of superlatives.
Sue and I are doing the Lowest to Highest,
not the Lowish to Highish.
We leave our packs at Trail Crest, 13,700
feet, and practically lope the last couple
miles to Whitney’s summit. We snap pic-
tures on the top, ballyhooing with our arms
in the air.
Sue and I curl up together in the boul-
ders, out of the wind but in the sun. Our L2H
is over; we’re relaxed, enjoying the moment
before descending. I recall another defini-
tion of adventure, this one by the writer
Thornton Wilder.
“Sue, remember the book The Bridge of
San Luis Rey?” I ask. “Wilder said that adven-
PHOTO BY MARK JENKINS
ture is something you wish you were home
reading about.”
Sue smiles. “Not for me.” Q
Mark Jenkins is the author of four books, a
National Geographic contributor, and writer-
in-residence at the University of Wyoming.
He wrote about failure in the May 2016 issue.
 design: tnbd.net

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 E S H A R P E S T TOO
TH I N TH E S H E D L
c Crest Trail clear of debris for decade
ke e p the Pacifi E R T | PH O T O G R A P H Y B Y M
s? A gu
t t a ke to S H A W NTÉ SALAB ICHAE y like
Pic
i BY LD
does kaxe
A RT E
at R Pete
Wh .

J.L. “Pickaxe Pete” Fish

and his trail tools

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 71
E Eighty-six-year-old J.L. “Pickaxe Pete” Fish opens the door of his workshop to reveal a
murderer’s row of trail tools, all weathered handles and gleaming edges. “I can’t abide
a tool with a broken handle or a dull blade,” Fish says. “I’ve always been that way.” ¶ If
you’ve ever set foot on the Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California—or even dreamed
that you might someday—you are in Fish’s debt. It’s been 24 years since Fish first took
up the Pulaski in the name of trail improvement, and in that time, he’s maintained the
first 700 miles of the PCT (from the border with Mexico to Kennedy Meadows) and built
a reputation for his hard-working crew of several hundred active volunteers: the Trail
Gorillas. ¶ In January, Fish retired as the Trail Gorillas’ coordinator, but he hasn’t laid
down his chainsaw. We caught up with him in April after he returned home to Ventura
after clearing downed trees in the Angeles National Forest.
BACKPACKER: When did you start doing trail work?
FISH: For many years, my family had a cabin up near Lake
Tahoe. I spent summers there and started helping my grand-
father do trail work in 1940 or so. During World War II, when
most of the Forest Service personnel were in the military, there
would be an occasional ranger in the backcountry. Several of
us kids would pack food supplies back to these remote places,
then pack out garbage or barbed wire. In the process of getting
back there, we’d have to do some trail work to get through. This
became a habit as we grew up. We worked on trails during the
summer. It was a way of life.
are willing put in when they have a challenge. Gradually, after
people come out several times and make friends with their
coworkers, the crew becomes kind of an extended family.

What are the most challenging sections of trail to maintain?

How did you get started on the PCT?
In the 60s, I was working alongside my father on the California
Riding and Hiking Trail near Warner Springs (what is now PCT
mile 111.4). I stood on this dusty trail and realized that Canada
is that way and Mexico is that way, and that was an empower-
ing thought. In 1990, I started section hiking, intending to finish
in four years. After my third section, I met Alice Krueper [the
mother of PCT trail maintenance] and everything changed.
Alice signed you up for your first project. A few years later,
you were leading a crew. What was it like to be in charge?
Alice Krueper stopped by. She was very ill at that point and
didn’t stay long. She was a retired public health nurse. We had
one volunteer who cut his hand when he was sharpening a
Pulaski. He refused to get his hand tended to. I went up and told
Alice, “We have this injury.” She went down there with me and
he declined any assistance from her, too. Well, she grabbed
him by the ear and frog-marched him back up to where there
was a first-aid kit and some ice, and she fixed it up. That’s when I
learned a little bit from her about how to handle volunteers.
Well, there are two dangerous sections. One of them is
approaching the Mojave Forks Dam from Splinters Cabin.
I think there’s been at least one fatality along that section,
where somebody fell off the trail and went down into Deep
Creek. The other one is near Walker Pass, where the trail’s
just hacked out of a cliff. Once, I was on horseback leading
another horse through the section. The animal I was riding
put his foot down on the trail and a 3-foot boulder fell out and
rolled down the hill. The trail collapsed. My horse made a big
leap to get across it and the pack horse had to make an even
bigger leap.
You’ve described trail work as addicting. Is it that challenge
that keeps you coming back for more?
It’s not the work itself; it’s the people involved. Hard work is
hard work, and you get tired and you’re glad to quit. But the
relationships that you build with the crew members—that’s
the real plus for me.
How did you decide what section of trail to maintain next?
We’ve got a pretty good network of scouts, and we maintain
an obstruction map. We post the locations of all the trees that
we know about that are down, the boulders, the rockslides, the
sections that need brushing or other work. There’s never any
shortage of work to do. Particularly this year. On our 700-mile
section, there are probably 330 trees along the way that are
blocking the trail.

How did the Trail Gorillas get their name?
We had worked together for a few years, and around the camp-
fire one night, I had to leave for a few minutes. When I came
back, the whole crew was standing there beating their chests
saying, “We are trail gorillas.”
What’s it like leading such a boisterous crew?
It’s like riding the toe of an avalanche. You don’t have much
control over what’s going on. We give people the opportunity to
contribute. The rest just happens.
How did you keep your people motivated?
I like to say we provide a challenge, and all people like chal-
lenges. It’s just unbelievable the amount of effort that people
What separates a good work crew from a great one?
We learn from each other. There’s nobody whose opinion
we wouldn’t cultivate and use if it’s a good idea. So a lot of it is
just encouraging people to speak up and contribute. And by
doing that, they get a real sense of participation and owner-
ship of the trail. Every project that I’ve ever been on has been
an adventure.
You’ve acquired a large selection of tools over the years and
have a reputation for efficiency. How did that interest begin?
In 1993, I adopted a 5-mile section of the trail up in the Angeles
National Forest. It’s a very brushy section—it needed a lot of
work. I started out with a pair of loppers and a bow saw. A
friend came up and worked with me for a day. I think we made

72 08.2017
Maintaining tools in
good working condition is
a project unto itself.

it 50 feet, though we worked a full eight hours, maybe

Fish still throws
more. We had miles to do—we didn’t make a dent. A
the chainsaw
couple days later, my friend called me from downtown around.
Ventura, and he said, “I’m down at the STIHL dealer, and
I’m gonna buy the biggest brush saw they make!” It was
a $1,300 machine. It was a real tool. So we started with
that and now we’ve got about 12 of them.

Does it ever feel fruitless to do this work, since you’re

probably going to have to come back and do similar
work in the same place again?
I was out just a few days ago with one of our volunteers
up in the Angeles National Forest, near Mt. Pacifico, in
the Station Fire burn zone. In the last year, we’ve inven-
toried this 30 miles five different times and cleared well
over 200 large trees off the trail. But they keep coming
down. I was up there the other day [in April] with the
fellow I’d inventoried that section with in December,
and there were 30 percent more trees down than there
were in December. There’s been heavy wind, but there’s
just no end to it. So, you might say, “Well, maybe stop
trying to clear it!” But they’re not going to go away by
themselves.

Are there any special customs the Trail Gorillas

observe?
There are two. Nobody leaves camp without a big dose
of cowboy coffee. And after every project, the crew
leader sends out an email (it used to be a letter) person-
ally thanking people for their time and effort.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from 24 years of

trail work?
Gravity never takes a day off. Q

Sound like fun? Find more information about the Trail

Gorillas and get involved at facebook.com/TrailGorillas.

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 73
 SECRETS
OF THE
Leave it to the pros to have the
outdoor world figured out. These
tips are what turn hikers into
guides—and guides into heroes.
Learn from their experiences

GUIDES
with gear, skills, and people.
BY TED ALVAREZ
I LLUSTRATIONS BY GOÑI MONTE S

The All-Stars
We talked to outdoor
professionals from
across the country
to source their best
advice. Meet the team:

Mark Allen,
Mountain Bureau

Charlotte Austin,
International
Mountain Guides

Dennis Broadwell,
Mountain Gurus

Rob Coppolillo,
Vetta Mountain Guides

Jodie Darensbourg,
Outdoor Educators
Institute

David DiCerbo,
Destination Adventure
Guides

Rena Payan, Outdoor

Educators Institute

Bryan Pope,
Earth Native
Wilderness School

Shane Robinson,
Pro Guiding Service

Matt Schonwald,
BC Adventure Guides

Brenda Walsh
Hollon, International
Mountain Guides

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 75
 1
GET READY FASTER.
The easy way? Don’t unpack.
When you finish a weekend
trip, leave all the stuff you use
for nearly every adventure—
stove, sleeping pad, first-aid kit, repair
3
PACK FOR DENSITY.
kit—together in your pack. Have an
organized rack or bin for each sport:
climbing, paddling, etc. That way, you can I roll my sleeping bag up, wrap
just add activity-specific items and clothes my ultralight sleeping pad
to fit the trip and you’re ready to go. around it, then put them in a
compression sack. That saves
almost half the space.

PREP
4
DIAL IN YOUR GEAR.
We were on the Spearhead
Guides are always ready. Traverse in British Columbia,
and one client had purchased
ski crampons before the trip
but never learned how to put

2
BUILD YOUR ENDURANCE. them on. There’s no excuse
Everyone who’s ever hired a guide has seen “guide for getting into the field with
strength.” Bryan Pope, of Earth Native Wilderness
School, reveals his workout.
gear you don’t know how
Form is paramount; improper body position risks to use. Ask the salesperson,
injury. This workout uses light weights (15 pounds, max; none if experiment at home, use
you’re just getting started), common exercises, and lots of reps YouTube. Whatever works.
to build lean muscle for all-day strength. –Shane Robinson
Combine this workout with a 3- to 7-mile hike or run, three
days a week.

HACKS: PACK LIGHTER

5. Bring less fuel. If you’re making
freeze-dried foods for dinner,
presoak the meals while you’re
setting up camp to reduce
Lower Core Circuit (x3) Upper Core Circuit (x3)
fuel consumption and cooking time.
Quads/Glutes: 20 reps each Chest: 20 reps each
Sumo squats Pushups THE MENTAL GAME
Squat side-walk with Single-arm chest press
exercise band
Hamstring: 20 reps
Back: 20 reps each
Pull-ups
6. Get Psyched!!!
Bird dogs Reverse flies I remember walking down into achievable
Hips: 20 reps Shoulders: 20 reps into a rock gym with a steps and developed an
Scissors Arm circles client—a young guy in his action plan for each step.
20s, who was just getting In so doing, the client and
Calves: 20 reps Triceps: 20 reps back into athletics after I freed our minds from the
Calf raises Bench dips losing an arm serving in idea that climbers must
Core/Back: 20 to 30 reps each Biceps: 20 reps Iraq. He took one look at have two arms. He made
V-ups Zottman curls the wall and said, “Ah, I’m a few moves up the wall,
Beetles f****d, I can’t do this.” It got some momentum—and
Core/Back: 20 to 30 reps each
was time to get our psych then realized he could do
Russian twists
up. I told him to take 10 it. The smile on his face
Supermans
minutes to clear his head of after he lowered down off
For complete step-by-step instructions (with photos), go to all expectations. Then, we the top was all-time.
backpacker.com/guideworkout. broke the whole challenge –Rob Coppolillo

76 08.2017
 8
GUIDING
PRINCIPLES
Motivation

7. Know Why You Came

Be humble in the pursuit of outdoor goals. PACK
By David DiCerbo
CARRY
LESS
WATER.
For warm
days on
snowfields,
pack a bit of
snow into
your water
bottle every GUIDE GEAR

time you 9. The Perfect

sip from it Hoodie
(starting On cool days, guides
when it’s full). reach for lightweight
softshells for versatile
Dig down layering. “I need my Rab
away from Sawtooth Hoodie,” Rob
Coppolillo says. “I ski
the surface tour, ice climb, and rock
to find snow climb in it. It’s breathable
and durable.”
with higher $180; 1 lb. 4 oz. (m’s L); m’s
moisture S-XXL, w’s XS-XL; rab
.equipment/us
content.

10
FOOD
I guide out of New York City, and every vanload of clients
PHOTOS BY (FROM LEFT) LOUISA ALBANESE (2); GREGORY; COURTESY; ISTOCK.COM (2)

I drive up to the Catskills seems as diverse as the city itself. I PACK MISO.
often feel like a gateway from the streets to the summits. This easy-prep
Recently, I was guiding two women in their late 50s. They
were Brooklyn-born and raised and said they’d never been soup is perfect for
hiking before. Both seemed pretty fit and moved well up the both cold mornings
trail to 3,720-foot Panther Mountain. and evenings when
At the summit, they embraced and were more moved by
the moment than anyone else I’d ever guided in nine years of
doing this. Curious, I asked why they were feeling it so hard, savory—and it replaces
and they said that two years earlier, they’d each received lost electrolytes.
diagnoses from their doctors that the onset of diabetes was
not a question of if, but when. They’d both decided that day
to end their sedentary lifestyles. Soon after, they set a goal to
climb a mountain—any mountain. That was their vision and
how they stayed motivated. Over the next two years, they’d PESTS
worked at their goal, losing 180 pounds between them.

11
And while that Catskills peak might have seemed like DEAL WITH BUGS.
Everest to them, they had one thing that all successful adven- You can’t prevent bugs. But
turers have: humility. They’d set their goals way out in the there are a few different ways
future and worked toward them over time. They didn’t act
entitled; they didn’t think the mountain owed them any- to manage them. Sometimes I’ll
thing. They were there to make good on a promise they made use natural bug spray on exposed skin. In
to themselves. The mountains were just a venue. extreme conditions, I’ll use a head net. But if
To see that in action, well, that’s not only why I guide—it’s you just cope with some bites, your body
why I go outside, too.
starts to recognize the irritant and produces
less of a histamine reaction. –David DiCerbo

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 77
THE MENTAL GAME GUIDING
PRINCIPLES

12. Talk to a Teamwork

Struggling Partner. 18. You Can’t Fix Crazy

When mountain conditions are good but your buddy hits
a mental wall, it’s time to play backcountry shrink. Get him Prevent self-inflicted harm.
to open up about the things that are holding him back. In my By Mark Allen
experience, it’s rarely physical and almost always nerves or
fear. When that’s the case, look at him and say, “You can do
this. I got you.” It sounds trite until you try it and your partner
starts to crush again.
–Charlotte Austin

14. Make dinner

into soup. Adding
an extra ½ cup of
water to freeze-
dried dinners
tricks you into
consuming more
liquids. Bonus:
Meals with
more water are
also easier on
the stomach.

GUIDE GEAR 15. Gain elevation

13. A Rigid
Chair
A chair with rigid
support might save
more butts than your
own. “I’ve used my
Crazy Creek to set a
broken leg and as a
sleeping pad when a
client forgot one,”
David DiCerbo says.
$51; 1 lb. 10 oz.;
crazycreek.com
HACKS: WARMTH
16. Make your fire feel hotter.
Position a space blanket behind the
flames so it reflects heat back at you.
17. Master The Poop Prank.
1 Bring a candy bar
you can reasonably shape
into animal poop. 2 Run
up the trail and hide it—or
drop it in camp early in the
morning before people
wake up. 3 Prime every-
one to look for animal sign.
Eventually, someone will
slowly. If you’re
not acclimatized,
hang back with
the slowest
people in your
group during
climbs. The
mellower pace
gives your When people summit Mt. Vinson, the high point of
body a chance Antarctica, an interesting thing happens: They’ve spent so
to get used to much time, life, and money to complete one of the world’s
the thinner air most exotic trips, but all they want to do is get home.
and helps curb A few years ago, I had a Serbian client whose desire to get
altitude sickness. home bordered on desperation. While the rest of the team
was eating lunch, he asked to begin walking. I told him he
could go to the edge of camp and wait for the group to clip in
for a traverse of the Branscomb Glacier.
He crossed the threshold of camp, dragging his plastic
utility sled, and then—boop!—dropped out of sight.
I radioed co-guide Chris Simmons, whose group was
about an hour ahead, to look for my guy and clip him in.
“OK, we see him,” Simmons radioed, 20 minutes later.
“Yep. There he goes.”
“What do you mean, ‘There he goes?!’” I responded.
“I don’t know how to explain this to you,” Simmons said,
“but he’s riding his sled like a skeleton luge, head-first down
the Branscomb Glacier. He just passed us.”
spot it and ask you to take a In the background, I heard a loud “Wahoo!” as our Serbian
look. 4 First, study it from friend ripped past the group. (He ultimately made it down.)
a distance. Then get down What can you do with someone set on endangering
a little closer and give it himself? Don’t let him endanger anyone else. It’s your duty
a sniff. 5 Dip your fi nger, to try and talk him out of it, but not to follow him into peril.
then quickly put the fi nger Everyone’s life is in his own hands. Even if those hands are
in your mouth. It’s always gripping a plastic sled hurtling through a crevasse field.
good for a horrified laugh.
–David DiCerbo

78 08.2017
 PITCH A TARP.

19
In warm weather, unless you’re in
scorpion country, ditch the tent. If you
get proficient with a tarp, you can stay
dry in almost any conditions. Start with a tarp that
23
measures at least 8 by 10 feet. 1 Look for a sheltered, well-drained spot PITCH A TENT
and find trees spaced about 12 feet apart—or use trekking poles. 2 String IN HIGH WINDS.
a ridgeline 3 to 4 feet high. Keep the wall edge close to the ground if it’s Orient the tent
rainy. If it’s nice, pitch the head side higher (around 5 feet) for better
ventilation. 3 If stringing between trees, use a clove hitch on one side and
so the smallest
a tensioning trucker’s hitch on the other. If fastening between trekking side faces the
poles, use a clove hitch around each pole and a trucker’s hitch around wind. Stake
stakes, roots, or rocks. 4 Anchor the tarp’s edges close to the ground. down the body,
then erect the
poles. Bunch up

20 CAMP
the fly and clip
it onto the tent’s
windward side
first, then spread
MAKE SURE Guides like to be comfortable. it over the top.
YOUR PEE
BOTTLE

22 24
IS TIGHTLY
CAPPED.

21
KEEP WATER
FROM
FREEZING IN
SLEEP WARMER. WINTER.
Don’t sleep in a cold sink, such as a river valley,
PHOTOS BY (FROM LEFT) COURTESY; BIG AGNES; ISTOCK.COM / CREATIVE _ IMPROV

Fill your biggest

NEVER LOSE
YOUR STUFF.
Label all your
gear on group trips.
Everything I have
is tagged with
turquoise duct tape.
–Charlotte Austin
stream-bottom meadow, or canyon.
cookpot three-
Drink a hot beverage before bed. quarters full of
Pack dedicated sleep socks so your feet don’t water and cover.
get cold. Dig a pot-size hole
in a snowbank,
Bring a hot water bottle into your sleeping bag
on especially cold nights. insert your pot, and
pack snow around
Go to bed warm: Do sit-ups if necessary. it. Your water will
Pee before bed and whenever the urge strikes. still be liquid come
Your body wastes calories keeping urine warm. morning.

FOOD

EAT FOR TASTE.

25 Sometimes clients will tell me, ‘Hey, I don’t feel good,’ and then say they
ate 19 GU packets. Of course you don’t feel good! Eat tortillas and
lunchmeat, candy bars, cold pizza; your body knows how to process them,
and they’re palatable even at altitude. –Charlotte Austin

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 79
 GET CELL RECEPTION (ALMOST) ANYWHERE

26
The trick is to climb high, then toggle in and out of Airplane Mode: Phones
are at their strongest right when they acquire a signal. If it’s an emergency, text
your pre-determined contact and include the victim’s name, age, condition,
and location and type of rescue you need.

SAFETY Guides are careful.

29
WARM COLD
EXTREMITIES
Swing your
arms in circles
and pendulum

27
28
your feet back and
forth (separately,
unless you’re very
coordinated). Don’t
stop until your digits
CONSERVE start to throb.
BATTERIES.
In an emer-
gency, use only
one cell phone DO SUNSCREEN RIGHT.
at a time and Snow and water reflect
turn the oth- UV rays back up from the
ers off. Use that ground. For complete sun
phone until
it dies; repeat
protection, dab the underside
with the other of your chin and the insides of
phones. your ears and nostrils.

THE MENTAL GAME GUIDE GEAR

30. Speak the Language of Risk. 31. Heavy-duty

Improve group decisions
and dynamics by avoiding
these common rhetorical
cul-de-sacs.
Poor communication
is part of every accident,
whether it’s people misun-
derstanding each other or
the conditions. Matt Schon-
wald takes you through a
better technique.
AVOID “That looks dan-
gerous.” Subjective declara-
tions divide groups.
SAY “How does that look?”
Let everyone’s opinions be
heard before making a deci-
sion to continue.
AVOID “We made it all this
way. So let’s do it.” The per-
ception of sunk costs creates
a cognitive bias against
things like changing con-
ditions, energy levels, and
group dynamics.
SAY “What are the condi-
tions telling us?” Be honest
with your assessment—
because nature doesn’t
suffer hubris lightly.
AVOID “So are we doing it?
Yes or no?” Such talk creates
false urgency and forces
group members to commit to
a course of action regardless
of changing circumstances.
SAY “How is everyone
doing right now?” Use
regular check-ins while
moving through difficult
terrain, and don’t pose ques-
tions with binary answers.
Cordage
When choosing
multipurpose rope, go
stouter than p-cord. “The
most simple, versatile
piece of equipment I
have is 20 feet of 7mm
cordelette,” Mark Allen
says. You can use it to
secure your tent in high
winds, gauge the angle
of a slope in a whiteout
by whipping it down the
mountainside, perform a
crevasse rescue, or use it
as a leave-behind sling.
$17; 7 oz.; rei.com

80 08.2017
 GUIDING

33
PRINCIPLES
Tragedy

32. React and Adapt FOOD

Good decisions beget more good decisions. MAKE A CAN’T-MISS MEAL.
By Dennis Broadwell
Backcountry Pad Thai. 1 serving
1 cup rice noodles
1 cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup bell peppers, chopped
¼ cup jalapeño, chopped
6 slices tempeh
¾ tsp. ginger, minced
1 Tbsp. garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. powdered peanut butter

Add noodles, veggies, peanut butter powder, and

spices to 2 cups of boiling water and cook for 3 to
5 minutes. Remove from heat to let thicken. Sauté
the tempeh, add to noodles, and serve.
–Matt Schonwald

HACK: HYDRATION
34. Camel up. Staying hydrated
makes your body more resilient
during dry spells. If water is scarce,
tank up during the night. Your cells
have more time to absorb water
when you’re not sweating it out
We had just come down from Camp One on Everest in immediately.
2015 when the ground started to shake. I was in the tent with
one of my regular clients, Brad. He asked if we should stay
inside, and I said we should get out and see what was up.
I looked toward the Khumbu Icefall, where 16 sherpas 35. Protect your nose. Got 36. Perform an idiot check.
died the year before, expecting to see the mountain’s a runny nose? Use lip balm Before hiking, look up
shoulder come down. I didn’t think to look behind me. Brad on it rather than sunscreen; at the weather and terrain
turned around and yelled that a powder cloud was coming it will adhere better. ahead, and down at your
off Pumori. feet (make sure your
“What do we do?” he shouted. bootlaces are tied).
There were little moraine hills around us and I yelled and Then, five steps after
pointed to take cover. I ran one way and he ran the other. you’ve left, look back to
Tons and tons of fine snow poured over me, with the make sure you didn’t leave
PHOTOS BY (FROM TOP) LIFEPROOF; REI; COURTESY

moraine acting like a break. When I realized I was all right, I anything behind.
got up. Brad’s shoe had been knocked off, but he was OK, too.
Our camp was battered but standing. Beyond that, carnage.
Most people who sheltered behind rocks were fine, but GUIDE GEAR
those who stayed in their tents were smashed around. Their
tent poles broke and many of them were stabbed to death by
37. Versatile
the jagged ends. We immediately went into rescue mode. layer
There is no control in a disaster of that magnitude, but “No matter what I’m doing in
you’ve got to try. Just like at the start of the avalanche, we the outdoors, I’ve got a Buff,”
had to make decisions, and quickly. Guides formed recov- says Matt Schonwald. “It’s
ery teams and set up triage despite language barriers. Sure, effective as sun protection,
we had only rudimentary gear and first-aid supplies. But we insulation, and even first aid.”
didn’t wait for help. Everyone who made it through that first $20; 1.3 oz.; buffusa.com
night ultimately survived.

38. Tip your guide. Consider it mountain karma. Q

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 81
 At the Ring Fire in Montana’s Frank
Church-River of No Return Wilderness,
a smokejumper comes in for a landing,
while another holds a blue streamer to
help him judge wind speed and direction.

Baptism by Fire
Smokejumpers drop into some of the purest, most isolated wilderness
in the country to fight summer wildfires. During four years on the front lines,
THOMAS HANEY used his camera and words to capture the essence
of the job, the vastness of its reach, and the moments and places
that make it unlike any other.

PHOTO BY TK

84 08.2017
Fire renews and destroys; fire crews cut trees to protect the forest. But sometimes those moments of contrast are even more pro-
nounced. I was chainsawing a dead snag in Southern California when I let up and this tiger swallowtail landed on my fire shirt. It’s the
kind of thing that only really happens when you spend six months a year in the wilderness. I was working in a crew of six or so and
everyone stopped what they were doing to look.

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 85
 F
IVE MINUTES. You could be doing
anything, but when that siren goes
off, you are expected to be geared up,
earplugs in, and seated on the plane
within five minutes. And as it takes off,
you have no idea where you’re going or
how long you’ll be out.
But you can be sure of one thing: The easiest part
will be jumping out of the plane. On the ground,
you work, digging fire lines and breaks, hoping to
outmaneuver a wildland blaze. In the field, you wake
up every morning and hike to the fire and work. And
every evening, you hike back to camp and collapse,
exhausted, into the one-man tent or tarp you packed.
People who hear this either say the job sounds tailor-
made for them or it sounds insane.
I was the former. I was 24 and hiking a long section
of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2007 to try to figure out my
life. I was a few miles out from Stehekin, Washington,
when I came across a guy dressed in a yellow shirt
and wearing a firefighter’s lumbar pack. He was a
smokejumper. I peppered him with questions for two
hours as we hiked. By the time we arrived in Stehekin,
I could see my future.
It took five years for me to make it a reality. I
learned to jump, spent four years on a hotshot crew
fighting wildfires by hand, and captained an engine
in Eugene, Oregon, before the dream came true: I was
accepted into an elite crew of wildland firefighters
who parachute to remote fires.
At first, you think of fire as the enemy. But that
gets complicated over time. I’ve watched fires
burn through the understory of mature pine forests,
renewing and refreshing the terrain. I’ve also
seen fires climb into the crowns of trees and leave
behind landscapes of ash and ruin. Fires are vital
to a point but destructive beyond that. There’s
nothing like them.
We go to places that people don’t usually visit
and see things that most people don’t see. I’d been a
photographer for years. So I took my camera with me.
Now, if I had to choose between packing my sleeping
pad and my camera, I’d pick the camera.

86 08.2017
Above The Sheep Creek fire burned 1,700
acres in the Tongue River Canyon of Wyo-
ming’s Bighorn Range in 2015. Our job was
to keep the fire from jumping out of the
steep-walled canyon and heading toward
town. We camped on the canyon’s rim for a
week, preparing. Eventually, the fire made
a run up the dense pine forest, shooting
100-foot flames from the canopy and over-
whelming a lower ridge where this smoke-
jumper had stood lookout. Soon after, the
fire met our efforts and halted its advance.
Bottom left The Hastings Fire, which
burned a black spruce forest near Fair-
banks, Alaska, took two weeks to put out.
The back burn we set produced enough
smoke to block the sun.
Top left Seated in the plane, the smoke-
jumpers are usually quiet. Every so often,
little pieces of information come back from
the pilot about where we’re going and
what the fire is doing. The adrenaline starts
pumping once the flames comes into
view. This ring of fire, near French Creek
in northern Idaho, radiated outward, con-
suming hilltops covered in dry grass.
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 87
 Above Of the 25 or so places I’ve fire-jumped into, none was
more aesthetic than the Mokelumne Wilderness in Califor-
nia’s Stanislaus National Forest. We camped in a meadow and
hiked 2 miles to reach the blaze (called the Irene Fire). That
entire area is surrounded by thousand-year-old limber pines
and boulders the size of houses. I’d hiked through the High
Sierra before, but this felt like a sacred place, especially with
morning sun streaming through the smoke and trees. We
spent a week there, working our way around the 95-acre fire
to contain it.

Right You experience the wilderness differently as a fire-

fighter. Where hikers might be able to lay in a meadow and
bask in their surroundings, firefighters spend long shifts
swinging tools with their heads down. That, however, leads to
moments when you look up and are bowled over by what you
see. Such was the case fighting a 6,000-acre grass fire in the
rolling hills of Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge.

88 08.2017
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 Above There isn’t much
solitude on the job, since
smokejumpers almost
always work in teams of
at least two, but there are
moments of quiet. This
one occurred during a
grassland fire south of
White Sands National
Monument, New Mexico.
We’d grown exhausted
working through the night
to get around the fire,
but the rising sun always
seems to renew us, even
when we’re stamping out
the final embers.

Right Most firefighters

have a favorite environ-
ment in which to fight
fire. Mine is ponderosa
pine forest, like this one in
New Mexico’s Gila Wilder-
ness. It looks hellish, but
the lack of brush in the
understory means the fire
is easy to contain. As the
ponderosas heat up, they
give off a smell like butter-
scotch and the light of the
fire magnifies the orange
in the bark. If I could, I’d
fight fire entirely at night.

90 08.2017
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 GEAR
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YOUR GUIDE FOR OUTDOOR GEAR
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 uncovered S
Hike to this month’s cover shot.

E W

The non-technical south face of

12,280-foot Mt. Adams is a popular
climb for aspiring mountaineers.

Goat Lake Loop,

Gifford-Pinchot National
Forest, Washington
Score bucket-list views of the Cascades and camp at a mountain lake on
this 13.4-mile loop through the Northwest’s high country.

20 miles to
Get here MT. ADAMS
From the Snowgrass Flats trailhead, 40 miles to
head 4.3 miles northwest on the MT. ST. HELENS
Snowgrass Hiker and Snowgrass Trails
to a junction. Stay left on the Lily Basin
Trail, where views open south to Mt.
Adams and Mt. St. Helens. Camp near
Goat Lake at mile 6.5 (scan the gravelly
ridge above for mountain goats). In the
morning, continue on the Lily Basin Trail
to mile 7.7. Then, follow photographer
Ryan Lilley’s lead: Cut west off trail,
crossing a snowmelt-fed creek, and set
up your hammock to enjoy the view.
When you’ve had your fill, backtrack and
continue onto the Goat Ridge Trail until
you return to the Snowgrass Hiker Trail

PHOTO BY RYAN LILLEY, TEXT BY TYLER VANDERMOLEN

at mile 13.2, where you’ll retrace your
steps to the trailhead.

Flowers
July and August are prime wildflower
months here. Look for red-orange
paintbrush, blue lupine, and yellow
arrowleaf balsamroot.

DO IT TRAILHEAD 46.467540,
-121.518709; 11 miles southeast of 28 miles to
Packwood SEASON July through MT. RAINIER
October is best PERMIT Northwest
Forest Pass ($30/year, bit.do/nwforest)
CONTACT bit.do/giffordpinchot

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. © 2017 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Volume 45, Issue 341, Number 6, August 2017.
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.

96 B AC K PAC K E R .CO M
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