Michael Lanza

A young boy in a sleeping bag while backpacking in Sequoia National Park.

10 Pro Tips For Staying Warm in a Sleeping Bag

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By Michael Lanza

Head into the mountains in summer, or almost anywhere in fall or spring, and you can encounter nighttime and morning temperatures anywhere from the 40s Fahrenheit to well below freezing. That’s more than cold enough to pose a real risk of hypothermia or, at the least, result in a miserable night for you or a partner or child you’ve taken backpacking or camping—and would like to take more. Here’s the good news: The very simple techniques outlined in this article can turn a potentially unpleasant night into a comfortable one.

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Hikers descending off Mount Bláhnúkur, above Landmannalaugar, Iceland.

Trekking Iceland’s Laugavegur and Fimmvörðuháls Trails—A Photo Gallery

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By Michael Lanza

We followed the trail upward through innumerable, short switchbacks to the summit of a battleship-gray, treeless, steep-sided peak called Bláhnúkur in the remote Fjallabak Nature Reserve of Iceland’s Central Highlands, one of the most active geothermal areas on Earth. At the summit, we turned a slow 360, gaping at a mind-boggling, kaleidoscopic landscape painted in more colors than there likely were species of plant life—none of it more than knee-high—on the volcanic slopes surrounding us. An old, hardened lava flow poured down one mountainside in a jumbled train wreck of razor-sharp black rhyolite. Barren peaks and ridges wearing the white splotches of July snowfields reached to every horizon.

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Hikers overlooking Iceland's second-tallest waterfall,, Glymur, at the head of the fjord Hvalfjörður.

9 Great Hikes and Walks Along Iceland’s Ring Road

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By Michael Lanza

Driving Iceland’s Highway 1, or Ring Road, in the country’s southeast on the kind of sunny day that’s almost as rare here as the sensation of boredom, we reached the seacoast—and the landscape and seascape suddenly seemed to exceed the capacity of our vision and minds to take it all in. The two-lane highway snaked along this island nation’s ragged edge, weaving in and out of one fjord after another, each as impossible to comprehend in its magnificence as it was to pronounce. The ocean crashed up against starkly barren yet wildly colorful mountains as we crossed bridges over intricately braided rivers, gazing up valleys where multiple, cracked glaciers tumbled nearly to sea level.

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The Deuter AC Lite 16 daypack.

Review: Deuter AC Lite 16 Daypack

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Daypack
Deuter AC Lite 16
$100, 16L/976 c.i., 1 lb. 14.7 oz./870g
One non-adjustable size in men’s and SL/women’s models
summithut.com

On dayhikes of up to several miles, including a hike up and down the West Rim Trail in Zion National Park and a peak in my local foothills with 2,000 feet of vertical in just over two miles, I found Deuter’s AC Lite 16 quite comfortable with the type of loads that many dayhikers do not exceed. Plus, this daypack has a design and basic feature set that will please many hikers as much as its price.

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A hiker scrambling Chickenout Ridge on Idaho's 12,662-foot Borah Peak.

No Chickening Out: Hiking Idaho’s Borah Peak

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By Michael Lanza The zigzagging trail up the Southwest Ridge of Borah Peak, Idaho’s high point at 12,662 feet, rose above us on the almost barren mountainside and appeared to end abruptly where the ridge narrowed to a crest of jagged rock—the route’s crux, known as Chickenout Ridge. We reached the base of this stone fin, looked at each other, …

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