Welcome to The Big Outside!
Hi, I'm Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside and former Northwest Editor at Backpacker magazine. Click my photo to learn more about me and my blog. Sign up for my free email newsletter in the blue box above. Click on Subscribe Now! in the main menu (top right) to get full access to all of my stories on America's best backpacking, hiking, and outdoor adventures. And click on Ask Me in the main menu to learn how I can help you plan your next trip.
Read My Book
Category Archives: Skills
My professional tips on hiking, backpacking, gear, and outdoors skills, and taking children on wilderness adventures.
How to Dress in Layers for Winter in the Backcountry
By Michael Lanza
If hiking, backpacking, and climbing from spring through fall teaches us the fundamentals of layering our clothing for comfort in variable weather, the backcountry in winter confers a graduate degree in layering. In mild temperatures, getting wet with perspiration or precipitation merely risks discomfort. In freezing temps, it can quickly lead to hypothermia and actually become life-threatening. Drawn from three decades of Nordic and backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, climbing, camping, and trail running in winter, these tips go beyond the usual layering advice to help you stay comfortable and safe by customizing clothing systems according to activity and body type. Continue reading →
10 Tips For Spending Less on Hiking and Backpacking Gear
By Michael Lanza
My first tent cost about 75 bucks. It was a bit heavy and bulky for backpacking. I called it the Wind Sock because it snapped loudly in the slightest breeze, and its poles bowed disturbingly in strong gusts. (I learned to choose protected campsites.) But at a time when I could not afford good gear and was developing a passion for hiking, backpacking, and climbing, it sheltered me for about 150 nights in the backcountry and in campgrounds. It ultimately cost me about 50 cents a night.
When I started dayhiking and backpacking, I needed gear and clothing that was cheap. Yes, you usually get what you pay for. But over the years, I’ve learned the strategies for getting decent or even very good gear cheaply. If you’re much shorter on cash than on eagerness to get outdoors—or you just prefer paying less for your gear so you can afford more of it—these freshly updated and expanded tips will help you get out there without emptying your checking account.
Ask Me: Should I Go Backpacking Solo?
A backpacker at Upper Lyman Lakes, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington.
Hello Michael,
I’ve read through a lot of your blog, and it really has inspired me to get outside more and look for greater adventures than what I’ve already done. I have never been anywhere in the United States and so I have my sights set on Rocky Mountain National Park, in Colorado. I’m looking to do some backpacking, and with so many trails and options to choose from, I’m at a loss and honestly confused. I’m looking for something that will take me about four days. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find someone to tag along with me, and although I have quite a bit of camping and hiking experience, I haven’t done it by myself. What are your thoughts on backpacking solo? Continue reading →
How to Prevent Hypothermia While Hiking and Backpacking
Todd Arndt staying warm in cold wind high in Glacier National Park.
By Michael Lanza
Rain and wind battered two friends and I as we hiked across exposed meadows high in the Olympic Mountains—our second straight day of rain. Dripping, knee-high vegetation ladled cups of water onto our pants and boots. My rain jacket kept my upper body dry, but my soft-shell pants eventually soaked through. That, and the wind, slowly made me steadily colder—more than I realized.
After a strenuous ascent of a steep mountainside, carrying a heavy pack with my jacket hood up—which should have made me quite warm—it occurred to me: I’m still cold.
I was hypothermic. Continue reading →
10 Tips For a Smarter Layering System
A backpacker on a rainy and windy day high in the Olympic Mountains.
By Michael Lanza
Think of your layering system of clothing for outdoor activities like hiking, backpacking, climbing, and skiing as a musical instrument. When you’re first learning how to play, you practice one chord or note at a time. But you only begin to produce music once you link chords in a way that sounds good. Similarly, only by treating your layering system as a dynamic, interconnected whole can you move more comfortably and safely in any weather. In this freshly updated article, I offer 10 specific tips for making your layering system work better—which ultimately helps you spend your money smartly. Continue reading →