America’s Best Backpacking and Outdoor Adventures
Rechargeable Ultralight Headlamp Black Diamond Spot 400-R $65, 2.6 oz./73.7g blackdiamondequipment.com Using Black Diamond’s Spot 400-R on various outings, from nights in camp on a nine-day hike of nearly 130 miles through the High Sierra in August, mostly on the John Muir Trail, and pre-dawn starts on a seven-day, nearly 70-mile walk in September in Glacier National Park, to dawn …
Ultralight Sleeping Bag Sierra Designs Cloud 35 $300, 1 lb. 7 oz. (men’s regular) Sizes: men’s regular and long (35- and 20-degree), women’s 20-degree (one size) moosejaw.com Mummy-style sleeping bags deliver high warmth efficiency for their weight because they trap heat so well—but can sometimes feel like they’re trapping you inside, too. Backpacking quilts mimic the feeling of sleeping under …
By Michael Lanza The water of Johns Hopkins Inlet lies flat, perfectly reflecting the first patches of blue sky we’ve seen since arriving in Glacier Bay yesterday morning. I rest my paddle across the kayak and listen. A barely audible moan of wind floats down from high in the mountains, then fades away. A bald eagle screeches, briefly piercing the …
Ultralight Backpacking Tent Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 $699, 1 lb. 2 oz./510g hyperlitemountaingear.com Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 Insert with DCF11 Floor $399, 1 lb. 4.5 oz./581g hyperlitemountaingear.com I’ve encountered every form of mountain weather over more than three decades of backpacking, but rarely conditions like my son and I faced over three days in August in the Wind …
By Michael Lanza A bit over a mile into our first day backpacking in Yosemite, as we round a bend in the trail, Half Dome suddenly rears up in front of us, looming over the horizon like an asteroid just seconds before it impacts the planet. “Wow!” bursts from my mouth involuntarily, sounding very inadequate for the majestic scene before …