Backpacking Adventures

Why Your Sleeping Bag Isn't Enough to Keep You Warm Have you ever been cold while camping? Most of us have. It's easy to turn first to the sleeping bag or quilt and bemoan its temperature rating, but the issue may not be what's wrapped around you, but rather what is underneath you. I use a 10° quilt, which means if the outside temperature gets down to 10°, I will survive the night. Maybe not comfortably, but I'll live. The main reason I use a quilt instead of a sleeping bag i

Seriously. Stop It. I was recently in wine country, California for a bachelorette party. Our Airbnb was pretty secluded -- a little over 5 miles up a hilly, windy, wooded road that ended in a half mile long driveway that 2 Uber drivers refused to go down because it was "too sketchy" for them to drive for some reason (true story... despite the fact that 3 of us made that drive in rental cars without hesitation, they both made us get out of their car and walk the rest of the wa

How Going Alone (and Being Afraid) Set the Foundation for Future Adventures My sixth backpacking trip was this solo adventure. The seventh would ultimately be the Appalachian Trail. Deep into the COVID lockdown, I was feeling itchy for an adventure. I was living in Columbus, Ohio, and I was working a series of odd jobs. People kept asking me what my plan was -- I didn't feel comfortable returning to teaching until the pandemic was over, as my online teaching experience in the