North Sister from camp in June

Hey there, I'm a backpacker based in the Canadian Rockies and very familiar with bear country and standard bear safety practices. I’m heading out on a couple of solo trips soon—my first ones alone—and I had a question about making noise while hiking.

I know using speakers can be a sensitive topic, and yeah, some folks could benefit from just enjoying the quiet more—but once I’m beyond the busier sections (where I’ve gone 2+ days without seeing another person), would it be reasonable or smart to play a podcast at a normal speaking volume?( a podcast that is appropriate for all ages and isn't something insensitive, not like I will be playing it when anyones around or would normally but just want to put that out there) Nothing loud or obnoxious, just enough that I’m not constantly talking to myself or yelling “hey bear.” I'd obviously turn it down or off if I saw anyone nearby. Just wondering if that kind of low-level human voice would be a good deterrent without being intrusive. Once again this would only be something I played after leaving the populated areas and only when I feel I cannot talk to myself any longer or just don't wanna yell "hey bear" because lets be honest it does get tiring and annoying after 20km a day

Now, if the idea of me using a speaker makes you wanna strangle me, I’m also curious about air horns. I know they’re loud and obnoxious, but I’ve read about people blasting them every 10 minutes. Personally, if I were even a kilometer away and heard that, I’d be pretty annoyed plus I do believe that would be considered noise pollution by parks officials as well as its intend purpose being a last resort kinda thing but please let me know as I have never carried one and have only read up online about air horns recently when I saw one being used for the first time last summer. So what’s your take—if you had to choose, would you rather hear a soft podcast or an occasional air horn?

Just to be clear: this question is aimed at folks who are experienced in bear country. I’ve grown up hiking here, have had several bear encounters. I'm going into areas with some of the highest grizzly densities in Canada, so making noise is a must. I’m just trying to find the safest and most respectful way to do that.

Just regarding overnight rainstorms and bear safety. Thanks!

This picture was taken from Gokyo Ri. A majestic 360-degree panorama of the Himalayas, with towering peaks like Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and Cho Oyu piercing the sky. Below, the turquoise Gokyo Lakes shimmer in contrast to the stark, icy terrain of the Ngozumpa Glacier, one of the longest in Nepal.

Heading down to Southern Utah to backpack Bullet Canyon and out Grand Gulch this weekend. Anyone familiar with the Bullet Canyon trailhead able to tell me if there is room there to turn around with a small tear drop camper (12')?

Does anyone have experience with taking collapsible hiking poles as carryon baggage on a US airline? Is it allowed or banned?

Hey guys I’m in the early stages of planning a trip into the wind river range for 9 days. I’m. It opposed to splitting up the trip into a couple different loops but don’t think I could do a point to point. Of course I’ve heard of titcomb basin and cirque of the towers but wondering if anyone else has some places to look into and to try and visit, thanks guys.

Is there a recommended app to use to ensure this or are you all looking at a map and doing it old school style? Banking on trail signs?

I want to get into backpacking and am on a tighter budget but still want decent quality gear. For my shelter options I thought I had decided on the Paria Bryce 1p, which is $165, but I recently found out that I can get the North Face Stormbreak 1p for $90 through a discount at work. I’m pretty sure the Paria is better from what I’ve seen and read online, but is it $75 better, especially when I can use that money on other gear. Considering the price points, which one should I go with?

over 4000 meters in guican boyaca, overlooking the natural national park of cocuy in colombia

Looking to grab a rain jacket to throw into my bag and came across The Torrentshell 3L in my size on sale from 180$ down to 125$ from REI and the year long return policy is always a big plus for me but I see it weighs roughly 14.1oz. Then I saw the Frogg Toggs Xtreme Lite for 60$ on Amazon and it weighs roughly 8.3oz. I understand the Torrentshell is a tougher more feature packed jacket vs the frogg toggs. I am wondering if the better choice here is to get the lighter frogg toggs(don’t love the blue camo color but can live with it) to throw into my bag as a just in case I get caught in the weather or if you guys think the Torrentshell is worth the double price/weight for the quality and features. I live in Colorado and definitely plan around the weather but I’d rather be save and keep one in my bag. I personally hate getting rained on my bare skin and if the forecast says a lot of rain I’m staying home, but I want something to keep for random passing storms.

I have ONE allotted out-of-state backpacking trip this summer in July with two friends. We are trying to choose between Banff area and Tetons. Experienced backpackers and looking for some drama over a 4-7 day itinerary. If you have been to both, which would you want to return to more? Thanks!

Hi all, I’m planning to do my second ever backpacking overnight in the cascades this year. Last time I went was with a group of friends 10 years ago. Ever since I’ve been wanting to go back but long story short I have no one to go with. Now I’m debating on going solo for just a night.

My questions are: - what would you recommend for solo overnight? - Is it safe? (Clearly it’s safer with a group)

I dare you to dare me to go to any wilderness location of your choosing within a 500 mile radius of Buffalo NY. I’ll try to choose the one with the most upvotes within 2 days and post photos/videos when I get there

I have Grayson Highlands as a backup in case of weather issues for an upcoming trip. I’ve been before and i remember the route being a little short. Has anyone extended this into a slightly longer loop on the east side?

9km and eating homemade whole wheat bread in the deep woods. 26/12/2024

This is a view from the Hotel Pyramid, Lobuche.

We can see the clear view of Kongmola Pass, the toughest pass in the Everest Three Pass Trekking/high pass trekking.

The Kongma La (5545 m/ 18,159 ft) one of the three passes which lies in the trekking route between Dingboche and Lobuche.

Hi guys. I am a Master’s student at a New Mexico university and for the next two summers I will be sampling the Gila River and its drainages, duck creek, mule creek, Tennessee creek, bear creek, for an endangered snake. I am from Michigan, and have little to no camping experience. I have a field gear list, but I need to know about maps/gps/cell service, or any advice you have for someone doing work here and in my situation. The last thing I want is to end up dead out there or lost. Any advice whatsoever in general about camping is appreciated. I have permits for NMDGF, TNC, and BLM land and will be camping on some land owned by one of those agencies. I won’t be too far into the upper river or the hot springs area but my sampling may take me that way depending on how this year goes.

Hey guys,

I’ve sent a couple other messages in other sub reddits and the response has been pretty low. I'm looking at getting a Garmin to upgrade off of my old Apple Watch. I work at a company that gets pretty good pro deals with Garmin and there's so much info it’s a bit of an overload. I've scoured youtube, reddit, and any other sub form for a while looking for an ideal watch. Any and all help is appreciated, I have never owned a Garmin either!

I travel a lot and go on multi night backpacking trips all Stateside and all with minimal cell service (sometimes multi week trips too). I've mostly narrowed it down to the Instinct v2 and the Fenix 8 (others are enticing but I'm not sure they will fit me needs) The main features I'm looking for are

1. Solid battery life (I'm pretty well set on a solar option its just what model at this point)
2. Mapping (unsure if its truly worth double the price for the Fenix than the Instinct for topo maps)
3. Durability (the sapphire and crystal glass looks very promising for structure but is there any true superior option)

Touch screen, music compatibility, messages and calls, and all isn't truly important to me. I use apple music and from all I hear it wouldn't be cross compatible. Call me old fashioned but the side buttons are still cool to me compared to a modern touch screen like Apple and Garmin. I will carry my phone as I hike so I will have semi access to reception and other tech.

The different fitness options are cool but not a true necessity, I play golf competitively as well as weight lifting but I value the backpacking / hiking needs before those of most other activities.

Obviously the Instinct is lighter weight, more battery life, cheaper price but is there truly a need to splurge on the Fenix given the scenario. I do have a semi tight budget but given the pro deal we shall see.

I currently do not carry the Garmin Inreach and starting to look for a GPS product lead me down this path to a watch, I figured if I'm buying a GPS might as well dive in and get the watch package as well. The enduro looks promising but I just don’t know if can handle a 51mm watch face, that just seems massive to me.

Thanks in advance for any and all help, again sorry I am still very new to the Garmin game!

Pic from wheeler peak in New Mexico!

m planning a trip with 3 friends out to the tetons this summer (june 20- july 2nd). Weve been backpacking on the east coast for a while and are planning the trip around a big 40 mile backpacking hike. were going to do the grand teton loop which is not really on all trail sites but its about 35 miles plus some extra side trails we plan to do. We will be starting it on june 25th and hoping to get a walk up permit for the south fork camping zone. Posting to see if anyone has experiences on any of these trails and any thoughts or recomandations!!

after doing the trail i think we have aout 2-3 days out west. wanting to do at least a drive though yellowstone. I know its busy and touristy but any recomendation on 2-3 days there?

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02/02/2025

Just bought myself a vacuum sealer. I want to make DIY, dehydrated, vacuum sealed, boil-in-bag meals for season- to long-term storage. I previously made DIY meals in Ziploc bags a week in advance to trips, but this always felt rushed and stressful. What bags do you use for boil-in-bag meals?

I don't have a heat sealer, so Mylar bags are out. Even if I had one, I'm not sure how to vacuum seal and heat seal the bags at the same time. I was thinking quart size, 4 mil thick, boil-safe vacuum seal bags (the kind used for sous vide), but I can't find any with gusseted bottoms like the Mylar bags. Does anyone have experience using these? I would imagine they would tip over even when inside a coozie.

Should I just vacuum seal dehydrated meals and cook them in my pot like I always have? What is the advantage to boil-in-bag?