La Valle de las Animas or the valley of the souls/spirits is a water worn series of canyons that lead up to a plateau that overlooks the city of La Paz (in Bolivia) and provides an incredible view of some of the mountains in Bolivia’s cordillera Real (the most impressive …

Are you tired of the 10 essential things to take backpacking? Yes we know we need a shelter, a sleeping bag, stove, etc., but we’ve all started a hike or almost left home without a less glorious item that wasn’t THAT important until you got to camp and realized that …

A look at the funky looking swiss ranger solid fuel stove. It is military quality (and weight). Coming in at 14 oz for a windshield, canteen and 2 cup aluminum cup for about $10, this little unit is a cheap way to get into backpacking. It isn’t slow, it isn’t …

My kids love learning about animals and the outdoors. We thought we’d teach them a bit about bear safety via books, DVDs and answering their questions. This is what they remembered:

Today I posted my first guest post for Seattle Backpacker’s Magazine. If you haven’t considered Merino wool as a member of your backpacking arsenal then take a looky-see: http://seattlebackpackersmagazine.com/2011/05/24/icebreaker-bodyfit-review/ If you haven’t seen Seattle Backpacker’s digital magazine then why not?http://seattlebackpackersmagazine.com/

A few weeks ago we looked at what to do when encountering bears on the trail. Now we want to look at keeping a safe, bear free (or bear resistant) campsite. Most of this has to do with food. The biggest attractant of bears is the smell of food/belongings and …

The Native Americans weren’t the typical wasters that the disposable society of today has created. They knew easy efficient ways of harvesting, preparing and cooking wild foods. A good example of this is how some groups used to fillet and cook trout. It’s a really simple technique that doesn’t rely …

About a month ago I asked Ray Anderson who runs the blog TakeaLongHike.com to tell his story of how he got into hiking and what advice he could offer for those hoping to do the same. Take it away Ray: WHAT GOT ME INTO HIKING About twenty-five years ago, on a …

Over the past few weeks here in Bolivia I’ve been eying the backpacks. Most are a pretty decent deal at around $95 with the potential of knocking off another $15 by bartering alone. However, when I noticed that one of the embroidered logos wasn’t straight I got in contact with …

As you descend the river rock path to the open meadow a hand painted sign greets, “I sowed my dreams here, please tread lightly.” Johnny, a Bolivian who fell in love with the country after spending some time in Europe has certainly sown something wonderful. For about 28 years he …

Well the results are in and here’s what people said: Nobody was using UV (e.g. the Steripen) to make their water purdy. 2% of people are using chemicals to make their water drinkable. 20% grit and bare it, drinking straight up from that Giardia dream pool. 31% use the good …

This may not be new to many people, but it was new to me. We all want good gear, but don’t want to pay good gear prices. Steep and cheap is another website that offers great deals on outdoor gear. But this one is one of those ones that could …