TESTED GO ANYWHERE GEAR

EPIC America’s
BEST
SUNRISE

TRIPS HIKES

ON ANY
BUDGET

HOW TO
Survive an unplanned
winter overnight
Save your life with
a sleeping pad
Escape a plunge
through ice

YELLOWSTONE’S
QUIET SEASON
LIVE.
RUN.
REPEAT.
Distance Carbon FLZ Trekking Poles
Lightweight GridTech Fleece Gloves
CoEfficient Fleece Hoody

BD Athlete Joe Grant | Swiss Alps Dan Patitucci

cotopaxi.com/gearforgood
Reed Rombough and John Lemnotis raise the stoke level in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca.
Photos by James Roh.
 contentsJanuary2018
SPECIAL SECTION
adv
THE ADV ENT URE
TRAVEL ISS UE
50 Switzerland & Italy
Explore an uncrowded alpine paradise on the
Tour de Monte Rosa. BY DOUGALD MACDONALD
54 Vietnam
Camp amid the otherworldly scenery of Son
Doong, the world’s largest cave.
BY TED ALVAREZ
56 New Zealand
See the best of Fiordland National Park on the
wet-and-wild Dusky Track. BY MICHAEL LANZA
the play list
6 Organ Pipe Cactus
National Monument, AZ
Escape the cold and the
crowds at this desert refuge.
8 Insider’s Guide:
Yellowstone in Winter
Picture herds of bison, snow-
dusted evergreens, vibrant
TK WIESENFARTH
hot springs—and solitude.
10 The Experience:
Join the Migration
BY BEN
Camp with 10,000 sandhill
cranes on Nebraska’s Platte
PHOTO BY
River in spring.
PHOTO
the manual
skills
23 Glide Through Winter
Master cross-country ski
technique and go farther, faster.
24 Trail Chef: Camp Java
Become a backcountry barista
with these brewing tips and
latte recipes.
26 Pass/Fail: Backpack
Through an Argument
Can hiking salvage a
relationship?
28 Photo School:
Dusky Track, Moon Shadows
New Zealand Capture snowy dreamscapes
after the sun goes down.
62 Jordan
Follow ancient trade routes past ruins and
oases. BY NANCY BOUCHARD
survival
64 Colombia 31 Out Alive: Benighted
Discover the fertile páramos of the forgotten Two teens survive a night
Andes. BY CASEY LYONS of blizzard conditions on a
Colorado Fourteener.
68 Canada
Go (really) big on North America’s Haute Route. 34 Saved By: A Sleeping Pad
BY MAREN HORJUS Build a shelter, beat frostbite,
or keep water hot with a
72 Scotland closed-cell foam pad.
Walk in John Muir’s first footsteps on a new
coast-to-coast trail. BY JEREMY KEITH SPENCER 35 Den Mother: Thin Ice
Prepping for a frozen lake
74 Philippines crossing? Worried about trench
Trek through the world’s steepest rice terraces. foot? Den Mother has answers.
BY MARK JENKINS
gear
12 Geopinion: 16 Red River Gorge, KY 37 Field Test: Travel Gear
Put a Filter On It Nab the best view in the park Hit the road with products that
Our scout ditches Instagram— when you trek to this seldom- perform from plane to trail.
and finds plenty to like. visited double arch.
41 Field Notes
13 Fisheating Creek, FL 18 Weekends Testers rate their top new finds:
Paddle pritstine waters to Sluice through a rocky a tough shell, glacier-ready
camp in a liquid labyrinth. cathedral in Arizona’s shades, and toasty camp shoes.
Aravaipa Canyon; experience
14 Done in a Day: both desert and riparian
Top of the Morning zones in Texas’s Colorado 4 #trailchat
Get an early start on America’s Bend State Park; and summit 80 uncovered
best sunrise hikes. New York’s Mt. Marcy on
snowshoes.
15 Life List: Hawaii
Volcanoes National Park, HI Cover Hokitika Gorge, New
Take the long way to a private Zealand, by Tiffany Nguyen
beach paradise. Beta page 80
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 03
3
#trailchat
YOUR OPINIONS, PHOTOS, AND FEATS

The Party’s Over

Riff Raff may attract some of the liveliest hikers on the Appalachian Trail, but it’s
certainly not the most popular crew. When we wrote about the hard-partying
group in our October issue (“Trail Daze,” page 62), readers expressed distaste.
“Let the boozing crowd go to Daytona Beach or elsewhere, but keep them
away from my sacred wilderness,” wrote Michael Donovan. And Ron Tipton,
President & CEO of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, thought the problem
was overstated. “The ATC does not believe this is typical thru-hiker behavior,
and claims that this is a sign of ‘changing trail culture’ are greatly exaggerated,”
he wrote. “Are there groups who drink or take drugs on the AT? To a small degree,
yes, and we continually monitor trail behavior and seek law enforcement as
necessary. Yet labeling the trail as being overtaken by ‘party culture’ generalizes
the behavior of thousands of hikers based on the actions of a select few.”

Go Deep Dream Trips

For this issue, BACKPACKER writers traveled
HIKING SEASON
NEVER ENDS
@backpackermag to Switzerland, Colombia, Jordan, and beyond to
GEAR
37 PRIME-TIME TRAILS

YOU NEED
Tag your ’grams #trailchat for a chance to be featured here find the world’s most unique trails. We asked our
SLEEP WARM
and on our Instagram feed. Twitter followers: What’s your dream adventure?

SAVE

The Hayduke
Trail, UT/AZ
@jeremyjallam
The Resurrection
Pass Trail, AK
@CharityAlaska

Hiking the
Scottish Highlands,
cabin to cabin
@chicagotrails
The Tour du
Mont Blanc
@SturgisChick

SPLURGE

A Room in Paradise
@2coolparents To write “View With a Room” (October
Stephen’s Gap Cave, Alabama 2017, page 48), we scoured the continental
The easy way to this otherworldly spot: A muddy mile to this ledge, United States to find 17 of the country’s best
PHOTO BY ANDAR SAWYERS

which sits above a 30-foot drop. The hard way: Rappel straight in. wilderness huts. According to Sunil Shenoy,
But time it carefully: “The light shines onto the pedestal between we should have looked a little farther afield.
10 and 11:30 a.m., depending on season,” writes Amanda Dunn. “The Mauna Loa summit cabin, located
13,250 feet above the Pacific on the big island
of Hawaii, offers rim-side views of the crater,”
he wrote. “Just make sure that the rain- and
Backtracking snow-fed water tank is full, since there are
In the photo caption on page 14 of the October issue, we misidentified a waterway running no other water sources for miles.”
through California’s Ansel Adams Wilderness. The correct name is Reversed Creek.

04 01.2018
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 006
01.2018

the
play
list
This month’s top
trips and picks

Fly south for the winter.

1
IAN SHIVE / TANDEMSTOCK.COM

ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA

Organ pipes provide little shade when the desert sun pummels this preserve, but
with January highs in the 70s, who cares? Cash in on this national monument’s best
season by setting up a basecamp at the tent-only Alamo Canyon Campground
among the arms-aloft cactuses ($10 self-issue permit required). Now you’re in
prime position for dayhikes: Photographer Ian Shive recommends the short-but-
rough, 2-mile Alamo Canyon Trail, which leads east into the crumbly, reddish Ajo
Range. (Set an alarm for sunrise; you won’t want to miss first light bleeding into
PHOTO BY TK

the sky above the 3,000-foot mountains.) Note: Organ Pipe, right on the border,
sometimes has immigration issues. Check the park website for alerts and expect
law enforcement patrols. Contact nps.gov/orpi
PHOTO BY TK
play list

INSIDER’S

2
GUIDE

The insider

Fire and Ice The northern Rockies’ punishing cold has never deterred Ken
PHOTO BY BEN HERNDON / TANDEMSTOCK.COM

Sinay, founder of Yellowstone Safari Company. For 27 years,

he’s guided multiday trips into the park in all seasons, so it’s
Yellowstone easy to take him at his word that winter is the best time to see
“large animals in big numbers, in vast landscapes.”

National 1. Herd-spotting

Park, Wyoming
The only thing better than Yellowstone in summer?
Yellowstone in winter. Picture herds of bison and elk,
low-hanging steam shrouding evergreen forests, gem-
hued pools blazing amid the snow-dusted landscape—
and savoring it all in solitude. BY KELLY BASTONE
With warmer air temperatures and thinner snowpack, the rela-
tively low elevations (6,200 to 7,600 feet) across the northern
portion of the park attract wintering bighorn sheep, wolves,
bison, and elk—lots of elk. As many as 5,000 of the ungulates
spend winter here. See them by driving 20 miles east from
Mammoth Hot Springs to Tower Junction along the Northeast
Entrance Road, the only route open to auto traffic in winter. Just
east of Tower, some of the biggest herds congregate in the open,
grass-and-sagebrush plains of the Lamar and Yellowstone River

08 01.2018

Valleys. From the junction, head out on snow-
shoes or skis to tour 3 miles east along Cache
Creek. The unmarked, streamside route
leads through meadows where wolves and
bull elk nose for roughage beneath the snow.
2. Best weekend
Park campgrounds close in winter, but the
Old Faithful Snow Lodge stays open. The
full-service hotel makes a comfy basecamp
for exploring Yellowstone’s interior, particu-
larly Upper Geyser Basin. From the lodge,
the 7-mile loop to Biscuit Basin passes scores
of neon-colored hot springs, as well as Grand
Geyser, the world’s tallest predictable geyser.
The hot spring produces a mighty 200-foot
column of water every seven to 15 hours
See tropical-blue Silex
Spring from the Fountain
Paint Pot Nature Trail.
(find daily predictions at the visitor center),
as well as babbling sounds that are rarely
heard in summer, when crowd noise drowns
out the watery song. Next day, tour 1.7 miles
to see Kepler Cascades crashing over a
50-foot cliff of rock and ice, then continue
2.3 miles to watch Lone Star Geyser stage its
aerial show. Rooms at the lodge start at $150;
get there via a four-hour snow coach ride
from Mammoth or by cross-country skiing
32 miles from the west entrance.
3. Best view
Hire a snow coach from West Yellowstone
or Old Faithful to the Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone, where the marked, 4.5-mile
Canyon Rim Trail lets skiers peer into the
e e gh
Cr lo u
k
d.
S
4
nc st
eR
tra e a
En or th
i ve r
N
1
e R
on
t
s
Yellow
Yellowstone 3
National Park
Yellowstone
Lake
2
r
ve
i
rR
hle
ec
B
5
thousand-foot abyss. The dusting of snow
accentuates the canyon’s famously yellow
cliffs, and at Lookout Point, you can see the
wide tongue of 308-foot Lower Yellowstone
Falls crash onto a pillar of ice.
4. Top backcountry campsite
The only visitors you’ll have at First Meadow
are the trumpeter swans, bald eagles, elk,
bison, and wolves that forage in the open
valley by Slough Creek. Join them on a 3.8-
mile, one-way tour from the Slough Creek
Campground Road: With the stream on
your left, snowshoe or ski 2 miles north on
the snowy road to the official Slough Creek
trailhead. From here, continue 1.8 miles east
along the snow-covered summer trail (with
aspens lining the stream, the routefinding
is easy, Sinay says). You’ll pop out at First
Meadow, an aspen-rimmed expanse with
easy access to Slough Creek. “Seeing wolves
here is so much cooler than spotting them
from the road,” Sinay says.
5. Multiday epic
No life list is complete without Yellow-
stone’s classic ski tour from Old Faithful
to the Bechler Ranger Station, Sinay says.
The point-to-point route spans just 32 miles
but requires a week to complete, thanks to
deep snow, icy river crossings, and possible
blizzards. But solitude is virtually guaran-
teed. Take a snow coach to Old Faithful,
and arrange for a shuttle from the Bechler
Ranger Station (prices vary; inquire with
the snow coaches below). Spend most of the
route paralleling the Bechler River and its
waterfalls, like the soak-worthy Mr. Bubbles,
a section of stream heated by hot springs
near mile 15.
TRIP PLANNER
SEASON December to March for best
winter conditions PERMITS Required for
backpacking (free in winter); obtain from
any ranger station. SNOW COACHES
Xanterra for Mammoth to Old Faithful
($117/person; xanterra.com); Yellow-
stone Vacations for West Yellowstone
to Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon
of the Yellowstone ($120/person; yel-
lowstonevacations.com) OUTFITTER
Bear Den (bit.do/bear-den-ski-shops)
in Mammoth and Old Faithful CONTACT
nps.gov/yell
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 09
play list

Flock Together:
3
THE EXPERIENCE
Join the Migration
Camp with 10,000 sandhill cranes on Nebraska’s
Platte River this spring. BY KRISTEN POPE

­THE DOOR SHUTS, then all
is quiet.
I empty my pack in the corner
of the small, one-room shelter. I
unroll my sleeping bag, fluff the
down, and arrange it on a mat laid
on the wooden floor. I practice
quietly opening and shutting the
window coverings. Any sudden
movement could scatter the one-
of-a-kind flock that I’m here to see.
Just 15 minutes ago, my camping
partner and I threw our packs into
a Rowe Sanctuary volunteer’s
truck for a ride past the native
prairie to this crude hut in the
park’s wetlands. I’m a backpacker,
and though the plywood shelter
has no amenities, it felt like
cheating to catch a ride to my
backcountry camp. But tromping
through the preserve could disturb
the wildlife, so we accepted the
ride. Now, forbidden to leave the
shelter, I can’t help but feel a little
trapped.
It’s a novel feeling when so
much of hiking is about the
freedom, but when I peek out the
window at dusk, I see a cloud of
black dots growing on the horizon.
They’re here.
Every spring, half a million
sandhill cranes—some 80 percent
of the world’s population—stop
over on the Platte River, a portion
of which is protected in Nebraska’s
Rowe Sanctuary. They come from
Mexico, Texas, and the Southwest,
meeting here in Nebraska to feast
on waste grain in the nearby
crop fields and roost on the
Platte before heading to Canada,
Alaska, and Siberia to breed. The
Rowe Sanctuary celebrates their
migration with a program that lets
people view it without disturbing
the cranes—which is why I’m not
allowed to leave my shelter.
As the flocks encroach on my
own sanctuary, their raucous,
bugle-like calls shatter the silence.
The sky becomes so thick with
cranes it makes the twilight even
darker. They catch thermals and
coast in circles around my shelter,
each one making several passes
before finding just the right piece
of watery real estate and landing
in the Platte with a small splash.
Some perch on sandbars that poke
out of the river like thrones, while
others strut through the shallows,
outstretching their wings and
pumping their heads in search of
mates. There are so many of the
white, gray, and brown birds that
in an hour’s time I can no longer
tell where the shore ends and
the water begins. I stand by my
window, mesmerized, until it’s too
dark to make out shapes anymore.

10 01.2018
 Sandhill cranes gather Celebrate a wild New Year.
on Nebraska’s Platte
River in March. 4 Skip the finger sandwiches and start 2018 off right: in the wild. We broke down
what exactly you should look for in a backcountry NYE site. BY RYAN WICHELNS

SOLITUDE
Strange but true: Not every back-
country camper wants to join your
party. Maintain a modicum of LNT
pride and steer clear of others.

1 2

4*

DISTANCE
The holidays can be stressful.
Tonight’s logistics shouldn’t be. TEMPERATURE
And until dehydrated alcohol It’s a lot easier to stay up
improves, you’re not going to 3 until midnight if you’re not in
want to travel too far with your your sleeping bag.
mobile bar, anyway.

1. Thomas Mountain Cabin 3. Arestua Hut

ADIRONDACK PARK, NY
Snowshoe 1.4 miles up gentle Valley Woods
Road to the one-room, unheated shelter
(first-come, first-serve), where four walls
are better than nylon and chances are good
it’ll be empty in winter. Move the party to the
front porch at midnight to spy fireworks over
Lake George to the east. Info lglc.org
ROOSEVELT NATIONAL FOREST, CO
It may be cold outside, but the Arestua
Hut’s woodstove means sauna temps await
inside after the 4.5-mile approach. The first-
come, first-serve hut ($5/person) sleeps
eight, but you can bet anyone who shows up
on NYE will be in a celebratory mood and OK
with cramming. Info cmcboulder.org

2. Santa Catalina Island 4. Dunefield

The next morning, the birds are
still squawking and socializing in the
Platte. My pick-up can’t get me until
they clear out to the cornfields—a
PHOTO BY JIM LO SCALZO / AURORA PHOTOS
CHANNEL ISLANDS, CA
Hikers looking to work up a real thirst will
appreciate the 37-mile Trans-Catalina Trail.
An 80-minute ferry ride and day of hiking
will guarantee you backcountry solitude,
and you may even be able to spot fireworks
over Long Beach. Bonus: Winter highs top
out in the 60s. Info catalinaconservancy.org
WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, NM
Giant sand dunes isolate each campsite—
think of it like a personal party pad—and an
easy, 1-mile hike in means the festivities can
commence ASAP. Idyllic daytime temps in
the 60s give way to the 30s at night, though,
so consider toddies with your bubbly.
Info nps.gov/whsa

sudden, seemingly random explosion
of feathers that happens two hours
later—so I’m on house arrest. But I
don’t mind. Q
DO IT Reserve a cabin (called
a “photo blind”) and a shuttle
online at bit.do/rowe-sanctuary-
cranes ($225 for one blind;
sleeps two). Each blind has
a latrine pail (remember, you
can’t leave). Peak crane season
is March 16 to April 7. CONTACT
rowe.audubon.org
*LOOKING FOR A JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES CAMPSITE IN ARIZONA? TURN TO PAGE 6.
FIRST Follow a newly reopened route.
TRACKS After shuttering 50 years ago to protect avocados—true story—California’s
16-mile Franklin Trail makes a grand “reopening” this February. With the help
5 of local volunteers, the Forest Service began a seven-year effort to restore
the trail in 2011. Now, the steep, chaparral-choked track weaves through
orchards of the precious fruit (resist the urge to pick), connecting the coastal
town of Carpinteria to the Los Padres National Forest backcountry. The Franklin Trail—also
known as the “Avo Route”—is a worthy day trip on its own, but your best bet is to use it as a
gateway into the Dick Smith Wilderness: From Meadow View Lane, take the Franklin Trail 7.9
miles to Santa Ynez Ridge, where you can overnight near Alder Creek. Info franklintrail.org

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 11
play list

GEOPINION

Put a Filter On It
6 Hiking in the Instagram era gives your followers great memories,
but can rob you of your own. Our scout takes a break from the social
hamster wheel—and likes it. BY TED ALVAREZ

IT’S IN THE UNWRITTEN social media
owner’s manual: If you’re gonna post, you
gotta look. Get your summit shot queued
up, attach the right hashtags, and you’ll
probably feel accomplished, at least for a
moment—until you scroll through the rest
of the outdoor glory shots populating our
social channels. The upwelling starts as
congratulation, morphs into admiration,
maybe even inspiration. But then
Instagram’s inevitable filter crops up: the
green tinge of envy.
Recent research rates Instagram
as the worst social media platform for
mental health and wellbeing, leading to
documented cases of anxiety, depression,
and even bullying. Recently, anti-
’Grammers have also cited environmental
conservation. Photos rarely come
with LNT guidelines, and suddenly the
backcountry is full of spots like Colorado’s
Guffey Gorge that have been trashed by
crowds who know how to “like” a place but
not how to love it.
But there’s another reason to temper
the urge to feed the feed, and this one
is the least discussed, but perhaps the
most important: The constant focus on
snapping the perfect wilderness photo
can actually rob us of the memories we’re
trying to preserve.
Don’t choke on your polarizer. This is
not a rant against photography. A recent
Psychological Science study indicates that,
while photography helps us recall the
visual details of our experiences, it comes
at the expense of every other sense. We
may remember the X-Pro-fi ltered contours
of Mt. Rainier at sunrise months later, but
we don’t absorb everything else—the musk
of morning mist, the chatter of snowmelt,
the ineffables that turn a gorgeous 2D pane
into a potent reason for being—if we’re
constantly searching for the shot that will
win a digital popularity contest.
I swear this is not a wheezy jeremiad
from a retrogrouch in an external-frame
pack. Have I ever squeezed through a
gut-pinching slot canyon (twice) to nail
the sickest angle? Guilty as charged.
Have I ever tracked through knee-high
poison oak to sling a hammock in front
of a mountain panorama where I never
actually slept? More than a hundred likes!
I admit I haven’t been able to quit
cold turkey. But I’ve got a new approach.
Recently, I started alternating one for the
’Gram, one for me: Every other trip, I get
to see how it feels to spend an entire hike
present and in the moment, with nothing
to process my environment but the
original five senses.
On a birthday trip with buddies to a
North Cascades fire lookout, my phone
languished in the car. In the timeline of
my social feeds, where there should be a
series of videos and shots documenting
days of epic wilderness revelry, there’s
a gap, like I fell off the map. And yet, I
remember glowing glaciers suspended
on smoke-obscured peaks; the echoing
whoops and wide eyes of my terrified
friends as we balanced on a tippy log on
a frosty lake; the slap of high fives as new
friends bagged their fi rst peaks ever. My
buddies took the social glory—including a
shot of me casting for rising cutthroats at
dawn, fi r trees cutting a black waveform
against the monochrome sky. I spent zero
time perfecting a pose, but I can smell the
lake right now.
So far, I’m digging this system. I come
home with less material than I used to,
but enough to prove to family that my
weeks off social media aren’t masking a
substance-abuse problem. The memories
of trips I don’t document are sweeter
and richer for being essentially secret—
and wholly mine. In fact, the scales are
beginning to tip in the other direction. I
look forward to leaving my phone in the
pack, eliminating one more fi lter between
me and the wilderness around me.
Go ahead and try it—you might even
like it. Q

ADDITIONAL TEXT BY HANNAH JOHNSON (THE GOOD FIGHT)

Chaco Canyon’s THE GOOD FIGHT
Kin Kletso Ruins 7 CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL
HISTORICAL PARK, NEW MEXICO
PHOTO BY ISTOCK.COM / WILSILVER77.

This high desert may seem an odd place for a city center, but a
thousand years ago Chaco Canyon was one of North American
civilization’s first power hubs. Today, its Ancestral Puebloan
architecture is protected as a National Historic Park and a UNESCO
World Heritage site. The best way to explore it: the 3-mile Wijiji Trail.
But Chaco Canyon is under threat: As of press time, the Bureau of Land
Management is planning on leasing land in the greater Chaco region
(outside the park boundaries) for oil and gas development, which
activists believe risks harm to sacred sites through ground vibration,
as well as pollution. To help, visit friendsofchaco.org.
 Go green.
8 FISHEATING CREEK WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT AREA, FLORIDA
There are two types of wilderness beauty: the timeless
kind, etched in stone, and the fleeting kind that comes
and goes with the seasons. Here in south-central Florida,
it’s all about the latter. When the calendar year flips,
summer’s high waters have just subsided enough to
reveal sandy freshwater beaches perfect for camping—
but wait any longer and you’ll be navigating tangles of
reeds or, worse, portaging. Photographer Paul Marcellini
recommends the 16-mile route from Ingrams Crossing
downstream to Fisheating Creek Campground; it’s easy
paddling the whole way, and in January, the passage
narrows, both creating a more intimate corridor beneath
the cypresses and funneling the aquatic wildlife to a
smaller area. Keep your eyes peeled for wading birds like
ibises, herons, egrets, and roseate spoonbills. Camp
anywhere you like along the way (practice gator safety), or
go all the way to the campground (sites 11 to 16 are right on
the water; reserve for $27/night at fisheatingcreekoutpost
.com). Fisheating Creek Outpost also rents out boats and
runs shuttles to Ingrams Crossing; prices vary. Contact
bit.do/fisheating-creek-wma
PAUL MARCELLINI / TANDEMSTOCK.COM
PHOTO BY TK
play list

DONE IN A DAY
Top of
the Morning
9 The upside of the year’s shortest days?
It’s easier to beat the sun to the trailhead.
Summit these east-facing high points for
the month’s best sunrise shows.
BY COREY BUHAY

Hikers on the saddle

below Castleton Tower

Climbers’ Trail Pine Mountain Trail Sunrise Birding Trail

CASTLE VALLEY, UT MT. ROGERS NATIONAL REC AREA, VA NEGWEGON STATE PARK, MI
This steep climb is a serious wake-up This path’s hallmark outcropping rises Whoever named this trail was unimagi-
call. But once you’re standing in the above the rest of Grayson Highlands, native but perfectly accurate: This trip

PHOTOS BY (TOP) PATTITUCI PHOTO; MATT DAMES / TANDEMSTOCK.COM.

notch between desert towers, watching
the low sun paint the sandstone red, the
early-morning StairMaster workout will
feel more than worth it. Set aside two
hours for the nontechnical ascent, and
head north on the obvious social trail
from the climbers’ campground. January
predawn temps will likely hang in the
20s, but you’ll warm up fast: The ascent
gains more than 1,300 feet in 1.3 miles.
High-step up the rocky wash before
ascending exposed switchbacks to the
col. From the narrow saddle between
400-foot-tall Castleton Tower and its
neighbor, the Rectory, see the rising sun
peek over the square-topped Fisher
Mesa. Spin around to watch the light
illuminate the barbs and angles of the
Parriott Mesa to the west. Return the
way you came, passing prickly pear cac-
tuses you missed in the dark. START TIME
5:30 a.m. EXPECTED SUNRISE* 7:34 a.m.
CONTACT utahopenlands.org
offering a 360-degree view of stars dis-
solving into dawn among the endless
ridges and rhododendron thickets. The
best way to get there is on the front end
of an 11.3-mile loop from Massie Gap
that connects the Spur, Appalachian,
and Pine Mountain Trails. Reach Rho-
dodendron Gap near mile 3.3 at the
junction of the AT and Pine Mountain
Trails, and scan above the namesake
bushes to spy your objective on the left:
a 200-foot-tall sandstone outcropping.
Scramble up the prow to watch the blue
shadows lift off 5,728-foot Mt. Rogers
to the west as the rising sun uncovers
more ridges and hollows than can fit in a
frame. Finish out the loop by continuing
on the Pine Mountain Trail until it rejoins
the AT, which twists south through pas-
tures of wild ponies and across Wilburn
Ridge back to Massie Gap. START TIME
5:30 a.m. EXPECTED SUNRISE 7:38 a.m.
CONTACT bit.do/mt-rogers-rec-area
promises a sunrise view across Lake
Huron, which you’re sure to share with
feathered company. Bundle up for mid-
winter temperatures in the teens and
create a 7-mile circuit by linking the east
halves of both the Algonquin and Chip-
pewa Trails. At mile 2.2, reach the tip
of South Point, a peninsula where you ADDITIONAL TEXT BY HANNAH JOHNSON (LOVE)
can see the pastel shades of morning’s
arrival seep into Michigan from Cana-
da’s half of Lake Huron, 50 miles away.
In winter, bald eagles may be hunting
near the water’s surface. On the return,
take the inland (western) halves of both
the Chippewa and Algonquin Trails,
where white-breasted nuthatches, blue
jays, and black-capped chickadees
flit through the leafless trees. (Note:
There’s a campsite on South Point, but
it’s only open April to November.)
START TIME 6:40 a.m. EXPECTED
SUNRISE 8:07 a.m. CONTACT bit.do/
negwegon-sp

14 01.2018 *Sunrise times change daily. Consider these general guidelines for mid-January; check noaa.gov before heading out.
 10 FIND LOVE LIFE LIST
ON THE TRAIL.
Island Time
11
Everyone deserves that special
hiking partner. Woo the mountain
man or woman in your life this month On Hawaii, Halape’s secret snorkeling holes,
in advance of Valentine’s Day with coconut trees, and white-sand beaches stir any
one of these tried-and-true*, hiker’s wanderlust. But the Puna Coast Trail’s
outdoorsy pickup lines.
rough volcanic terrain keeps the hordes away.
BY LAURA LANCASTER
“Are you a redwood
tree? Because you’re
strong, tall, and I TIPTOE THROUGH the tide pool on feet tender from a day of backpacking. Jags of volcanic
I want to hug you.” rock and clusters of shiny, spiny urchins act as a minefield between me and my prize: a tur-
quoise lagoon in the northwest corner of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. So when the roiling
surf closes in on me, I fling myself forward, a clumsy swan dive, and let the current pull my
“Do you know what body into deeper water. I bob into the lagoon where my hiking partners are already making
my Patagonia layer
is made out of? use of the cheap snorkeling masks we picked up for this trip.
Boyfriend material.” Walls of black rock and beaches of white sand dominate the world above the Pacific, but
when I dive underwater, I feel like Dorothy waking up in Technicolor. Orange-striped
“The view is butterflyfish, yellow-tinged manini, and iridescent trumpetfish streak past electric-green
stunning—and the
mountains behind you grasses. I swim between castles of pink and green coral before heading back to shore to let the
are pretty, too.” afternoon’s last rays bake me dry before our fi nal night on Halape.
We didn’t invent backcountry snorkeling, but it’s just one of the ways Halape, a small,
beachy corner of the national park, has redefi ned our idea of the “perfect basecamp.” Also
“Do you have a GPS on that list is our palm-shaded tentsite, just feet from where the high tide licks the shore. And
tracking device? ’Cause
I feel lost looking into
then there’s the nearby eats, like coconuts we pluck from trees overhead and a Hawaiian
your eyes.” shellfish called opihi we harvest off the rocks. But in this case, perfection isn’t easy.
Less a trail than a general route, the 11.3-mile Puna Coast Trail departs from the Chain of
“Are you a Craters Road along hardened, pitch-black lava flows hued with copper. Only occasional cairns
campfire? Because of bleached coral affirm that you’re on the right track as you steer around the steep waves of
you’re hot and rock. Patches of golden grasses and clusters of green ohelo heather that poke out of the rock
I want s’more.”
are pretty, but do nothing to protect against the sun. The hike is long and tough.
On day two, we awoke eager to explore our little oasis. We tried bodysurfing the small
waves near our camp and swam through the small cove where brightly colored fish flit about.
“Are you the Bears Ears? On a whim, we followed a breadcrumb trail of coral around a rocky peninsula to see where it
Because you are timeless, led: another white-sand beach, nestled beneath the 1,000-foot-tall cliffs on the outer edge of
beautiful, and deserve to be the Big Island—and a snorkeling hole even better than the first.
protected.” Back on the shore, we lay out on the beach next to the remains of our cracked coconut as
deep reds and pinks soak through the sky. The sand is still warm, and, up close now, we can
* Results may vary. see that it isn’t pure white after all, but flecked with black: bleached coral and volcanic rock
alike, crushed by the ocean and rearranged into a little piece of paradise. Q

Rim Trail DO IT TRAILHEAD 19.289001, -155.130012; 19 miles southeast of the Kilauea Visitor
CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK, OR Center on Chain of Craters Rd. WATER Potable water is scarce and seasonal; you may
If PCT thru-hikers schedule their hikes need to carry it in (a gallon per person per day in mild conditions). Call ahead of time to
around the Crater Lake sunrise, you check. SEASON Year-round PERMIT Required for backpacking ($10/group); purchase at
know it has to be good. Check it out the backcountry office near the park entrance. No reservations. CONTACT nps.gov/havo
on an 8-mile out-and-back on the Rim
Trail from Rim Village. Snowshoe or
ski the easy path through hemlock and Snorkeling in
Hawaii Volcanoes
white-bark pine to the top of 8,013-foot National Park
Watchman Peak. Stand on the deck
of the old fire lookout (built in 1932) to
catch the watercolors splashed over the
glassy surface and the sun’s first rays on
the slopes of Wizard Island, the forested
cinder cone in the lake. START TIME
4:40 a.m. EXPECTED SUNRISE 7:37 a.m.
CONTACT nps.gov/crla

LOCALS KNOW
“Northwest Outdoor Store in
Medford rents snowshoes for
$10 a day. Bonus: They have a
taproom and growler fill station
featuring 10 Oregon microbrews—which you
should sample when you return your ’shoes.”
–Anastasia Allison, Seattle-based Field Scout
Get more region-based tips and tricks at
backpacker.com/local.
play list

Double your fun.

12 RED RIVER GORGE GEOLOGICAL AREA, KENTUCKY

This double-window never makes the lists of the country’s best arches—but that just
means you can get rock-sculpture glory all to yourself. Hopewell Arch hides from crowds,
Instagram, and Google (seriously, it returns only 700 hits) beside a small cascade along
Copperas Creek, roughly a mile north of the unofficial trailhead on Sky Bridge Road
(37.821124, -83.575595). There’s a user trail to the arch that continues 2 miles deeper into
the Copperas Canyon and its west branch to bigger-name arches, Snow and Double Deer,
but this vantage is the real treat, says photographer Bob Brown. “In winter, you’ll get a great
view like this without the dense forest canopy, but the white pines and rhododendrons still
provide some greenery,” he says. Air temperatures may crest 40°F, but cross your fingers for
subfreezing: Copperas Creek Falls, at the trail’s terminus, freezes over into “an ice volcano,”
Brown says. Contact bit.do/red-river-gorge
 No. 13 | Identify animal tracks.
Cool side effect of snowy trails? They can be a dead giveaway to who—or what—is out there with you.
Use this chart to determine whose tracks you’re following.

How many toes

does it have?

Two Four Five Hard to say,

I just see spots.

How big is Is the heel We’re talking Are the spots all
the foot? heart-shaped? about a bear the same size?
here. Are the
toes in an arc
or a line?
They The Nope, Yes.
could be size of a but it has
Bigfoot’s computer three
prints! mouse. lobes on
the back.
Curved. These
toes are
all in a
row.

Big? Medium? Small? Yes

Prehistoric! Kinda Oddly

regular. small.
No, the
two in
front are
bigger
DOG than the
Wol
f
back two.

MOOSE MOUNTAIN FOX GRIZZLY BEAR RABBIT

Moose are the LION The fox’s back The griz has a Look for a pattern
largest animal in A full print is paws fall exactly massive print, of two ovals,
the deer family, about the size of where the front coming in at followed by two
so if the track a baseball. You ones went before 7 inches long for small spots. The
is huge (5 to 7 can tell it’s a cat it, making it a front paw and ovals are from the
inches long), then because of the seem like you’re 11 for a hind. rabbit’s back feet,
you probably just third lobe on the tracking half an Its shiv-like flying past its
animal. Each is
missed a moose heel (canines claws also make front feet when
2 inches wide.
crossing. only have two). indentations. it bounds.
ADDITIONAL TEXT BY AMANDA HERMANS

DEER WOLF BLACK BEAR SQUIRRELS

Each deer track Wolf tracks look Bears hibernate, Squirrels (and
is made up of just like your but if you spot rabbits, for the
two half-heart pooch’s—if Fido a softball-size record) do have
toe prints that was on steroids. print with a toes, but they
measure about 2 A typical wolf curved line of won’t show up
to 3 inches long. paw is at least 3.5 toes, you found a in snow. Their
inches long. shoulder-season small feet usually
wanderer. fall in a square
cluster.

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 17
play list

Pass Turn-by-turn
through this From the West trailhead
section of
Aravaipa
1 Dip into Aravaipa Canyon and pick your way
Canyon near
mile 3. roughly 5 miles up the streambed to Horse Camp .
2 Continue approximately 3.5 miles along the
canyon floor, following faint user trails and wading
through ankle- and knee-deep water, to Deer Creek
Canyon. (Despite being marked “Hell’s Hole Canyon”
on some topos, Deer Creek Canyon is anything but:
It’s quiet, narrow, and nontechnical.)
3 Explore the straightforward canyon as long and far
as you like. (The author turned around at the spring
about 2 miles in, but it goes farther.)
4 Retrace your steps back to the West trailhead.

Campsite
Horse Camp (mile 5)

Nestled in a grove of sycamores, a handful of sandy

platforms rise above the water where Aravaipa and
Horse Camp Canyons intersect. Make a basecamp at
the one where several mesquite trees offer privacy
from the “trail.” From your backcountry digs, explore
Horse Camp Canyon, where some easy scrambling
lands you at the foot of a 50-foot-tall pour-off.

Wildlife

Black bears, bighorn sheep, and both of Arizona’s

deer species call Aravaipa home, but perhaps the
coolest (read: cutest) resident is the white-nosed
coati. Though rare in the U.S., this relative of the
raccoon hangs out in large groups throughout the
canyon. They look like miniature black bear cubs with
long, monkey-like tails. (Store your food in critter-
proof sacks; coatis are harmless, but mischievous.)

WEEKENDS
Options

14 1 of 3
This route offers the easiest logistics, but if you have
a second vehicle (and don’t mind up to four hours
of additional drive time), leave a shuttle at the East
trailhead (32.898658, -110.418427). On day two, trek

ADDITIONAL TEXT BY HANNAH JOHNSON (AURORA BOREALIS)

7.4 miles through Aravaipa from Horse Camp to your
car to make it a 12.4-miler with no backtracking.
PHOTOS BY (LEFT) MAX WILSON; ALLISON HERREID
DO IT TRAILHEAD 32.897602, -110.569803;

Walk on Water 24 miles southeast of Hayden on E. Aravaipa Rd.

SEASON Year-round; winter brings solitude, but

Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, Arizona pack for freezing nighttime temps and frigid river
crossings. (Consider neoprene socks or even
“Don’t tell anyone about this place.” This is my hiking partner’s entreaty rubber boots.) PERMIT Required ($10 + $5/person
after two days in Aravaipa Canyon. With its thousand-foot-tall walls, per day); obtain from recreation.gov. CUSTOM MAP
the canyon offers a full-immersion lesson in what a little water can bit.do/BPmapAravaipaCanyon ($15) CONTACT
accomplish if given a lot of time. Under the shade of giant sycamores, bit.do/az-blm
we’ve spent a weekend sloshing through the knee-deep water,
scrambling up side canyons, and catching glimpses of bighorn sheep
balancing on rock ledges between the saguaro cactuses and dense Trip stats
streamside vegetation. Aside from the sheep—and raccoon-like coatis that
Distance: 17+ miles (out and back)
keep trying to steal our food—we’ve had this rock cathedral completely Time: 3 days
to ourselves. “Don’t tell anyone about this place,” he repeats. Sorry, old Difficulty:
friend, but places this special deserve to be shared. BY MAX WILSON

18 01.2018
 Head for
WEEKENDS
the Hills
15 2 of 3
Colorado Bend
State Park, TX
Yesterday, I navigated cactus-dotted scrubland
caked in orange dust. Today, I’m negotiating a slick
gorge decorated in green hanging gardens. It feels
like two different trips, and, in a sense, it is: I threaded
together a dozen trails to flow the desert and upland
savannah into a damp karst canyon that hides a 65-foot-tall waterfall. In doing so, I’ve
created a multiday epic that touches every highlight in this dayhike-oriented park.
That’s the way it should be: The longer you look, the better you see. BY ANNA SAIKIN

Turn-by-turn Campsite 1
From the Cedar Chopper Loop Windmill Backpack Camping Area
trailhead (mile 4.4)

1 Like most backpacking trips in Hill
Country, this one requires creativity:
Begin in the middle of the figure eight
(leave yourself a cache in your car for
day two), and link the Lemons Ridge
Pass, Lively Loop, and Windmill Trails
4.4 miles through a desertscape to the
Windmill Backpack Camping Area .
2 Next day, string together the
Windmill, Lively Loop, Gorman-
Windmill Connection, and Gorman
Falls Trails 3.4 miles to a tributary of the
Colorado River.
3 Venture upstream on the 1-mile, out-
and-back Gorman Spring Trail to see the
namesake bubbler (scan for Texas’s
state fish, the Guadalupe bass).
4 Back at the Colorado River, take Old
Gorman Road (dirt doubletrack) south
to the Cedar Chopper Loop parking lot
and your cache at mile 10.5.
5 Tack on leg two: Trek 3.5 miles east
through karst Dogleg Canyon (trailside
sinkholes and permit-only caves here)
and up the shady River Trail to the River
Backpack Camping Area path, which
wends upstream to campsites by Texas’s
Colorado River.
6 Back on the main trail, thread together
the River and Lemons Ridge Pass Trails
4.2 miles to close the circuit where you
started at the Cedar Chopper Loop
parking area.
Pitch your tent in the prairie, where
mountain cedars provide some shade.
But this quiet desert site feels straight-
up Texas, complete with prickly pear
cactuses and nighttime coyote yips.
Note: BYO water.
Campsite 2
River Backpack Camping Area
(mile 14.4)
Camp on a flat spot trimmed with Queen
Anne’s lace and cattails. Easy access to
the lazy Colorado River makes water duty
a breeze—and means you’ll have thirsty
visitors, like armadillos.
DO IT TRAILHEAD 31.041102, -98.485403;
30 miles west of Lampasas on CR 446
SEASON October to May PERMIT None,
but you need to reserve campsites online
for $10 apiece at texas.reserveworld.com.
CUSTOM MAP bit.do/BPmapCoBendSP
($15) CONTACT bit.do/colorado-bend-sp
Trip stats
Distance: 18.6 miles (figure eight)
Time: 3 days
Difficulty:

See the light.

Nature’s night-
light shines in the 16 The colors produced when
Boundary Waters. charged particles from the
sun’s atmosphere collide with gases
like nitrogen and oxygen are strongest
at higher magnetic latitudes (above
55 or so; find yours at bit.do/mag-lat-
calc). Head out on a dark night (there’s
a new moon on January 17) and time
it for between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Trip idea:
Snowshoe the .5-mile Honeymoon
Bluff lollipop-loop in Minnesota’s
Boundary Waters. Contact bit.do/
boundary-waters

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 19
play list
Mt. Marcy looms
above the Van
Hoevenberg Trail.

Fancy footwear

The Van Hoevenberg Trail is Mt. Marcy’s

thoroughfare for a reason: The 7.5-mile
north approach never gets steeper than
30 degrees and never harder than class
2. Use basic flotation like snowshoes
or skis below treeline, then switch to
slip-on traction devices (like Kahtoola
MICROspikes) at higher elevations when
the snowpack thins out.
WEEKENDS

17 3 of 3
Bag more peaks

Good conditions up top? Keep going.

Instead of retracing your steps off Marcy,
downclimb its southwestern flank .7 mile
on-trail to the saddle at 4,300 feet. From
here, link the Mt. Marcy, Lake Arnold,
Lake Arnold Crossover, and Avalanche
Pass Trails on a clockwise circuit back
Winter Wonderland to Marcy Dam, bagging 4,925-foot Mt.
Skylight, 4,826-foot Gray Peak, and
High Peaks Wilderness, New York 3,944-foot Cliff Mountain en route. The
whole detour is roughly 11 miles.
The wind whips up a flurry of snow from beyond the threshold of our three-walled
shelter and deposits it onto my sleeping bag. I crack an eyelid to see the crystals
catch in the moonlight, a sparkling pile of glitter on my co coon. Then it’s still, the
sort of deafening silence that only winter brings. The calm is hard to believe after See an icefall
the weather on 5,344-foot Mt. Marcy. Earlier in the day, I stood on the scalped
summit, bracing myself against fierce gusts among the miniaturized balsams that From camp, connect the Avalanche Pass
poked out of the wind-scoured snow. But the view was one of a kind: Shellacked and Lake Arnold Crossover Trails just
with sheets of ice, rows of blue-tinted Adirondack High Peaks outran my vision. over a mile to see 25-foot Indian Falls,
That’s what I remember when I close my eyes at night—not the wind or the cold. A a blue Popsicle come winter. Clamber
quick wiggle in my sleeping bag shakes off the snow and I return to my dreamland— up the slope to the top of the cascade
and warm memories of Marcy’s wild summit. BY RYAN WICHELNS for views of the ice-covered MacIntyre
Range. (Note: Indian Falls is trailside near
the tail end of the peakbagging mission
Turn-by-turn Campsite described above.)
From the High Peaks Information Marcy Dam Lean-to (mile 2.4)
Center on Adirondack Loj Road DO IT TRAILHEAD 44.182815,
Stage your summit bid from any of five -73.963703; 15 miles southwest of
1 Follow the Van Hoevenberg Trail 2.4 classic Adirondack shelters that rim the Keene at the end of Adirondack Loj
miles south through rolling stands of former pond. We like the one tucked Rd. SEASON November to April for
pin-straight pines and snow-covered at the foot of slide-scarred Wright winter conditions PERMIT None
marshes to Marcy Dam . Peak on the southwestern shore for its CUSTOM MAP bit.do/BPmapMtMarcy
2 Take the north approach to 5,344-foot seclusion and view of Avalanche Pass, ($15) CONTACT bit.do/adks-high-peaks

PHOTO BY (TOP) BILL URBANSKI; EASTERNGRAYSQUIRREL.ORG.

Mt. Marcy by staying on the easy-to-
follow, blazed Van Hoevenberg Trail,
which leads 5.1 miles to the top of the
peak at mile 7.5. (Expect to use traction
devices on the final push.)
4 Retrace your steps to camp and the
trailhead.
but all the lean-tos are likely to be empty
come winter. Don’t forget a shovel: You
may need to do some snow-removal Trip stats
housekeeping. Ambitious winter warriors
Distance: 15 miles (out and back)
can make a full-on snow camp .7 mile Time: 2 days
farther in a wind-protected spot below Difficulty:
Phelps Mountain.
TEXT (SQUIRRELS) BY HANNAH JOHNSON

18 January 21 SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY

MARK YOUR Did you know Teddy Roosevelt had a pet squirrel? Or that squirrels have perfectly
CALENDAR
focused vision, even in their peripheries? Or that their teeth grow 15 centimeters in
a year? These are just a few of the facts that distinguish this humble rodent. Created in 2001 by a
wildlife (reputation) rehabilitator, Squirrel Appreciation Day is gaining momentum (we swear),
and it falls on a Sunday in 2018, so go for a hike and admire your bushy-tailed watchers from a
respectful distance. Then set up your annual reminder.

20 01.2018
©2017 Blue Buffalo Co., Ltd.

From Alligator to Rabbit,

There’s an Even Wilder Side
to BLUE Wilderness

Discover regionally inspired recipes featuring exotic proteins.

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Flatland Feast® Snake River Grill® Denali Dinner® Bayou Blend®
A taste of the Great Plains With trout, venison and rabbit A taste as big as the Alaskan Inspired by the Southern
with turkey, quail and duck in a celebration of the frontier with wild salmon, bayous with alligator
Pacific Northwest venison and halibut and catfish

Love them like family. Feed them like family.®

PHOTO BY KIM PHILLIPS

Thru-Hiking 101
IT SOUNDS SO SIMPLE. Load everything into a backpack and set off. But how to find the
time and money? What to carry? How to stay safe? Professional thru-hiker Liz “Snorkel”
Thomas understands these questions: over the past eight years she’s walked 15,000 miles
on 16 hikes. Now, she’s joined an exclusive partnership with BACKPACKER to condense her
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 ki l l s
M A N U A L
T H E

Glide Through
Winter
Easier to pick up than skate skiing and more elegant
than snowshoeing, cross-country skiing offers the most
peaceful way to explore snow-muffled woods. Five-time
national champion and U.S. Ski Team member Rosie
Brennan offers her tips for speed and efficiency.

1) Relax. Loose joints generate power and guard against

falls. Keep a slight bend in your knees, hips, and ankles, and
think of each as a loaded spring. 2) Watch your posture.
On flats, keep your skis parallel and engage your core. Flex
at the ankle (not at the hip) until you’re leaning nose-over-
toes. 3) Maintain contact. Avoid fatigue by shuffling your
feet rather than stepping. The backs of your skis will lift
when you’re really moving, but the tips should stay on the
PHOTO BY BRANDON FLINT / TANDEMSTOCK

snow. 4) Shift your weight. Trust that the traction zone

(usually scales, skins, or grip wax) of each ski will keep you
stable. Keep all your weight over the ball of your right foot
while you kick out with your left, and vice versa. 5) Give it
the boot. The kick phase might look like a backward flick
of the heel, but it’s more the result of your forward motion.
Pretend to kick a soccer ball. 6) Find your rhythm. Use
your arms for cadence and balance, not for propulsion.
Move poles and legs in opposition: Simultaneously plant
PHOTO BY TK

your right pole and kick your left foot. Let your right arm
swing out behind your hips as you glide, shift your weight Use poles for rhythm.
to your left foot, and reach forward with your left pole. Madison River, West
Plant and kick again before you lose momentum. Yellowstone, MT

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 23
skills

trail chef

Camp
Barista
Leaving a cozy sleeping bag
takes its own brand of liquid
courage. Find the brew style that
suits you best, and use these
recipes to serve it with a flourish.
BY KAREN L. GARMIRE Coco Mocha Cinnamon Spice Latte

Add some sweetness to your joe with Fire up your palate with this spicy-
this chocolatey recipe. sweet drink.
All recipes are for 1 cup of
2 Tbsp. coconut cream powder ½ tsp. cinnamon, ground
dark roast coffee, which holds

PHOTOS BY LOUISA ALBANESE; ISTOCK.COM (5)

¼ cup whole milk powder 1 Tbsp. muscovado or

ILLUSTRATIONS BY GIOVANNI CORRADO LEONE

its fl avor at a wider range
2 Tbsp. chocolate milk powder dark brown sugar
of temperatures and is better
¼ cup whole milk powder
for cold-weather brewing.
AT HOME ­ Pack 1 pinch coconut 1⁄8 tsp. nutmeg, ground
cream powder in a zip-top bag. 2 Tbsp. powdered vanilla
Combine all other ingredients in a coffee creamer
separate baggie.
AT HOME ­ Pack a pinch of cinnamon
IN CAMP ­ Brew coffee. Stir in mocha in a zip-top bag. Combine all other
mix until dissolved. Sprinkle with ingredients in a separate baggie.
coconut cream powder and serve.
IN CAMP ­ Brew coffee. Stir in
spice mix until dissolved. Dust with
extra cinnamon and serve.

Make Perfect
Camp Coffee
Whether you want gas
station-fast or cafe-gourmet,
there’s a way to do it right.

Cowboy Coffee
›› BEST FOR Big groups who don’t
want to carry brewing equipment
›› DRAWBACKS You’ll pick grounds
out of your teeth.
Instant ›› BREWING TIPS Boil water first,
›› BEST FOR Ounce-counters then remove from heat and add
and hikers in a hurry grounds (2 Tbsp. per 8 oz.). Stir
›› DRAWBACKS It tastes briefly and cover for 4 minutes.
like instant coffee. Uncover, then sprinkle with cold
›› BREWING TIPS Try Alpine Start water or rap the side with a spoon
($9 for 8; alpinestartfoods.com) to settle grounds. Pour carefully to
or Stoked Roasters ($9 for 8; avoid disturbing the sludge.
stokedroasters.com). ›› GRIND Medium to coarse

DIRTBAG

24 01.2018
Mexican Coffee
Chilly evening? This spiced drink (and
its dash of tequila) will warm you
from the inside out.
¼ cup whole milk powder
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
powder
2 Tbsp. muscovado or
dark brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 shot tequila (optional)
AT HOME ­ Combine dry ingredients
in a zip-top bag. Pack tequila in a
leakproof container.
IN CAMP ­ Brew coffee. Stir in mix
until dissolved. Add tequila and serve.
French Press
›› BEST FOR Groups with
more refined taste
›› DRAWBACKS Cleanup is
a water-intensive pain.
›› BREWING TIPS We prefer
GSI’s JavaPress ($45; 14.6 oz.;
gsioutdoors.com) for its weight
and 50-oz. capacity. Add coffee
and water to the press (2 Tbsp.
per 8 oz.), stir briskly, steep for 4
minutes, then push filter slowly to
the bottom. Serve.
›› GRIND Medium to coarse
Vanilla Latte
Pure vanilla powder adds warm,
delicate flavor to this classic cup.
1 tsp. pure vanilla powder
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. powdered vanilla
coffee creamer
¼ cup whole milk powder
AT HOME ­ Blend sugar and half the
vanilla powder and package in a zip-top
bag. Combine all other ingredients in a
separate baggie.
IN CAMP ­ Brew coffee. Stir in
mix until dissolved, then garnish
with vanilla sugar and serve.
Pour-Over
›› BEST FOR Coffee snobs who
like a little ritual
›› DRAWBACKS One cup at a time.
›› BREWING TIPS Set a dripper—
like Snow Peak’s Collapsible Coffee
Drip ($30; 4.9 oz.; snowpeak.com)—
over a mug. Rinse your filter, then
add coffee. Skip the bloom phase;
the wait time will cool your water.
Pour water (just off a boil) in a slow
spirals until your mug is full (about
3 minutes).
›› GRIND Medium
Gingerbread Latte
Cookie in a cup? Yes, please.
2 tsp. molasses
¼ cup whole milk powder
1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon, ground
1 pinch nutmeg, ground
¼ tsp. ginger, ground
AT HOME ­ Pack dry ingredients in a
zip-top bag, setting aside half the ginger.
Measure molasses into an empty corner
of the same bag and use a twist tie to
separate it. Pack extra ginger separately.
IN CAMP ­ Brew coffee. Remove twist
tie and gently knead molasses into dry
ingredients. Stir latte mix into mug until
dissolved. Dust with ginger, then serve.
AeroPress
›› BEST FOR Connoisseurs
›› DRAWBACKS It’s not espresso,
but hear us out: Portable espresso
makers are expensive, not to
mention bulky for the quantity of
coffee they make. As an alternative,
the AeroPress ($30; 6.4 oz.;
aeropressinc.com) brews similarly
rich, strong coffee in under a
minute. Bonus: easy cleanup.
›› BREWING TIPS Follow
equipment instructions.
›› GRIND Fine
GOURMET
skills
pass fail
T H E CH A L L E N G E
Solve an argument
on the trail
Can a backpacking trip help a couple work out their
differences? BY JESSICA HEANEY
FIVE MILES UP the Lake
Charles Trail in the Colorado
Rockies, my husband Dylan
was more than a few paces
ahead. It wasn’t what I’d call
a comfortable silence—we
both needed the space.
We were trapped in one of
those arguments that feels
like emotional quicksand,
and the more we struggled,
the deeper we sank.
We’d been married just
over a year, and were working
to fully combine our lives—
and bank accounts. As with
most happy couples, it was
more complicated than
either of us had anticipated.
And when my family decided
to offer some unsolicited
(albeit good-natured) advice
on a recent visit, well, that
didn’t exactly help.
26 01.2018
Dylan and I had gotten
sucked into a familiar dance
of attack, parry, defend. After
a few days, the argument
morphed from hot to cold.
We started avoiding each
other, retreating into work
and our separate lives, letting
ourselves drift farther and
farther apart.
And the twist? I’m a
relationship therapist—
I specialize in guiding couples
through these conflicts.
Yet, here I was, stuck.
I didn’t need my training
to tell me that our evasive
maneuvers weren’t getting
us anywhere. I knew the
solution was to do the
opposite. We’d been hiking
buddies since day one, so the
next step was almost too
obvious.
“I think we need to hike
this out,” I suggested. To my
relief, Dylan agreed.
Studies have shown that
spending time outdoors
improves problem-solving,
reduces stress, and may help
activate areas of the brain
related to empathy. These
benefits alone might not
constitute a relationship cure,
but they certainly can’t hurt.
It wasn’t until we spent
the 30-minute drive to the
trailhead in silence that
I began to worry. What if my
plan backfired? For all its
benefits, the backcountry
can be a stressful place, and
we were in the middle of
one of the worst arguments
we’d had since we started
dating. What if we fought
over where to camp or how
far to hike? What if my last-
ditch attempt to reconnect
tipped our tenuous stalemate
the wrong way, fanning the
argument into something
that actually jeopardized our
relationship? I pushed the
thought aside, clinging to
the hope that the wilderness
would help bring us together
like it had before.
We first met while solo
backpacking, when Dylan,
then a complete stranger,
hiked up behind me on a trail
in Colorado’s Gore Range. We
ended up talking well into the
night. Two years later he got
down on one knee to propose
where we first crossed paths.
Since then, we’ve continually
escaped into the wilderness
to deepen our connection.
So, when I suggested hiking
through this argument,
he understood.
We let the dogs out of
the car and headed for the
trailhead. After a few miles,
I started to relax. Maybe it
was the exercise, the smell
of pine, or the soothing
rush of the river. I could feel
my anxiety lifting, but part
of me still dreaded the
ILLUSTRATION BY JASON SCHNEIDER
coming conversations.
I crested a hill and found
Dylan leaning patiently
against a rock. “It feels good
to be out here with you,” he
said, catching me by surprise.
He kissed my cheek—a peace
offering. We kept hiking.
Dylan started to talk,
and the defensiveness I’d
heard at home was gone.
As we hiked, he apologized
for the past week—for the
arguments and distance—
and so did I. All the issues we
were dealing with were hard,
he said. There were no easy
answers and it was getting to
him. I nodded.
We paused and stood
together, watching the dogs
wade in the shallow water
at the river’s edge. Our dog
Hank suddenly slipped
and fell in over his head.
As he bolted from the river,
shocked and soaked, Dylan
and I started laughing. I could
feel the tension fade.
At the lake, we focused on
setting up camp, giving us
a break in the conversation
we’d started on the trail.
I know from my work that
hitting pause on a tough talk
is key to letting thoughts
settle. In backpacking, these
pauses happen naturally.
We scrambled up an
unnamed peak together
around dusk to get a better
view of the sunset. Standing
on that mountain, I started
remembering all the
adventures we’d shared, all THE VERDIC T
the days that had ended in
quiet reflection, just like this.
Back at camp, Dylan built PASS
a fire and I started cooking, Backpacking put all our frontcountry problems into
slipping into the roles that perspective. Calmer, we were able to reconnect with
had always made us a great both our hiking roots and each other.
backcountry team. After
dinner, we sat looking into
the flames.
“You know, it’s not really
about the bank accounts,” BACKPACK THROUGH AN ARGUMENT
I said after a while. “The truth
is, despite being married,
GIVE IT TIME. burn up that urge to
I still worry when we argue
Get into the hiking groove attack or defend.
like this, that we won’t
first, then ease into
end up together.”
difficult conversations. HIT PAUSE.
Dylan turned to me,
Don’t talk an issue to
surprised. As we talked
STAY CLOSE. death. Give yourselves
about our fears and
Hike apart if you need a break from the tough
shortcomings, I realized
space, but no matter how stuff to explore together.
neither of us was going to
mad you are, stay within
let that happen. In the quiet
earshot for safety. FOLLOW YOUR
of night, in a wilderness we
STRENGTHS.
loved, it was easier to listen,
DROP THE DEFENSE. Mad? You still have to
easier to connect.
Absorb your surroundings work as a team. Divide
That night we both slept
to get present and lower camp chores fairly, and
soundly. And the next
your guard before talking. do what you’re good at to
morning, as we began hiking
Exercise can also help stay calm and confident.
back to the truck, we shared
an easy silence. Q
skills

photo school

Shadow Play
Fresh snow gives moon shadows a dance floor. Use winter’s long nights
to capture the show. BY PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR GENNY FULLERTON

Plan around the moon. Finesse your settings. enough light. Careful not self-portrait, or let side light
Check online for moonrise Opening the aperture too to overexpose: Your light extend shadows horizontally
and moonset times. Wait wide will sacrifice sharpness meter balances for daytime, across the frame.

PHOTO BY WALLBASE / WALLHERE.COM

for a half moon or bigger for
the best contrast. Track the
moon’s path across your
geographic location with an
app like The Photographer’s
Ephemeris ($9) to ensure you
won’t be in a slope’s shadow
at moonrise. Then plan
to shoot when there’s no
ambient sunlight and at least
30 minutes after moonrise
or before moonset.
(aim for f/8 or smaller to
focus on both the object
and its shadow), and raising
the ISO too high will result
in noise (start at 1600 and
adjust from there). A tripod
or a well-constructed pile of
snow (lay down a glove or
hat to protect your camera
or use a weather-sealed
model) will let you use a
slow shutter speed to gather
so look at previews and
adjust accordingly.
Choose the light’s angle.
Shoot facing the moon for
ethereal photos, and move
your camera up and down
to find an angle that reveals
sparkles in the snow. Other
options: Stand with the
moon behind you to turn your
own shadow into a playful
Compose.
Include plenty of foreground,
and use the shadows’ lines
to direct the eye. Make sure
your shadows have a clear
source, and look for patterns,
like stands of trees with clean
silhouettes, to give your
photo visual rhythm. Fresh
powder? Be careful not to
leave tracks in your scenery.

SHOOT IN THE COLD

1. When they’re not in use, keep your batteries in an inner pocket or near a hand warmer, and bring spares (cold temps
Key
Tips drain batteries faster). 2. Wear fingerless gloves and/or liners to preserve dexterity. 3. Keep lens changes to a minimum
to avoid getting snow inside the camera body. 4. When you get home, leave your camera in its bag to warm up slowly,
preventing condensation. 5. Put equipment that needs drying in a sealed plastic bag with a few silica gel packs.

28 01.2018
 ©Billion Lim
Focal Length: 400mm
Exposure: F/6.3 1/250sec
ISO: 520

©Ken Hubbard
Focal Length: 270mm Exposure: F/6.3 1/2000sec ISO: 640

©Ken Hubbard
Focal Length: 18mm Exposure: F/16 1/30sec ISO: 100

18-400 Di II VC HLD
Powerful performance that exceeds
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World's first* 22.2x ultra-telephoto high-power
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*For APS-C Digital DSLRs (May 2017; Tamron)

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For Canon and Nikon mounts
Di II: For APS-C format DSLR cameras

ONLY AVAILABLE AT YOUR

www.tamron-usa.com AUTHORIZED TAMRON USA RETAILER
 Hike, bike and sea kayak
Inside…
through New Zealand’s
pure wilderness on our ALL ABOUT NEW ZEALAND
4
incredible adventures. WHY TRAVEL WITH
US 5

THE TRIPS
8

L D’ S B E
OR
W

S
T
THE

PS
RI
A

V
D

EN E
TUR
 urvival
M A N U A L
T H E

out alive:
benighted

Soon we
both stopped
shivering, and
neither of us
could feel our
feet. Matt turned
to me. “Tommy,
we could die
out here.”
– Tommy
Hendricks

In November 2016, Tommy

Hendricks (right), 19, and
Matthew Smith (le), 18,
suffered frostbite and
hypothermia on Colorado’s
Mt. of the Holy Cross while
waiting two days for rescue.
As told to Scott Yorko
PHOTO BY TK

LOUISA ALBANESE

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 31
survival
out alive
Matt and I were halfway
up 1,200-foot Cross
Couloir, on Colorado’s
14,009-foot Mt. of the
Holy Cross, when the
storm rolled in a day
early. That’s when we
knew we were screwed.
Two days prior, the forecast told a
different story. There was a clear weather
window within our Colorado Springs high
school’s Thanksgiving break—one of our
only opportunities to tick off Mt. of the
Holy Cross together. We’d already bagged
several of Colorado’s Fourteeners in winter,
and we’d been eyeing Holy Cross’s steep,
snow-filled couloir for a while. The plan was
to stash overnight gear at a Patricia Lake
basecamp, 3.75 miles from the trailhead.
From there we’d go for the couloir with
summit packs and climbing gear, then
return to hike out that night. We planned to
start the two-hour climb in the afternoon,
when the snow was soft enough to kick into.
We arrived at the base of the couloir at
noon. About 300 feet up, the snow was
deeper than we expected, but the sky was
clear, we were on schedule, and the climb
seemed well within our abilities. Plus, we
knew we’d have cell service on top of the
peak. We didn’t expect to need it, but we
thought of it as a safety net.
We were right about the cell service,
but wrong about the two-hour climb.
The higher we went, the deeper the
snow became. Soon it was loose and
unconsolidated all the way to the rock.
We were moving more slowly than
expected, but if the weather held,
we’d still make it up before dark.
A few hours in, laboring upward within
the steep couloir walls, we couldn’t see
the dark clouds moving in from the west.
The first flakes came mid-afternoon. By
5:30 p.m., snow pounded down, the wind
drowned out our shouts to each other, and
the summit remained impossibly far away.
If there was ever a time to bail, this was
it, but behind us, the snow was kicked-
out and slick from our climbing—and
too unstable to build an anchor or self-
arrest in a fall. With rappelling or down-
I couldn’t help thinking about how my
parents would react to news that we’d died
up there overnight.
32 01.2018
climbing the 40-plus-degree slope out of
the question, we went with our only viable
option: pushing on toward the summit,
and descending the mellow North Ridge as
soon as possible.
I tried to focus on remaining calm and
moving forward in the growing darkness.
The blizzard flashed through our headlamp
beams and pelted our faces with ice.
When I looked down at Matt, his grave
stare mirrored how I felt.
When we finally topped out at 7 p.m.,
we figured the worst was over. We called
our parents and told them everything was
fine and that we were going to hike down.
But when we looked around, we saw only
sheer drop-offs and total darkness. There
was no way to find our descent, which is
notoriously easy to miss even in daylight.
Plus, the wind up top was blowing at 50
mph, making it dangerous to approach any
steep drops. With no choice but to hunker
down, we settled under an overhanging
lip of rock 200 feet below the summit to
wait out the storm. We had what we were
wearing—ski jackets, insulated pants, hats,
and gloves—plus a little food and water. We
hoped it would be enough.
Conditions worsened. Wind whipped
through our improvised shelter, and our
feet grew painfully cold. We took off our
boots and socks and put our feet in each
other’s armpits, massaging our white toes
to keep the feeling in them.
I couldn’t help thinking about how my
parents would react to news that we’d
died up there overnight. That’s when the
The boys recovering in the University of
Colorado hospital; the Cross Couloir;
Matthew’s toes, two weeks after the rescue.
gravity of our situation started to sink in.
I’d been feeling pretty cocky up until this
point, but now I was truly scared. Not that it
mattered—there was nothing I could do but
sit there, listen to my own breathing, and
tell myself that morning would come.
Temperatures dropped to -20°F with
windchill that night. I stopped shivering, a
sign of hypothermia, but Matt and I stayed
positive, and I’m convinced that was the
only thing that got us through the night.
I must have drifted off, because the next
thing I remember was the sun’s warmth
washing over us. Matt rustled awake.
I smiled at him and said, “What’s up, dude?
We’ve gotta get going.”
The storm had passed, but the descent
was still hard to find. We saw several
ridges, and at the bottom of one, we spotted
what looked like East Cross Creek, which
we’d walked along two days before. We
rappelled toward it. Home free, we thought.
But when we reached the creek, we
realized it was flowing the wrong direction.
We’d accidentally gone down the South
Ridge—the opposite direction of the
trailhead. And now, to compound the
problem, we’d dropped out of our only
window of cell service. On the summit the
night before, we worried about surviving.
Now, we were just pissed off, low on food, PHOTO BY (FROM LEFT) COURTESY(2); JODY GRIGG
and tired as hell. Still, we were confident
we’d find our way out.
Below treeline, we picked up a trail in
the snow and came to a spot we thought
we recognized as the east side of the
mountain. We weren’t ready to admit
that our delirious minds may have been
playing tricks on us. We followed faint trails
through the forest, turning here and there
as the compass dictated, but we always
ended up back where we started. We later
found out locals call the area the Bermuda
Triangle: Iron in the rocks can throw off
magnetic instruments, and our compass
was taking us in circles.
 We knew we should have stayed put
to wait for rescue, but we couldn’t:
With creek-soaked boots, it was either
move or freeze.
Our optimism was waning. I’d start
to feel a frog in my throat, but in those
moments, you have to either crack a joke
or cry, so we messed around, talked about
girls, sang classic rock songs, and laughed
about whatever we could. Any distraction
to keep us moving.
As the sun went down on our second
unplanned night out, we gathered tinder
and took out our lighters. Click. Click.
Nothing. They remained waterlogged with
snowmelt, despite our efforts to dry them.
I swallowed the frog in my throat.
By this point, Matt was too weak to
continue, so I piled pine branches on
the snow for us to spoon on top of. We
managed to laugh at a few cuddle jokes,
but we were starting to realize that our
families didn’t know if we were alive.
That made it tough to keep things light.
Soon we both stopped shivering,
and neither of us could feel our feet.
Matt turned to me. “Tommy, we could die
out here,” he said. “I’m OK with it because
I’m still glad to not be on the couch playing
video games, but this is much earlier than
I thought it would be. I’m not ready.” We
laid in silence.
Matt fell asleep with his head on his
right hand, a position that would cut
off circulation just enough to give him
frostbite in his thumb.
Again, temperatures dropped below
freezing, and again we woke up in the
morning, somehow still alive. We hadn’t
been hiking long when we saw a
helicopter. It was distant, but for us,
it took up the whole sky.
Numb feet forgotten, we ran into a
meadow, and I waved a jacket and a
trekking pole with a bright red hat on it.
The chopper flew right past us. It circled
back four more times before flying off.
We felt like we’d watched our last
chance vanish. That’s when we finally
broke down.
There was nothing to say. Matt just laid
his head on my lap, and we both sobbed.
An hour later, the helicopter returned
(it had only turned back to refuel), and this
time, it came straight to us. We couldn’t
stop smiling. It was finally over. I was
so elated I tried to hug a rescuer, who
just threw me onto a jumpseat and
strapped me in. “We were told to look
for bodies,” he said.
As soon as we flew off, I could feel the
adrenaline drain out of me. My whole body
was in pain I’d been too numb to feel until
now. But still, I’d never felt better. Q
key
skills
SURVIVE AN
UNPLANNED WINTER
OVERNIGHT
BY COREY BUHAY
Find shelter.
Get out of the wind. No rocks or
trees? Dig a trench in the snow and
lie down inside. Use branches to
insulate yourself from the ground.
Boost warmth.
Huddle with a partner, or build
a fire (light pine resin or peel bark
off deadfall to find dry wood).
Keep moving.
Exercise to stay warm if you must
(but don’t get sweaty).
Prevent frostbite.
Loosen tight boots and keep toes
and fingers wiggling. Tuck cold digits
into your—or your partner’s—armpits,
neck, or groin. Numb, waxy, or mottled
skin? Wait for a doctor to rewarm.

IT’S A SHOVEL. IT’S A BLADE.

IT’S A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
THE SCHRADE TELESCOPING FOLDING SHOVEL.
A tool of ultimate efficiency that doubles as a sign of your self sufficiency.
With sharpened edges and a folding, telescoping design that’s virtually
indestructible when engaged, you’re equipped to RELY ON YOU.
 survival

saved by

A Sleeping Pad
When survival trumps beauty sleep, sacrifice your closed-cell foam
mat for a higher purpose. BY TOM BROWN JR., TRACKER SCHOOL

TRAP HEAT PREVENT FROSTBITE

Face a campfire and prop the pad
upright behind you to create a C-shaped
heat reflector. On the move? Cut a hole
for your head in the center of the pad.
Use cordage to tie the flaps around your
back and chest for an insulated vest.
Wet boots, freezing temps? Make warm
camp shoes by cutting a piece of foam
about twice the width and length of your
foot. Face the reflective side inward and
fold the foam over your toes and up your
heel. Duct-tape the edges together.

MELT SNOW SAVE FUEL

Lay snow on dark foam in direct Secure a strip of foam around your pot
sunlight, then fold the pad to funnel or bottle with duct tape to insulate hot
meltwater into a pot or bottle. water or rehydrating food. (Keep foam

PHOTO BY LOUISA ALBANESE

MAKE SHELTER
Punch holes in the corners of the pad
with a knife and use rope to tie the short
edge of the pad overhead. Let the other
trail behind you to create a sloped roof.
(Anchor with rocks or guylines.)
out of flames.)
MAKE A PFD
Tie your pad into a roll and throw
it to a drowning partner (attach a
rope first) or use it as a buoy for
deep river crossings.
Cut the pad so it’s as wide as the broken
bone is long, then wrap it several times
around the affected limb. Secure with
duct tape or cord.

CLIMB outdoors.org

ON
for
GOOD
Winter adventures that give back
when the outdoors needs us most.

Join the Appalachian Mountain Club, the first conservation and recreation organization in the US, on a lodge-
to-lodge ski trip in the 100-Mile Maine Wilderness or a snowshoe & spa retreat in the White Mountains of New
Hampshire. Sign up for an all-inclusive winter program or customize an adventure all your own with AMC’s
professional guides. Every reservation helps fund our environmental conservation andadvocacy work from
Maine to the Mid-Atlantic.
outdoors.org/good (603) 466 2727
 den mother

Thin Ice
Stay dry, stay alive. Whether you’re wet from ankle
to toe or head to toe, Den Mother knows what to do.

If I fall through the surface of
a frozen lake and I’m alone,
how can I can get myself out?
—Ron Larrabee
Hear a crack? Cover your face;
your body’s first instinct will
be to hyperventilate, and
gasping in water will kill you
faster than the cold. Control
your breathing, then turn
around: The ice behind you
held your weight a second
ILLUSTRATION BY BRETT AFFRUNTI
the ice and wait one minute—
if you’re lucky, the wet fabric
will freeze to the surface.
Float your legs up straight
behind you and frog-kick hard
to scooch yourself forward.
Once up, log-roll away from
the hole. Tip: Avoid crossing
lakes near inlets and outlets—
the ice is often thin there, and
currents are tough to escape. usually takes a couple days every few hours and air your
of sloshing around in cold, dogs for 20 minutes. Switch
I’ve got a last-minute, wet- wet boots, but just a few socks at lunchtime. In camp,

ago, but the stuff on the other
side has no guarantee. First,
flop your arms onto the ice.
Stab ice claws, trekking pole
tips, or a pocket knife blade
into the surface (keep tools in
hand when crossing), kick
hard, and haul yourself out.
Just got your own two hands?
Press your forearms against
weather trip, and my boots
aren’t waterproof. Should
I worry about trench foot?
—Barbara Nims
You don’t need to spend three
months in a foxhole to rot
your soles. Immersion foot
(think pruny toes, but prone
to infection and necrosis)
hours can be enough to get
you started. Prevent it with
waterproof socks (or plastic
bags between layered socks).
If your skin feels swollen and
clammy, or if itchy splotches
appear after drying, you’re
in the danger zone. During
the day (if conditions allow)
remove shoes and socks
massage your feet with oil
or beeswax balm to reduce
itchiness and increase blood
flow. Got a partner with two
good hands? Play the woe-
is-me card and have him do it.
Got a question for Den
Mother? Email it to
denmother@backpacker.com.

Backpacking 101 In this online course, BACKPACKER

and the Colorado Outward Bound
School cover the right gear (from
boots to tents) and how to pack it,
trip-planning, basic navigation,
campsite selection, food preparation,
layering, backcountry hygiene
(including pooping in the woods)—
plus safety and trail etiquette.

Visit Backpacker.com/Backpacking101

Get $25 OFF with code BPMAG

GET OUT MORE

Your gift to Big City Mountaineers will help change the lives of under-resourced youth
through inspirational wilderness expeditions and camps.
Since 1990 BCM has provided over 42,000 nights under the stars for kids in need.

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[Background] Angie Sugnet [Inset Left] Carlos Hwa

710 10th Street | Suite 120 |Golden, Colorado 80401 | (303) 271-9200 [Inset Top Right] Megan Aranow [Inset Bottom Right] BCM
M A N U A L
T H E

The best trips are full of surprises, but gear fails shouldn’t be one

Gear and Go
These travel essentials are fit for the trail,
the plane, and everywhere in between.
BY THE EDITORS
of them. Guard against snafus by filling your duffel with equipment
that’s versatile, packable, and durable enough to go the distance.
These 12 products earned their place on our essentials list after
travels across six continents and over thousands of miles by plane,
train, bus, foot, and camel. What did we learn? The best travel
companions are the ones that can keep up. No surprises there.
LOUISA ALBANESE

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 37
gear

field test adventure travel gear

2
1. COTOPAXI BATAC 16L

For a daypack that squishes down

to fist size, the Batac offers a bevy
of features that elevate it above a
minimalist rucksack. A long zippered
front pocket includes a phone/passport
sleeve for when you’re hiking away
from the crowds, and another zippered
pocket in the main compartment holds
sunglasses, snacks, and a compass, or
a guidebook and maps. (Stash water
3
bottles in two exterior stretch pockets.)
The 210-denier nylon is tough; after
eight months of use, the only sign of
wear is a tiny hole caused by a cam after
one tester overloaded it with climbing
gear. The Batac is best under loads of
10 pounds or less, and its 2.5-inch-wide
mesh shoulder straps are comfy and
disperse sweat well. “I can stuff it with
a toiletry kit, headphones, headlamp,
puffy, and raincoat, and still have room
for my insulated bottle and lunch,” says
one tester who logged 10,000 miles of
travel with the Batac this past summer.
$50; 11 oz.; one size; cotopaxi.com 4

1
2. PATAGONIA STRETCH
WAVEFARER BOARD SHORTS

These versatile board shorts are good

for much more than an impromptu dip.
Quick-drying nylon-spandex with a DWR
coating and a self-draining hip pocket
make them fine swim trunks, but the
Wavefarers’ fabric was tough enough to
shrug off scuffs while climbing a chimney
in City of Rocks, Idaho. Our testers also
deemed it soft enough for chafe-free
hiking and sleeping. A women’s version
with a 4-inch inseam is also available.
$69 (w’s $55); 7 oz. (m’s M); m’s 28-40,
w’s 0-14; patagonia.com
3. CANON POWERSHOT
G9 X MARK II
Travelers who want more than phone-
caliber photos but aren’t camera
buffs—or just don’t want to lug a big
one around— will appreciate the Mark
II’s balance between size and quality.
Although only the width of a deck of
cards and 1.2 inches thick (it easily
fits into a pocket), it boasts a 1-inch,
20.1-megapixel sensor. (For comparison,
the iPhone 8 Plus shoots 12 megapixels.)
“It’s great for capturing mountain vistas
yet focuses surprisingly well on closeups,
and I don’t have to carry a bulky case,”
our tester says. The Mark II is intuitive
for even the most tech-challenged
travelers due to a touch LCD screen that
allows users to easily review images and
navigate between modes. For those with
a little more experience, it can shoot in
RAW and full manual modes.
$530; 7.3 oz. (with battery and memory
card); usa.canon.com
4. HYDRAPAK STASH 1L
We didn’t know we needed this travel
necessity until we used it. But turns out,
a collapsible water bottle is just the
ticket for long bus rides, light-load town
tours, and backpacking trips. “When it’s
empty, the bottle compresses down to
about an inch high and the circumference
of a coaster,” our tester says. “But it’s
also tough. I’ve tossed it, fully-filled,
onto rocks while backpacking in
Colorado, with no ill effects. I’m not
the only one who thinks it’s a new must-
have. On flights, I’ve seen my neighbors
eyeing it when I finish my drink, twist it
up, and stash it into the seat pocket in
front of me.”
$23; 3.3 oz.; hydrapak.com

MY KEY PIECES
PATAGONIA SALOMON XA SUUNTO CORE
NANO PUFF HOODY PRO 3D GTX I don’t have to worry
This comfy synthetic I love the quick lacing about this watch taking
puffy stays warm when system, which allows me a beating due to its
wet and blocks wind, to dial in the fit for secure super-tough build. I
making it good performance on the trail. also love the altimeter
for the coast, the However, this shoe isn’t which allows me to track
RACHID DAHNOUN mountains, and too overbuilt for wearing elevation gain and loss.
ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHER everywhere in between. around town.

38 01.2018
 7. POPTICALS POPGUN
6
Worried about trashing your shades on
the road? Rest easy with the PopGuns.
The lenses are Zeiss nylon with a
scratch-resistant coating, and are rated
to withstand the impact of a steel ball at
100 mph. (We didn’t test that, but they
withstood falling ice pellets and small
7 rocks while climbing Mt. Hood in Oregon).
“They’re pretty much indestructible,”
one tester says. “I haven’t gotten any
scratches, even when I accidentally
scraped them on rock while climbing
a narrow chimney on a trip along the
California coast.” The PopGuns fold up
at the nose bridge and temples,
ultimately collapsing to the size of
a small biscuit. They then slip into a
hard case that’s exceptionally strong
(one tester drove over it in his Subaru
WRX and it emerged unscathed). The
lenses come in both polarized and non-
polarized versions. Ding: price.
8 Starting at $169; 1.3 oz. (glasses), 1.4 oz.
(case); popticals.com

5
8. NAU OFF THE GRID HOODY

6. THERM-A-REST SELF- A travel kit’s core piece of clothing should

5. THE NORTH FACE
STOW-N-GO BRA
It’s never a bad idea to take a few
emergency Benjamins when you travel
overseas. Hide your stash in this bra’s
clever pocket, which sits between the
girls and is big enough for a credit card
and bills. The compression-style Stow-
N-Go is claspless, and our tester praised
its running-level support and yoga-level
comfort. “Its front fabric isn’t just flat; the
bra contours to my chest so I never feel
constricted, whether bounding downhill
or sleeping in it,” she said after hiking
around Mont Blanc. The lightweight
polyester material has mesh in the back
for added venting, and dries quickly
enough to be worn as a swim top.
$45; 2.4 oz.; XS-XL; A/B, C/D;
thenorthface.com
INFLATING NECK PILLOW
Love a neck pillow for long-haul flights,
but wary about bringing it on the trail?
This offering from Therm-a-Rest is about
as tough as a pillow gets; instead of an
air-only bladder, it boasts a solid open-
cell foam core. (After we punctured
our sample on purpose, it remained
comfy.) The removable, pillow case-like
brushed polyester cover is soft and easy
to wash, and although packed size is
bulky (slightly smaller than a roll of toilet
paper), our tester still gave it high marks.
“There are lighter and smaller
backpacking pillows, but I take this one
because its U-shape fits perfectly in a
sleeping bag’s hood,” she says. “I deflate
it slightly, so it supports my head and
I never wake up with a stiff neck.” One
wish: a stuffsack.
$40; 6.4 oz.; one size; thermarest.com
be versatile, durable, and easy to pack.
The full-zip Off the Grid Hoody checks all
those boxes, and it’s ultracomfy as well.
“On a frosty morning near Joshua Tree,
I helped a local unload hay bales from
his truck to feed his horses. The stretchy
merino-polyester sleeves and sidepanels
didn’t hinder my reach, and breathed
well enough that I didn’t get chilled from
sweat,” our tester says. Polyester panels
on the torso block wind and provide core
insulation (they kept our tester warm in
40°F temps on the Trans-Catalina Trail in
California), and have green cred: They’re
made of 100 percent recycled material.
Our tester also loved the hood’s baby-
blanket-soft feel for sleeping on a flight
to Jordan. The Off the Grid packs down to
the size of a cantaloupe, and two internal
pockets fit gloves or a water bottle.
$225 (w’s $210); 13.1 oz. (m’s M); m’s S-XL,
w’s XS-L; nau.com

MY KEY PIECES
MEC TRAVEL
LIGHT TOTE
This tote-style bag is
light, water-resistant,
and can be worn as a
backpack. It fits a jacket,
umbrella, water bottle,
and more, and is sleek
ZEBUNNISA MIRZA enough for a night out.
TRAVEL WRITER
SEATTLE SPORTS PACSAFE
POCKET SINK RFIDSLEEVE 25
A watertight, collapsible This RFID-blocking
bowl that makes accessory—it prevents
washing your dishes electronic credit card
or clothes a cinch theft—is super slim and
when you’re on the weighs nothing. It slips
go. It’s a camping right into your wallet for
essential for me. urban adventures.

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 39
gear

field test adventure travel gear

1. COLUMBIA CALDORADO
OUTDRY EXTREME JACKET

At just 6 ounces, this waterproof jacket

packs down to the size of a grapefruit,
making it an easy-to-tote insurance
policy. But don’t worry about taking it
into rough terrain: “While bushwhacking 2
in bad weather in Oregon’s Eagle Cap
Wilderness, my partner’s jacket got torn
up pretty bad. The Caldorado’s 15-denier
ripstop nylon came through without a
scratch,” one tester says. Breathability is
ample for an ultralight shell: “Generally 1
I hate wearing a shell when biking hard,
but I didn’t overheat in this jacket on 3
a rainy day in the hills outside Salta,
Argentina,” another tester reports. Two
underarm vents help dump heat. Note:
The Caldorado has one chest pocket.
If you want two larger ones, opt for its
cousin, the OutDry Ex Featherweight
Shell (same price, pictured). 4
$199; 6 oz. (m’s M); m’s S-XXL, w’s XS-XL;
columbia.com

2. OSPREY TRANSPORTER 130

Some adventures start before you’re 3. LULULEMON ABC JOGGER

unpacked, so we always store our stuff in
an armored duffle. The giant Transporter
is our pick for its 840-denier, nylon-
coated TPU on the inside and outside,
which protects from scrapes. “My
daughters packed it with two inflatable
paddleboards for Catalina Island, and
were tasked with moving the Transporter
from the dock to camp—about 2 miles
up the trail. In the name of testing, they
dragged it the entire way, and there was
no damage,” our tester says. For the
rest of us, the Transporter has padded
yoke-style shoulder straps with load
haulers, which was the best-performing
suspension system of any duffel we’ve
used. It doesn’t have wheels, but as a
result saves weight and is easier to stuff
into crowded luggage compartments.
A two-way zipper has great slide action,
and includes holes for attaching a lock.
$180; 4 lbs. 2 oz.; ospreypacks.com
“These go-anywhere pants were all
I needed on a do-everything trip to
England,” our tester says. “They segued
smoothly from London nights to days
of cragging in the Lake District.” Made
from a soft, four-way stretch polyester,
the slim ABCs never hindered our testers
when they were high-stepping over logs.
The midweight fabric breathed well
on humid hikes, and although there’s
no DWR, its tight weave shook off light
precip. Our tester also experienced no
rips or abrasions over 30 days of climbing
and hiking. The 2-inch-wide waistband
lays flat under a hipbelt, and two slash
hand pockets each have mesh mini-
pockets (yes, a pocket within a pocket)
to secure credit cards or cash. (Tuck your
passport in the zippered back pocket.)
$118; 13.4 oz. (m’s L); m’s S-XXL;
lululemon.com
4. SANUK DONNY / DONNA
They won’t qualify you for business
class, but these camp shoes are just nice
enough to double as do-it-all travel kicks.
The featherlight canvas slip-ons pack
flat for easy stowing and are surprisingly
comfortable. Our tester bought them on
the fly in Disneyland when the log flume
turned her sneakers into wet blister-
makers. Her family vacation was saved,
and in the six years since, she’s taken
them on almost every backcountry
overnight she’s been on, from the French
Alps to the Grand Canyon. They don’t
have a midsole, but the EVA footbed
and spongy rubber outsole are plush
enough to provide ample cushion and
rebound. And the best part? They’re
machine-washable.
Starting at $60 (w’s $50); 10.5 oz. (m’s 7);
m’s 7-14, w’s 5-11; sanuk.com

MY KEY PIECES
IM DENNY JOGGER
I never go full pajama
on a flight—these are an
in-between option that
look like a stylish pant
but feel pretty comfy.
The cotton is breathable
BRANDON PRESSER and stretchy, and they’re
TRAVEL WRITER great for low-key hikes.
SMITH OPTICS
AUDIBLE AVIATORS
As a diver, I’m always
out on a boat, and the
ChromaPop lenses
cut through the glare.
They’re great for
spotting whales, and
sturdier than they look.
MOLESKINE
12-MONTH
WEEKLY NOTEBOOK
Everything goes in here—
meetings, flights, and
anything that might
spark new story ideas. If I
could only save one thing
in a fire, it’d be this.

40 01.2018
 gear
Powerful 3-in-1
field notes Memory & Information
Retention Formula!
The latest
word from
our testers
touring shell

Flylow Lab Coat

Powder-mad testers
loved this shell’s
balance of breathability
and durability. To
achieve the former,
Flylow uses eVent’s
DVexpedition fabric,
which dumps moisture
through an air-
permeable membrane.
(A pair of 14-inch
winter shades warm camp shoe
pit zips also help.) Specially formulated to Boost:
Julbo Vermont Classic Teva Ember Moc “While lapping Dream Focus & Concentration
Lake Chutes in Rocky
Look good and save your Sure, you can get Mountain National Memory & Mental Clarity
eyes with these retro away with flip-flops in Park in a mild, wet Mood & Energy
glacier glasses. Leather summer. But in winter, snowstorm, I never
shields on the temples you’ll want full foot felt swampy on the
Available for purchase with coupon
and bridge provide coverage and some ups,” our tester says.
in fine stores everywhere or online at:
protection from sun, insulation. The Ember However, just because www.appliednutrition.com
glare, and light precip, Mocs do the trick, and, the Lab Coat kept
which we appreciated unlike most booties, us from boiling over
Enter Coupon Code: 013234
on above-treeline have outsoles and toe doesn’t mean it’s thin
pursuits. But goggle- rands to protect your and fragile: Its 40-denier
like coverage doesn’t feet. “They kept me nylon handled a season
hinder breathability: toasty without socks of shouldering skis
“No fogging at all,” a
tester reported after
down to 25°F,” one Utah
tester says. “The knit
and tumbling down
a rocky slope or two

a sweaty ski tour in cuff seals out drafts. without suffering any
HEALTHY BRAIN ALL-DAY FOCUS
Colorado’s San Juans.
Best of all, the temples
are made with flexible
And the minimalist
rubber tread held fast in
snowy ski area parking
damage. “The route up
to the chutes is tight and
treed, but the Lab Coat
SAVE $2
EXPIRES 03/31/18 MANUFACTURERS COUPON
wire (covered in plush lots and backcountry shrugged off branches
Consumer: Redeemable at retail locations only. Not valid for online or mail-order purchases. Retailer:
rubber), so they conform campsites.” The Ember like a champ,” our tester Irwin Naturals will reimburse you for the face value plus 8 (cents) handling provided it is redeemed
by a consumer at the time of purchase on the brand specified. Coupons not properly redeemed will
to almost any face Mocs aren’t waterproof, reports. Dings: The shell be void and held. Reproduction by any party by any means is expressly prohibited. Any other use
constitutes fraud. Irwin Naturals reserves the right to deny reimbursement (due to misredemption
shape. “I didn’t feel any but the polyester and is bulky, packing down activity) and/or request proof of purchase for coupon(s) submitted. Mail to: CMS Dept. 10363, Irwin
Naturals, 1 Fawcett Drive, Del Rio, TX 78840. Cash value: .001 (cents). Void where taxed or restricted.
pressure on my ears, suede upper shed to volleyball size, and a ONE COUPON PER PURCHASE. Not valid for mail order/websites. Retail only.

even when wearing a snow during nighttime bit heavy; it also doesn’t
PHOTOS BY COURTESY. TEXT BY THE EDITORS

hat,” our tester says. bathroom forays. Caveat: come in women’s sizes.
Note: The Vermonts pricey for a camp shoe. $525; 1 lb. 5 oz.;
are available in two $70; 15 oz. (m’s 9); m’s m’s S-XXL;
polycarbonate lenses, 7-14, w’s 5-11; teva.com flylowgear.com
but we preferred the
Spectron 3 CF, which is
dark enough for bluebird
tours, but allows enough
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration.
light transmission (12 This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
percent) that we didn’t
need to ditch them in
treed corridors.
$150; 1.5 oz.; julbo.com
 2017 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

s...And Counting!
30 Year

Crazy Creek…
Floyd’s of Leadville 30 Years of Comfort!
CBD Hemp Oil The Hex 2.0™ is the perfect gift to
Want to keep your trail cure Sit Envy! It’s our lightest, most
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Leadville CBD Hemp Oil you expect from Crazy Creek. Great for hiking, camping and
helps you recover by supporting your body’s natural response the beach. Clip it to your pack and go! Backed by our legendary
to inflammation and stress after a long day getting to camp. Lifetime Limited Warranty.
Available in a convenient softgel or drops it’s easy to add to your
pack. The extra ounces will be worth it. FloydsofLeadville.com Don’t Just Do Something…Sit There™! CrazyCreek.com

Trail Crampon Ultra

A must have for trail runners
and hikers in the winter time.
18 stainless steel spikes,
combined with a wide heel
plate and velcro strap, give Ferociously Strong Tape®
you the confidence to hit the T-Rex® Tape is ideal for outdoorsmen who demand the highest
trails in winter’s toughest quality tools. Its aggressive double-thick adhesive is what gives
conditions. The perfect gift this tape the ability to stick to rough, dirty surfaces through all-
for you, or your loved ones! weather types and temperatures. This Ferociously Strong Tape® is
Hillsound.com the perfect gift for the adventurer in your life. TRexTape.com

Avoid Fogging Up
Sven Can See® is the
Bonfire Portable Fire Pit safest way to ensure clear
Enjoy a backyard fire pit that vision on the slopes, trails,
makes WAY less smoke. The and beyond. Coconut
Bonfire burns big logs into based, odor-free and
fine ash making set up and biodegradable, Sven Can
clean up super easy. Enjoy it See® Anti-Fog delivers
at home or take it with you immediate results on all
(free carry case included) lens types. One spray a day
for a killer flame and to stay keeps the fog away. Sven
warm wherever you are! Can See®—The Safest Way
SoloStove.com to See®. SvenCanSee.com

Armaid® Forearm Massager
The tool you know you need to help
you climb forever. (And your
buddy too.) BOGO 50% OFF
our bestselling unit—
address issues along arm
and treat pesky areas in
thumb and wrist. 10-year
Unconditional Warranty.
Plus, donate to the Access Fund
or RRGCC. Armaid.com
High Altitude’s Best Friend
Cellfood, the world’s No. 1 nutrient +
oxygen supplement, has been helping
climbers be at their best at high altitudes
for almost fifty years. It’s even been to
the summit of Everest! Read all about it at
LuminaHealth.com/articles
Inspired by the
Mountains
For that special climbing and
adventure partner, unique
rings and jewelry inspired
by the mountains we love
and the rocks we climb.
Handmade in Taos, NM.
PeterWGilroy.com
@peterwgilroy
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Quality Coffee, Instantly.
At home or on the go, hot or cold,
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#chalkmatters
This year give the gift the keeps on sending! The climbers in your
life will thank you. FrictionLabs—The new standard new chalk.
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Unique, Rugged.
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17 HGG
LifeStraw Universal
LifeStraw Universal is the
first water bottle adapter
kit with a 2-stage filter.
With two sizes of screw
caps and two sizes of
mouthpieces, it allows you
to turn your favorite bottle
into a powerful water filter,
removing bacteria and
protozoa. LifeStraw.com
E-Z UP® Camping
Cube™ and Screen
Cube™ tents
Give the gift of an elevated
camping experience with the new
line of Camping Cube™ and Screen
Cube™ tents and accessories by E-Z UP.
The Camping Cube and Screen Cube
tents transform E-Z UP® shelters into
spacious camping retreats that can be set
up in literally seconds, meaning more time
for family and fun. Buy online at EZup.com
s
T
o
K
e Alpine Light Down Parka
d flaunts the aggressive
The “Stuffed Waxey”
Do your hands a solid and pick
up one of our handmade “Waxey”
chalk bags. This beauty is stuffed
with all of our favorite climbing
essentials. Whether you’re a newbie
or a pro, these products will keep
your love of climbing brewing.
#getstoked at StokedClimbing.com
LifeStraw Flex
LifeStraw Flex is a versatile
5-in-1, 2-stage water filter that
reduces lead and chemicals
and removes bacteria and
protozoa. Use Flex as a
personal straw, with the
included soft touch bottle, or
attached to a plastic water
bottle, hydration bladder or as
a gravity filter. LifeStraw.com
Maximum Hand
Strength!
PRO and GRIPMASTER
challenge each finger
separately for outstanding
hand, wrist and forearm
strength. Used by world-
class climbers and offered in
various strengths (5lb – 13lb)
at REI, Dick’s, Modell’s, MEC,
Academy and Amazon.
Prohands.net
This hooded down sweater
warmth to weight ratio and
compressibility essential for
comfortable backcountry
activity. Give the gift of
warmth this Holiday Season
with a parka packed with high
lofting 800 fill power down
and armed with a tenacious,
wind shedding gossamer thin
nylon shell. Montbell.us

Tension Climbing Grindstone
Pro Hangboard $115
Send your project. TensionClimbing.com
Scree Pack $179
One pack = 10 uses. This
mid-size pack fills a
sweet spot in your pack
quiver, functioning for a
spectrum of outdoor, travel,
and urban pursuits. The
functional, 3-ZIP design
provides quick, easy access
to all your necessities.
From ambitious day trips
to austere overnighters, the
SCREE has you covered.
MysteryRanch.com
Kamber/Kresta Pack Series
Developed in the mountains of
Colorado with feedback from
professional guides, ski patrollers
and dedicated weekend warriors,
the women’s Kresta and men’s
Kamber packs are designed to
match the passion and needs
of off-piste professionals and
recreationalists from Thompson
Pass, Alaska, to the Chilean Andes
or your local backcountry runs.
OspreyPacks.com
ADVERTISEMENT
Sightcaster™
Drawing inspiration from the fishing technique of sight-casting,
this sunglass gives you the right tools for pursuing a good catch.
Color enhanced high definition optics cut through glare on the
water or the trail allowing you to see deeper and ride further.
Nativeyewear.com
Engineered with
Personality $30
Pure Grit Climbing bags are
packed with personality. Our
Boulder, Colorado made
bags have distinct style and
uncompromising quality.
Choose from our ready
to ship diverse selection
or have a one-of-a-kind
bag custom made. Returns
and exchanges are easy.
PureGritClimbing.com
Warmth Wherever You Are
Feathered Friends
Down Booties
Craving versatility? Our
popular down booties deliver.
Crafted so your feet remain
toasty warm whether you’re
at home or in high camp,
everyone on your list will
want a pair. Made with a
Pertex® weather resistant
shell and ethically-sourced
800+ fill power goose down.
FeatheredFriends.com
17 HGG
Wacaco Minipresso
The Wacaco Minipresso is your
own portable pocket barista.
No cafe on the summit? No
problem! This lightweight,
durable, and packable
espresso maker has you
covered. With the Minipresso
you can have fresh hot cafe
quality espresso anytime,
anywhere! www.wacaco.com
Castine
Designed to feel custom-built for you, the new Castine
is a day touring kayak offered in three distinct sizes
(135, 140, 145). Equipped with a variety of adjustable
features, like the Active Comfort II seat and foot braces,
the Castine will keep you adventuring on the water in
comfort longer. www.oldtowntouring.com
Hike • Trek • Explore
Lighter and tougher, MICROspikes® deliver unrivaled traction
on icy winter trails. MICROspikes® are tough enough to
handle any adventure with stainless steel spikes and welded
chains. MICROspikes® feature an integrated toe bale and
reinforced eyelets allowing for a 50% lower profile elastomer
harness. Kahtoola.com
Backpacker Mosquito
Repeller $39.99
The revolutionary Backpacker
Repeller creates a 15-ft. zone of
protection against mosquitoes
without messy lotions or sprays.
It weighs just 4 oz., runs on your
camping stove gas canister, and
delivers up to 90 hours of mosquito
protection from a 4 oz. canister.
Turn it on… MOSQUITOES GONE!
Get free shipping and 30% off online,
with code CLIMB30. Thermacell.com
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For over 49 years, David
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customer’s lifestyle and combinations, the Braiden is versatile enough to hit the trails but
passions. DavidVirtue.com was fashioned with the après in mind. Nativeyewear.com

The Universe has

Been Waiting for
a Chair Like This
Introducing the first ever Women’s & Men’s First
swinging and reclining camp Light Hybrid Hoody
chair. Stargaze™ chairs take Employing the benefits of
relaxation to a new level, with a our First Light insulation
new sitting experience that keeps with panels of blended
you comfortably moving and merino wool in key areas,
easily reclining. There’s something the First Light Hybrid
undeniably fun about swinging, Hoody field-proven
and when you’re ready to recline, materials into an incredibly
simply lean back to activate the breathable and versatile
auto-reclining mechanism and midlayer. Use code FL20.
enjoy a great view of the stars. BlackDiamondEquipment.
NemoEquipment.com com/firstlight

Tuscan Beef Stew with

Parmesan Polenta $7.49
When it comes to wilderness
dining, Packit Gourmet’s Tuscan
Beef Stew with Parmesan Polenta
reigns supreme. Light in weight yet
hearty in portion, this just-add-
SPOT Gen3: $169.95 water dinner stews lean roast beef
SPOT Trace: $119.95 and veggies in a rich basil, red
SPOT is here to give you peace of mind when your backpacker wine broth. Hungry for more? This
ventures within or outside of cellular coverage. By providing the family-run company serves up
latest satellite technology, SPOT allows users to stay connected 45+ mouthwatering backpacking
to family, friends, and emergency responders, as well as protects meals for breakfast, lunch and
their toys from theft. Enjoy 50% off 11/5–12/31/17. FindMeSPOT.com dinner! www.PackitGourmet.com
17 HGG

Cooloir 24 $139.95
The Cooloir’s bomber
construction is designed to
outlast your adventures,
delivering up to 72 hours of
cold storage (when packed
appropriately) with room for
24 cans, ice, and additional dry
storage. Weighing under 4 lbs., the
easy-to-carry cooler works hard so you
don’t have to. Use code HOLIDAYADVENTURE
for free Cooloir shipping on Mountainsmith.com

Your Cardio
Falling Short?
Elevate it with
VersaClimber—the most
effective, non-impact,
total body cardio climbing
machine—go farther,
Porcupine longer, faster with better
Hooded Pullover stamina and endurance—
The Porcupine performance VersaClimber.
pullover is designed for
activities where breathability Made in the USA since 1981.
and range of motion are most VersaClimber.com
critical. Whether running, skinning
up for fresh tracks, or shoveling the
driveway after a big snow, these fully insulated layers feature
breathable, stretch fabrics to provide excellent venting and
movement. Check out bigagnes.com for the full collection.

Share the Air

Wherever you go,
make yourself
comfortable.
Lamzac® the
original is fun &
simple to inflate.
Just swing the
lightweight bag to
fill it with air and
create a life size
Go With Your Flow Pack lounge seat. The
A mess-free, stress-free way to handle menstrual hygiene on Lamzac® provides
adventures: the Flow pack holds period trash when there’s no form and function
waste bin, and has hypoallergenic, pH-balanced wipes for when with durable
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 Son Doong,
Vietnam SPECIAL JANUARY
SECTION 2018

adv
TH E AD VEN TUR E TRAVEL ISS UE

Restock your bucket list

with the planet’s best PAGE
treks. From chill culture
hikes to limit-testing
challenges, you’ll find
49
your dream trip here.

50 THE ICONIC: SWITZERLAND/ITALY 62 THE HISTORIC: JORDAN 68 THE CHALLENGE: CANADA

PHOTO BY RYAN DEBOODT /

Hike the best-kept secret in the Alps. Tackle a new long trail from the Dead Sea Ski British Columbia’s Haute Route.
to the Red Sea.
54 THE EXOTIC: VIETNAM 72 THE TRIBUTE: SCOTLAND
AURORA PHOTOS

Go backpacking in the world’s largest cave. 64 THE NEW: COLOMBIA Follow John Muir’s original footprints.
Discover a wilderness peace dividend in
56 THE EPICENTER: NEW ZEALAND the Andes. 74 THE SURPRISE: THE PHILIPPINES
See Fiordland National Park without Walk the edge in the wildest rice fields
the crowds. on Earth.
 TO
SW IT ZERL AND & ITALY
THE ICONIC
BACKPACKER

Alps for
PAGE

50
JANUARY
2018 everyone BY DOUGALD
MACDONALD
ncing some of
The only thing better than experie
n the Tour de
Europe’s finest scenery—and huts—o
with you.
Monte Rosa? Taking Alps first-timers

Monte Rosa rises above

Lago delle Locce, a short
side trip off the main track
near Macugnaga, Italy.
 ERCHED ON JUMBLED ROCKS at the edge of the

P Theodul Glacier, our small group grew quiet. There was

a long slope of treacherous ice ahead of us leading all the
way up to the ridge, and most of the people with me had
never set foot on glacial ice.
I’d known that when I planned this route—pushing a few
comfort zones was the point—but the silence made me question
my judgment. Was this trip too much?
I’ve climbed everything from The Diamond on Colorado’s
Longs Peak to the north face of the Cima Grande in Italy, bailed
water from a portaledge during a two-day snowstorm on El
Capitan, trekked the Manaslu Circuit in Nepal, and skied the
Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt. But at this point in my
career, few things are as satisfying as introducing others to the
perfect outdoor experience.
The people nervously fumbling with the straps on their trac-
tion devices were my nieces Emily and Kathy and Kathy’s
husband, Briant. All of them were in their 20s and each had
thus far missed out on the quintessential Alps experience: snow-
crusted summits, glaciers that f low nearly into town, and huts
filled with mountain-loving folks from all over the world. And,
well, I couldn't let that stand.
That’s how they fell under the charge of my wife Chris and me.
We chose the Tour de Monte Rosa, a hundred-mile route around
the second-highest massif in Western Europe, as their alpine
intro. The route would give them mountain immersion and cul-
tural highlights, but without the touristy feel or crowds on the
popular Tour du Mont Blanc. The hiking would be difficult—
hopefully just the right amount to make every vista and pass feel
well earned but not grueling.
The Monte Rosa massif contains the Alps’ greatest concentra-
tion of peaks taller than 4,000 meters. Six of its pinnacles soar
higher than the nearby Matterhorn; the highest, the Dufourspitze,
reaches 15,203 feet. The southern faces of these mountains
form a 25-mile stretch of some of northern Italy's finest skiing.
Northward, the crest extends nearly 20 miles into Switzerland.
Much of the hiking route follows ancient paths of farmers,
PHOTO BY CLICKALPS SRLS / AGE FOTOSTOCK

soldiers, and smugglers. The full tour was completed as early as

1842, by a Scottish scientist named James D. Forbes, who wrote
that the high passes were “generally steep and fatiguing, and
render this expedition a far more serious one than the circuit of
Mont Blanc,” which he also had done. It’s a route with teeth and
an endless procession of mountain passes, but it also has soft
spots. Our plan had us staying in alpine huts for five nights and in
valley towns the other four.
Chris and I did everything we could to prepare our young rela-
tives. She reserved all the lodging along our planned route, and
I, the most experienced alpinist in the group, wrote a five-page
memo and gear list, outlining what to expect during “what will
likely be one of the best weeks of your lives.”
Now I had to make the trip live up to the hype.

Chris and I had done a long trek in Nepal
with Kathy two years ago, so we knew
she was good trail companion. Briant, a
stocky guy with a perpetual smile, had
worked at REI for more than a decade and
was an experienced hiker, but hadn’t been
to Europe. Emily spent a year teaching
English in Prague, so she was comfortable
with foreign travel, but had scarcely laid a
foot on a mountain. And now, here we were.
Maybe it was nerves or maybe the chill in
the September air, but they took their time
putting their spikes on as they eyed the gray
ice ahead. As our cleats bit into the glacier,
storm clouds boiled over the pass ahead
of us. I pointed to the Teodulo hut, high on
a black ridge ahead. “That’s where we’re
headed for the night—let’s get moving!”
W
E S TA R T E D T H AT M O R N I N G
in Zermatt, where the Matterhorn’s
wizard-hat summit looms over slate-
roofed chalets and memorials to mountain-
eers and guides. We strode with the purpose
of our undertaking—all the way to the
gondola.
The guidebook had preached that “a mul-
tiday trek really should start on foot, not
in a lift,” but the guidebook wasn’t leading
rookies, and the 5,500-vertical-foot climb
from Zermatt to the R ifugio Teodulo
seemed to me like a good way to guaran-
tee first-day heel blisters. Guidebooks have
their audience; I have mine.
So, less than 15 minutes after walking
out of town, we were zipping up the moun-
tain on a cable. High above treeline, with
the Matterhorn shining under a fresh coat
of snow, we began hiking a steep uphill past
goats browsing on grass. Across the valley,
the summits of Monte Rosa spanned the
skyline. “Wait, we’re going to walk all the
52 01.2018
way around that?” Briant asked. “That’s the
plan,” I said, trying to project confidence.
A narrowing ridge of rough moraine led us
between two glaciers until suddenly the
rocks petered out against a sea of ice and out
came the spikes.
In truth, I wasn’t too worried. I had
bet—correctly, it turned out—that by early
September all the surface snow on the
Theodul Glacier would be melted, making
the crevasses obvious and easy to navigate
around. Plus, I wanted to avoid the expense
of a guide. Still, it was a little disconcert-
ing when a guided team walked by in lock-
step, roped together, wearing crampons, and
wielding ice axes. Our spikes and trekking
poles (I had a barebones crevasse-rescue
kit, too) suddenly looked pretty puny, but if
anyone was feeling unsure, they kept it quiet.
Instead, Kathy, Briant, and Emily inched
up the short slope onto the glacier. I walked
in front, probing the surface with my poles.
Blue light, brighter than a swimming
pool, shone from the few slim crevasses we
encountered along the way.
Ahead, meltwater had carved a shallow
channel a couple of feet wide. The only way
across was to leap. So here it was, the sym-
bolic threshold of the backcountry. One
by one, they sailed over, and when they
Travel Smart
POWER UP
If your charger or appliance is
dual
voltage (look for “110V-240V”
on
the label), you will only need
a plug
adapter, not a voltage converte
r.
Before you leave, buy a coun
try-
specific adapter or an all-in-one
international model (these are
a for which these mountains are named. The
little bulkier but a great tool for
frequent travelers).
Monte Rosa from
Macugnaga, Italy
landed on the far side, we were a new, more
confident group.
A
N H O U R A F T E R s t e ppi ng ont o
the glacier, we reached 10,800-foot
Theodulpass, where a short hike over
snow led to Rifugio Teodulo. As we entered
the metal-clad building, the hut keeper
ushered us inside, apologized that the
showers weren’t working, and showed us
to the bunkroom. It was cold enough inside
that almost everyone wore ski hats.
The Teodulo is an old-school hut, run by
the Alpine Club of Italy, with creaky beds
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) ALESSANDRO MASCHERONI / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO;
and basic dinners. As leader of this little
outfit, I felt it my duty to take the worst of
the bunks—an upper-decker so tight that
my nose nearly brushed the ceiling. A group
of lively Spaniards filled the small dining
room, singing and joking with such vigor
it was hard to hear each other at our end of
the shared table.
DOUGALD MACDONALD; FLORIAN MAIR; ISTOCK.COM / GRAFNER
The nex t morning, we greeted the
Italian side of the pass with bleary eyes (the
Spaniards roared deep into the night) and a
lunch of bread, salami, cheese, and apples
that the hut keeper had packed for us. Within
a couple of hours, after traversing a moon-
scape of black rock, we crested a 9,783-foot
Cima Bianche pass and walked into Italy’s
alpine wonderland. Waterfalls plunged into
a pair of lakes fed by glaciers draping the
whaleback ridge of the Breithorn. There was
a frenzy of selfies and group shots, until I
had to gently remind everyone we still had a
long way to go to that night’s hut.
We continued down for hours, passing
stone cottages and small herds of cows with
bells strapped around their necks. They
grazed in seasonal high pastures—the “alps”
air was crisp, but the meadows still held

blue gentians, purple loosestrife, and pink
autumn crocus.
At Rifugio Ferraro, in the hillside hamlet
of Resy, the proprietress Fausta Bo greeted
us at the door as we pulled off our boots and
asked in musical English, “Which do you
want first: a shower or a beer?”
If the previous night was the raucous
version of an Alps hut, this one was all class.
Dinner was a multi-course feast of pasta
with broccoli, vegetable soup, turkey with
artichoke hearts and caulif lower, a cheese
plate, salad, and budino al cioccolato for
dessert. “This might be the best meal I’ve
eaten in Europe,” Emily exclaimed.
After clearing the plates, Fausta handed
us each a small glass and poured shots of
génépy, a traditional bitter Alps liqueur
brewed from wormwood f lowers, to send us
off to sweet dreams.
B
Y THE THIRD DAY, we settled into a
routine: Pack up at sunrise, eat a quick
breakfast, and start up the trail into the
land of ice-etched rocks. With six to eight
hours on the trail, our days found a rhythm.
Middays, we would cross another high pass
dividing the valleys that radiate southward.
Aside from the ski resorts, much of the
Monte Rosa massif felt little changed from
what 19th-century travelers must have seen
here. Ibex and chamois grazed along the
trails. Most days we saw only a handful of
other hikers.
But moving through pristine mountain
terrain is only half the Alps experience. In
each village we passed, I insisted everyone
try the stinkiest cheeses and sausages we
could find.
*Approximate price per person; includes guides when necessary
The author’s crew works its way
up the Theodul Glacier on the
first day out of Zermatt. Below:
Dairy cows graze the pastures; the
Madonna at Monte Moro Pass.
Even so, there’s one thing even
the most careful trip planning
and gear prep can’t do: protect
u nt r a i ned fe e t . D e sc end i ng
t h roug h s t e ep me a dow s t o
Alpenzu, Emily picked up a notice-
able limp, and when we reached the hut,
amid a warren of ancient wood and fieldstone
buildings, she peeled off her boot and every-
one gasped at the giant blister on her heel.
Chris patched up Emily’s wound with
a lidocaine-soaked bandage and, when it
turned out her hips also were getting sore,
padded them with spare socks under the
hipbelt. Even so outfitted, Emily sang and
danced as she moved over pass after pass
after pass. A trip this good has a way of
smoothing out the aches and pains.
O
UR LAST FULL DAY in Italy was the
hardest: crossing the nearly 9,000-foot
Colle del Turlo. At the Rifugio Pastore,
the evening before, I told the crew the hike
should take at least nine or 10 hours, but the
forecast was not great. We would need to
start right at daybreak. To my delight and
pride, everyone was ready at sunrise.
High above the highest cow pasture, we
encountered an elaborately constructed,
5-foot-wide causeway through talus. It
was built 90 years ago by the Italian army
to facilitate mule trains and served as a
reminder of how much history these moun-
tains hold. A cold rain fell on the far side of
the col, and Chris tumbled on the wet rock.
Things had been going well, but I was sud-
denly thrust back into the worry about what
would happen if anyone was badly injured
on such a remote stretch of trail. Could we
get to a town without help? Would we have
to split up the group?
After years of hiking and climbing in
more hazardous terrain, I was surprised by
the anxiety I felt. Leading a group like this
changes things. There’s all the pressure to
make the trip memorable and fun, but with
an extra layer of stress that comes when
your crew is family.
With no guide leading the way, the entire
group turned to Uncle Dougald whenever
there was a key decision to be made. Signs
and yellow diamond blazes stenciled with
“TMR” pointed the way, but the place names
and trail numbers varied between the guide-
book, maps, and signposts. Distances to the
next town or junction frequently contra-
dicted each other.
Even though I’d checked the schedule for
the cable car from the village of Macugnaga
to the frontier with Switzerland, I was still
relieved to find it running, even though the
summer season had ended. That allowed our
band of tired travellers to leverage the Alps’
unique infrastructure and suck in all the
scenery without any of the foot pain. Flimsy
wooden steps led up granite slabs from the
top lift station to the 9,360-foot Monte Moro
Pass, where a golden Madonna watched over
Monte Rosa’s lobed and glaciated face.
As we left the wilder Italian side of Monte
Rosa and headed dow n Sw itzerland’s
manicured trails, with buses and trains
always just a few hours away, I started to
breathe a little easier. We still had three
days of walking ahead: through the beauti-
ful, car-free village of Saas-Fee and across
the exposed and rugged Höhenweg and
Europaweg trails, equipped with tunnels
under landslides and cables for handrails
over narrow catwalks. But our team already
had plenty to be proud of.
Chris and I had been confident in our
young relatives’ ability to complete this trip,
but they hadn’t been quite so sure. Now, as
we hiked the switchbacks down from Monte
Moro, I overheard them talking over ideas
for our next family trek. The Picos de Europa
in Spain? The High Atlas in Morocco?
As any good trip leader will tell you,
there’s no surer sign of a successful trip than
plans for the next one. Q
Dougald MacDonald is editor of the American
Alpine Journal .
TRIP PLANNER
GETTING THERE Most hikers begin the
route in Zermatt or Saas-Fee; both Swiss
villages are about four hours by train from
major airports. SEASON Mid July to early
September. Beware lingering snow in early
summer and closed facilities at the end of the
season. STAY Plan for five to six nights in huts
and hotels or apartments in Saas-Fee, Zermatt,
and Grächen or Gasenried, Switzerland,
and in Macugnaga, Italy. Reservations are
recommended. Huts serve dinner and
breakfast and will pack lunch for about $10 to
$12 extra. Budget about $100/person per day
for huts, meals, beverages, ski lifts, and buses.
GUIDEBOOK Tour of Monte Rosa, by Hilary
Sharp GLACIER GUIDE alpincenter-zermatt.ch
INFO www.tmr-matterhorn.ch/en/home.html
TOTAL COST* $1,400 (flight from New York,
ground transportation, and lodging)
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 53
 BACKPACKER JANUARY 2018
TO
VIE TNAM
THE EXOTIC
What lies
beneath
Forget higher—go deeper.
The greatest adventure in Asia is
a real-life Lost World hidden
inside the planet’s largest cave.
PAGE
BY
TED ALVAREZ 54
EOPLE USUALLY DON’T believe me when I tell them the best
P place I’ve ever camped is underground. They would if they could
see it: Vietnam’s Son Doong is the biggest cave in the world, and
unlike the pitch-black ratholes of your claustrophobic nightmares,
it’s more like a canyon with a ceiling. Its walls glitter with miner-
als and tower higher than 40-story skyscrapers in places, and a 747 could
f ly through its largest chambers. In scale and experience, it’s a whole
subterranean world.
Overhead, stadium-size skylights called dolines admit enough light
to sustain jungle trees growing 100 feet tall. Monkeys, birds, and f lying
foxes f lit from the treetops. A fast-f lowing river leads to travertine
lagoons and soft-sand beaches perfect for pitching tents.
The way to Son Doong (literally, “mountain river cave”) begins at a
trailhead in Phong Nah-Ke Bang National Park, in the central part of the
country where karst mountains carpeted in rainforest roll like waves at
the border with Laos. We hike along and across the giant teal rivers that
sculpt amphitheaters out of limestone on the way to our first campsite in
Hang En, the park’s third-largest cave. From there,
2 miles of muddy hiking deliver us to Son Doong.
A local hunter named Ho Khanh discovered—but never
entered—the cavern in the 1990s and kept it mostly to
PHOTOS BY (FROM TOP) RYAN DEBOODT / AURORA PHOTOS (2); TED ALVAREZ
himself. It wasn’t until 2009 that British researchers Deb
and Howard Limbert, investigating rumors of one cave
larger than all the others, convinced Ho Khanh to show
them the way. The Limberts worked with locals to form a
guide service to take backpackers inside.
When I arrive, I can see why Ho Khanh never thought
to enter. Son Doong’s entrance is a menacing cleft that
blows the ferns and vegetation as it exhales damp air.
We spend four days inside, scrambling through cham-
bers that have never seen sunlight, hiking past funhouse
water formations and stalagmites the size of office build-
ings. We clip into guide wires and cross a teetering bridge
over Rao Thuong, the river at the heart of the cave system.
Our porters in sandals jog past the sections we scram-
ble, beating us by hours to set up camp in sand beside the
river. By the time we arrive, the tents are positioned at the
perfect angle to watch a skylight sunset. Eerie shades of
purple mute the cave walls and pocket forests while we
change out of wet layers. About the time I’m dry, the pork
is sizzling and the lead guide Bambu slams a local Huda
beer into my hand.
Cynics say there’s nothing new under the sun. But as
Son Doong proves, there’s still plenty to be discovered
where the sun can’t reach. Q
 Clockwise from left:
Guides arrange the tents to
catch the sunset; overhead
dolines admit enough light
to carpet the cave bottom in
vegetation; wires and ropes
provide safe passage across
several of the cave’s river.

TRIP PLANNER
GETTING THERE From Hanoi, a 12-hour sleeper bus or train gets you to Phong Nha. SEASON February to August (rivers become impassible
afterward) GUIDE Six-day tours of Son Doong are extremely limited; book a year or more in advance. Oxalis (oxalis.com.vn) is the only outfitter
allowed in the cavern. Full-service trips cost $3,000. TOTAL COST $4,000 (includes flight from Los Angeles, ground transportation, and lodging)

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 55
 BACKPACKER JANUARY 2018

TO
NEW ZE AL AND
THE EPICENTER

Mud, Sweat,
and Views ng?
Can there be too much of a good thi
ge as
For backpackers who like a challen
big as the reward, New Zealan d’s
Dusky Track tests the limits.
PAGE
BY
MICHAEL LANZ A 56

PHOTO BY NICO BABOT (@KIWIFROG)

 The Pleasant Range
affords one of the Dusky
Track’s best views.
The Fiordlands’ annual
rainfall—more than
20 feet—grows a brushy
obstacle course.
WIRLING WIND HURLS RAIN at
S us, like someone throwing cups of
water into our faces. By the time my
friend Jeff Wilhelm and I have gone
50 yards on New Zealand’s Dusky
Track, we have both sunk to our knees a
dozen or more times into the heaviest, glop-
piest, boot-suckingest mud that I have ever
mired a leg in. Our first steps in what may
be the most dishonestly named mountains
in the world—the Pleasant Range in chroni-
cally soggy Fiordland National Park—do not
bode well.
I glance back at the Lake Roe Hut, but
we didn’t come here to hide out in a shelter.
Nothing to do but cinch the gaiters and
tighten the hood. We continue across an
almost treeless, alpine landscape of knee-
high grass. Boggy tussock masquerades as
earth, but the ground seems more liquid
than solid. Our mode of travel falls some-
where between walking on water and
wading through land.
We claw up a crazy-steep hillside of rain-
slicked grass and stop in our ankle-deep
tracks. The view makes me forget the brack-
ish mix of rain and sweat dripping from
my nose. A vast, mystical plateau dappled
with scores of tiny tarns and a few bigger
lakes sprawls ahead of us. The plateau falls
away abruptly into glacier-carved valleys
58 01.2018
and fjords that stretch for miles to the
South Pacific. In all directions, rainforest-
shrouded mountains loom in the fog. It’s
absolutely quiet, except for the threatening
moans of the wind and the explosive farting
sound our boots make each time we pry
them from another quagmire.
I look back toward the Lake Roe Hut
to gauge our progress—and see that in 45
minutes of walk-wading, we have covered
about 400 yards.
Jeff and I have come to backpack a four-
day section (about half ) of Fiordland’s
52-mile Dusky Track, from Lake Roe Hut
to the track’s northern terminus at the West
Arm of Lake Manapouri. We chose the
Dusky for a reason that can seem, at first
blush, either a little masochistic or just plain
dumb: We’re intrigued by its reputation as
the hardest hut-to-hut trek in New Zealand.
To us, though, this isn’t about something as
shallow as bragging rights. Jeff and I are
both past 50; our pride has gone the way
of our ability to sleep through the night
without getting up to pee. Having done
enough stupid-hard treks for several life-
times, we have nothing to prove.
We know we can handle the suffering.
What captivated us was the Dusky’s more
subtle promise: the chance to experience
the New Zealand wilderness the way it
must have been a generation ago, before
the hordes of international trail-trophy
seekers invaded. Thanks to its reputation,
the Dusky can feel all but deserted com-
pared to other Fiordlands trails, like the
famed Milford and Kepler Tracks.
Now, though, as my outer layers double in
weight with a layer of Fiordland mud, a more
profound question enters my mind: Sure,
we know we won’t quit out here. But can we
suffer like we used to and still enjoy it?
T
HE DUSKY TRACK may be unique
in the variety of misfortunes it pres-
ents. Blowdowns can slow your pace to
a crawl (literally). Absurdly steep and slick
“root ladders” are just as sketchy as their
name implies. “Walkwires,” unner ving
three-wire bridges that would pucker the
sphincters of the Flying Wallendas, offer the
only safe—relatively speaking—river cross-
ings at times of high water. Flooded rivers
can strand you for days, and f looding is not
rare: Fiordland receives more than 20 feet of
rainfall annually, about seven times as much
as Seattle. Park officials recommend Dusky
hikers carry a personal locator beacon, a
mountain radio—both available for rent
locally—and emergency bivy sacks. We pack
all three.
 The route is marked, but calling it a trail
would be a very generous use of the term.
The f irst four hours, we average barely
more than half a mile an hour. By after-
noon, we’ve begun the descent to Loch
Maree, where the trail plummets almost
3,000 vertical feet in less than a mile and
a half.
For more than two hours, we downclimb
nearly vertical ladders of slick tree roots
and rocks—unnerving sections that pose
the very real prospect of a femur-shatter-
ing tumble. We grab onto fixed ropes and
chains wherever they’re available. I’m sur-
prised it doesn’t have a technical rating.
I’d call the terrain 5.4 rainforest—a little
harder if you have to devote one hand to
slapping at sandf lies.
Staggering into Loch Maree Hut at the
end of the day, I wipe the mud off my watch
and look at the time: It took us six hours
to hike 3.7 miles from Lake Roe Hut. From
legs to shoulders, my entire body feels like I
just put in a 20-mile day in the Tetons, and
I’m as wet as I’ve ever been from rain and
sweat. Moments later, Jeff steps through
the door, dripping mud, and bellows, “That
was epic.” He doesn’t mean it fondly. We
exchange wide-eyed looks that say: “Could
every day be that hard?”
A couple hours later, three guys stumble
in to join us in the basic, one-room shelter,
which, like most huts on the Dusky, sleeps
up to 12 people and has wooden tables and
chairs and a wood-burning stove for heat.
This will be our most “crowded” hut on the
route (we’ll only see two other people in four
days). On other Fiordland hut treks, like the
Kepler, I’ve encountered dozens of hikers
daily, and the huts almost always require
reservations.
The hikers—a Belgian in his 30s and
two Frenchmen in their 20s—are traveling
the Dusky in the opposite direction. This
is their first visit to New Zealand. When I
ask why they chose such an unlikely first
track, one of the Frenchmen grins and says,
“Because it is the hardest!” Jeff and I offer
Jeff Wilhelm
no response. We’ve been their age; we know negotiates
they have to learn on their own the point- the descent to
lessness of suffering for its own sake. We Loch Maree.
aren’t in the business of saving young men
from themselves.
After a night of coma-like sleep, all five of

S
us step outside early. The rain has stopped. stumps that rise two or three feet above TANDING ON A tree root ball not
PHOTO BY BEN WIESENFARTH (LEFT); MICHAEL LANZA

Mist dangles like a curtain over Loch
Maree, a small lake surrounded by steep
slopes. Swords of sunlight slash through
the mist, silhouetting hundreds of beech
I’VE HIKED FOR THREE DECADES ALL OVER THE U.S.
the lake’s glassy surface. The water ref lects
green and gold mountainsides and blue sky.
It’s an image I’ll remember forever. Along
with yesterday’s mud-boarding.
much bigger than my boots, inches
above brown water of unknown depth,
I peer into the gray light. By all appear-
ances, nothing lies ahead but a muddy
stream sliding lazily into a brown pond
with trees growing out of it. But in fact,
orange markers indicate that the Dusky
Track plows straight across this stream

AND THE WORLD, FROM ICELAND TO REMOTEST and pond. It’s our third day, and any hope
of the track getting easier has long since
PATAGONIA, NEPAL TO NORWAY, IN THE SWISS ALPS faded.
I stretch and lunge from one partly sub-
AND ITALY’S DOLOMITES, AND TWICE BEFORE HERE IN merged root ball to the next, trying to avoid
disappearing into this organic stew, where
NEW ZEALAND. I’VE NEVER WORKED SO HARD FOR A I can imagine my bones and f lesh spending
the next million years transforming into a
VIEW—OR BEEN SO GLAD I DID. quart of sweet crude.

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 59
Dusky Track hikers
cross 21 walkwires.
And yet I feel a smile crease my face.
Hopping from root ball to root ball is kind
of fun, in a small-kid-climbing-a-big-tree
sort of way.
Somewhere behind me, Jeff erupts in
a series of F-bombs. In a tone suggest-
ing our experiences might not be totally in
sync, he yells: “I’m stuck!” Hesitant to risk
spending eternity as a fossil fuel, I wait on
a relatively secure root island, calculating
that his chances of extracting himself are
pretty good (patience in moments like these
is one benefit of reaching a “mature” age).
When Jeff finally sloshes toward me, his
pants plastered brown, he tells me through
labored panting, “I was stuck hip-deep in
mud! I didn’t think I was gonna get out! I
thought I was gonna die there!”
Although my good friend Jeff occasion-
ally veers into hyperbole, I congratulate
him on his self-rescue, and remind him that
we didn’t get where we are in life by relying
on others.
After escaping the root ball gauntlet,
we reach a torn-off edge of earth where
a wall of forest drops off into a boulder-
strewn gorge some 50 feet across. A walk-
wire spans the canyon, suspended at least
20 feet above the river—high enough that
if a fall wasn’t fatal, you might lie there
w ishing it had been. I’d seen pictures
online, but eyeing the suspended wire live
gives me pause. These skimpy spans make
wobbly, bamboo footbridges over raging
cataracts in Nepal look like the Golden
Gate Bridge.
Clutching the two handrail wires, I step
60 01.2018
gingerly onto the foot wire. Each time I
slowly place one foot in front of the other,
the wire vibrates like a plucked guitar
string; before I’m halfway across, it’s visibly
bouncing. I look down past my toes at the
rocks two stories below—they’re hard to
keep in focus because of the up-and-down
motion of the wire. The sensation is half
nauseating, half thrilling. Make that 90
percent thrilling.
Once across, I look back at Jeff. The
rushing stream drowns out our shouts. I
motion for him to come across. He plants
one foot on the walkwire, scowls, shakes
his head, and backs off it—a reasonable
choice I could see many hikers making.
Jef f scrambles dow n to the creek and
walks downstream to a rock-hop crossing
that’s possible because the water level is
low. Then he’s crashing through the jungle
more than 100 feet downhill from me,
bushwhacking up a steep, muddy slope so
thickly vegetated that I can’t see him—I
can only hear his grunting and see ferns
and other leafy plants shaking as he yards
on them. Twenty minutes after he backed
off the walkwire, he reaches me looking
like a puppy rescued from a hurricane. He
does not look even 10 percent thrilled.
Beyond the walkw ire, we commence
another brutal ascent of more than 2,000
vertical feet in just over a mile—climbing
root ladders, slogging through swamps,
shimmying and slithering over and under
some of the most tangled piles of blown-
down trees I’ve ever seen. It’s absurdly
steep and complex terrain. Only the orange
route markers keep us from looking for a
better way.
After more than two hours of jungle
thrashing, we emerge from the bush to
green, rocky meadows that remind me of
the Scottish Highlands, only—and it stuns
me to say this—wetter. A meandering foot-
path leads us over 3,448-foot Centre Pass,
where a chill wind blows through the cliff-
flanked gap.
But it’s not raining. The clouds have
broken up, and we get a view that’s even
more special because we know how rare it
must be. Green mountains roll off into the
distance. Rainforest sprouts from sheer
cliffs, many bearing the vertical, light-green
scars of new vegetation growing in the wake
of a “tree avalanche,” which is exactly what
the name suggests—a landslide of forest
that’s grown so dense on a cliff face that
tree roots tear free—and which I had never
heard of before visiting Fiordland.
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Loch Maree hut
Slow zone in the
Spey River Valley
Jeff and I stop for lunch and to gape like
happy idiots. My good friend, an English
professor and one of the most literate people
I know, is reduced to a burbling fountain of
vague superlatives by the scenery. And we’re
PHOTOS (FROM TOP) BY BEN WIESENFARTH (2); MICHAEL LANZA
alone, of course. I’ve hiked for three decades
all over the U.S. and the world, from Iceland
to remotest Patagonia, Nepal to Norway, in
the Swiss Alps and Italy’s Dolomites, and
twice before here in New Zealand. I’ve never
worked so hard for a view—or been so glad I
did. It occurs to me that not only am I enjoy-
ing this hike, but maybe my satisfaction is
just a little bit deeper because of all the trips
that came before.
A f ter the long descent from Centre
Pass—and another exhausting day of aver-
aging half a mile an hour—Jeff and I reach
the Upper Spey Hut for our final night. No
one else shows up, even though this is the
first hut for hikers walking in the other
direction. I don’t consider this fact worri-
some until the rain that falls softly at first
builds into a drubbing like a thousand fists
pounding the metal roof.
I awaken a couple times to its relent-
less, monsoonal drumming, and only then
begin to wonder whether the reason no
hikers showed up here tonight is that the
Spey River Valley, which awaits us tomor-
row, now lies under an impassable f lood.
R
AIN IS STILL pouring down in the
morning, but we decide to attempt
to hike out to the Dusky’s nor th-
ern terminus, where we’ll catch an hour-
long ferry ride across Lake Manapouri. If
the valley is impassable, we can backtrack
to the hut and avoid spending tonight in
a tree.
Despite the unknown conditions ahead,
the rain doesn’t put a damper on our mood
as we follow the Spey River. In fact, the
weather lends a haunting beauty to the
forest, with an ethereal fog rising from the
dense understory of ferns and grasses. It
turns out the river has not f looded; appar-
ently, that requires more than a few inches
of rain overnight. And there are no more
root ladders or thickets of blowdowns. We
casually cross the last two walkwires—
short spans that wobble less, but still feel
plenty exciting. Jeff walks them without
any visible anxiety, and I think I even see
him crack a smile. We still plunge unex-
pectedly into knee-deep mud bogs, but
they’ve somehow become routine, just part
of the trail.
It occurs to me that the Dusky Track
is not just harder than most other hikes
I’ve done; it’s a different experience alto-
gether. I have known extremes of wet, cold,
and mud. I’ve come close to trench foot in
the Alaskan tundra and was thru-hiking
Vermont’s Long Trail solo when the tail
end of a hurricane dropped some 10 inches
of rain on the Green Mountains. The
Dusky, though, eclipses them all—in a way
I hadn’t expected. It’s not just a hard, wet
hike—it’s a full-body immersion in land
and weather. It forces you to interact with
the landscape in a deep, tactile way. You
have to slow down and traverse the wilder-
ness on its own terms.
The Dusky did eventually answer the
question that it raised in my mind on our
first day—but it also reframed the ques-
tion. Turns out, we could suffer even more
than ever before and still enjoy it.
My advice to anyone heading for the
Dusky—at any age—is this: Be patient.
You’re sure to discover the rewards out here,
but you might not realize it until you’re hip-
deep in them. Q
Michael Lanza is the author of Before They’re
Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore
America’s Most Endangered National Parks.
His wife and children are glad they didn’t
join him on the Dusky Track.
TRIP PLANNER
GETTING THERE Te Anau serves as the
Dusky’s gateway town. Trips and Tramps
(tripsandtramps.com) provides shuttles to
the trailhead ferries. SEASON December to
March ROUTE The full 44-mile Dusky Track
is Y-shaped, but trekkers choosing to do it all
must backtrack one leg (usually the 8 miles
between Loch Maree and Supper Cove). That
makes the entire route 52 miles. Plan at least
eight days for the whole thing, or do a shorter
version by flying to Supper Cove or Lake Roe
Hut. SHUTTLES Lake Manapouri ferries at the
northern end operate three times daily (NZ $45;
realjourneys.co.nz). Boats to the Lake Hauroko
trailhead at the track’s southern end operate
on Mondays and Thursdays (NZ $99; wjet.
co.nz); The cheapest shortcut is a float plane to
Supper Cove (about NZ $330; wingsandwater.
co.nz). HUTS All huts have mattresses and pit
toilets; BYO sleeping bag, stove/pot, fuel, and
food. Huts cost NZ $5/person per night. Buy
hut tickets in advance at any DOC office (no
reservations required). INFO doc.govt.nz
TOTAL COST $1,600 (round-trip airfare from
L.A., shuttles, hut tickets, lodging in Te Anau)
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 61
 BY
TO
JORDAN NANCY BOUCHARD

BACKPACKER THE HISTORIC

JANUARY
Kingdom Come
Star-shot skies over vast deserts,
fertile
PAGE
2018 path that follo ws some of
valleys, and a foot
hum anit y’s olde st trad e
400 -mile Jordan Trail offers
immersion in the Mid dle
rout es:

East
a
.
The
mon
new,
th-long 62
 T TOOK 20 YEARS to formalize

I the Jordan Trail, but the route has

been in use since the Old Testament
times.
To walk across some–or all–of the
path offers the chance to follow ancient
trade routes between villages and
track the course of history. Travelers
pass through colonnades and under
the arches of countless Greco-Roman
ruins, but also an Islamic castle, and
the carved-in-stone city of Petra,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The route starts in the northwest
corner of the country near the Sea of
Galilee. The first section is well marked
and southbound travelers pass villages
with home-stay options and wilderness
camping at the edges, making the first
50 miles from Umm Qais to Aljoun
Castle good for DIY adventurers.
From there, the trail markings grow
scarcer and the adventure ramps up.
Olive trees dot the landscape and the
trail dips in and out of farmlands and
lush valleys as it heads deeper into the
country. The terrain changes almost by
the day. Towns with hilltop churches
give way to the wide landscapes of the
Jordan Valley en route to the fertile
wadis (canyons) around the Dead Sea.
The southern half of the journey
passes ruins and rock walls and picks
up the camel route from Little Petra to
Petra and Wadi Rum, where Bedouin
tent encampments sit in the shadows
of sandstone spires.
Good camping is abundant, but
water can be scarce and routefinding a
challenge. Guide services can offer car
support for water portage, plus act as
ambassadors to the Bedouins.
The trail’s final stretch descends from
the Aqaba Mountains to the Red Sea,
where hikers can swim in the languid,
blue waters and wash off a kingdom’s
worth of sand and sun. Q

GETTING THERE Fly to Amman; bus to

regional hubs SEASON Fall and spring
for mild weather INFO AND GUIDES
jordantrail.org TOTAL COST $1,200 for
the DIY section (flight from New York,
ground transportation, lodging)
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT) ANDY AUSTIN;
JESSICA LOKKER; ANDY AUSTIN; BEN FULLERTON (3)

Clockwise from left: A Bedouin
camp in Wadi Rum; ancient
tombs line the way to Petra; the
iconic Treasury was built 2,000
years ago by the Nabataeans;
Aljoun Castle in northern
Jordan is the only Islamic
citadel in the country; get your
feet wet in Wadi Munoz, near
the Dead Sea; Jordanians are
known for their traditional
scarves and hospitality.
Travel Smart
STAY CONNECTED
phone
Ever y year, international cell
plans get cheaper, so check your
if
carrier and destination to see
The
there’s a reasonable option.
cheapest way to go: Have your
carrier unlock your phone then
arrive.
purchase a SIM card when you
These are widely available and
from
prevent unexpected charges
plan.
data usage that exceeds your

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 63
 JANUARY 2018
BACKPACKER

TO
COLOMBIA
THE NEW

Fill in
the Blanks
Af ter deca des of conf lic
t, it’s
ba ckpa ck
finally the right time to
s.
in the Colombia n Ande
PAG E
BY
CASE Y LYONS 64
PHO TOS BY GREGG BLEAKNEY
 HE RIDER APPEARS in the moor-

T
vanishes.
lands as quietly as a ghost. He’s
on horseback and wearing a wool
poncho the same muted tone as the
world all around. Just as quietly, he

Perhaps we’re primed to see things

through a supernatural lens. We were told
the Páramo de Ocetá is a place of spirits
and myths—it even derives its name from
a ill-fated princess. In the middle of the
16th century, during the full brutality of
the Spanish conquest of Colombia, the
local Muisca people fought back. Among
the warriors was one Penagos, whose lover,
Ocetá, was a princess from a nearby tribe.
According to legend, Penagos and his
companions fought valiantly, but their
knives and arrows were no match for
Spanish gunpowder and horses. The hero
died in battle. On hearing this, Ocetá fled
her village for the wetlands above to sit on
a mountaintop and wait to be carried away
by angels, which is how the Muisca thought
of condors. During her vigil, Ocetá shed
the tears that filled the lakes and rivers and
saturated the ground we’re standing on.
Regardless of origin, water is every-
where. The meadows hold it with such
efficiency that hiking here is like walking
on a sponge. We cross hundreds of little
streams where the terrain funnels rainwa-
ter into lakes. Every step is guessing game
as to which tussocks will bear weight.
Our guides, accustomed to the wet, stomp
along in rubber boots.
The abundant water nourishes vegeta-
tion that exists here and nowhere else.
The ground is such a patchwork of greens
that it looks like camouf lage. With these
garden slopes perched at 12,000 feet, in a
nature reserve that sees few visitors, the
Páramo de Ocetá feels like a secret that's
maybe too well kept.
But slowly, locals and outsiders like us
are venturing into the fringes. Call it a side
effect of peace.
For decades, Colombia's wild areas were
a no-go zone because of guerilla fighters
and narcos, who occupied and fortified
rural areas across the country. To venture
beyond the city limits was to risk being
kidnapped and held for ransom, a lucrative
scheme the outlaws called miracle fishing.
Beginning around 2000, the govern-
ment started negotiating peace deals with
the armed rebels, all but putting an end to
the practice. In 2016, Juan Manuel Santos,
president of Colombia, brokered a peace
deal with FARC, the main guerilla group,
and earned the Nobel Peace Prize. Today,
Colombia’s once empty backcountry is
seeing its first pioneering backpackers,
with areas like the Páramo de Ocetá poised
to become epicenters for adventure travel.
Our five-day trek is a test piece for that
idea. From Las Cintas to Monguí, our
30-mile point-to-point crosses the páramo
The editors pass
Playa de Frailejónes, off-trail or on spidering cow paths. We pass
a low-growing forest through a clutch of high-altitude grass-
of páramo flora. lands, forests, and lakes. In mid-fall, a soft

B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 65
 Endemic wildflowers (lupine
and aster) color the landscape.
Above: The Church of Our Lady
in Monguí; a ranger on patrol

66 01.2018
The páramo sky hangs
low with moisture.
PÁRAMO DE OCETÁ IS CONSIDERED BY COLOMBIANS
TO BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF ALL, WITH
SWEEPING VIEWS, CRAGGY RIDGES, RUSHING CREEKS,
AND ENDLESS STANDS OF FRAILEJÓNES.
drizzle dominates the days, but occasional
beams of sunshine spotlight meadows
filled with purple and yellow wildflowers.
The trail leads us from ridge to ridge,
then down to a small lake that looks like
a mirror set on the grass. As we approach,
mist skims its surface and pools there
Travel Smart
PROTECT YOUR PASSPORT
aged
The U.S. requires that all dam
passports, including ones with
ced.
simple water damage, be repla
your self the time and frust ra-
Save
or
tion of going to the U.S. embassy
Use a
consulate in a foreign country.
rproof
plastic zip-top bag or a wate
to prot ect your pass-
docu men t case
port and othe r pape rs.
before sucking the entire landscape back
into grayness and, finally, dusk.
Páramos are unique places—the biome
exists only in the eastern Andes, and
Colombia has more of them than any other
country. Páramo de Ocetá is considered by
Colombians to be the most beautiful, with
sweeping views, craggy ridges, rushing
creeks, and endless stands of frailejónes.
The plant, a member of the sunf lower
family, grows—an inch per year—only
in the páramo and looks like a palm tree
trunk topped with a crown of silver-green
swords. There are thousands of them,
appearing out of the mist like figures
standing watch.
The weather finally breaks on our last
full day revealing a a vast sweep of land
with the ice-topped Cordillera Oriental
(Eastern Mountains) in the distance. We
camp beside a waterfall and walk a high
loop around the ridges to the Ciudad de
Piedras—City of Rocks. Blocky canyon
walls reach 60 feet overhead in a slot no
wider than 30 feet. The effect resembles
a building-lined street that terminates in
an endless view.
The descent to Monguí, a colonial town
established in 1601, takes us past barbed
wire fences that keep the cows from
grazing the páramo. We pass a mono-
lith called Caja del Rey (The King’s Box),
where the chief, Sanoha, hid his treasure
and guarded it with magic.
Above, we watch the mist close back in,
engulfing the mountains in mystery once
again. But we now know what Páramo
de Ocetá holds: legends and la ndscapes
ready for the wider world. Q
TRIP PLANNER
GETTING THERE Fly to Bogotá. Hire a shuttle
to Las Cintas to replicate this route, or bus to
Monguí and hike a DIY loop. SEASON Dry
months are December, January, July, and
August. GUIDE $480 for a 5-day trek for up
to five people, BYO supplies; pure-colombia.
com TOTAL COST $1,050 (flight from Miami,
ground transportation, lodging, and guides)
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 67
 JANUARY 2018
BACKPACKER

TO
CANADA
THE CHALLENGE

Rise to
the Occasion through the
On a four-day traverse
ted Co ast Mountains,
spect acula rly gla cia
and embraces—
our small tea m lea rns—
oming adversit y.
the four steps of overc
PAG E
BY
MAREN HORJUS 68

Keith Reid Dennis Lewon Casey Lyons Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan Scott Yorko Maren Horjus
Lead Guide Editor-in-Chief Deputy Editor Rocky Mountain Field Editor Gear Editor Destinations Editor
 Ascending toward
Overlord Mountain
on day two of the
Spearhead Traverse

T
RIPS THAT GO DOWN just as you planned are
fine. You landed your permit, you didn’t get lost, the
campsite was just as advertised, the weather was
great—good for you. But those aren’t the trips you
talk about for months, years, even decades after the
fact. No, the trips that burn into your memory are the other
kind—the ones that don’t go quite as expected.
For the crew here at BACKPACKER, our most recent,
um, memorable trip was the Spearhead Traverse in British
Columbia. Because in that land of high passes, bright-blue
glaciers, and campsites on mountain thrones, we found
a route that conspired against us. This isn’t to say our trip
went poorly, necessarily, but it became a crucible of sorts.
We had to bail—or rally.
We weren’t the first hikers to come to that decision point,
and we won’t be the last. But when the conditions suck, your
gear fails, and maybe you find yourself just a little bit under-
prepared, you have to make the call. Here’s the story of our
unraveling and how our choice to push on rewarded us with
the experience of a lifetime—and why anyone looking for
real adventure should do the same.

I. INITIAL STOKE
The Spearhead Traverse could be considered the Pacific
Northwest’s Haute Route: In some 15 miles, it connects Whis-
tler Mountain to Blackcomb Peak by way of 13 glaciers and 14
mountain passes as it winds through the Fitzsimmons and
Spearhead Ranges. The the uber-fit complete the horse-
shoe-shaped circuit in less than four hours—so we assumed
four days was generous for our ragtag team of 11, even with
50-pound loads of winter-camping gear.

Scott Yorko [Gear Editor] It was my job to plan a legitimate

winter trip in May. So I thought, “Snow in May? Fun terrain?
Let’s find some glaciers.”
Dennis Lewon [Editor-in-Chief] We did our homework and
nothing raised an alarm. Since the Spearhead is a ridge
traverse that you can access from a chairlift in Whistler,
it looked like we’d be skinning along a mellow spine with
endless views. Where’s the risk in that?
Casey Lyons [Deputy Editor] When you search for the
PHOTOS BY (ABOVE) CONNY AMELUNXEN; HAGE PHOTO

Spearhead on YouTube, you get a slew of videos of people

shredding low-angle powder to techno music. It looks like
any skier’s life-list camping trip.
Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan [Rocky Mountain Field Editor]
I distinctly remember saying, “I don’t think I’m good enough
for this trip.” I love winter camping and I love Nordic skiing,
but I’ve barely done any backcountry skiing. But Scott
assured me I’d be OK. He said, “As long as you’re an interme-
diate skier, you’ll be fine. You can opt out of any of the scary
terrain. All of the vertical stuff will be optional.”
Keith Reid [Lead Guide] That’s all usually true. But it had
rained in the two days leading up to our tour, so the snow
was super-saturated—and the forecast called for bluebird.
We were in for ice and everything that comes with huge
melts, like avalanches, rockfall, and hidden crevasses.
I knew we’d need to ramp up our intensity.
 II. THE HARD TRUTH
When our team arrived in Whistler, we quickly
learned that we were unprepared for the new
conditions of the trip. Keith stressed that the
traverse would still be possible, but that we’d
have to “use the terrain” to make it around. So
much for skiing low-angle powder.
CL When Keith set out a tub of loaner ice
axes and crampons, Scott looked just as
surprised as everyone else.
SY But what are you going to do? We were
already there and the guides said it was
doable. So we may not have had perfect
conditions, but we weren’t going to bail.
EK “I’ll take some of these and some of
those—hope someone can teach me how to
use them!”
CL When the vans dropped us off on day
one, it was already raining. One by one, all of
us lost purchase on our skins, and our skins
lost purchase on our skis.
DL It was supposed to be the easy day—
only 4 miles after the resort boundary—but
it took us half a day just to posthole to the
ridge that we could tour across. I thought we
might not make it to our first camp.
EK Postholing is already exhausting. More
so when your skis are on your pack, you’ve
got a day-one load of food and fuel, and
it’s raining. It was exhausting. We got to
the hut around twilight and everyone was
pretty quiet.
DL But it was beautiful the next morning.
Blue skies, crisp air, total mountain glory.
Everyone was pretty quick to forget day
one’s slog. Keith told us we had a 5-mile
“glide” to our next camp.
CL —but that we should wear our harnesses
“just in case.”
70 01.2018
SY —and that we should keep our boot
and ski crampons at the tops of our packs
changing temperatures, and we were
just gassed.
because we’d be “using the terrain.”
DL We considered—if only briefly—aban-
CL “Use the terrain” became the verbal cue doning the route. But the conversation
that indicated that the terrain was about didn’t go further. Keith was convinced we
to use us instead. It meant we were in for a could do it safely if we made a concession:
transition: “packs down, ski crampons on,” fewer pictures, more speed.
“packs down, skis on packs,” “packs down,
KR It was the commitment point. After that,
crampons on boots.” We changed more
there was no calling in the cavalry. We were
than Beyoncé at the Super Bowl.
going to do this.
KR The day’s route involved climbing to the
spine of the 8,000-foot Fitzsimmons Range
and crossing three glaciers en route to Mt. III. BUCKING UP
Iago. But it’s a ridge traverse, so you’re con-
There are many ways to come to terms with
stantly changing aspects. In late spring,
your new reality, but our team, right then—
that means a lot of gear changes to stay
on Overlord Mountain, among the pinnacled
safe—and that virtually doubles your energy
skyline of the Coast Mountains—decided
output.
we were in it together. As long as the group
SY There would be no “gliding” to camp. dynamic stays strong, you can laugh your way
through anything.
KR At one point, I had everyone transition
from boot crampons to skis and I pointed
CL We hiked away from Overlord as a new
out the line I wanted us to take into the flats:
team. Next up? Lashing our skis to our
“Stay high above the crevasses, try not to
packs and booting across a snowfield with a
fall, and we go one by one.”
2,000-foot runout. I had a hard time staying
EK It was not a “coast.” It was a sustained, in the track I was laughing so hard.
one-legged squat on powder skis that I had
SY We reached the top of a slope that Keith
never used before. I fell every 10 seconds.
said would have the best corn skiing on the
KR There was no way to judge skier ability traverse, and—wouldn’t you know?—it was
in the wet conditions we had on day one go-over-the-handlebars slush.
because everyone had to move so miserably
KR We missed it by five minutes.
slow. But after this descent, it became clear
that Elisabeth couldn’t traverse. SY After, we had one more climb to get to
our campsite and it was a monster of an
CL Now, we were touring leisurely, letting
ascent. But since it was south-facing, it
the photographers angle for shots. Mean-
had been baking all day. Keith told us to
while, the day was warming up and Keith
wait while he went up to check it out. We
told us—with some urgency—that we had to
looked up when we heard a rumbling from
pick up the pace.
above. He had intentionally set off a huge,
EK We clipped in and busted ass to climb to wet slab.
a saddle below Overlord Mountain as rocks
EK When we started to climb the thing, Keith
were crashing down on either side from the
advised us to “be careful” at the edge of the

slide “in case the rest goes.” Okey dokey,
whatever you say!
CL Toward the top, there was a snowy knife
edge that we had to kick-turn on top of.
On the other side, it dropped 2,000 feet
back down to our lunch spot. On my turn,
I started sliding backward until one ski was
hanging over the abyss of death. Did I hear
someone giggling?
SY Now when I think about it, I feel like we
probably should have helped him.
CL But the skin held! After, I asked Keith if
that was the crux of the route. “Maybe one
of them,” he said.
EK All we had to do after that was “just glide
to camp,” which meant scramble up rockfall
in ski boots and shimmy across a via ferrata.
KR A gentle glide.
As soon as we topped out, we immediately
forgot everything that came before. The
campsite was one in a million: Positioned on
the 7,922-foot shoulder of Mt. Iago, it backed
up against a rampart of rocky turrets and fell
off abruptly to a sea of 7,000-foot peaks.
Time to dig out a kitchen and laugh about the
PHOTOS BY CONNY AMELUNXEN (2); HAGE PHOTO (3)
day’s challenges.
KR Day three, we awoke to titanium-hard
surfaces. If you went for a slide, in those
conditions, you’d go for a really long ride.
EK On group trips, there’s usually this
element of proving yourself to everyone
else—but I was totally beyond that. I was
just trying to survive. So I declared that,
from that point on, I was going to crampon
down anything that looked remotely steep.
SY We skied down Tremor Glacier that after-
noon—the best turns on the whole trip—and
set out a picnic, thinking we’d be there a long
time waiting for Elisabeth.
From left: The sun dips behind Trorey Mountain at our campsite on night three;
the fixed rope into camp on day two; tent city on the shoulder of Mt. Iago on night
two; toproping up couloirs is not what the author had in mind before this trip;
dropping into camp below Mt. Pattison on day three.
CL Then 15 minutes later, Elisabeth came
stomping around the corner in total beast
mode. I’d never seen anything like it.
KR I looked up and thought, Wow, there’s
somebody who can dig deep. She was also
probably living in fear that we were going to
ditch her.
EK It crossed my mind.
SY Elisabeth caught up to us and we
climbed the eighth “last saddle” of the day
and peered over the lip to a perfect camp
on a bench below 8,100-foot Mt. Pattison—
and the only way to get there was to drop
into a couloir. I’ll “use the terrain” to send a
couloir to my campsite any day.
We were sunburnt, blistered, and sore, but,
by that point, no one on our team was too
banged up to enjoy the sun setting behind
Trorey Mountain. The ridge stretched out in
the distance, and the warm light made the
snow and ice look soft and inviting, like you
really could just glide around the whole thing.
IV. ENJOYING THE SPOILS
When we set out to finish the Spearhead
Traverse on day four, no one regretted that
we didn’t bail. The final piece of the route
carries you across the Spearhead Range with
clear views across the valley to the terrain
you’ve already skied. From a distance, the
peaks and passes and ridges look impossi-
bly steep, and there’s no shame in enjoying a
moment of extreme satisfaction.
CL Midafternoon, Keith pointed out a saddle
in the near distance and said it was our final
high point. We just had to “glide into Black-
comb.” Someone asked if it was
a “Canadian glide” or a “regular glide.”
KR I just learned that those are different.
SY We cruised into Blackcomb with huge
packs, all smiles. The spring resort skiers
gawked at our loads and equipment, like we
were coming back from war.
DL We did the Spearhead on the very, very
outside edge of when it’s doable.
KR Go a month earlier, and you’ll go ski-
touring. Go when we did, and there’s a good
chance you’ll go ski-mountaineering.
EK If I had known what it would be like, I 100
percent would never have done it. But, having
survived, I look back on the Spearhead with
pride. The traverse is phenomenally beauti-
ful, but that’s not its only reward. Rising to a
challenge like this transcends scenery, and
I’m glad I got a chance to find out. Q
Destinations Editor Maren Horjus barely
remembers how bad her second-degree
sunburn was when she thinks about the
Spearhead Traverse.
TRIP PLANNER
ROUTE The Spearhead Traverse varies in
length depending on where you start and, yes,
the conditions. Plan to do the 15- to 25-miler
in four days. (If you hire a guide, you don’t
need to be a great skier, but you should be
comfortable sidehilling.) Currently, there is a
hut near Russet Lake in Garibaldi Provincial
Park (roughly 4 miles outside Whistler). Two
more huts are planned for winter 2018-19, so
wait a year if you want to stay in basic shelters
and carry a lighter pack. SEASON March and
April for safer snowpack GUIDE Extremely
Canadian (extremelycanadian.com) offers
guided trips starting at $2,500/group. Ask for
Keith, of course. INFO extremelycanadian.com
TOTAL COST $3,000 (ground transportation,
lodging, and guide)
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 71
 BACKPACKER JANUARY 2018
SC OT LA ND
TO
THE TRIBUTE
The Other
John Muir Trail
Hike the wild terrain that shaped
s.
America’s patron saint of wildernes
PAGE
BY JEREMY KEITH
SPENCER
’D BEEN HIKING across Scotland
I for days, and yet long after my ears
should’ve acclimated, I could barely
make out a word of what most people
were saying to me. We shared a lan-
guage, apparently, but I’d stopped asking
the jolly fellows I was enjoying a pint with in
a pub in Helensburgh, on the west coast, to
repeat themselves. Now I just laughed and
smiled back in a fog of patois.
This strategy was problematic. The fairly
comprehensible bartender revealed that
the short, stocky man to my left—the
long-lost twin brother of AC/DC’s Brian
Johnson, complete with black leather
vest—had not been relating something
funny but had in fact been bemoaning the
recent, tragic death of a family member.
I was mortified.
It was that damned brogue. Even grim
tidings seemed to come across as light-
hearted and musical. I turned to Brian
Johnson’s brother—his head cocked, his
expression pure enigma—to apologize and
request forgiveness.
“Just kidding!” cried the barkeep, and the
place exploded with laughter. I collapsed
on the bar as half a dozen hands swatted
my back and another black pint appeared
before me. There was no shortage of offers
to buy a drink for the American who just
finished hiking across their country.
“Good thing I’m thirsty,” I said. A half
dozen voices shouted approval.
“So if Helensburgh’s the end, where’d you
begin?” asked the bartender.
“Well,” I said, “I came from Dunbar,
along the John Muir Way.”
72
“John Muir, you say?”
F
“Yep.”
“Oo’s he again?”
OR AMERICAN HIKERS like me,
that name isn’t just known; it’s revered.
But though he founded the Sierra Club,
drove protection of Yosemite National Park
and other western preserves, and wrote
books that ensured his place as an icon of
wilderness, Muir is pretty much a nobody in
his native Scotland.
The minds behind the John Muir Way
think that’s about to change. The 134-mile
route, established in 2014, was designed
to honor Scotland’s nature-besotted son
by introducing Scots to his legacy and con-
necting them with their wild heritage.
Luckily, Scots love to hike: “Hill walking,”
especially on the country’s 282 Munros
(peaks over 3,000 feet), is a national
pastime. The JMW also gives Muir fans
the world over a chance to see the natural
and historic landscapes that shaped their
wilderness hero, as they hike both the
Lowlands and the Highlands, enjoying the
pleasures of both town and country.
By Muir’s own account, his childhood
ramblings here planted the seeds of his and seaweeds, eels and crabs in the pools
tireless defense of the natural world. among the rocks when the tide was low;
He was born in Dunbar, on the east coast and best of all to watch the waves in awful
of Scotland, and explored obsessively as a storms thundering on the black headlands
kid. In The Story of My Boyhood and Youth, and craggy ruins of the old Dunbar Castle
Muir wrote, “With red-blooded playmates, when the sea and the sky, the waves and the
wild as myself, I loved to wander in the clouds, were mingled together as one.”
fields to hear the birds sing, and along the I started my own journey after a visit to
seashore to gaze and wonder at the shells Muir’s childhood home, a three-story house

that’s now a museum. Despite the prevail-
ing headwinds (trail guides recommend
going east), I would follow the route west-
ward. That’s the direction 11-year-old Muir
traveled with his family in 1849, crossing
Scotland to board a U.S.-bound ship at the
Atlantic port of Helensburgh. Tracing this
journey, the JMW traverses the narrow
“belt” of the country, an ancient strategic
line of division that hosts more blood and
ghosts than anywhere else in the land.
I set off on a fine spring day, breathing
in the salt air, listening to the cries of gulls.
Leaving Dunbar, I skirted the River Tyne’s
estuary, which was alive with waterfowl.
Climbing gently through farmland, across
fields patrolled by swallows, I literally
PHOTOS BY (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) RYAN BONNEAU; SCOTT PRYDE;
stopped to smell the flowers. White wood
Travel Smart
WWW.MACLEANPHOTOGRAPHIC.CO.UK; JASON PETERS
BEAT JET LAG
clock
1) Before takeoff, switch the
on your phone and watch to your
ll
destination’s time. This sma
adjust
change will help you mentally
to the new time zone.
2) Sleep on the plane so you
don’t
e over tired . Try mela tonin
arriv
which helps with sleep and time
zone adjustment.
upon
3) No matter how tired you are
al, avoi d slee ping durin g the
arriv
morning or afternoon local time
Explore your surroundings and
to bed in the evening.
Clockwise from left: The John Muir Way hugs
the coast near Dunbar; the 16th-century
Saltcoats Castle; a bridge over the River
Tyne, on the hike’s first day heading west
from Dunbar; the path goes through a
livestock gate in Darleith Muir (Muir means
moor), on the route’s western end.
anemones and bluebells thronged among
the roots of alder and ash.
I had just seven days to hike the JMW.
That might’ve been generous for Muir, who
routinely knocked off thru-hiker-worthy
miles and eschewed tents and even bedrolls
in favor of snoozing animal-style. But as
much as I admire the man, I’m no wilder-
ness monk. The JMW passes by plenty of
hotels and B&Bs and pubs. I didn’t plan to
eschew anything.
L
IKE OTHER LONG TRAILS in the
United Kingdom, the JMW crosses a
patchwork of park land, farmland, and
urban land. (The route even goes through
Edinburgh.) It also passes dozens of his-
toric sites. On the first day alone, I hiked
by three castles. In fact, the JMW is so
spangled with ancient castles, palaces, and
country houses that it seems almost too civ-
ilized at times.
Still, there are long stretches of wild
terrain that surely fired the young Muir’s
mind. When I wasn’t winding through
dense woods erupting with purple
splotches of Scottish thistle, I was topping
steep, weathered hills or climbing rolling
, moorland among braeberry bushes. Once
-
I spied a kestrel eviscerating a vole as buz-
zards sailed above. It brought to mind
something Muir wrote about his childhood
explorations here: “Nature saw to it that
.
besides school lessons and church lessons
go
some of her own lessons should be learned.”
When traversing the wilder parts of the
JMW, it’s easy to forget that humans have
been living, fighting, and dying here for
millennia. But there’s always a reminder
around the next bend. About mid-journey,
the path follows the remains of a structure
the Romans built to divide the country: the
37-mile, 1,900-year-old Antonine Wall.
Really more of a massive, fortified earth-
work, the barrier was built to keep Celtic
tribes in the north from raiding imperial
turf to the south.
On my final climb, passing through
classic Highlands heather and gorse,
I ascended the boggy, pine-forested steeps
of Gouk Hill to a commanding vantage
point. Below me lay vast Loch Lomond,
with Inchmurrin, the first of its 60 or so
islands, jutting from its heart. A dozen
miles to the north loomed 3,196-foot Ben
Lomond, the southernmost of Scotland’s
famous Munros.
It was both a high and low point for me.
The route was all downhill from here, but,
still, I was eager to reach the Atlantic. I
soon found myself in a tiny Helensburgh
pub near the end of the trail, pint in hand,
extolling the wonders of the John Muir
Way to a gaggle of Scots suddenly inspired
to go for a ramble themselves. Q
Jeremy Keith Spencer, a former senior editor
at Outside, is currently at work on a book
about the ocean for Chronicle.
TRIP PLANNER
GETTING THERE Both Helensburgh and
Dunbar are accessible by public transit from
Glasgow and Edinburgh. SEASON Spring
through fall GUIDEBOOK John Muir Way ($16;
rucsacs.com) CAMPING/LODGING Camping
is possible in some areas, but most hikers stay
in hotels and B&Bs. INFO johnmuirway.org
TOTAL COST $1,500 (round-trip airfare from
New York, transportation, lodging)
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 73
 JANUARY 2018
BACKPACKER

TO
THE PHILIPPINES
THE SURPRISE

vertical B
E CAREFUL FOR THIS ONE,” says Jonathan
Domondon as he delicately steps over a thorny branch

integration
fallen across the trail. “We call it lupa. If it touches your
skin, it will cause a severe rash, bad fever, and you’ll be
sick for days. Our forefathers blocked the trails with
lupa to stop the Japanese invasion in World War II.”
Jonathan—26 years old, wearing shorts and a T-shirt—
e sk y on a trek is our guide and a trained naturalist. He knows every plant
Farm land st acks to th along our path through the Cordillera Central on the northern
ce Terraces.
through the Ifugao Ri Philippine island of Luzon. This hollow-trunked fern is used
to channel water; that soft-leafed fern is boiled for medicinal
PAG E use. There are wild grapes, wild strawberries, wild onions.
BY MARK
JENKINS 74 But, in fact, we’ve come to this remote region for something
utterly unwild: a cultivated landscape.
After three hours of hiking through rainforest, we sud-
denly break out into sunshine at an overlook. It’s as though we
have passed through a portal and entered a world where the

horizontal has become vertical. Farmland
drops away at a dizzying angle, as if crops
have been turned on their sides. We stand
on the edge of the Ifugao Rice Terraces.
The 7,000-foot-high, steep-sided moun-
MINDEN PICTURES (LEFT); MARK JENKINS
tains fan out in every direction. They’re
PHOTOS BY JURGEN FREUND / NPL /
meticulously terraced and almost every
platform is brilliantly viridescent, a shim-
mering green I’ve seen only in dreams.
We’ve come in April, the end of the dry
season and the perfect month to experience
the verdant pageantry of rice cultivation.
The Ifugao Rice Terraces, hidden deep in
the Cordillera, are one of the most mag-
nificent feats of ancient engineering on the
planet. Each level is just 15 feet wide, and
20-foot-tall stone walls support layer upon
The region’s rice terraces were all
carved by hand. Right: Paddies are
flooded for months at a time.
layer of them that cascade down the slopes.
After a lifetime of backcountry navigation,
I feel like I’ve stepped into a life-size, 3D
illustration of contour lines.
F
OR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS, my wife
and I, led by Jonathan, hike village to
village, exploring the terraces on routes
long used by locals to tend the fields. Our
path snakes out into the green vastness,
the trail no more than 1 foot wide. It’s as if
we are walking atop the wall of a castle—
to the left is a 2-foot deep carpet of rice, to
the right a leg-breaking drop down to the
next paddy. Jonathan warns us to watch our
step—a European trekker died in a fall off
the trail earlier this season.
A barefooted, bent-backed woman plants
rice far below us. With her wide-brimmed,
fuchsia-colored sun hat, she looks like a
tiny flower amongst the descending cliffs.
“We have one crop a year,” Jonathan says,
“but it begins in a nursery plot and then
must be replanted by hand to a larger field
one month later.” Women do all the plant-
ing; men do the field leveling and wall
maintenance. “If you don’t keep the walls
clean, rats build nests between the stones
and eat the rice,” he says.
Deeper into the terraces, at least 500 feet
below us, we spot a water buffalo pulling a
wooden sled through the slick mud.
A small boy in blue pants stands on the sled
directing the animal.
“Buffalo can only be used to plow the
lower fields, just above the river,” Jonathan
explains. “Up here,” he motions to the
narrow fields above and below us, “planting
and plowing are done by hand.” The sowing
is staggered so that every eight years each
paddy can lie fallow long enough for the soil
to recover its nutrients.
We reach the thatch-roofed village of
Pula at dusk and spend the night in a tiny
hostel on stilts, cantilevered out over the
rice paddies. Roosters crow all night long,
gut-thin dogs bark, pigs squeal, babies cry.
The rice fields ripple in the moonlight.
T
YPICALLY, TREKKING IS associated
with hiking through remote moun-
tains. Part of the point, of course, is to
escape all signs of civilization. But our trek
through Ifugao is a very different kind of
experience. Rather than an immersive hike
through wilderness, this is a deep dive into
a timeless agrarian culture—an opportu-
nity to glimpse a different world view and
marvel at the ability of humans to physi-
cally transform their landscape, to survive.
Rice, the seed of the grass species Oryza
sativa, was domesticated almost 10,000
years ago in China. An extremely labor-
B AC K PAC K E R .CO M 75

intensive crop, rice requires rich soil and
enormous quantities of water. To raise
rice on the steep walls of the Cordillera,
Filipinos not only had to build tens of thou-
sands of terraces—by hand with wooden
shovels—but also create an intricate irriga-
tion system, diverting water from the rain-
forests above down through rock channels
and along mud canals.
The terraces were originally believed to
be 2,000 years old, but research by arche-
ologist Stephen Acabado, director of the
Ifugao Archeological Project, has proven
that they were built 300 to 400 years ago.
Acabado believes that the brutal coloniza-
tion of the Philippines by the Spanish in
the 1500s forced lowland rice farmers to
migrate into the mountains to escape per-
secution. With several millennia of rice-
growing experience, they remade the land
to suit their strengths. The Ifugao Rice
Terraces were declared a UNESCO World
Heritage site in 1995.
I
N THE MORNING, the villagers outside
our hostel boil red rice in a giant caldron
over an open fire. The men stir the gooey
liquid with wooden paddles until the water
boils off and the rice is a giant sticky lump.
Women in purple sarongs then spread the
steaming rice into 4-square-foot baskets.
One of the women turns to me with a
spatula and offers a taste. The rice burns
my tongue and the children laugh. “This is
red rice,” she explains, “it’s not for eating.
Travel Smart
SAVE MONEY ON HOTELS
Do backpackers really need an
expensive room when they just
-trip?
really want a hot shower post
rld.c om feat ures 35,0 00
Hostelwo
hostels globally, while couchsur
fing.
ing
com connects you to locals look
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to host visit ors
h can
locals and other travelers, whic
lead to new adventures.
76 01.2018
Clockwise from left: balance
required; boiling red rice;
Jonathan Domondon
on one of the trek’s many
suspension bridges.
Red rice and sticky rice are for making rice
wine.” Then she takes my hand and guides
me under a thatched porch to a basket of
white rice. “White rice is for eating,” she
says, and offers me a handful.
We hike through the terraces the entire
day, passing along one slippery rib of mud
to the next. We cross footbridges suspended
over coursing rivers, and gain or lose hun-
dreds of feet on steep, narrow steps. There
are no roads here; everyone walks.
That night we stop in Cambulo, where
all the village houses have pointed tin roofs
and pink and blue walls. For dinner, we
eat the mountain staple: white rice with
bony chicken stew. With a group of French
trekkers, we drink rice wine—which oddly
doesn’t seem to affect the brain but com-
pletely melts my muscles.
The following morning, we drop thou-
sands of feet down mud steps to Tappiyah
Falls. Concealed in a notch where two
mountains meet, the gushing cascade drops
230 feet into a green pool. Kids and mothers
hang out beneath the falls, enjoying a respite
from the 90°F heat. It’s a picnic-like scene:
One woman sells sodas and another prof-
fers bowls of rice with vegetables. Teenagers
in tight jeans and black T-shirts hang out,
texting on their phones.
It occurs to me that almost every rice
farmer I’ve seen in the fields is elderly.
“Young people don’t want this life of
backbreaking work,” Jonathan explains.
“They want to move to Manila. They want
to design computer games and buy cars.”
Even he has no interest in farming rice.
“Rice laborers make $10 a day,” he says.
“It’s very hard work. I did it for many years.
Sometimes you have to carry 50-kilogram
bags of rice all the way up to the highway.
Now I carry a little backpack and you pay
me $25 a day.” He grins widely, “Plus tip!”
This loss of a labor force landed the Ifugao
Rice Terraces on the list of endangered
World Heritage sites in 2001. But then came
adventure tourism. In the past decade,
trekkers have helped revitalize the region,
and it has been removed from UNESCO’s
endangered roster. The hostels we stay in
are still owned by rice farmers, but some of
them now make enough money to pay others
to work their paddies.
I’ve spent a lifetime experiencing the
world’s natural wonders, from the summit of
Everest to the icefalls of Alaska. We all need
wilderness, but there’s something delight-
ful and enlightening about hiking through
another culture. You’re not simply on a
journey of self-discovery (as backpacking is
often portrayed); instead, you’re learning
about others. How they live. How they eat.
How they work and worship and celebrate.
As intolerance grows at home and abroad, is
there anything more important? Q
Mark Jenkins is the writer-in-residence at the
University of Wyoming.
TRIP PLANNER
GETTING THERE From the Ohayami station
PHOTOS BY MARK JENKINS
in Sampaloc, Manila, take an overnight bus to
Banaue. GUIDE Guides ($25/day) can be found
in any of the hostels, or book in advance at
unchartedphilippines.com. GEAR Pack a light
sleeping bag. LODGING Plan about $25/day per
person for hostel and food. INFO banaue.info
TOTAL COST $900 (round-trip airfare from
L.A., transportation, guide, lodging, meals)
 GEAR
MARKETPLACE
YOUR GUIDE FOR OUTDOOR GEAR
Contact Jenny Hall
jhall@aimmedia.com

CHAIR
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 uncovered

W
Hike to this month’s cover shot.

N
E
Forest Giants
Hokitika Gorge hosts some
of New Zealand’s tallest tree
species, including rimu, a
conifer with long, drooping
strands of needles, and
kahikatea, which is the

Hokitika country’s tallest variety at

almost 200 feet.

Gorge Walk
South Island,
New Zealand
See turquoise water and super-size
trees on a short hike with big payoffs. Get here
At .8 mile, the hike is short,
but don’t underestimate
how much time you’ll want
to spend in the gorge. From
the trailhead on Whitcombe
Valley Road, hike through
mixed trees to a platform
overlooking the gorge and
nearby farmland. Continue
across a bridge to a final
viewing perch. Adventurous
hikers can explore the river’s
rocky bank for a few hundred
yards more (pictured;
LENGTH access it through the gate
OF GORGE
on the right). Return the
4 MILES WIDTH way you came.
UP TO 100 FEET
Extend your trip
Now that you’re warmed up,
drive 30 minutes northwest
to the Styx River region,
where a linkup of the Arahura
and Styx Valley Tracks offers
a two- to four-day adventure.
The 22-mile route passes
through misty forests and
glacier-carved ravines. Be
on the lookout for whio (blue
duck) near the Styx River,
and yellow-and-black-
spotted tussock butterflies
in the grasslands. Tent not
Coloration
required: Stay at the four
The river’s bright color
huts along the route (first-
is from “rock flour”—
come, first-serve, but tickets
glacially-eroded schist and
required; get them at bit.do/
sandstone—suspended in
PHOTO BY TIFFANY NGUYEN

huttix for NZ$5/person).

the water.

DO IT
TRAILHEAD -42.955893,
171.016036 SEASON
Year-round PERMIT None
CONTACT bit.do/
hokitikagorge

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80 B AC K PAC K E R .CO M
 A CRY FOR HELP IS A SIGN OF WEAKNESS.
AWELL,TEXT FOR HELP
THAT’S JUST SMART TECHNOLOGY.

INREACH®