Category: Trail Wisdom
What to Expect on Your First Backpacking Trip
Backpacking can seem daunting at first glance. Carrying everything you need into the wilderness for several days. Walking with a pack on your back. Sleeping in a sometimes uncomfortable place, surrounded by unfamiliar noises and with what feels like little protection from the elements. If it’s your first time backpacking, you probably have plenty…
What to Pack for a Backpacking Experience
Hiking and backpacking share many things in common. Walking. Nature. Solitude. Companionship. Stepping away. What makes backpacking different is carrying everything you need for multiple days. With hiking, the day dictates the length of the experience. With backpacking, the end of the day doesn’t end the experience. It opens to a new one. If…
Understanding Trail Difficulty
When it comes to planning a hike or backpacking trip, one of the most important things to factor in is trail difficulty. But what does that actually mean? Trail difficulty is subjective. A moderate trail for me may be a difficult trail for someone else. So when you see a trail marked as easy,…
How Much Water Do You Really Need for a Short Hike?
Everybody and Every Body Before we begin… everybody and every body is different. These are general guidelines that may work for many people, but they are not a substitute for knowing your own body and what you need before beginning any activity. With that said, there are a few factors that can change how…
What to Pack for a Half-Day Hike (Without Overthinking It)
Every hike is different. But there are a few common items you can pack for almost every half-day hike that will make your time on the trail much easier. Step one: Don’t overpack. Half-day hikes are easy to overpack for. Another liter of water doesn’t add too much weight. Adding extra snacks seems okay.…
5 Mistakes New Hikers Make
Hiking Is Easy You don’t need experience. You don’t need special gear. You don’t need multiple days off work or school. All you really need is a few hours, a good pair of shoes, and enough water for the hike you are taking. When you are first getting into hiking, you can read hundreds…
The Mountain Has Its Own Weather
Fall is creeping in. You can feel it some mornings before the calendar says it should be here. The air is a little cooler. The fog hangs a little differently. The forest feels like it is beginning to turn toward another season. But in East Tennessee, the transition between seasons is rarely clean. This…