This past weekend I got to experience testing out my first ever front pack. The pack that I was able to test was a RIBZ Front Pack. Before I get into the review let me take a brief moment to explain what a front pack is.

A front pack is a bag or pack that allows for easy access to important equipment from the persons waist or chest. These have become very popular in Europe however they are quite new to the outdoors in America. The front pack not only provides ease of access to your essential  gear but it also provides a counter weight if worn with a backpack.

The RIBZ Front Pack uses a unique harness system to allow for the weight distribution allowing the pack to be comfortable as a stand alone or used in addition to any backpack. It also allows for the weight in the RIBZ Front Pack to be distributed comfortably and even.  One thing about the RIBZ Front Pack  is that the harness system can not be removed to be used with a backpack. (more…)

Give people enough time and they will surprise you. 

In my last post I talked about community. Today I want to talk about people.  There are always people who will rub you the wrong way and then there are others who you will more naturally gravitate towards.  On the AT you can always hike on your own and you can choose to camp on your own but if you camp near or in the shelters you are stuck with those people for the night. Being stuck with some people is not always a bad thing. (more…)

Otter and Boar Cabin Crews

Living in the city and working in corporate America many people tend to loose sight of the amazing feeling of community. This is not always their fault it can be caused by many factors of life.

Leaving it all behind and hitting the trail  for a few days, weeks or even months can restore that connection to community. What is community? Community happens when people connect or come together for a common purpose. You live in a community, your social networks are a community, and the trail is a community. (more…)

I have mentioned to a number of people that the AT is the Disney World of hiking trail. This statement can be seen as both positive and negative. Before you go off and think I am crazy let me explain first.

Every year is the “biggest year” in terms of the number of people who are hiking the Appalachian Trail (AT) whether it be thru-hikers, section hikers, weekend hikers, youth groups, scout groups, or spring breakers. The numbers are staggering at how much of an increase they have each year. To see some of the past totals and the most up to date numbers of the AT they can be found at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Website. (more…)

For most of my experience in Georgia on the AT the nights were very cold as were the days. I found myself wearing my warm gear both during the day and at night. I did make a decision on one of the harder days to wear my merino t-shirt and my fleece jacket instead of my Columbia Omni-Heat Reflective shirt. This turned out to be an extremely important decision. After hiking six miles in this weird misty fog with the temp below freezing causing all the water that hit the trees or myself would instantly freeze.  However it was still wet enough to cause my pants and socks to become soaked after only after twenty minutes or so into my hike. I stopped at a shelter and evaluated things. I could have gone another five miles to the next shelter and risk it being full. I stayed put and quickly unrolled my sleeping pad and sleeping bag. I also changed out of my wet clothing and into my warm gear right away.  Inside the sleeping bag with my warm clothes I began to finally warm up. (more…)

People are fixated these days on the most effective means of toning up or getting into shape in general. While there are countless approaches to do this, including going to the gym, this might not be the best thing for you specifically. For example, there are several reasons why something like hiking is actually better than going to the gym regularly. This particular article will be focused on detailing some of the reasons why this might be a better option for you personally.

The Ups And Downs
Sure, treadmills and other equipment has incline and decline features. However, what they do not have is the possibility for intense incline or decline that nature does. When you are hiking along an actual trail, you are going to be going up and down at various points, around bends and other movement scenarios that simply cannot be replicated by modern machines. (more…)

Hike your own Hike will only ever mean what you want it to mean.

What does the phrase “Hike your own hike” actually mean? Well I believe it to mean whatever you need it to in those moments it is needed most.  There has been some talk in various podcasts and blogs lately that HYOH is the new YOLO of the outdoors. One of the comments made that I agree with  is that people use HYOH to get away with stuff that they might not normally get away with. A good example is Person 1:”Hey man your dog just pooped on the trail”  Person 2: ” Hike your own hike”… It reminds me of a couple of phrases I used to hear a lot a kid “To each their own” or “It is what it is”. Both of those phrases really do not mean anything other than person saying them had nothing better to say to explain the situation or respond back with. Sure you can argue that it they do mean something however your meaning of the phrase and mine could be considerably different. (more…)