This gear program presents reviews of three-season sleeping bags. Three-season bags are those that you would typically use in spring, summer, or fall. Edward Ripley-Duggan reviews the Valandre Mirage. Kevin Hollingsworth reviews the Montbell UL Alpine Burrow Bag. Andrew Buskov reviews the Big Agnes Lost Ranger. If you’re interested in reviewing for Backpack Gear Test (BGT), read: How to become a tester. Manufacturers provide more gear than the volunteers at BGT can keep up with. By becoming a tester, you can help your fellow wilderness travelers find out what gear will work for them. Show number 115 [MP3 format; length 9:58; 2,397,276 bytes] Show number 115 script JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.

Reprise: Sierra Backcountry Ski Trails
This skills program is an interview with Marcus Libkind. This is a reprise of our program number 21 of December 1, 2005. Marcus wrote the most comprehensive and widely used trail guides for backcountry ski tours in the Sierra Nevada: Ski Tours in the Sierra Nevada, Volume 1: Lake Tahoe Ski Tours in the Sierra Nevada, Volume 2: Carson Pass, Bear Valley, Pinecrest Ski Tours in the Sierra Nevada, Volume 3: Yosemite, huntington and Shaver Lakes, Kings Canyon, Sequoia Ski Tours in the Sierra Nevada, Volume 4: East of the Sierra Crest Ski Tours in Lassen Volcanic National Park Marcus has moved these guides online to his Ski Tours in the Sierra Nevada web site. He will add tours to this site one by one as soon as they are field checked for updates. The whole site is about your participation—he invites you to explore his routes and then submit updated information about the ski tours from his books. Also, you can suggest new tour routes for this online guide. If you want to get started exploring the backcountry on skis, Marcus recommends getting lessons and practice at groomed-track cross-country ski resorts first. The Cross Country Ski Areas Association has a directory of cross country ski trail systems. One good beginner’s guide to winter backcountry skills is Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book. Show number 121 [MP3 format; length 9:51; 2,366,049 bytes] Show number 121, extended version [MP3 format; length 10:34; 5,076,623 bytes] Show number 121 script JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.

Getting Around GPS
This skills program discusses things you need to know before relying on a portable GPS receiver. Finding your way there and finding your way home is not always so easy in the wilderness. Steve talks with author Stephen Hinch who wrote the book, outdoor Navigation with GPS. Stephen is a high-tech executive with technical knowledge of the GPS system and a love of wilderness travel. A GPS receiver can make navigaton easier, but what do you need to know to use it, and what do you need to know when it’s not making it easier? What should you look for if you’re shopping for one? What’s the easiest way to use one in order to keep from getting lost? Stephen also mentions orienteering as a great way to learn navigation skills to use when you can’t use GPS. Through the U.S. Orienteering Federation, you can find a local club that can teach you more traditional navigation skills. Show number 124 [MP3 format; length 9:59; 2,398,734 bytes] Show number 124, extended version [MP3 format; length 12:11; 5,855,052 bytes] Show number 124 script JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.

Scared Indoors, part 2
This wild places program is part 2 of an exploration of how mass media might be affecting people’s interest in getting into the wilderness. (Part 1 is here.) They came, they saw, they almost bought it; are these the kind of stories that inspire you to get into the wilderness? Do they represent the normal experience of a wilderness visitor? Steve answers this question with the help of: Fitz Cahall, creator and producer of the podcast, the Dirtbag Diaries. Tom Mangan, a newspaper editor, and hiking blogger. Scott Graham, author of the book Extreme Kids. (Scott also appeared in the WildeBeat editions 46 and 47.) Emily White, marketing and publicity specialist for Wilderness Press. Andrew Skurka, noted long-distance hiker, the first to hike the 6,875 mile Great Western Loop. Ryan Jordan, founder and publisher of Backpacking Light Magazine, and participant in the Arctic 1,000 Expedition. Our thanks to Fitz Cahall for supplying the recording of his interview, and for permission to use an excerpt from his show, No Big Deal. Show number 126 [MP3 format; length 9:57; 2,391,424 bytes] Combined show numbers 126 & 127 [MP3 format; length 18:17; 8,777,628 bytes] Show number 127 script Show number 126 & 127 combined script JOIN NOW — Help us help more folks to appreciate our wild public lands.

hiking Alone
With a little bit of common sense and some basic safety tips, hiking alone doesn’t have to be high-risk.

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 3:36 am and is filed under Camping News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.