I walk the land and try to pay attention. I follow old paths and new. Human paths, animal paths, and paths bound histories I don’t understand. I share these experiences in writing, visual art, and other mediums. In my writing and music I consider other-than-human viewpoints. I look for various methods of asserting that land is not merely soil, but rather a symbiosis of interdependent parts resulting in the gestalt we call the ecosystem. I also write backpacking-related essays including gear reviews.
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Latest Articles:
The Cliffrose 55L Backpack is an ultralight, comfort-focused, rugged, and versatile load-hauler that 90% of backpackers could choose for 90% of their trips.
Some people begin packrafting because they’re looking for new ways to connect landscapes. Others begin packrafting because they’re sick of schlepping their 50lb kayak around. I’m in the former camp—an ultralight backpacker-turned-packrafter with extreme ultralight biases. When I wrote a packrafting gear list about 4 years ago, I didn’t realize how strong these biases were and how much they limited my packrafting abilities and comfort. At the time I hadn’t paddled much more than the ephemeral streams in Utah’s canyon country, so my experience was somewhat limited. That list still feels applicable to a certain kind of boating, but it has its limitations. Now, I think a different gear list is needed.
This complete packrafting gear guide is written for most people in most packrafting scenarios—I hope it will help you choose a packraft, a paddle, safety gear, and all the packraft-compatible backpacking gear you need for multi-day expeditions.