Bill Walker, author of the Skywalker hiking series, will be having a special free upload of Skywalker–Close Encounters on the Appalachian Trail and Skywalker–Highs and Lows on the Pacific Crest Trail on Amazon Kindle and other electronic devices this Saturday, December...

“It’s all about acclimatization,” trekker after trekker advised me in the run-up to my trek on the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. Indeed, they were correct. The Annapurna Circuit reaches 17,768 feet at Thorung La Pass. Except for the summit day, in which trekkers begin their ascent at 4 a.m. at 15,600 feet and climb almost 3,200 feet by early morning (to avoid the harsh late morning winds), the trek is not particularly difficult....

If you had asked me in the desert what my most important piece of equipment in my backpack was, I would have told you the dorky, wide-brimmed hat I wore to protect myself from the blazing sun and stave off dehydration. However, way up in the ‘High Sierra’ portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), I would have had a surprising answer–a piece of equipment that did not weigh even one ounce and cost less than $20. My mosquito head...

“Why do you want to try to do that?” friends asked in a mixture of curiousity and concern. “Well I read Bill Bryson’s book, A Walk in the Woods. It sounded like there were all kinds of people out there trying to hike the whole thing.” “Yeah, I read that. But he and his friend didn’t make it, did they.” “No, but I can try can’t I.” This was the type conversation I repeatedly had...

In this day and age of mass consumerism, the Christmas shopper is to be pitied. She (he) faces a staggering variety of choices. With that in mind, let me quickly make the case for purchasing hiking narratives. Hiking is something you do because you want to, not because you have to. The same goes for hiking books. They’re not like food, medical services, etc. in the sense they are obligatory. I have always thought of hiking–especially...

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Books/General/Getting%20High%20The%20Annapurna%20Circuit/Owner%20Review%20by%20Kathleen%20Waters/ Thank you www.backpackgeartest.org for your glowing review of, ‘Getting High–The Annapurna Circuit in Nepal’. This is the most popular footpath in Asia, and for good reason. This trail’s genius lies in allowing an average person–such as myself–to get to very high elevations...