Part 3 in a series on avoiding, preventing, and treating poison ivy rash. FACT: Scratching a poison ivy rash WILL NOT cause it to spread. Busting the Myth: Poison ivy rashes often seem to spread…
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AMC’s First Youth Climate Summit
On April 10th, more than 120 high school students from across northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine gathered at the Highland Center for the Appalachian Mountain Club’s inaugural Youth Climate Summit. The event included a...
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Part 1 in a series on avoiding, preventing, and treating poison ivy rash. An estimated 70 to 90 percent of people are allergic to urushiol oil, the culprit that causes the maddening rash when your…
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Ever hear that an extra pound on your feet is equivalent to 5 pounds on your back? Whether or not that oft-quoted piece of backcountry wisdom is exactly right, one thing is definitely true: Hiking…
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Short answer: A lot. Long answer: It depends on a multitude of factors, including body weight, pack weight, elevation gain/loss, terrain, and more. Here’s a quick round-up of a few online estimates (and guesstimates), plus…
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Here’s the video, which should help clarify things: I wouldn’t have bruised and blackened my toenails last week if I had taken the time to employ one of my favorite hiking boot lacing techniques: the…
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Any survival kit should have the tools to start an emergency fire. A firestarter (waterproof matches, flint, etc.) is the crucial item, but a close second is quick-to-light emergency tinder to get the fire going,…
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Gore-Tex hiking boots are supposed to be waterproof, right? Well, they are—except when they’re not. My standard hiking footwear is a pair of Vasque Sundowner Classics, which include a Gore-Tex liner. I’ve worn them in…
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How much weight will a tent add to your pack? It depends. Manufacturers list two weights for tents, trail weight and packed weight. Neither is truly accurate. Packed weight refers to how much the entire…
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Snow stakes are designed to anchor a tent in compacted snow. They aren’t absolutely necessary to pitch a winter tent—you can also create anchors by using buried objects in the snow, or “deadmen”—but they are…
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