Water is heavy, yet I meet a lot of hikers and runners on the trail who feel they must carry all of the water that they need with them. I did the same thing before I learned how to use a water filter. But once you understand how easy it is to make natural water sources safe to drink, you'll find that you can hike farther, faster, and deeper into the wilderness than ever before by tapping the water sources around you as you need them.

Why Filter
Water filters are necessary to remove microscopic protozoa and bacteria that live in rivers, streams, and lakes and can make you sick if you ingest them. They work by drawing water through a matrix of very small holes that are smaller than these tiny organisms and only allow clean water to pass through. The filters themselves are made using glass fiber or activated carbon and can further improve the taste or appearance of water by filtering out minerals, metals, odors, and sediment. (Read "Backcountry Water Treatment" for more info.)

Filter Types
There are several types of water filters available today including bottle-based filters, filters with pumps, and gravity filters that use the weight of a suspended bag of water to push water through a filter. Each type of filter system has its pluses and minuses, but the advantage of bottle-based filters is their extreme portability and simplicity.

Prevent cross-contamination when you come in contact with unfiltered water by using hand sanitizer.

Proper Hygiene
With any water filter system proper hygiene is required whenever you come in contact with a natural water source, whether you drink from it or simply wet your hands. Good hygiene prevents what is known as cross-contamination, where a surface that is presumed clean is accidentally contaminated by water which has not been filtered. To prevent cross-contamination you can simply carry a 1-ounce bottle of isopropyl alcohol or Purell and thoroughly rub a small squeeze of it all over your hands whenever you come into contact with unfiltered water.

Bottle-Based Filters
All of the bottle-based filters reviewed below must be soaked with water before you use them and filters that contain activated carbon must be flushed several times to remove residual carbon dust. This makes it easier to draw water through them when you filter a suspect water source. After using your filter, flush it out with regular chlorinated tap water to reduce bacteria growth between hikes, just make sure that it has been pre-soaked and tested before each use.

All of these filters are sufficient to remove the protozoa and bacteria found in untreated water supplies throughout the United States and Canada, and I've used all of these filters in the backcountry with no ill effects. If you are traveling to countries with less developed sewage systems or want to protect yourself against viruses, I recommend augmenting these filters with chlorine dioxide tablets.

Ech2o Filtered Water Bottle * Trailspace Pick for Day Hiking *
	Specs: Weight: 9.4 oz. Dimensions: 3 x 10.5 inches Filter: microfilter Bottle capacity: 27 oz. Capacity with filter: 22 oz. Expected lifetime: 100 gallons (580 refills) MSRP: $39.99	Pros: The integrated filter and bottle cap prevents dirty water from flowing around the filter cartridge if the cap is not tightly sealed. Flip-up drinking spout protects against accidental contamination. Water is easy to suck through filter. Food grade stainless steel bottle is recyclable. Replacement filter is available.	Cons: Stainless steel bottle makes it difficult to tell how much water is remaining.
Katadyn Micro Bottle
	Specs: Weight: 6 oz. Dimensions: 3 x 11 inches Filter: activated carbon and microfilter Bottle capacity: 26 oz. Capacity with filter: 21 oz. Expected lifetime: 26 gallons (160 refills) MSRP: $39.95	Pros: The integrated filter and bottle cap prevents dirty water from flowing around the filter cartridge if the cap is not tightly sealed. Replacement filter is available. Polyethylene bottle is 100-percent BPA free.	Cons: Opaque bottle makes it difficult to tell how much water is remaining. Lack of a drinking tube cover makes it easy to contaminate, so water must be squirted into mouth and not sucked from tube. Difficult to fully empty last few ounces of water by squeezing the bottle.
Aquamira Water Bottle with Microbiological Filter
	Specs: Weight: 4.7 oz. Dimensions: 3 x 9.5 inches Filter: activated carbon and microfilter Bottle capacity: 22 oz. Capacity with filter: 20 oz. Expected lifetime: 40 gallons (230 refills) MSRP: $26.95	Pros: Lexan flip cap protects spout from contaminants. Semi-transparent bottle lets you see how much water remains. Nalgene ATB bottle fits bicycle water bottle cages. Miraguard suppresses the growth of bacteria, algae, fungus, mold, and mildew in the filter between outings. Replacement filter is available.	Cons: Filter is not attached to the bottle cap, making it easy to accidentally splash unfiltered water on the top of the filter when inserting it after a refill and contaminating output. Water leaks down sides unless bottle cap is tightly sealed and is very difficult to squeeze through filter.
Bota Outback Water Filtration System
	Specs: Weight: 4.7 oz. Dimensions: 3 x 9.5 inches Filter: activated carbon Bottle capacity: 22 oz. Capacity with filter: 20 oz. Expected lifetime: 40 gallons (230 refills) MSRP: $19.99	Pros: (Note: The Bota and Aquamira bottles use the exact same bottle, spout, and cap.) Lexan flip cap protects spout from contaminants. Semi-transparent bottle lets you see how much water remains. Nalgene ATB bottle fits bicycle water bottle cages. Replacement filter is available.	Cons: The Bota Outback has the same weaknesses as the Aquamira Water Bottle Filter. Additionally, organic contaminants that have been filtered out by activated carbon filters provide an excellent food source for bacterial growth, particularly when the filter is not used for a long time.
Aquamira Frontier Pro * Trailspace Pick for Lightweight Backpacking *
	Specs: Weight: 2 oz. Dimensions: 1.25 x 5.5 inches Filter: activated carbon and microfilter Bottle capacity: NA Capacity with filter: NA Expected lifetime: 50 gallons MSRP: $24.95	Pros: Filter screws onto any used soda bottle or Platypus hydration bladder with 28 mm threads. Protective cap protects bite value from contamination. Polyester, replaceable pre-filter removes sediment, extending the life of the filter. Can be configured as a hands-free gravity filter. Miraguard suppresses the growth of bacteria, algae, fungus, mold, and mildew in the filter between outings.	Cons: Bite valve can be a little hard on the jaw. Flow rates for the gravity filter configuration vary by filter due to manufacturing differences. Make sure to test at home first.

Forthcoming Gear
Two forthcoming in-bottle water treatment options are also worth noting.

The CamelBak All Clear UV water purification system kit (left) uses ultraviolet technology to neutralize 99.99 percent of bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and other impurities, according to CamelBak. Users fill the bottle, secure the cap, hold the power button down for 4 seconds and rotate the bottle. It will be available in winter/spring 2010. See our OR blog coverage.

 Katadyn's MyBottle, the only EPA-registered water purifier bottle on the market (right), according to Katadyn, will use three components: Virustat cartridge (to remove viruses and bacteria), a cyst filter (to remove giardia and cryptosporidium), and a carbon pre/post filter (to eliminate odors and improves taste). It will be available as a purifier or microfilter in spring 2010.

The author will test and report on the All Clear and MyBottle once they are available for review.

Share your gear experience with these and other water filters by writing a Trailspace review.

It's only natural for backpack manufacturers to want you to buy another pack just for snow season, but it's also only natural for the rest of us to wonder: won't any old pack do in winter?

That depends on your futzing-around tolerance. If you go out twice a season and don't mind figuring out how to strap on your backcountry skis, stow your avalanche shovel, and thaw out your hydration hose, then sure, your summer pack can pull snow duty.

But if you spend much time on the snow, the key components of winter packs start to become tempting:

• Straps designed specifically for snowboards, cross-country skis, and snowshoes.
• Panels that let you open the pack with skis still attached.  
• Compartments for your goggles, snow shovel, avalanche probe, and beacon. 

We've gathered the facts on some of the most notable winter backpacks hitting the store shelves in 2009/10. Note these are all daypacks: some are big enough to handle your lunch and extra layers of clothing, but they're too small for a full overnight snow-camping kit (though they might be just the ticket if you haul with a sled).

We start with the latest models, then close with tweaks to existing product lines. Note there are many more brands and packs out there; our examples illustrate the most sought-after features in winter packs.

Brands mentioned below: CamelBak | Columbia | Mountain Hardwear | Mountainsmith | Mammut | Osprey | Dakine | Deuter | Gregory | The North Face 

All new for 2009/10

CamelBak ShredBak

CamelBak ShredBak

OK, so CamelBak's latest "wearable hydration" experiment isn't a backpack. It's a 70-ounce hydration reservoir fitted into a soft-shell vest with a smaller compression vest that holds the water bladder snug against the back.

The ShredBak lacks the sexy backcountry features of dedicated winter packs, but it has practical applications for the most common snow-play sports: cross-country skiing on groomed tracks and lift-enabled skiing and snowboarding. Wearing a two-liter hydration bladder against your back promises a certain Quasimodo vibe, minus the worries about squeezing a pack onto a skinny chairlift seat.

Trailspace has covered the ShredBack in detail. Editor in chief Alicia MacLeay reviewed it here; longtime contributor Bill Straka reviewed it here; and publisher Dave MacLeay previewed it here.    

Specs:

• Liquid volume: 72 oz. (2.1L)
• Weight: Medium vest — 14.5 oz. (410g) men’s; 13 oz. (370g) women’s
• Insert: 1.2 oz. (33g)
• Complete reservoir: 5.1 oz. (145g)
• Complete ShredBak with water: 5.5 lbs. (2,510g) men’s; 5.4 lbs. (2,470g) women’s
• $200

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Columbia Backcountry Betty

Columbia Backcountry Betty

The Backcountry Betty from Columbia Sportswear reflects the industry's growing attention to women-specific packs. While Columbia succumbs to the urge to get a little girly with the graphics, this pack has most of the features outlined above: room for avy tools, a goggle sleeve, ski/board lash points and a peel-away design for opening it with skis attached.

The Betty, part of Columbia's high-performance Titanium line, uses the company's Omni-Shield water-repellent coating, but shouldn't be considered waterproof. 

Specs:

• Weight: 2 lbs. 7 oz.
• Volume: 1,495 ci (24.5L)
• $100

Columbia Storm Patrol Ski Pack

Columbia Storm Patrol Ski Pack

The  Storm Patrol  is the Backcountry Betty's beefier big brother, with dedicated interior pockets for an avalanche shovel and probe kit and ample space for clothing layers. Like most of the bigger, more feature-rich packs on the market, it keeps wet snow tools in their own compartment so they won't soak everything else, and includes drain ports to let snowmelt escape.

The Storm Patrol also features full suspension and load-lifter straps, requirements on packs that carry larger loads. Like the Betty, its fabrics are Omni-Shield coated. 

Specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. 4 oz.
• Volume: 2,227 ci (36.5L)
• $150

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Mountain Hardwear Ropeline, Wayback

Mountain Hardwear Wayback

Mountain Hardwear Ropeline

Mountain Hardwear's Ropeline and Wayback are all keep-it-simple on the outside while packing all the snow-specific requirements on the inside.

Main differences between the two packs: The Ropeline has zippered top-panel access, while the Wayback has a rear-panel zipper. The Wayback has 230  more cubic inches of cargo capacity with no weight penalty, but extra space can encourage carrying more stuff.

It's also nice to see you can buy into MH's reputation for tough, technical gear without ponying up premium dollars. While not cheap by any means, both models fall in the middle of the winter pack price range.    

Ropeline specs:

• Weight: 2 lbs. 12 oz. (1,200g)
• Volume: 1,600 ci (26.2L)
• $120

Wayback specs:

• Weight:  2 lbs. 11 oz.  (1210g)
• Volume: 1,830 ci (30L)
• $140

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Mountainsmith Willow 40, Mayhem 35

Mountainsmith Mayhem 35

Mountainsmith Willow 40

Mountainsmith's favorite story for 2010 is that all its packs are sewn with fabric made from recycled plastic water bottles, but it also found time to reconfigures its entire line of "All Terrain" backpacks, half of which include snow-specific features for attaching boards and skis. (The new packs are to be released in January 2010). 

Mountainsmith's biggest overnight/expedition packs will be winter-friendly, but I picked two of its smaller packs to better compare with the rest here. Both look much more like traditional overnight packs, and lack the separate wet/dry compartments typical of many winter packs (less of an issue if you don't camp in avalanche country).

The Willow 40 is built for women, and has a detachable top lid that converts into a daypack and a separate sleeping bag compartment.  The smaller men's Mayhem 35 has an adjustable top lid. Both extend to offer considerably more storage. 

Willow 40 specs:

• Weight: 4 lbs. 2 oz.
• Volume: 2,440 ci (40L); extended: 2,745 ci (45L)
• $169

Mayhem 35 specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. 4 oz.
• Volume: 2,135ci (38L); extended: 2,440 ci (45L)
• $139

Mountainsmith's other winter-enabled packs: Lookout 45 | Falcon 55 | Lariat 65 | Apex 75

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Mammut Nirvana 35

Mammut Nirvana 35

The Swiss gear giant's Nirvana 35 has all the standard winter pack features, and includes an insulated hydration sleeve to keep your hose from freezing.

Other nifty offerings: removable padded hipbelt, a holder for large free-ride helmets, and an SOS label with emergency instructions  showing how to signal a helicopter for help, start a fire, and so on.

Specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. 6 oz. (1,550g)
• Volume: 2,136 ci (35L)
• $169.95

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Osprey Kode series

Osprey Kode 38

Osprey leaves little to chance with its new Kode series: all include insulated hydration sleeves along with the standard snow pack features, while three sizes cover the gamut of one-day winter outings.

The Kode 22 is a panel loader and the most lift-friendly of the trio. The larger Kode 30 adds panel entry to the wet section of the pack, and backpanel access to the dry section. The  Kode 30 and 38 have a lightweight stretch-fabric helmet holder, and the 38 adds Osprey's LightWire frame to carry heavier loads.

Kode 38 specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. 4 oz. (1,474g) to 3 lbs. 10 oz. (1,644g)
• Volume: 2,100 to 2,500 ci (35-41L)
• $159

Kode 30 specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. (1360g) to 3 lbs. 6 oz. (1530g)
• Volume: 1,600 to 2,000 ci (27-33L)
• $139

Kode 22 specs:

• Weight: 2 lbs. 5 oz. (1,049g) to 2 lbs. 9 oz. (1,162g)
• Volume: 1,200 to 1,400 ci (20-24L)
• $119

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Tweaks

Dakine Heli Pro DLX

Dakine Heli Pro DLX 20L

Dakine's Heli Pro DLX upgrades the ski attachments to its Heli Pro line of winter packs, allowing adjustments to the cable to suit the size of individual skis. It also allows cross-lashing of a snowboard to suit riding a snowmobile. The Heli Pro DLX 20L is for men; the 18L is for women. (For an extra $5, the "Team" versions of these and other Dakine packs get you fancier graphics and colorful clips and zips). 

Heli Pro DLX 20L specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. (1,360g)
• Volume: 1,200 ci (20L)
• $95

Heli Pro DLX 18L specs:

• Weight: 2.9 lbs. (1,315g)
• Volume: 1,100 ci (18L)
• $95

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Deuter Freerider Pro 28SL/30

Deuter Freerider Pro 30

Deuter adds 28- and 30-liter "Pro" packs to its full-featured Freerider series. Deuter's Vari-Flex pivoting hip belt adds a comfort feature rare on winter packs. The 28SL is designed for women.    

Freerider Pro 28SL specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. 13 oz. (1,729g)
• Volume: 1,700 ci (28L)
• $149

Freerider Pro 30 specs

• Weight: 3 lbs. 15 oz. (1,786g)
• Volume: 1,850 ci (30L)
• $149

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Gregory Targhee/Drift

Gregory Drift

Gregory Targhee

Gregory strengthened the fabric and refined the zippers on its two winter packs, the Targhee and Drift. The Targhee, introduced three years ago, recently snagged Gear of the Year honors in Outside magazine's annual Gear Guide. The Drift is a smaller, lighter, scaled-down version.

Targhee specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. 9 oz. (1,600g) to 3 lbs. 15 oz. (1,800g)
• Volume: 1,900 to 2,200 ci (31L to 35L)
• $160

Drift specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. (1,400g) 
• Volume: 1,300 ci (20L)
• $150

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The North Face Off Chute 22

The North Face Off Chute 22

The North Face adds a 22-liter pack to its Off Chute line of snow packs. The slim Off Chute 22 has one rare feature: its back panel converts to a backcountry chair, providing a perch off the snow. 

Specs:

• Weight: 3 lbs. 7 oz. (1,560g)
• Volume: 1,325 ci (22L)
• $120

Share your gear experience with these and other winter packs by writing a Trailspace review.

Karsten Heuer and his son, Zev, consult a canoe route map in the film Finding Farley, winner of the Grand Prize and the People’s Choice awards. (Image credit and copyright: Karsten Heuer, courtesy of the Banff Centre)

Epic travel features into most of the projects undertaken by Leanne Allison and Karsten Heuer. They paired up to hike 3400 kilometres along the spine of North America to bring attention to the Yellowstone to Yukon conservation region, then followed the arctic caribou 1500 kiliometres to their breeding grounds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Together, they have been producing films, books, photographs, and essays all along each journey. For their most recent project, they packed up their two-year-old son Zev and travelled across Canada on a journey to discover the wilderness between their home in Canmore, Alberta, and the home of literary icon Farley Mowat in Nova Scotia. Allison’s film of the trip, Finding Farley, has won the 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival Grand Prize.

With crisp photography that captures the glory of the Canadian landscape, Finding Farley follows the family as they paddle, portage, and sail across the country, through the settings of many of Mowat’s classic books. “It’s a sincere adventure that winds through the very heart and fabric of Canada,” says Banff Mountain Film Festival jury member Don Bowie. “The film cleverly unfolds with an undeniable magic.”

Best Feature Length Mountain Film

A scene from the film Beyond the Summits, winner of the Best Feature-Length Mountain Film award, directed and produced by Rémy Tezier’. (Courtesy of the Banff Centre)

With soaring cinematography and an essential story, director / Producer Rémy Tezier’s film Beyond the Summits wins the award for Best Feature Length Mountain Film. Following French mountaineer Catherine Destivelle on a series of high alpine climbs in area around Chamonix, the film gets inside the close relationships that develop between climbers. “This is one of the most evocative alpine climbing films we’ve ever seen,” says jury member Lindsay Griffin, citing its spectacular photography and technical prowess. “Through narrative, character, and image, the film exemplifies the special connections made in mountaineering.”

Best Film on Climbing

U.K.-based director Dave Brown and producer Paul Diffley, who have picked up multiple Banff Mountain Film Festival awards over the years, return for the Alpine Club of Canada Award for Best Film on Climbing for Committed 2: The Walk of Life. It follows James Pearson as he climbs 48 metres on an E12 route in North Devon, in a story told with intensity and suspense. “This film is about a very British climbing ethic,” says jury member Daniel du Lac. “The photography and music unpretentiously maintain tension without being manipulative, making it an outstanding film about the climbing community.”

Best Film on Mountain Culture

Winning the award for Best Film on Mountain Culture, director/producer Michael Dillon’s film A Little Bit Mongolian follows a 12-year-old Australian boy as he trains to compete in traditional long-distance horse races on the Mongolian steppe. “This film shows that the essence of Mongolian life is horses,” says jury member Michael Pause. “And it shows two cultures coming together.”

Best Film on Mountain Environment

The film Natural World: Snow Leopard — Beyond the Myth, is as much about tracking and filming the elusive snow leopard as it is about revealing a side of wild Pakistan that isn’t often seen. Winner of the award for Best Film on Mountain Environment, the film by producer/director Jeff Wilson and producer Vanessa Berlowitz follows Nisar Malik, who spent two years documenting the daily life of the snow leopard, producing never-seen-before footage in the mountains of Pakistan. “There’s a message of political hope in this film,” says jury member Kristi Denton.

Best Film on Mountain Sports

Director David David Michôd and director / producer Jennifer Peedom win the award for Best Film on Mountain Sports for Solo, which follows distance kayaker Andrew McAuley as he attempts to kayak solo from Australia across the notoriously rough Tasman Sea. After 30 days and 1600 kilometres alone on the ocean, McAuley transmits a distress signal from just off the coast of New Zealand. “This intense film was made in a truly authentic spirit,” says du Lac. “You think about it for days afterward.”

Best Short Mountain Film

Winner of the award for Best Short Mountain Film is Mont-Blanc Speed Flying, by director/producer Didier Lafond, which Bowie describes as a “wonderfully filmed adrenaline ballet.” Filmed in Cineflex, it follows six speed riders as they fly from the upper slopes of Mont Blanc to Chamonix in one continuous ten-minute shot.”

Special Jury Awards

The jury also awarded Special Jury Awards to three films, including Take a Seat, about Dominic Gill’s mission to cycle 32,000 kilometres from the north coast of Alaska to the southernmost tip of South America on a tandem bike, inviting people to join him along the way. It’s directed by Gill and Luke Jackson, and produced by Lucy Wilcox. “We were drawn in by the charisma of the main character in this film,” Griffin says. “It proves that you can have a superb adventure without having to be particularly macho.”

Special Jury Award also went to the humourous short film Project Megawhoosh, directed by Minh Duong and produced by Nikolas Hannack, and the cold, still wilderness of Yellowstone: Winter, produced by Andrew Murray, which featured what Denton describes as “incredible images captured in near-impossible circumstances.”

Audio Post Production scholarship

The Audio Post Production scholarship, chosen by Banff Centre Audio program alumnus and Academy Award-winning sound editor Mark Willsher, was given to director Fred Ripert for Autour de Babel. The award goes annually to a film finalist, to assist with producing surround DVD soundtracks, in the form of $10,000 in post production studio time and expertise at The Banff Centre.

Banff Mountain Film Festival jury

The 2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival jury included Canadian mountaineer Don Bowie, French competitive climber and ice climber Daniel du Lac, mountaineer and Mountain Info editor Lindsay Griffin, American documentary filmmaker Kristi Denton Cohen, and Michael Pause, artistic director of the Tegernsee Mountain Film Festival.

Founded in 1976, the Banff Mountain Film Festival has become the biggest and best-known mountain film festival in the world. Accompanied by the Banff Mountain Book Festival, it is held annually at The Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Following the festival, films are selected for the popular Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which takes Banff films to over 500 screenings around the globe.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is a presentation of Mountain Culture and Environment at The Banff Centre.

For more info: www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/festivals/2009/films/

Rather than sleeping on a flat air mattress with no insulating value, you can repair your sleeping pad, in the field or at home, with some basic materials, a few easy steps, and a little time.

Materials

Repair Kits: If your pad goes flat out in the field, a repair kit can be well worth its light weight and small size. Many manufacturers of inflatable sleeping pads (like Therm-A-Rest, Big Agnes, Pacific Outdoor Equipment, and REI) sell repair kits, as does McNett. Typically, sleeping pad repair kits contain either a) self-adhering patches or b) patch(es) and a liquid adhesive.

The patches provided in repair kits can be small. For larger tears, you may be able to use several patches together, or try self-adhering Tenacious Tape, which comes in a roll. Duct tape will get the job done, but should be considered a last resort, since it will leave a reside on your air mattress after you remove it at home.

Liquid Adhesives: One of the most versatile liquid adhesives is Seam Grip. In this case it can be used alone or with a patch, depending on leak size, to plug holes, tears, and punctures. Seam Grip also has the advantage of a faster curing time in the field, when mixed with a few drops of water.

Check with the manufacturer of your air mattress for their recommended repair materials and methods.
Read all directions and warnings for your sleeping pad and repair kit and materials before starting.

Preparation

First, you need to identify the leak(s), any pinholes, holes, tears, or punctures in your sleeping pad. Unless the leak is obvious, you’ll have to locate it by one of the methods below:

1. Listen: Inflate the sleeping pad, close the valve, and listen closely for the sound of leaking air.
2. Add soap and water: Mix together a little soap and water and pour some onto the inflated mattress (if you’re in the backcountry keep soap at least 50 meters from water sources). Bubbles on the pad’s surface should help you pinpoint the leak.
3. Submerge: If you’re at home you can submerge the inflated pad in your bathtub, or try it in a lake or stream in the field. Carefully fold over and rotate the pad so its entire surface area is eventually under water. Escaping bubbles should pinpoint any leaks.
4. Mark: You may want to mark the location of your leak with a pencil, lest you have to search again.
5. Clean: Once you’ve located your leak, clean the area of any debris or residue with water, a pre-cleaner (like Cotol-240 from McNett), or an isopropyl alcohol pad.
6. Deflate the mattress and close the valve.
7. Dry: Let the pad dry thoroughly before repairing it.

Pinholes: No Patch Method

1. 

   If the leaks are small pinholes, apply a few drops of Seam Grip to fill in each hole and spread the adhesive at least 1/4 inch beyond each side of the hole. 
2. Let the pad dry flat overnight.

Liquid Adhesive and Patch

If the holes are larger than pinholes, a patch from your repair kit may be needed.

1. Cut a patch from the repair material. The patch should extend 1/2 inch beyond the tear or hole in all directions. Cut the patch in a circular shape; avoiding corners will help keep the patch from coming off.
2. Apply your adhesive to the leak area, extending beyond the size of the patch you’re going to apply.
3. Press the entire patch down on the adhesive on the pad and hold it down for 2-3 minutes to help the adhesive get a good hold.
4. Let dry flat for 5-10 minutes, then you can apply another coat of adhesive and give it 15-20 minutes to cure.
5. Let the pad dry flat overnight.

Self-Adhering Patch

Similar to the liquid adhesive method is the self-adhesive, or peel-and-stick, patch method.

1. Cut a patch that extends past the edges of the tear or hole. For larger tears and holes leave a larger overhang to give the patch better grip. Cut the patch in a circular shape; avoiding corners will help keep the patch from coming off.
2. Peel away the protective film from the sticky side of the patch and firmly apply the patch to the air mattress.
3. Hold the patch down for 2-3 minutes to help the adhesive get a good hold. Then give it another 5 minutes to cure. Use a bit of Seam Grip for extra holding power if available.
4. Let the pad dry flat overnight.

Valve Leaks

1. If you develop a small leak in your sleeping pad’s valve, carefully apply Seam Grip to the leak.
2. Allow the pad to dry in an upright position, giving it extra drying time due to the pressure on the valve.
3. If your valve is beyond repair and needs replacing, see if your manufacturer offers a valve repair kit.

Faster Curing

There are a few options for faster curing times.

Hot Bond Adhesive: Therm-A-Rest sells repair kits with Hot Bond, a permanent adhesive that works in cold and wet conditions and cures very quickly. This is the short version of Hot Bond directions (always read the complete directions first):

1. Place a Hot Bond pouch in boiling water for three minutes.
2. Quickly, and carefully, apply Hot Bond, then patch, to leaky area of pad.
3. Place your hot pan of water on top of patch for 60 seconds (be sure mattress valve is open!). You may want a piece of plastic bag between the pan and patch.
4. Smooth out the patch by rolling a water bottle over it a few times.
5. Let pad rest 10 minutes. It’s now ready for immediate use.

Seam Grip + Water: In the field you can speed up Seam Grip’s cure time by mixing in a few drops of water before application:

1. Mix together the water and adhesive on the back of the repair patch you’ll be applying.
2. After applying the Seam Grip and patch to the pad (as described above), allow the pad to cure flat for 30 minutes. It will fully cure in 2 hours.
3. Note that mixing water with Seam Grip will give it a cloudier appearance. McNett’s Cotol-240 also works as a cure accelerator.

Uncured + Self-adhering Patch: if you must use your sleeping pad before the adhesive has fully cured:

1. Apply a self-adhering repair patch over the uncured Seam Grip. The patch should extend 1/2 inch beyond the adhesive area.
2. Press the patch firmly onto the pad.
3. Remove the patch after 3 or 4 days and the Seam Grip should have permanently sealed the hole underneath.

The moment of truth

The final test is to slowly inflate the repaired air mattress and listen for leaks. If you notice any additional leaks follow the same process you used above to fix them.

Regardless of the repair method you use, the longer you leave the adhesive to dry, the better hold it will have on your sleeping pad. If possible, allow the repair to cure overnight, ideally up to 24 hours, before using.

The best care for your sleeping pad is to avoid leaks in the first place. Check your sleeping pad for leaks out of the box, before heading into the backcountry. In camp, remove any rocks, sticks, or other items that could cause pressure points and holes, as well as discomfort, underneath.

Always check first with the manufacturer of your air mattress for their recommended repair materials and methods. Read all directions and warnings for your sleeping pad and repair kit and materials before starting.

A bog bridge on the AT in Vermont. (Photo courtesy of Laurie Potteiger and the ATC)

You’ve bought your gear, made peace with your parents (or said good-bye to your children), toughened your muscles, and prepared your mind for five to six months of backpacking through some of America’s most beautiful scenery. And ever since you announced your intention of hiking the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, or another long-distance trail, you’ve been inundated with advice on how to survive and succeed.

Oddly enough, much of the advice comes from people who have never spent more than a weekend in the wilderness. And those who do have experience tend to get all dreamy-eyed and offer such profound statements as “the journey is the destination” or “the reward outweighs the sacrifice” or “the hike isn’t over until you say it’s over.”

Now, those last three remarks come from thru-hiking Triple Crowners Jackie McDonnell, David Rainey, and Scott Williamson, so they really do mean something. But more on that later.

Meanwhile, on the way to reaching this depth of understanding, the first-time thru-hiker has to deal with the matter of putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, while not getting lost or going crazy.

Some Practical Advice:

Here’s some of the very practical advice offered by experienced backpackers that doesn’t necessarily show up in trail guides and on websites.

1. Know your trail. Figure out ahead of time how many miles you need to walk each day to finish before the snow flies (or at least before it piles up deep enough to obscure the trail). On the AT, plan to start out slowly and then pick up speed. The steepness of the trail takes almost everyone by surprise. But on the PCT, plan to start fast, zip from water source to water source, and get across that desert before it gets too hot. The CDT also calls for a fast start.  

On the PCT in central Oregon. (Photo courtesy of Ana Gipe and the PCTA)

2. Take care of your body. Some people need to rest on a “zero day” once a week for the first few months, while others take zero days only if they’ve built up enough extra mileage that they can afford the luxury. The uphill portions may seem harder, but it’s the downhill sections that wear out your knees, tendons, and ligaments. Stop and take care of your feet at the first sign of a “hot spot” before it becomes a blister. And when you have blisters, take the time to treat them — antiseptically.  

3. Don’t take chances that can end your trip prematurely. There’s a reason so few thru-hikers are killed or seriously injured on the trail — it’s because they’re careful. For the Sierra or Rockies, buy that ice ax, and maybe crampons as well, and learn how to use them. Treat your water. Stow your food away from bears.

4. The AT is a blazed trail, so it’s hard to get lost (though not impossible). In comparison, many sections of the PCT can be confusing, and the CDT demands solid map and compass skills. Don’t rely on GPS. Read the guidebook(s) carefully, but recognize that they may have errors or the trail may have changed. Always be aware of your surroundings.

5. If you are on a trail, but you realize it’s the wrong trail, do not go cross country or shortcut to get back to the right trail. Backtrack to where you started from and then get on the correct trail.

6. Be alert to where you are and what’s happening around you. If things don’t look quite the way you expected them to, then stop. If you have indeed strayed off your route (which can happen very easily in snowy areas), return to a point where you know where you are. Then calmly work out the correct route.

Triple-Crown Pearls of Wisdom

Now, to get back to those pearls of wisdom from the Triple Crowners quoted above.

The journey is the destination.

Maine’s Mount Katahdin marks the northern terminus of the AT, but it’s not your true hiking destination. (Photo courtesy of Isaac Wiegmann and the ATC)

There are going to be some bad days, days filled with frustration, discomfort, and loneliness. In fact, there might be a lot of days like that. Keep in mind why you’re walking all that way and not just buying an airline ticket.

Here’s what Jackie McDonnell (aka Yogi and the author of Yogi’s PCT Handbook and Yogi’s CDT Handbook) has to say:

“So you’re going to hike the AT from Georgia to Maine! Woohoo! That’s great! Maine is not your destination. If you really want to go to Maine, then you could just get in a car and drive there. If you really want to go to Maine, you wouldn’t take five months to walk there and start on a rainy day in Georgia. You’re out here for the experience, for everything that happens in between Georgia and Maine. Embrace that. It’s a very powerful concept.”

The reward outweighs the sacrifice.

You can’t know what to expect, says David Rainey (trail name Pineneedle). But you can cultivate the habits of mind that enable you to deal with everything that happens, good or bad, knowing that wonderful things lie ahead.

These habits of mind include flexibility, perseverance, and paying attention to your instincts. The bad times are temporary. The diversity and novelty of experience, scenery, and people along the trail are constants. “Something around the corner, over the next hill, or in the next town will change your perspective,” says David.

The hike isn’t over until you say it’s over.

Record-setting hiker Scott Williamson and the author’s daughter, Mary Chambers (aka Scrambler, youngest PCT single-season thru-hiker), cross paths on the trail in 2004. (Photo by Gary Chambers)

Legendary and record-setting hiker Scott Williamson is the first person to complete a PCT yoyo — Mexico to Canada and back to Mexico (5,300 miles) all in one year. It took three tries, so he had more experience than most people of having to make the decision that the hike was really and truly over, even if he hadn’t gone as far as he set out to.

Scott knows that some things just can’t be conquered despite the best combination of preparation and perseverance — early snowstorms in the Sierra, for example. But he also knows the importance of ignoring others’ well-meant advice, skeptical comments, and even heartfelt pleas to show some common sense and get off the trail.

This advice from Scott meant a great deal to my family. He passed it on in Oregon in 2004, when we crossed paths on the PCT. Later on in Washington, bad weather turned back our family twice, preventing us from getting over a pass and hiking the last 30 miles to Canada. At the time I felt that any objective observer would declare the trip over, and was ready to do that as well. But my daughter, Mary, and husband, Gary, insisted there must be a way to finish. We put off a decision while exploring our options, and they were right. We reached Canada despite the cold and deep snow.

Three weeks later, Scott followed his own advice and reached Mexico, completing his first PCT yoyo. In 2009 he and Adam Bradley set a PCT speed record (65 days, 9 hours, and 58 minutes).

More Practical Advice:

Here’s some final practical advice from experienced thru-hikers.

David Rainey (aka Pineneedle) at St. Mary Falls in Glacier National Park during his 2006 CDT hike. (Photo courtesy of Rainey)

7. Being dirty and smelly is OK. But wash your hands every chance you get. Many cases of giardiasis, or “beaver fever,” are in fact caused by poor personal hygiene.  

8. Be in charge of your own hike, but not anybody else’s. David Rainey wrote, “Make all your decisions. Limit your involvement in others’ decisions.” This doesn’t mean ignoring good advice, or refusing to offer good advice to others when asked. But you have to weigh everything you know and then make the decision that’s right for you. And don’t fall into the trap of taking responsibility for someone else’s unwillingness to do the same.

9. Long trail hiker Alice Bodnar likes to check the guidebook frequently during the day and prepare mentally for what’s ahead:  “If I knew that a very long elevation climb was ahead, I was able to accept it and tackle the climb as a personal challenge,” she said of the John Muir Trail. “However, if a long climb caught me off-guard I would get anxious about the length of the climb. For me, knowing what’s ahead is a great comfort, so a quick consultation of a guide is key to my enjoyment of a long hike.” 

10. Don’t complain, just tell it like it is, says Yogi: “I like to make 'statements of fact.’  When the weather is slapping me around, it helps to say out loud, 'Damn, it’s hot!’ or 'My toes are frozen!’ or 'Rain three days in a row sucks!’  This is not complaining — I’m making statements of fact. Don’t laugh, it really does work. Saying it out loud releases all the frustration, and now I’m just living with what I’ve got.”

Next up: in Part 4, the final piece in this series, trail angels offer advice based on the hundreds of thru-hikers they’ve met.
 

Also, check out:

“Planning a Thru-Hike: Part 1”: tips on choosing a trail, gear, training, and resources.

“Planning a Thru-Hike Part 2”: What am I doing out here? And what am I going to eat and drink?

“Planning a Thru-Hike Part 4”: advice from trail angels (coming soon)

October 14, 2009

Redpoint Descender

MSA very recently became aware of two incidents where climbers using Redpoint Descenders experienced rapid rates of descent resulting in injuries. The company's preliminary investigation indicates an issue with the one-way bearings provided by its supplier, which may prevent the brakes from engaging during descent. Due to the nature of this condition, the users were not able to detect the problem before the rapid descents occurred.

This Stop Use Notice applies to the following descender units:

• All Redpoint Descenders (part numbers 10024873, 10027646, and 10027798) regardless of the date the unit was manufactured or last serviced,
• Auto-Belay Descenders (part number 10021806) manufactured or last serviced on or after June 30, 2000.

The part number, date of manufacture, and date of last factory service of the unit is located on the white date of manufacture label affixed to the back of the housing. Based on these findings, MSA is advising affected users to discontinue using the Redpoint and Auto-Belay Descenders indicated above. Please forward this notice to all appropriate personnel.

MSA regrets this inconvenience; however, the company recognizes that this condition represents a potential safety concern. MSA will issue a follow-up notice shortly, after conducting further investigation into this matter. During its investigation, MSA will not be shipping any Redpoint Descenders currently on order or in for service, and will not be taking any new orders.

Consumers who have any questions, should contact MSA Customer Service at 1-800-MSA-2222 or 412-967-3000. 

To honor America’s service men and women, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that areas managed by the department will not charge entrance fees on Wednesday, November 11, 2009.

Visitors to public recreation lands managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation are invited to take a day to honor and reflect on what our service men and women have done to maintain our freedom and keep peace around the world, Salazar said.

“The Department of the Interior is honored to offer this fee free day to thank our nation’s service men and women,” said Salazar said “The sacrifices and achievements of the brave men and women of our armed forces can never be understated. We invite all of our visitors to enjoy this fee free day and take time out on this national holiday to remember our service men and women who are currently serving overseas in harm's way.”

The Department of Agriculture also is waiving entrance fees at its national forests.

Living standards for dedicated rock climbers in 1980s England were grim by any measure, but Jerry Moffatt doesn’t shrink from describing just how grim it was. In his new autobiography, Revelations, he talks about the dole, subsisting for months on beans and tea, camping out in caves, in shacks, and under flimsy tarps at crag sites throughout the United Kingdom. It’s all in service to the relentless training he undertook to become one of the best climbers and boulderers of his generation. Revelations, written by Moffatt together with Niall Grimes, has won the Grand Prize at the 2009 Banff Mountain Book Festival, one of the biggest prizes in publishing in the outdoor, adventure, and environment genres.

“There’s none of the familiar ice-gripped heroics we’ve become inured to in climbing books,” says Book Festival jury member Stephen Goodwin, editor of The Alpine Journal. “Instead of dark introspection, the diversions from the actual climbing are bikes, dossing, travel, having fun, and becoming a business man (a founder of Sheffield’s The Foundry climbing wall). Moffatt has done climbing history a service in setting down the story of U.K. climbing in the “dole era’ of the 1980s — a story that was quickly becoming forgotten.” Moffatt wins the $2,000 Phyllis and Don Munday Award, sponsored by the Alberta Sections of The Alpine Club of Canada. It was among 31 finalists in five categories

Mountain Literature

The Jon Whyte Award for Mountain Literature, sponsored by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, was awarded to mountaineer Steve House for Beyond the Mountain. House gets past the cliché of the gripping alpine chronicle, the description of the expedition, the story of near-survival, to examine the effect that extreme pursuits have on the pursuer. Jury member Jon Popowich, a contributing writer for Gripped magazine, describes House’s exploration of “the gaping inner voids that emerge in the wake of intense experiences and achievement, the desires for new and more ambitious goals to fill the spaces, and the difficult longing for partnerships of connection, synergy, and shared meaning.” 

Mountaineering History
Winning the James Monroe Thorington Award for Best Book on Mountaineering History, sponsored by the UIAA, David Roberts’s biography of alpinist and high-altitude photographer and cartographer Bradford Washburn is called The Last of His Kind. Goodwin describes this personal, anecdote-filled story as “an exemplar of the biographer’s craft,” which finds new things to say about a life already well-chronicled.

Mountain Exposition
A user-friendly guide to the connections between mountain geology and the climber’s craft takes the award for Best Book on Mountain Exposition, sponsored by Yamnuska Mountain Adventures. Sarah Garlick’s Flakes, Jugs, and Splitters delves into the often-surprising natural science behind popular climbing sites around the world.

Adventure Travel
Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland wins the award for Best Book on Adventure Travel for The Great Polar Journey – In the Footsteps of Nansen. The book follows Ousland’s expedition to retrace the route through Franz Joseph Land to the North Pole, undertaken by legendary explorer Fridtjof Nansen in 1895. Jury member Susan Schwartz, author of Into the Unknown, praises the book’s mix of polar history, heroic exploits, and personal memoir.

Mountain Image
Matevz Lenarcic wins the award for Best Book – Mountain Image for a literally soaring vision in The Alps – A Bird’s Eye View. A Slovenian biologist, mountaineer, aviator, and visionary presents these large-format images of the mountain range, without country or territorial divisions, in an art book that Goodwin describes as “a mountain manifesto, a call to arms,” to preserve the Alps for their culture, beauty, and wildlife.

Special Jury Award
Groundbreaking climber and entrepreneur Royal Robbins receives a Special Jury Award for volume one of his autobiography To Be Brave – My Life. The book tracks Robbins’s life from juvenile delinquency to his discovery of climbing and its positive effect on his life, and gives readers a unique window into the rarefied world of Yosemite in the 1950s and 60s.

Canadian Rockies Award
A local committee chose Bruce Hunter’s novel In the Bear’s House for the Canadian Rockies Award, sponsored by Deuter. Written by a poet and writing instructor, the book is a coming-of-age story about a deaf boy whose world is opened up when he goes to live with relatives in the Kootenay Plain region of west central Alberta.

Winners will receive their awards Thursday, November 5, as part of the Banff Mountain Book Festival.

Complete list of 2009 Banff Mountain Book Festival finalists:
www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/festivals/2009/books/

For more information on Mountain Culture and Environment at The Banff Centre

Top snowshoe companies are bringing a women-and-children-first mentality to the marketplace this year (though gear-lusting guys will still have a raft of cool shoes to drool over).  Our guide to the most notable snowshoes of 2009/10 starts with all-new models, moves on to tweaks in existing product lines, then closes with a nod to industry  mainstays.  

All-New

The snowshoes have a toe crampon for basic traction, and molded snowflakes on the bottom leave an entertaining pattern on loose powder. Bindings are designed with little ones in mind — easy to open and close with gloves or mittens on. Best suited to mild, rolling terrain.

• Sprout (boys): 1.9 pounds; 17-inch length; 30- to 80-pound loads
• Mini (girls): 1.9 pound; 17-inch length; 30- to 80-pound loads
• $59.95

Easton Artica

Easton Snowshoes Men's Artica Hike

Easton Mountain Products, a longtime manufacturer of tent poles and aluminum tubes for major snowshoe manufacturers, made a big splash late in 2008 when its Artica Backcountry snowshoe notched Outside magazine Gear of the Year honors. Its shoes have been in stores throughout 2009, but the Artica lines' innovations merit mention with the rest of the '09/10 lineup.

Artica's three varieties (Backcountry, Hike, and Trail) share a common frame philosophy: two pieces of aluminum connected by plastic fore and aft. The flexible plastic allows much more give on uneven terrain than a one-piece aluminum frame, easing the strain on feet and ankles. Crampons and bindings are feature-rich, and the Hike and Trail frames are asymmetrically shaped to match the gaits of men and women.

Three sizes: (21, 25, 30 inches)

• Trail, 4.3-5.3 pounds ($160)
• Hike, 4.1-5.1 pounds ($200)
• Backcountry, 4.4-4.8 pounds ($260)

MSR Shift for youth

Cascade Designs built the MSR Shift for kids ages 7 to 12 — a group underserved in a marketplace full of cutesy shoes for preschoolers.

The Shift's all-plastic base follows in the footsteps an MSR mainstay: the Denali Evo. Steel crampons and traction blades prevent slips, and flexible bindings fit shoes from size youth 6 to men's 8. Shift snowshoes are suited to flat and rolling terrain.

Specs:

• 2 pounds, 7 ounces; 7" x 19.5"
• 125-pound load limit   
• $89.95

Redfeather Conquest

Redfeather joins the push toward plastics with the entry-level Conquest 25, a basic, low-cost recreational snowshoe.

Conquests have standard heel and toe crampons, which should provide ample traction for hard-packed trails. Don't expect a lot of deep-powder flotation, however: shoes in this size range simply aren't built for it.

Specs:

• 4.25 pounds; 25-inch length
• Max load, 175 pounds
• $69.95

Tubbs Flex TRK for women

Tubbs is turning heads with its new Flex snowshoes, scoring 2010 Gear of the Year honors from Outside magazine. Tubbs' designs built on tubular aluminum frames dominate the snowshoe marketplace, so the introduction of an all-plastic frame marks a major departure. Flex snowshoes twist at the tail, easing strain on the legs, ankles, and knees over varied terrain.

Flex shoes aren't built for heavy loads on deep powder — their two sizes (22 inches for women, 24 for men) won't have enough float. Instead, Tubbs designers built the Flex for the terrain recreational snowshoers are likely to confront: packed powder and groomed trails. Aggressive crampons ensure traction while the flexible design eases the bumps on these harder surfaces.

ALP (backcountry)

• Men's: 4.4 lbs., 8" x 24", 190-pound load limit on powder
• Women's: 4.0 lbs., 8" x 22", 165-pound load limit on powder
• $219.95

NRG (hiking)

• Men's: 4.2 lbs., 8" x 24", 190-pound load limit on powder
• Women's: 3.8 lbs., 8" x 22", 165-pound load limit on powder
• $179.95

TRK: (recreational)

• Men's: 3.4 lbs., 8" x 24", 190-pound load limit on powder
• Women's: 3.6 lbs., 8" x 22", 165-pound load limit on powder
• $149.95

TSL Snowshoes 325 Nature

TSL Snowshoes goes green with its 325 Nature snowshoe, built with all recycled materials. The Nature is not for greenhorns, however: Advanced features include a heel lift for steep inclines and a binding designed to get you in and out in a snap.

The hourglass shape is designed for a more natural step in the snow, and TSL's sound- and shock-absorbing system is designed to reduce the crunch factor on frozen trails.  TSL rates the max load on the 325 Nature at 260 pounds for packed or semi-packed trails; deep powder would require a much longer shoe.  

Specs:

• 3.7 pounds, 23.5" x 8.5"
• Max load, 260 pounds
• $139

Tweaks

Atlas 10 Series/Elektra

Atlas Elektra 10 for Women

Atlas adds its Wrapp Comfort binding to the men's 10 Series and women's Elektra 10 Series snowshoes, both of which have been upgraded for 2009/10.

The Wrapp Comfort binding is designed for easy entry — a single tug snugs it tight around the forefoot and behind the heel — and insulating EVA padding prevents painful pressure points. 

The 10/Elektra series is a recreational shoe designed for packed trails and moderate rolling terrain. $199.95.

Crescent Moon SPL binding

Crescent Moon Snowshoes is a small company drawing large raves for its bindings: Backpacker magazine's latest Winter Gear Guide declared Crescent Moon's SPL bindings the best available.

Company founder/president Jake Thamm — who demos his bindings in a video at the company's website —  says the company has refined bindings across its entire line of snowshoes for men, women, and children. This year the bindings are:

• Bigger — lending greater support on all terrain.
• Stronger — a new stabilizer eliminates twist and foot slop.
• Quieter — new decking material is more abrasion resistant, reducing the snow crunch factor.

Prices ranges:

• $79.95 for the smallest kids' model
• $170 for the Silver Series Women's Recreational
• $280 for the Gold Series Expedition

Kahtoola FLIGHTdeck TS

Kahtoola is adding a 29-inch backcountry snowshoe (available December 2009) to its FLIGHTdeck TS lineup. The FLIGHTdeck system gives a tubular-aluminum snowshoe a two-piece twist: a crampon strapped to the bottom of a hiking boot doubles as a binding. A hiker can step into the FLIGHTdeck TS shoe if the snow gets deep, and step back out of it if the trail is hard-packed.  Trailspace reviewed the original FLIGHTdeck snowshoe, which required the purchase of a pair of boots. The newer TS system allows the crampon/binding to be strapped to hiking boots or trail running shoes. $269

Dimensions: 8.5 inches by x 29 inches; 3 pounds 8 ounces per pair.

Mainstays

Northern Lites

Northern Lites Elite

While some complain about snowshoes being heavy, Northern Lites actually does something about it. Where other brands are satisfied with a backcountry shoe that weighs more than 5 pounds a pair, Northern Lites' heaviest duo is just over 3.

Users confirm Northern Lites' contention that its shoes get the job done in deep snow and ragged terrain despite the absence of marketing-friendly doo-dads piled upon just about all the other shoes out there (good luck finding any negative reviews online).

Prices run to the high range of the snowshoe market, though the priciest model (Tundra, $269) still gets you out into the powder for a fraction of what you'd spend on skis or snowboards.  

Yukon Charlie's Trail Series Junior

You'll be hard-pressed to pay more than $100 for a pair of Yukon Charlie's, which means you'll carry a bit more weight and get by with less high-tech wizardry. With children's models selling for around $60, parents won't have a huge investment in something the kid will either outgrow or lose interest in.

Yukon Charlies' shoes are built with standard aluminum tubes and plastic decks riveted on. Bindings don't have the wow factor of higher-end models, but they do keep boots in place as intended.

Reviews online paint Yukon Charlies as solid shoes for the money — nothing fancy, but fine for beginners or those who might go out a few times a year.

Share your gear experience with these and other snowshoes by writing a Trailspace review.

In the second of four columns on planning a thru-hike, we discuss: What am I doing out here on the trail? And what am I going to eat and drink?

What am I doing out here?

On the Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California. (Photo courtesy of Jackie Zinger and the PCTA)

A few months before beginning a five- or six-month trek on one of America’s long trails, a would-be thru-hiker must make his plans public. He arranges for a leave of absence from work, or tells his boss he will be leaving in April and won’t be back. She looks for someone to house-sit her place for six months, or lets the lease run out and begins putting stuff in storage.

He tells his significant other that he won’t be able to attend her family reunion on the Fourth of July this year … he’ll be out on the trail. She tells Mom and Dad that, no, she won’t be looking for a job right away with her brand new diploma, because she has decided to spend the summer and fall with those weird friends of hers, walking from border to border.

It isn’t always easy to explain why you’re doing this. The decision to tackle a thru-hike — to spend five or six months toting a backpack through forests, mountains, and deserts, going without showers or clean clothes for days or weeks, living without phones, television, and hourly Twittering — strikes many people as, well, crazy.

“First of all, you must believe you are not crazy,” is Triple Crown hiker Jackie McDonnell’s advice to those eager to follow in her footsteps. “Your parents, friends, spouse, others in your life cannot possibly understand why you want to go on this hike. Only you know why,” says the backpacker known as Yogi, who’s completed the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail. “It’s simply something that you have to do.”

For most people, in fact, it really would be crazy to attempt a thru-hike. It’s a huge undertaking. Hiking from Georgia to Maine or from Mexico to Canada is very difficult, physically and mentally. Also, unlike organized adventures such as guided mountain expeditions or Outward Bound programs, a thru-hike is a completely amateur experience. There are no professionals waiting to swoop in to rescue hikers who get in over their heads — much less a support crew waiting just out of camera range in case someone gets tired of their “reality” show.

Once you’re on the trail, you are on your own. Your fellow backpackers will help you out when they can — as Yogi puts it, “We are your new family.” And trail angels and town residents are amazingly helpful. But you’ll only succeed if you start out accepting that you are responsible for walking from one water source to the next, for getting out of the rain before you risk hypothermia, and for deciding whether the stranger who just walked into the shelter is merely a crank — or someone who should be left miles behind promptly.

Karen and Andy Somers (trail names: Nocona and Bald Eagle) have backpacked thousands of miles, including in California’s Sierra Nevada, above. (Photo courtesy of Karen Somers)

Who should attempt a thru-hike?

Karen Somers (aka Nocona), who has thru-hiked the AT solo and the PCT with her husband, writes, “A good sign is if you take a solo shakedown hike, end up cold/wet/hot, so scared you can’t sleep all night, limping back to the car with terrible blisters … and still want to go hiking again once you get home. Then, you have the thru-hiker’s bug!”

Who should not attempt a thru-hike?

Anyone who does so purely in the hope of having a life-altering experience that will somehow solve all problems. Don’t choose a thru-hike as a way to grasp an elusive secondary goal, whether it’s discovering your true self, making lifelong friends, losing weight permanently, or deciding whether to get a divorce.

True, any or all of those things might happen. But the only legitimate reason to thru-hike a long trail is because you want to thru-hike a long trail.

The Thru-Hiker’s Obsession: Food

Once you’ve decided a thru-hike is what you really want to do, and you’ve begun getting into shape and purchasing necessary gear (see “Planning a Thru-Hike: Part 1”),  it’s time to focus on the topic that becomes a thru-hiker’s daily obsession: food. And more specifically, what to eat and how to get hold of it before you start viewing your fellow backpackers as potential sources of animal protein.

The two main schools of thought on this topic could be described as (1) “plan it and pack it” and (2) “forage and feed on it.”

Plan it and Pack it

What you cook for dinner will depend on whether you plan your food resupplies in advance or forage along the way. (Photo courtesy of Zyla Nuite and the ATC)

The first approach is to pack resupply boxes for every town stop on the trail and have someone mail them so that they’ll arrive just before you get there.

The advantage is that you’ll get plenty of food (and other necessities, such as first aid supplies, the next section of the map, fresh reading material, and new boots) without worrying about whether there will be any Snickers bars or ibuprofen left in the little campground stores along the trail, and whether the prices will be outrageous.

The disadvantage is that one or more of the boxes might not arrive in time — or that by the time you get the 10th or 11th box in the series, you are thoroughly sick of the very things you packed the most of, and there are still 15 boxes to go.

Join the “plan it and pack it” crowd if:

• You’re an experienced backpacker and you are certain you know what you’re willing to eat, week after week.
• You want to spend your money ahead of time, not be surprised by how much things cost along the way.
• You can predict how much your appetite will increase on the trail, and plan accordingly.
• You know that you can call the long-suffering relatives who are mailing your boxes and they’ll be willing to take out the bags of whole-wheat pasta and organic dried fruit you chose back in March and replace them with the Pringles and dark chocolate M&Ms that you’re craving in June.

Forage and Feed on it

The second approach means purchasing food in trail towns, resorts, and campground stores along the way, which might mean having to hitchhike into a bigger town if the pickings are slim.

Go the “forage and feed on it” route if:

• You’re willing to put up with a fair amount of uncertainty in return for being able to choose a new variety of food at each town stop, and are willing to make detours into town to find that food.
• You want to mail only a few boxes, to those places where you know from your research that not much food will be available, or where you need to have particular items waiting for you. (For example, PCT thru-hikers traditionally mail their ice axes to Kennedy Meadows.)
• Your route and timing are uncertain enough that you don’t want to have to reroute boxes up and down the trail. For example, after a heavy snow year, some thru-hikers “flip-flop” around the trail: hiking those sections that are snow-free and waiting until later in the year to finish the others.
• You’re willing to carry a lot of cash along with a credit card.

Combo Approach

A third, hybrid approach is to send some resupply boxes ahead and also resupply from the trail. You can create your own combination resupply strategy by purchasing food in some places, especially those with large grocery stores, and sending boxes elsewhere, especially to the points where you need to receive stuff that won’t be available in small-town stores (for example, the trail guide for the next section, new boots and socks, or a replacement water filter).

A “bounce box” fits in well with this approach: you collect a box in Town A, which also has a good grocery store, and you buy extra amounts of the food you have come to prefer. Then you mail that box (the bounce box) on ahead to Town C, which doesn’t have good shopping possibilities. In between, you hit Town B, where you plan to stay in a motel and gorge in local restaurants for a day, recovering from your calorie and fresh food deficits of the past couple weeks.

Whether you plan to buy most of your food along the way, or only a few extras to supplement your resupply box, pay careful attention to Yogi’s financial advice: “You damn well better have extra money saved. This costs way more than people lead you to believe.”

I can vouch for that. After four months on the PCT, my family’s appetites for restaurant food and our desire for motel stays increased amazingly, and in order to finish, we had to buy extra cold-weather gear in Portland and Seattle. I’d estimate we spent an extra thousand dollars just to get through Oregon and Washington.

Packing Considerations

How much? Just like what foods to include, how much food to pack is highly individual. According to the ATC, while backpacking can require 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day, a male thru-hiker can burn as many as 5,000 to 7,000 calories a day. However, your appetite may initially be diminished as you set out on the trail, only to return with gusto. 

The author and daughter, Mary Chambers, hike through wind, fog, and sunshine, in Washington’s North Cascades. (Photo: Gary Chambers)

The ATC recommends 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of food per day (2 1/2 pounds in cold weather). Estimates can be a good general starting point, but veteran backpackers should consider their specific nutritional needs and preferences, as well as the frequency of resupply options.

Garbage: When packing your resupply box(es), consider the garbage. Once you’ve eaten your food, you’ll have to carry the empty containers to the next campground or town that has a trash can, and on some trails that can mean a week or more. Bears can smell those wrappers, so choose items that don’t leave a smelly residue. And plan to double-bag all garbage. (On our PCT thru-hike, we used Ziploc bags for trash, and then put the trash inside the liners that come with the new Ursacks.)

Also, be aware of food storage regulations in areas you’ll travel through. For example, the PCT passes through black bear and grizzly habitat, with some spots requiring bear canisters. Whatever bear avoidance plan you choose (canister, Ursack, hanging food in trees), practice it beforehand!

The Desert Thru-Hiker’s Obsession: Water

Careful water planning is essential to a successful thru-hike on any trail. Where water is scarce, like southern sections of the PCT and CDT, it’s particularly important. In Southern California, PCT water sources frequently are 20 miles or more apart in areas that reach 100 degrees. On the CDT, sources can be infrequent also, particularly in New Mexico and in Wyoming’s Great Divide Basin. No matter what trail you thru-hike, water planning is an essential part of your preparation.

Find it

Traveling through the Mojave Desert offers its own water planning challenges on the PCT. (Photo courtesy of Aaron Doss and the PCTA)

Trail guidebooks typically list reliable water sources to help you plan ahead. On the AT, for example, most (but not all) shelters are near a reliable water source. However, some springs and streams may dry up later in the hiking season, so you’ll need to take your timing into account.

A few trail websites provide current water conditions as a service to other hikers, though information may be incomplete or inaccurate. Plan carefully for areas where water availability is a major concern, and be prepared for a non-existent source.

Treat it

Once you’ve located water, consider how you’ll treat it. Even clear, cold, running water can be contaminated with microorganisms. As with other gear choices, water treatment is a very individual decision, and hikers should practice different techniques before deciding on one.

Many thru-hikers opt for lightweight chemical treatments. If chemical treatments appeal to you, use them on practice trips to make sure you can follow the directions, and that the water tastes good enough to drink. The new bottles with built-in filters are becoming popular, but most likely won’t provide enough water for a full day of hiking in 100-degree weather. People planning to use a regular filter or purifier should practice with it, including learning how to clean and maintain their filter out on the trail.

Research the water treatment concerns and suggestions for the various areas you’ll travel through. Then consider your treatment’s effectiveness against the biological contaminants (parasites, bacteria, and viruses) you’re likely to encounter, as well as its convenience and ease of use.

Additional Preparation Tips

Here are a few more nuggets of wisdom from experienced long-trail hikers on how to prepare:

• Do work out a plan that will get you to water, campsites, trail towns etc., on a schedule that will enable you to finish in five to six months. But accept that most of your assumptions will turn out to be wrong and many of your plans will have to be changed on the fly.
• Forget about reading that 1,000-page novel you’ve been saving. Escape literature is what you need when you have a few brief moments to read before falling asleep … or when you’re stuck in your tent or a shelter during a downpour.
• Settle all personal and financial matters before you leave home. Once you’ve left the trailhead, you will have energy only for surviving the trail. If there are birthdays and anniversaries you must remember, make out cards ahead of time and leave them with a trusted friend with instructions on when to mail them.
• Take a phone card along for use at pay phones or in trail angels’ homes. Cell phone coverage is unreliable in the backcountry, and even in many small towns. 
• Do plan to keep a journal. Whether you post it online for all the world to see, or just keep it for yourself, it will be priceless.
• Read the label warnings for any medications you’re taking, prescription or over-the-counter, including common anti-inflammatory drugs. Many make you particularly susceptible to sunburn.

Next up, Part 3: Triple Crowners offer advice to first-time thru-hikers on how to stay safe and have fun.

Read the full series:

“Planning a Thru-Hike: Part 1”: tips on choosing a trail, gear, training, and resources.

“Planning a Thru-Hike Part 2”: What am I doing out here? And what am I going to eat and drink?

“Planning a Thru-Hike: Part 3”: advice from Triple Crown thru-hikers.

“Planning a Thru-Hike Part 4”: advice from trail angels (coming soon)

In 2005, half of those NPS incidents occurred in just five NPS units, according to “Dead Men Walking: Search and Rescue in U.S. National Parks,” a study of search and rescue efforts in all National Park Service units from 1992 to 2007, and published in the September 2009 issue of Wilderness & Environmental Medicine (Volume 20, Number 3).

Yosemite accounts for 25 percent of all National Park Service SAR costs. (NPS image)

The objective of the authors, Travis W. Heggie, PhD, and Michael E. Amundson, BS, was to identify search and rescue trends in U.S. National Park Service units. The authors retrospectively reviewed the U.S. National Park Service Annual Search and Rescue Reports from 1992 to 2007 and the SAR statistics for all NPS units in 2005.

Some of the findings and results, from the study's Abstract:

• From 1992 to 2007 there were 78,488 individuals involved in 65,439 SAR incidents. These incidents ended with 2,659 fatalities, 24,288 ill or injured individuals, and 13,212 saves.
• On average there were 11.2 SAR incidents each day at an average cost of $895 per operation. Total SAR costs from 1992 to 2007 were $58,572,164.
• In 2005, 50 percent of the 2,430 SAR operations occurred in just five NPS units. Grand Canyon National Park (307) and Gateway National Recreation Area (293) reported the most SAR operations, followed by Yosemite National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and and Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
• Yosemite National Park accounted for 25 percent of the total NPS SAR costs ($1.2 million).
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve ($29,310) and Denali National Park and Preserve ($18,345) had the highest average SAR costs.
• Hiking (48%) and boating (21%) were the most common activities requiring SAR assistance.
• Hiking (22.8%), suicides (12.1%), swimming (10.1%), and boating (10.1%) activities were the most common activities resulting in fatalities.

Study Conclusions: Without the presence of NPS personnel responding to SAR incidents, 1 in 5 (20%) of those requesting SAR assistance would be a fatality. Future research and the development of any prevention efforts should focus on the 5 NPS units where 50 percent of all SAR incidents are occurring.

In a related study by Heggie, “Search and rescue trends associated with recreational travel in US national parks,” NPS SAR reports for the years 2003 to 2006 were reviewed. Findings include:

• Almost half (40%) of the operations occurred on Saturday and Sunday, and visitors aged 20 to 29 years were involved in 23 percent of the incidents.
• Males accounted for 66.3 percent of the visitors requiring SAR assistance.
• Day hiking, motorized boating, swimming, overnight hiking, and non-motorized boating were the participant activities resulting in the most SAR operations.
• The vast majority of visitors requiring SAR assistance were located within a 24-hour period, and the most common rescue environments were mountain areas between 1,524 and 4,572 m, lakes, rivers, oceans, and coastal areas.
• An error in judgment, fatigue and physical conditions, and insufficient equipment, clothing, and experience were the most common contributing factors.

Study Conclusions: SAR incidents can be expensive and end with severe health consequences. NPS management should develop education and preventive efforts focused on hikers, boaters, and swimmers who are males and aged 20 to 29 years, addressing issues of adequate judgment, preparation, and experience.

(The full text of “Dead Men Walking” is available online to Wilderness & Environmental Medicine journal subscribers.)

(National Forest Service image)

The Abstract states: “Black bears forage selectively to balance energetic and nutritional gains with foraging costs. Selection of minivans by bears in Yosemite National Park was the likely consequence of efforts to maximize caloric gain and minimize costs by targeting vehicles with higher probabilities of payoff.”

There are several, non-mutually exclusive possibilities for the higher rate of minvan break-ins:

• Minivans may emit stronger food odors, regardless of how much food is present inside. (Blame the sticky car seats and small children who spill food and drink.)
• Minivan passengers may leave more food inside their vehicles. (Most vehicles broken into have some amount of food or trash inside. Yosemite visitors are required to use bear lockers or other approved storage methods.)
• Minivans may be physically easier to break into.
• A few individual bears may have learned to repeatedly break into minivans for a better payoff.

Station wagons were broken into the least (see chart below).

Chart: Percentage of vehicles broken into by black bears (Ursus americanus; used—black) and parked overnight (available—gray) by class of vehicle in 2004–2005. Only use of minivans surpassed availability and shows that black bears strongly selected for this class of vehicle.

The study, Selective Foraging For Anthropogenic Resources By Black Bears: Minivans In Yosemite National Park, is available online.

Modesto Bee article: “Yosemite bears know big picnics come in minivans”

(Image courtesy of Patagonia)

Yvon Chouinard is being recognized in the November issue of U.S. News & World Report as founder and owner of Patagonia, a company he founded and continues to run, which strives to cause no unnecessary harm to the planet and uses business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. Yvon pushed Patagonia use only organic cotton in 1996, co-founded 1% For the Planet in 2001, urged the company to begin a revolutionary garment recycling program in 2005, and inspired the launch of the Footprint Chronicles, an interactive website that took corporate transparency to a new level, in 2007. Since 1985, Patagonia has given over $34M to grassroots environmental organizations through its unique Grants Program, and continues to thrive during recessionary times, having their best year on record in 2008.

"The country has faced exceptional challenges in the past year," said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report. “With our Best Leaders issue, we focused on individuals from a range of industries who have demonstrated unwavering leadership and a commitment to finding solutions in this difficult time."

U.S. News Media Group’s nomination of America’s Best Leaders features 22 of the country’s foremost professionals, including:

• Ben Bernanke, Chairman, The Federal Reserve Board (Washington, D.C.)
• Cory Booker, Mayor, City of Newark (Newark, NJ)
• John Chambers, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cisco Systems, Inc. (San Jose, CA)
• Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia Inc. (Ventura, CA)
• John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (Menlo Park, CA)
• Cheryl Dorsey, President, Echoing Green (New York, NY)
• Eve Ensler, Founder and Artistic Director, President, Board of Directors, V-DAY (New York, NY)
• Norman Francis, President, Xavier University of Louisiana (New Orleans, LA)
• • Orrin G. Hatch, United States Senate (Washington, DC)
• Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
• Edward Kennedy (1932-2009), Former United States Senator
• Kathleen Magee, Co-Founder and President, Operation Smile (Norfolk, VA)
• William Magee Jr., D.D.S., M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Operation Smile (Norfolk, VA)
• Greg Mortenson, Executive Director, Central Asia Institute (Bozeman, MT)
• Ray Odierno, Commanding General, Multi-National Force, Iraq, United States Army (The Pentagon, Washington, DC))
• Senior Enlisted Officers, United States Military (The Pentagon, Washington, DC)
• Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Core (Chicago, IL)
• Sally Ride, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sally Ride Science (San Diego, CA)
• David Robinson, Founder, The Carver Academy (San Antonio, TX)
• Judith Rodin, President, The Rockefeller Foundation (New York, NY)
• James Sinegal, President and Chief Executive Officer, Costco Wholesale Corporation (Issaquah, WA)
• Twyla Tharp, Founder and Artistic Director, Twyla Tharp Productions (New York, NY)

"America's Best Leaders are constantly working to solve society's biggest problems," said Kelly. "Whether they are developing ways to be more environmentally sustainable, reviving a city, building schools in war zones, or bringing the economy back from the brink, these leaders are making a positive impact with creativity and innovation."

In a collaborative effort between U.S. News and Harvard’s CPL, the leaders were selected by a nonpartisan and independent committee, convened and organized by the Center, without the participation of U.S. News editors. The selection criteria used by the committee in choosing the honorees included the ability to set direction, achieve results, and cultivate a culture of growth.

Are you considering or planning a thru-hike for next year (or even just for “some day”)? Sorting through a deluge of advice and wondering which to pay attention to? Successful backpackers can tell you what really matters.

Thousands of people set out every spring to hike one of America’s long trails, such as the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, they anticipate spending the next five or six months traipsing through woods and over mountains, earning bragging rights that will last them all their lives.

Come autumn, only a relative handful of these eager souls will finish the trail. The rest will drop out along the way.

What makes the difference?

Answers to that question from hardcore backpackers and successful thru-hikers vary widely. What works best in terms of physical training or gear choices is very individual. Even then success isn’t assured for anyone: even the best-prepared backpacker’s plans can be thwarted by a stress fracture or an early-season snowstorm. But Triple Crown hikers — those who have completed all three of those long trails — generally agree on certain characteristics essential to success, especially preparation, perseverance, and flexibility. 

Those are also the keys to enjoying shorter trails, such as the 211-mile John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada, the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail in California and Nevada, and the 273-mile Long Trail in Vermont, the oldest long-distance footpath in the United States. All are terrific ways to prepare for a longer trek.

The 2,178-mile AT is the most popular of the long trails. (Image courtesy of ATC)

By now, people planning to hike the Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), or Continental Divide Trail (CDT) next year should be deep in the preparation stage. The first choice, of course, is: which trail?

• The Appalachian Trail, running 2,178 miles from Georgia to Maine, is by far the best known and the most popular. With its white blazes marking the trail, shelters every several miles, and easy access to roads and towns, the AT annually attracts well over a thousand wannabe thru-hikers … who quickly discover just how challenging it really is. Typically, around one in four make it the whole way.
• Only about 300 thru-hikers tackle the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail each year, partly because it appears much more daunting. PCT thru-hikers begin their walk in the hot, dry desert at the California-Mexico border and climb through a succession of High Sierra passes, many exceeding 10,000 feet, before pushing through the Northwest’s stormy weather on their way to Canada. Roughly 60 percent finish.
• Few except the very experienced tackle the Continental Divide Trail, which isn’t even a true trail yet — just a route from Canada to Mexico along the spine of the Rockies, roughly 3,100 miles long. Only a few dozen people attempt it each year and map and compass skills are crucial.
• While the AT, PCT, and CDT are probably the best known long trails in the United States, other national scenic trails (some still in progress) include the 4,600-mile North Country Trail, the 1,200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail, the 1,000-mile Ice Age Trail, and the 1,100-mile Florida Trail. Canada’s long trails include the 885-km (550-mile) Bruce Trail, the 1,045-km (649-mile) International Appalachian Trail, and (in the works) a coast-to-cast National Hiking Trail.

Having chosen his or her trail, the wise backpacker investigates all available resources, including websites, books, magazines, and trail journals (see resources below). He or she may attend programs to learn or review specific skills (map and compass reading or first aid, say), or interview successful backpackers in person or online. Then he begins buying gear and getting into shape. These two chores are best begun many months before a thru-hike starts.

Gear

Wise thru-hikers preparing for cold, wet weather choose the lightest-weight gear they can afford before heading into the mountains. Here, snow clings to the North Cascades even in July. (Photo by Gary Chambers; click for PCT videos)

Triple-Crown hiker Jackie McDonnell, better known by her trail name Yogi, says the best way to keep pack weight at a minimum is to keep gear at a minimum and get the lightest version of each item that you can afford. (Unfortunately, the lowest weight tends to correspond with the highest price, for everything from cook pots and tent stakes to ice axes and sleeping bags.) 

On the other hand, since Yogi frequently changes her gear, even on the trail, her most important item may be the “800” number for REI stores. “I could order anything and get it at the next town,” she said.

Triple Crowner David Rainey, aka Pineneedle, has a simple formula to explain why he carries only the essentials and how he manages to move so quickly: “The less you carry, the faster you go. And the faster you go, the less you need to carry.”

Of course, the bare essentials differ from one person to another. Karen Somers, known on the trail as Nocona, wouldn’t step foot in the Sierra without her RailRiders Eco-Mesh shirt (proof against biting insects and sunburn) and a mosquito head net. John Muir Trail veteran Alice Bodnar found a comprehensive foot care kit was the most valuable item in her pack. My favorite possession is my MSR PocketRocket stove. Ask other thru-hikers, especially those with similar hiking styles to yours, what worked for them.

The author (right), husband Gary Chambers, and their Eureka! Zeus 3EXO tent in the Southern California desert during their family’s 2004 PCT thru-hike. (Photo by Mary Chambers; click for PCT videos)

On the other hand, plenty of backpackers give little thought to mosquitoes, blisters, or cooking on the trail, and do just fine. But the successful ones agree that a shelter of some sort is crucial, preferably a lightweight tent.

A sheet of nylon might be enough for the ultra-light crowd, but for most people, a tent is best. It keeps out rain, snakes, mice, and mosquitoes, and it gives shelter from the wind and the cold. It gives you a place to stow your belongings and organize your stuff when you camp with other hikers. And a tent provides one more thing that’s often in short supply on the trail, especially the more popular ones: privacy.

Whatever gear you choose, familiarize yourself with it and break in any footwear before your thru-hike begins.

Training

As with gear, advice for getting into shape is all over the map:

• 
  Jackie McDonnell, aka Yogi, perches atop the monument at the south end of the Pacific Crest Trail on the Mexico-California border. Yogi has written handbooks for the PCT and the CDT. (Photo courtesy Jackie McDonnell)
  Yogi likes to start the trail completely conditioned, which isn’t easy while working 50 hours a week during the off-season, in her home state of Kansas. She starts walking an hour a day, six days a week, about nine months before she wants to start a trip. During the last three months, she adds ankle weights, and swaps 20 minutes of walking for 20 minutes on a stepper.

• Nocona recommends traveling to a point near the trailhead a week ahead of your start date to adjust to the heat during day hikes, especially out West.

• Alice found high-mileage backpacking trips on weekends just before a big hike the key to a good trip.

• Trail angel Donna Saufley, who took up backpacking after meeting and helping hundreds of thru-hikers, tries to match her training regimen to the elevation gains and losses she’ll experience on the trail. “Flights of stairs would work for those locations without mountains,” she suggested.

What it comes down to is building up your strengths and skills, discovering your weaknesses, and then acting on what you’ve learned. Try to fit in at least one backpacking trip of 10 to 14 days that includes terrain similar to the harder parts of your chosen trail a few months or even a year ahead of time, and take several shorter trips as close to your anticipated hike as possible.

If you plan to travel alone, then practice alone. There’s a huge difference between going alone and being with another person. Until you actually do it, you don’t know if you can hike to your backcountry campsite all by your lonesome, set up your tent, and then actually get a good night’s rest despite all the strange noises emanating from the dark forest. 

And if you do have a prospective hiking partner, be sure to practice with him or her. There’s a popular misconception that you can advertise for a hiking partner online, meet up with this person for the first time at the trailhead, and by some miracle you’ll both have the same goals, hiking style, daily mileage capacity, ability to deal with the weather, need for rest days, and so on.

Yogi is adamant: “Never agree to hike with a partner.” Unless the partner is a spouse or significant other — and someone you’ve done a lot of backpacking with already — don’t do it. Instead, start on your own and you’ll soon discover fellow backpackers who will make good companions for a section or even the entire trail.

Up next, Part 2: What am I doing out here on the trail? And what am I going to eat?

Resources for planning an AT, PCT, or CD thru-hike include:

(Check online and with other thru-hikers for additional publications and resources, as new material is published every year.)

	Appalachian Trail Conservancy www.appalachiantrail.org The ATC provides a wealth of information on planning an AT thru-hike on its website. The ATC publishes official trail guides and maps, the Appalachian Trail Data Book, and the AT Thru-Hikers’ Companion, both updated annually. Members receive the magazine A.T. Journeys and discounts on maps and books purchased from the extensive online Appalachian Trail Store.
	Pacific Crest Trail Association www.pcta.org PCTA members receive the PCT Communicator magazine. The website has answers to FAQ, information on planning a thru-hike, and maps, guides, and planning books for sale. The PCTA issues, upon request, Thru-Permits for trips of 500 miles or more on the trail, plus special permits for side trips to Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the Lower 48 States.
	Continental Divide Trail Alliance www.cdtrail.org In 2009 the CDTA began an extensive mapping project with the U.S. Forest Service to capture an accurate “center line” for the trail. The data collected will be made available with up-to-date trail information, GPS coordinates, and CDT maps.
	Continental Divide Trail Society www.cdtsociety.org The CDTS publishes the Guide to the Continental Divide Trail, a series of guidebooks and supplements that provide a mile-by-mile description of the Continental Divide Trail.
	Wilderness Press, Berkeley www.wildernesspress.com Wilderness Press, publisher of outdoor hiking books and maps for 40 years, publishes the three “official” PCT guidebooks — for Southern California, Northern California, and Oregon/Washington — and the PCT Data Book. Other titles cover hiking maps, planning, trails, skills, and narratives. (Wilderness Press also published Zero Days, the author’s book on her family’s 2004 PCT thru-hike.)
	Pocket PCT PCT thru-hiker Paul Bodnar just published Pocket PCT: An Elevation Guide to the Pacific Crest Trail available at www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/pocket-pct/7555165. It provides an elevation profile of the entire PCT, mile-by-mile markings for water sources (graded by reliability), resupply points, and other landmarks (such as other trails, roads, etc.).
	Yogi’s Guides www.pcthandbook.com Triple Crowner Jackie McDonnell publishes Yogi’s PCT Handbook, the companion book for the PCT,  and updates it frequently. (The old Town Guide is out of date and out of print; the PCTA recommends using Yogi’s handbook instead.) Yogi also has published a CDT companion, Yogi’s CDT Handbook.

Read the full series:

“Planning a Thru-Hike: Part 1”: tips on choosing a trail, gear, training, and resources.

“Planning a Thru-Hike Part 2”: What am I doing out here? And what am I going to eat and drink?

“Planning a Thru-Hike: Part 3”: advice from Triple Crown thru-hikers.

“Planning a Thru-Hike Part 4”: advice from trail angels (coming soon)

Whether you hit the trail for a day or a week, and whether you prefer campsite camaraderie or backpacking’s blissful solitude, entering the land of grizzlies and black bears comes with great responsibility.

Assure a safe trip by taking proper precautions, respecting bears’ space, and having a firm grip on how to handle yourself in a face-to-face meeting with one of nature’s most majestic and often misunderstood mammals.  

• Where to be bear aware
  
  
• On the trail in bear country
• Camping in bear country
• Handling food in bear country
• Bear encounters
• Further resources

Where to be Bear Aware

North America is home to three types of bears: the American black bear, the brown bear, and the polar bear. Since few people enter freezing, remote polar bear country, we’ll focus on black and brown bears, where you may encounter each, and how to tell them apart. 

American black bear (Ursus americanus)

Black bear in the Great Smokey Mountains (NPS Photo)

With a population estimated at around 750,000 according to the North American Bear Center, the American black bear is the most common bear species on the continent. It makes its home in 41 states, northern Mexico, and throughout Canada. Compared to their hulking Kodiak cousins, black bears are small. A male averages 275 pounds, with weight varying greatly depending on food availability.

And don’t let the name fool you — black bears come in a variety of shades. Cinnamon and tawny bears are often found in drier Western regions, and more than 80 percent of Colorado black bears are actually brown. All are known for being quite shy, prone to running away or climbing a tree if they feel threatened.

Brown bears (Ursus arctos)

While brown bears are commonly called grizzly bears, grizzlies are technically a subspecies (Ursus arctos horribilis) of browns, along with the Kodiak (Ursus arctos middendorffi). How many other brown bear subspecies there are is up for scientific debate.

Brown bear in fall (NPS Photo)

Huge, aggressive, and agile, the brown bear is the athlete of the bear family. They’re able to run up to 35 miles an hour and swim expertly. With plenty of food available they can reach 900 pounds, though the average female grizzly weighs 200 to 300 pounds, and males usually reach anywhere from 300 to 650 pounds. The colossal Kodiak, the largest subspecies of brown bear, can reach 1,500 pounds due to abundant seafood availability.

Exact numbers are impossible to determine, but an estimated 50,000 brown bears remain in North America. They live primarily in Alaska and Canada, with about 500 found along the Continental Divide in northern Montana and another 600 in Yellowstone National Park. The Kodiak bear is found only on Kodiak, Shuyak, and Afognak islands off the coast of southern Alaska.

(Image courtesy of Alaska State Parks)

Which bear is which?

Geography and size are good clues, but they aren’t always enough to determine which bear is which, especially if you’re hiking in places where both may live. Color isn’t definite either: some black bears come in brown or blond shades, and some brown bears come in blond or black shades.

The following features will help you be certain:

Body type
Brown/grizzly bears have a pronounced, muscular shoulder hump. Black bears have a straighter back that slopes toward their rump.

Facial features
Black bears have a long, pointy nose and larger, pointed ears, while brown/grizzly heads are much larger and dish-shaped, and their small, neat ears are rounded. 

Claws
Black bear claws are sharp, curved and usually no longer than two inches. Grizzly claws are rather straight, dull, and can be longer than your finger. Not that you’ll want to get close enough to examine them.

(Readers wanting to test their identification skills can take a Bear ID quiz on the Center for Wildlife Information’s website.)

On the Trail in Bear Country

Brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. (Photo: John Gookin)

Thomas Smith, a wildlife biologist with decades of experience studying human-bear interactions, says staying safe in bear country doesn’t have to be as complicated as it’s often made out to be. “In their world, they really are not looking for trouble,” he said. “Most of them will run from you, given advanced notice. As long as you give them cues you’re coming, it gives them a chance to move off.”

Generally, if you encounter a bear on the trail, you’ve either surprised it or it is one of a minute percentage of bears who, “with no provocation, see a human and see it as potentially a food item,” according to Smith.

Know the signs

A trail with a hump in the center is likely a well-traveled bear trail, since their heavy paws pack down the trail sides, leaving a raised center. Scat, about two inches in diameter, is an obvious indicator, usually quite dark and with hair or partially digested insects or plants.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists a host of other signs: Padded down vegetation with scat nearby is likely a bear’s day bed. Stripped bark, depleted berry patches, clawed or torn-apart logs, overturned rocks, and dug up roots are also telltale signs of a bear’s presence. So are dead animal parts, the smell of decay signifying a food cache, or fish remains near a stream. Even if you don’t see a bear nearby, never get close to a carcass or other food source.

Hey, Bear!

Don't fall into a trance on the trail, but look up and around and announce your presence as you hike. Chat with your group and keep children close by and within sight. Sing a song, clap your hands, call out occasionally, or talk to yourself if you’re solo — having other hikers wonder if you’re crazy is preferable to surprising a bear. Some hikers tie bells to their backpacks for a constant jingling bear alert (though how well bells work remains uncertain). When traveling upwind or near running water make more noise to be heard.

Arm yourself

With bear spray, that is. Bear spray — a substance made from capsaicin, the oily residue from hot peppers — greatly irritates a bear’s eyes and breathing passages (warning: it will do the same to you, so don’t spray it at people or straight into the wind). Always have it handy — not packed in the top of your pack, not one zipper away, but in a hip holster (it should come with one when you purchase it) or a side pack pocket.

Bear spray should be used as a last line of defense against a charging bear. Never spray it on people, on your gear (spraying it on your tent might even attract a bear), or at a non-charging bear.

Learn how to properly use bear spray and know the spraying guidelines and range before you head out. Practice removing your spray from its holster in anticipation of various, surprise encounters. Be prepared to aim at the bear’s face or in a cloud the bear has to pass through to get to you. The Center for Wildlife Information recommends a minimum spray distance of 25 feet and spraying for at least six seconds to give the bear time to stop or divert its charge.

All bear sprays sold in the United States must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, which maintains a list of approved bear deterrent products. Health Canada registers products for use in Canada.

If flying, check current airline and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations before packing bear spray. Currently, the FAA has restrictions against traveling with certain non-medicinal aerosols. You’ll likely need to purchase bear spray once you arrive at your destination.

What does Tom Reed, co-author of NOLS Bear Essentials: Hiking and Camping in Bear Country, think of the bear-spray-versus-guns debate?

“As a hunter, I certainly take comfort in carrying a sidearm while hunting in grizzly country; however, this, in all but the most unusual circumstances, serves the same purpose as a binky does for an eight month old. It’s comforting, but really not much use.

Think about it: 700 pounds of fur, teeth, and claw is coming down on you faster than you can read this sentence. Do you think you can pull your sidearm and fire a killing shot that drops the bear in its tracks? Do you think you can hit a moving, raging target with a kill zone the size of the end of a Folgers can, calmly, deliberately and without fail?

Bear spray spreads a cloud of spray in a wider diameter than does a sawed-off shotgun and is extremely effective. Several studies have borne this out. Nowadays, I take just as much comfort in the bear spray on my hip regardless of what I’m carrying in my hands: bow, shotgun, rifle, camera, or fly rod.

Honestly, I trust my aim with a cloud of spray 20 feet or so in diameter far more than I trust my aim with a pistol or even a shotgun. Bear spray is a better option for 99 out of 100 of us. The 100th needs to be an Olympic class pistolero with nerves of ice.”

Far better than bullets

Never rely on shooting your way out of a bear encounter. Recent research shows that using your brain and your bear spray is a far safer option. In 2008, Smith and three colleagues published the study “Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska” in the Journal of Wildlife Management, assessing the use of bear spray in Alaska from 1985 to 2006. In 72 bear encounters involving 150 people who used bear spray, a bear touched a person three times, resulting in very minor injuries. According to the study’s Abstract, “Of all persons carrying sprays, 98% were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters.”

In a separate research project by Smith (using data from the Alaska Bear Attacks Database Project he’s worked on), of 150 people who used firearms, bears killed 17 people, seriously mauled 35, and injured many others.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Bear Spray vs. Bullets fact sheet, “No deterrent is 100% effective, but compared to all others, including firearms, proper use of bear spray has proven to be the best method for fending off threatening and attacking bears, and for preventing injury to the person and animal involved.”

Consider the animal, too — bear spray results in temporary discomfort. Bullets wound and kill. And many parks, including Denali and Yosemite, prohibit firearms or, at the very least, don’t allow you to carry them loaded on the trail.

Camping in Bear Country

When camping in bear country, avoid bringing anything with a scent. Just because it’s not edible doesn’t mean it won’t draw a bear to your camp, so ditch perfumes and use unscented deodorant and soap. When choosing a backcountry campsite, keep in mind that lakeshores or alpine meadows are lovely places to camp, but bears prefer them too.

Inspect your site to make sure it’s clean, trash-free, and that it will allow enough space between your camp kitchen, sleeping area, and where you’ll store or hang your food.

John Gookin and Tom Reed, authors of NOLS Bear Essentials: Hiking and Camping in Bear Country, recommend about 320 feet between each area, in a triangle set-up. If outdoor toilets aren’t available, go far and away to do your business, and bury it deep. Keep your camp spotless, collecting all trash in a sealable bag.

Handling Food in Bear Country

A fed bear is a dead bear. We’ve all heard the mantra. Human food is incredibly enticing to bears. Bear noses are 100 times more sensitive than ours, and they have excellent memories, often returning to places they’ve found “positive food rewards” like a sandwich or Twinkies. Yosemite, for instance, is ridden with smart, food-conditioned bears that have become expert thieves. A bear that raids campsites usually ends up being destroyed — a terrible and unnecessary result of careless human behavior. Dave Smith, author of Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide to Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters, sums it up simply: “Once bears get food from humans, they’re addicts, and most addicts die young.”

Never stash food anywhere other than an approved storage container. Your options are a metal bear box, a plastic bear resistant food canister, or a stuff sack hung properly from a tree or bear pole, depending on the rules wherever you’re headed. Research the rules and practices for the area you’ll be visiting before you get there. 

What goes in

Whatever method you use, Backcountry Bear Basics recommends the following be safely stashed:

• 
  Place all smellables—including food, toiletries, and trash—in an approved bear canister or box.
  Food and beverages
• Stoves and fuel
• Cooking utensils
• Clothes in which you’ve cooked
• Toiletries
• Pet food
• Trash

Bear boxes

Many areas, like Yosemite and Denali National Parks, provide bear boxes in campgrounds and require you to use them. When these metal food lockers are closed and locked correctly, a bear can still smell the food but can’t access it. Never leave a bear box unlatched or open, even if you’re only stepping away for a moment. If a bear box is not available in your campground, secure your stash in your vehicle’s trunk.

Bear canisters

These durable, plastic containers that close and lock tightly are used when backpacking, where bear boxes aren’t available or when there aren’t substantial tree limbs from which to hang food. Yosemite and Denali require them for the backcountry, and some parks even require you to have an approved brand of canister — check websites in advance so you make the proper purchase or rental, and practice packing it before your trip. Information on approved containers can be found at the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee or the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group’s websites.

The National Park Service recommends placing bear canisters on the ground 100 feet or more away from your campsite, never near a cliff, big hill, or water source. One helpful hint: place cookware on top of your canister to create an instant bear alarm. Bulkiness is an issue, but you can repackage your food and toiletries, and choose dense foods that are high in calories. It’s better to heft the canister on the trail than to wake up one morning, three days from civilization, to find only empty food wrappers and bear spit.

Food hanging

If you’re not required by park law to have a bear canister or use a box, you must hang your food in a stuff sack. Some parks, like Yellowstone, provide backcountry food hanging poles, but a suitable tree works too. In NOLS Bear Essentials, Gookin and Reed recommend your stash be 12 feet above ground and five feet from large tree limbs. A variety of rope hang techniques are featured in their book, ranging from the Single-Rope Hang to a “High Line Hang and Tree Climb” technique that you won’t want to attempt without some prior practice or the help of a professional engineer.

A diagram from NOLS Bear Essentials illustrates the single-rope hang, one of several methods for hanging your food. (Illustration by Mike Clelland)

Here’s how to pull off a single-rope hang:

1. Grab your food bag, the sturdy 50-foot rope you’ve surely remembered to pack, and find a proper tree limb, about 20 feet above the ground with no branches below it.
2. Weight one rope end with a rock or carabiner and toss over the limb (repeat until you actually pull it off).
3. Tie the food bags on in a secure knot, and hoist them about 12 feet above.
4. Tie off the rope on a different tree nearby.

Is it foolproof? No. Could a visiting, determined bear chew through your rope and enjoy a tasty snack while you sleep? Sure.

For this reason, some backpackers take a combo approach, storing some food in a hanging stuff sack and the rest in a canister.

Others opt for using one of the more complicated hanging techniques in Gookin and Reed’s book, which include numerous trees and ropes and some shimmying. Practice before your backcountry excursion and have your method(s) down pat.

Cooking and cleanliness

Avoid greasy foods that splatter (leave the bacon at home) and try to avoid leftovers. If you’ve hunted or fished, do not clean fish or game in camp. Wash all dishes and utensils with a non-scented soap. Any leftover food must be included in your trash, and as on any camping or backpacking trip, always adhere to proper Leave No Trace principles. If you pack it in, you pack it out, and that means every single food wrapper, tissue, bit of trash, and band-aid. Leave the woods as you found it.

Disposing of grey/wastewater can require extra care. Leave No Trace recommends the following in its Rocky Mountain Skills & Ethics Booklet:

Disposing of wastewater in bear country is tricky. Once again, your main goal is to keep odors out of camp. If you are camped by a large volume river—at least 10 feet wide with substantial depth—you can pour strained wash water directly into the river to help disperse any odor.

If you are not by a river, consider digging a small hole (6-8" deep cathole) and sumping your wastewater. This practice concentrates odors in one safe location well away from your camp, however, animals may be attracted to the smell and dig up the hole in search of food. For this reason, sumping is not recommended in areas of high use. In these places, you should walk well away from camp and scatter your wastewater.

Always research and follow local agency regulations and suggestions for your area.

Bear Encounters

You’ve been careful and followed all the rules but now find yourself in the path of a grizzly or see two cute black bear cubs foraging with mom. Hundreds of books and websites offer countless tactics  — waving your hands about, throwing rocks, lying down if a bear charges.

A brown bear at Hallo Bay in Katmai National Park shows off its “cowboy walk” to look tough (or, in John Gookin’s words, “be a real bad-ass”). (Photo: John Gookin)

Nonsense, according to Tom Smith. “Carry a deterrent, make noise and act appropriately, and let the bear figure you out. Stand your ground. If it charges, you spray it. There’s no room for this other stuff,” he said. So here are the steps, as simple as possible, to handling a bear encounter:

• Be calm. Don’t run; you’ll flip the bear’s “chase” switch.
• If you come upon a bear that doesn’t notice you, leave quietly and immediately. This isn’t your “Grizzly Man” moment; don’t fumble around for a camera, approach it, or talk to it.
• If the bear does notice you or you surprise it, speak in a normal tone of voice while slowly reaching for your bear spray. Back up, but don’t turn away from the bear. “Give it a chance to recognize you’re not a threat and to leave the area,” Smith advises. If it leaves, you leave in the opposite direction.
• If the bear stands up, it’s trying to get a better whiff of you. However, if it’s snorting, huffing, or making clicking noises with its jaws, it is getting angry. Continue speaking and backing up, and don’t lose that grip on your 12-ounce can of protection.
• If the bear approaches, it might be bluffing to tell you it’s tough. Don’t wait to find out. Fire your bear spray as soon as the bear is in recommended spraying range. The National Park Service advises aiming for the face but slightly downward because the spray billows upward. Fire a second shot if the first one doesn’t stop the bear’s charge, emptying the can if you have to. The bear should quickly find itself in severe discomfort, and you should find yourself booking down the trail as fast as your shaky legs can carry you.
• 
  Brown bears at Hallo Bay in Katmai National Park head off after a flare is set off. (Photo: John Gookin)
  In the very rare instance that the bear spray fails, stand your ground. If it’s a black bear attacking you, always fight back — yell, scream, punch, kick. According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, people have successfully defended themselves from black bear attacks with knives, trekking poles, and their bare hands.
• No matter what species of bear you’ve encountered, never hit the ground and play dead unless the bear has knocked you down. “Telling them you’re submissive and passive and they’re dominant? I would not give them that message,” Smith said.
• If you’ve encountered a grizzly and it approaches, is unaffected by bear spray (highly unlikely), and knocks you down, then playing dead is a good plan. According to Backcountry Bear Basics, “a startled grizzly — a grizzly acting defensively — generally does not cause serious injuries if you play dead.” However, if you’ve been playing dead for a few minutes and the bear hasn’t left, doesn’t seem as angry, and may be settling in to make you a meal, then you must switch gears and fight. “There are people who fought back with grizzly bears and that worked for them,” Smith said. “But we’re talking about the few who lived to tell about it.”

When exploring bear country, your first and best tool of defense is your brain. Never make assumptions about bear behavior or take a nonchalant, “it won’t happen to me” approach. Research the area and contact local wildlife or park officials for their specific rules and recommendations. Carry bear spray, but know that it’s not a substitute for taking all the proper precautions.

Keep your cool, make smart choices, and maintain respect for the bears’ natural habitat, perhaps keeping in mind the words of naturalist and author Henry Beston: “The animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not our brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations caught with ourselves in the net of life and time.”

The Author’s Source List, and other bear resources:

Books
Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide to Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters
Dave Smith 

NOLS Bear Essentials: Hiking and Camping in Bear Country
John Gookin and Tom Reed

Hiking in Bear Country
Keith Scott

BEARS: Behavior, Ecology, Conservation
Erwin A. Bauer

In the Company of Wild Bears: A Celebration of Backcountry Grizzlies and Black Bears
Howard Smith

Bears: Wild Guide
Charles Fergus

Expert Interviews
Tom Smith: associate professor of wildlife science and research wildlife biologist, Brigham Young University; U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office 

John Gookin: curriculum and research manager and instructor, NOLS; author of NOLS Bear Essentials: Hiking and Camping in Bear Country

Tom Reed: former NOLS instructor; currently Montana/Wyoming backcountry organizer for Trout Unlimited; author of NOLS Bear Essentials: Hiking and Camping in Bear Country

Websites
Colorado Division of Wildlife
Camping & Hiking in Bear Country

The North American Bear Center
www.bear.org

National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park
Minimizing the Dangers of a Bear Encounter
Backcountry Camping & Hiking
Bear Pepper Spray Video Transcript

National Park Service, Denali National Park & Preserve
Backcountry Information

U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center
Bear Pepper Spray: Research and Information by Tom Smith

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Mountain-Prairie Region

Environmental Protection Agency
Bear Deterrents

Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee
www.igbconline.org

The American Bear Association
Camping and Hiking in Black Bear Country

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center
Camping and Hiking in Bear Country

Center for Wildlife Information
www.centerforwildlifeinformation.org

Leave No Trace
www.lnt.org