Welcome back to my backpacking sucks series. If you haven’t read the first installment, be sure to check that out. Just as the title suggests, this is a series all about how much different aspects of backpacking suck, and ultimately, what we can do about it.

In part two of backpacking sucks, I want to talk about how much the weather can suck while backpacking. Even though the weather can really, really suck, with the right gear, mindset, and game plan, you can definitely make even the suckiest weather suck a little less.

Today we are having a good old fashioned vent sesh! While I obviously LOVE backpacking for so many reasons, there are a lot of things about backpacking that just flat out suck. And I think it’s important to be realistic about those things. Backpacking isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and gorgeous views and clean pit toilets. A lot of the time, it’s just the opposite.

My goal for this series is to commiserate with fellow backpackers about all the shitty parts of backpacking, prep newcomers for the things that will make them want to quit, and share some insights on what has kept me going through the years even on the absolute worst days on trail.

Today I want to talk about THIRTY DIFFERENT WAYS to cut your backpacking pack weight for FREE (or at least very cheap). As we all know, reducing your pack weight is the easiest way to make your backpacking trips more enjoyable, but it can be a very slippery slope to spending a ton of money on ultralight gear (Hello, $600 tents!) BUT there are plenty of ways to lighten your backpacking load without spending ANY money (or at least spending very little).

The premise for this blog started as sort of a joke, but as I thought more about it, I realized there was a kernel of truth to the joke that we could all learn from. The joke? Thru-hikers are lazy. The truth? Thru-hikers are efficient. Taking lessons from all the ways thru-hikers display “laziness” can help us all be more efficient backpackers.

Over the course of my backpacking career, I’ve had the distinct privilege of coming across some extremely questionable water sources. I think I perfected my nasty water filtering techniques on the CDT, but I know you can come across some pretty rough sources on most long trails, including the PCT and AT.

Today, I want to talk about some important tips I’ve picked up along the way for how to make drinking water in the backcountry both safe and pleasant.

My fiance and I met while thru-hiking the PCT in 2019 (we each started solo). We met about 1,600 miles in and hiked together for the remaining 1,000 miles. After dating for two years, we then thru-hiked the CDT as a couple in 2022. These are the tips for thru-hiking as a couple that we picked up over 3,700 miles of backpacking together.

The best places to backpack on the continental divide as informed by my 2022 CDT thru-hike. These are the places I’d recommend backpacking at and visiting if you only have a few weeks to experience the beauty of the Continental Divide Trail and Rocky Mountains.

10 tips for Continental Divide Trail Thru-Hiking Hopefuls based on lessons I learned while thru-hiking the CDT in 2022.

One of the most common follow up questions I get from close friends when talking about my thru-hikes is, “what do you do about your period while backpacking?” And I assume many others have this question as well even though they may not be bold enough to ask it. Backpacking on your period and figuring out birth control while thru-hiking can be a very personal topic that varies quite a bit by person, so I just wanted to share what I do, and what I’ve seen work for others, in hopes that it helps a thru-hiking or backpacking hopeful who isn’t quite sure how to deal with that time of the month on an extended backpacking trip.

If you avoid these 6 silly thru-hiking mistakes, in my observed experience, you are far more likely to have a successful thru-hike. By silly, I mean preventable. I wanted to focus on thru-hiking mistakes that you can easily avoid with a little extra time and foresight.

How to choose a sleeping bag for backpacking trips. There are so many factors to consider when it comes to sleeping bag choice — quilts vs. mummy vs. classic, down vs. synthetic, fill weight vs. fill power — this blog tackles some of those decisions in an attempt to demistify the sleeping bag choice process.