At Backpacker, we’re champions of hiking year-round—why trade your trail time for couch time just because it’s a little chilly outside? But we’re also clear-eyed about winter hiking’s challenges. When the mercury drops, what would be a pleasant weekend trip can become an ordeal. Instead of recharging you, it leaves you more drained at the end than you were at the start.

Instead of just surviving your winter adventures, you can learn to . Knowing what gear will help you stay comfortable and happy in the cold is a good place to start. We polled Backpacker’s editors and the rest of our parent company șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s staff to get our coworkers’ personal favorite gear picks for hitting the trail in the winter, and came away with a hit list that might just help you turn the fourth season into your favorite hiking season.

If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside.ÌęLearn more.

Argali Absaroka 4P Tent

Dennis Lewon’s idea of essential winter gear: a big tent. “Winter loads are already heavy so it can be tempting to bring a smaller and lighter tent,” said Lewon, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s director of content (and Backpacker’s former editor in chief). “But having more space and ventilation makes winter camping so much more comfortable, especially with the long nights.” is a four-person pyramid tent with an unusual feature: a fold-up titanium stove that puts out enough heat that our reviewers could hang out in their baselayers during freezing nights. This isn’t like the canvas hot tents you may have tried in the past: The AbsarokaÌę packs down to the size of a paper towel roll, the stove to the size of a laptop case, and the whole package weighs just more than 5 pounds.

ReadEra App

With early sunsets, winter nights are already long, and when winter storms move in, it’s easy to find yourself waiting out the weather for hours or even days. Packing a book is a great way to kill time, and I’m partial to this free e-reader, which I’ve paired with public domain ebooks (Dracula, anyone?) from . ReadEra doesn’t have any ads, subscription fees, or annoying pop-ups, handles a wide variety of file formats well, and it makes it easy to organize your files. I especially appreciated the customization: Being able to change font size and background has kept me from straining my eyes into oblivion while paging through stories on my phone.

Hothands Hand Warmers

We’ve lost count of how many colleagues professed their love for these disposable warmers, which they stuff into gloves, boots, and sleep systems. “I hold onto those puppies real tight each night or stuff them in my sleeping bag,” wrote Emma Veidt, Backpacker’s associate editor. Trying to cut down on your waste in 2025? Zippo’s HeatBank 9s, which combines a USB-rechargeable hand warmer with a power bank, is a reusable option.

Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Down Pants

Packing down pants to take the chill off the coldest nights is a favorite strategy of Jake Stern, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Magazine’s digital editor. Mountain Hardwear’s Ghost Whisperer pants keep weight down with 800-fill down and gossamer ripstop construction; a men’s medium weighs in at 9.6 ounces, but still features two side pockets and ankle zips to make getting them on and off easy despite the trim cut. Bonus: Pair them with a matching Ghost Whisperer Hoody to create the world’s most technical sweatsuit.

Baffin Cush Booty

Cold toes are a little issue that can have a big impact on your comfort, and packing insulated booties is a lightweight, easy way to banish them in camp. There are a lot of good choices on the market, but Ryan Snow, șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s data warehouse engineer, suggests this pair, which features a B-Dry waterproof liner and blended polyester and wool insulation for warmth. A drawstring around the cuff seals out drafts, while the nylon bottom is resistant to punctures and features silicone accents for slip-resistance.

Warbonnet Blackbird XLC Hammock and Wooki Underquilt

On fourth-season adventures, Mike Ardagh, a support operations tools specialist for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű, prefers to avoid sleeping on the cold ground entirely with a hammock system. His model of choice: the Warbonnet Blackbird XLC, which at just under 1 pound 6 ounces is comparable to some ultralight tents out there. Ardagh pairs it with the company’s Wooki underquilt, which he calls a “game-changer.” The quilt features 850-fill dry-treated duck down, and fits users up to 6 feet, 6 inches; a 0-degree, XL model weighs in at a reasonable pound and a half.

A Warm Water Bath for Your Canister Stove

This cheap hack comes from Anthony Walsh, Climbing’s digital editor, who’s used it down to -30°F. Just put a plastic container big enough to fit your fuel canister in on a sleeping mat or pack, add warm water, and stand your canister inside to help increase the canister’s pressure. “It seems like a magic trick: literally just a splash of water will turn a sputtering stove into a total beast,” Walsh said.

Underwood The Bubbles Sparkling Wine

If you’re a fan of a tipple around the fire, these cans of sparkling wine are a compact, great-tasting option. “Sure, it’s added weight, but life’s too short not to celebrate the moments that make us feel alive,” said Sierra Shafer, editor in chief of Ski and editorial director of șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű’s șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű group. “How fun is it to pop a little bottle of champagne at the summit or once you’re settled in camp for the night?” (A non-alcoholic canned option: Gruvi’s Sangria is a fruit-flavored, alcohol-removed wine that’s just tannic enough to taste like the real thing.)

Skida Sunday Alpine Neckwarmer

A neck gaiter is a multifunctional piece of equipment for staying comfy on both summer and winter adventures. Quality is important when you pick which neck warmer to bring, said Shafer, but so is quantity: “I swear by my Skida Sunday Alpine Neckwarmer, but more importantly, packing a second gaiter in your pocket or pack can be a lifesaver when your first one gets damp from condensation or snow,” she said of this polyester model, which comes in an array of vibrant prints. “A fresh, dry gaiter makes a world of difference in keeping the elements out and staying warm,” Shafer said.

Bear Creek Soups

What’s better than hot soup on a cold night? With classic flavors like minestrone and cheddar broccoli, this popular brand “makes a big pot of warmth, is super easy—just add water—and is pretty dang good for a packaged mix,” Lewon said. (Downside: None of these mixes are vegetarian, so if you’re plant-based, you’ll need to look for another option.)

Patagonia Fitz Roy Down Hoody

It’s not the lightest down jacket on the market, but the Fitz Roy is as warm of a layer as you’ll feasibly be able to pack in. “It’s way too warm to hike in, and I’ve been told it makes me look like I’m wearing a trash bag, but it makes hanging around in sub-freezing conditions actually bearable,” says Jen Smith, a software engineer for șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű. The Fitz Roy features 800-fill down encased in a DWR-treated recycled nylon shell. At 14.8 ounces and packing to about the size of a 1-liter Nalgene, it’s reasonable to carry, and includes twin chest pockets, side pockets, and an internal stuff pocket for quickly storing essentials. Plus, a drawstring waist helps keep out the elements.

The post Make Winter Camping Suck Less With These 11 Gear Picks from Our Editors appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

In 2010, a camping trip to the Sahara opened my eyes to the magic of the night sky. I was a college junior spending the summer abroad in Morocco, and until then I’d never seen the Milky Way, let alone a meteor shower, due to light pollution back in my suburban hometown of Dayton, Ohio. But that night, tucked into a sleeping bag beneath the African desert’s real-life planetarium, I saw them both. The experience opened me up to all the unfathomable marvels of the universe.

In the years since, I’ve built a travel-writing career around my fascination with the moonlit world. Recently, my noctural adventures have included: watching nesting sea turtles with Indigenous guides in Panama, pitching a tent on the Greenland ice sheet in a snowstorm, chasing the northern lights in Iceland, and searching for fluorescent rocks on the shores of Lake Superior—among many other sleepless excursions.

These trips, and many more such outings, fill the pages of my upcoming book, , published by National Geographic and available on December 3. I hope the following three adapted excerpts—some of my favorite experiences—inspire you to skip sleep and soak up the night’s wonders, too.

The șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Ice-Sheet Camping in Greenland

Spend an icy night camping above the Arctic Circle, following in the crampon-carved footsteps of polar explorers on the Greenland ice sheet. It’s a rare and immersive way to admire the world’s second largest expanse of ice, a blustery behemoth that blankets nearly 80 percent of Greenland’s landmass with icy mountains, teal lakes, and a minefield of crevasses and moulins (deep shafts in the ice).

Given the harrowing surroundings, most overnight ice-sheet jaunts are reserved for professional exploration or scientific research teams. But makes the dream possible for more amateur, yet still intrepid, guests. The outfitter’s two-day, one-night camping trip offers a taste of expedition life—but don’t let the short duration fool you. A sleep on the unforgiving 656,000-square-mile sheet of white—an expanse roughly the size of Alaska—is no walk in the park.

On the trip, you and a team of trekkers haul tents, sleeping bags, and fuel for roughly one hour of hiking into the ivory abyss. Once you reach your overnight accommodations—an open patch of ice—it’s time to build camp from the ground up. You’ll crank ice stakes, sort gear, pitch tents, and collect snow to boil for water.ÌęIt’s grueling work, but the sweat’s worth it for quality time with this rare wonder.

Once camp is set, you’ll have the opportunity to hike among ice mounds and pristine cerulean water bodies, aurora hunt (in the spring or fall), and admire the midnight sun come summer. Just as memorable are the deep conversations shared over freeze-dried dinners in Camp Ice Cap’s orange globe mess tent. One topic that’s sure to arise among these fragile landscapes: climate change.

As the news headlines show, Greenland’s ice sheet is ground zero of earth’s shifting climate. The white mass is expected to lose up to 110 trillion tons of ice by 2100—a change that could raise sea levels by a foot. To do its part protecting this natural resource, Camp Ice Cap tour operator Albatros Arctic Circle has a strict Leave No Trace policy. That means everything you bring with you must be carried out.

Each season introduces a different flavor of adventure. Come in the calmer summer months for ice hikes with endless hours of daylight and, on the warmest days, even short dips in meltwater “lakes” (water temperaturess hover slightly above freezing this time of year, but a warm sun can make the quick swim surprisingly refreshing). Visit in the shoulder seasons—spring or fall—for a chance to see auroras. But be prepared for particularly unpredictable and unforgiving weather that time of year. You could have a snowstorm, clear aurora-streaked skies, or both in the same night.

Weather is all part of the Camp Ice Cap adventure, as is the journey to get there in the first place. The trip begins in Kangerlussuaq, located inland in central-west Greenland. This town, home to one of the island’s main international airports, has the only road in Greenland that connects to the ice sheet. It’s a potholed 15.5-mile route, with potential reindeer and musk ox sightings along the way.

A good base level of fitness is required for a Camp Ice Cap visit, as the hiking can be strenuous and requires a bit of agility on the ice. Albatros Arctic Circle provides tents, sleeping bags, trekking poles, crampons, and food, but it’s up to you to pack warm-weather essentials: coats, gloves, hats, wool layers, headlamps, and, by all means, an extra pair of socks.

While You’re in Greenland

If a night at Camp Ice Cap whets your backcountry Greenland appetite, Kangerlussuaq has more where that came from. The town is connected to the island’s famed , a 100-mile thru-hike that runs from inland Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut on the west coast. Expect unspoiled tundra sprinkled with musk oxen and reindeer on this roughly ten-day trek.

Other Greenland Marvels

A quick 45-minute flight north from Kangerlussuaq will drop you in Ilulissat, home to the Unesco World Heritage site . This 34-mile patchwork of icebergs, some 10 to 20 stories tall, stems from the Sermeq Kujalleq (also known as Jakobshavn Glacier), which runs from the Greenland ice sheet. It’s one of the world’s fastest-moving glaciers, and scientists believe it produced the fateful iceberg that struck the Titanic in 1912.

The șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Riding the Star Train in Nevada’s Great Basin Desert

In the early 1900s, the Nevada Northern Railway put the remote town of Ely on the copper-mining map. More than a century later, the railway’s historic locomotives still tote riders into Nevada’s Ìępiñon- and juniper-dotted Steptoe Valley—although visitors now come seeking a different sparkly prize: clear, bedazzled nightscapes. They’ll find this rare bounty aboard the special-edition , which runs deep into the Great Basin Desert.

Up to 80 percent of Americans can’t see the Milky Way due to light pollution. The same can’t be said for those at the far-flung Great Basin, which covers much of Nevada. This 190,000-square-mile high-desert patchwork of sagebrush grasslands, rolling mountains, and broad valleys boasts some of the country’s darkest nightscapes. The Nevada Northern Railway, now a national historic landmark in Ely, roughly four hours north of Las Vegas by car, makes the most of the celestial entertainment via the Star Train, which departs around sunset on select Fridays between May and September.

As the desert transitions from honey-hued golden hour to coal black night, onboard rangers from nearby Great Basin National Park and railway staff share tidbits about the night-sky attractions that await. Once you’ve reached your final destination—a private Great Basin viewing pad with high-powered telescopes—rangers narrate the universe’s marvels, from Saturn’s iridescent rings to any stargazer’s beloved treasure, the glowing Milky Way.

The șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű: Hunting the Southern Lights in Australia

You’ve heard of the northern lights, but did you know you can chase those sky fluorescents in the Southern Hemisphere, too? Spotting these elusive green and violet streaks, known as the southern lights, or aurora australis, requires a bit of luck. Like the northern lights in the Arctic, southern-lights sightings are most frequent over Antarctica. But the Antarctica travel season—summer—coincides with the all-hours midnight sun. What’s an aurora hunter to do?

Head to Tasmania, a landmass better positioned for aurora sightings than virtually anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, excluding the White Continent. Its aurora potential has to do with its geographic position and the mechanism through which auroras occur.

During solar storms, the sun flings charged particles into space. When the protons and electrons reach earth, they congregate near the north and south geomagnetic poles, then react with the atmosphere to create ribbons of green, purple, red, or blue. Typically, the lights appear over far north or far south stretches of earth such as Iceland or Antarctica, but when a solar storm is strong enough, you can catch them farther in toward the equator. Tasmania, situated close to the south geomagnetic pole, is one of the hemisphere’s most reliable perches.

“We have no landmass in the Southern Ocean that corresponds with Norway or Iceland,” says Tasmania-based Margaret Sonnemann, author of . In the Arctic or Antarctica, where the charged particles collide with the atmosphere in the skies above, you can see the reaction—the auroras—straight overhead. In Tasmania, you’ll typically admire the show from a distance, roughly between 45 to 60 degrees on the horizon.

This vantage point offers a unique perspective. When the lights are overhead, green colors are the most noticeable, says Sonnemann. “Side on, you see the layers of color.”

Given Tasmania’s pristine night skies, you can spot these colorful night swirls all over the island. Look for a panorama with minimal obstructions to the southern horizon; the northern banks of a large lake looking south, or the island’s southern coast looking out to sea, are ideal.

Some tried-and-true Tasmania aurora spots include Goat Bluff Lookout on the South Arm Peninsula, Carlton Beach, Tinderbox Bay, and the . For a southern lights–friendly hotel, try , which has minimal light pollution and unobstructed south-facing views across Lake Pedder. Hit Taroona Beach, south of Hobart, during the warmer months to catch a thrilling after-dark duo: auroras snaking across the sky as electric blue bioluminescence pulses across the water.

One advantage of Tasmania aurora hunting: you can catch the lights year-round. Tasmania experiences nighttime darkness in every season. Though you’ll have more hours of potential aurora displays in the darker winter, you could snag a stellar show on a warm summer night.

Fast Aurora Facts

The hue of an aurora depends on where the sun’s charged particles collide with earth’s atmosphere. Red auroras hit at the ionosphere, around 150 miles high. Green streaks occur in a mildly dense stretch of the atmosphere, roughly 60 to 150 miles from the ground. The rarer purple hues appear when the reaction strikes in our thick lower atmosphere, about 60 miles above earth’s surface.

Stephanie Vermillion is a travel and adventure journalist with a particular interest in after-dark adventures, from the wonders of the night sky to the nocturnal happenings on planet earth. She recently wrote about how to take great aurora photos on an iPhone.

100 Nights of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍűs After Dark, by Stephanie Vermillion

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I’m not a prepper. I don’t own guns, I don’t can food, and I’ve never dug a bunker. If we’re playing the word association game and you say “stockpile,” I will respond with “beer.” But when Hurricane Helene devastated my hometown (read my essay about the experience here), I found myself wishing I was a bit more prepared for life with disaster gear and without modern amenities. We spent seven days without cell service, 15 days without electricity, and 18 days without running water. We still don’t have potable water and probably won’t for a while. It was a brief look at what life would be like without the basic things most of us take for granted.

I might not be a prepper, but I am an avid car camper, so I have a garage full of camping gear, some of which came in handy in the wake of this natural disaster. Here are the pieces of disaster gear that made the last couple of weeks without first-world amenities so much more tolerable.

At A Glance

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EcoFlow River 2 Max Portable Power Station

I don’t have a backup generator for my house, so when we lost power on the first day of the storm (Friday, Sept. 27), we were thrust back into the dark ages. Fortunately, I keep the EcoFlow River Max charged and loaded for camping trips, and the 500-watt power bank gave us enough juice to charge phones, headlamps, lanterns, and my computer while allowing us the luxury of plugging in a single lamp each night. It has DC, AC, and USB outputs so it can charge whatever devices you can’t live without.

It doesn’t have the sort of surge power you need to operate a Kureg (I tried), and can’t power something huge like a fridge, but I can’t tell you how comforting it was to have a light on in the house. The whole family would gather around the lamp at night. At that rate of usage, the River Max had enough power to last for two days, after which I would charge it for a couple of hours at a friend’s house who had power. Leaning on a friend like that was a luxury a lot of people didn’t have, so I wish I had the ($279) to feed this power bank during the day.

Dometic Go Hydration Water Faucet and Jug

This piece of disaster gear wins MVP of the disaster for me. We still don’t have drinking water in Asheville, but the combo of the Dometic Go 11-liter Jug and the Go Hydration Water Faucet has added a bit of civility to daily rituals, like washing hands, brushing teeth, or filling a glass with water. Just tap the button at the top of the faucet twice,, and a steady stream comes out. Tap it once and it stops. It’s super easy to use, and having water on tap is a hell of a privilege. Otherwise, we’d be fumbling with individual bottles or large containers when trying to wash hands or clean a dish.

The faucet is USB rechargeable, and it has held its charge for more than three weeks of heavy daily use. Water stations were set up throughout the city, so I could fill this jug, and a few others, to keep us in stock with drinking and washing water from the first day on.

NEMO Helio LX Pressure Shower

My wife says she can handle any sort of difficulty in life, as long as she can take a shower. After 18 days without running water, I would also put “shower” near the top of my priority list. Fortunately, we had this Helio LX Pressure Shower to get us through. The system holds almost six gallons of water and pressurizes with a foot pump. Give it a minute of pumps, turn the nozzle on, and you’ve got running water. It doesn’t offer the water pressure you’d find at home, but if you occasionally give it a few pumps during your shower, you can get a stream steady enough to wash head to toe for several minutes.

It’s designed as a solar shower, so you can set it in the sun to warm the water inside, but I was taking most of my showers at the end of the night before bed, so any warmth gained from the sun was long gone. Instead, I added a gallon or so of nearly boiling water to take the edge off of each shower. You have to be careful though; I have a friend who burned a hole in his Helio by adding too much boiling water.

ROVR 60 cooler

I originally got this cooler because it has wheels, and rolling a bunch of beers around is way better than carrying a bunch of beers around. But the ROVR came in clutch during our disaster because it gave us enough room to store some essentials from the fridge (like yogurt and cheese sticks) and kept them cool for days on a single bag of ice.

Maybe more importantly, the ROVR has a neat interior organization feature that you can load up with items you want to keep cold, but not get wet. Put your cans and bottles and ice in the main part of the cooler, and all your dairy and whatnot goes in the dry bin. No cooler is as good as a fridge, but the ROVR gave me a little piece of mind, because I knew that the cheese and sandwich meat I put in the dry bin wouldn’t get soggy and ruined.

JetBoil Flash Cooking System

I don’t think I’m addicted to coffee, but I’m not willing to go a day without it to find out. With no power, my fancy coffee maker was just an expensive paperweight, so I made coffee every morning on my JetBoil Flash, just like I do when I’m car camping. I’ve had this JetBoil for several years, and the thing still ignites on the first click every time. The boil time is fast, too (no more than a couple of minutes for a liter of water), which is important when you’re itching for your first cup of Joe in the morning.

Biolite HeadLamp 200

I wore this tiny headlamp around my neck almost around the clock for two weeks while we were without power. I have other headlamps, but this was my go-to because it’s unobtrusive and so light (it weighs just 50 grams), I barely knew it was on my body. It’s not the brightest torch (only 200 lumens), but it offered enough light for the myriad of situations that had me turning it on. I had to charge it every couple of days with the USB, but that was only during heavy usage.

Home Depot 5 Gallon Bucket

Never underestimate the value of a good bucket. I spent a lot of time with these buckets—first hauling water from my hot tub into the back of my toilets so my family could flush, and then hauling water from a variety of other water sources in the neighborhood to do the same. You could buy Yeti’s version of the 5-gallon bucket, the , which I have no doubt would be the most durable option out there. But I opted for cheap buckets from the hardware store, and they performed admirably, with no cracks, leaks or broken handles after weeks of heavy use.

Pro tip: If you find yourself in a similar situation when you have to haul water into your house to flush toilets or take a shower, just make sure you buy the lid with your bucket. Because losing half of your water on the commute from the water source back home sucks.

The post This Is The Gear My Family Used In the Wake of a Natural Disaster appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Backpackers are no strangers to barking dogs. And, no, we don’t mean actual . We’re talking about sore and tired feet after a long day on the trail. Putting in the miles while backpacking, especially during months-long thru-hikes, can take a toll on your feet. All hikers run the risk of foot issues, from hot spots and heel pain to aching Achilles and bacteria buildup. When it comes to hiker foot health, there are many to feeling good again. We’re here to dig into camp shoes and footwear, specifically.

The idea of bringing camp shoes on a backpacking trip is a somewhat contentious topic. Some backpackers and thru-hikers think they’re a waste of weight. Others won’t hit the trail without them. I, myself, am a proud member of the pro camp shoe camp. In my experience, nothing beats the feeling of swapping or trail shoes for a pair of comfy camp shoes after a high-mileage day. I always look forward to slipping my feet into a lightweight, cushioned, and supportive pair of sandals or slip-ons to let my feet breathe, air out, and relax while at camp. My personal favorites include for trails with water crossings, for shorter backpacking trips, and sandals for longer treks where weight is top of mind. Like tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags, every camp shoe serves its unique purpose.

But do camp shoes actually help with foot health and recovery? And are they really worth the extra weight?

We talked with a certified sports medicine podiatrist to settle this debate once and for all.

What Are Camp Shoes?

Camp shoes—most commonly sandals, slip-ons, or a true thru-hiker favorite, Crocs—are lightweight and comfortable footwear commonly worn around the campsite after a day of hiking. Camp shoes are loved for the ventilation and cushion they provide compared to bulkier, more restrictive hiking boots and trail shoes. They give hikers a comfortable alternative to wearing boots and shoes at camp and allow their feet to breathe after a long day on the trail. The ideal camp shoes are lightweight and easy to pack—and are a popular choice for backpackers who want the convenience and comfort of an extra pair of shoes without too much added weight.

Benefit or Bust: The Camp-Shoe Conundrum

We won’t beat around the bush. Sports medicine podiatrist and former president of the American Association of Podiatric Sports Medicine (AAPSM), , says camp shoes aren’t a luxury item. There are key benefits to wearing them.

“I think many people will find the benefit of [camp shoes], especially after a long day of hiking,” says Dr. Conenello. “When you’re in the same shoes all day, it feels good to be able to use less energy to move and have the comfort of a recovery or camp shoe underfoot.”

Dr. Conenello’s podiatry practice, , is located a stone’s throw from the New York segment of the Appalachian Trail. He often advises his hiker patients to prioritize foot health when hiking, including examining feet post-hike, moisturizing frequently, and wearing camp shoes.

Dr. Conenello says camp shoes help the feet and toes splay naturally outside of a boot or restrictive shoe. Instead of being crammed into a hiking boot all day, camp shoes give your feet room to expand and air out, all while letting muscles relax. They also help limit bacteria buildup by giving your feet a break from being stuck inside a damp, sweaty boot.

Although he’s partial for their recovery benefits, Dr. Conenello says anything from cheap flip flops to more elaborate types of shoes like a recovery sandal or a secure slip-on with a back strap will work too. “Just make sure that if you’re planning to walk someplace that’s a little slippery or where there’s uneven terrain, bring a camp shoe that can dig in a little bit and hold grip on slick surfaces,” he says.

Another benefit of them is that they can also double as water shoes on trail. That way, hikers won’t have to get their boots or trail shoes wet during water crossings. Slipping on a pair of quick-drying camp shoes like Crocs, Hydro Mocs, or Xero Z-Trek sandals makes it more comfortable to wade through a creek or river.

“Of course, if you’re going to make a water crossing, or are walking around water, make sure the camp shoes you wear are waterproof or are vented in some way so that moisture can escape as they dry out,” says Dr. Conenello.

In terms of other basic foot health best practices, Dr. Conenello says it’s important to use moisturizer or lubricant, like Aquaphor or Vaseline, when hiking—especially in common areas for abrasion and stress points such as in between the toes and the heel. He says keeping the skin hydrated decreases the risk of developing hot spots that can lead to blisters, corns, and callouses. Despite popular belief, callouses aren’t a sign of tough feet built for the trail (unless you’re a barefoot hiker). In reality, Dr. Conenello says they’re a build up of excessive keratin that can lead to medical issues like plantar hyperkeratosis, which can cause pain and difficulty walking.

He also advises every patient to inspect their feet at the end of each day on the trail. “They should look at the bottom of their feet, look between their toes, and see if there are any kind of wounds or sores starting to form—and address them before they become a bigger problem.”

To Camp-Shoe or Not to Camp-Shoe?

Bringing camp shoes could add a pound or two to your backpacking kit. But do the benefits they provide outweigh that extra weight? We’d say, yes.

The post Camp Shoes Are Essential, According to Podiatrists. Here’s Why. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

Plenty of backpackers and campers, even those who will happily string up a hammock for some lazy afternoon hangs, offer a vehement “no thank you” when presented with the idea of spending the night in one. And not for no reason: eight hours trying to catch some shut-eye while wrapped up like a taco isn’t too many folks’ idea of a night well-spent. But these days, there are options for those who aren’t too keen on snoozing on the ground, either.

Enter lay-flat hammocks, whose clever designs offer a more familiar (i.e. flat) sleeping experience while still rocking you gently to sleep above the forest floor. Another tester and I tested several options while camping across the United States, from Michigian’s national forests to state parks in Texas. Below are the best lay-flat hammocks for nearly every type of adventure.

At a Glance

• Best for Car Camping:
• Best Comfort:
• Best for Day Hiking or Backpacking:
• Best Stability:

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Best for Car Camping

Tentsile Duo 2-Person Double Camping Hammock 3.0

Perhaps the most uniquely designed lay-flat hammock of the bunch, these triangular tree tents and hammocks from Tentsile kept me (and a buddy when testing a two-person model) as supported and horizontal as I could ever hope to be when suspended several feet above the ground. A variety of models that sleep one, two, or even three people have all the features you love in a tent, but with the added comfort of fewer pressure points: mesh netting with large zippered doors on camping models like the Safari, a rain fly, plenty of pockets, and even an optional ground conversion kit if you need to pitch it on terra firma.

We found the Duo hammock roomy and the base rigid enough to sit upright, play cards, or simply lounge, which made it an excellent option for rainy or sunny days, but more for camping than backpacking or hiking as it’s neither small nor light. One ding: Setup took quite a bit longer and required more straps than a traditional hammock since the triangle design had to be anchored to three trees instead of two, all of which had to be spaced apart just right. But once you get the hang of it: it’s magic.

Best Comfort

Haven Tent

If there’s an award for the coziest all-in-one hammock that feels the most like passing out in your own bed, but, you know, suspended in midair, it would go to the Haven. A zippered mosquito netting, durable rain fly, and plush insulated inflatable pad (complete with pump sack) make it one of the most comfortable and posh lay-flat hammocks.

There were plenty of pockets to stash items like books and headlamps and enough room for shorter campers to sit upright, which was nice. That said, the Haven is tippier than your average hammock, so getting situated when I first turned in required a bit of a balancing act (fortunately the mesh enclosure kept me from tumbling out altogether). Once you do, however, the experience feels like nodding off in a cozy cocoon. While the classic version is fairly narrow and better suited for slimmer campers, the XL and Safari versions provide ample space for larger campers. Bonus: with a few accessories, it can also be pitched on the ground if necessary.

Best for Day Hiking or Backpacking

Eno Skyloft Hammock

Eno knows hammocks. Including, apparently, lay-flat varieties. And this one offers a more supine sleeping position than most traditional hammocks thanks to collapsible spreader bars at the head and feet and an innovative trough design that helps you feel like you won’t flip out with one wrong move–though it did feel a bit tippy when trying to sit upright. On the upside, it’s incredibly quick to set up, so you’ll be snoozing in no time.

Technically, the SkyLoft is designed for leisurely hang sessions next to alpine lakes instead of overnights due to a lack of integrated mesh or built-in features like excessive amounts of storage (though there are two pockets). And it’s not supremely compatible with after-market bug nets, though there is a SkyLite version with integrated zippered mesh. That said, the tester certainly laid flatter than in more traditional hammocks and got an excellent night’s sleep. Bonus: the compact and easily portable package made it small enough to toss in a daypack for an afternoon hike.

Best Stability

Klymit Lay Flat Hammock

You might know Klymit for its wide range of inflatable sleeping pads, but the brand also offers a comfy and packable flat hammock. And while the tester’s butt did sink lower than their noggin in this model during testing, an extra wide spreader bar at the shoulders and dual adjustable straps at the feet kept them from being squeezed like an overripe apricot at their widest points, making for a more comfortable sleep setup.

The construction is streamlined and slightly more stable than other lay-flat hammocks thanks to no spreader bar at the feet, but still two points of contact. But if you plan to overnight in it on your next camping trip and want to be protected from the elements, you’ll have to bring supplemental gear like netting and a tarp.

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Dear Makers of Expensive Truck Toys for Adults,

First, let me thank you for creating a niche market out of thin air. Before “overlanding” became a legitimate hobby (back when I just went “car camping” and didn’t realize I could spend a small fortune converting my vehicle to go even deeper into the wild), I had no purpose in life and wandered around aimlessly with too much extra money and time on my hands. But with the emergence of overlanding, extra time and money is no longer a burden, because it all goes to making my truck look like a FEMA rescue vehicle. Life without purpose is sad, and overlanding has given me that purpose. So, thank you.

I just have one quick piece of constructive criticism to the manufacturers making cool overloading stuff: Could you make some shit for trucks other than Tacomas?

Tacoma owners are like the cool kids in high school. They’re the captains of the football team and get the best parts in the high school play, and of course they’ll be named Prom King and Queen. The whole system seems to be designed for them, and as an F-150 driver, I’m feeling a bit left out. Am I jealous? Yes, I’m jealous. From a marketing perspective, it probably makes sense to build accessories for Tacomas, because those accessories naturally look badass on the back of that truck. It’s a walking advertisement.

But here’s the cold hard truth: Tacoma’s aren’t the only trucks out there. Plenty of mid-size and full-size truck owners are dying to drive to the middle of nowhere with molle racks loaded with fuel canisters and pop-up campers that can survive a roll-over. For an F-150 owner? The pickings are slim.

Every third-party manufacturer makes a bevy of options designed to fit the Tacoma’s smaller trackbed’s dimensions perfectly. Both the five- and six-foot Tacoma beds are a half-foot smaller than most other full-sized truck beds, and a couple of inches off from other mid-sized truck beds like the Ford Ranger, meaning nothing made specifically for a Tacoma will fit the majority of other trucks (except for the Jeep Gladiator, which has similar dimensions). Being a Tacoma owner is like being a size medium and going to an outdoor gear sample sale. The world is your oyster. But if you own a different truck, like say an F-150, Chevy Silverado, Ford Ranger or a Chevy Colorado, you’re forced to ogle these goods like a second string player watching the varsity game from the sidelines.

Rack manufacturer Kuat makes the truck bed rack system with a new system of panels that transform the open-aired rack into a camper shell, but they only make this awesome panel kit for short-bed Tacomas. focuses mainly on the Tacoma with their badass overlanding racks, as does .

Then you have the that only sell Tacoma accessories, the forums where Tacoma owners get together to talk about how great their lives are. Sure, every truck and SUV model has a fanpage somewhere, but are they as feverish and abundant as what you’ll find out there for Tacomas? And don’t forget all of the social media hashtags like #tacomabeast, #tacomanation, #tacomalife, #runnin4tacos. I don’t necessarily get the last one, but there are almost 15,000 posts with that hashtag, most of which hit social media on Tuesdays because, well, Taco Tuesday.

Let me be clear: my beef isn’t with the Tacoma. I wish I could live the “Taco Life,” buying a truck for $15K, driving the hell out of it for three years and then selling it on the secondary market for $20K. I wish I owned a truck that is both an excellent way to get around the backcountry and a status symbol in the grocery store parking lot. I wish I was so proud of my truck that I brought it up in casual conversations, the way Harvard grads always find a way to bring up their alma mater regardless of the situation.

But listen, Overlanding Industry, there are other trucks out there. There are Fords and Chevys and Nissans
there are even other models of Toyotas you should consider when you’re building racks. Throw the rest of us a bone. Those of us who don’t own Tacomas have trucks that are depreciating rapidly and we need to stem the losses with high-priced overlanding gear.

My plea is simple: Make some cool stuff for my truck. Take my money. Please.

Sincerely,

Not a Tacoma Driver

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Backpacking is work—fun work, but you still might want a drink when you’re done. A dehydrator isn’t just for meals; it allows for with unexpected ingredients that don’t compromise pack weight. Dehydrate berries and citrus for sunset sangria or limes for margaritas. Experiment with your favorite flavors or try this recipe on your next trip.

Backcountry Old Fashioned

Makes 2 servings

• A few drops of bitters
• 2 sugar cubes
• 4 orange slices
• 4 Bing cherries
• 100 mL bourbon

At home:

1. Add a few drops of bitters to two sugar cubes (enough to saturate but not disintegrate them).
2. Dehydrate the sugar cubes, orange slices, and cherries at 135°F.
3. Pack your cocktail ingredients with two 50-mL nips of bourbon.

At camp: Ìę

1. Divide the ingredients into two cups and add one serving of bourbon to each.
2. Stir vigorously until the sugar mix dissolves, and enjoy.

The post The Secret to a Great Backcountry Cocktail? Your Dehydrator. appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

On May 3, authorities in the Mexican state of Baja CaliforniaÌędiscovered the bodies of three surfers—two Australians and one American—who had been missing for a week. Authorities announced the arrest of three people in connection with the alleged murder.

The crime has generated headlines and intense media scrutiny around the world, turning a spotlight onto the Baja peninsula and the infrequent-but-shocking collisions between its beautiful, austere landscapes and the violence occurring by its border with the United States.

Is Baja more dangerous than it used to be? Is it still safe to camp there?

For me, those questions are personal. I’ve been visiting the peninsula regularly for over a decade to go fishing, off-roading, and camping across its remote beaches, deserts, and mountains. I married my wife there just before the pandemic was declared in 2020. We spent our honeymoon driving from Montana down to Todos Santos and back, camping along the way. Part of the region’s draw for us is its demand for personal reliance and the opportunity to test ourselves.

While my wife and I have never had even a whiff of trouble, we do know people who have experienced violence. Among them is Ron Gomez Hoff, who runs the popular website and its multiple associated social media groups. TalkBaja’s online community is an essential resource for people traveling and living in Baja, andÌęHoff has lived thereÌęfor the last 24 years. He married into a Mexican family, and lives as part of the local community outside a small town on the peninsula’s Pacific coast.

In , Hoff shared his experience with violence, telling the story of a time when he and his wife were attacked by criminals near their home—and left for dead.

It’s not just Hoff’s personal experience that’s relevant here. is where news of the surfers’ disappearance first broke when the Australians’ mother posted photos of her sons and their friend, seeking help. Hoff sits at the epicenter of information sharing for the region.ÌęIf there’s anyone who can authoritatively weigh in on the question at hand, it’s him.

“There’s nowhere you can go in the world today that’s totally safe,” Hoff told me. “But down here there are two things working against each other. You’ve got smaller police forces with limited budgets, and then you add to that the fact that the vast majority of this large peninsula is off-grid, it’s remote, there are few paved roads, and there’s no cell phone signal in most places. You can drive hundreds of miles without even seeing a gas station.”

Measured in a straight line, from the U.S. border in the north to Los Cabos in the south, the Baja Peninsula is about 760 miles long. The drive along Highway 1 from Tijuana to San Jose del Cabo is over 1,000 miles. Throughout most of that distance, that highway is barely two lanes wide, irregularly paved, and is so rough and remote that it presents more danger than most Americans have likely ever before experienced.

There are also two states on the peninsula—Baja California and Baja CaliforniaÌęSur. The former, which is closer to the U.S. border, contains cities like Tijuana, Ensenada, Mexicali, and Tecate, which have some of the . South of Ensenada, it’s nearly a 400-mile drive to the border with Baja Sur, then another 260 miles from there to Loreto, a seaside town of 20,000 residents on the peninsula’s east coast which has seen , a much higher rate than is typical there.

Is the murder rate in Tijuana applicable to a remote beach in the same state, 300 miles south? Of course not. But Hoff said it’s equally inaccurate to look at the very low murder rate for American tourists visiting all places in Mexico, and conclude that Baja is entirely safe.

“Mexico hadÌę33.5 million American visitors in 2022, and only 46 of those were murdered,” said Hoff. At first glance, that represents a lower murder rate than north of the border.

“But murder rates are calculated in homicides per-100,000 people per-year,” Hoff continued. “An average tourist is here for three days. So you’ve got to take the 46 murders, multiply it by 365, and divide it by three.”

Doing that math takes the homicide rate for Americans in Mexico from 0.14 to 17.5 per-100,000 people. In 2022, the overall murder rate in the U.S. was .

“Baja has a reputation as a place that is very remote, and it is,” Hoff continued. “But no matter how remote you get, there’s always somebody around, and that somebody is not always a good guy.”

Hoff said that’s a change he’s witnessed during his time visiting and living in Baja, explaining that an amendment to the Mexican constitution in 1991 that permitted (a type of communal agriculture land that’s widespread on the peninsula) to be privatized has led to a booming number of small farms and similar being constructed, someÌęin extremely rural areas.

That’s something my experience backs up. I’m a skilled off-road driver who builds my own 4x4s into custom vehicles capable of unsupported travel through extreme terrain, and yet everywhere I’ve been in Baja—even on the other side of really challenging trails—I’ve encountered people.

“You’re just not alone anymore,” Hoff continued. “When you see somebody out there these days they’re either working at a fish camp or ranch, they’re a foreign tourist because Mexican tourists won’t go out there anymore, or they’re a malandro (best translated as ‘bad guy’).”

Hoff went on to share information he’s gathered from local law enforcement and other sources over the decades. Lower levels of cartel operations—drug growing or production sites, or smuggling waypoints—are often staffed by the local equivalent of freelancers. Sometimes they might be busy working, and sometimes they might be between jobs. Because those operations take place in remote areas, that means you could come across malandros with free time on their hands pretty much anywhere. He also said that should you inadvertently find yourself camping in proximity to a cartel operation, they may send people to keep an eye on you, to make sure you don’t pose a threat.

Despite the large number of contacts, friends, and people I know in the Mexican tourism industry, no one wanted to discuss the murders or even safety protocols. People I’ve known for years ghosted me when I asked them. But Hoff’s assessment was backed up by conversations I had with MexicanÌęfriends born on the peninsula. I spoke to three of them—locals in the surfing community who told me they did not want to be named in this story.

Instead of sharing their thoughts on crime trends, they gave me practical advice for how to avoid problems in Baja. One, a surfer who recently had their first child, said that they no longer camp in unfamiliar areas, and where possible, try to stay on private land owned by friends or family.Ìę Others shared various strategies or approaches to determining areas in which they will or won’t camp that essentially amount to the same advice.

My local sources were reluctant to speak about criminal activities on the record, too. But these conversations are still fruitful. They focus less on an overall assessment of safety either historical or current, and instead immediately dive into the ins and outs of avoiding crime and violence while traveling the peninsula.

“Tell people to use paid-for campgrounds,” one of those friends told me. “That way they’re not only contributing to the local community, but you’re for-sure safe in those.”

I asked Hoff if simply finding a good campsite before nightfall, and making sure no one was around, would reduce that risk. That’s always been my strategy, and I wanted to run it past someone with much more experience.

Hoff told me he wouldn’t recommend winging it anymore, as that can get you into trouble.

The U.S. State Department last updated in August 2023. Those include a “Reconsider travel” warning for Baja, “due to crime and kidnapping,” and an, “Exercise increased caution due to crime,” for Baja Sur.

“Travelers should remain on main highways and avoid remote locations,” the State Department continues in the advisory. “Transnational criminal organizations compete in the border area to establish narco-trafficking and human smuggling routes. Violent crime and gang activity are common.” It goes on to order that U.S. government employees avoid driving after dark in areas of Mexico adjacent to the border.

“If you want to remote camp safely today, you need to do a lot of research,” HoffÌęcontinued. “And I don’t mean look at stuff people posted 10 or 20 years ago, you need to look for something that’s been posted in the last 30 to 60 days about that spot. And don’t just look for one source, find sources that have multiple people commenting on them, supporting or disagreeing.”

Multiple resources exist right now for people looking for good, remote campsites and other areas in Baja. I reference , which is full of user generated content reviewing and locating campsites, taco stands, hostels, and similar. is a forum for the same that’s been operating for decades. Friends frequently share coordinates for spots they’ve stayed in or traveled through.

And there’s Hoff’s own , , , and now, , a private Facebook group he started just this week, in response to the murders.

“It’s been a long-standing tradition for some of you to keep your favorite remote camping spots a secret but in light of recent events, the time has come for us to come together as a community and share what we know—good and bad—about the different off-road campsites down here in an effort to create a pool of shared knowledge,” Hoff wrote in a post introducing the Safe Camping group.

Despite the recent murders, Hoff believes that information sharing forums like his Safe Camping group will help future travelers and campers stay safe.

“Something changed with this event, and I think it has to do with the amount of coverage it has gotten,” he said. “It’s exponentially greater than other similar events we’ve seen in the past.” Not only did word of the missing surfers break on TalkBaja, but it was followed by multiple eyewitness accounts that tracked their movements in the run up to the murders, described the location and crime scene, and even connected the murderers to another missing persons case.

Despite the increased availability of information on crime and safety in Baja, Hoff believes the murder could become a pivotal moment for tourism on the peninsula.

“Because there’s been so many details provided outside of official sources, I think people are really seeing a detailed story of what these guys went through,” Hoff said, “And people are going, ‘that could be me.’ That’s really hitting home for a lot of travelers.”

For safer travel on the peninsula, you can always go to tourist centers with lower crime rates.

I reached out to the Baja D.A.’s office and the Baja California Tourism Board and its local representatives in Ensenada, Mexicali, and Rosarito for comment, but at press time have not received a response.

The post Is it Still Safe for Me to Camp in Baja California? appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

My favorite place to camp is a spot in California’s eastern Sierra Nevada, outside the town of Mammoth Lakes, called the Inn at Benton Hot Springs. The small hotel has a private campground with 12 sites out back, and each comes with its own mineral springs-fed hot tub. You can pitch a tent or park your van on a spacious plot with views of the mountains and then soak things in.

But like all dreamy and incredibly popular campgrounds, securing a site here requires a heavy dose of luck or major advance planning. If you can only make it on a weekend, you’d better book it a year out.

It wasn’t always this hard. Pre-COVID you could get a spot at Benton relatively easily—they didn’t take online bookings, so you had to call the front desk and ask when they had a campsite available. But then word got out (I have myself to blame, in part, for that, because I’ve written about it in travel stories), and during the pandemic, the inn introduced an online reservation system, which allows bookings up to a year in advance. So fully booked it now is.

These days, coveted campsites at state parks, national parks, and private campgrounds in popular destinations fill up six months to a year ahead of peak season (read: summer). According to the 2024 Camping Report by the , a campsite aggregator, it was four times harder to get a campsite in 2023 than it was in 2019, with nearly half of all campers reporting difficulty booking a site because campgrounds were sold out. All that data does not bode well for the coming months.

If you’re like me, maybe you’re thinking: Sure, travel in general requires advance planning, but camping? That’s something you should be able to do on the spur of the moment.

So I researched how to troubleshoot this, and, happily, found campgrounds that actually cater to last-minute bookings, as well as a new state law that has made the whole camping-reservation process more considerate. I also provide website recommendations that facilitate the complicated process of looking and booking, and best practices that will increase your chances of snagging a site you’re psyched about. All of which is to say: you will still have to put some thought into things. But I hope this helps.

Two Notable Campgrounds That Accommodate Last-Minute Bookings

Campfire Ranch, Colorado

In Almont, Colorado, 20 miles south of Crested Butte, the private 16-site campground of (mentioned in this year’s șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Travel Awards) only allows reservations two weeks in advance.

“I kept inviting friends on camping trips, and none of them would make a commitment to go with me if I made the reservation six months ahead of time,” says Sam Degenhard, its founder and CEO. “I’d get a lot of wishy-washy answers, but then two weeks out, everyone wanted to go. That’s where the idea came from.”

When Campfire Ranch first opened in June 2020, Degenhard opted to implement a policy so campers couldn’t make a reservation until two weeks out. “We didn’t have any problems filling campsites, and people loved it,” he says. “We heard from folks right away who were like, ‘I thought I’d never find a campsite.’ That 14-day booking policy became our norm and what a lot of our customers know us for.” (Campfire Ranch does offer advanced booking six months out for groups reserving three or more campsites.)

The campground has staff on-site, rents gear, and offers amenities like free firewood, a hand with tent setup, Wi-Fi, and welcome beverages and Sunday-morning pancake breakfasts. “Our whole mission is about helping people get into the outdoors, meet community, and learn the ropes of camping. We want to be a place where folks can plan at the last minute and be rewarded for that, not penalized,” Degenhard says.

Cost: From $67

Yosemite National Park, California

Most campgrounds within Yosemite open for reservations five months out—and can be gobbled up here seconds after they’re released. But , including Bridalveil Creek, Crane Flat, Tamarack Flat, and White Wolf, are released just two weeks in advance from July to mid-October. Bridalveil Creek campground has 110 sites about 45 minutes from Yosemite Valley and close to hiking trailheads along Glacier Point Road. At Crane Flat, you’ll find 151 sites near giant sequoias, while 52-site Tamarack Flat and 74-site White Wolf are located along Tioga Road, with closer access to climbing and hiking in the Tuolumne Meadows area, which you can explore on this .

Cost: $24 to $36

“Responsible Reservations” in California Should Open Up More Sites

In January, California governor Gavin Newsom signed a law that aims to reduce the number of no-shows at campsites around the state. Called AB 618, the bill requires California State Parks to modify its , making it easier for campers to cancel a reservation and penalizing those who book sites and don’t show up.

The bill also means a lottery system will be set up for the state’s most coveted campgrounds, like Big Sur’s Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Those changes are in effect now.

“California’s public parks and beaches are treasures that should be enjoyed by all Californians, and our outdated reservation system has led to a situation where many campsites are left empty,” said Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who introduced AB 618 to promote what she calls “responsible reservation practices.”

Websites That Make Last-Minute Hunting Easier

Many camping websites have added features that let you view campgrounds near you offering availability tonight, this weekend, or other dates in the near future. Here are a few I recommend.

On , you’ll see tabs with information on immediate availability and future dates, a huge perk about this booking site. Hipcamp also keeps up with new camping areas, often rented out by private landowners. It added tens of thousands of new sites last year, nearly doubling the amount of available sites from the year prior.

, the booking platform for camping at all national parks, BLM lands, and U.S. Forest Service sites, also lists campgrounds with availability for the immediate weekend.

and allow you to set up text alerts for cancellations at select campgrounds for your preferred dates, so you can try to grab a spot immediately when one frees up.

Finally, , an RV- and campground-booking site, pulls real-time availability from over 100,000 campgrounds around the country and lets you book them instantly or set up reservation alerts.

Best Practices That Will Increase Your Odds

Consider these tested tips:

• Check out first-come, first-served properties, as well as free dispersed camping on public lands. (For the latter, can help you find your way on federal and state forest roads and trails, and point out markers en route so you don’t get lost.) Alas, even though these spots are still great options for spontaneous campers, they’re becoming increasingly more crowded these days, too. The Dyrt’s Camping Report found that first-come, first-served sites were twice as likely to be full in 2023 than they were in 2019. Not sure where to start? I wrote about the best dispersed campsite in every state, and you can find some real gems here, many of which are still relatively unknown.
• Choose sites that are farther away from major population centers. In California, for example, anything near the Bay Area fills up immediately, but if you’re willing to drive farther north, places like Humboldt Redwood State Park or Lava Beds National Monument usually have better availability.
• Look at campgrounds that are stretching their peak summer season and staying open into fall and even winter. More campgrounds are staying open later to accommodate the demand. For example, the four campgrounds within , in North Carolina, used to close for the season in September or October, but two of them now stay open until late November and the other two are open year-round.
• Camp midweek or during the off-seasons. Both promise more space and cheaper rates.
• Pivot to places with shorter booking windows. Most state park campgrounds across the country open reservations six months to a year in advance—and the popular sites fill up early. But campgrounds at and have narrower booking windows, allowing reservations four months and three months out, respectively. That means you can still nab a campsite closer to your date of travel.

As for the very-hard-to-book campsites at Benton Hot Springs, I’ll continue to try and reserve my favorite a whopping 12 months out. Because some camping trips are worth any amount of advance planning. Though I did get two tips from Benton manager Chris Greer that I plan to use: “The best time to look for a cancellation is on a Wednesday, when most people cancel their weekend booking. And give us a call, we might just be able to help you out.”

Contributing editor Megan Michelson spends about 40 nights a year camping—in a van, a tent, or a sleeping bag under the stars.

The post Where to Find a Last-Minute Campground This Summer appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

In her , The Survivalist, Jessie Krebs writes about staying alive in dangerous backcountry scenarios. Krebs is a former Air Force S.E.R.E (survival, evasion, resistance, and escape) instructor and owner of .

Many aspiring campers have romantic visions of Then, they try it. The result is often bread with a gooey middle, crunchy rice, charcoal in the pancakes, ash in the cocoa, burnt eggs—heck, burnt everything. Open-fire cooking isn’t advanced mathematics, but it is certainly different from cooking at home, especially if you’re someone with a talent for “burning water.” Here are some pointers to get you started.

Flame is the enemy. Its temperature is well above “high” on a typical stove, and trying to get a pot at just the right height above it is tricky, since a fire fluctuates dramatically depending on when and how you add wood. A thick bed of coals, on the other hand, gives even heat that lasts for an hour or more. Coals are much more forgiving to a burgeoning fire chef. My strategy is to , burn some wrist-diameter or larger fuel for an hour or so, and then split it into a bed of coals on one side and a small fire on the other. I use the fire itself mostly for light, to create more coals for later, or to keep water warm.

For survival purposes, boiling is the best of all cooking methods. It’s pretty difficult to screw up or burn, the food’s nutrients are reasonably well-retained, and you get some hydration along with your meal. Baking tends to be your next best bet; roasting or grilling over a fire means losing a lot of calorie-rich oil as it drips away. If boiling isn’t feasible or you’re not in survival mode and want to use another method (boiling pancake batter sounds decidedly unappetizing), there are some other options. When cooking over a campfire, always be sure to mind local burn bans, and

Boiling over a fire

This requires a container of some kind. There are using hot rocks, but a pot comes in very handy. A lid is also helpful to keep inedibles out, hold a steady boil, and keep the inside of the pot moist for easier clean-up. I usually get the water boiling over a flame and then lower things to a simmer by suspending the pot an inch or so above the coals. Add in your ingredients, spices, and more water as needed.

To cook rice, quinoa, pasta, or other grains, get the water boiling as indicated above, then add your starch. Give it a good stir and get it all back to boiling. Then, simmer over coals for two-thirds of the recommended cooking time. Take it off the heat and let it sit, covered and preferably insulated, for the remaining time. The main mistakes folks make with cooking rice in particular is putting in the rice before the water is boiling, keeping the pot over direct flame, and leaving it on the fire for the full recommended cooking time.

Cooking in a Dutch oven over a fire

I’ve made yummy cookies, cakes, lasagna, naan, and more in Dutch ovens. The key to success: Maintain even heat by putting coals on the lid and allowing airflow underneath. Whenever you place a pot directly on coals, you snuff them out. This is why many Dutch ovens have feet to keep them elevated. If your dutch oven doesn’t have feet, hang it or improvise another method to raise it half an inch to an inch above the coals. If your oven is near the fire, rotate it every 5 to 10 minutes so one side doesn’t burn.

Baking with fire

My mom and I used to make “hobo meals” in a fire on the beach when I was a kid. This consisted of at least 2 layers of aluminum foil filled with sliced veggies, meat, spices, and a healthy dollop of butter. We rolled the edges up tight, stabbed the bundle a couple times to let steam escape, and tossed the whole thing into the fire for 30 to 40 minutes. The results were haphazard, sometimes with food half-cooked on one side and burned on the other.

If I’d only known then
. We were doing well until we threw it in the fire. Instead, hollow out a spot in the soil in the middle of the fire about twice the size of the bundle and scrape in some of the hot coals and ash. Place the food in the hole on top of the coals and ash, cover with more coals and ash, and even some hot sand or dirt. Then, build the fire back up on top of it. In 20 to 30 minutes, uncover the foil bundle, flip it over, and re-cover. Wait another 15 to 20 minutes and dinner is served. The insulation of the ash and gentle heat of the coals is conducive to baking. I bake potatoes this way, but skip the aluminum foil. I clean the potatoes well, and then bury them as-is in the dirt or sand an inch or so below the hot fire bed. Then flip them after a half-hour and take them out after a total of an hour or so. Just brush off the ash, sand, and dirt and dig in.

Roasting and grilling over a fire

While visiting with the , hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, I’ve seen fire used as a primary method for roasting meat. They sharpen some green sticks, weave meat onto it, and then stab the other end in the ground at an angle so the meat roasts just above the coals or a little further from direct flame. As flame licks food, it can deposit a black layer of soot that really isn’t appetizing, so it’s important to maintain distance.

As a S.E.R.E. instructor, I was fond of freaking out students using a roasting technique with one of their few precious tiny steaks they were given for a six-day trip in the woods. I’d throw a steak directly onto coals scraped out from , eliciting gasps of horror. After about three minutes, I’d flip it over and then pull it off the coals after a total of about five minutes. The outside would be perfectly seared, keeping the juices inside and giving the meat a delicious smoky flavor.

Frying over a fire

This is the most similar to cooking at home of any of the methods, though the fire still tends to lend an extra smoky flavor that is really nice. I prep all of my and veggies before I head to the woods to make things easier. If you’re car camping or don’t mind packing heavy, a wok is ideal for use over an open fire as it balances easily. Add the items that you want cooked the longest first. I usually start with oil, onion, and whatever meat I’m using, if any, followed a few minutes later by veggies and spices. Stir frequently with a long utensil, keep leather gloves or hotpads handy, keep the handle turned away from any open flames, and adjust the location of the wok and heat of the coals or fire as needed. For pancakes, a griddle or large frying pan will work best; use just the coals to cook over, adjusting your height to get just the right, steady heat for the perfect flapjacks.

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