Getting equipped

How to choose and use a camp stove

Krista Karlson Food and Cooking, Camping, Getting equipped, Trekking 42 Comments
How to choose and use a camp stove 5 - photo by Omar Bárcena

By Krista Karlson

Sharpen your dinner duty skills with this easy guide.

When I first started camping and backpacking, I’d strategically avoid dinner duty. I’d offer to set up the tent or get water, but I never helped cook because I didn’t know how to use a stove. I felt embarrassed, like I wasn’t “outdoorsy” enough. I didn’t want to ask how to use a stove because it would reveal what I thought was a gaping incompetency, and I didn’t want to be mansplained about how to use one. So I’d peek over my friends’ shoulders, trying to figure read more

Predator Safety Precautions

Carley Fairbrother Safety and Survival, Getting equipped, Wild Animals 53 Comments
predator safety 1

Photo credit: US National Park Service

By Carley Fairbrother

I’ve written a few pieces on bear safety for Camping for Women, but I’ve never really covered how to avoid them when you are on the trail, or what to do when you come face to face with them.

Now before I get started, I want to attempt to alleviate any bear fears you may have. In 2017 Conservation officers in my home province of British Columbia killed 373 bears because of humans encroaching into its habitat. Hundreds more were killed read more

Get Your Children to Sleep Easily

Margaret Smith Children, Camping, Getting equipped 34 Comments
5 Great Ways to Get Your Children to Sleep Easily While Camping 1

By Margaret Smith

5 Great Ways to Get Your Children to Sleep Easily While Camping

Camping is a fun and inexpensive activity that lets your kids spend time with you and the great outdoors. But as with all things when children are involved, there are some challenges that lay ahead when planning a family camping trip.

One of these is getting children to sleep well in their tents, especially when they aren’t so used to roughing it just yet. So whether you’re a pro-camper bringing your kids along for the very first time or just looking to try something read more

How to Build an Emergency Snow Trench Shelter

Carley Fairbrother Safety and Survival, Camping, Getting equipped, Mountaineering 48 Comments
How to Build an Emergency Snow Trench Shelter

By Carley Fairbrother

Why Build a Snow Trench Shelter?

Imagine you are out for a snowshoe or a backcountry ski, and you get lost, or a storm makes travel too dangerous, or your friend gets injured. You need a shelter, and fast. Luckily for you, you are surrounded by one of nature’s most convenient building materials.

Contrary to what your instincts might tell you, snow is a excellent insulator. While a snow shelter isn’t likely to get much warmer than 0° c, it probably beats whatever winter weather you are trying read more

How to hike and camp while on your period

Krista Karlson Hiking, Camping, Getting equipped 38 Comments
How to hike and camp while on your period 1

By Krista Karlson

When my partner and I go for weekend trips, we pack like this: throw everything we might need in a pile on the living room floor, transfer the pile to the back of the car, and start driving north.

Last week, as Friday approached, I knew I’d be adding one more thing to the pile: tampons.

Having your period can be rough. If you’ve already got cramps, low energy, and high flow, spending your weekend outside without access to a bathroom can seem read more

8 Ways to Mentally Prepare for a Solo Adventure

Marinel de Jesus Solo Adventure, Backpacking, Getting equipped, Hiking, Safety and Survival, Travel and Adventure, Trekking , , 51 Comments
Mentally prepare 6

By Marinel de Jesus

Being a solo traveller, and even more so, a solo hiker or backpacker can be an intimidating endeavor to undertake. I cannot emphasize enough the need to be comfortable when partaking in anything serious such as hiking or backpacking in the wilderness by yourself. The same goes for travelling as it’s just not worth it to feel overwhelmingly anxious to the extent that it outweighs the joy of travelling or trekking solo. The key is being able to mentally prepare.

I, too, have read more

A review on High-Altitude Trekking in Ladakh, India

Carley Fairbrother Travel and Adventure, Camping, Getting equipped, Mountaineering, Trekking 43 Comments
Ladakh 16


Political Location Map of Ladakh (Leh)

Getting there:

The easiest way to get to Ladakh is by flying from Delhi to Leh (the biggest town in Ladakh). It’s a two day drive from either Srinagar or Manali and you will pass over some of the world’s highest motorable passes. Be prepared for road closures, altitude sickness, motion sickness, and at least a few adrenaline filled moments.

Reviewed by:

Carley Fairbrother, British Columbia Canada.

Carley is a self-declared nature nerd from British Columbia, Canada. She spent read more

The Lean-to Virgin, A Comical Journey

Janiel Green Travel and Adventure, Backpacking, Camping, General, Getting equipped, Hiking, Mountaineering 51 Comments
lean-to 1

By Janiel Green

My first backpacking trip turned out to be an utter disaster. The trip consisted of a backpacking, snow-shoeing trip up the mountaineering route at Mount Whitney in California. I labelled myself as a failure and the weak link in the party of 3 who attempted the trip. Granted it was my first time backpacking and had not been prepared for the struggles that were endured.

My trip started to unravel when I realized I had inadvertently grabbed the wrong sleeping bag for the November camping read more

Trekking in Bhutan – From Dream to Reality

Mary Lyons Travel and Adventure, Activities, Camping, Getting equipped, Hiking, Trekking 48 Comments
Trekking in Bhutan 1

By Mary Lyons

Bhutan had been a dream destination of mine for a long time, since before I moved overseas. Fifteen years ago I saw a quick blurb about it on television and thought, “I have to go there.” Just a couple of years ago, I finally went. Bhutan is more accessible than many people realize, even though it only has two airlines that fly into the country. The government does limit tourism numbers, but they have never reached their yearly limit since tourism began there in 1974. That year, read more

Hiking the John Muir Trail

Kristin Hanes Hiking, Getting equipped, Mountaineering, Travel and Adventure, Trekking 49 Comments
Hiking the John Muir Trail 1

By Kristin Hanes

When I decided to hike 230 miles of the John Muir Trial through the California Sierra Nevada with my boyfriend, there was nothing to warn me how hard it might be.

I joined the John Muir Trail Facebook group, with thousands of members, all of them posting beautiful pictures of alpine lakes, craggy mountains, nests of evergreen trees in valleys far below. They wrote quotes from John Muir, said how much they missed the mountains, what a life-changing experience the hike was. But nowhere read more

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