Lea Appleton

Even though I'm not hiking the full JMT/Nüümü Poyo this summer, I am still a gearhead at heart. So, I've been counting the ounces to get my pack as light as possible for the section I will do in July. It's not really about being an ultralight backpacker. Instead, it is taking care of my aging body that hikes with a zirconium hip that I'd like to last as long as possible. And I don't like pain...in my knees and feet, especially. And I am a kind of small human so that means my pack will be...

My skin is very light and I dread the prospect of slathering on sunscreen and the amount I'd have to carry into the backcountry would weigh more than all my other toiletries combined. So the search for the perfect sun hoodie was an important quest for my backpacking and hiking kit. You won't believe how many sun hoodies I've tried this spring to get just the right one for hiking the JMT/Nüümü Poyo this summer! My initial requirements for the perfect sun hoodie included the following: •...

Outside my Big 3, which are the basics of a tent, backpack, sleeping system (bag & pad), my next heaviest collection of gear is my medical stuff—fridge, solar panel, and back-up battery. When I told my hiking buddies last summer that I was bringing my fridge for medication they all say they assumed it would look like a fridge and couldn't imagine how I would carry it, lugging a big box up the hills in the backcountry. See the fridge? It looks like a metal water bottle bottle inside that...