Boulder County Wandering
  • Home
  • Climate Change and Colorado Wildfires
  • Trip Reports
  • Skills/Gear
    • Intro, External Sources and Misc.
    • Food and Water
    • Shelters
    • Backpacks
    • Sleeping
    • Clothing
    • Winter Camping
    • A Shoe Odyssey
    • Foot Care
    • Maps, Navigation and Weather
    • Off-Trail Route Planning
    • The Perfect Headlight/Flashlights?
    • Misc Small Stuff
    • Photography/Camera
    • Gear Repair and MYOG
  • Places
    • Flatirons
    • Rocky Mountain National Park
    • Indian Peaks Wilderness
    • Lost Creek Wilderness
    • Gore Range
    • Glacier National Park
    • Wind River Range
    • Utah
  • Plants and Wildlife
  • To Do
  • About
  • Contact

Introduction, External Sources and Misc

Nothing described here should be taken as the absolute best way to do things.  These are simply things that I have personally found to be useful.  

External Sources/Suggested Reading

Websites/Blogs

Andrew Skurka:  ​https://andrewskurka.com/
  • National Geographic Explorer of the year for his 6 month solo trek around Alaska. 
  • My go to resource when I have a question about a new environment/conditions.  His book is an amazing collection of tips but many of these topics are also covered for free on his website.  

Paul Magnanti: ​pmags.com/
  • Some great suggestions for Colorado backpacking loops and shoulder season trips

​John Zahorian:  johnzahorian.com
  • Some good info on gear and but the best part are his youtube videos documenting his adventures in beautiful places.  
  • He recently started a podcast where he interviews other crazy hikers called the "the routes podcast" which is a lot of fun to listen to.  
​
Alan Dixon: www.adventurealan.com/
  • Another favorite.  Heavier emphasis on product reviews of new gear rather than skills but still very useful. ​​

Justin Simoni: justinsimoni.com/
  • Lots of Colorado high intensity adventures.  Cooler than you (or me)

r/ultralight:  www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/
  • At present, the r/ultralight sub on reddit is without question the most useful and active forum for information on ultralight backpacking on the internet.  
  • ​Their wiki is a mini-encyclopedia on the topic.  
  • I frequently comment there and answer questions as u/drotar447.  In fact, much of the the material I've written on my various skills/gear sub-pages are edited versions of things I've posted to reddit.  

​
Other misc backpacking blogs
  • Dave Chenault: https://bedrockandparadox.com/
  • Erin "Wired" Saver: https://www.walkingwithwired.com/
  • Cam "Swami" Honan: https://www.thehikinglife.com/
  • http://www.drop-n-roll.com​

Colorado Adventures:
  • https://www.exploringtherockies.com/
  • www.14ers.com-I'm not too interested in the Colorado 14ers hysteria but this website also has really good information on non-14er mountaineering routes. 
  • www.climb13ers.com/colorado-13ers/
  • www.gohikecolorado.com/- I recently stumbled across this website.  Looks like an amazing collection of cool hikes.  ​
  • Cordis Hall: cordisimo.blogspot.com/--More of an ultrarunner than a hiker but he has some fun looking Colorado adventures.  
  • adventuresofthepint.com/

Misc Map Links

See also: my pages on Maps, Navigation and Weather and Route Planning

National/General Maps
  • USGS maps: ​viewer.nationalmap.gov/basic/​
  • Caltopo: www.caltopo.com
  
Boulder Area
  • Boulder County GIS Data:  ​gis.bouldercounty.opendata.arcgis.com/
  • Boulder City Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) GIS Data: https://bouldercolorado.gov/open-data/tag/osmp
  • State of Colorado GIS data: ​https://geodata.co.gov/​

US Forest Service (USFS)
  • Paper maps: http://www.nationalforestmapstore.com/
  • GIS/GPS data: data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/​

Wilderness Areas: www.wilderness.net

National Parks Service
  • ​www.nps.gov/gis/npsmaps.html
  • GIS/GPS data:  https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/

Planet Explorer
  • https://www.planet.com/explorer/
  • Daily satellite imagery is useful for estimating snow coverage.
  • Fun, and so far they haven't asked for $$

Misc GPS/GIS Links
  • Free GPS compatible maps: https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/
  • GPS coordinates grabber:  ​http://boulter.com/gps/grabber/
    • ​Only used a couple times but it was useful for grabbing waypoints from sites like protrails.co

Colorado Scenic Byways: www.codot.gov/travel/scenic-byways
  • When possible I always take the scenic byway even though they are usually slower.  

General Trail Info: Of these, I use "Hiking Project" most often.  
  • ProTrails: www.protrails.com
  • All Trails: www.alltrails.com
  • Hiking Project: www.hikingproject.com/

​​Outdoor Recreation Information Center, ORIC: www.oriconline.org/
Free Dispersed Camping:  freecampsites.net/

Colorado Department of Transportation Road Conditions with webcams:  www.cotrip.org/map.htm#/default

Gear Repair/DIY

Adventure Xpert:  www.adventurexpert.com/
Rip Stop By The Roll: ripstopbytheroll.com/
Dutchware Gear:  dutchwaregear.com/product-category/myg/
​
Quest Outfitters:  www.questoutfitters.com/

​
r/MYOG: the "make your own gear" sub-reddit.  
  • Mostly I just browse this one in amazement of the tarps and backpacks that people make themselves.  

Books

  • "The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide" by Andrew Skurka (2nd edition, 2017)
  • "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips" by Mike Clelland (2011)
  • "Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills" (9th ed, 2017)
    • The focus is primarily on technical mountaineering and climbing, but the first 100 pages covers hiking and camping gear. Also, the very end of the book has a concise summary of geology and mountain weather.
Picture

Ideas/Options for teeny-tiny books for backpacking

Mouse Books:  mousebookclub.com/
Dwarsligger Format:  www.dwarsligger.com/


Wish List

  • Sony RX100 Camera

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  • Home
  • Climate Change and Colorado Wildfires
  • Trip Reports
  • Skills/Gear
    • Intro, External Sources and Misc.
    • Food and Water
    • Shelters
    • Backpacks
    • Sleeping
    • Clothing
    • Winter Camping
    • A Shoe Odyssey
    • Foot Care
    • Maps, Navigation and Weather
    • Off-Trail Route Planning
    • The Perfect Headlight/Flashlights?
    • Misc Small Stuff
    • Photography/Camera
    • Gear Repair and MYOG
  • Places
    • Flatirons
    • Rocky Mountain National Park
    • Indian Peaks Wilderness
    • Lost Creek Wilderness
    • Gore Range
    • Glacier National Park
    • Wind River Range
    • Utah
  • Plants and Wildlife
  • To Do
  • About
  • Contact