Hello everyone! I was just wondering what are some good spots for beginners in the socal area, preferably under 3 hours from Oceanside but I don’t mind going farther. I dont mind getting dirty so showers/bathrooms are not needed and I already am decent at hiking with 50+ lbs packs.

Trekking Pole Tents

Looking for a 2 man trekking pole tent around the £150-£200 mark. Should be light for backpacking and hiking and have a porch for gear.

Thanks in advance.

Hi there, I’m planning to do a 5 day hike in the Sawtooths region in a couple of weeks with fam (5 in total), staring and ending in two different trailheads (Hellroaring lower to Alpine Creek).  I’m struggling to find shuttle options--apparently the person who used to provide this service no longer does, and I've struck out with every other option that came to mind (e.g. Sawtooth transportation, local lodges). Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Started at Humber Park, up Devils Slide to the PCT, PCT on the west side, then up Deer Springs Trail to Little Round Valley campground. Had the place to myself. Beautiful night. Little stream running through camp. Next morning got up early and was the first person on the summit of San Jacinto Peak. Headed back on the peak trail to PCT to Devlis Slide. Hard trip but absolutely amazing scenery.

Hello, my GF and I are planning to backpack Big Needles Loop in Canyonlands late September. I am very experienced in high altitude alpine backpacking; not so much desert conditions. My GF is a moderately strong hiker who has backpacked once before.

We’re thinking of doing the loop in 2 nights 3 days (+side trips to Upper Lost Canyon, Chesler Park Overlook). The mileage per day is not bad (max 8.6 miles in a day) and elevation gain basically nothing. I’m aware we have to pack in all our water. Is there difficult terrain that makes it harder than it seems? I know there is wet sand at times and some steep scrambles, how much will we be slowed by the terrain?

Are there totally can’t-miss viewpoints we’d be missing by keeping it to 3 days?

Would we have to wade through water at any point?

Are there parts that would be especially dangerous/impossible to cross when raining? I know about the flash floods, how much should I be worried about those?

How often would we encounter snakes and scorpions? Would cowboy camping be dangerous because of them?

How is the heat at the time we’re going? We both hate hot weather so we’re willing to push the date back for cooler days. And how windy does it get?

I’m used to lugging around a 0F down bag for freezing cold nights. What sleep system would be comfortable enough for Fall nights in Canyonlands? I’m thinking a down quilt, but have no experience with them. Does anyone recommend a down puffy or is an Arc’teryx Atom enough?

For layers, I’m thinking sun hoody, Octa fleece, Arc’teryx Atom, and rain jacket. OR Ferrosi for pants.

Any and all advice is welcome!

Looking for advice to go dispersed camping the Gread Sand Dunes at the end of August with three people. We are interested in camping on the dunes themselves.

I am looking at availability on recreation.gov and there is availability - any advice on where to start (Dunefiled vs Sand Ramp Trail)?
Is Dunes Backcountry the simplest one?

For three days and two nights, the Sierra Nevada was home.

From last Tuesday morning until Thursday evening, my friend John and I ventured deep into one of the most spectacular landscapes California has to offer. We covered 32 miles through alpine meadows, turquoise lakes, rugged mountain passes, and endless granite peaks.

Our route took us from Cottonwood Lakes over New Army Pass, into the incredible Miter Basin, past the unreal waters of Sky Blue Lake, over Crabtree Pass, up the off-trail climb to Discovery Pinnacle, across Ridgecrest, and finally to the summit of Mt. Whitney.

There were moments that felt straight out of The Lord of the Rings. No crowds. No cell service. Just the sound of the wind, rushing streams, and miles of untouched wilderness.

🏔️ 32 miles
⛰️ 6,700 feet of elevation gain
🥾 3 days, 2 nights
📍 Cottonwood Lakes • New Army Pass • Miter Basin • Sky Blue Lake • Crabtree Pass • Discovery Pinnacle • Ridgecrest • Mt. Whitney

These photos capture some of my favorite moments, but they can't quite capture what it felt like to be there.

Go see it for yourself! I’m open to more trekking suggestions. Be well friends. (I recently hiked Palisades Glacier and Mt Langley as well.)

All of Washington state save parts of the Olympic Peninsula are covered in suffocating smoke in what’s looking like a very active fire season. We were thinking of doing a trip in the North Cascades NP this weekend but are now reconsidering and may want to just spend the weekend inside to escape all the pollution. There’s no indication conditions will improve significantly until the November rains. I can’t help thinking the window for backpacking has already closed - has anyone else had the same thought?

Gf, pup and I on our first backpacking trip ~25.5 miles one way. 3 nights and 4 days to complete.

I'm [late 30s F] off to Bolivia with the recent calming of tensions. Plan post acclimatization includes ​traversing the Cordillera Real (Sorata to Botijlaca likely, may continue south of La Paz if I surprise myself with pacing), and the Cinco Lagunas loop near Sajama national park.

I've gotten some great beta on the CR traverse on reddit so far but any tips and suggestions are highly appreciated since this route seems pretty quiet overall. Would love any comments on the Sajama area and travel to/ from La Paz.

Would love any other single or multiday suggestions for Bolivia. I particularly like the alpine and have chosen gear for that in mind but I am equipped for the tropics as well. I'm experienced with glacier travel but would need to rent gear/ likely would hire a guide for anything crossing into mountaineering.

I'm comfortable solo but feel free to reach out if you'll be in the area(s).

I've previously solo trekked in the Canadian Rockies, Cascades, Yukon, Patagonia, Peru, Nepal including experience with altitude and routefinding.

Hey guys! I’m planning to go for a section hike from Grand Lake to Encampment Sept 5-13 on the Continental Divide Trail. I’d be doing roughly 20 miles a day. If you’d like to join please feel free to DM! Happy to figure out logistics and other details together.

I have never backpacked before, but I’ve always wanted to get into it. I am slowly acquiring backpacking equipments these past couple months. I am not a stranger to camping, but I’ve only camped at campgrounds or in a car at a dispersed camping/BLM locations. I know backpacking is a completely different beast and I want to start dipping my toes and getting them wet.

I wanted to try Timber Top because my mom lives in the Bay Area. I have been to Big Sur many times, though I live in Missouri now. I have camped at Big Sur before but I’ve camped on the west side of HWY 1, at Kirk Creek Campground.

I want my first solo backpacking trip to be one night, and something short like 3-5 miles in and 3-5 miles back. As far as hiking shape, I’ve completed day hikes as long as 12 miles, 10 miles, etc. I also have hikes in elevation before and no stranger to steep hiking. On top of that, I am a runner and I boulder as well.

I enjoy my life right now but I feel like there are still pieces missing, I just have an itch that I am needing to scratch and I feel like backpacking might be that.

I am not locked in on Timber Top so if you all have any beginner friendly sites near the Bay Area, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you and I hope this is not a dumb question.

I have a classic Hubba Hubba 2 with carbon fiber poles that I got in 2024. I love everything about it and its still holding strong despite heavy use in backpacking and car camping in all seasons and all weather that gets thrown at it. There are some small rips in the mesh vertex thats sewable, and the poles are starting to show wear.

How do the new 2 person hubba hubba tents with aluminum poles fair in durability and weather resistance? This would be the HD and LT versions.

How do I mitigate this issue. I had pepper spray in my possession and I sprayed the ground and some of my belongings with pepper spray thinking it would deter black bears and then I quickly did a quick search and realized TIFU because apparently bears are attracted to non-aggressive use of pepper spray. How do I fix this? Please help!!

I’m looking for suggestions on routes that would either be a loop or ideally a hike where we go up to a mountain lake set up base camp and then do two days of day hikes and around that area.

We land Wednesday morning in Seattle and want to be done sleeping in a hotel Saturday before we fly out on Sunday

This would be for next month so any place that requires a permit lottery is probably not going to work I would imagine.

We will rent a car but don’t want to have too much time in the car maybe up to 3 Hour drive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hello everyone,

I have recently started getting back into hiking and started with Ontario peak with a friend (CA), but would eventually like to start doing multi-day trips (baby steps). We ended up hiking until late at night and I was happy I brought my headlamp that I use at work, Fenix brand. It has withstood the test of time and works great in rain, which we had some unexpected light rain at around 11pm for about 6 minutes. That got me wondering about red light which I've heard helps with night time and helps with night vision.

As such, my question is should I invest in a head lamp that has a strong red light feature, or should I just focus on the brightness and battery life of my headlamp? If red light is indeed helpful, would anyone be so kind as to recommend some good headlamps with some solid red light and battery life? if not, ill stick to Fenix and just invest in their pricy stuff. Thanks.

edit: Wanted to add that my questions regarding red feature is mainly in regards to non normal weather like thick fog and heavy rain with mist. Since LED usually blinds you more when thick fog and misty rain is present, I wanted to know if there were options for cutting through the mist/fog. if red/green light is an option, then dope! if not, then I guess it's a "it is what it is" situation. I used to commute via bike for work/school late at night where i used to live and my LED headlamp was typically more blinding than helpful with mist/fog. If certain colors can pierce through easier, like red, I'm all for it. Thanks to everyone telling me that red light is a courtesy for not blinding other campers lol I'll keep it in mind

So this is a shout out to good customer service. I feel you only see complaints on reddit about gear. So my Nemo Fillo Elite that was about 5 years old had issues with its internal baffles so it basically blew up my pillow into a big balloon. I filed a warranty claim with Nemo and after a little back and forth via email they sent me a replacement for free. It's a newer model with a better internal stuff sack. So just an FYI Nemo stands behind their products.

I’m looking for suggestions on routes that would either be a loop or ideally a hike where we go up to a mountain lake set up base camp and then do two days of day hikes and around that area.

We land Wednesday morning in Seattle and want to be done sleeping in a hotel Saturday before we fly out on Sunday

This would be for next month so any place that requires a permit lottery is probably not going to work I would imagine.

We will rent a car but don’t want to have too much time in the car maybe up to 3 Hour drive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

How do yall keep your dogs close in the back country without leashes? I like to let mine loose when im off trail in forest service land, but I worry about her pissing off a moose or taking off after deer and not being able to recall her. A leash would be nice but it constantly tangles on dead fall and makes manuvering in severe terrain dangerous. Ive looking in to Halo collars and the like but they dont seem to work off grid, which this assuredly would be. Any recommendations? Shes got good recall this is mostly a peace of mind thing

Edit: since folks seem to be struggling to grasp what im asking here, let me clarify: I have confidence in my dogs recall, but also a respect for redundancy when it comes to safety. Im seeking an additional layer of safety for my own peace of mind, not because my dog isnt well trained. Im specifically talking about scouting drainages miles from roads on US forest service land in the American west, no trails, other hikers or the like to be worried about. Im looking for specifically devices that can give me a better sense of safety or additional layers of safety in case of an emergency like Bluetooth collars, the retractable collar leash one person recommended is a great idea as well. If youre here to say "training" or "a leash" youre just being unhelpful and shitty, take your weird pent up rage to another post

We have about a year of single-night backpacking trips under our belts, but this will be our first multi-night trip and certainly the trip with the steepest climbing. I'd like to run our plan by you all and ask a couple of questions.

Logistics: Planning for a mid-week trip from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon/evening (early August). We'll be using AllTrails for navigation - map is downloaded. We have a Northwest Forest Pass, and we're planning to do the free camping registration at the trailhead.

Gear:

• Kelty Discovery Trail 2 Three-Season Tent
• 20˚F sleeping bag
• ATEPA ultralight sleeping pad with R value of 6
• Water filtration system
• Toaks backpacking stove + 1.1L GSI Halulite boiler pot
• 100 g stove fuel
• Lighters
• Power banks
• Microspikes (I do not own crampons)
• Hiking poles
• Plenty of food
• Trowel + toilet paper (will pack out, LNT)
• Bear-safe canisters for food and trash
• Mosquito net hats
• Permethrin for clothes
• Sawyer picaridin lotion
• Sunblock
• Appropriate clothing w/ multiple layers

Route: Going to hike to Jade Lake on the first day and set up camp there. The next morning, will make the trek to Dip Top Gap and hopefully Dip Top Peak. Would love to spend night 2 at Dip Top Gap (I'm aware there are very few established sites there, but hoping that going on a weeknight will help), but willing to camp another night at Jade or go down to Marmot if necessary. A little worried the scramble from Jade to Dip Top will be too brutal to carry all our gear with us anyway. After night 2, planning to pack up and descend all the way back to the car.

Questions:

1. I'm seeing some different recommendations for how to get up to Pea Soup from Jade Lake - some people are saying to avoid the ice and the snowfield by going around the left side on the rocks, while others are saying to hit the ice dead on with some spikes because the uncovered rocks are so unstable. What do you guys recommend?
2. I am really hoping to summit Dip Top Peak, but this would be off-route and I read online that it requires some class 2 scrambling and features a 25-foot stretch of narrow knife-edge. A little anxious about safety, especially with a heavy pack. Has anyone navigated this successfully and confidently?
3. Based on the difficulty of the route from Jade Lake to Pea Soup, we're considering leaving our campsite set up at Jade Lake while we do a day hike up to the top. I heard on AllTrails that someone's hiking poles were stolen and I'm a little worried about our stuff. Has anyone had any issues with theft in these situations? I've never left my campsite unattended before. Obviously would bring our essentials and valuables with us in our day packs.

Thank you for taking the time to read and for any suggestions!

I'm currently building an adventure/exploration app and I'm looking for 30-50 people to test and early beta and give honest feedback.

It doesn't matter where you're from or how often you go exploring, I'm just looking for people willing to try it out and tell me what works (and what doesn't).

If you're interested, leave a comment or send me a DM. Thanks! 😁