Erik The Black's Backpacking Blog

A pot cozy is an essential part of the ultralight backpacker’s kitchen. This simple DIY project can help you to conserve cooking fuel, simplify and automate your trail cooking (and cleaning) and provide a convenient carrying case for your cook pot and accessories.

Unless you have experience drinking untreated back country water, it is recommended that you treat your drinking water by filtering or another method. Here are some popular water filters and purification methods…

One way to reduce your pack weight is to get rid of unnecessary gear. The other way is to replace essential gear items with lightweight alternatives. Here are five gear items you can replace to reduce your pack weight…

Backpackers spend a lot of time, money and effort trimming ounces from their backpacking gear in the quest to lighten their load. But, in my opinion a lot of the time it’s wasted effort. If you want to significantly reduce your pack weight concentrate on these three items…

There are lots of options when it comes to choosing a lightweight backpacking stove: alcohol stoves, canister stoves, wood stoves, solid fuel stoves and cooking on a campfire. Here are some of the pros and cons of each.

If you are planning to hike the PCT, CDT or another trail that goes through the desert here are some tips to help you stay cool, conserve water and keep your pack light in a desert environment.

Here is the new version of my Free Backpacking Gear Planner Spreadsheet. This tool helps you quickly and easily design a backpacking gear list in just minutes.

Here’s a video I shot this summer on the Colorado Trail showing what it’s like camping under an ultralight tarp shelter in the rain.

In this video I’ll show you what kind of foods I pack and how much I eat on a long distance backpacking trip such as a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Download my free custom Backpacking Itinerary Planner Spreadsheet tool. This will help you plan a long-distance hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail or any other long trail.