Recommended Reading

Books on Gear & Ultralight Philosophy

Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru Hike by Liz Thomas – An excellent comprehensive guide to thru hiking, covering gear, food, mental preparedness, thru hiker tips/tricks, etc..

Trail Life: Ray Jardine’s Lightweight Backpacking by Ray Jardine – This book very much changed our approach to backpacking.  The straight up talk of Ray Jardine is healthy for most hikers to hear, even if you don’t want to go ultralight.  Most folks will look at gear a little differently after reading the book.  He includes a lot of tips for general thruhiking and backpacking as well.

Trail Tested: A Thru-Hiker’s Guide To Ultralight Hiking And Backpacking by Justin Lichter -A great gear guide that touches on pretty much every facet of gear.

Ultralight Survival Kit by Justin Lichter – Tips and tricks that most hikers will very much appreciate.  Touches on wildlife encounters, dealing with physical (body) challenges on the trail.

Ultralight Backpackin’ Tips: 153 Amazing & Inexpensive Tips For Extremely Lightweight Camping by Mike Clelland – Lots of tips and tricks with funny stories and a lighthearted approach.

Tales from the Trail

Short Stories From Long Trails: 40,000 Miles of Braving Weather, Making Friends, Wrong Turns, and Wild Encounters by Justin Lichter – Having hiked significant distances on continents that most of us have never set foot on, Trauma shares with us his tales of journeys by foot across Africa, East Asia, Latin America, Europe, Australasia, and North America.  Very entertaining book.

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail by David Miller – Great book about the day to day life of a thru hiker on the Appalachian Trail.  Quite authentic.  One of the first books that we read that really related the thru hiking experience in a way that was not overly dramatized.

Hikertrash: Life on the Pacific Crest Trail by Erin Miller – A look into the life of a thru hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail.  Well written and realistic.