Low cost vacation package

If you’ve been shopping for hiking or backpacking gear recently, you may have noticed some women’s specific gear. I’m not talking about clothing or shoes (obviously we need those)… I’m talking about backpacks, sleeping bags and more. Often this stuff seems to follow the same tired formula: “Shrink it and pink it”. Brands make the same outdoor gear they make for men, but in smaller versions and in shades of pink (or purple, or baby blue) and call it women’s hiking gear. But gear for women has been getting better. The outdoor industry is waking up to the fact that women do actually get outdoors. And some of that women’s specific gear is actually designed with women in mind. I have a lot of experience evaluating gear (both on the trail and as part of my old day job), so here’s my take on which women’s hiking gear is actually worth buying. (And which things you can just buy unisex.)   Hey there: Some of the links in t...

My friend K has a birthday in late September and every year she organizes a backcountry camping trip to celebrate.  Last year we went to the beautiful Semaphore Lakes and this year we headed over to Vancouver Island to explore the Forbidden Plateau area of Strathcona Provincial Park. The way I had previously thought about it, why would I travel to the Island to visit mountains when we have lots of perfectly good mountains on the mainland?  I was sure that Vancouver Island was only good for coastal hiking.  Well it turns out I was wrong! It turns out that Vancouver Island has what they call “Island Alpine” and it is awesome!  I just came back from 3 days in the area and I know I’ll have to go back to explore some more. The trip started with an easy drive from Nanaimo north on the Island Highway to Courtenay and then uphill to the ski area at Mount Washington. From the parking lot the crushed gravel trail soon gave way to well maintained boardwalk a...