Ultralight Hiking Blog

Hiking Japan’s Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route by Dave Stamboulis

Hiking Japan’s Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route by Dave Stamboulis

The Kii Peninsula of Japan’s Wakayama Province contains some of the country’s most remote terrain, home to endless mountain ranges, deep cedar forests, wild bears, and some excellent trekking. It’s...

Adventure Needed but Denied by Andrei Turró

Adventure Needed but Denied by Andrei Turró

As a person who works a full-time job I have always kept a kinda timetable of adventures and places I want to visit and when to visit them. I check the upcoming year how many extra public holiday d...

SMD Flight 30 UL Review by Jim Sutherland

SMD Flight 30 UL Review by Jim Sutherland

For longer than I remember, I have used backpacks when climbing, hiking, and biking in the mountains. So, when I noticed the Flight 30 Ultra Running Backpack this summer, I thought to myself that i...

South Africa 2023 Trip Report by James Lamers

South Africa 2023 Trip Report by James Lamers

My partner Kalysha’s academic work in the field of HIV research has brought her to South Africa every summer for the last few years. She had been asking me to join her ever since we moved in togeth...

SMD packing pods review by Jim Sutherland

SMD packing pods review by Jim Sutherland

In any one week, I can switch items of gear from one pack to another depending upon what kind of riding I am doing, e.g.  local trail riding for an hour or so on my mountain bike, longer rides away...

The Lycian Way: Dreamy Thru-Hiking by Dave Stamboulis

The Lycian Way: Dreamy Thru-Hiking by Dave Stamboulis

We long distance hikers are an odd bunch. We can’t live without our daily dose of wilderness, without the challenges of putting on a pack with seemingly everything we need to survive, and getting o...