Backcountry.com Newsletter Articles

When Backcountry.com's recruiter Greer Hitch was 12 years old, she went on a canoe trip down Michigan's White River with nine other kids and two counselors who didn't know where they were going and didn't have maps. The river had numerous forks, and they ended up in a leach-filled bog where they waded through waist-deep mud. On day three, a thunderstorm rolled in, and the campers sat it out in a thicket of thorns singing camp songs. "After that," says Greer, "I was pretty much hooked on the outdoors." Greer still likes a challenge (she recently completed her first Ironman), but camping for her these days is a respite to where people are scarce and a lake's nearby, and getting there involves carrying a week's worth of gear and food on her back.

During these backpacking trips, this is the gear she won't go without:

Osprey Packs Luna 70 Women’s Backpack
This backpack is super comfortable on long days and can hold a week’s worth of supplies. Plus, it’s pretty.

Therm-a-Rest ProLite 4 Sleeping Pad (Short)
The short length is perfect for my midget-sized body, and at one pound, one ounce, it’s lightweight yet feels like a feather bed after a long day.

Snow Peak Titanium Spork
It twirls pasta like a fork and scoops up granola like a spoon … 'nuff said.

Superfeet Trim-To-Fit Green Insole
After heading out for two weeks and coming back with feet that looked and felt like chopped-up meat, I bought these. When I headed out for my next two-week trek, I was skipping down the trail with a 60-pound pack on. They feel sooooo good.

Crazy Creek Original Chair
I would not leave for any camping trip without this. I would cry like a baby if I got on trail without it. At the end of the day, when you’re bending over your stove and cursing because your back and legs feel like they’re about to explode and mosquitoes continue to fly up your shorts (see next item), it feels oh so good to recline in a lazy boy that only weighs 26 ounces.

Adventure Medical Ben’s 30 Tick & Insect Repellent
Yes, there is 30% DEET in this stuff—perhaps a bit controversial because it was originally tested as a pesticide on farm fields. Frankly, I don’t care if it was originally used for eating through cement. It keeps blood-sucking, West Nile-filled, and lime-diseased mosquitoes and ticks away … period.