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Gaia GPSGaia GPS Offroad PodcastHow-ToOffroadingUser Profiles

Cook Marco Hernandez’s Mouthwatering Camp Meals

by Mary Cochenour January 25, 2023
written by Mary Cochenour

How to listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts |Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | iHeart Radio | Castbox

One of the best aspects of car camping is that you can bring any fancy kitchen contraption that fits in your vehicle. Filet mignon on the BBQ, sunset margaritas poured from the blender, and homemade chimichurri can be standard camp fare if you plan your menu in advance. If you’re Marco Hernandez, author of The Overland Cook and the face behind the popular offroading brand Ovrlndx, you toss an oven, yes an oven, in your kit and slow-bake a roast while you make your way towards camp.

“By the time we get to the camp, I just open that oven and dinner is ready,” Marco says of his new 12-volt oven. “I think this is going to be a game-changer.”

Marco admits that not everyone needs an elaborate kitchen set up to cook mouthwatering meals at camp. He explains on the Gaia GPS Offroad Podcast this week that some of the best meals can come from cooking burritos under the hood of your Jeep. You read that right. Marco has cooked burritos on his engine.

A Baja California native, Marco shares his famous south-of-the-border recipes. From his traditional birria taco recipe to his secret ingredient for delicious salsa, Marco dishes out his tips for serving up gourmet meals out on the trail. Plus, Marco breaks down all the gear and upgrades on his new brand new Jeep 392, dubbed by the manufacturer as “the quickest, most powerful Wrangler” ever made. Marco confirms that his new Jeep has power.

You can pick up a copy of Marco’s book The Overland Cook (available in English and Spanish) on his website ovrlndx.com and follow his YouTube channel to watch Marco in action.

Impress your friends on your next camping trip with Marco’s famous and easy-to-make chimichurri recipe, an Argentinian sauce that tastes great as a topping for meats or spooned over toasted sourdough bread as an appetizer.

Ovrlndx’s Marco Hernandez in front of his new Jeep 392

Get Marco’s Chimichurri Recipe

  • 3 bunches of parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 cups of olive oil
  • 1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
  • 8 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper chili flakes
  • a pinch of salt

Step 1: Combine parsley, garlic, red chili pepper flakes, paprika, and oregano in a bowl. Mix until evenly distributed.

Step 2: Add salt, ground black, pepper, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.

Step 3: Mix until all ingredients are completely incorporated.

Step 4: Pour into a glass jar and let sit for 24 hours.

Tip: Chimichurri sits better after letting it sit for at least 24 hours. The flavors will incorporate into the mix.

Meet Wade May, Host of the Gaia GPS Offroad Podcast

After a 43-year career of flying A-10 and F-16 fighter jets for the United States Air Force and Boeing 737s as a commercial airline captain, Gaia GPS Offroad podcast host Wade May has put his feet firmly on the ground. With over 20 years of offroading and overlanding experience, Wade constantly seeks out the serenity of remote backcountry adventures with his trusty 4-Runner, “Bullit.“ Between extended solo overland adventures, Wade shares the lessons learned from his broad experience in the sky and on the trail in overland workshops, classrooms, writings, and, of course, while hosting the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast.

January 25, 2023
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Monique Song, Overland Lady, Arctic Circle
Gaia GPSGaia GPS Offroad PodcastOffroadingUser Profiles

Monique Song: How a City Girl Became the Overland Lady

by Abby Levene April 7, 2022
written by Abby Levene

How to listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts |Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | iHeart Radio | Castbox

What do you do when you’re unhappy in your corporate job? You hit the road and drive…all the way to Australia. That’s how Monique Song found her way into offroading and eventually becoming the beloved Overland Lady. In a traditionally male-dominated pastime, Monique challenges gender, racial, and cultural norms on her solo adventures around the world.

Monique ended up spending a year traversing Australia’s remote landscapes with “Altar,” her Toyota Landcruiser. It was in the land Down Under that she started Overland Lady, a blog about her inspiring adventures.

Monique’s journey to traveling around the world on four wheels was far from given. Born and raised in China, she felt the heavy weight of expectations from her culture and her parents. And yet, Monique found she was happiest on her weekend getaways from her home in Vancouver, BC, to the mountains. 

“On every trip, the part I dreaded most was coming back,” Monique says. “Looking at a city from afar I would think, ‘oh man, back to real life.’ That’s when I started to realize that maybe I liked the life out there on the mountain.”

Monique Song, Overland Lady, driving

When the opportunity to travel from Canada to Australia arose, she jumped on it. From Australia, Monique headed to the Arctic. Since then, she’s joined the rollover club and totaled her rig on Alaska’s Dempster Highway. While Monique is not afraid to get her hands dirty and her rig destroyed, she infuses her personal sense of femininity into her wild lifestyle. Monique attests it’s important to her to wear makeup and do her hair, even when hundreds of miles from another human. 

“As an overlander, you tend to become a bum over time,” Monique explains. “You rarely shower. You don’t shave. And really over time you start to look sloppy. This is my way of keeping myself accountable in terms of hygiene.” 

Get the full inside scoop on Monique’s makeup philosophy plus find out what rigs she’s eyeing next on the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast. You’ll also get her best tips on how to ease yourself into traveling alone in new places. Follow along on Monique’s adventures by following her on Instagram and YouTube and by checking out her blog, Overland Lady.

Monique Song, Overland Lady
April 7, 2022
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A red Jeep with a camping trailer parked on the edge of the woods. The Jeep is set up for camping.
Gaia GPSGaia GPS Offroad PodcastHow-ToOffroadingUser Profiles

TrailRecon Explains How to Become an Overlander Overnight

by Mary Cochenour March 9, 2022
written by Mary Cochenour

How to listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts |Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | iHeart Radio | Castbox

The easiest way to get into overlanding is to simply just go. Don’t wait for the perfect rooftop tent. Forget those bluebird skies. Save the expensive tires for another day. Just get out there and do it now with whatever ride sits in your garage.

“You need a shelter, you need food and water, and you need some safety gear,” says Brad Kowitz, the creator of TrailRecon, a wildly popular YouTube channel dedicated to all things overlanding. “That’s my advice, just get the basics, get out there, and go have a good time.”

How TrailRecon Got Started

Before starting TrailRecon, Brad recalls taking his stock Jeep on the trail and camping with the hiking gear he had in the basement. Over time, he built up his rig to include more creature comforts: a full kitchen setup, a fridge, and a rooftop tent. While these expensive mods can make a trip more enjoyable, not having them shouldn’t prevent you from going out and making memories today, says Brad’s wife Regena.

“Whether you’re going out with the basics or you’re upping your game with glamping, just being outside is scientifically proven to be good for your mental health,” Regena says.

Helping folks get outside and experience the benefits of nature is the whole reason TrailRecon was born. It all started in 2015 with a video that Brad and Regena’s son Jordan made of their trip to the mud caves in California’s Anza Borrego State Park. The video gained an audience and soon the Kowitzes were posting about all their camping trips. The channel went viral. Now, with almost half a million subscribers, TrailRecon covers every aspect of overland adventure, from camp cooking to vehicle mods to detailed trail reports.

“It’s all part of a whole, right?” Regena says. “When you go overlanding or off-roading, you’ve got to have gear and equipment and you’ve got to eat. Ideally, you have friends who go along with you and those friends have their own vehicles, and a lot of people are interested in hearing about those vehicles.”

As retired Navy Corpsmen, Brad and Regena have been using their extra time to take the TrailRecon brand in new directions. They’ve added a classic Cherokee to their quiver of Jeeps. They’ve developed a new line of TrailRecon Adventure Coffee. Brad also started UnlimitedRecon, a new YouTube channel dedicated to documenting adventures beyond overlanding.

How to Join TrailRecon on an Overlanding Trip

Brad and Regena Kowitz

Even though Brad has reached next-level YouTube fame, getting on a trip with TrailRecon is not out of reach. Brad is the face of E3 Overland — a nationwide overland community that helps to educate, empower, and entertain folks on the trail. In addition to web-based learning, E3 focuses on in-person events that get members together all across the country. Brad says joining members on E3 events keeps him grounded and connected to people who love the outdoors.

“I spend a lot of time talking to a camera lens and I don’t spend a lot of time talking to people,” Brad explains. “So being able to have these events where I can talk to folks who are enjoying the videos and find out what their stories are and how I can maybe help them on the way is something that’s important to me.”

Tune in To Episode 13 of the Gaia GPS Offroad Podcast for all the TrailRecon Details

You can hear more about how to join TrailRecon on an overlanding trip in 2022 on episode 13 of the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast. Plus, you won’t want to miss Brad’s take on overlanding with a full-size pickup, the benefits of traveling with an offroad trailer, and Regena’s sage advice for making a reluctant spouse fall in love with roughing it in the great outdoors.

Get Our Best Discount on Gaia GPS Premium

If you want to follow in the tread of TrailRecon and plan custom overland trips far away from the crowds, you’re going to need Gaia GPS Premium. With a Premium Membership, you’ll be able to create your own routes, download maps for offline use, and access the entire map catalog, including offroading favorites like MVUM, Mines and Minerals Resources, satellite imagery, USFS Roads and Trails, weather maps, and more.

March 9, 2022
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Richard and Ashley Giordano smiling in from of a road sign that says "Arctic Ocean"
AdventuresGaia GPSGaia GPS Offroad PodcastOffroadingUser Profiles

How to Go From ‘Desk to Glory’ in 4 Months Flat

by Mary Cochenour January 12, 2022
written by Mary Cochenour

How to listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts |Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | iHeart Radio | Castbox

Ashley and Richard Giordano were the picture of success in 2013. The young couple had thriving careers, nice cars, and a comfortable apartment in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Despite the enviably appearances, burnout was brewing dangerously close to the surface. They needed a change.

That change came in the form a little red pickup truck that was collecting dust in Richard’s mom’s backyard.

“At the time, my mom and her husband had a plumbing business and their little run-around truck was this 1990 Toyota pickup, four cylinder, five speed, that was just beat on constantly,” Richard said. “But I saw that as the perfect foundation to start with.”

Four months later, the Giordanos moved into “Little Red” and left their city apartment and office jobs behind. Hence, the name “Desk to Glory” – the Giordano’s branded adventure that has taken them across international borders and into unfamiliar territory.

How did they make the lifestyle change in such a short time? Recognizing and acknowledging that you need a re-invention is the first and most difficult step, the Giordanos say on the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast.

“The hardest part for us was realizing that we needed to overhaul our lives and that whatever we were doing wasn’t working for us. But we realized we needed to change,” Ashley said. “The taking action part was actually easy after we had made the decision. I always say it’s like pulling yourself out of the Matrix.”

Their first trip took them to the tip of South America and back again. More recently, they ventured in the opposite direction and far north to the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the dead of winter. This fall, the couple explored Baja’s beautiful beaches and peninsula. Now they are in Saudi Arabia, reporting on the Dakar Rally for Expedition Portal.

While they seem to have jumped into this world traveling lifestyle with both feet, the Giordanos quest for full-time adventure started with fits and spurts. They enjoyed conventional vacations in the beginning, stringing together weeks off from work to take international vacations. Even on their trip to Patagonia, it took a while for them to fully break the shackles of 9-to-5 culture. At one point, Little Red had to be left behind in Costa Rica while the couple returned to Canada to work for a period of time.

Tune in to the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast to hear Ashley and Richard recount their steps from “Desk to Glory.” Host Wade May goes all in on this conversation that covers everything from extreme cold-weather bathroom tips to the evolution of the Giordanos’ iconic rig — Little Red.

Learn more about Desk to Glory and the Giordanos through their website, YouTube channel, and Instagram page. And if Richard and Ashley have inspired you to get out on the trail and camp more this year, whether it is a weekend trip to your local state park or an adventure across an international border, don’t forget to pick up Gaia GPS Premium to help you find your way.

Last Episode: Gaia GPS’s Best Overlanding Maps and Features of 2021

If you explored some epic trails in 2021, chances are you used Gaia GPS to get you there. But did you know that, while you were sipping camp coffee from your tailgate, the Gaia GPS crew was hard at work rolling out new maps and features? Tune in to episode 10 of the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast for a complete run down on the best new maps and features that the Gaia GPS team developed for overlanding in 2021. From 3D maps on the web to public tracks in the app, learn about the updates that will help you discover and navigate wild places this year.

January 12, 2022
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Luc Mehl skates across the Arctic Circle on a frozen lake, a colorful orange sunset in the background
AdventuresGaia GPSUser Profiles

The Art of Expedition Ice Skating with Luc Mehl

by Mary Cochenour December 16, 2021
written by Mary Cochenour

Leave it to Alaskan adventurer Luc Mehl to turn something as graceful and elegant as ice skating into a wilderness expedition.

In the dwindling November light last year, Mehl and outdoor partner Greg Mills set out on a long-distance ice skating route along the Arctic Circle in Alaska. They logged some 125 miles over four days across a frozen river, lake, and seashore, linking together the remote villages of Selawik and Kotzebue on Iñupiaq land in the far northwest region of the state.

“I didn’t grow up skating; I’m not a hockey player,” said Mehl, who’s traveled more than 10,000 miles of Alaskan backcountry on foot, kayak, pack raft, and skis. “I started skating because I was looking for something to do in the off-season between backpacking in the summer and backcountry skiing in the winter.

“Fall is the perfect time for skating because it’s really cold outside, all the lakes are frozen, and it hasn’t snowed yet.”

With smooth ice and a consistent tailwind, the pair skated some 75 miles within a single 24-hour period — proving that ice skating is one of the most efficient methods of backcountry travel when conditions line up perfectly.

Greg Mills skating on a  frozen Selawik Lake in northern Alaska, with a low sun off in the distance on the horizon.
Smooth skating in midday November sun along the Arctic Circle.

Wild Skating

Mehl calls this “expedition ice skating,“ which is a more intense rendition of the growing sport of backcountry skating or wild skating that has become popular in northern climates around the world. In frigid places like Alaska, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and the northern zones of the United States, people are skating across icy lakes and rivers to reach more desolate backcountry — a winter version of a summer day hike.

Before the snow settles in, Mehl uses wild skating as another way to move through the mountains on multi-day routes.

Greg Mills in his ice skates wearing a backpack, standing on cracked ice in Alaska. A beautiful pastel sunset behind him.
Greg Mills on a section of rough ice.

“Going from a day trip to a multi-day trip on skates is a big jump in exposure,” Mehl said, adding that skating requires extremely cold weather, no snow on the ground or in the forecast, and long stretches of smooth ice. A successful trip takes diligent planning to find both good ice and a weather window without snow on the way.

The 41-year-old started wild skating just five years ago on the frozen lakes around his home in Anchorage. A few classic day trips in the nearby Nancy Lake State Recreation Area gave Mehl the taste of efficiency and speed that ice skating can bring to wilderness travel. He turned those day trips up a notch and added multi-day trips, skating some 40 miles of a 60-mile loop in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, followed by a 150-mile mixed skating and hiking route from Bethel to Goodnews Bay, Alaska.

Last fall, in the seasonal doldrums between backpacking and skiing, Mehl started looking for another skating expedition. But this time he wanted a route with fewer hiking miles and as much ice as possible. Checking out the maps, Kotzebue caught his eye.

A map of Alaska with Anchorage and Kotzebue marked for reference.

“Having been up there before, I knew the potential for good quality ice — it’s a large body of water, it’s above the Arctic Circle, and it freezes early,” Mehl said.

Selawik to Kotzebue became the objective.

A map showing Mehl and Mills' 125-mile route between Selawik and Kotzebue.

Selawik to Kotzebue: Planning for Perfect Conditions

Mehl began his usual backcountry planning process. He scoured the internet for information for trip reports and public tracks recorded on Gaia GPS but found none. He checked in with local bush pilots about ice conditions they saw from the air.

“Getting information becomes increasingly more difficult the more remote you go and you have to get creative,” Mehl said. “At one point, I called the village school in Buckland, which is near Selawik, and asked them if the lake was frozen.”

A GIS data scientist by education and career, Mehl turned to sophisticated, near-in-time satellite imagery to find the smoothest ice possible. Two satellite imagery sources — Sentinel Hub Playground and Sentinel Hub EO Browser — showed tails and polygons of black, smooth ice between sections of rough, wind-affected ice on the lake. Mehl marked the smooth ice with waypoints and then imported them into Gaia GPS, creating a near-perfect skating lane from Selawik to Kotzebue.

“We called these the carpool lanes,” Mehl said.

A swath of smooth ice between areas of rough ice, that the pair called the carpool lane.  In the distance is flat land and a twilight sky.
The “carpool lane” that Mehl scouted ahead of time using satellite imagery and then imported the location data to Gaia GPS to create a smooth skating route from Selawik to Kotzebue.

“This was a really novel way to use Gaia GPS, and it worked beautifully,” Mehl said. “It kept us skating on the smoothest ice possible.”

After creating and saving the route on Gaia GPS, Mehl watched the weather and confirmed no new snow in the immediate forecast. In a now-or-never moment, Mehl knew he had to go before Alaska’s fickle weather betrayed his plan.

“I called Greg at 6 p.m. and less than twelve hours later we were on a flight from Anchorage to Kotzebue,” Mehl said, adding that he needed a partner with a wide range of backcountry experience. “In ice skating, I pretty much draw on every backcountry skill I have.”

Gear for Expedition Ice Skating

Nordic skates, as they’re called, don’t compare to the speedy skates at the ice rink. Their crudely fabricated metal blades are thick and long enough to extend beyond the toe and heel of the foot to provide additional fore-aft stability. A cross country or backcountry ski binding can be mounted on the skate’s frame. This design adds versatility, allowing the user to easily switch to ski travel when snow piles up. Nordic skates, without the bindings, cost about $100 to $150, depending on the brand.

Wild skaters carry unique rescue gear: a “throw bag” rope and an ice anchor that can be used to rescue someone who has fallen through the ice.

Rescue gear for iceskating in the wild: a throw bag, an ice anchor.  Also, two pairs of nordic skates with ski bindings mounted on them .
Nordic skates mounted with ski bindings and Mehl’s rescue gear.

Overnight skating trips require a complete winter camping kit, including a cold weather tent, sleeping bag, and winter clothes. Mehl usually packs skis to change into in the event a snowstorm sets in and covers the ice. Ski poles provide extra stability when the ice is rough, but Mehl packs them away on smooth ice, so he can skate with his arms free. A paper map, compass, and a planned, saved route on Gaia GPS are key to a successful trip, Mehl said.

The take away: multi-day, expedition-style ice skating requires extra gear and ultimately results in a heavy pack.

Selawik to Kotzebue

Scrambling to take advantage of the ideal conditions, Mehl and Mills arrived in the coastal village of Kotzebue and quickly caught a smaller plane to Selawik to start the trip. Weather conditions looked so favorable that they sent their skis back on the plane, trusting that they’d be able to walk out without skis even if a fluke snowstorm blasted the ice and ruined the skating.

The trip started with 12 miles of skating on rough ice on the Selawik River before reaching Selawik Lake, the third largest lake in Alaska. A moderate tailwind pushed them forward, past a herd of Caribou, and toward their final destination of Kotzebue, over 100 miles away.

A close up shot of Greg Mills on the tundra near Kotzebue.  Mills is wearing his backpack and looking off in the distance.
Greg Mills on the stretch before Kotzebue.

They crossed the Arctic Circle three times. Where, at 66.5 degrees north of the equator, winter equinox brings only twilight with the sun failing to rise above the horizon. In November, a month before the shortest daylight of the year, the sun pushed its way above Selawik Lake, staying low as if in a state of perpetual sunset.

Complete darkness set in at 5:30 pm., yet Mehl and Mills continued to skate. Under the dim light from headlamps, the pair glided across the lake, listening for the unmistakable tinny sound of their skates slicing across the smooth ice to confirm that they kept their course on “the carpool lane.”

The miles came easy. With the wind at their back, they skated an average of 10 miles per hour and easily ticked off 95 miles within a single overnight period.

“It made me feel as though we were getting away with something; the conditions were perfect and the trip far exceeded any expectation I had,” Mehl said, noting that he and Mills were prepared to turn around if the route became impassable.

Decision Point

The toe of Selawik Lake constricts and flows into the Hotham Inlet — an ocean bay that lies east of the Kotzebue village. Mehl and Mills continued skating along the long inlet until reaching a decision point: take the ice all the way to the village, adding some 50 miles of skating, or cross the tundra on the thin land peninsula to the west and skate into the village on the frozen seashore.

Mills walking along a frozen sea shore, with undulating rough ice.
Mills walking along the frozen seashore.

Mehl had never skated on sea ice and the novelty drew the pair to the coast. Different than the smooth skating lanes on the lake, the ice along the beach was thin and intermittent. On day four with evening approaching, Mehl and Mills alternated walking and skating along the beach but found a good swath of ice that led into the village. They clicked into their skates one last time and glided the last few miles into town, changed into tennis shoes, and stuffed their faces with burgers.

Feeling content with the success of their ice skating expedition, Mehl and Mills contemplated their next move.

A portrait of Mehl taken near his home in Anchorage, Alaska. He is looking directly at the camera.
Luc Mehl near his home in Anchorage, Alaska.

“The only thing we left on the table was the option to skate those additional 50 miles on the inlet,“ Mehl said. ”I’d like to go back one day and take that option.“

  • Read more about Luc Mehl’s Arctic Circle expedition skate trip and other Alaskan adventures on his blog or watch his video.
  • Watch Luc Mehl’s tutorials about how to use Gaia GPS.
  • Learn how Luc Mehl transfers satellite imagery to Gaia GPS.
  • Follow Luc Mehl’s adventures on Instagram.

December 16, 2021
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AdventuresGaia GPSGaia GPS Offroad PodcastOffroadingUser Profiles

How to Build Your Dream Overlanding Vehicle with Mountain State Overland

by Mary Cochenour September 2, 2021
written by Mary Cochenour

How to listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts |Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | iHeart Radio | Castbox

Building out your dream overlanding vehicle can be an overwhelming task, leaving you in a state of “analysis by paralysis.” Self-proclaimed “professional car camper” and offroad guide Jason Specht is here to help. Jason is one of the founders of Mountain State Overland, a popular YouTube channel and overlanding guide service dedicated to responsible offroad recreation. Jason joins us on the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast this week to walk us through the upgrades you need instead of wasting money on the upgrades you want.

In this casual and informative chat sponsored by Trails Offroad, Jason teams up with podcast host Wade May to dish out the best tips for modifying your vehicle with utility and purpose in mind. Jason asks you to be honest with how you intend to use your rig, and start building from that vantage point. From rooftop tents to camp cookware, Jason points out the gear worth the investment and the gear that’s not. Do you really need those giant tires and a light bar, or are these additions actually detrimental to your overall adventure goals?

“I don’t want to turn people away from the passion to buy stuff, because we do live in a consumer-driven economy. but you know, really think about what you need before you do it,” Jason says on the podcast.

Jason’s sound advice includes fun tidbits on his favorite driving music, the cheapest and tastiest camp dinner, and the sketchiest route he pulled a trailer over. Learn more about Jason and Mountain State Overland on Instagram, YouTube, and on the web.

Last Episode: Get a Complete Trip Report on the Classic Rimrocker Trail from Trails Offroad

A view of a gravel road on the Rimrocker Trail in Colorado and Utah with blue sky and mountains in the background.

If you want to see high desert mesas, alpine forests, and Moab’s copper-colored canyons all in the span of a single weekend, put the Rimrocker Trail on the top of your to-do list. This patchwork of 4×4 roads weaves across 160 miles of diverse terrain, offering five-star campsites, forever views, and a route that almost any 4WD vehicle can travel — no special equipment or modifications necessary.

If this sounds like medicine for your soul, then go back to Episode 3 and get the complete trip report from John Lumia, co-owner of Trails Offroad. John recently mapped this southwestern classic and he spills all the trail’s secrets. Learn about the best time to go, trail ratings, and things to see along the way. You’ll get all the details you need to make a successful run on the Rimrocker — even if it’s your first time overlanding.

You can get John’s complete Rimrocker Trail Report on Trails Offroad. Click the button below to snag a discount on a Trails Offroad membership. Once you have a membership, you’ll be able to send all your Trails Offroad routes to your Gaia GPS account with a single click of a button.

Meet the Host of the Gaia GPS Offroad Podcast: Wade May

After a 43-year career of flying Air Force fighter jets and commercial airline jets, Gaia GPS Offroad podcast host Wade May has put his feet firmly on the ground. With over 20 years of offroading and overlanding experience, Wade constantly seeks out the serenity of remote backcountry adventures in his trusty 4-Runner, “Bullit.“ Between extended solo overland adventures, Wade shares the lessons learned from his broad experience in the sky and on the trail in overland workshops, classrooms, writings, and, of course, while hosting the Gaia GPS Offroad podcast.

September 2, 2021
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A man and a woman with backpacks walk up a braod valley in Alaska's Brooks Range
Gaia GPSHow-ToUser Profiles

Get the Best Ultralight Backpacking Tips and a Special Offer from Hyperlite Mountain Gear

by Joe Pasteris August 17, 2021
written by Joe Pasteris

Whether you want to join the ranks of ultralight backpackers or simply shed a few pounds from your backpack, you will benefit from reducing the base weight of your pack. Carrying less weight undoubtedly makes for a more comfortable hike. And a lighter load frees you to travel farther and faster, allowing you to see and do more in a shorter period.

Here at Gaia GPS, we’re big fans of Hyperlite Mountain Gear products. Whether we’re backpacking through Alaska, bikepacking across the southwest, or packrafting in Montana, Hyperlite Mountain Gear packs and shelters keep us rolling with amazingly low base weights so we can go farther and longer without resupply.

Not sure where to start? Here are some of our tried and true recommendations. Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s Southwest Series backpack is one of our go-to bags for getting deep into the backcountry. It’s made to handle rough terrain and it won’t shred to pieces when you’re bushwhacking across Alaska’s Brooks Range or squeezing through slot canyons in Utah. And at just under 2 pounds, the HMG Southwest backpack keeps us moving light and fast anywhere we want to go.

If you’re in the market for a weather-tight, ultralight shelter, take a look at Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s UltaMid 2. Constructed with waterproof Dyneema Composite Fabrics, this shelter brings a sturdy pyramid-shaped design and weighs a mere 1.17 pounds out of the box. It’s got a roomy floor space for two weary travelers and enough headroom to stay comfortable while waiting out a Sierra thunderstorm.

With Hyperlite Mountain Gear you can ignore that old theory that you have to decide between carrying a light pack to be comfortable hiking, or carrying a heavy pack to be comfortable camping. Advancements in gear technology make it easier than ever to enjoy the best of both worlds. These days, you can lighten your load while still carrying everything you need to feel prepared and comfortable in the backcountry.

Read on to learn some of the top ways to reduce your backpack’s weight — and some tips won’t even cost a penny.

Adventure Alan sits in the backcountry with his gear spread out around him.
Adventure Alan Dixon and his 9-pound ultralight backpacking gear, including the Hyperlite Mountain Gear Southwest Series backpack.

Start with “The Free Three”

Alan Dixon, a professional backpacking guide, ultralight backpacking guru, and founder of AdventureAlan.com, coined the term “the free three” to describe three categories of items that offer potential weight savings without spending a dime. Rather than focusing on those high-dollar items you typically need to spend money on to reduce your load, like tents and sleeping bags, Dixon focuses on the “free three” things to cut weight, including water, food, and all the stuff you don’t need.

1. Carry Only as Much Water as You Need

At 2.2 pounds per liter, water is one of the heaviest items in your backpack. Knowing how much you’ll drink and how much water will be available on the route should drive how much water you carry.

“People are often carrying two or three liters of water when there’s a stream or lake every three to five miles where they can refill,” Dixon says. “When you know where the water sources are, you don’t need to carry that much.”

Dixon suggests that most backpackers can carry one liter of water and stay perfectly hydrated by refilling along the way. Numerous lightweight and efficient water filters on the market make refilling your supply quick and convenient. Plus, carrying less water means that you can stow your fluids in any lightweight, affordable bottle rather than splurging on a heavier hydration reservoir.

Of course, the one-liter recommendation comes with exceptions, like hiking in the desert or any location with long stretches between water sources. But the takeaway here lies in learning the location of reliable water sources so you can plan to carry a reasonable amount for your trip. Do some research in guidebooks and online forums before you go to find out where you can access water, and carry a detailed map that shows water sources. With Gaia GPS, you can use the USGS Topo map layer to locate water sources in the field and see your precise location in relation to them.

The Hyperlite Southwest backpack weathers an Alaskan storm in the Brooks Range.

2. Carefully Plan Your Menu

A common recommendation for how much food to carry on a backpacking trip says two pounds per person, per day. Dixon claims that on long trips where you burn lots of calories for days or even weeks on end, that recommendation makes sense. But most people on weekend trips can cut back to one-and-a-half pounds (or about 3,000 calories) per person per day and still walk out with leftovers. Making this simple adjustment significantly lightens your pack. If you’re going on a five-day trip and carrying two pounds per day, that’s 10 pounds of food. Carrying one-and-a-half pounds per day reduces the load to seven-and-a-half pounds.

Also, be thoughtful about how much “emergency” food you toss into your pack. It’s easy to get sucked into adding just a little more, adding excess weight. Avoid this mistake by taking time to plan out your menu ahead of your trip so you can be realistic about how much food you really need. To get ideas about what to eat and how to create a menu, read How to Plan a Menu for Long Distance Backpacking.

Photo courtesy of packrafting expert Luc Mehl.

3. Leave Behind the Stuff You Don’t Need

Backpackers commonly carry things they just don’t need. This happens for a variety of reasons—sometimes extra items accumulate in your pack after a few trips, but often people pack for their fears. These fears include being cold, getting dirty, or going hungry. You want to be prepared for the unexpected, but that doesn’t mean you should fill your pack with multiple pairs of clothing or a sleeping bag rated for winter use when it’s the middle of summer.

To avoid bringing loads of extra stuff, do these things before heading out:

Check the weather: Before you go, get a detailed weather forecast for the region and pay particular attention to the high and low temperatures, wind speed, and chance of precipitation. Use this information to help you choose the appropriate clothing and gear to stay comfortable for where you’re going rather than packing for unrealistic fears. If the forecast indicates a hot and sunny weekend, don’t bring your bulky 4-season tent and a sleeping bag built for winter.

When you’re checking forecasts, also take a look at the Weather Overlay maps on Gaia GPS (available with a Premium Membership). Add the precipitation layer to your favorite base maps to display 24-, 48-, and 72-hour precipitation predictions in the app and on gaiagps.com when you’re connected to WiFi or cell service.

The Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 shelter on the Uinta Highline Trail. Photo by Dan Ransom.

Don’t bring too much clothing: Backpackers frequently overpack clothing out of fear of getting dirty or cold. To get over this, you must accept that backpacking entails getting dirty. Dixon advises not to pack more clothing than you’re able to wear at one time. Thinking about your clothing this way will keep you from throwing in a complete change of clothes. When deciding what specific items to bring, use the weather forecast and seek out versatile, lightweight layers. A lightweight puffy coat proves useful on almost any trip—you can pull it on whenever you’re chilled and even wear it to bed if needed. And, if you just can’t stand the thought of staying in your hiking clothes for the entire trip, Dixon suggests bringing a lightweight pair of long-underwear bottoms and a top to change into for sleeping.

Learn from past experiences: When you get home from a trip and start unpacking, take a moment to consider how frequently you used each item. Examine the things you only used occasionally or didn’t use at all to determine if you really need them next time. Remember that just because you didn’t use essentials like a first-aid kit or compass doesn’t mean you should go without them. But things like camp chairs, books, extra clothing, and extra food can likely be reduced or even eliminated.

Trucking along the Uinta Highline Trail. Photo by Dan Ransom.

Weigh Your Gear

Considered weighing the individual items you put in your backpack. Knowing how much each gear and clothing item weighs helps identify ways to lighten the load.

To keep track, create a spreadsheet that lists all of the things you typically bring on a backpacking trip and how much each one weighs. You can find weights for most items on manufacturer websites or use a digital kitchen scale to weigh them. Try LighterPack.com, which allows you to make gear lists for different types of trips and include weights, pictures, and links.

Pack base weight: Once you know the weight of all the individual items in your pack, you can easily figure out your pack base weight, a number that many ultralight backpackers pay close attention to. Pack base weight refers to how much your backpack weighs loaded with everything you’re taking except food, water, and fuel. Knowing your base weight gives you a consistent number from trip to trip that you can focus on reducing. Base weights will likely vary between different types of trips, for example a summer trip’s base weight will be lighter than a winter base weight, because you’ll have to carry more clothing and gear to stay warm.

Reduce the Weight of “The Big Three”

Spend some time reading about lightweight backpacking and you’ll come across the term, “the big three.” This refers to your tent, sleeping bag, and backpack — three core backpacking items that offer lots of potential weight savings.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear UltaMid 2 in action on the Uinta Highline Trail. Photo by Dan Ransom.

Tent

If you’re not careful about your tent selection, you may end up with a big, bulky shelter that takes up lots of space in your pack and adds significant weight. Dixon believes if you really want to stay light, look for a tent that has a trail weight of about two pounds. (Trail weight typically includes just the tent, fly, and poles as opposed to the packaged weight that includes everything, including the stuff sacks, stakes, and instruction manual.)

The lightest options include tarp tents and pyramid-style tents. Some people shy away from these because of their non-traditional design and, in some cases, the lack of bug netting. But, if you want to go light, give them a serious look.

Single-wall backpacking tents made from waterproof, breathable fabric save weight by not requiring a separate rainfly, making them another good option. But, these tents typically cost more and sometimes struggle with condensation building up inside. If a traditional double-wall tent is more your style, there are some very light options that come in around 2 pounds.

Sleeping Bag

For this key item, Dixon suggests using an 800-fill power down, backpacking sleeping bag that weighs 1.25 to 1.75 pounds and has a 30-degree comfort rating. (The comfort rating, rather than the lower limit rating, gives a truer indicator bag’s temperature capabilities.) A sleeping bag in that weight range and with that temperature rating satisfies most backpackers the majority of the time.

If you want an even lighter option, consider a camping or backpacking quilt. Without bottoms, mummy hoods, or zippers, quilts are not only lighter, they are also less expensive than sleeping bags. Dixon acknowledges that backcountry quilts aren’t for everyone—some people just can’t seem to embrace the idea of not using a sleeping bag—but if you’re serious about reducing the weight of your pack, try it.

Whether you choose a sleeping bag or a quilt, be sure to pair it with a quality, lightweight sleeping pad. Dixon recommends getting a backpacking sleeping pad with R-value of 4.2 or higher (R-value measures how well a material resists conductive heat flow. The higher the R-value, the better job the material does at insulating). Without a good sleeping pad beneath you, the cold ground will rob you of most of your warmth.

Photo by backpacking expert Luc Mehl

Backpack

Backpackers often believe that bigger, heavier packs with their stout interior frames can comfortably carry really heavy loads. Dixon rejects this notion.

“Nothing carries 40 pounds comfortably,” Dixon says. “Because 40 pounds is never comfortable. The greatest comfort is to reduce your overall pack weight.”

By reducing the weight and volume of things like your sleeping bag, tent, clothing, food, and water, you’ll make it possible to comfortably carry everything you need in a pack that only weighs about 2 pounds and has around a 65-liter capacity. Packs in this weight and size range forego some padding and pockets, and they don’t have extremely rigid internal frames. But you won’t need any of that because your load will be so light and compact.

Repackage What You Can

Repackaging bulky food and toiletry items into smaller, lighter containers serves as a helpful way to cut down on weight. Rather than taking along a whole tube of toothpaste or a giant bottle of sunscreen, squeeze some into small reusable travel-sized bottles. The idea applies to food, too, so look for ways to eliminate packaging when possible. For example, transfer noodles from the cardboard box into a zip-top plastic bag, which is lighter and more compact.

Six days worth backpacking food lies in rows on the floor. Dehydrated meals, trail mix, and dried fruit have been repackaged into small ziplock pages. The allotment also contains bars, instant coffee, and two bars of chocolate.
Adventure Alan’s daily backpacking meal plan with repackaged food. Learn more about his recommended backpacking menu in his post on Best Backpacking Food.

Be Thoughtful About Luxury Items

Even the most hardened backcountry explorers can’t resist taking along a luxury item or two. And that’s okay. You just need to be purposeful about what you take and ask yourself if the weight is worth it.

For instance, if you camp without a pillow but can’t get comfy and always wake up with a sore neck, then perhaps a pillow provides a luxury worth indulging in—there are some ultralight ones that will only add a couple ounces to your load. Or if you need entertainment in camp, maybe bring along a small book or journal. Or better yet, load e-books onto your phone. Smartphones can serve all kinds of purposes in the backcountry, whether for entertainment or to help you find your way. Read Best Uses for Your Cell Phone in the Backcountry for other ideas about how your phone can come in handy and possibly help you save weight.

August 17, 2021
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Gaia GPSOut and Back PodcastUser Profiles

Jenny Jurek Talks Bikepacking Japan with Two Toddlers

by Abby Levene July 15, 2021
written by Abby Levene

How to listen: iTunes | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox

Eight years ago, Jenny and Scott Jurek planned on going to Japan for their honeymoon. But life got in the way, including Jenny’s thriving career as an outdoor gear and apparel designer, Scott’s record-setting Appalachian Trail thru-hike, and the birth of their two children.

In August of 2019, Jenny and Scott shipped their bikes across the world. And with their one and three-year-olds in tow, they left their Boulder, Colorado home to embark on a month-long bike-packing tour across the mountains, beaches and farmlands of Hokkaido, Japan. The family covered 600 miles and camped in a new location every night while carrying all of their own gear.

Tune in to episode 35 of the Out and Back podcast to get all the details about bikepacking in a foreign country with two toddlers. Jenny, who is of Japanese descent, describes the joy the family felt connecting with her ancestors’ homeland. The kids didn’t want to leave! She gets into the shame she experienced growing up with a different sounding last name from her classmates, and how she’s come to cherish her ancestry as an adult.

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Jenny describes how she went from working in finance to landing her dream job as a designer for Patagonia. She keeps it real with her and Scott’s challenges of getting pregnant, including two miscarriages; how the AT injected new life into their relationship despite her sometimes harrowing task of driving around the east coast backroads by herself to support Scott on his run; and the struggle of balancing two young children with starting her own business.

Keep on eye out for Jenny’s new business, Always Up. It’s a gear company for active families, and her debut product is a first-of-its-class maternity belt for runners. Get some visuals from the Jurek’s Japan trip by watching a short film Jenny and Scott made about their family trip. Follow Jenny on Instagram for an inside view into Jenny and the family’s busy and beautiful life.

Next episode: Life with Fire

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If you live on the west coast, you’ve already woken up to bright red suns and thick, smokey skies this summer. Fire season has arrived. We’ve grown accustomed to seeing fire-ravaged towns on TV. Yet wildfires are actually not all bad. We’ve just exacerbated their scope, and in fact we are the ones who get in the way.

On the next episode of Out and Back, Wildfire Public Information Officer and former wildland firefighter Amanda Monthei breaks down why wildfires remain vital for ecosystem health, and how humans misunderstand this life force. She gets into the history of wildfire management in the US and how we’ve primed conditions for fires of unprecedented scope. Amanda dives into what we can learn from indigenous fire management practices, and how we can learn to better coexist with fire in the future.

Amanda also shares how she grew so infatuated with fire, leading her to work grueling summers as a wildland firefighter and then in the coveted role of a hotshot crew member. She unearths why she left that vocation, and how she’s turned her attention to educating the public about how to coexist with fire, rather than fight it.

Follow Amanda on Instagram, and check out her brilliant podcast on all things fire, Life with Fire.

Excerpt:
Jenny and Scott Jurek wanted to Japan for their honeymoon…eight years ago. But life got in the way, including Jenny’s career as an outdoor gear and apparel designer, Scott’s record-setting Appalachian Trail thru-hike, and the birth of their two children. With two toddlers in tow, the family shipped their bikes to Hokkaido, Japan. They covered 600 miles over a month while carrying their own gear. By the end, the kids didn’t want to leave! Get the inside scoop on the trip and the Jurek’s wild life.

Last episode: Map Points to a Marriage Proposal

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If you’re craving a feel-good story, go back to the last episode of Out and Back. Phoebe Novitsky knew there was something special about Ian Silberman from the first time they met at the dingy basement office of SOS Outreach in Denver, Colorado. The stars never quite aligned for these two expeditionary learning educators. Years later, Phoebe finally mustered the gumption to put her feelings out there. She sent Ian a text. He didn’t respond.

Turns out, Ian was gearing up to lead a 17-day backpacking adventure for his students. It was a rough trip. After Ian evacuated one student with a stomach bug, he noticed that text from Phoebe. The two struck up a text conversation that continued on for the rest of Ian’s trip, their words shrinking the many miles of wilderness separating them. They never looked back.

From taking a wrong turn on Colorado’s Grizzly Peak to bonking on an epic gravel ride, Ian and Phoebe quickly got to know each other through their trials and triumphs outside. And they developed an unbreakable bond in the process. While it may not be about the destination, the landscape played a crucial role in forging Phoebe and Ian’s connection. The couple especially share a love of Buena Vista, Colorado and the surrounding Sawatch Mountains. Ian knew he wanted to incorporate geography into the proposal. He ended up taking it to the next level. Tune in to the episode to hear all about his ingenious plan, particularly how Gaia GPS helped Phoebe and Ian take a trip through time and space to put a ring on their relationship.

Learn how you can make your own memories on the map by using our new feature, emoji waypoints.

July 15, 2021
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Gaia GPSHow-ToUser Profiles

How to Photograph the Night Sky

by Jaymie Shearer June 9, 2021
written by Jaymie Shearer

5 Night Sky Photography Tips from Professional Photographer Scott Sady

Nothing captures the imagination quite like the night sky. Sitting beneath its vast expanse leaves you feeling small in the midst of the universe. With the development of cameras and technology, it’s become easier to capture these scenes with only a few pieces of necessary gear.

Scott Sady, a fine art landscape photographer from Reno, Nevada is no stranger to photographing vistas like the night sky. He specializes in outdoor, action, and adventure photography with a focus on the landscapes around the West, the High Sierra, and Lake Tahoe. Sady began his career as a photojournalist with the Associated Press in Central America in the 1990’s and worked as a photographer for USA TODAY, covering two Olympics. An expert skier, whitewater kayaker, hiker, rock climber, and mountain biker, Sady’s love for the outdoors can be seen in each of his photographs, including in his images of starry skies.

In this article, Sady shares five tips for photographers who want to capture the night sky. His tips cover recommended gear, planning your shot, the best locations, camera settings, and post-process editing.

Photography Overview

Each time a camera captures an image, it is doing so under a combination of settings that include ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. ISO refers to the camera’s sensitivity to light. The aperture is the size of the hole in the diaphragm of the lens through which light passes, controlling how much light enters each image by making the opening bigger or smaller. The smaller the aperture number, the larger the hole and the more light that hits the image sensor. If the aperture number is high, the opening is small and less light will be captured in the image. Shutter Speed controls how long the image sensor is exposed to light coming in through the aperture, allowing only a certain amount of light to be captured in each image.

The Camera’s Relationship to Light

Cameras need light in order to work with each of these controls. Photographing at night means the light available with which to shoot is greatly reduced. In order to capture images at night, a different set of parameters is needed than during the day. For example, during the day you have enough light to take a photo while holding the camera in your hands. If you were to try to take a photograph at night with the camera in your hands, the shot would come out blurry. This is because the camera settings call for a big aperture (more availability for light) and slower shutter speed (more time to let that light in). Any movement the camera experiences will be reflected in the image. In order to minimize this movement, put the camera on a tripod and set up either a self-timer or remote to take the photo. This way the camera can work without any movement disruption.

A night sky with stars and the Milky Way in the distance and a rock island in the foreground.
Behind the shot: “Single frame out of the camera 24mm f1.4 lens at f2.0 25 second exposure at ISO 3200.”

1. Choose the Right Gear

A variety of cameras may be used to take photographs at night, including smart phones. There are apps available to help you manipulate the settings of your phone’s camera to take photos at night. Photographing with your smart phone is a great place to start, however, expect limitations. The settings you can choose on your phone camera are smaller than that of a Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera (DSLR). Photographing with a DSLR improves the quality of your images due to the camera’s wide range of settings that it’s capable of working under.

Sady uses two set-ups for two different photography situations:

Backcountry Setup

Being removed from cityscapes and light pollution allow for inspiring scenes where the stars cascade over the wilderness around you. When venturing out to capture these scenes in the backcountry, where weight matters, you may want lighter gear.

“When I backpack, I carry an ultra-light carbon fiber tripod and my mirror-less Sony camera. This is a lighter camera that works with a lighter tripod,” says Sady. But Sady admits that this lightweight set up has its disadvantages. “The drawbacks of this are the tripod is not as versatile (can’t go as high, legs don’t go as wide, etc.), and a lighter tripod is more affected by any wind or water movement.”

Front-Country Setup

You don’t need to go on a backpacking trip to photograph the night sky. There are many places within driving reach where light pollution is low and the stars are bright. This may be right outside your door or a few hour’s drive away. In this situation, heavier camera gear won’t weigh you down.

“When I am shooting from my car, I carry a full-frame Nikon D850 and a heavy Induro carbon fiber tripod with a heavy-duty ball head,” Sady says. “This allows me to get sharp photos even if the wind is blowing, or if I decide I want to put my tripod legs in a river or the ocean for compositional reasons. This is a lesson I learned the hard way when I went out several years ago to photograph a lava waterfall at dawn as it dripped into the ocean. The scene was amazing but the wind was howling and, despite my best efforts, very few of those images were sharp enough to use.”

Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay under a star-filled sky.
Behind the shot: “The above image was shot on a tripod with a 20mm f1.8 lens at f2.2. Exposure was 30 seconds at ISO 3200 for the ground and 20 seconds at ISO 2500 for the sky and the images were combined in photoshop. Although the result would have been pretty close straight out of the camera as a single frame, the foreground might have been a bit darker if I didn’t combine.”

2. Plan Around the Moon Phases

Once you have the right gear, you’ll need to find out how much light to anticipate for your shoot. The main source of light in the night sky is the moon. In Sady’s experience, if the moon is more than a quarter full or if it is up when the core of the Milky Way is in the night sky, then it will wash the stars out.

“Do you know what I mean by the Milky Way core?” Sady asks. “If you look at night images, many of them will have this beautiful gaseous cloud of brilliant purple and green. Earth is out on one of the spiral arms of our galaxy. When you can compose so that you are looking back into the core of the Milky Way, that is when you will see the best stars.”

Sady suggests the apps ‘Go Sky Watch’ and ‘The Photographer’s Ephemeris’ as good resources for knowing where the core will be at any time in any given location.

Sady advises to look for a night with less than a quarter moon or when the moon won’t rise until after the core is where you want it.

“That sometimes makes for the best images because you can get a brilliant nebulous cloud of the Milky Way core in one exposure before the moon is up,” Sady says. “Then leave the camera on the tripod and don’t move anything, and when the moon comes up, take another exposure for the land now that the moon has cast a little light, and blend the two together.”

3. Find the Best Location

What makes for an interesting photograph goes hand in hand with your surroundings. Look for locations that have dark skies and a landmark in the foreground that draws the viewer in.

“I love a location that gives me something interesting in the foreground: mountains, an arch, cool tree, stream, lake, desert lines,” Sady says. “And I make sure that this foreground will line up with the core of the Milky Way once it gets dark, and that the moon helps me and doesn’t hinder me by washing out the night sky. It goes without saying that getting away from light pollution is a must.”

Clear Skies

Keeping an eye on weather patterns, local wildfires, and air quality are all worth checking before you go. Any cloud cover will prevent access to photographing the night sky. A metropolitan city with an abundance of lights will drown out the brilliance of the night sky.

Light Pollution

Before your shoot, assess how much light pollution an area has through the Light Pollution layer on Gaia GPS. This layer shows light levels measured by NASA. If the area immediately around you has high levels of light pollution, explore the map to find the closest location with a low amount of light pollution. You can also check the Air Quality layer to ensure you’re heading into clear skies.

A computer screen showing the Light Pollution Layer in Gaia GPS.

Dark Skies

Another resource is to check if there are any Dark Sky Parks and Sanctuaries around you. These are designated areas of land often found in remote locations, far from any source of light pollution. Living in Nevada, Sady has easy access to several of these designated areas. The Massacre Rim Wilderness Study Area is an hour north of Reno and was designated as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary in 2019. It is one of the darkest places in the contiguous United States. Also included in the list of Dark Sky Sanctuaries is Rainbow Bridge National Monument in Utah. Death Valley National Park is considered a Dark Sky Park.

If you’re unsure of the terrain around you or plan on traveling through a new location, Hike Search on Gaia GPS will help you discover what trails and landmarks are close by.

Star trails through the night sky over rocky Mount Whitney
Behind the shot: “This was a series of 60 – 30 second exposures while a ¼ moon was up in the sky. It was shot on a 24mm lens at f2.8 ISO 2500. One single image was used for the foreground and the remaining images were stacked in photoshop and combined to show the total motion of the stars over the 30 minutes or so the exposures were being made. With film, we used to use a cable release and run a single shot for ½ hour or more to get this effect. But with digital cameras, too much digital noise builds up much beyond a minute, so it is best to stack images.”

4. Get Out and Shoot

Taking a picture requires choosing a shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. When you take photographs during the day, your settings are tuned for the amount of light coming into the camera. The same goes for shooting at night, except your settings will need to be adjusted to accommodate the fact there is far less light available.

Set the ISO

One of these considerations is the ISO. “ISO is basically the camera’s sensitivity to light. Usually the higher it goes, the more digital noise (or gain) you see in the images.” Sady explains that photographing with a quality sensor can give you fairly clear images at around ISO 3200, “which is what you need to shoot at night”.

Adjust the Aperture

Shooting with a lens that allows for a larger aperture will help.

“The aperture, or f-stop, is a measure of the size of the hole in the lens that lets light into your camera,” Sady says. “The lower the number, the bigger the hole and thus the more light. I like to use wide angle prime lenses.”

Sady’s favorite lens for night photography is a 24mm f/1.4 lens.

“This lens allows about twice as much light into my camera as a normal lens,” Sady says, “thus making for brighter stars and clearer foregrounds.”

Focus

Once the tripod is set up, lens selected, and camera set to ISO 3200, you’ll want to set the lens to manual and find the focus yourself. You can start by opening your camera’s live view mode and focusing on a bright star.

Choose a Shutter Speed

There are many different approaches to setting up your shot. If you’d like to capture the milky way and have the stars crisp like pinpricks, set the shutter speed just long enough for the stars to show up in your photo. This could be anywhere from 15 to 30 seconds. To photograph the movement of the stars across the sky, or ‘star trails’, you’ll need an even longer shutter speed. The longer the shutter stays open, the longer the star trails will be.

From there be sure to set up the self-timer on your camera so you don’t accidentally move the camera when you engage the shutter. This process will require some trial and error as you find the right settings for the camera and environment you are in.

The Milky Way stretches across the night sky with a person with a bright headlamp standing with hands on hips in front of mountain.
Behind the shot: “This was a self portrait with a Sony a6400 (all others were Nikon D850) with a 18mm f1.4 lens at f1.8 25 second exposure at iso 2500 for the sky and for me. All one shot, out of the camera. However, there was a lot of trial and error about how long I kept my light on before things got too bright. I think I ended up holding that pose with the light for about 10 seconds before slapping my hand over it.”

5. Post Processing

You’ve made a plan, composed your shot, found a dark location, and took your photos. Now it’s time for some fine tuning in post processing by correcting the color balance and reducing the noise or grain that comes up in these photos. You can do this on computer programs like Abode Lightroom or Adobe Photoshop.

White Balance

“You do have to take care in processing the images,” Sady says. He points out that the sensor responsible for keeping the colors the camera can pick up on as true to what we see, also known as the White Balance, doesn’t work as well at night due to colors in the atmosphere and light pollution.

“First of all, the colors at night aren’t really what the eye sees,” Sady says. “There is a lot of green in the atmosphere that we don’t pick up.”

One way to correct this is by changing the temperature in post to be cooler, which brings out the blues in the image. The color temperature is designated on a Kelvin Temperature scale with lower numbers being cooler and high numbers being warmer. Sady finds adjusting the White Balance to a Kelvin temperature of 4000 is a good starting point.

Noise Reduction

Next, you’ll need to reduce the noise created by shooting in a high ISO. Finding a balance between sharp stars and soft grain takes careful editing. Many post-processing applications, including Adobe Lightroom, have functions to help with this.

“You will be amazed what a modern camera can see at night that you cannot.”

Find the Light Pollution Layer on Gaia GPS

You can access the Light Pollution Layer on GaiaGPS.com and on the app with a premium membership. If you’re using GaiaGPS.com, select the ‘Layers & Overlays’ icon on the left side of the screen to find the available Map Layers. If you’re using the app, tap the map layers icon on the top right corner of the screen. On both platforms, scroll to the bottom to select the ‘Add Map Layers’ button. The Light Pollution Layer is located under the ‘Feature/Weather Overlays’ category. Hit the green + button to add this layer to your map source.

  • Visit Scott Sady’s Tahoe Light Website: www.tahoelight.com
  • Follow Scott Sady on Instagram: @tahoelight

June 9, 2021
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Smithwick shoulders his skis while wearing a helmet and reflective googles.
AdventuresBackcountry SkiingGaia GPSOut and Back PodcastUser Profiles

Backcountry Skiing in the Himalayas with Mountain Guide Luke Smithwick

by Mary Cochenour February 3, 2021
written by Mary Cochenour

How to listen: iTunes | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox

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In this episode of the Out and Back podcast, Shanty and Mary catch up with Luke Smithwick — one of the most prolific ski mountaineers and guides in the world. Smithwick is 200 lines deep into his Himalaya 500 skiing project — a mission to highlight 500 of the most unique and beautiful backcountry runs on the world’s highest mountains. With more than 75 Himalayan mountain expeditions to his name, Smithwick unravels the mystery of skiing in places like Tibet, India, and Nepal.

“It’s truly a Wild West. It’s just very remote. We take several flights to get out there from Katmandu and then we go with horses up to the snow line,” Smithwick says of one of his expeditions in the Himalaya. “The skiing starts at around 11,000 feet and goes up to 18,000 or 19,000 feet. The snow is really good. And I just love the people out there. It’s like a different world.”

Smithwick explains why the Himalayas could become the next all-time backcountry ski destination. Tune in to find out what it takes to get on one of Smithwick’s guided Himalayan ski mountaineering trips, learn about his mission to ski 500 classic Himalayan descents, and get his take on the best zones in this colossal mountain range.

Learn more about Smithwick on his personal Instagram page or his Himalaya 500 page. Check out all the 2021 skiing and climbing expeditions that Smithwick plans to offer through his company Himalaya Alpine Guides.

Episode Highlights: A Ski Tour of the Himalayas with Luke Smithwick

3:00: Smithwick describes how he uses Gaia GPS to navigate in the Himalayas.
5:50: Learn why you might not have heard about Smithwick before. Hint: he’s been too busy skiing and climbing.
7:50: Smithwick has racked up 70 to 80 expeditions in the Himalaya over the last two decades.
8:30: Luke climbed Everest in 2011, but find out why he’s not focused on the classics.
9:40: The Himalaya 500 project highlights beautiful skiing with hopes to bring more people to the range in winter. The 500 lines get into everything from steep couloirs to glades, and the snow can be light and deep.
15:00: The Himalayas could become the next backcountry ski destination — Luke says it really is that good.
17:50: There are only a handful of ski areas with lifts in this giant mountain range.
20:00: The experiences with the different cultures along the way really become the best part of the trip to the Himalayas.
22:10: Hear how Smithwick got hooked on these massive mountains.
25:00: Smithwick explains local customs and how to be a respectful traveler through these Himalayan mountain communities.
33:00: COVID brought Smithwick back to the United States, and he’s settled down in Idaho, near Jackson Hole — and he even got a Husky!
39:00: The hearty local people draw Smithwick back to the Himalayas.
41:00: Smithwick says the effects of climate change have taken hold of these smaller communities and he describes the impacts.
47:00: Take a ski tour in the Himalayas with Luke Smithwick; all you have to do is sign up.

Special Valentine’s Day Episode: How the Outdoors Saved a Marriage

Necota and Sonya hold hands while walking on a leaf-covered trail in the forest.

A decade into marriage, Sonya and Necota Staples hit a crossroads. They needed to learn how to communicate better — or risk their relationship entirely. The couple stepped outside their comfort zone and turned to the outdoors. Fresh air was all that was needed to put them into an entirely new and better place in their relationship.

“Camping and off-roading were really almost the antitheses of the lifestyle that we were leading,” Necota says. “There’s nothing wrong with art and going to galleries and things like that. We still love those things. But going camping and off-roading allowed us to explore something different and be able to see each other within our relationship in a completely different way.”

Tune in next week for this special Valentine’s Day episode of the Out and Back podcast. Hosts Shanty and Abby get the Staples’ full story about how “glamping” and overlanding outside their home city of Atlanta and beyond saved the Staples’ marriage. Sonya and Necota share their heart-warming story while also passing along insight to couples looking to strengthen their own relationships. The Staples dig into how they combine their love for “the finer things in life” with nature, and their passion for bringing the outdoors to communities that may feel like they don’t belong there.

The Staples share their lighthearted yet honest tribulations and triumphs on their website Staples InTents, youtube channel Staples InTents, and Instagram handles StaplesInTents and BlackPeopleOffroad.

Last Episode: Backcountry Ski Gear with Big Mountain Skier Sophia Schwartz and Sean McCoy from GearJunkie

A skier stands at the top of an icy couloir.

If you’re wondering what kind of backcountry ski gear to buy this season, you’ll want to listen to our last show with big mountain skier Sophia Schwartz and Sean McCoy, editorial director of GearJunkie. A multiple top-ten World Cup finisher and the 2013 U.S. Freestyle champion, Schwartz begins the episode describing her transition from the mogul course to the backcountry glades and couloirs. Her gear, she says, was less than optimal. She’s learned a lot since.

Schwartz teams up with McCoy to chat about what’s good in the world of backcountry ski gear. They discuss everything from avalanche airbags to climbing skins to repair kits. Tune in to find out which boot they both love to ski at the resort and in the backcountry.

Watch Sophia Schwartz’s new movie Jack of All Trades to see her master a double backflip, take on Jackson Hole’s super steep “Trifecta,” and shred the Grand Teton. You can also follow Schwartz on Instagram to get a sense of what’s going down in the backcountry around her hometown of Jackson, Wyoming.

Meet the Hosts

Andrew “Shanty” Baldwin

In 2019, host Andrew Baldwin completed a southbound thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. After five months on the trail, Baldwin returned home to pursue a career in voice acting. A friend of the Gaia GPS company, Baldwin was a natural choice for hosting the Out and Back podcast.

In each Out and Back episode, Shanty strives to bring you conversations with people who spend an extraordinary amount of time outdoors. Listen in as Shanty taps into each backcountry expert’s superpower so that you can take their knowledge and experience with you on your next adventure.

Mary Cochenour

Mary smiles while lying down and resting her head on a rock. She's wearing a purple jacket, gloves, and a black buff around her ears.

Mary is the Out and Back podcast producer and a writer and editor at Gaia GPS. Before joining Gaia GPS, Mary worked as a lawyer, newspaper journalist, ski patroller, Grand Canyon river guide, and USFS wilderness ranger.

When she is not in the office, Mary works as a guide for Andrew Skurka Adventures in wild places around the west, like Rocky Mountain National Park, Yosemite, and the Brooks Range in Alaska. See some of Mary’s adventures on Instagram. Also, read her tips on how to plan your first solo backpacking trip and listen to her scary story about being stalked in the wilderness by a sketchy man.

Abby Levene

Abby smiles through a face caked in snow and ice.

When she’s not busy writing and editing content for Gaia GPS, Abby Levene can be found trail running, biking, and skiing around her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. In 2017, Abby broke her wrist eight miles into her second ultra. She went on to win the race, and has been hooked on the sport since. She’s passionate about using her graduate education in environmental journalism and her love for playing outside to tell stories about the issues, people, and places of the outdoors.

February 3, 2021
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