About

Mountain UltraLight began as an online journal so I could share trips with family and friends. It has since turned into a way for me provide insight into the UltraLight backpacking community by sharing ideas and hopefully getting you to think outside the box. This style of backpacking is becoming more and more popular, but it is still the minority. That's what the big retailers and gear manufacturers are hoping for...because they want to sell you lots of cool stuff by scaring you into thinking you need it all.

My personal goal is to always be as comfortable on the trail as I am off...to be able to average 20+ miles per day over an extended period even though I'm not an athlete. That doesn't mean going without, but instead finding the lightest alternative to every item I find essential to my health and comfort in the back country. There's always a better way, or at least a lighter way...you just have to be open minded to trying new things.

In these pages you will find what has worked for me, and also what hasn't (I have some crazy ideas!). Going UltraLight takes careful planning and experience in order to do it safely. Most people go lighter slowly, trying just a few new things each time they go out. The best piece of gear you can bring with you weighs nothing...your common sense!

Lighten your load, get out, and enjoy the great outdoors, UltraLight Style!

Happy Trails!

John