I’ll be day hiking and camping en route.

My ride is a Trek Checkpoint ARL 4. I’ve done thousands of KMs on it already.

Front Pannier 1 – Camping

• Hubba NX 1 Tent
• NeoAir XLite NXT Max Sleeping Pad
• NeoAir UberLite Sleeping Pad (pillow)
• Revelation Quilt
• FLEXTAILGEAR Portable Air Pump
• Inflatables glue & patch kits
• Camping Chair
• Red Nike quick dry t-shirt / pillow case
• Tent socks

Front Pannier 2 – Clothing

• New Balance 1260s 4E 9.5 w additional insoles
• Crocs Camp Shoes
• Janji Transit Tech Pant
• Lifaloft Insulator hooded Jacket with stuff sack
• Mountain Hardware Jacket & stuff sack
• Baleef Running shorts x 3
• City Shorts Janji
• Black summer Buff x 2
• Radar Pocket Cap
• Long Brim cap
• Wool blend t-shirts x 3
• Best Hike t-shirt
• Danish Endurance Socks x 3
• Cycling Shorts
• Cycling Vest
• Cycling Beanie Cap
• Cycling Helmet
• Frogg Toggs Rain Pants
• Frogg Toggs Rain Jacket
• Towel

Rear Pannier 1 – Electronics

I have 3 cameras. iPhone 17. Action Camera. And a Drone.

HIGH priority for me is ensuring I can keep ALL the batteries charged. Here’s how I could recharge with just one electrical plug. In a library, for example.

• Matein day pack
• Anker Wall Plug & Charging Station
• Neo 2 Drone & Case
• Action Camera
• Jaws GoPro Clamp Handlebar Mount
• Cloth Shopping Bag
• iPhone 17 Pro Max and cable (camera)
• Flexible Tripod
• iPhone 16 Pro and cable (phone) for Navigation
• QuadLock iPhone 16 Pro MAG, Screen Protector
• EarPods & cable
• Extra EarPod for sleep
• Apple Watch & cable
• INIU 20000mAh battery x 2
• AirTag in Hip Pack
• AirTag in Laptop Bag
• Air Tag in Bike
• Razor and cable
• M5 Macbook Air Laptop
• External Hard Drive for Time Machine
• Long Anker cables USB-C x 2
• Laptop Dongle
• Nitecore Headlamp & Cable
• Unit 1 Batteries for Bicycle Lights
• Electric Shaver & Cord
• Red Electronics Accessories Bag
• AllTrails Pro app
• Gaia GPS Pro app
• Trailforks Pro app

Rear Pannier 2 – Everything Else

• Duffle (for airline / bus /car gear transport)
• Waterproof Ditty stuff sack (green)
• Denture tablets
• Fingernail clippers
• Asperine
• Tums
• Vitamin Gummies
• Creatine Gummies
• First aid kit
• Sun screen
• Hand sanitizer x 3
• Prescriptions
• Toilet paper
• Toothbrush & toothpaste
• Bandaids
• Soap paper
• Vaseline
• Moisturizing Cream
• Garbage bags
• Fire Starter
• Orange Cord
• Mosquito Head Net
• Zip ties
• Orange Flagging Tape
• Bike Pump
• Duct Tape pencil
• Medical Gloves
• Bike Tube x 1
• Bike gear attachment cords x 2
• Tiny Handlebar Bike attachments

Top Bag – Food

• Ortlieb Rackpack 31 Top Bag
• Tent Poles
• Bear Vault
• Ursack
• FOOD
• Fuel
• Water Purification Tablets
• Pot scrubber
• PocketRocket Deluxe Stove
• Titan Kettle
• Mug
• Bowl
• Long Lighter x 2
• Wash Cloth

Handlebar Bar

• Ortlieb Ultimate Six Free 5L Handlebar Bag
• Cameras
• Snacks
• Bike Lock
• Sunglasses
• Magnetic Knife & Fork
• Combat Wipes
• Sametop Clamp Tripod
• Magnetic Lights & Clip-on Attachment

Repair Kit Under Saddle

• Repair Tool
• Army Knife
• Tire Levers x 2
• Oil
• Plastic Glove

Hip Pack – Valuables

• 2 Credit Cards & Bank Card
• Cash
• Driver’s licence
• Wallet
• Travel insurance
• Health insurance card 
• Metal Spoon

Clothing for Cycling

Varying day-by-day, most of the time I’ll be wearing this kit.

Hydration is CRITICAL.

I really enjoyed a couple of weeks alongside thru hikers in a hot, dry desert section of the PCT.

Click PLAY or watch my highlights on YouTube. (6min)

Hot, dry — but not flat. I ended up on the summits of Mt. San Jacinto (10,834 ft) and Mt. Baden-Powell (9,399 ft). Then had to descend.

Palm Springs to Agua Dulce is about 245 PCT miles. My section was mostly rocky, sun-baked canyons and scrub.

Many complain about the relentless wind. Personally, I like wind as it cools you off.

I skipped some of those miles taking 3 rides along the way. Of course I added miles hiking in from the Palm Springs Tramway. And ALL hikers add miles when they hike into and out of resupply stops.

I flew into Palm Springs. Bought camping gas and stopped at a grocery. Then took the bus to the bottom of famed Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Turns out there’s no public transit for the last 3 miles. Oops. Happily, a guy on a motorcycle noticed my dilemma, offering a lift to the base. My first Trail Angel.

Within an hour, I had my only real injury. Standing up, I forgot I was wearing a heavy pack, and fell backwards over a rock. Getting scratched up. … Dumb mistake.

I enjoyed the short side trip to San Jacinto Peak. It’s over 10,000 feet higher than Palm Springs.

I camped nearby. And was surprisingly chilly in the sleeping bag.

Rather than post a day-by-day account, here are major themes of my 2 weeks on trail.

Priorities

• Staying Hydrated
• Foot Care
• Avoiding Heat Emergencies

Wild Camping

About 5:30pm I’d start looking for a campsite. Ideally near a water source.

IF there is a Bear Locker, use it. At the excellent Little Jimmy Campground we advised everyone to lock up food and backpacks.

About 2am a bear arrived to check if lockers were closed. Checked every tent. Started dragging a backpack out of a vestibule as it had some food in it. The hiker (now known as Bear Bait) shouted and had a tug-of-war with the beast, eventually winning the battle for his pack.

If there is no Bear Locker, hang your backpack away from insects & rodents.

I had my food in an Ursack, and tied it away on a tree.

I do love having a picnic table.

As it turned out, I only put my fly on the tent 2 nights of 17. Why didn’t somebody tell me it never rains in southern California?

Foot Care

As I’d suffered blisters on the PCT once in the past, this time I brought 2 pairs of hiking shoes, both about 1.5 sizes larger than what I wear in the city. And both were WIDE sized.

I changed shoes regularly. Changed socks often. Washed and cooled my feet every chance I got. And it worked.

Near the end of my desert hiking, I bought a pair of Injinji toesocks. I think they might have helped, too.

Pack Weight

Only hiking a couple of weeks, my pack was heavier than most. Starting with 10 meals, carrying 3-4 litres of water, it might have been close to 40 pounds.

After a week or so, it was near 32 pounds.

The lighter, the better. I did find my pack too heavy.

On the other hand, I love my pack itself ➙ the Hyperlite Unbound 55 Backpack.

Here’s my full gear list. You can decide what I should have left behind.

Risk of Heat Emergency

Personally, I love the southern California weather. Sunny and dry. Day after day of blue skies.

Of course I kept covered up as much as possible. A sun hoodie is essential.

I did use a hiking umbrella for the first time. IF it was very hot. I found it easier to carry and adjust for wind often, rather than tie it on to my pack. They are popular in the desert section with PCT hikers.

One very experienced desert hiker known as Iceaxe suffered from a long day in the sun. Two day hikers helped get him to town where he took a zero to recover. We camped for free behind a pub.

At one of the rare hoses, PCT girls gone wild soaked themselves. Smart.

Water

Much discussion regards water sources in the desert. And how many litres to carry. Often I started with 3-4 litres. The heaviest thing in my pack.

Most hikers filtered almost everything. For me boiling is best. If the water looked great — directly from a high mountain spring — I did not treat. If worried, I threw in a purification tablet & flavouring. Usually Mio.

I probably should have had an electrolyte replacement like Tailwind.

Trail Magic

Wonderful on the PCT is when you arrive near a roadway and find that some volunteer has left water and/or treats for hikers.

My best Trail Magic was hiking in to find Marco all set up in a parking lot.

Many hikers stayed for hours enjoying his cold drinks, fresh fruit, hot dogs, and burritos. He’d driven 3 hours from home to provide help in a tough spot on the trail. In fact, I’m now planning to join Marco on an adventure next summer.

Thru Hikers

The highlight for me was meeting and chatting with people crazy enough to want to hike continually for months. Here are 2 legends known as Canadian Bacon. They’d finish the entire PCT in 2026, their last section over a number of years.

The guy I met most likely to finish the entire PCT in one year was Roman from Switzerland. He hadn’t acquired a trail name, as yet. Here he is after one month, looking like he just got off the plane. With a budget of $10,000 and no injuries, so far, Roman’s cruising to Canada.

Cheating

From Palm Springs to Agua Dulce, 3 times I skipped miles, taking motor vehicles. Only the purists — like Roman — do every single mile. It’s often logistically smart to bypass difficult sections.

For example, I shared a Lyft from Whitewater to Big Bear to avoid a huge, hot climb.

OUT of Big Bear, however, it’s a huge hot climb of thousands of feet to the top of Mount Baden-Powell.

Food & Resupply

Like most others, I indulged in high calorie food every chance I got.

All these hikers gorging at McDonalds swear they never enter the place in their real lives.

On the trail, I carried a stove and made up meals that had been flash frozen by my niece Stacey. Delicious.

Forest Fire

Happily, my 2 weeks were unaffected by fires in 2026. We saw smoke behind us one day. And hiked sections that had been burnt in recent decades.

Road Walking

One mandatory detour had us road walking. Surprisingly, I found it a refreshing change.

Navigation

Almost everyone uses the expensive FarOut PCT app. It works offline and has some up-to-date comments on waypoints that are super valuable.

On the other hand, the interface is ugly and not detailed enough. I often switched to the free Maps.me app offline. Every hiker gets lost, sooner or later.

There is signage. But it’s not always clear which way to go when you reach an intersection.

Ticks and Snakes

I found one tick on my leg. Removed it before a bite. And saw one tick on a leaf.

It’s an issue, for sure, in southern California. I carried tweezers specifically for tick removal, if necessary.

Check this post ➙ PCT First Aid.

I saw 3 snakes over two weeks. No Rattlers. The only one of the 3 that stood still for a photo was this friendly Gopher Snake.

It’s quite common to find Rattle Snakes close to the trail.

Mosquitoes and Biting Flies

Surprisingly, I suffered many campsites with annoying insects. This despite the weather being hot and dry.

Keep your tent closed or you may have to hunt down mosquitoes before going to sleep.

Getting off the PCT

I finished my 2 weeks at Farmer John’s excellent Serenity’s Oasis in Agua Dulce.

A professional chef grilled New York steak on the barbecues provided.

Most hikers needing to leave the trail on my section try to find a bus heading west to Los Angeles.

I convinced friends to drive 5 hours and pick me up. Calling it a desert rescue.

Great fun. I certainly will try to hike more sections of the PCT in future.

AllTrails has a list of the most popular DAY HIKES in Canada.

Of multi-day hikes I’ve done myself, I’d list these the best-of-the-best:

• West Coast Trail, BC
• Sunshine to Assiniboine, Alberta
• Lake O’Hara, BC
• Juan de Fuca Trail, BC
• Berg Lake Mount Robson, BC
• Tamarack Trail, Alberta
• Tombstone Mountains, Yukon 
• East Coast Trail, Newfoundland
• Sunshine Coast Trail, BC

Fantastic hiking areas include:

• Whistler, BC <guidebook>
• Strathcona Provincial Park, BC <guidebook>
• Banff / Canmore, Alberta
• Waterton National Park, Alberta

Of those I haven’t done, top of my list is Long Range Traverse, Gros Morne, Newfoundland.

The West Coast Trail is our #1 hike in the world.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Only mad dogs and … hikers go out in the midday sun?   

Surprisingly, when Las Vegas is sweltering over 100 Fahrenheit, an hour away you can hike Mount Charleston (11,916 feet or 3,632 m), typically 20°F to 25°F cooler than the city.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.  Late June 2026, I tented 4 nights. This video is a compilation of several day hikes.  

VERY sunny. Long days. But I was never too hot.

It is gorgeous.

Night skies fantastic.

There are plenty of hiking trails to choose from within the Mount Charleston Wilderness, which is within the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area of the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest.

AllTrails lists some of the best.  

Over 60 miles of trails, most over 6000ft in elevation. 

Some trails are signed. But I randomly connected different trails using the Maps.me app offline. Phone service is limited there in 2026.

I had a bike and roamed up and down the mountain, as well.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Wild horses ignore tourists. 

Trail rides are available. And many bring their own horse up to ride in cooler weather.

Mount Charleston has about 200 camp sites and over 150 picnic areas.  

Last 2 nights I joined friends at McWilliams Campground which is close to the Lee Canyon Ski / Mountain Bike Resort and restaurants. 

This is glamping.

Open fires are still allowed in campgrounds, despite the high risk of wild fire.

We hiked the NEW Lee Canyon trail from the ski resort, close to 2 miles up over a vertical gain of 850 feet.  And 2 miles back.  

Needless to say, we enjoyed a cold beverage at the restaurant on our return. 

You can ride a chairlift up and hike down, if you prefer. 

To plan your trip, check the Go Mt. Charleston website for up-to-date trail maps and safety alerts.

Surprisingly, it rained on our last night.

Total weight is down to  1.8 kg (under 5 lbs).

Delivers a pace capability up to 25 km/h and an endurance range of 30 km per battery (comes standard with two hot-swappable batteries.

Cost? … About USD $2000.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

related VIDEO – Best Exoskeletons of 2026 — Tested & Ranked

Bucket-list hikes around the world based on three criteria:

1. Beauty
2. Difficulty for a wide range of hikers
3. Accessibility

• Yosemite’s Mist Trail
• Havasupai Falls, Kalalau Trail (Hawaii),
• The Narrows (Utah)
• Angels Landing (Zion)
• Buckskin Gulch
• The Wave
• The Enchantments
• Skyline Trail (Mount Rainier)
• Five Lakes Trail in Switzerland
• Reinebringen in Norway’s Lofoten Islands
• PR1 (Pico de Arieiro to Pico Ruivo) in Madeira, Portugal 
• Laugavegur Trail in Iceland.
• Acatenango volcano (Guatemala) 
• Milford Track and Roy’s Peak (New Zealand)
• Table Mountain (South Africa) 
• Joffre Lakes and Garibaldi Lake (Canada) 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

One of the greatest hikers of all-time has seen some terrible trail disasters.

Here’s his best advice:

• Safe river crossings
• Reading lightning and storm risk
• Cold/wet exposure
• Bad-weather systems
• Decision-making under deteriorating conditions
• Common backpacker misconceptions
• Practical survival philosophy

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Dientes Circuit, Chile 

Chinese Wall, Montana 

Laugavegur Trail, Iceland 

Rockwall, British Columbia

Jomolhari Loop, Bhutan 

John Muir Trail, California 

Pinhoti Trail, Alabama & Georgia  

Outside 

I’m planning on the Chinese Wall in Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana myself. July 2026.

Start about 85 miles west of Great Falls, at the South Fork Sun River Trailhead, and hike 23 miles northwest. You’ll climb along the Continental Divide and spot elks, moose, and mountain goats along the way. Once you reach White River Pass, at the southern end of the wall, you’ll find a choice of multiple routes, including an eight-mile trail along the wall that ends at a lookout called Larch Hill Pass.

Strathcona Provincial Park,  Vancouver Island, offers many challenging multi-day adventures. And many very challenging day hikes.

In this post, however, I focus on easy highway-accessible day hikes recommended for kids, families, everyone.

Campgrounds are often booked months in advance. I once got an overflow site at Buttle Lake marine campground. Designated for those on the water, IF space is available, you can sometimes get a spot for yourself at marine campgrounds. They are less busy.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I hiked most of these.  All good.

• Lower Myra Falls 
• Lady Falls

Almost everyone stops for the short walk to the viewing platform at Lady Falls.

• Elk River Viewpoint
• Lupin Falls
• Auger Point
• Karst Creek
• Wild Ginger
• Shepherd Creek

Without question Lower Myra Falls is best of the easy day hikes.  Don’t miss it.   And bring a bathing suit if weather is good.

Auger Point Fire Trail was interesting in seeing how some trees can survive major forest fires.

If you stay at Buttle Lake campground, I loved their Beach Access Trail.

I was cycling this trip, hiding my bike in the trees between each short nature walk.

The best hiking guidebook is Exploring Strathcona Park. Dead tree version available only. 

See our list of the best hikes in North America. 

Amazon

(via Chris Townsend)