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Update From the Trails

Hello and welcome to the first HikingGuy email!
Let me just start by giving a big thank you to everyone for supporting the website. The site started a few years ago as a way to help people do hikes safely, and little did I know it would become so popular so quickly. The site is a labor of love, so I'm grateful for all the great feedback from folks like you. Hopefully, together we can help people have more outdoor adventures and stay safe in the process.

I'll be sending these emails out every quarter or so, and the idea will be to let you know what new hikes, gear, and tips are out there to make your hiking adventures more fun. With that, here we go.

It's Whitney Season

We're in the sweet spot to do Mt Whitney. If you don't have a permit, the word is that you can usually get a walk-up on weekdays (because of no-shows). Either way, if you are going up there, I have a guide to hikes around Mt Whitney that you can do on the drive up from LA or in the area of Lone Pine here.

Hikes Around Mt Whitney

Hike Vegas

If you weren't aware, there are a lot of fun hiking options around Las Vegas. Whenever I have to go back to Vegas for something, I always find myself looking forward to getting out on the trails. I have a few new Las Vegas hikes up on the site, and will be adding more this Fall/Winter. A Mojave desert hike is a great way to balance a day of not-so-outdoor activities on the strip.

Save Your $ and Hike Vegas

Free Maps

What's not to love about free? I have an article up that shows you how to get free OpenStreetMaps for hiking (with trails) and use them on the free Garmin Basecamp planning tool and/or load them onto your Garmin device. Don't pay for Garmin maps, these free ones are better.

Get Some Free Maps!

Backcountry Text Messages

The Garmin InReach is a neat new tool that lets you send text messages using the sat phone network. So it works in the backcountry where there is no cell phone signal. It also has weather and some other neat features included. It does require a subscription, and the navigation features have downsides, but it's a device worth considering. I wasn't expecting to use it much, but now I use it almost every hike to send my family a quick message (with location) that I'm okay. I have a full deep-dive review on the site.

Read the Review

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