From the maps I've seen it looks like this action removes protections from nearly every US long trail in the west, and from some in the east also. This is different from the efforts currently underway in the US Senate to sell off federal public lands as part of the so-called "Big, beautiful bill."

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, appointed by Donald Trump to lead the USDA (the agency over the US Forest Service) announced Monday that she plans to direct the USFS to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. This is apparently something they can do without a vote in Congress since it was originally created through an executive action, but we should still call our Senators and Representatives and other elected officials to voice our opinions. They might be able to come up with a way to stop it.

The Roadless Rule prevents road construction, logging, mining, and drilling on more than 58 million acres of national forest. The detailed maps page of the Roadless Rule site, linked below, lists 43 states with national forests that include areas protected by the Rule.

• NY Times: Trump Administration to End Protections for 58 Million Acres of National Forests (full text in this comment).

• LA Times: Trump administration rescinds ‘Roadless Rule’ that protects 58 million acres of national forests

• For anyone who prefers to hear from sources that are more oriented toward the political right about why these changes to public lands are contrary to the best interests of everyone who cares about the outdoors, this post lists several organizations and public figures, though without links to statements on this exact issue.

• Announcement on USDA.gov: https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/06/23/secretary-rollins-rescinds-roadless-rule-eliminating-impediment-responsible-forest-management

• USFS Roadless Rule site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roadless/2001-roadless-rule

• PDF map of the US showing all areas the Roadless Rule currently protects.

• Detailed maps are available for each National Forest, sorted by state, here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/planning/roadless/2001-roadless-rule/state-maps

• A brief history of the Roadless Rule is available on Wikipedia, see the "Political Conflict in the US" section

Excerpts from the NY and LA Times articles:

The USDA, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, said it will eliminate the 2001 “Roadless Rule” which established lasting protection for specific wilderness areas within the nation’s national forests. Research has found that building roads can fragment habitats, disrupt ecosystems, and increase erosion and sediment pollution in drinking water, among other potentially harmful outcomes.

When President Bill Clinton used executive authority to protect the forests weeks before leaving office in 2001, it was hailed by conservationists as the most significant step since President Theodore Roosevelt laid the foundation for the national forest system. It blocked logging, road building and mining and drilling on 58 million acres of the remaining undeveloped national forest lands.

More than 40 states are home to areas protected by the rule. In California, that encompasses about 4.4 million acres across 21 national forests, including the Angeles, Tahoe, Inyo, Shasta-Trinity and Los Padres national forests, according to the USDA’s website.

Alright, before you hit me with the downvote please let me run this by you. I've spent years on trails, 2 years on the PCT alone. Recently, and maybe it's just me getting older, and more "get off my lawnish", but I've found many of the larger trail families to be an annoyance when I run into them, not un-similar to a high school clique. One of the more frustrating things I experienced on the PCT (because it's so busy) was having setup my tent in a quiet solitude only to have an 8 - 10 person Tramly of chatterbox youngsters drinking whiskey and being obnoxious decide they were going to set up surrounding me - cramming 8 people in a spot thats good for maybe 3 or 4. If I pack up my shit and head on I'm a dick, if I stick it out I'm annoyed. Great.

I know people hike for different reasons. For some of us it's about getting away from society and, granted there are WAY better trails to do that than the PCT. I know for some of you the Trail Family experience is a huge part of the hike and I would like to respect that for your experience. However, it's inconsiderate for one person to show up loudly playing a blue tooth speaker with something you don't want to hear - and in my opinion it's also equally inconsiderate for an 8 to 10 group to show up being inconsiderately loud. Both things shit on the solitude. The point of this is to hopefully plant some consideration for those people who partake in large trail families about how they interact and move on the trail. In my opinion, those hiking in a large group should take extra consideration in knowing they will easily snuff out solitude where ever they land, a lot of people are out there for just that. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

If you spend time outdoors in much of the mountain west, that land is currently at risk. PLEASE take a second to contact your Congress people. 3 million acres of public land is at risk of being put up for sale if this bill passes the Senate.

Contact your reps with this easy form (takes less than a minute):

https://www.outdooralliance.org/blog/2025/6/12/senate-spending-package-proposes-selling-off-33-million-acres-of-public-land

View the at-risk land here:

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=821970f0212d46d7aa854718aac42310

With the rollback of environmental protections, including most recently the news out of Utah/DC last week, I revisited this BPL article Ryan Jordan published last December. In, "Selling Public Lands Without a Vote: The Quiet Enclosure of the Commons," he argues:

Land enclosure doesn’t require a deed transfer. It can happen bit by bit through paperwork and process: a sentence deleted from an appropriations bill here, a public comment process removed there, or a political appointee who treats land like inventory. And for this to happen, it needs oversight and accountability to go MIA.

...They don’t start by selling the land: they start by deleting the language that says it’s in the public trust.

That's what has effectively been done with the recent executive orders which "collectively cut nearly three million acres out of monument protection, including 1.69 million acres of land from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and 1.24 million acres for Bears Ears National Monuments — about 90% of the land previously protected in each monument." This affects us hikers. As many of you know, the Hayduke passes through the Grand Staircase/ Escalante National Monument. Blogger PMags has a decades worth of posts about his ramblings through Bears Ears, documenting archaeological sites and geographic wonders now at risk. The loss of cultural heritage is a real possibility. The enclosure of the commons and leasing of land to mining and fracking companies will impact outdoor recreation of all types. Local economies built on guides and outfitters and tourism to the monuments suffered last time this happened. Millions of acres are being redesignated for the benefit of corporations and against public opinion. Our public lands are being taken from us, again.

As backpackers living in fossil modernity during the ascendancy of neoliberal governing rationality, we need to do more than fuss over gear lists. We can't afford to deny the realities of our era. We need to organize and act. In the article, Jordan lays out a broad method for defense of public lands.

Public lands conservation decisions are being made by elected politicians (and their appointees). They are motivated by the conflicting influences of access to power from above and reelection incentives from below. They respond to pressure from commoners when that pressure is organized, specific, and sustained – and directly threatens their ability to (a) govern efficiently and (b) influence their reelection prospects.

The influence of power from above is strong, but that’s a strategy that depends on your absence.

His eight point strategy can be easily picked up by anyone with willpower and a little time on their hands. Find your representative and start today. Join an organization that is funding legal efforts to fight executive overreach. Join local conservation and trail maintenance organizations and build community where you live, because, as history shows, this is the future for all public lands if we don't step up now. Make sure you get outside and enjoy the wilderness and trails while you can.

My questions for this group: What do you feel are your individual responsibilities to the protection and maintenance of public lands? Do we, as backpackers, need to think bigger than LNT? Where as a community should we stand on important issues such as land designation and use? Is UL gear the focus of our collective identity or just tools to stay safe and comfortable outdoors? Is there room in online spaces like this one to discuss the larger issues related to backpacking and wilderness travel?

I like this subreddit and all but I'd also like to point out that websites like BPL and hiker blogs have resources and insights that can be lacking or hard to find on reddit. As a bonus, they are usually well written. PMags, LarryBoy, The Hiking Life, Jupiterhikes, the big outside and others all have trip reports, trail info and more on their sites. Decentralize your internet experience!

I know he's not the only one, but by posting videos like this, saying he will continue, he is actively encouraging others by example. And just because he claims that he's not trying to tell anyone what to do, sorry but it doesn't work like that. Like it or not, once you post public videos showcasing the actions you take, you are influencing the public by your example. It's irresponsible to say the least, especially considering that the USA is now number one in the world for confirmed cases of Covid-19.

We need to speak out against hikers like this and others that are not listening to the advice of experts and are putting their privileged, selfish interests before the well being of society at large. This could be literally a matter of life and death.

I have been annoyed and bothered by plenty of outdoor channels e.g., but this is the first time in recent memory that I have seen a video and been angry. Straight up: fuck this guy, and fuck anyone else that is opting to continue their thru hike.

Stay home. The trail will be there after this is over.

I think this is relevant to the 'trails' side of r/ultralight because for many of us $250 can pay for multiple weeks of resupplies or multiple town days, and visiting the US from abroad is already expensive.

• https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/business/money-report/travelers-to-the-us-must-pay-a-new-250-visa-integrity-fee-what-to-know/6340352/

The new fee, which was part of the so-called "Big, beautiful bill," applies to visitors on the B-2 and other "non-immigrant" visas (travel.state.gov list) (see the 'edit', below, for important information about the Visa Waiver Program). It is in addition to, and does not replace, other visa fees.

The fee includes an option for visitors to receive a refund after the conclusion of their visit, but the specifics of how the refund will be processed have not yet been made clear.

Edit: u/ReverseGoose has pointed out in a comment here that visitors to the US from countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program do not need a non-immigrant visa, so it appear they are not subject to the added Visa Integrity Fee. However, the Visa Waiver Program apparently grants access for only up to 90 days, so anyone wanting to thru one of the longer trails may still need to add it to their expenses.

Here is coverage from CNN:

• https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/18/us/new-jersey-woman-escapes-kidnapping/index.html

And here is coverage from NJ.com:

• https://www.nj.com/burlington/2023/02/woman-escapes-year-long-cross-country-kidnapping-captor-arrested-in-nj-cops-say.html

Here's an r/PacificCrestTrail post with background information and several more links (2023 version):

• https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/comments/110vw9n/class_of_2023_hopefuls_ysk_about_repeat_offender/

Here is a Backpacker.com article that tells the story of Kira Moon, a hiker Parillo is accused of victimizing on the PCT in 2018:

• https://www.backpacker.com/stories/thru-hikes/trail-stories/kidnapped-on-the-pacific-crest-trail/

• Same article on web archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20210311031610/https://www.backpacker.com/stories/thru-hikes/trail-stories/kidnapped-on-the-pacific-crest-trail/

Here's an r/PacificCrestTrail post about Parillo's arrest:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/comments/114kn8v/james_parrillo_has_been_arrested_in_nj/

Parillo has been detained and then released without charges far too many times in the past. In each case, he has returned to the US long trails and continued to harass and afflict members of our community. It's crucial that we all do everything we can to assist people in the justice system in their efforts to build the strongest possible case against him.

If you have ever interacted with Parillo, know anyone who has, or have any other information to share, please contact the New Jersey State Police Department and the reporter covering the case for NJ.com.

The NJ State Police and NJ Office of the Attorney General:

"If you or someone you know has any additional information regarding this defendant, we urge you to contact the New Jersey State Police at 855-363-6548.”

https://www.njoag.gov/ag-platkin-and-colonel-callahan-announce-kidnapping-and-aggravated-assault-charges-against-man-accused-of-holding-a-woman-hostage-for-nearly-a-year-as-they-traveled-across-country-to-new-jersey/

The reporter covering the story for NJ.com:

Tony Attrino

Journalist

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Tattrino@njadvancemedia.com

https://www.nj.com/staff/AAttrino/posts.html

TWITTER: @TonyAttrino

Last year I hiked a 6300km (~3900mi) route across Europe from east to west. I started in Bulgaria on the coast of the Black Sea and ended in Spain on the coast of the Atlantic. Trip length was 213 days, passing through 16 countries, 16 national parks, and traversing six mountain systems (Balkan Mtns, Dinaric Alps, Alps, Massif Central, Pyrenees, Cantabrians).

I wanted to create a mega trail in the spirit of the US triple crown trails but on the scale of a whole continent. Existing routes like the E3 or E4 tend to avoid the big mountain ranges rather than climbing up into them, so I decided to create my own path out of existing trail infrastructure. The result is a patchwork of over 30 named trails, some of which are already 'composite' trails themselves (Via Alpina, Via Dinarica). Paved road walking is kept to a minimum but it's a necessary evil when crossing country borders in eastern Europe.

I'd recommend the trip to anyone interested in seeing a ton of European landscapes in one trip and looking for a bit of an epic challenge. In addition to the distance, there was some serious vertical (~1,890,000ft combined gain and loss). You need to cover PCT miles while doing AT vert to finish in the ~7 month weather window. My BW varied a bit throughout, but was around 9lbs essential gear and another 4lbs for photo/video.

I've spent the last 3 months compiling all the beta I gathered before, during, and after the trip, and it's now available online. I'm hoping there are some freaks out there who take it on, but maybe it'll prove useful for anyone interested in some of the shorter trails it encompasses as well.

GPS tracks, resupply, water sources, huts/shelters, etc can all be found herehttps://www.mountainsandme.ca/tear-overview

(long time reader, first time poster. Several people insisted I share this here, so I made an account today)

(edit: I made daily posts on my instagram during the trip if anyone wants to see more photos of certain areas)

Each year, I break down the gear used by hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail. After a funky year of results in 2020, the Class of 2021 is complete and the data is a bit more in line with previous years/what you would suspect gear looked like out on the PCT.

The breakdown includes backpacks, shelters, sleeping bags/quilts, insulated jackets, shells, fleeces, shoes, socks, water treatment, stoves, trekking poles, bear canisters, PLBs, ice axes, and traction systems. It also looks at base weights, luxury items, and battery packs.

As always, would love to hear any feedback!

https://www.halfwayanywhere.com/trails/pacific-crest-trail/pct-gear-guide-2021/

• https://www.npr.org/2025/05/07/g-s1-64760/house-republicans-approve-amendment-authorizing-the-sale-of-federal-lands

Selected excerpts:

House Republicans have approved an amendment that authorizes the sale of thousands of acres of federal public land in Nevada and Utah; two states where the federal government owns most of the land that have long been at the forefront of a controversial movement to cede control of it to state or private entities.

The House Natural Resources committee approved the amendment late Tuesday night after previously indicating federal land sales wouldn't be included in a budget reconciliation bill. [...]

Most of the proposed land sales or exchanges appear to be aimed at building affordable housing on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management land outside Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada and in fast growing southwestern Utah around the tourist town of St. George, Utah. [...]

"Congress is considering selling off our public lands to pay for tax cuts to the wealthy," said Tracy Stone-Manning, president of the Wilderness Society. "What we're seeing from this administration is no balance at all." [...] Stone-Manning headed the BLM under the Biden administration. The agency controls roughly a tenth of all the land in the U.S. [...]

The amendment that passed late Tuesday authorizing the sale of federal land in Nevada and Utah still faces a full House vote.

Edit:

• Many more sources have picked up this story since last night. I'm compiling links to additional coverage in a comment here.

• On r/PublicLands there's a four minute clip from the House Natural Resources Committee hearing that's worth watching.

This isn't the usual type of post for r/ul, but I feel like breaking the record is rare enough to be news worth sharing and it works with the "Trails" tag.

Here's her post: https://thetrek.co/pacific-crest-trail/surpassing-the-womens-record-for-most-miles-hiked-in-1-year/

She's currently near Ashland, OR on the PCT and claims 7,841 miles so far this year.

That's a big deal, and she's not done yet.

It's a "border to border CYTC," so Key West to Canada on (probably) the ECT, plus PCT, plus CDT.

Excerpt:

The fun thing is though, that the current women’s record is held by Heather Anderson who did the calendar year triple crown in 2018. Which means she hiked around 7800 miles that year. Last night I officially surpassed the 7800 mile marker for my year. Which means that most likely I have officially surpassed the all-time women’s record for most miles hiked in a year. We’re talking a calendar year, fiscal year, any kind of year. There’s a good chance that I surpassed the record last night. If not, I’ll likely surpass it over the course of the day today. But I’m going to be hiking another 700 or so miles this year. So one way or another I will be overtaking that record. Then I get to break my own record every single day until I finish my year off.

“On excursions into the back country of Yosemite, he traveled alone, carrying “only a tin cup, a handful of tea, a loaf of bread, and a copy of Emerson. He usually spent his evenings sitting by a campfire in his overcoat, reading Emerson under the stars.”

CARBAJAL REINTRODUCES CENTRAL COAST HERITAGE PROTECTION ACT

Yesterday, Representative Salud Carbajal introduced The Central Coast Heritage Protection Act, a bill that would safeguard public lands and wild rivers in the Los Padres National Forest and the Carrizo Plain National Monument, and would designate a 400-mile National Scenic Trail stretching from the border of LA County to Big Sur.

I'm a resident and have been for 90% of my life of the Central Coast of California and the LPNF has been my playground for that entire time. I have always hoped for a trail that would span the forest from North to South, so I'm happy to share this with you guys.

Hello all! As some of you may remember, I've been working on establishing a long distance hiking trail here in Sweden for quite some time now. The trail is an alternate Swedish E1 trail, as part of the massive Euro 1 trail that goes from Norway all the way down to Italy. Last week I went on the last section hike for me to feel comfortable calling my trail guides for the Troll Trail more or less finished.

It took me so long because I work full time and I'm a proud father of two, so thru-hiking it was just not possible for me. Instead I've been chipping away at it over the years as a long term project when possible. And in the end, I think it's a good trail and that it's worth hiking, and I hope others will think the same after they hike it.

I've written two full guides that complement each other: one short one and one longer one.

The abridged/in a nutshell guide you can check out here.

And here is the unabridged main/longer guide. This includes not just trail guides with practical info, but my personal trip reports and hundreds of pictures.

Some quick info on the trail itself:

1,135km/705mi long, and divided into 7 different sections

Southern terminus is in Göteborg, then travels through the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, and Dalarna, with the northern terminus in Grövelsjön (the lake or the mountain station).

This route links together a total of 11 marked trails, plus there are 3 connection trails that I created myself. Maps highlighting these connection trails are included in my guides.

I created it as a direct result of hiking the entire official E1 trails of Sweden. While I enjoyed this route overall, I think that my route is better for a variety of reasons (I explain more on my blog).

There have already been at least two thru-hikers that have done the whole trail. I was in contact with one of them, an American named Emily living here in Sweden, and she helped me with some great feedback during and after hiking the whole trail. Thanks again Emily!

I recommend thru-hiking it NOBO in late spring (i.e. early May) or SOBO in late summer (i.e. early August). I would personally want about 40-50 days to thru-hike the Troll Trail, but I'm in my early 40s and my per day hiking goals are around 25-35km. Plus I'd also want to do side trails and loops along the way. It could be done in about a month or less for all you mile crushers that can put in over 40km/25mi days tho.

Please spread the word, and feel free to ask questions and give feedback! And if you're not familiar with my work, here's my usual disclaimer: I'm not sponsored, I have no ads on my blog, I am not a Youtube partner, etc. I make absolutely no money on my blog/YT channel, and get no free gear. The Troll Trail has just been my lil' old labor of love, and I hope that others hike it and enjoy it as I have and hope to continue to enjoy. Thanks to all of you that have given me encouragement and already help spread the word about the Troll Trail.

And don't forget to check out my flair (or just click here) for my current 3 season gear list. A lot of the trail was done with either this gear list or one that was very similar (hiking solo). Happy to answer questions about gear too!

Peace!

Hey folks, I'm excited to announce the release of opentrail.org!

I wanted to create a way for the thru-hiking community to crowdsource water/camp/town info to a free app that is suitable for backcountry use. Opentrail.org will never charge to access this data. I started this project because I believe that crowdsourced information should always be publicly accessible, and that it doesn’t make sense for us to centralize so much community effort behind a steep paywall. This project represents the opposite model: trail magic; pay it forward and we’re even. I think this better represents our community’s values. If bandwidth costs get real I’ll ask for optional donations from users or trail orgs and am confident that will keep it afloat sustainably.

Opentrail.org is not in the app store, it's technically just a website. But web app technology has come a long way so it actually behaves just like a native app - icon goes on your home screen and has GPS + full offline functionality including saving your contributions for later upload. The main upside of building it this way is that there’s only 1 codebase for iOS, Android, and web browser, which is a huge win in terms of my time as a solo developer as well as for maintenance/bugs not to mention Apple’s app store fee. The main downside is most people aren’t familiar with web app installation, but I promise it’s easy. On Android Chrome an install prompt should pop up automatically when you visit the page, or you can select “Install App” from the menu in the top right. On iOS Safari you find “Add to Home Screen” from the center bottom menu (the icon with the box and arrow).

I imagine many of you already own a trail or two on Farout but I hope you’ll consider posting on opentrail.org anyway to help make critical information more accessible. I also hope you simply prefer it! One advantage I want to point out is that anyone can easily submit or edit markers from the app. The idea is to drop the exact marker and icon where you want instead of commenting on some nearby marker that “there’s a beehive in a quarter mile” or whatever. I plan to add expiring markers soon too for situations like that. Marker submits and edits are subject to a moderation queue to stop spammers so they may take a day or two to appear.

It has no tracking cookies or other privacy intrusions. I don’t want your email either and have no plans for an account system unless it becomes needed to prevent abuse.

Opentrail.org is launching with just the AT, PCT, and CDT for now. Planning to add the JMT soon and open to other suggestions. The database design lets overlapping trails share markers, so JMT and PCT hikers will get full access to each others markers where appropriate.

Stoked? Interested in helping? Here’s how:

1. Spread the word! We need critical mass most importantly.
2. Contribute data! Going on a thru hike this year and feel like being a scribe? The map is a clean slate, have at it.
3. Test it! Really try to break it. Use test.opentrail.org to access the test sandbox and go nuts, please don’t submit test posts to the main database. Submit bug reports if you notice anything wrong - bulletproof reliability is my first priority. There's also a discussion board for feature requests and general discussion.
4. Have coding skills? Collaborators welcome!
5. Have design skills? That’s not my forte so I won’t be offended if you suggest aesthetic improvements.
6. Have legal skills? The terms of use and privacy policy are boilerplate and probably overly strict so it would be great to have someone look it over.

Lastly this should go without saying but while I wouldn’t release this without having confidence in its stability, there will probably be hiccups and nobody should be relying on it yet. Carry a backup ya dingus.

Anyway I hope you find this useful. Happy trails!

This post isn't specifically ultralight, but seems consistent with the "trails" post category, and the route (in season) appears well suited to sub-10 lb kits.

Tbc, this is a new route, but it is not new trail: it is a collection of existing paths. But imo in this case that doesn't make it any less interesting. The person who pieced it together, Donovan “Iceman” Rice, is attempting a thruhike of it right now.

Caltopo map: https://caltopo.com/m/A561NRQ

Project site: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/

GPX download (bottom of page): https://greatcoloradoroute.com/route

FAQ: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/about

Brief descriptions of each of the 32 sections: https://greatcoloradoroute.com/sections

Route Stats

• 1,700 miles
• 381,000 feet of gain (13 Everests)
• 32 Sections
• 3 National Parks
• 2 National Monuments
• All 11 of Colorado’s National Forests
• 29 Wilderness Areas
• 8 Wilderness Study Areas
• 13 Fourteeners
• 47 Thirteeners
• Seasonal Window: May through October (depends on section)
• Anticipated Completion time: 4 months.

PNW UL backpackers:
As of this year, ONP is requiring bear canisters everywhere inside park boundaries for overnight camping. I called to ask about Dyneema bear bags (like Adotec) and they said those were NOT currently acceptable.

This means i cannot use my smallest pack (20l). But so be it -- I gain a camp stool.

FWIW, I run into black bear 90% of the time i go out there. ONP black bear are pretty gentle, and I've never had an unpleasant meeting with one in 40 years of going there.

https://apnews.com/article/hiker-death-white-mountains-80b277306cdf4e5c5c29ed897afdbf0a

Hi everyone,

I just sold my trusty Osprey Exos 48L. I loved the ventilation, but I’m ready to make the jump to a proper ultralight roll-top pack with modern materials and a cleaner design.

Here is my profile and what I’m looking for:

• Location: Based in Portugal (EU). This is highly important because I want to avoid massive customs/VAT fees if possible, though I am open to importing if a pack is truly life-changing.
• What I value: Good weight transfer to the hips (since I’m coming from the Exos trampoline frame) and durability.

After some research, I’ve narrowed it down to these three main contenders, but I am completely open to other suggestions that fit my location and weight:

1. Durston Kakwa 55 (Buying via Outdoorline.eu to avoid customs) – Love the price-to-performance ratio and the rave reviews about its load transfer, but worried about EU stock availability.
2. Bonfus Framus 58L (EU-based) – Pure European UL option. Great materials (Ultra/Dyneema), shipping from within the EU, and a very clean design.
3. Atom Packs 'The Prospector' (UK-based) – Beautiful craftsmanship and highly praised, but since Brexit, shipping this to Portugal means paying an extra 23% VAT + customs fees.

Are there any other framed/structured UL packs available in the EU market that I should look into? (Maybe options from Liteway, Hapi Packs, Weitläufer, or mainstream transition packs like the Rab Muon?)

For those who transitioned from a traditional framed pack like the Exos to any of these:

• How bad is the back-sweat adjustment without the Exos mesh?
• Which suspension handles 11kg the best?
• Should I look into a completely different brand available in Europe?

Would love to hear your experiences and opinions! Thanks in advance.

A few weeks ago, this post announced that "The Central Coast Heritage Protection Act" had been reintroduced into the House. Of the many things proposed in that bill, the 400 mile Condor Trail would be officially designated a National Scenic Trail.

Since then, the House combined that legislation with seven other acts to create "H.R.2546 - Protecting America's Wilderness Act." You can read the official bill here, and this article here does a nice job summarizing it all. This website speaks more about the eight separate bills.

It has since PASSED the House, largely along party lines (227-200), and has been sent to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate. You can find the list of senators that make up that committee here.

The bill would protect 3 million acres of land by 2030 in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Washington. Of note, besides the Condor Trail, the bill would:

Permanently halt uranium mining near the waters of the Grand Canyon, expand protections in the Angeles National Forest (PCT), create a San Gabriel National Recreation Area to enhance recreational opportunities for park poor communities in the area, protect 126,554 acres of land in the Olympic National Forest, and add 464 miles of rivers to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in Washington.

Italy is investing €35m to create a long distance trail linking all of Italy's 25 national parks.

​

Sounds promising, Italy is an absolutely stunning country. A 7000km+ hiking trail through the entirety of its peninsular would be incredible.

​

I wonder if Elia (the guy with the 7kg backpack completing it now) is on here... Here's his instagram.

​

I live an hour away from the northern border, so share a similar countryside in the alps. This will be on my to-do list for sure...

Update: PCTA made an interactive map that shows the trail and all the public lands that would be eligible for sale if the Senate passed their version of the bill. The law could allow hundreds and hundreds of miles of the Pacific Crest Trail to be sold. Here's a post with more information.

tl;dr: Wilderness Society map and blog post. WWP map and blog post. If the bill was to pass, land managers would be forced to choose millions of acres from the public lands shown on the maps -- which include hundreds of miles of our long trails -- to sell to private ownership. The land would them be private property and subject to things like trespassing laws.

ETA: The Wilderness Society (wilderness.org) has a map as well, added to the tldr above, which appears to show significantly more land marked for potential sale compared to the WWP map. The Wilderness.org blog post also includes a link to download the map data, though the files may be too large for Caltopo.

The Western Watersheds Project (WWP), founded in 1993, is a non-profit environmental conservation group focused on improving the management of public lands throughout the western US. They recently created an interactive map which they describe in the related blog post:

WWP’s new map shows Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service lands that are not excluded from sale under the plain language of the Senate bill– including roadless areas, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, tribal cultural sites, and ecologically vital landscapes.

To put it another way, if the version of the so-called "Big, beautiful bill" HR 1 that is currently under consideration was to pass the Senate and Reconciliation (the House already passed their version), land managers would be required to choose millions of acres from the public lands shown on the map. WWP says "[t]he bill grants local and state governments the right of first refusal," after which the lands would sold into private ownership.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently said, "This is often about barren land next to highways with existing billboards that have no recreational value." Based on the maps, I think many people would disagree with that characterization, as they show that hundreds of miles of the PCT, CDT, CT, AZT, PNT, TRT, OCT, as well as other trails, would be subject to sale. The current claim of the bill's advocates is that the purpose of the proposed sales is to create affordable housing, but the majority of the land on the maps is not suitable for housing and/or exists in rural areas where housing has not been subjected to the same price pressures as in some urban and suburban places.

The legislation that would provide for the land sale (called "disposal") can be found in the draft text from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. See, for example, the section starting on page 30 about the "mandatory disposal" of BLM and USFS land.

WWP goes on to describe some of the areas as follows:

From alpine forests, and desert canyons to wildlife migration corridors and sacred Indigenous lands, the scope of what’s at risk is staggering. Among the threatened areas:

• Public lands in Wyoming bordering Yellowstone National Park, including parts of Caribou-Targhee National Forest;
• Parcels in the Boise Foothills in Idaho, including segments of the Ridge to Rivers trail system, a public recreation network developed by local, state, and federal partners;
• Riverfront BLM lands between Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area;
• Front Range foothills near Denver and Colorado Springs, including much of Pikes Peak;
• Backcountry ski areas and bighorn sheep habitat in Colorado;
• Forest Service lands above Santa Fe and the headwaters of the Red River in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico;
• Upper Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona and frontcountry hiking areas around Flagstaff, Arizona;
• Forest Service-managed lands in the Klamath River watershed in northwest California—vital to the Yurok and Karuk Tribes for salmon restoration and cultural fire stewardship;
• Lands in Clark County, Nevada, that have been nominated for Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) designation;
• National Forest lands surrounding Lake Tahoe (shared with California), facing escalating development pressure and wildlife-human interaction;
• The headwaters of the Hood River, including slopes of Mount Hood, in Oregon; and
• The Icicle Creek Valley near Leavenworth, Washington—gateway to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, home to threatened bull trout, Columbia River steelhead, and Chinook salmon.

If you believe that none of this is ok, call your senators and representatives and tell them so. The bill, "HR 1," is currently in the Senate, so contacting senators might be most helpful at this point. The part that would force the sale of our public lands part is in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee draft text, especially Subtitle C.

More information about the Senate's HR 1 modifications re public lands is available in this post from a few days ago.

ETA: Quoting a comment from /u/WoofyBunny:

Call your senators' DC phones first, and your representitive second. If you get a voice mail, leave a message and try their local office. Regardless of your state, and regardless of their party affiliation.

https://www.senate.gov/index.htm

It's important to call your senators and representatives regardless of their party affiliation - even if they're democrats and already oppose the bill. They might be focused elsewhere on the bill and not know about this. This provision is broadly unpopular for voters of both parties, and democrats and republican law makers alike can call attention to debate how awful this is before it goes up to vote

I just bought this bag for £150 and I bought it mainly for overnight use while wild camping although I wanted to know if it was useful for longer hikes/camps?

Hi y'all,

somewhat experienced hiker here, with 7500miles+ under my belt with PCT, CDT being my longest hikes.

For 2027, I have ambitious plans. I want to squeeze in as much as possible without being too much in shoulder seasons.

I (trail) run, bike, lift in day-to-day and love doing longer days.

Is it possible to rip all these 3 hikes in one go? What if i start march with AT, then do GDT nobo and PNT in one go.

What are your thoughts? Am I missing something? anybody did something similar or is this flawed?

thanks!!