Hello There – here’s a little about HikeIt, an introduction to hiking and backpacking!
To give you some background, I’m Matt and of course, I’m an avid hiker and backpacker. I live in Portland, Oregon. This is pretty much an ideal location for getting out into the wilderness. Mt. Hood is only a 90-minute drive away and a little further takes you to the central Cascades and the coast. You’ll see that a lot of my examples are based on these regions. However, I’ve backpacked in many other areas of the west from Yosemite, to the JMT and north into the Olympics and the Alpine lake’s wilderness.
Like many, I started off car camping and hiking and then progressed to backpacking for a night or two. Now I’m pretty comfortable understanding my own abilities and willing to take on any three-season adventure.
Often I’ll be out alone, well with Hunter my trusted four-legged companion. Other times I’ll be with my younger son, Keenan, who is a great hiker and a certified SAR member. He probably knows more than I do on a great number of backcountry topics.
I hope to be able to share some of my knowledge and experiences with you so that more folks can enjoy the great outdoors.
I’d call this a hobby site. I do make some product recommendations and so you can always help by clicking on the links to those products. I’m a big fan of REI, not only do I think they are a very responsible company, their products are great and their return policy is outstanding. There are also many cottage companies that support backpackers, although some of these are really more for the experienced folks looking for ultra-light equipment.
Sometimes it can be intimidating to make the transition from camping to backpacking. Hopefully, this introduction to hiking and backpacking will help you enjoy the outdoors!
Be sure to check out some of my recent hikes.
