When temperatures go into the 100F's, they put up  signs at Canyonlands National Park trailheads to warn that you will literally die (!) if you try to hike during the heat of the day.   They are not exaggerating, either.   Even though it is actually possible to hike in the early, early morning or by moonlight, no matter how many electrolytes you drink, you still need shade to hunker down during the afternoon.   Frankly, when it gets super hot the best plan is, consider doing the hike in a different season when the weather is not an existential threat.    Last year I went on a  desert backpacking trip where  it was so hot we decided to  change our route on the fly from a planned loop hike in order to do an out-and-back in  a canyon with more reliable water.    It can be hard to let go of plans, but even in retrospect I  think it was a truly excellent group decision to be safe instead of trying to tough it out in the heat. ... View more

 Pre-packaged emergency meals are convenient, but if I use them too often I  get sick of the same ones over and over again.  Regular grocery stores are actually full of stuff that works just fine for backpacking.  Some of the instant food at grocery stores even has recipes on the back that can be easily modified  (i.e. dried tomatoes instead of fresh, powdered milk, and so on).   Powdered Milk (look for Nido in the Mexican food aisle) CousCous (Moroccan style) Dried Fruit Nuts Tuna pouches Peanut butter in a plastic jar Mylar bag of wine Instant oatmeal or granola Starbucks Via coffee Lipton cup of soup Knorr Pasta sides or soup mix Hungry Jack hash browns Idahoan mashed potatoes Seaweed snacks Peperoni or other dry sausage Rice noodles Pesto mix Cucumbers, snap peas (for the first couple of days) Parmesan cheese Powdered eggs Walker's Shortbread Dried mushrooms Humus mix Near East Pilaf/rice/quinoa mixes Tasty Bites Indian meals etc... You can use this stuff to construct basically  edible meals.  For instance, Breakfast-- Granola with dried fruit and nuts in Nido, Via coffee with more Nido Lunch -- Crackers, tuna pouch, dried seaweed snacks, granola bar Dinner-- Near East pilaf with dried mushrooms, Walker's shortbread, mint or ginger tea Idahoan mashed potatoes ... View more

I use a BearVault 450.  I thought it was a  nuisance and did not expect to like it.  However, the very first time I used it a bear actually did go into my camp and did not get the food, so I was sold.  Now that I have one, I use the bear jar a lot, and not just because of bears.  The canister keeps food un-crushed and you can fill it up with other things as the food empties out.  I use it car camping and canoeing in order to  have an accessible supply of snacks and things to take on day hikes. Besides bears, it keeps out rodents, ravens and other critters.   At home I use it to store freeze dried backpacking meals so I can find them when I'm packing for a trip.      I don't have a bag, but I think the drawbacks would be that your food would get crushed and a bear would steal it if it's not tied to something.  Also, the BearVault is see-though so you can tell what's inside.    ... View more

Springbars are famous for standing up to  ferocious tent-eating dust devils in the Utah desert.   Here's a video the manufacturer uses to demonstrate one standing in hurricane force wind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-0bZoGm9Is I should mention that there is a competing  brand called "Kodiak flexbow" that is similar in design but slightly cheaper. The tents have kind of a cult following and I'm on team Springbar.  You might be perfectly satisfied with a Kodiak. ... View more

I love that story.   ... View more

Except for the price point, it sounds like you want a Springbar canvas tent.   Probably the Outfitter model is the right size.   I have a 3 person Springbar and it's one of my very favorite things that I own.  Pros: a single person can set it up (I'm a 5'3" woman and I have no problem); you can stand up in it; it is completely bombproof in wind; it has large mesh windows;  it is completely indestructible - you will never need to buy another tent; If something does break, they sell spare parts. Cons: Pricey; not free standing; heavy; high demand means you have to wait for monthly tent releases to buy one https://springbar.com/ ... View more

This is currently my favorite pair of hiking shorts.   They are not that short, but they are super comfortable, have pockets, are made of stretch fabric and they don't ride up in the crotch.    https://www.rei.com/product/863266/columbia-saturday-trail-ii-knee-pants-womens --  ... View more

You're right that there are plenty of men who can't read maps.  The gender difference is that the men tend to go out anyway and get lost, while women convince themselves they don't have the skills to do the hike and never go in the first place.   I'm sensitive to this because of the somewhat surprising number of times when I've been the only person in a group who has a map and knows how to read it. I think that more confidence with maps would help women have more confidence to  do solo hiking or to be the leader of a hiking trip.  ... View more

I can tell you have a lot of experience!  This is great advice. I think that lack of skill with topo maps is a big factor that keeps women from organizing their own trips.  I have an undergrad degree in Geology from back in the pre-GPS 1980's so I'm a map whiz.  I'm often surprised at how many  outdoorspeople there are these days who can't read a map to (literally) save their life.  ... View more

Everyone tells women it is "too dangerous" to hike alone, but It seems to me that overstated concern about stranger-danger is actually a kind of microaggression meant to control women's behavior.  The limiting factor for a solo trip is still the level of your own personal outdoor skills.   It's more typical for women to put up with the situation described in this article from Backpacker magazine.  https://www.backpacker.com/stories/essays/opinion/women-in-the-backcountry-dont-need-your-help/ And those weren't even the creepy type of guy with camo clothing, bad haircuts and gun-nut accessories.  So, if you encounter women hiking, say hi and don't bug them.   If someone is actually in trouble, they will ask for your help.  If you have daughters,  find an opportunity for them to go backpacking with other women.  The social dynamic can be very different in an all-female group, and other women tend to have a good sense of what is threatening and what is not.  I have daughters myself and Girl Scout camp was amazing for teaching them independence and self-confidence in the out of doors. (And no, they didn't just do arts and crafts.  They went backpacking).   ... View more

I think the guys are making this sound harder than it is.  The way to get good map and compass skills is to practice with your map and compass when you know where you are.   The REI website has some good articles about how to navigate: https://www.rei.com/learn/series/intro-to-navigation My compass has a sighting mirror because I'm bad at eyeballing the direction of things in the distance.  REI has one particularly excellent piece of advice-- mentally check off landmarks as you hike.   Unlike a GPS, which just gives you a  single detached point on the map, map and compass navigation works by landscape visualization. When you are good at it, the picture on the map and the landscape around you kind of blend together in your mind so you develop an intuitive sense of where you are in the big picture (one that you can verify with your compass, of course).  I've noticed that dependence on GPS seems to mess with spatial visualization.  People who have only learned to navigate by GPS often seem to be confused about where they are, even when the landmarks seem obvious to me.  I actually think that poor map reading skills are a big factor that makes women feel dependent on male trip leaders.   If you can navigate, you can plan the trip yourself.    ... View more