Backpacking Light Podcast
1) Episode 144 | Trail Steepness vs. Difficulty
Hiking effort doesn't scale smoothly with slope. It shifts across physiological regimes driven by muscle contraction type, aerobic limits, gait mechanics, and safety regulation. In this episode, we ex...Show More
2) Episode 143 | Managing Fatigue
This episode presents an operational framework for fatigue management in backcountry travel grounded in a non-circular load–fatigue–capacity model. Load is defined as external demand, fatigue as accum...Show More
3) Episode 142 | The 72 Hour Backcountry Reset
This episode explores why time in the backcountry can improve how we function beyond recreation. Ryan Jordan describes how modern life overloads attention through constant interruptions and unfinished...Show More
4) Episode 141 | Hiking at Night in a Blizzard
What gear do you actually need to hike out safely through a winter blizzard at night, in sub-freezing temps and high winds, when stopping isn't an option? In this episode, Ryan breaks down a focused f...Show More
5) Episode 140 | Winter Storm Decisions
Ryan walks through a structured, six-question framework for deciding whether to stay put or move when a winter storm deteriorates around you, using real backcountry examples to show how terrain, weath...Show More
6) Episode 139 | Repair Kits
In this Field Notes episode, Ryan breaks down ultralight repair kits using a simple framework: context, consequence, and capability. He compares short-term overnights to long-term expeditions, explain...Show More
7) Episode 138 | Plan – Focus – Trust
In this episode, Ryan introduces the Plan-Focus-Trust framework - a simple but powerful approach to managing hard, uncertain objectives in the wilderness and beyond. Drawing on lessons from our recent...Show More
8) Episode 137 | The Risk Control Continuum
In this episode, we introduce the Risk Control Continuum - a practical, evidence-based framework for managing risk in the backcountry. He explores how environmental, psychosocial, and operational haza...Show More
9) Episode 136 | Fringe Season Layering
What is the difference in layering strategy from summertime to the fall-winter transition? In this episode, Ryan Jordan discusses how the environment of the fringe season (colder temperatures and stor...Show More
10) Episode 135 | Field Notes - The Metabolic Cost of Bushwhacking
In the Field Notes episode, we explore why bushwhacking miles aren’t just harder but metabolically different. The Metabolic Energy Mile (MEM) framework breaks this down into three types of work: brush...Show More