Boots on the Trail

Backpacking trips, lessons learned, and gear that actually held up in the field.

Wooden trailhead sign reading Ishi Wilderness, Mill Creek Trailhead, No Vehicles Allowed, set among manzanita and oak

Boots on the Trail, Hiking & Backpacking

First Steps Back: An Overnight in California’s Ishi Wilderness

Thadd Updegrove / May 4, 2026

The map I’d brought home from REI sat on my desk for a while. Sapphire Lake stared back from the […]

Aerial view of Sapphire Lake (upper) and Emerald Lake (lower) nestled in the granite peaks of the Trinity Alps Wilderness, Northern California — the photo from an REI map cover that inspired the return to backpacking

Boots on the Trail, Hiking & Backpacking

Returning to Backpacking: From Boy Scout Eagle to Trinity Alps Inspiration

Thadd Updegrove / May 4, 2026

I was standing in an REI somewhere around 2010, not really shopping for anything in particular, when I walked past