Planning

Homemade Meals

Meal Planning Spreadsheet (.xlsx)
Andrew Skurka Recipes
Backpacking Chef
Freezer Bag Cooking – Sarah Kirkconnell
Reddit Trail Meals

Gear and Route Planning Resources

Trail mileage and route/elevation profiles for the Wonderland Trail

Jump-start your smartphone for backpacking and hiking GPS mapping. Nearly all offer a free version with limited features.
Here are some options listed by descending price as of January 2024

  • Strava works on smartphones and browsers. The subscription is $80 per year. Provides mapping and training tools.
  • Gaia GPS works on smartphones and browsers. As of January 2024 the annual subscription price has increased to $60 for the Premium version.
  • CalTopo Pro version is $50 per year and works on smartphones and browsers. There is also a $20 per year version with limited features.
  • Topo Maps+ Pro version is $50 per year is just for iPhone and browsers. 
  • Natural Atlas Plus is $40 per year and works on smartphones and browsers. The Natural Atlas app is more than just a hiking app or GPS. It is the first app of its kind that is both an evolving field guide of nature that helps you learn more about your surroundings, and also a field recorder packed with all the practical tools you need to navigate and chronicle your discoveries.
  • AllTrails+ is $36 per year and works on smartphones and browsers. There is a 50% off sale in January 2024: Sale.
  • Outdoor active is $34.20 per year and works on smartphones and browsers.
  • OnX Premium is $30 per year and works on smartphones and browsers.
  • Avenza Maps is $33 per year and works on smartphones and browsers. The free version only allows three pre-download maps for offline use.
  • Komoot has a one-time fee of $2.99 for a region, $8.99 for several regions, and $29.99 for the world. It works on browsers, iPhones and Android devices.
  • Peakbagger is free and works on smartphones and browsers.
  • Mountain Hub is free and is an outdoor social platform that works on iPhone and Android.
  • Google Maps Offline is free.

Checking Conditions On The Trail

10 day wind direction and speed forecast Windy.com
InciWeb Forest fire information for the United States
Meso West Weather observations around the United States
Mountain Forecast.com: Mt. Adams Summit
Mountain Forecast.com: Mt. Baker Summit
Mountain Forecast.com: Mt. Hood Summit
Mountain Forecast.com: Mt. Rainier Summit
Mountain Forecast.com: Mt. St. Helens Summit
Mountain Forecast.com: Mt. Shasta Summit
Mountain Forecast.com: Mt. Whitney Summit
National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center snow Depth interactive map
NOAA 10 Day Forecast of Northwest US – rain, max Temp, min temp, snow level
National Weather Service Home page linking to voluminous weather data
National Weather Service Idaho snow level forecast: Boise Mountains
National Weather Service Oregon snow level forecast: Siskiyou Mountains and Southern Oregon
National Weather Service Oregon snow level forecast: Cascade mountains in Lane County
National Weather Service Oregon snow level forecast: Northern Oregon Cascades
National Weather Service Washington snow level forecast: South Washington Cascades
National Weather Service Washington snow level forecast: West Slopes South Central Cascades
National Weather Service Washington snow level forecast: West Slopes North Central Cascades
Northwest Avalanche Center Winter avalanche forecasts for the Pacific Northwest
NWCC Interactive Snow Coverage Map for the Western United States (many display options)
NWCC Snow Water Equivalent Update Graphs – California
NWCC Snow Water Equivalent Averages Data – Idaho
NWCC Snow Water Equivalent Averages Data – Montana
NWCC Snow Water Equivalent Averages Data – Oregon
NWCC Snow Water Equivalent Averages Data – Washington
NWCC Snow Water Equivalent Averages Data – Wyoming
NWCC Western Snow-Water Equivalent Percentages interactive map
NWCC Western US SNOTEL Sites interactive map
Weather Share – interactive map with thousands of traffic cams and advisories