Music in this video by Jesse Layne: an incredibly talented Portland folk/indie songwriter. Check him out at - https://soundcloud.com/jesselundstrom

At CleverHiker.com, we believe that backpacking adventures provide some of life’s most rewarding experiences. Our goal is to help make your adventures as rewarding and enjoyable as possible, and to inspire you to plan your next excursion.

Even strenuous backpacking adventures should be safe, fun, and sustainable. Just because you're headed to the summit, that doesn't mean your feet, knees, hips, or shoulders need to hurt. That's why we're creating the world's first professional instructional video series on ultralight backpacking, to help hikers of every skill level feel prepared to meet any obstacle. We hope you'll join us in supporting our cause!

Our Mission:

We help backpackers improve their wilderness adventures through knowledge, skills, and inspiration. 

Ultralight backpacking reduces stress on your body, gives you more free time on the trail, allows you to travel farther with less effort, and helps you to enjoy hiking more. It's safer, more efficient, and more enjoyable.

Ultralight (UL) backpacking is not exclusive. It's not expensive. It's not highly specialized. And it's not difficult. Once you make the transition to UL you will never look back.

So why aren't more people taking advantage of ultralight hiking techniques? Simple: they don't know about them. Although ultralight gear is readily available online, it isn't typically sold in major outdoor stores. In order to target the most effective gear, backpackers need a reliable source of wisdom, experience, and insight to draw from.

That's why we're creating the Ultralight Backpacking Video Series through CleverHiker.com! We want to teach beginners and veteran backpackers alike about ultralight hiking. We want to make UL techniques accessible and understandable for everyone.

We analyze the best ultralight gear on the market and trail techniques used by backpackers who hike thousands of miles every year.

We promise to create a resource that will support the backpacking community and that we can all be proud of. Thank you so much for your support!

How you can help:

In order for this project to be a success we're going to need the support of people like you. We are asking backpackers and outdoor enthusiasts to help us however they can. There are two ways you can support our mission: through direct donations and by helping us spread the word about CleverHiker.com.

• Please help share this page with anyone interested in outdoor activities, backpacking, hiking, or camping. Spread the word with a link on Facebook, Twitter, or through email. Every contact helps!

• Please help us fund our project through direct donations on Indiegogo. If we don't make our goal, we won't receive any of the funding. Please help us get there!

A successful campaign will not only help us develop our first two video series, but the funding we receive will lay the foundation for a company dedicated to making outdoor activities more accessible for everyone.

Thank you for any level of help you can provide!

Our Story:

CleverHiker.com started with a dream of thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. In 2010 Dave set out with his best friend to hike 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada along the PCT. The trip was 4.5 months through California, Oregon, and Washington averaging over 20 miles a day. The journey was incredible and it has changed his life forever.

In order to accomplish that dream, Dave had to radically change his backpacking style. He went from hiking with a 40 pound pack to hiking with a 15 pound pack! Adapting to ultralight hiking techniques has made him a believer in the long-term benefits of UL hiking. Now he wants to share his passion with the backpacking community.

Our Products:

Our first video project is the Ultralight Backpacking Series but we hope to build off a successful launch to offer many future video packages. We have a lot of ideas for our next series but we want to hear from our supporters to see what would best benefit the backpacking community. As a backer, you'll be part of our family and we'll be excited to have your input!

Our Ultralight Video Series will be 10-12 videos and our planned release date is April 2013. The videos will be about 10 min each and will address all of the following and more:

• Ultralight Basics
• Ultralight Backpacks
• Ultralight Shelters
• Ultralight Sleeping Gear
• Ultralight Footwear
• Ultralight Cooking
• Ultralight Water Purification
• Ultralight Clothing
• Ultralight Raingear
• Ultralight Food
• Ultralight First Aid
• Ultralight Essentials
• Ultralight Accessories

We'll also create a yearly Ultralight Gear Guide with our favorite gear recommendations based on the best tools and companies in the market. We will constantly update our gear guides as new tools become available.  

Our Funding Goal:

We're trying to raise $10,000 to fund the production of our first two video series projects. High quality video production is very expensive and our costs will surely exceed $10,000, however this should give us the boost we need to begin building CleverHiker.com. We'll also be using your contributions to build our website and our online store.

Your donation will make a huge difference to us! If we don't reach our goal, we won't receive any of the funding. So please help us to make this dream a reality!

Thank you so much for your support and we look forward to seeing you on the trail!