Two-Heel Drive, a Hiking Blog

Brian Frankle gets the treatment this week at Trailspace.com.

Frankle builds backpacks so he can take long hikes. On long hikes, he finds ways to build better backpacks.

Frankle’s ULA-Equipment essentially goes out of business every fall, when he shuts down his garage-based backpack factory in Logan, Utah, and hits the trail, typically for weeks or months along little-known routes like Utah’s Hayduke Trail or Idaho’s Centennial Trail.

Then it’s back to the sewing machines.

“Basically, from the day that I reopen in November until all the way to the day that I close, it’s full-on,” Frankle says. “I’m in here 10 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The guy is a serious workhorse.

Thanks to all who helped me out on this week’s profile.

• Sam Haraldson – backpacking fiend and honcho of the online store at backpackinglight.com
• Andy Howell — UK lightweight backpacker and pioneering hiking blogger.
• Linda “Gottago” Jeffers — PCT veteran and perpetual adventurer.
• Ralph Alcorn — Oakland denizen, life-long long-trail hiker, gear authority.
• Joy Harvey — Michigan mom and Trail Talk regular who posts under the handle Sasszilla.
• Ellie Thomas — veteran through-hiker currently planning to take on the Continental Divide Trail this summer.
• Henry Shires — Tarptent guy who met Frankle on the PCT in 1999.

Speaking of Shires, here’s his profile if you missed it last week.

Tags: backpacks, ULA-Equipment

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 10:29 pm and is filed under Gear, Hiking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.