Trailspace announces Backcountry Gear Haiku Winners

With poetic odes to sleeping bags and stoves, climbing helmets and kid carriers, pee bottles and wet wipes, the nearly 400 entries in Trailspace’s Backcountry Gear Haiku Contest mined the depths of outdoor gear tributes and trials.

After tallying the votes of seven influential outdoor judges, Trailspace is pleased to announce the top three winners, selected from 11 community-ranked finalists.

For their haiku on a homey tent, bear spray antics, and a save by a belayer’s climbing rope, the three overall winners receive $500 in gift certificates to Backcountry.com ($300, $150, and $50 respectively), plus Trailspace swag and outdoor poetic glory.

The winners of Trailspace’s Backcountry Gear Haiku contest are:

First Place: “Ode to My Tent” by doggymcnuggets (Eric Kennedy)

Dawn…woods come to life
I lie in my tent silent
Home away from home

Second Place: “Deadly Encounter” by Westbrook0 (Grant)

Footsteps crashing down
Bear spray whipped out from my pack
Squirrel makes me clown

Third Place: “I love belayers” by iClimb (Rick)

Falling through nothing
Memories and Regrets now
SNAP breathe Welcome Back

The 383 gear haiku entries were narrowed down to 11 finalists by community voting. The overall winners were determined by the votes of seven outdoor judges:

• Bob Abbey, director of the Bureau of Land Management
• Michael Benge, editor of Trail Runner magazine
• Shannon Davis, senior editor at Backpacker
• Mary Anne Potts, online editor at National Geographic
• Stephen Regenold, founder and editor of GearJunkie.com
• Rocky Thompson, editor at The Goat, Backcountry.com’s blog
• Alicia MacLeay, co-founder and editor of outdoor gear community Trailspace.com

See all of the Backcountry Gear Haiku entries.

About Trailspace
Outdoor gear community since 2001. Hike. Climb. Ski. Paddle. Run. Backcountry gear reviews, news, and info.