Tom Fassbender, an active member of Boing Boing's G+ community, hiked the John Muir Trail solo last year. It's over 200 miles long, and he's been writing entertaining and informative articles about his adventure on his blog, Ford's Basement. Tom writes about gear, food, clothing, maps, tents, water purification, footwear and foot care, trash, batteries and solar recharging, photography, first aid, sun protection, and crapping in the wilderness (and what do do with your crap).
Anyone thinking about embarking on a backpacking trip of similar length (or even weekend trips) will benefit from reading his posts. If you aren't, the posts are still great travel writing, and you'll learn about gadgets and other gear that might be useful in your daily life.
Backpacking the John Muir Trail
Look at this cool stone hut on John Muir Pass that was built in 1931. Tom encountered it on Day 9.