Category: Backpacking
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(re)Defining Lightweight Backpacking
The difference between lightweight backpacking and ‘normal’ backpacking is obviously the gear. Winter has reached that point where we talk about summer. After a long weekend of rain, a bunch of us found ourselves in the Northern in Whitefish after an avy meeting last night, discussing not skiing and snow, but sunshine and fly fishing…
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2010: in review
Running through all these Christmases is the sense of an emotional cadenza at the end of the year, a braiding of feelings like hope, renewal, nostalgia, love, joy and exhaustion. Yet in the stories about this holiday, it’s surprising how often we’re reminded of a darker life, full of isolation, penury, greed, despair and the…
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Perhaps this weekend?
Trip planning is an equisite art. The mechanical side has, and continues to be, revolutionized by technology. Six years ago M and I lived in Moab, and quickly stockpiled USGS quads because they were the only source for detailed topographic information about most of Utahs backcountry canyons. That is no longer the case. Travis from…
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LaSportiva Crossleather review
ExecSum: The shoe marries aggressive, sticky tread with a flexible, low profile midsole and a very durable leather upper, creating a combination unique amongst current trail running and hiking shoes. It does so by increasing the weight relative to mesh shoes, by decreasing the draining speed, and by substantially increasing the drying time. Review: Back…
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Minimal footwear and the reshaping of feet
Since last spring I’ve been transitioning into less structured and supportive sorts of shoes, first for hiking and secondly, for everything else. It’s been a hugely beneficial process, but I’ve found that once you make the switch, you can’t go back. This year especially, I’ve noticed that my feet have been shortening, my arch growing…
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The Ultimate Trip and Gearlist(s)
It’s 2F outside as I sit here in the comfy chair, sipping coffee from the 28 oz Yellowstone NP trout mug. Our neighbor two house down just, as he does whenever snow gives him the chance, cruised by in the process of snowblowing the entire sidewalk on this side of the street. He greated/accosted me…
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Memory
This is an article I wrote about my May trip across Yellowstone. Initials inquiries have not panned out, so I’m turning it loose. It is not short. I might send it off somewhere else, so anyone who makes it to the end, please leave any feedback you might have. Acting on desire A faint textured…
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The new paradigm marches on
This graph may be one of the more useful things you’ll find for winter adventure planning. It comes by way of Richard Nisley, a San Fran packrafter, adventurer, and fabrics scientist. The original post, at BPL, and the ensuing discussion can be found here. The iClo values themselves do not tell the full story, but…
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Fear and Trembling (in praise of the off-season)
“He had faith by virtue of the absurd, for all human calculation ceased long ago.”-Soren Kierkegaard Glacier National Park was called the Alps of the Americas not only to lure rich easterners away from Europe, but because the high peaks that make up the crown of the continent hold forth with a singular aesthetic. Unlike…
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Ouch, my feet hurt; and some neat skis
Recall how, last week, I responded (to Sam’s inquiry) that my intended route acrss Glacier was Dawson Pass, Nyack Creek, and the Middle Fork. Well, things turned out differently. What I really wanted to do was see more alpine, so my Sat-Sun route morphed into following the CDT from Two Medicine north to the St.…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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