Category: Racing
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The 6-year sock roundup
An inevitable part of moving, beyond surliness and interrupted internet access (and thus blog posts) is a reexamination of all your possessions. Or perhaps it is really a first examination, carrying something up the steps in a shopping bag does not rate for introspection compared to carrying everything in an endless train of boxes. The…
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Arc’teryx Neutro Visor review
Reviewing a very expensive hat, on a blog. Doesn’t get more outdorky. But if you’re not here for that exactly, best move along yesterday. The Neutro in action. I’ve always held the conviction that whomever names Arc’teryx products wanted to be Jean-Luc Picard. This is a 35 dollar visor. It is also an exceptionally functional…
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The 2013 BMWO
While eating cookies and watching the sunset at my excellent ridgetop camp this past Saturday, I decided what the Bob Open course will be for next year: Benchmark to Black Bear. Details are in the tab, above. I’ve thought all along that it would change every year, to keep it interesting for me and everyone, with favored…
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Building a perfect trekking pole
A follow up to this post: I want to make the perfect pole for primarily one-pole hiking. Priorities (in order) are: durability, stiffness, weight, compactability. Needs to go up to 54 inches or so for use as a shelter pole and for potential use with a yet-to-be-made friend as a skiing pole. Needs to get…
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Black Diamond Distance poles review
Last flight of the Zpole. Trekking poles are a matter of, if not controversy, at least healthy debate amongst hikers. In the past 15 years they’ve gone from rare to ubiquitous, with a saturated market (not just Leki). Purists scoff that crutches are for cripples, the enlightened enjoy the added stability in rough terrain and…
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The rise of the (larger) vestpack
Outdoor retailer is upon us, and as usual a modest array of interesting things have come bubbling to the surface of the internet. One emerging trend I find more interesting than most is the rise of larger vestpacks. Years ago I had a first-gen Nathan HPL020, which was an impressively stable and accessible way to…
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The Journey Continues: 2012 Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic
My Classic in five words: I got scared and bailed. Explanation below. Roman Dial turns back from an attempt at fording an unnamed glacial creek in the upper Tasnuna drainage. The Tasnuna itself cuts left to right against the cliffs in the center middle-ground. Dick Griffith’s gorgeous house in the hills east of Anchorage, Friday…
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Classic carnage
“I killed the classic.” -Luc Mehl “Yeah, but I don’t know what we achieved.” -Josh Mumm, in response to my congratulations on a “fine achievement” Luc was speaking, the other day after his finish in McCarthy, not about the latest in his increasingly gaudy portfolio of adventures, but about the abominable difficulty of this year’s…
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The psychological taper
Enter the trip report contest, and win a rad pack! Seriously, my indifferent promotion of this has resulted in a very low number of entries thus far, so your odds are good. I get on a plane for Alaska, and the Wilderness Classic, in a little less than 30 hours. So I have a big…
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Pack mods and rain pants
12 months ago I owned no waterproof pants. The Classic last year made me a believer when it showed just how much heat can be lost through soaked legs. Today I have two sets of rain pants, each meant for a rather different use. Shown above and below are my fully homemade sil/epic pants. The…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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