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For each of the next four days I will be raffling off an item featured in my holiday gift guide, which we broadcast last week via Facebook Live. Return back each day to enter to win. Yesterday’s winner Jonathan Jay R. is the winner of a LuminAID PackLite 16 Light. Congrats! Today’s giveaway The weight, simplicity,…
For each of the next five days I will be raffling off an item featured in my holiday gift guide, which we broadcast via Facebook Live on Wednesday. Return back each day to enter to win. Yesterday’s winner Bill O., who was lucky #7, won a Coast HL27 Headlamp. Good luck today! Today’s giveaway First, I…
For each of the next six days I will be raffling off an item featured in my holiday gift guide, which we broadcast via Facebook Live on Wednesday. Today’s giveaway The Coast HL27 is my go-to headlamp for trail running, hiking off-trail, and bike-commuting in the dark. It is very bright, with a max output…
Tune in tonight (Wednesday, Dec 7) at 6:30 pm MST for my holiday gift guide for hikers and backpackers, broadcast via Facebook Live. If you ask a question during the program, you’ll be entered to win a new Sierra Designs Flex Capacitor 40-60 Pack. To watch, visit Sierra Designs’ Facebook page. Starting on Thursday I will begin…
While at the library a day or two after the election, I added to my pile The Gilded Rage: A wild ride through Donald Trump’s America, by Alexander Zaitchik. I did so with reservations, wondering if I had the heart for more election coverage. But Gilded Rage sounded more colorful than exit polls and less filtered…
For over a decade I wore daily an altimeter watch like the Suunto Core, also known as an ABC watch because most models feature a barometer and compass, too. My favorite was the now-discontinued Highgear Summit, which had the three basic functions, plus a stopwatch with 100-lap memory, easily navigable screens, oversized type, and quick-glance…
Along the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide Trails, closures and fire bans are considered normal, especially after dry winters or late in the summer. Ditto for other long trails through arid or semi-arid environments like the Arizona Trail or Colorado Trail. But I considered such trail closures impossible on the Appalachian Trail, which is nicknamed “The Green Tunnel”…
Among segments of trail runners, ultra runners, and backpackers, the Lone Peak shoe from Altra Footwear has gained an almost cult-like following for its unique feature set: a voluminous toe box combined with generous midsole cushioning and zero drop from heel to toe. Does the most recent iteration — the Altra Lone Peak 3.0 —…
It’s rare that I depart empty-handed from the house for a run. Often I have a cell phone, water bottle(s), calories, headlamp, toilet paper, and spare clothing like a windshirt, headband, and liner gloves. For longer runs I like tight shorts like the UA HeatGear Sonic Compression Shorts, since they cause me less chafing than lined…
If I only occasionally needed to “find north” to roughly orient a map or to follow a short bearing, a basic magnetic compass like the Silva Starter would be sufficient. But I rely more heavily on my compass than that, since I often backpack in low-use areas where signage is unreliable and trails can be intermittent, as…