This has been pretty funny to follow. Why Thousands of People Are Mad at Backcountry https://www.outsideonline.com/2404984/backcountry-com-lawsuit-backlash-explained
REI outlet has women's Smartwool 250 bottoms for 49$ at checkout and free shipping. That's half off and a helluva gift idea. FYI.
What gloves do y'all use for cold Backpacking trips? Only riddle I've yet to solve and there's lots of good sales coming up. I have about 5 pair of gloves and tried different combos. Might have to go to OR mittens, maybe with a wool liner. I've been trying to go lighter and lighter so watching ounces is a concern.
All of you guys who suggested the Ex-Officio are gentlemen and scholars. I have 4 pairs now and love them. 2 pairs of the regular and 2 pairs of the sports mesh version. No idea which one I like the best but these are solid.
Do ex officio ride up? I have such a problem that I’m basically sticking to compression shorts at this point.
anyone scoring any good deals during REI's sale right now? got bff a new ski helmet for christmas, otherwise im trying to hold off on a bunch of shit i dont need.
I bought a ton of stuff but it's mostly Christmas presents for other people. I may have thrown in some gloves and socks for me.
REI Outlet doing an additional 25% off fitness category sale. Got some $130 Salomon Trail runners for around 75 bucks. Sale ends today I think. FYI.
Cross-posting from national parks thread: Heading to Zion in March -- looks like March is when they stop letting private vehicles into the park and you have to take the shuttle. Is that right'? We're renting a car in Vegas and driving. What's the situation with using the shuttle? I see it's free, and has X number of stops. Are all the hikes really accessible from the shuttle? Does it have certain hours? Get pretty crowded? Hopefully not too bad in March. We're definitely doing the Narrows on Friday (renting waders), and then Angel's Landing on Saturday morning before driving back to Vegas. The Narrows will take all day, correct?
The shuttle system takes you straight to most trailheads. The only place you might have to deal with a back up is the start at the visitors center. One concern with the narrows in March may be the flow rate. If snow melt at higher elevations has started then the water may be running too fast and the NPS will close the trail. This summer it did not open for the season until late June. You may be going early enough that the snow isn't melting yet, it probably depends year to year. The Narrows shouldn't take all day. I did it this summer and it took maybe four hours at a casual pace (I did only make it a little over 3 of the 4 miles because the water got too high and fast. I think it was running at 142 cfs and they close it at 150. It was shoulder height and I just couldn't walk against it without get pushed back). Start Angels Landing as early as you can. You don't want to be coming down the chain section when a big crowd is going up. I would highly recommend Observation Point. Doing Angels Landing and then looking down on it is a really cool feeling. You can start outside the park at the East Mesa trail. That makes it an easy walk to an awesome view that can probably be done in 2 hours.
I'm not sure if the shuttle system will be going that early in the year. During the off season you can drive right in like the olden days. Its amazing honestly. You should check the shuttle opening dates.
Yea, the only concern will be the amount of water in the narrows. Will research when it gets closer to see if we can do it or need to make an audible.
There’s some good day hiking within 15-30 minutes of LV if you want to stick closer one day. You’ll have some snow up Charleston and some rock scrambling or canyons south and west.
I did a pretty cool 2 day hike from angels landing to kolob canyon, Think it's called west rim, that was pretty cool.
you can enter the park in private vehicles all year, or at least I did. But parking is limited and generally you have to shuttle in from either outside the park or the visitor center. Shuttle is pretty efficient Observation Point Trail > Angel's Landing
I've been hearing Observation Point >> Angel's Landing, both online and on the-TMB. Think we'll try that. We arrive Thurs around noon, so just want to do an easy hike -- The Watchman, Canyon Overlook, something like that. Friday - The Narrows (hopefully). Saturday - Angel's Landing or Observation Point before driving back to Vegas for a night of debauchery. Staying here for Thurs and Fri, looks incredible: https://www.undercanvas.com/camps/zion/
I would recommend both Observation Point and Angels Landing. Angels Landing is just so unique because of the fact that you are legitimately close to death at several points. It's not difficult if you look at distance and elevation, but it's one of the most intense things I have done, and worth experiencing. It looks like Observation Point from the valley up is closed right now (and I think has been for close to a year because of rockslides), but doing it from the top down may fit what you are looking for on Thursday. It is six miles but basically flat. It is more trafficked since the valley hike has been closed, but it won't show up on park maps so most people won't know about it. It's a better hike than the Watchman. I don't know about Canyon Overlook, when I tried to do it this summer I couldn't get in the parking lot. https://www.citrusmilo.com/zionguide/eastmesatrail.cfm
Dangling my legs over the edge of Cable Mtn. in Zion was one of the craziest feelings I’ve ever had 2000’ straight down. Zion is ripe tits and prolly my fav NP.
The shuttle is far better than having people fight over the tens of parking spots in the park. It’s no big deal and runs pretty frequently.
Planning on visiting Yellowstone and/or Grand Teton in early June Any tips on where to hike or visit would be great.
Don’t have the best tips for hiking around there, but check out Driggs, ID. Just west of Jackson. There’s a coffee shop there and a restaurant that’s built out of an old house. 2 of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to.
Literally all tips are welcome. I have to buy a lot of shit, too. Friend suggested wearing shoes that can get wet or sandals with straps and I'm still trying to figure out what kind of shoes can get wet without ruining my day
I did 8 days in GTNP and Yellowstone last summer AMA. Buy some water proof or resistant trail runners as your all purpose shoe. A pair of sandals or Tevas for hanging out at camp.
Aren't you fucked if you get water inside the shoe though? I guess I don't understand the point of a waterproof low-cut shoe
Get canyoning shoes. I got the Merrell Maipo 2’s for waterfall rappelling and the water runs right out. Sure your socks get wet but you can change those or get some quick dry ones. I’ve done hikes as long as 9-10 miles in mine The Maipo’s are lightweight, incredibly comfortable, and have great traction in wet and dry conditions. Pro tip: replace the laces with Lock Laces and they are even more comfortable
Chacos are good. Took me a while to get used to them, but I like them very much now. Personally I like the no toe loop version. I’ve worn mine desert hiking, rock scrambling, camping, river, kayaking, all kinds of stuff.
Idk if you're talking about where you have to walk in a stream ankle deep or whether you just need something splash-proof but in the rainy wet PNW I swear by these for getting wet and not ruining my day: https://www.salomon.com/en-us/shop/product/speedcross-5-gtx.html#color=20186
I have these and love them. I wouldn't use them for canyoning though. Chacos/Teva/Xero/etc hiking sandal is what I'd go with. I keep a pair of Xeros hanging on my bag for water crossings.
I read your post as hiking / exploring - not specific water activities like rafting or something. If you know you are going to be doing stuff where you will be in like knee deep water or something, then yes, trail runners are not your best answer, but for general exploring, I think you need to focus most on the best combination of weight and support and typically trail runners are the answer. buy hiking socks and good athletic underwear / compression shorts. You’re only as happy as your feet and your undercarriage. a couple of hikes I did were Delta Lake in GTNP and Osprey Falls in Yellowstone. Both were spectacular. As I’m sure most hikes are. I use the AllTrails app to research hikes and track the route. We rented an RV and drove that puppy to a new stop every night. Not sure what your plans are for “accommodations” but I was skeptical about the RV and it turned out to be fantastic. If you do go the car / RV route know that you can (and have to) reserve spots a year in advance, and some camp sites are first come first serve so you better be pulling in at 7 am when other people are leaving.
Thanks. Trail runners sound like the way to go for hiking Is there some secret underwear I dont know about for hiking?
i swear by exofficio. I wear them every day, but they are designed for hiking. They do the job. I’m sure there are other (less expensive) options that are just fine. Just don’t wear old navy boxers. I’m wearing Dang Tough ankle high hiking socks right now that I got off Amazon and they did well on my trip.
the whole "cotton kills" thing is a bit overdone but I started wearing merino wool socks shirts and underwear for hiking and then realized I prefer it for the rest of life too. Not the end of the world but it is more comfortable iyam
I don't know what type of shape your in/ if you like hiking but I did this hike with my lady last year and it was pretty cool. We did it up and back and then crushed beers and wings at Snake River brewery, great day. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/wyoming/table-mountain Trailhead is right outside of Driggs as well, definitely a challenging hike but you are rewarded with great views and a fun hike.
I love these: https://www.rei.com/product/127666/...ShVZPR8bW7vy58kk1sRoCIwQQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds I think they're more comfortable than ex officios. I often hike in Patagonia baggies with the built-in underwear.
My goal is to some day do JMT. I finally got serious about weight loss. Now that I’m getting somewhere I need to start thinking about what it’s going to take to work up to that. I feel like I’ve wasted 5 years by not getting into shape.
JMT is a a big goal of mine. I work with a guy did it moving really fast in 17 days. Took two full weeks off work, that’s not a luxury I have so not sure when I’d be able to do it unless between jobs (not likely any time soon) or semi/full retirement. I think you have to be in serious trail worn shape to enjoy it. It’s a shot ton of mileage with a shit ton of weight.
I did the JMT in 17 days as well. Lots of hikes with decent climbs were done on weekends for a few months leading up to it.
I’ve been watching JMT videos and doing research all week. I am hyped. Need to start planning my next year worth of hikes with a target of July or August ‘21. Is it really as hard as they say to get a permit out of happy isles?