Jump to content

New giveaway! We’ve partnered with our friends at Alaska Gear Company to give away a pair of their Bunny Boot VBX LITE winter boots in the size & color of the winner's choice – Enter Here on the TrailGroove Blog by 11/12 at 5PM MST for a chance to win.



TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

  • entries
    540
  • comments
    659
  • views
    459,677

Contributors to this blog

  • Aaron Zagrodnick 240
  • Mark Wetherington 76
  • PaulMags 27
  • Susan Dragoo 26
  • Steve Ancik 17
  • tmountainnut 12
  • David Cobb 11
  • Eric 10
  • HappyHour 9
  • jansenjournals 8
  • DustyD 7
  • Cinny Green 6
  • HikerBox 6
  • Karen Garmire 6
  • SparbaniePhoto 5
  • George Graybill 5
  • michaelswanbeck 5
  • AndreaL 5
  • Daniel Anderson Jr 5
  • Kevin DeVries 4
  • mgraw 4
  • Wired 4
  • JimG 3
  • Steven Genise 3
  • JimR 3
  • eliburakian 3
  • Adrienne Marshall 2
  • sarahtied 2
  • Jessica Smith 2
  • Doug Emory 2
  • seano 2
  • Jen 2
  • MattS 2
  • BSuess 1
  • Curry Caputo 1
  • Tucker Ballister 1
  • Allison Johnson 1
  • SarahLynne 1
  • Peter 1
  • Isak Kvam 1
  • Grace Bowie 1
  • Greg Jansky 1
  • Claire Murdough 1
  • DKim and PatriciaV 1
  • Barbara 1
  • Madeline Salocks 1
  • J. Parascandola 1
  • Ben Libbey 1
  • Tephanie H. 1
  • Adel 1
  • Rob Newton 1

Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Trips

Backpacking in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

Earth Day was a perfect day, in regards to both weather and spirit, to embark on my first backpacking trip of the year. The destination, the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, seemed particularly fitting as well as a bit daunting. Covering over 2.3 million acres, this area is one of the wildest places in the Lower 48. With the high country still covered in snow, I would limit my hiking on this trip to a mere five miles on the Lower Salmon River Trail and a short way up the Horse Creek T
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

1
Trips

A 2 Night Backpacking Loop in the Wind River Range

On this trip, Ted Ehrlich drove up from Colorado and we hit the Winds for a 2 night backpacking trip over the Fourth of July Weekend. We’d originally planned a point to point hike from the Scab Creek Trailhead on the southwest side of the Winds back to Lander, but logistics were a bit of a concern as well as the driving that would take time away from a weekend Winds trip. In the end, we weren’t too fast getting ready the morning of our start day either, so we quickly scanned the map a
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

2
Trips

Hiking Buckskin Gulch: A Trip Report and Guide

During an April trip several years ago, Ted Ehrlich and I spent a few days hiking and camping in southern Utah – one highlight of that trip had to be our hike through Buckskin Gulch, one of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the world. With a snowy drive through Wyoming and then a whiteout in Colorado, the drive wasn’t a fast one and I met Ted at a deserted trailhead near Grand Junction around 10pm. From here we’d carpool into Utah. We drove west in the night, eventually moving past the sno
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

5
Trips

Backpacking in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness, Montana

Hiking from one beautiful place to another on pleasant and well-maintained trails is a great way to spend five days. Doing so with a good friend and cooperative weather makes a great experience even better. Throw in a few synchronous strokes of good fortune and you end up with an incredibly rewarding and memorable adventure. Neither John nor I had been on a four-night trip since March 2011 when he, myself, and my girlfriend at the time did a trek through the Chiricahua Mountains in so
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

0
Trips

Springtime Solitude - A Wyoming Red Desert Overnight

The Red Desert of Wyoming holds a unique appeal no matter your approach – it’s a country just as suitable for backpacking as it is for exploring and camping beside your vehicle off a rough and long forgotten dirt road. Either way, you’re likely to be in the middle of the nowhere. Adding to its allure, to begin the year the desert can only be comfortably explored for a short time each spring after the roads have sufficiently dried from melting snow to make passage by vehicle (just to g
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

0
Trips

Hiking in Sedona: A Sampler of 5 Scenic Day Hikes

“What are some of the more scenic trails in the area?” my friend Joan asked a local man at a hiking store in Sedona, Arizona. “All of them. They’re all scenic. Everywhere you look is scenic,” he said with a well-practiced manner, unable to hide his weariness with such questions. Even the trail map on display at the store was marked in bold black ink with exclamatory statements: “It’s scenic!!” “The views are amazing!” To say the least, it became apparent that we weren’t the first out-of-tow
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

3
Trips

Backpacking in the Maze, Canyonlands National Park

A few years ago and to follow up on a previous Utah hiking trip, Ted Ehrlich and I spent a few days backpacking in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park. The Maze is frequently referred to as one of the most remote spots in the lower 48, and though I’m not sure how exactly it ranks on that scale, it did require some significant amounts of off-highway driving to reach. The Maze is located in southeastern Utah, west of the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers and bordere
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

8
Trips

Backpacking the Needles District, Canyonlands National Park

On this trip, I was able to return to Canyonlands National Park, but this time stayed on the opposite side of the river from the Maze to join up with Ted Ehrlich and Christy who drove in from Colorado to backpack through Salt Creek Canyon and the Needles. The Needles offer a near endless array of unique rock formations to find and routes to explore. Backpacking Into the Needles Our respective drives late on a Thursday night resulted in a noon-ish start from the Cathedral But
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

2
Trips

Backpacking the Pioneer Mountains of Montana

As a backpacker, I’ve found few things more enjoyable than hiking over a nameless and trail-less mountain pass to beautiful subalpine lakes with trout swimming in their frigid waters. In the mountain ranges of Montana, this isn’t too difficult a feat to accomplish, at least logistically. However, the physical challenge of gaining nearly a thousand vertical feet in well under a mile of horizontal travel is nothing to scoff at, regardless of your conditioning. With millions of acres of public land
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

0
Trips

The Crossing: A Hike Across Olympic National Park

Chris, Randy and I sat at a local brewery, a map of Olympic National Park spread across the table. We had climbed in the Olympics for decades, but now we were attempting something different – a thru hike from one side of the park to another. You might have thought planning to cross using established routes would be simple, but it was proving anything but. “Even the freaking rain forest is on fire.” Chris traced a route with his finger. The Pacific Northwest was suffering through one of its
Doug Emory

Doug Emory in Trips

4
Trips

Bikepacking the White Rim Road, Canyonlands National Park

For this trip, my brother and I met up in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. My brother is more of a biker than a hiker, and as such our goal was to bike the White Rim Road that runs throughout the district and loop back to our starting point, a mountain bike ride totaling 103 miles. We’d brainstormed a few ways to tackle the trip, from trying it in one very long day to taking things very easy over many days. Eventually, we settled on 2 nights…we'd be carryin
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

7
Trips

Walking in Circles: Hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail

“Looks like you’re going in circles” is a way to tell someone that they're wasting their time. Talking in circles generally isn’t a compliment either. However, walking in a circle can be a good thing for backpackers, provided they’re walking around something interesting. Think about it. Logistics become pretty easy. No ride back to the start is required. In the case of the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), walking in a circle is a great experience. From high above, this spot on the Tahoe Rim Tra
JimR

JimR in Trips

5
Trips

The Sheltowee Trace: A Long Hike in Kentucky & Tennessee

Early every year avid backpackers and hikers turn to planning for their next big hiking trip – and frequently, long distance thru-hikes on classic trails will be focused on by many hikers planning trips for the year ahead. And rightfully so. Those trails like the Colorado Trail, John Muir Trail, and Long Trail (see Thru-Hiking: the Junior Version) will certainly get plenty of attention, but there are lesser known hikes, such as the Sheltowee Trace, worth considering for those looking for a longe
JimR

JimR in Trips

0
Trips

Desert Escape: Backpacking Arizona's Aravaipa Canyon

While not an unknown destination by any means, Aravaipa Canyon in southern Arizona is considerably less famous, even among backpackers, than many other destinations in the Grand Canyon State. One of the few perennial streams in the Sonoran Desert, Aravaipa Creek offers those who hike in the area a reliable source of water. This is a welcome treat in arid Arizona, since many backpacking trips in the state must be carefully planned around water sources. Not only does the year-round water in the ca
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

0
Trips

Olympic National Park: Backpacking the Quiet Corner

From beaches to rainforests to glaciers, Olympic National Park provides hikers with access to a stunning variety of landscapes. Although I’ve barely scratched the surface of what there is to do in the park’s 922,650 acres, I have had the privilege of soaking in its hot springs, swimming in its alpine lakes, and walking among the giant trees in its rainforest. The extensive trail network of Olympic National Park allows for memorable backpacking trips of all lengths, from overnight outings to week
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

1
Trips

Hiking the Slough Creek-Buffalo Fork Loop in Yellowstone National Park

Wolves, Red Dogs, Grizzlies, & Outlaws A tiny “red dog” – a fuzzy, reddish bison calf – was all but glued to its mother’s side as she fought off a half dozen wolves near Yellowstone’s Slough Creek. The mother had strayed from the herd, and wolves were attacking from all sides in an attempt to separate her from her baby. The stiff-legged little calf wheeled and turned with its mother as best it could, but the outcome seemed inevitable. The standoff was visible to the naked eye
Barbara

Barbara in Trips

0
Trips

Hiking Mount Kumotori, Japan (in the Rain and Mud)

The trail before me had become a treacherous, muddy mess. My backpack felt like a sodden weight pulling me down, and my shoes squished and oozed water with every step. I was looking down at what would have been a sharp descent, now transformed into a muddy slide. As I debated between simply sitting down on the trail and letting gravity carry me along or staggering forward and attempting to remain upright, I thought again about how I had let this happen. The answer involved a series of
MattS

MattS in Trips

6
Trips

Dayhikes in Harriman and Bear Mountain State Park

Living in New Jersey, I’ve hiked all over my state: from the northwest region of the Water Gap, to the New Jersey Highlands (and their frequent view of New York City), to the majesty of the Pine Barrens in the south. I have made infrequent forays into the bordering states of Pennsylvania and New York, hiking a trail or two in both Harriman and Bear Mountain State parks. This past Fall, looking for something a little higher, different scenery, and a little bigger, I decided to explore both Harrim
Greg Jansky

Greg Jansky in Trips

0
Trips

Thru-Hiking (the Junior Version): The Triple Crown in Short

Recent books and movies have inspired countless hikers and potential hikers to dream about thru-hiking one of the “big three” of America’s long trails: The Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail. However, most people that attempt the feat drop off the trail before completion. A six-month commitment to a hike can become just too difficult. Countless others don’t even try; it’s just too much time away from family and the lives they’ve built. Completing all three tr
JimR

JimR in Trips

6
Trips

Desert Gold: Backpacking in the Superstition Wilderness

Long before I’d ever shouldered a backpack for a hike into a wilderness area, I found myself intrigued by Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. As the purported location of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine, I was first exposed to the Superstitions in books about lost treasures and historical mysteries I checked out from my middle-school library. An episode of “In Search of . . .” with Leonard Nimoy that featured the legend and aired as a re-run on the History Channel further deepened my fascination. Hi
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

0
Trips

Hiking, Biking, and Climbing to Three Fingers Lookout

We had been warned that the Three Fingers Lookout wasn’t for the faint of heart. But that didn’t take away from the shock of first seeing it. The hut was just a speck in the distance, perched precariously on a jagged spire of rock rising up above a crevasse-riddled glacier and a low sea of clouds. From our vantage, it seemed impossible that the wooden hut could balance there for another night, let alone that there would be a passable trail to reach it. My partner, Emily, and I had got
mgraw

mgraw in Trips

2
Trips

Hiking the Panamint Range | Death Valley National Park

Spacious silence and cool, dry air. The sun is always warm in California, even in the dead of winter. Winter time is the off season here in Death Valley National Park, but I can’t imagine why. Boasting the hottest recorded temperature on Earth, it seems funny that most of the park’s visitors come in the summer. If you want to feel some serious, otherworldly heat, then pay us a visit in July! However, if you come to explore at any other time of the year, California’s mild and pleasant weather can
michaelswanbeck

michaelswanbeck in Trips

1
Trips

Arizona Wonderland: Hiking Chiricahua National Monument

Along with towering mountains and alpine lakes, awe-inspiring rock formations are one of the quintessential landscape features of the American West. From Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, to Delicate Arch in Utah, to Half Dome in California, iconic formations draw hikers and sightseers to far-flung public lands to witness the majesty sculpted by nature. In the Southwest, rock formations are by and large the main attraction. National parks, monuments, and other public lands contain enough arches, canyons
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

0
Trips

Hiking Mount Iwaki & the Importance of Proper Planning

In the summer of 2009 I was sitting in a hotel room in Hirosaki, a small city in the far north of Japan’s main island of Honshu, eagerly anticipating my upcoming hike. It was to be the second big hike I’d ever gone on in Japan, and I was determined that unlike my first journey into this country’s wilderness, this one would be perfect. Unfortunately for me, though, neither of the two friends I was traveling with seemed particularly enthusiastic about hitting the trails, and we had yet to make the
MattS

MattS in Trips

0
Trips

Hiking in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest

The musical theme from the 1960s Daniel Boone television show ran through my head when, as we drove across southern Kentucky, I saw signs indicating we were entering Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF). The historical Boone was not actually a big man in physical stature, but his legend, and the actual accomplishments of the Kentucky frontiersman, were sizable. Daniel Boone was a man, Yes, a big man! With an eye like an eagle And as tall as a mountain was he! In 1775, Boone blazed
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

3



×
×
  • Create New...