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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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  • Aaron Zagrodnick 213
  • Mark Wetherington 71
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Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Trips

From Mexico to Canada: Thru-Hiking the Route In Between

Hikers love maps. Maps are more than just navigational aids – they’re permission to let our imaginations run free. Maps inspire childlike wonder. We dream about what’s around the bend. I’ve spent years staring at a map of long-distance hiking trails in the United States. The Arizona Trail runs north-south through its home state, as does the Idaho Centennial Trail. Between the two, there’s a gap where no established trail exists. The gap is not for lack of scenic beauty, however. The state o
Kevin DeVries

Kevin DeVries in Trips

1
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
Gear

Garmin inReach Mini Satellite Communicator Review

Being a responsible hiker means letting someone know where you are going and when you’ll be back. That used to mean (and still does) leaving a note on the fridge. In a world of landlines, this was the best one could do. Once you were out the door, you were out of touch. Needless to say, times have changed. We all have cell phones, and cell phones have become smartphones. Smartphones have in turn become essential hiking tools, combining many functions (camera, journal, compass, GPS, map, trail gu
HappyHour

HappyHour in Gear

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Trips

Hiking to Owl Creek Hot Springs: An Idaho Overnight

Peaks, waterfalls, and lakes each have their own charm and allure, but there is perhaps nothing more appealing than natural hot springs as a destination for a late fall backpacking trip. It almost seems too good to be true – hike through beautiful scenery and then set up camp near pools of water as hot and comfortable as those you’d soak in at home. The Pacific Northwest, and Idaho in particular, are blessed with an abundance of hot springs, and many of them require a hike to access and are part
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Backpacking in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness

November tends to be a dead zone for Colorado hikers. It's too early for skiing or even snowshoeing in the high country. But cold temps and the threat of blizzards are present even if the snow is lacking. Most backpackers sit out the month, maybe catching up on their favorite trail magazine. Not all Colorado is high country and 14er's though. Out beyond the West Elks, the Uncompahgre Plateau runs from the Utah border 60 miles southeast down to the edge of the San Juans. Elevations range from 400
HappyHour

HappyHour in Trips

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Trips

The Tremont Lollipop Hike in the Great Smoky Mountains

The Smoky Mountains contain many remarkable places. Some areas convey rugged grandeur, others ancient elegance and beauty. This hike provides tastes of those things, but more significant than any of those features, it's one of the most calming, peaceful hikes I've enjoyed anywhere in the region. It may not be the most photogenic trail, but something about it draws me back again and again. I hike this trail more frequently than any other in the park, and I always leave wanting more. The soothing
SparbaniePhoto

SparbaniePhoto in Trips

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Gear

Lixada 10 Watt USB Ultralight Solar Panel Review

While I make every effort to make electronics as small a part of the backcountry experience as possible, I can’t say I’ve ever gone on a trip without taking along some type of electronic item. Whether the old school giant Petzl headlamp that I packed on trips in the 90s, or the smartphone and satellite communicator (along with, thankfully smaller and lighter headlamps) of today, electronics are admittedly a part of every trip in some manner for just about all of us. Even on trips where I haven’t
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Trips

October Alpine: Fall Backpacking in Montana

Among its many inimitable charms, prime backpacking season in the Northern Rockies is also unfortunately defined by a cruel brevity. Try to hike too early in the season and you wind up postholing through leftover snow, anxiously evaluating raging creeks for the safest place to cross, and camping near lakes still thawing out from winter – adventuresome, but not exactly ideal. A few weeks later and things are more amenable to backpacking, but bugs (especially the biting kind) become so numerous th
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

2
Trips

Northern Rockies Gold: Hiking in Search of the Fall Larch

The Rocky Mountains provide hikers with countless opportunities to immerse themselves in backcountry areas filled with quintessential landforms. Majestic mountain peaks, sublime subalpine lakes, waterfalls, glaciers, and wildflower-filled meadows come immediately to mind. Rolling high-altitude plateaus, cascading mountain streams, and fragrant forests of dense conifers are also key contributors to this enchanting landscape. Somewhat surprisingly, there are even some natural arches scattered acro
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

1
Gear

Review: PowerFilm USB+AA Lightweight Solar Charger

Disposable batteries are just not ideal for backpacking. After every trip, batteries keep piling up – whether from headlamps, Steripens, or even just from non-backpacking devices we used around the house. Most of the time, getting back from a trip batteries will still have some juice left, but how much? Enough to take along next time? I found myself either installing new batteries for nearly every trip, or taking extras, unless I’d barely utilized the batteries the last time around. Worst of all
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Technique

Hunting Season Hiking and Backpacking Considerations

Fall – a time of the year when the crisp air is enjoyed and the greens of summer are replaced with hues of orange and yellow. And, it’s also the time that we as hikers contend with hunting season. Strategies for hiking during this time range from doing nothing different at all to simply staying home, and while hunting season is a worthy pre-hike consideration, by taking a few steps and modifying our gear and routine just a bit, we can continue hiking during hunting season with a few changes to o
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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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
Gear

Buzz Away Extreme Insect Repellent Review

No matter if it’s a low snow year or not and even during summer drought conditions, mosquitoes tend to maintain a strong foothold here high in the mountains of Wyoming. As I’ve migrated from DEET to Picaridin to natural insect repellents over the years, I’m always on the lookout for products that either work better or have better ingredients. While I’ve been using Herbal Armor for several years, the best version of their product – the pressurized continuous spray has recently become hard to find
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

2
Trips

Ice-Out Enchantment: Spring Backpacking in the Bitterroots

The expression “timing is everything”, occasionally derided as a common-sense platitude, is compelling when applied to backpacking. Hiking along a knife-edge ridge at sunset, watching sunrise from a campsite above timberline, encountering wildlife unexpectedly, getting the tent pitched at the last possible minute before a storm – meticulously planned or completely serendipitous, such moments are part of the thrill of backpacking. The physical act of backpacking, simply walking with a burden of g
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Biking Going to the Sun in Glacier National Park

The early-season opportunity to bike portions of Going to the Sun in Glacier National Park without any automobile traffic seems too good to be true. Miles of paved road passing alongside streams rushing with snowmelt, climbing into the high country, weaving through lush forests – all behind a gate and open only to bicycles and foot traffic. I’ve done enough recreational road biking and bike commuting to develop a sincere appreciation of a smooth surface, hard tires, and minimal traffic through b
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Cutthroats and Cascades: Spring Hiking in Montana

There are certain trails which, when hiked in certain seasons, can be so blissfully pleasant as to seem almost otherworldly. Each step is a pleasure. Every view is breathtaking. The scents of the forest are almost intoxicating. Chirping birds, chattering squirrels and rushing creeks create a soundtrack that is almost orchestral. Spending unhurried time in nature seems to be one of the most refreshing things humans can do for themselves and one of the few activities which consistently pays out re
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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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

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

Backpacking the Kalmiopsis Wilderness: A 50 Mile Loop

I awoke in the comfort of the back of my vehicle as the Pacific Ocean’s peaceful waves gently moved across the nearby beach. I quickly drove away and soon found myself driving on a remote forest road. Fortunately I had checked road conditions and discovered that I needed to detour to avoid a landslide. The road was bumpy and had deep cracks. My vehicle has all-wheel drive, but not high clearance. With careful maneuvering I arrived at the Chetco Divide/Vulcan Peak Trailhead and the edge of Oregon
Eric

Eric in Trips

0
Trips

The Gift of Winter: A Reflection on a Season

Unique among the seasons, winter wields the power to make many hiking destinations inaccessible. Roads are gated due to snow, mountain passes become snowbound and hazardous, and specific four-season gear is required in many regions for those venturing out in the winter months. Human-powered recreation is mostly left to snowshoers, skiers, snowboarders, and winter is also a good time to focus on cleaning gear, summer trip planning, fitness routines, racking up vacation time, and other hobbies. Ge
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

2
Gear

MSR Titan Kettle Review

Some of the best things in life are the simplest. For backpackers, there is a pleasure in sipping hot coffee, tea or cocoa from a sleeping bag that borders on the divine. And behind such a simple pleasure is a simple piece of a gear: a kettle, pot or some other means of warming water. I upgraded from a lidless, stainless steel pot leftover from my brief time in Boy Scouts to the MSR Titan Kettle fairly early in my backpacking days and it has proven to be one of the best gear-related investments
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Gear

4
Trips

The Lookout: A Snowshoe Trip to an Abandoned Fire Tower

It is one thing to conceptually understand that you have the gear to bivy at 7,500 feet in the Northern Rockies with a forecast of six degrees below zero. It is another thing entirely to find yourself in circumstances where you end up having to do exactly that. And it was in such circumstances that I found myself on the last night of the year. Perhaps I shouldn’t have turned down that invitation to a New Year’s Eve party after all. At the trailhead The Trip Begins I left hom
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

2
Trips

Maine's 100 Mile Wilderness: The Narrated Video

As a follow-up to Curry Caputo's excellent Issue 52 article Of Life and of Maine's 100 Mile Wilderness, a story that details a family backpacking journey through the wilderness of Maine and to the top of Mount Katahdin, here is the full narrated, audio version of the story alongside video documenting the entire trip. You can read the original article here in Issue 52, and watch and listen to the video below:
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

0
Gear

Solarpad Pro Ultralight Solar Panel Review

Now having tested several solar panels over the years that are marketed towards outdoor use and use on the trail – most of these stay stashed in the back of my gear closet, and are more likely to be something I might use during a power outage at home rather than actually depend on out on the trail. For hiking and backpacking purposes most of these panels are too heavy, just don’t perform well enough, or have significant drawbacks like compatibility with one device, while not being compatible wit
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Food

Firepot Spicy Pork Noodles Review

Ever since one of my favorite backpacking meals of all time – the Pad See You noodles from Backpacker’s Pantry was unfortunately discontinued, I’ve been a search for a simple, but good rice noodle dish with an accompanying meat protein. The Pad Thai from Mountain House is a recent meal that ends up being a close contender to my old time favorite, and the latest meal with this theme I’ve tested is the dehydrated Spicy Pork Noodles from Firepot, who makes pre-packaged, just add water dehydrated me
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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