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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Contributors to this blog

  • Aaron Zagrodnick 238
  • Mark Wetherington 76
  • PaulMags 27
  • Susan Dragoo 25
  • Steve Ancik 16
  • tmountainnut 12
  • David Cobb 10
  • Eric 10
  • HappyHour 9
  • jansenjournals 8
  • DustyD 7
  • Karen Garmire 6
  • Cinny Green 6
  • HikerBox 6
  • Daniel Anderson Jr 5
  • AndreaL 5
  • michaelswanbeck 5
  • George Graybill 5
  • SparbaniePhoto 5
  • Wired 4
  • mgraw 4
  • JimR 3
  • JimG 3
  • eliburakian 3
  • Kevin DeVries 3
  • Steven Genise 3
  • sarahtied 2
  • Doug Emory 2
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  • Peter 1
  • Claire Murdough 1
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  • Tucker Ballister 1
  • Curry Caputo 1
  • Madeline Salocks 1
  • Greg Jansky 1
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Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Gear

Backpacking & Hiking Jargon: Piezo Igniter (Stoves)

A piezo igniter is a push-button stove ignition system that is often integrated directly onto upright canister stoves for convenience and ease of use. The system works via use of a striker that hits a piezo-electric crystal, which generates electricity even when slightly deformed. When the ignition button is pushed the resulting electrical charge generates a spark. With the integrated ignition system there’s no need to hunt down your lighter or use matches – simply open your stove’s gas valve sl
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Trips

The Pyrenean Haute Route & GR5: Hiking through France

When I mention hiking in France, it tends to illicit an immediate reaction of assumptions and misconceptions. The comments tend to address the validity of long distance hiking in Europe compared to what most Americans have experienced in the United States. The most common comments include, “Is there real backpacking in France?” “Isn’t it all road walking and overcrowded hostels?” “You need a lot of money to hike out there.” “You know camping is prohibited out there.” “Are there even mountains ou
Wired

Wired in Trips

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Reading

The Big Burn Film Review

In the American West there are certain characteristics that define this land: wide open spaces, the Rockies climbing to the sky and areas that are still truly wilderness. Another part of the defining characteristics of the American West are wildfires. Both a destructive force but also a necessary part of the natural cycle, wildfires shape not only the natural landscape but also the political process and the lifestyle of the modern American West. And one of the most important of t
PaulMags

PaulMags in Reading

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Trips

Thru-Hiking the Colorado Trail as a Family

In 1996, when I was 22, my boyfriend, Curry, and I set off on the 471-mile Colorado Trail. Over nine grueling, awe-inspiring, and life-changing weeks, we hiked most of the way from Denver to Durango, only to be snowed out 60 miles before the finish by an October blizzard. Three years later, we returned to hike the final segment on our honeymoon. In 2016, exactly twenty years after we started that first CT hike, we hiked it again, this time with our three sons: Milo, age 15, and the twins, Z
AndreaL

AndreaL in Trips

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Food

No Bake Banana Pudding Backpacking Dessert Recipe

Still hungry after that freeze-dried dinner? Dessert is a great way to boost spirits at the end of a long day, but sometimes it’s just too much hassle. Don’t settle for that spare granola bar before climbing in your sleeping bag, check out this seasonally-inspired solution that doesn’t require too much backcountry culinary prowess but still tastes great. As you might expect, this backpacking dessert hits the spot at all times of the year, but it seems particularly appropriate for fall
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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Trips

Sandstone Paradise: Hiking to the Wave in Arizona

Winning the lottery. Enduring 108 degree desert heat. Taking in the most amazing sandstone formation on the planet. What do all of these seemingly unrelated experiences have in common? A hike to the Wave. The Wave or more officially, North Coyote Buttes, is an almost mythical place that has captured the imagination of hikers and photographers from around the world. Impossible to describe with words, the Wave really has to be experienced and photographed to be fully understood. As a landscape pho
DustyD

DustyD in Trips

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Technique

Trail Tip: Biking Access Roads & Self-Shuttle by Bicycle

Roads that lead to trailheads, particularly in the West, can vary greatly in their suitability for passenger vehicles. Some roads are passable by sedans with minimal clearance, while others are more suited for 4WD and high-clearance. Many fall somewhere in between – a carefully driven car can make it, but a small SUV would make the experience less nerve-wracking. Information about road conditions can usually be found online, in guidebooks or by calling a nearby ranger station and can
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Mud Season

Spring comes slowly to the high country of the Rockies and other mountain ranges in the western United States. As the days get longer and temperatures rise, summer backpacking season seems tantalizingly close. But between the snow melting and the summer wildflowers blooming is a period of time colloquially referred to as "mud season". Depending on elevation and latitude, mud season might last from mid-March to late May, give or take a few weeks. With snow melting and spring rains mixed in, many
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Technique

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Trips

Backpacking Kungsleden: Jewel of the Swedish Arctic

If there is such a thing as a backpacker’s paradise then look no further than the Kungsleden, Sweden’s Royal Trail above the Arctic Circle near the border of Norway. If you can hike just one section of the 240-mile long trail, start with the world-class hike between Nikkaluokta and Abisko. Imagine wide Arctic valleys, stunning northern lights, reindeer, and, if you go in September, incredible fall colors covering the landscape. The 80-mile hike from Nikkaluokta to Abisko can work for all skill l
DustyD

DustyD in Trips

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Trips

Into the Great White: Snow Camping on Mount Rainier

The Paradise area (5400') sits on the southern flank of Mount Rainier National Park in the direct path of winter storms coming off the Pacific. At 5,400 feet, it receives an average of 53 feet of snowfall a year, and a snowpack at the height of winter that can exceed 15 feet. A road is maintained to the Sunrise area throughout the winter, allowing direct access for day trippers, but also those wishing to snow camp. The road closes each night at 5 PM requiring an earlier departure from Paradise t
JimG

JimG in Trips

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Gear

Uniqlo Ultralight Down Parka for Backpacking: A Review

In the outdoor industry, there is often a cycle: A well-known manufacturer will create an outdoor garment. The garment is combination of being stylish, functional and practical. The garment becomes a de facto standard of outdoor wear. Mid-range manufacturers make a similar garment. The outdoor gear becomes mainstream fashion and becomes ubiquitous. What was once meant for the outdoors is now seen not only in the backcountry but in town as well. One brand of this trend of “outdoor clot
PaulMags

PaulMags in Gear

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Technique

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Ice Out and Ice In

For hikers in mountainous and / or northern areas, and especially for hikers that also bring along a fishing rod on their trips, there are two milestones that fairly reliably mark the start and end of the summer and fall seasons. Ice out is when lakes are free of winter ice and ice in is when they freeze over again. Ice in and ice out dates vary regionally, and in mountainous areas there are also significant variations even within the same range. Elevation and aspect are the biggest c
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Technique

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Trips

Backpacking to the Summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado

Pikes Peak soared above Colorado Springs as we drove towards the downtown area. As an ultra prominent peak, and one of the easternmost peaks in Colorado, it is easily visible for hundreds of miles on a clear day. The east face of the peak is massive, and the east face route of Pikes Peak, known as the Barr Trail, was our objective this weekend. The weather looked great except for the wind, which fortunately was coming out of the west, meaning the mountain would be our wind-block most of the trip
tmountainnut

tmountainnut in Trips

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Food

Backcountry Cuisine: Pumpkin Curry Backpacking Recipe

The pumpkin might be the hardest part about this recipe. Prepare it freshly at home and make this meal your first night out. If you have time beforehand, use a dehydrator to save the most weight. If you really want to go old school, take the canned version and a P-38 can opener. You can try this with butternut squash too...which can be purchased freeze-dried. Serves 2. This pumpkin curry recipe is a great option for when you have a little more time to prepare before a trip and cook on
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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Trips

Backpacking & Hiking in Wilderness Study Areas

A backcountry traveler often has their own criteria for what may be considered a desired area for backpacking. This criteria often includes scenic beauty, memorable vistas, and a place where a person is immersed in the backcountry. For some backcountry travelers there are some additional criteria sought, however: Remoteness, unknown areas, lightly traveled, and wildness. In many of our designated Wilderness lands the last set of criteria is sometimes hard to find. Well known area
PaulMags

PaulMags in Trips

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Trips

The New Hardest Thing: The Trek to Everest Base Camp

Strong men and women are laid low by this place. Acute mountain sickness, the “Khumbu cough" (also known as the high altitude hack), gastroenteritis, the cold, the food...what makes them want to come here? What made me want to come here? Our friend Paul walks down the hall of tonight’s tea house, remarking on the sounds of hacking and coughing emitting from the guest rooms. “This place is full of crazy people.” And I can’t argue otherwise. I wondered, before I came to Nepal to hike to
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Technique

How to Photograph the Slot Canyons of the Southwest

Imagine hiking through a dark and narrow slot canyon. So narrow that you’re moving sideways as your chest and shoulder blades are touching the canyon walls as you go. Just around the corner you can see a glow that looks like molten lava pouring down the wall. That’s what the slot canyons of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona can offer. Slot canyons provide some unique hiking challenges and extraordinary beauty as other worldly landscapes unfold right before your eyes. The wild colors, textures a
DustyD

DustyD in Technique

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Trips

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Permits and Passes

When the caveat “but you’ll need a permit” follows a glowing recommendation for a backpacking trip, or is noted in a guidebook description or online trip report, what it actually means can vary significantly. In this article we'll detail the types of permits and passes that are typically required in National Parks, National Forests, and in other management areas where your next hiking trip may take you. Hiking & Backpacking Permits & Passes Explained For some trips, like backpa
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Hiking Gray Wolf Ridge in the Olympics: A Long History

I can claim a history with Gray Wolf Ridge. Twenty years ago, fresh on my moving to the Pacific Northwest, I set the goal of a full Gray Wolf run – three peaks to bag and a double-digit mile loop hike to complete – only to be ignominiously bogged down in thigh-deep June snow and chased off by a blizzard rolling off Mount Olympus. Since that initial attempt, I have taken the ridge in bits and pieces. Last September marked my first time completing the route I had first imagined those lo
Doug Emory

Doug Emory in Trips

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Technique

Snow Water Equivalent (SWE): Hiking & Backpacking Jargon

Snow Water Equivalent is a measurement used to determine the total amount of water mass contained within the snowpack of a specific geographical area, usually expressed in inches of water (if the entire snowpack were to melt, this would in turn = X inches of water). SWE is a particularly useful way to measure potential spring and early summer runoff as well as a good way to predict year to year when trails will start to become free of snow. Since snow and snowpack contains a substanti
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

0
Reading

Wildlike Movie Review from a Backpacking Perspective

In the recent past, many an art-house or independent film would receive only a small release. And where would this movie be released? Perhaps some college towns and major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, New York or Chicago. And maybe a DVD release marketed to independent rental stores that specialize in more obscure movies. But today the media landscape is much different. Video rental stores are an artifact of earlier technological times in all but a very few and obscure cases
PaulMags

PaulMags in Reading

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Trips

Hiking & Photographing in Death Valley National Park

I didn’t know what to expect, the first time I drove into Death Valley. Such a foreboding name. Are they trying to warn you? It certainly put intrigue in my heart while driving through the flat, nearly featureless Nevada desert back in 2005. The black roads seem to stretch on forever as you wonder if the mountains on the horizon will ever get bigger. With Vegas long since vanished in the rear view mirror, the sporadic towns surrounding the park bear no resemblance to the decadent city
SparbaniePhoto

SparbaniePhoto in Trips

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Gear

Dyneema Composite Fabric / Cuben Fiber and Backpacking

Dyneema Composite Fabric, often shortened to DCF and previously referred to as Cuben Fiber, is a fabric made from Dyneema fibers that are embedded in a polyester film to form a single material or fabric. Due to the high strength to weight ratio of the Dyneema fibers and its low stretch combined with inherent waterproofness, DCF and Cuben Fiber has proven to be a popular option for lightweight and ultralight backpacking gear over the past several years, and usage continues to grow in popularity f
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Trips

Section Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: A 40 Year Hike

It was 105 in the shade at my brother's house near East Los Angeles. Smoke from a foothills fire browned the sky while rolling blackouts swept through the city, defeating the air conditioning, closing restaurants, leaving us to swelter without benefit of even a fan. Darkened traffic lights made the already horrible traffic impossible. We left LA at dawn, escaping north on US395, heading to the southern terminus of the Sierra Nevada at Walker Pass. We had taken this road forty years ag
HappyHour

HappyHour in Trips

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Trips

Hiking and Photographing the Zion Narrows

Words fail and even photographs fall short of doing justice to the incredible Narrows hike in Zion National Park, especially in the fall. The Southwest US is a treasure trove of world-class locations to hike and photograph, but the Narrows has to be at or near the top of that list. It’s hard to imagine a blue-green river lined with golden cottonwood trees and soaring canyon walls glowing fiery red all around you. Surreal and otherworldly are about the only words that come close to describing the
DustyD

DustyD in Trips

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