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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Entries in this blog

Trips

Granite and Gold: A Hike Along the John Muir Trail

“Just take three steps, stop, and breathe.” The anthem I sang to myself scaling Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States. I had started down in the Owens Valley 7,000 feet ago, with a backpack loaded with a week’s worth of food. Now, each step that I gain in altitude makes the pack seem heavier and heavier. The Whitney Portal Trail comes to a "T" – I could either veer right and tag the summit and the official start of the John Muir Trail, or head left and down in elevatio
jansenjournals

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Trips

Backpacking North Cascades National Park: A Smoky Trip

After the landscape itself, the memories made with companions, and the wildlife seen, the weather is usually one of the most memorable parts of a backpacking trip. Bluebird skies, sideways rain, scorching heat, unexpected inches of snow – these are often the things which come to mind when reminiscing on trips where weather was either a blessing or a curse. In much of the West, another weather phenomenon also has an outsized influence: smoke. Even if you’re hundreds of miles from an active wildfi
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

Hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail Day by Day

For many backpackers, thru-hiking a major long trail just isn’t a realistic option. Not everyone can pause life, quit their job, and leave their family and friends behind for half a year to hike a long trail. Even if they could, not everyone has the mental and/or physical stamina to enjoy such an arduous task over multiple months. Maybe you’re an aspiring to thru-hiker, but feel like you need more experience before committing to such a long endeavor. If you fall into any of these categories, or
Wired

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Trips

Backpacking Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail

The Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail is one of the best coastal hikes in the United States. This 42 mile trail has been called one of the crown jewels of America’s longest National Scenic Trail, the North Country Trail – a trail that runs from North Dakota and will soon terminate in Vermont. The Lakeshore Trail includes a variety of coastal features including sand dunes, a remote wilderness beach, and impressive cliffs high above Lake Superior. The trail is located in Pictured Rocks National Lakes
Eric

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Trips

Hiking a 3-Day Loop in the Great Smoky Mountains

Every season in the mountains of Southern Appalachia comes with its own charms and beauty that can make hiking a familiar trail a novel experience. Blooming wildflowers, fall colors, and snow clinging to trees are the most readily apparent seasonal highlights that make Great Smoky Mountains National Park such a paradise for hikers and backpackers. While the park is technically the most visited unit in the national park system, in nearly a dozen trips there I have found the backcountry to be surp
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

Backpacking in Glacier National Park: A Clouded Journey

Seeing almost 3 million visitors in 2018, Glacier National Park isn’t a piece of public land that could be described as “under-appreciated”. Its spectacular scenery and excellent infrastructure beckons crowds of hikers and backpackers who often fill its trails and backcountry campsites to capacity. However, given its enormous acreage – over one million acres – backpackers who don’t mind spending some time hiking cross-country or doing out-and-back portions of their trip to corners of the park th
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

Backpacking the Wondrous Weminuche Wilderness

As I view the green rolling hills and valleys, it is difficult to tell that the elevation is above 12,000 feet. Off in the distance rugged peaks fill the horizon. Today a new adventure begins, one met with anticipation as well as uncertainty. My small Excel spreadsheet route plan reveals that today is actually day 17 of a journey that has been filled with lofty peaks, new friends, and some of the finest scenery in Colorado. Today’s adventure enters the depths of the Weminuche Wilderness in the S
Eric

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Trips

Backpacking the Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon

After a drive into the night and an examination of the small walk-in Devils Lake Campground by headlamp, I found an available campsite – close enough to the trailhead that it was safe to say the first part of my journey (getting there) was complete. It was quiet, but there were several others camped nearby. The peaks that dominated the wilderness trip ahead of me were obscured by the darkness of the night. I was excited for the backpacking trip ahead of me, a nearly 60 mile variation of one of O
Eric

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Trips

A San Juan Mountain High: Hiking on the Colorado Trail

The San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado have some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country. The views are filled with high peaks, beautiful waterfalls, scenic valleys, and prolific wildflowers which call to you to explore! I have spent several vacations in the area over the years, and was long overdue for another visit. This trip was with three of my hiking friends from the flatlands of Oklahoma and Texas – Craig from Houston, and Ward and Joel from Oklahoma City. We all live at l
Steve Ancik

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Trips

Backpacking the Pecos: A Wilderness of Enchantment

Imagine a wilderness area of tundra ridge walks, a place where 13,000-foot peaks tower into the sky, where wildflowers dot the landscape, and bighorn sheep scramble over the terrain. A wilderness area that would seem to be the stuff that backpacker dreams are made of. Now picture this area tucked away in northern New Mexico. An area ignored by many backpackers. No major long distance hiking trail comes through these mountains. No glossy travelogues feature this wilderness area. This wilderness a
PaulMags

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Trips

Backpacking Isle Royale: A Superior Adventure

Located approximately 15 miles off the Minnesotan and Canadian shores of Lake Superior, Michigan’s Isle Royale is the largest island in the world’s largest freshwater lake. This national park is a wilderness paradise with 99% of it officially designated as such. It includes scenic ridges, rugged coastal views, inland lakes, unique wildlife relationships, and an excellent network of trails. The island is 45 miles long and 9 miles wide. As the third largest island in the contiguous United States,
Eric

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Trips

From Sea to Alpine: Backpacking in the Trinity Alps

Choosing a trail is often half the adventure in the scenic Trinity Alps Wilderness. The Trinity’s are somewhat like a wilderness island in northern California: to the east you’ll find Interstate 5 and the snow-capped volcanoes of Mount Shasta and Mount Lassen. To the west is the mighty Pacific Ocean and its rugged coastline. All the while to the north and south, wrapping the wilderness is an impenetrable green of mixed pines, woods, and streams isolating the Alps into its own serenity. Choosing
jansenjournals

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Trips

Meadows & Ridges: Backpacking the Goat Rocks Wilderness

With excitement we awaited the arrival of the rest of our group. There would be five of us, friends and future friends, and a dog. The rain that had been drizzling throughout the morning was subsiding and turning to a lovely late August day in the Pacific Northwest. The forested trailhead was beginning to fill with vehicles as we waited patiently. It was near mid-afternoon by the time everyone had arrived, finished packing up, and were ready to hoist their backpacks and begin the uphill climb in
Eric

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Trips

Backpacking the Loowit Trail: An Otherworldly Hike

Like most Americans who were raised in the East and born after the mid 1970s or so, volcanoes are something I associate with middle school science classes and dramatic pictures of Mount Saint Helens and its 1980 eruption. Even after I became enthralled with backpacking and natural landscapes after frequent trips to the sandstone wonderlands of the Cumberland Plateau and the forested slopes of the ancient Appalachian Mountains, hiking around a volcano seemed like a ludicrously exotic experience.
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

High Desert Scenery: A Hike On the Yakima Skyline Trail

Although the quintessential image of backpacking is of alpine lakes, thick forests and craggy peaks, deserts offer the well-prepared backpacker breathtaking scenery and an opportunity for longer hikes months before most mountains have melted out. Desert backpacking is typically associated with the iconic landscapes of the Southwest and destinations such as Canyonlands National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, and numerous other national parks, forest
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

Hiking & Exploring Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Huge views, colorful rock, geology on display, nature exposed, fresh clean air, massive amazement...these are all included in a trip to this Sandstone Wonderland. In far northern Arizona there is a vast area of rugged and beautiful locations known as the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. An area covering 280,000 acres, the monument includes the Paria River Canyon, Buckskin Gulch, the Paria Plateau, the Vermilion Cliffs, and Coyote Buttes. The area is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Lan
Steve Ancik

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Trips

Views & Volcanoes: Backpacking the Timberline Trail

The Timberline Trail is one of the classic trails in America and is classified as a National Historic Trail. It was designed in the 1930s primarily by the Civilian Conservation Core. For about forty miles the trail circumnavigates Mount Hood, the highest mountain in Oregon at 11,250 feet. Staying near treeline, a hiker on this trail will experience lush forest, wildflower meadows, rugged canyons with glacial fed streams, and view after view of Mount Hood. Driving nearly 2 hours throug
Eric

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Trips

Canyons & Creeks: Backpacking the Rogue River Trail

I turned up the heat in the car at the trailhead. It was a chilly, near freezing November morning as we finished getting our gear ready. There was a sense of excitement. As I hoisted my pack, I could feel the not-so-gentle protrusion of the solid kitchen frying pan in my back. I knew it would be worth it. I carefully left my key in the car in the prearranged location, hoping that the arranged transportation would deliver it to the end of the trail as planned. There were three of us: a good
Eric

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Trips

Hiking Oklahoma: Where East Meets West

Thanks to Rodgers and Hammerstein and the Weather Channel, most folks know Oklahoma as that place in the middle of the U.S. "where the wind comes sweeping down the plains." And the designation is certainly fitting, especially in the spring of the year when it’s time for Oklahomans to hunker down for tornado season. While the plains indeed comprise a large portion of Oklahoma's land mass and contribute significantly to its cultural history, the state is home to more than 10 distinct ec
Susan Dragoo

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Trips

Backpacking the Buffalo River Trail: Great Heights

We arrive on the shore of the Buffalo River in northwest Arkansas on a chilly morning in early November 2022, wearing old tennis shoes we have repurposed as water shoes, to begin forty-two miles of hiking on the Buffalo River Trail (BRT). In spite of the cold, we will start this hike with wet feet. But warm socks and dry hiking boots await us once we wade up to our knees across the shallow ford at Woolum and cross the more challenging Richland Creek, a narrower and deeper stream that empties int
Susan Dragoo

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Trips

Backpacking Washington's Scenic Pasayten Wilderness

While much of Washington is a veritable backpacker’s paradise, its three national parks and the areas of national forest closest to the Seattle megalopolis seem to absorb the bulk of the crowds. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, with its spectacular scenery and name-brand destinations like The Enchantments, and Mount Rainier, with its life-list Wonderland Trail, deservedly draw hordes of eager backpackers. But for those willing to travel a bit further east, incredible backpacking and ample opportunit
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

Backpacking Washington's Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness

For most hikers and backpackers, when they think of Washington their thoughts tend to drift to the rugged grandeur of the North Cascades or the rainforests, beaches, and mountains of the Olympic Peninsula. The beauty and opportunities for amazing trips in those locales can certainly not be understated. As evidenced by increasing crowds at many trailheads in recent years, and stiff competition for permits in areas where they are required, the public lands in the western part of the state aren’t (
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

A Ridge of Riches: Hiking the Bridger Range of Montana

The view out the cabin window was nothing short of spectacular. Sitting perched at an elevation overlooking the Gallatin Valley, the city of Bozeman, and most importantly the Bridger Mountains; aptly named by the locals, “The Bridger’s” or “Bridger Range.” A spine that shoots up from the plains with a sheer drop on either side and a ridge that beckons the call for exploration. A sunset glow pierces the cabin window with the fire outside ablaze. The orange glow glissades down the edges of the ran
jansenjournals

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Trips

Backpacking in Big Bend National Park

Located in the remote Southwest corner of Texas, Big Bend National Park provides numerous opportunities for hiking and backpacking. For those looking for a winter hike away from the cold and snow, Big Bend provides spectacular desert scenery in North America’s largest desert, the Chihuahua, including rugged mountains, expansive vistas, mighty canyons, the Rio Grande, and a variety of desert flora and fauna. The classic backpacking trip in Big Bend National Park is the Outer Mountain L
Eric

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Trips

Backpacking Wyoming's Breathtaking Bighorn Mountains

As I drove to the trailhead the mountains were hidden in the clouds. The highway allowed me to drive 80 mph through vast open spaces with few signs of human activity. The rain fell heavily. Although a Michigander at heart, a few weeks earlier I had set out on temporary work that would allow the opportunity for adventures out West. While I had enjoyed many backpacking adventures in the West, this short overnighter would be my first near my new home. Into the Bighorn Mountains The Bighor
Eric

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