The name was granted after sickening early explorers in the 1800’s. “Mackenzie’s group of trappers became ill after eating beaver meat while camped on the banks of the river that Mackenzie named “Malad” — meaning “sick” in French. In his “Reminiscences of Early Days Volume II,” pioneer author Charles Walgamott claims the beaver in theContinue reading “Idaho hiking: Malad gorge”
Monthly Archives: February 2021
Idaho hiking
The Boise River is a wintertime habitat for the Bald Eagle.
Southern California loadout
Backpack: Granite Gear Crown VC60 with REI rain cover Tent: MSR Hubba NX1 Sleeping Bag: Western Mountaineering Versalite Pad: Thermarest NeoAir® XLite™ Food bag: Ursack Major XL Bear Sack – 15 Liters Stove: MSR PocketRocket 2 with titanium cookpot and spork Trekking poles: Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z Shell: Arc’teryx Beta SL Hybrid Jacket Down jacket: North FaceContinue reading “Southern California loadout”
Training report
Today was a 10 mile hike at Hull’s Gulch. I ran into a lot of snow at Upper Hull’s, which gave me a chance to try out my new Katoola microspikes. Overall I was happy with them; good traction and felt solid on my feet. Despite that, it was still slow going. I started trainingContinue reading “Training report”
Hiking Idaho: City of Rocks
Idaho had a bad fire season in 2020. Settlers from the 1800’s passing through the area left their names in axle grease. Now a rock climbing Mecca…
Gear Review: Trail runners
Hoka Speedgoat 4 I love this shoe. It has great cushioning, and is a personal good fit. There’s enough space in the toe box to prevent compression down hill, and I had less knee pain on longer hikes compared to the Altras. My sole complaint (get it?) is that the tread wears out fairly quickly,Continue reading “Gear Review: Trail runners”
Resupply Box
This is one of my resupply boxes for 4-5 days on the trail, which can fit into a large flat rate USPS box. A typical daily diet would be as follows: Breakfast: oatmeal with whey protein and almond butter, Trader Joe’s instant coffee. Lunch: Greenbelly meal bar Dinner: Ramen noodles, tuna packet Snacks: dried fruit,Continue reading “Resupply Box”
Astro, destroyer of camping equipment
Gear: sleep setup
NeoAir® XLite™ Sleeping Pad So far no issues maintaining air pressure, high R value (prevents heat loss). Cons: like sleeping on inflatable aluminum foil Weight: 12.5 oz Western Mountaineering Verasite This was one of my big ticket items. Very warm, compact, light weight and comfortable. Western Mountaineering are popular bags on the PCT. Cons: notContinue reading “Gear: sleep setup”
Gear: Backpack
Granite Gear Crown VC 60 I picked up this pack at REI as it was one of the few lightweight options they had in stock. It is comfortable with a full load, will fit a BV 500 horizontally in the bottom of the pack, and has decent pocket capacity, while cheaper than ULA packs. Weight:Continue reading “Gear: Backpack”
Hiking Vicariously 