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”
Author Archives: bengland8
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”
Idaho hiking: Toxaway-Petit loop
An 18 mile loop in Sawtooth National Forest, south of Stanley
Idaho hiking-Hull’s Gulch
Usually Boise stays fairly snow free in the winter (past week exception), but you’ll hit snow on the foothill trails at higher elevations.
Hiking Vicariously 