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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Trips

Bikepacking the White Rim Road, Canyonlands National Park

For this trip, my brother and I met up in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. My brother is more of a biker than a hiker, and as such our goal was to bike the White Rim Road that runs throughout the district and loop back to our starting point, a mountain bike ride totaling 103 miles. We’d brainstormed a few ways to tackle the trip, from trying it in one very long day to taking things very easy over many days. Eventually, we settled on 2 nights…we'd be carryin
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

7
Gear

Choosing the Best Backpacking & Hiking Shoes or Boots

Both a prerequisite for the enjoyment of any day hike and critical for the success of any extended backpacking trip, our choice of a hiking shoe or boot is one of the most important gear related choices to make and dial in prior to any outdoor excursion. Not only does the best hiking boot or shoe depend on fit and our own individual preference, but the best options will also vary widely by season – although many options can also be workable across more than one season, or even with a few caveats
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Trips

Luna Peak: Hiking the Heart of the Wild North Cascades

The Cascades have a reputation for long and brushy approaches, and the Pickets, a subrange in far northern Washington, have a particularly bad reputation in both respects. Even after escaping the dense vegetation, reaching many of the summits would feature more technical climbing than hiking. Together, these two factors have deterred most hikers from even contemplating a trip to this rugged and scenic area. The Pickets' reputation is not entirely deserved: Whatcom Peak at the far nort
seano

seano in Trips

0
Gear

Nalgene Ultralite - Best Backpacking Water Bottle Ever?

When hitting the store for a backpacking water bottle we may be inclined to at first reach for our favorite color bottle or the bottle featuring the most appealing printed design on the side. While there’s nothing wrong with that when it comes to having a water bottle around the house or at work, when it comes to choosing a hiking or backpacking water bottle other performance factors should be considered. With weight being paramount in the backcountry, the prototypical standard, Tritan Nalgene b
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Gear

Hiking and Backpacking Jargon: Headlamp Lumens (Light)

Lumens are a unit of measurement used to determine the total amount of visible light emitted from a source. In the backpacking and hiking world, you can use the lumen value to compare the amount of lighting you’ll get from various nighttime illumination sources such as a headlamp. Lumen Considerations / How Many Lumens Higher lumen values typically come at the cost of shorter runtimes and decreased battery life. Brighter lights are also generally heavier and more expensive. For general
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
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 g
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Gear

Helinox Chair Zero Review

After an introduction to lightweight backpacking chairs a few years ago, my philosophy on this admittedly somewhat superfluous (but many times well worth the weight) camp comfort item has generally remained unchanged; on longer trips where I’m moving daily and pack weight is of more concern the chair stays behind and any rock or log will do. For the amount of time that you’re actually in camp – and not inside your tent – carrying the weight is simply not worth it. But mental and physical comfort
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

2
Trips

Section Hiking and Backpacking Along the Ouachita Trail

I hear the wind approaching as it moves up the ridge. No other sound breaks the night's long silence, not even the rustle of a possum in the undergrowth. It is early autumn in a year of drought; perhaps the lack of water at this elevation keeps the critters away, which suits me fine. We took care to hang the bear bag high off the ground, regardless. Why tempt fate? I drift off, awakening later to an unmistakable sound a few feet away. Zzip! Opens the tent. Zzip! Closes the tent. It is Mary,
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

0
Trips

Hiking & Backpacking in Algonquin Provincial Park

When it comes to outdoor recreation, Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada is known mostly for its interconnecting canoe routes and park maintained portages. While not its most popular pastime, those on foot will find a hidden gem of a trail system and a true Canadian wilderness experience. Over 2000 lakes dot the landscape, many offering good fishing opportunities, and with almost 2 million acres of this lake-filled forest, one could spend a lifetime exploring the various nuances of the
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

0
Trips

A Bailey Range Traverse: Hiking in Olympic National Park

We were five days into a trek across Olympic National Park – at low elevation in mid-summer. Even though I was tired and about as cold as I think I've ever been, I was relishing the experience. I knew it was always the hard days that we remember most, and most of the days on this trip were hard. Really hard. And after this experience down at Cream Lake I knew I’d be able to tell a good story. We also remember the beautiful days. Our ten-day journey – our own take on a traverse of the Bailey
eliburakian

eliburakian in Trips

0
Gear

Best Backpacking Sleeping Pads: A 2025 Categorical Guide

Finding a great backpacking sleeping pad is the next logical step in getting your backpacking gear all set once you’ve decided on the big 3 (tent, sleeping bag, backpack). The sleeping pad rounds out what’s known as the big 4 in backpacking – and this list makes up some of the most important gear you’ll carry, both in regards to its importance on the trail, and includes the most expensive and usually heaviest items where the most weight can be saved. In this guide, we’ll look at the b
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Trips

Biking Going to the Sun Road 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

0
Gear

Best Backpacking Pots & Camp Cookware Selection Guide

Performing a few simple yet vital tasks, our choice of a backpacking pot is one item that the rest of our cooking gear will frequently revolve around, especially if you like to pack your entire cooking kit inside your pot. A backpacking pot serves as a vessel in which we can prepare our backcountry meals and heat or even sanitize water if needed – and despite being such a simple item it is not one easily replaced. In fact, if one were only allowed to take a few items of gear into the backco
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Trips

Bridger Wilderness Backpacking: Cartographic Correction

Sometimes even a quick day hike can provide inspiration for another quick trip or a subsequent backpacking excursion, and such was the case during a past trip and on a family day hike in the Bridger Wilderness of the southern Wind River Mountains. The plan: a simple morning in and a brief offtrail excursion to a river shown on the map, a brief afternoon of fishing, and a return to the trailhead before evening drew on too long. Summer sights in the Bridger Wilderness of Wyoming A
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

2
Trips

A 2 Night Backpacking Loop in the Wind River Range

On this trip, Ted Ehrlich drove up from Colorado and we hit the Winds for a 2 night backpacking trip over the Fourth of July Weekend. We’d originally planned a point to point hike from the Scab Creek Trailhead on the southwest side of the Winds back to Lander, but logistics were a bit of a concern as well as the driving that would take time away from a weekend Winds trip. In the end, we weren’t too fast getting ready the morning of our start day either, so we quickly scanned the map a
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

2
Reading

The Hidden Life of Trees Book Review

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben (Greystone Books, 2015) is an approachable book of bite-sized chapters explaining the mysteries of trees. Ever wondered if trees can talk to each other? How they know when to drop their leaves in the fall (and why)? That they can lower the blood pressure of hikers beneath them? Wohlleben answers all these questions – and brings up fascinating others – in this easily-digestible book that’s sure to make a tree-hugger
Isak Kvam

Isak Kvam in Reading

0
Trips

Hiking in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest

The musical theme from the 1960s Daniel Boone television show ran through my head when, as we drove across southern Kentucky, I saw signs indicating we were entering Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF). The historical Boone was not actually a big man in physical stature, but his legend, and the actual accomplishments of the Kentucky frontiersman, were sizable. Daniel Boone was a man, Yes, a big man! With an eye like an eagle And as tall as a mountain was he! In 1775, Boone blazed
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

3
Trips

Thru-Hiking (the Junior Version): The Triple Crown in Short

Recent books and movies have inspired countless hikers and potential hikers to dream about thru-hiking one of the “big three” of America’s long trails: The Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail. However, most people that attempt the feat drop off the trail before completion. A six-month commitment to a hike can become just too difficult. Countless others don’t even try; it’s just too much time away from family and the lives they’ve built. Completing all three tr
JimR

JimR in Trips

6
Gear

Backpacking Gear Lists and the T.R.I.P. Process

The gear list. It might be written on a piece of paper, typed into a spreadsheet, read from a book, or all in your head. But most of us probably have one somewhere. In its simplest form, a gear list can really help with those “I can’t believe I forgot that” moments when you’ve just hiked 20 miles from the trailhead and are setting up camp in dwindling evening light. In other forms, a list can help you identify things you really don’t need, help you reduce your pack weight, and help you identify
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Technique

Lacing Tips for Backpacking, Hiking, & Outdoor Footwear

Spring has sprung and in Colorado that means drying trails and couloirs packed with stable, hard snow. In go the ski boots and from the closet come trail shoes and mountaineering boots. Sadly, my last pair of shoes died a grizzly death at the hands (feet?) of my extra-wide pinky knuckle because I was too lazy to lace them correctly. Below are my tips on funny looking lacing for funny looking feet. My 2016 Lone Peak 2.5's – ready for the trash bin thanks to a 2" long hole. F
HikerBox

HikerBox in Technique

1
Reading

By Men or by the Earth: By Tyler Coulson

In the spring of 2011, and after leaving his life as a corporate lawyer, Tyler Coulson set off from the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware coastline to undertake a western journey across the United States with Mabel, his adopted dog and companion. Destination: Pacific Ocean. Method of travel: Foot. After 3500 miles and millions of footsteps, Tyler recounted the journey in By Men or by the Earth. Of course, there’s a deeper story to most long walks, and Tyler dives into not only the day to day exper
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Reading

0
Trips

Iceland Take Two: Hiking the Laugavegur Trail

Carpets of emerald green moss blanketing volcanic slopes; steam escaping through the earth’s crust, depositing hot water in natural pools; glaciers and colorful rhyolite mountains; lush growth in a stunted forest…the Laugavegur Trail through Iceland’s southern highlands offers a visual feast and an epic hike. I first hiked the popular thirty-four-mile trail in 2015 and had often thought of going back. The opportunity presented itself in 2022, when I learned of a new trekking route in
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

0
Trips

A Monumental Tour: Gold Butte & Grand Canyon-Parashunt

I love the wide open spaces and views of the American West. So, I arranged for another westward trek, this time to southern Nevada. My sister Melissa and I drove her Toyota 4Runner, an excellent vehicle for the narrow, rough roads on which we would be driving. We planned on going to the Buffington Pockets area, Gold Butte National Monument, both northeast of Las Vegas, and the Vermilion Cliffs in northern Arizona (the subject for another story). We added, on the fly, a visit to Grand
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

1
Gear

Best Backpacking Sleeping Bags by Temperature Rating

An important core backpacking gear item, your backpacking sleeping bag needs to be light enough to carry easily, pack small enough so as to not take over your entire pack, and most importantly keep you warm and comfortable at night. In this guide we’ll focus on the best backpacking sleeping bags currently on the market by temperature rating. As this is a backpacking focused article weight of the sleeping bag and warmth to weight ratio will be of a paramount focus here, with down bags
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Food

Backpacker's Pantry Fiesta Beef & Vegetable Bowl Review

On the trail my dinner requirements are simple: after a day of hiking and after setting up camp and filtering water for the night, I just want a meal that tastes good, doesn’t take long in the typical fading evening light, and meets some basic calorie and nutrition requirements. And all without too much clean up afterwards. With all these prerequisites in mind, freeze-dried meals can often be found in my food bag – and most of the time these meals will be a selection of staples I’ve come to find
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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