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The EXOspikes Traction System is a product from Kahtoola designed to enhance traction in wintry terrain, and is suited both for hiking and trail running. Sharing some similarities with the popular Kahtoola MICROSpikes, the product is available in multiple sizes, each fitting a range of footwear sizes. A stretchy elastomer harness fits over your footwear, and underneath you’ll find a grid of trekking pole-like metal carbide tips on the forefoot and heel – 12 on each foot to be exact. My size XL pair weighed 8.2 ounces.

The elastomer harness features tips similar to trekking poles, providing additional traction on slick surfaces.

Fit and Performance
I ordered the XL size as someone who usually wears a size 12.5 men’s trail runner or maybe a 13 boot. And I’m certainly glad I didn’t size down – the Kahtoola EXOspikes are pretty tough to get over my lightweight, mid-height boots (a couple times I have felt like I was going to rip the harness trying to get them over the heel), but are secure once on. If you wear a bulkier or winter boot in a men’s size 13 or above you might just be out of luck, as XL is the largest size offered. Without a doubt, while the EXOspikes will work on boots, the sizing guide is for trail runners.

Traction-wise the EXOspikes offer just about what you might expect. These are not aggressive spikes like the MICROSpikes and definitely are no Kahtoola K10s, so I found myself less connected to the surface beneath my feet than with those alternative and more aggressive products. But for me, the EXOspikes are a very nice to have item for non-steep mixed terrain and especially where there might be a little front country and backcountry mixed in together on your hike. Where I found the EXOspikes to perform best was in cold conditions where the snow / and or ice is firm and packed, and while the product does serve to add something of a lugged grip to the bottom of your shoe, traction is only slightly improved in loose snow, as there’s just not much bite.
Once conditions warm up and get slushy, the EXOs are not as effective. On ice, the spikes do add traction, but it feels more like added traction – kind of like having sandpaper on your feet, rather than a connection to the surface as with MICROSpikes, and I still very much appreciate trekking poles in addition to the EXOs. Additionally as you might expect from looking at the design, there isn’t much mid-foot traction.

Underfoot, the EXOspikes are very comfortable and even in trail runners, you can't really tell anything extra is on the bottom of your shoes. While I didn't notice this with boots, when wearing a trail running shoe there is enough compression in the toe area to cause some minor annoyance. Additionally when trail running on cambered trails, the EXOspikes did tend to drift out of place which isn't the most comfortable thing for your toes. You can quickly readjust, but the next time you hit a section of trail that's slanted side to side, it will happen again.
One thing to note is that just like the way trekking poles (without rubber tips) will mar rock and leave holes alongside the trail, you will want to either take the EXOspikes off when the trail clears up or be careful not to walk on rock that’s free of ice and snow. Not only will this increase the life of your EXOspikes, but more importantly it will help preserve the trail. I was impressed when reading the instructions that Kahtoola included this warning, in bold.

The EXOspikes are comfortable and nice to have on hand when winter rolls around.

Conclusion
Overall the EXOspikes fill a niche for conditions where you would be taking your MICROSpikes off and putting them back on too often due to the terrain being mixed, and when you do opt for the EXOspikes they also have the side benefit of being about half the weight. Another larger, XXL size might be beneficial to the lineup for sizing. All said, I’m definitely keeping my MICROSpikes, but the EXOs are nice to have on hand for everything from wintry walks and runs in the neighborhood (or yes, even shoveling the driveway), to trail runs, or on day hikes where you might go from icy to snowy to dirt (or even pavement) and back again.
A pair of Kahtoola EXOspikes retail for around $65. You can find them at Backcountry, at Amazon.com, and here at REI.

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 carrying our gear and camping along the way. Due to my inability to make it out of town before dawn the day of the trip, we started a bit behind schedule. I didn't arrive in Canyonlands until mid-afternoon, and as such it was a race against the light. We shook hands and immediately finalized loading our bikes, tanked up on water, and hit the road.
To the White Rim
Turning onto Shafer Trail, we were quickly chilled as we descended over 1000 feet in just a few miles, testing our brakes and our ability to stay on the road – the amazing view off to the side trying to lead your wheels toward a sheer drop at every glance. With us and the sun both descending, light faded quickly and the La Sal Mountains to the east faded from view. The rest of the day’s (or night’s) ride would be by headlamp, and we rode on past countless sheer drops off to our side, our headlamps unable to illuminate the bottom of the canyons when we tried to see where the black depths might lead. The moon rose. We continued on side by side, focused on the beams of light in front of us as the night progressed. We arrived late at our campsite – setting up the tent a quick dinner was had and we found ourselves soon asleep under a star-filled sky in the Utah backcountry.




It’s always an odd sensation arriving somewhere in the dark, then waking up the next day to have the sun reveal the true lay of the land – almost like flying from one side of the country to the other. A shock to the senses. There’s not much to say about day 2 except that we basically got on our bikes and rode for 9 hours. Eventually, we arrived at our campsite on the Green River as the sun was setting, both tired and out of water. The river didn’t look particularly appetizing, but thirst always wins. We filtered water, the water welcome but just above freezing, so cold it hurt your hands to hold your water bottle and it hurt your teeth to drink. But drink we did.



The Green River
The Ride Out
Day 3 we awoke to temps in the 20’s, our water mostly frozen. This close to the river, the sun remained hidden behind the canyon walls and likely wouldn’t illuminate our campsite until late into the morning. We were gone before that happened, back on the road, riding and walking our bikes through sand, eventually finding ourselves outside the park boundary. At an intersection, we turned right and ascended up and up switchbacks, our ride now on the final leg. Eventually we made it, and began the ride along the now straight gravel road, then the paved park entry road back to our vehicles. A tailwind turned to a headwind, hill after hill was ascended, the visitor center always somehow one more hill ahead. However, after battling the hills and wind the ride did end, and luckily I’d stashed a few gallons of water back in the truck to quench my thirst. Handshakes were again exchanged; a few celebratory pictures taken. Long drives ahead, I headed north on Highway 191, my brother turned right, each with victory in hand.

Although climbing these switchbacks required quite the effort, it was far from mundane.
Gear Selection & Considerations
This was my first time bikepacking, and overall, I found that my lightweight backpacking gear transitioned over to the task very well. I left my ULA Circuit at home, and replaced it with an REI Flash 22. This was a mistake in some respects, as the Flash 22 is so large that it tempted me to carry too much gear on my back, and even packing it full of my lightest things, after a day of riding my back was pretty sore the next day. Luckily, ibuprofen came to the rescue as I was nearly unable to ride. Next time, I’ll pack more on the bike and as little as possible on my back.
Still, the Flash 22 was definitely not large enough to carry all my gear and water, so I put as much weight as possible in 2 bags from Revelate Designs: The Pika seat bag and the Sweetroll handlebar bag. I was tempted to go with the Viscacha, which is the larger version of the Pika seat bag, but I was worried about clearance between the bag and the back tire. As it turned out, even with the Pika, I was getting interference between the bag and the rear wheel on the big bumps as the back suspension came close to bottoming out, unless the seat bag was adjusted perfectly. The problem was that after an hour of riding or so the adjustment would seem to shift and again you could hear the sound of the tire contacting the bag. Perhaps more experience with the bag could alleviate this problem. You could go with a hardtail bike on a trip like this, but we both agreed by the end of the trip that full suspension is the way to go. The road isn’t always nice and smooth by any means, and you’ll be able to go faster over the bumps with a full suspension bike, and do so more comfortably.
I wore Pearl Izumi X-ALP MTB shoes, a helmet, and gloves. Definitely go with a full-fingered glove, as all the shifting and braking will start to eat away at your fingertips if you go with fingerless gloves as I did.
I also took a repair kit in a Topeak Aero Wedge bag that I strapped to the frame of my bike, a pump I threw in the Flash 22, and other than that and the bike itself my normal backpacking gear worked fine.

A successful trip and tens of thousands of calories burned.
Need to Know
Best Time to Go
Spring and fall are your best bet to avoid the heat and the cold.
Getting There
Drive to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park outside of Moab, Utah via Highway 313. You’ll need to pay at the kiosk (or visitor center if the kiosk is unmanned) to enter. You can park at the Shafer Canyon Overlook just past the visitor center on your left, as the park asks that you don’t park at the visitor center itself due to limited parking spaces. If you’re riding White Rim clockwise as we did, ride back the way you came for just over 1.5 miles and take a right on Shafer Canyon Road to start your trip! Alternatively, you could ride counterclockwise from here, or if you have two cars you could shuttle out the road ride from the Mineral Bottom Road switchbacks (you can park at the top) back to the visitor center area. We rode the entire loop, and it’s great to say we did…but it sure felt like a long, never-ending ride back to our cars after we climbed the Mineral Bottom Road switchbacks.
Information
Obtain a permit well in advance of your trip here.
The physicality of mountain biking over 100 miles and water are probably the biggest obstacles. We packed over 24 hours of water to start the trip and then resupplied at our campsite along the Green River the 2nd evening. The Green River here is really silty, we filtered via a .1 micron filter and a carbon element, then hit it with a Steripen Adventurer Opti for good measure as well. I thought we might find water before the Green River in potholes, etc. but there was no water to be found. Technically, it’s a not a hard ride, although some sandy and steep sections may need to be walked. Physically it’s a challenge simply due to the weight of carrying gear and the distance. Keep an eye out for 4-wheel drive vehicles you'll likely encounter on the road.
Maps
You can find a pretty good map of Island in the Sky and the White Rim Road along with some additional info for free here. We took Trails Illustrated 310.

A few years ago and to follow up on a previous Utah hiking trip, Ted Ehrlich and I spent a few days backpacking in the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park. The Maze is frequently referred to as one of the most remote spots in the lower 48, and though I’m not sure how exactly it ranks on that scale, it did require some significant amounts of off-highway driving to reach.

The Maze is located in southeastern Utah, west of the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers and bordered by the both to the east. Though bordered by water on one side, water is scarce. Springs are scattered to the south and within the canyons themselves, but can’t always be relied upon. We found the plateaus completely devoid of water, and found little water when dropping into the canyons / the Maze itself.



Needless to say, views in the Maze don't disappoint.
Getting to the Trailhead
I’m no 4x4 enthusiast, so we elected to start our trip from the Golden Stairs Trailhead which avoids the roughest sections of 4 wheel drive roads in the Maze. A trail switchbacks down from this spot to the 4 wheel drive road that runs across the southern end of the area where we planned to hike, so a bit of road walking was involved. However, it’s definitely one of the best road walks I’ve ever encountered. From here we essentially route planned on the fly, including an out and back to the Chocolate Drops, a day hike loop past the Harvest Scene, and eventually made our way to the Doll House area and areas overlooking the Colorado River. If you’re carrying a lot of water like we were, the out and backs and day hike loops make things easy by allowing you to temporarily stash some of that weight, and with the way the trails / routes and the roads all seem to intersect in the Maze, many interesting routes can be devised.






The Maze is desolate country – arrive prepared and with plenty of water.
In the Maze
The country is beautiful in a unique and desolate way. It’s also a land of contrasts. The plateaus – hot, windy, and dry, rarely a bird or rabbit to be seen. But the 12,000’ + peaks of the La Sal Mountains rise in the distance with snow-capped peaks and forests rising up their sides. Plunge into the canyons of the Maze and the winds die down, the sun disappears and you can feel the water in the air – but can’t always find it. Deer tracks run through the sand and each bend brings something new, and something ancient. Sunsets never seemed to disappoint and were some the best I can ever recall seeing. Rock holds it all together in an eclectic array of constantly unique shapes and colors. It’s definitely one of those spots that keeps calling you back – I can’t seem to put the map away and shake the idea of another trip. Or maybe it's the sand I'm still shaking out of my shoes that keeps reminding me. With summer heat on the way, hopefully that return trip happens soon.





Things only get more interesting around sunset in the Maze.
Need to Know
Best Time to Go
Spring and Fall. Winter can be quite cold and access difficult due to road closures / access. Summer brings very hot hiking and everything that goes with it.
Getting There
From Green River, Utah travel on Highway 24 south for 24 miles. Near the Goblin Valley turnoff you’ll see a signed dirt road leading East. Alternatively travel north from Hanskville. Travel on this 2wd road for 46 miles to the Hans Flat Ranger Station (open daily 8 AM – 4:30 PM). Continue 12 miles (High clearance 2WD / 4WD) to the top of the Flint Trail Switchbacks. Stop here at the overlook to ensure no vehicles are ascending the switchbacks; if any are wait until they get to the top. Uphill has the right of way and passing will be quite difficult on this section. From this point the roads will be high-clearance 4WD only. Descend the Flint Trail Switchbacks, travelling 3 miles to the fork and navigating 3 hairpin, multiple point turns where a spotter will be very helpful. Once at the bottom, taking the left fork will take you to the Maze Overlook (13 miles) or to the turn off for the Golden Stairs campsite / trailhead (1 mile to the turnoff, an additional mile to the parking area).
From the base of the Flint Trail switchbacks, you can also take the right fork and drive directly to the Maze through Teapot Canyon, a much rougher route. One option is to park at the top of the Flint Trail Switchbacks and Hike in via Golden Stairs from there if you or your vehicle isn’t up for the rougher driving in the park. Trails can also be accessed via the Maze Overlook which may require some exposed climbing maneuvers / pack lowering via rope.
An alternate dirt road leads north from Highway 95 at Hite. We didn’t explore this road, but at the time of this writing it’s reported to be smoother but requires a longer drive. From this road you can access the road into the Maze through Teapot Canyon or travel to the base of the Flint Trail Switchbacks / beyond. The Park Service has listed driving times here, and we found them to be surprisingly accurate in practice.
Information
Permits start at $36 and are required for camping and backpacking in the Maze. Check the calendar to reserve a spot. If backpacking permits are full, check for 4WD site availability – the sites are quite nice. Keep in mind however that visitors staying at 4WD sites are required to pack everything out, while those with backpacking permits are required to pack out T.P. only (and all other trash, of course). Cryptobiotic soil is prevalent in the Maze, avoid traveling across it and stick to established routes or slickrock / no impact areas. Check with the Hans Flat Ranger Station for water and road conditions prior to starting your trip. The area is remote, take extra water and leave extra in your vehicle. Take a filter and always carry enough water to get back to your last known source. The Colorado River can be accessed at Spanish Bottom if needed. We carried all the water we needed in a mix of everything from gallon jugs to Nalgene Cantenes, containers from Platypus, and MSR Dromedary Bags.
Maps
We used National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map 312 and 210. Delorme's Utah Atlas and Gazetteer and this overview map can also be helpful.

“Crowded” at trailheads in national forests in Montana typically just means more cars than you can count one hand, thus providing a degree of solitude that backpackers in states like Oregon or Washington would envy. If a solo experience is what you’re after, it doesn’t take much effort to find great hikes where the chances of you being the only hiker on the trail are north of 90%. Needless to say, by and large hiking in Montana provides one with a high chance at finding solitude.

With snow hanging around at the lakes on my favorite in-state local hikes (living close to the Montana/Idaho border caused some consternation in regard to travel restrictions as I could have hiked into Idaho from many trailheads, but wasn’t allowed to do so) well into June, I was eager to find some lakes in adjacent Montana ranges that might’ve melted out sooner and would allow me to be casting dry flies to trout before July. I perused my map collection and guidebooks and finally settled on an outlying lake in the expansive Big Hole Valley. A blurb in a guidebook describing it as “a swimmable mountain lake with fine scenery and plenty of solitude…stocked with cutthroat trout and gets relatively light fishing pressure” was all the motivation I needed to take a Friday off work and make the short drive to the trailhead.
The lake didn’t fit neatly into any mountain range – it wasn’t exactly in the Pioneer Mountains, but it wasn’t really in the Beaverhead Mountains either. It was somewhat of an anomaly. Making it even more intriguing was that when I called the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest for information, no one had any trail conditions to report or had been to the lake – some had never even heard of it. Its location outside of the major developed recreation areas of the forest and its location near the boundaries of three ranger districts made it understandable for me to receive answers of “I’m not really sure about that lake, maybe try calling the other ranger district?” and rather than finding such lack of information frustrating, I found it strangely appealing. With the trail only being four miles to the lake, I figured even if it was a mess of blowdowns and indistinct tread it wouldn’t be the worst way to spend an early summer day, especially with such a nice reward at the end.

From mountain meadows to lakes and talus, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest has it all.
The Hike Begins
When I arrived at the trailhead after six miles on a dirt road, I was pleased to see I was the only car there and my good fortune continued as I had the trail and the lake to myself for my Friday/Saturday overnight trip. Even with an ample amount of deadfall to contend with on the way up, some of which I cleared using a saw I had brought along (the Forest Service had relayed they’d appreciate any help clearing the trail), I made it to the lake in just over two hours. Other than a minor navigational mishap when the trail and cairns completely disappeared after crossing a large talus field, it was an exceedingly pleasant and uneventful hike in. Many wildflowers were just beginning to peak and it was a perfect temperature for hiking. The guidebook had cautioned that the rocky basin the lake was set in would make finding a spot for a tent difficult, so I set my pack down – exercising a lot of willpower to ignore the trout rising to the surface to snatch snacks of insects – and walked around the lake in search of a spot to camp. Finding the guidebook’s description to not be an exaggeration, I gave up on the notion of a lakeside camp and expanded my search area. After I climbed a few hundred feet above the lake to a small bench in a stand of whitebark pines, I finally found a decent campsite that had a view which exceeded my expectations. I set up camp hastily and then returned to the lake to filter water and fish.

It took me less than a minute to set up my tenkara rod for fishing and in less than a minute of casting and I had a sizeable cutthroat on the line. The beginner’s luck wasn’t a fluke and I continued to catch fish every few minutes as I worked my way around the lake in the late afternoon sunshine. Before dinner, I took a break from fishing to summit the eponymous peak above the lake which was only 600 feet above my campsite. Its broad summit provided incredible views to the Pioneer Mountains, the Beaverheads, and the Anaconda-Pintlers as well as down into the Big Hole Valley.

Although the mosquitoes made my dinner a more hurried affair than I would have liked, I tend to not complain about mosquitoes too much if the fish are rising and I’m having a good time catching them. It’s when the mosquitoes are vicious and the fish are lying low that it just doesn’t seem to be fair. I fished for another hour to allow my dinner to settle, then perched back on a rock with a good view and a good book while the sun set over the lake, which didn’t seem to fully occur until 10 p.m. Summer days are long in the Northern Rockies, which allows them to be filled with all the good things in life – hiking, fishing, mountaintops, dinners, and reading and relaxing.

Beautiful mountain lake in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest
The Last Day
With no real hurry to return home the next day, I started my morning off with a brisk swim and some sunbathing. The fishing was also too good to resist and I caught several more trout – all beautiful Westslope Cutthroats over a foot long – before beginning my leisurely hike out on a trail that had fewer obstacles on it than it did the day before. My car was still the only one in the parking lot upon my return to the trailhead and other than a few cows that were grazing on the lower elevations of the trail it didn’t appear as if there had been any other visitors. Hopefully the cows appreciated the cleared trail, as I’m guessing they vastly outnumber the human travelers on this beautiful piece of public land.
Information
The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is located in southwest Montana and, as Montana's largest national forest at over 3 million acres, it contains an overwhelming amount of recreational opportunities. From cross-country skiing in the winter to backpacking, fishing, and paddling in the summer it is truly a paradise for those who enjoy human-powered recreation. Many great hikes in the forest are detailed in 100 Classic Hikes: Montana by Douglas Lorain and published by Mountaineers Books. Although none of the national forest could be considered crowded by most standards, the Pioneer and Beaverhead Mountain ranges are especially scenic and see relatively low to moderate recreational pressure. For getting to and from the trailhead and for finding obscure recreation opportunities in the area, the Montana Benchmark Recreation Atlas can be useful.

Although I’ve been a user of an InReach SE for years – which always met or exceeded my battery life expectations in the backcountry, when the InReach Mini was released – and despite its obvious advantages in the weight and size department over previous InReach devices, I had a few reservations in regards to a possible upgrade. While the weight and size factor would be a step up, custom messaging would be a downgrade – the InReach SE’s message composition already reminded me of text messaging on some of the first cell phones, and the Mini just seemed to take that back another level. In addition however, one of my larger concerns was the battery life – not only did some reviews here and there mention subpar battery life, but on paper the InReach Mini’s 1250 mAh battery has about half the capacity of my InReach SE.
Would the battery life on the Mini be sufficient? Would I have to carry a power bank in addition to the Mini on backpacking trips, negating the weight savings? Eventually the size and (potential) weight savings of the InReach Mini were hard to overlook and I decided that I’d just have to test it myself on my orginal InReach Mini (the InReach Mini 2 uses the same size battery).

While our full review of the InReach Mini details additional battery life scenarios where the device is left on and tracking utilized, my usual method of utilizing a satellite communicator when backpacking is to turn the device off during the day and night and send check in messages once a day with a possible quick back and forth custom message or two, and a message check in the morning before leaving camp. Additionally, I’ll probably update the weather forecast offered on InReach devices once or twice during a multiday trip.
The Test
My test took place over a 5 day backpacking trip that was equally clear and equally cloudy and rainy (with a little hail thrown in). Due to the more inclement weather combined with several passes that needed to be traversed along the route, I updated the weather forecast on the device several times during the trip, sent a preset check-in message daily, checked messages each morning, and also had a few short custom conversational exchanges (note: Bluetooth was turned off on the device). The result? Extremely surprising – after 5 days of this routine the device had a solid 91% battery life remaining. Additionally I’ve observed a low self-discharge on the device in the range of around 1-2% a week.

The InReach Mini offers satellite communication in a very light and small form factor, with battery life sufficient for my needs.
Conclusion
Thus, for messaging usage and to have along for SOS functionality I'd describe the battery life of the InReach Mini as excellent and capacity would be sufficient for the longest duration trips that I’d ever head out on before heading back to resupply / recharge. In fact, daily but minimal usage would require even less care in regards to battery life than I utilized and even for long trips. That said, as a “Mini” device the battery is smaller than other InReach devices and if you’ll have tracking on and like to send tracking updates frequently, it may be best to take along a backup power source or go with the larger InReach Explorer+ with its larger battery. Overall however – and for its size and weight – the battery life of the InReach Mini is more than sufficient with relatively minimal usage.
You can take a look at our full InReach Mini review here. Find the latest Mini here at REI, at Backcountry.com, and at Amazon.com.