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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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  • Aaron Zagrodnick 238
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Entries in this blog

Trips

Dayhikes in Harriman and Bear Mountain State Park

Living in New Jersey, I’ve hiked all over my state: from the northwest region of the Water Gap, to the New Jersey Highlands (and their frequent view of New York City), to the majesty of the Pine Barrens in the south. I have made infrequent forays into the bordering states of Pennsylvania and New York, hiking a trail or two in both Harriman and Bear Mountain State parks. This past Fall, looking for something a little higher, different scenery, and a little bigger, I decided to explore both Harrim
Greg Jansky

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Trips

Backpacking in Bears Ears: Canyon Contemplation

In 1943 and after years of fruitless political wrangling, President Franklin D. Roosevelt finally used his unilateral authority under the Antiquities Act to establish Jackson Hole National Monument. The state challenged the monument declaration in court. Ranchers drove cattle across the Monument in direct defiance of Federal authority. On one side, there were accusations about rich outsiders interfering in local matters. On the other side, conservationists launched a campaign to convince the pub
Kevin DeVries

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Trips

Hiking in Winter: A Yearly Gift & Reflection on a Season

Unique among the seasons, winter wields the power to make many hiking destinations inaccessible. Roads are gated due to snow, mountain passes become snowbound and hazardous, and specific four-season gear is required in many regions for those venturing out in the winter months. Human-powered recreation is mostly left to snowshoers, skiers, snowboarders, and winter is also a good time to focus on cleaning gear, summer trip planning, fitness routines, racking up vacation time, and other hobbies. Ge
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Bryce Canyon National Park: A Quick Hiking Guide

Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah is a popular park and for good reason – its stunning rock spire formations (hoodoos) and the Bryce Amphitheater that can be seen from the canyon rim provide amazing views for those that visit. When it comes to hiking in Bryce Canyon, various trails provide a means for visitors to experience the canyon close up, while getting some good exercise and can offer a bit more solitude than the rim as well, if the timing is right. Bryce Canyon hoodoo
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

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Trips

Hiking & Exploring The Great Plains: Overlooked Wildness

The Great American Desert. The flyover territory. Flat. Boring. Uninspiring. All names or descriptions given to an area of North America that is five-hundred miles wide and two-thousand miles long. This area is The Great Plains. The Great Plains are arguably the most American of all landscapes. What people over the world often conjure up when the American West is thought about. The wide open spaces, the vast landscape and the sky above. Seemingly limitless. Extending forever. The Grea
PaulMags

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Trips

Backpacking in the Porcupine Mountains: A Quick Guide

If you're in the Midwest, the Porcupine Mountains might be your #1 go to backpacking destination. Scenic views abound and old growth forests dominate the interior. Head to the north side of the park and you'll find yourself greeted with the pristine and beautiful waters of the world’s largest freshwater lake. For an excellent day hike, park at the Lake of the Clouds overlook and explore the Escarpment Trail (amazing views). If a great view of the lake and a shoreline jaunt better suit
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

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Trips

A Manistee River Trail Hike: Manistee National Forest

After a weekend hike on the Manistee River Trail loop, we were left with an interesting impression. While not a true wilderness experience, the trail has a unique feel that only the Michigan backwoods seem to offer. Quiet and remote, hiking the trail feels a bit like travelling back in time. The map shows that several roads will be crossed, but none are paved or graveled. Most are nothing more than wide, almost forgotten paths through the forest that see little use. It feels as though you’re wal
Aaron Zagrodnick

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Trips

The Pacific Crest Trail: A Thru-hiking Journey

“Give me a hug man!” I said to my friend Tommy, “Walkie Talkie,” as we reached Monument 78, the northern terminus and finish line for a northbound Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker. Walkie was only about 20 yards in front of us. My friend Kayla, “8 Track,” was directly in front of me. We checked the maps at the last water source and knew we only had five miles to go. It started pouring with rain, slowing our progress. The three of us were dead quiet. You could hear every drop of rain. An hour and a
jansenjournals

jansenjournals in Trips

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Trips

Hiking, Backpacking, & Exploring Enchanted New Mexico

In the “must see” places of the outdoors, certain areas seem to garner the most publicity. All names that are found in glossy photos for post cards, magazines or coffee table books. Destinations any backpacker would love to, and should, see at some point. Places to be added to their memories and experiences of where they have spent time in the outdoors. But among these places cataloged, discussed and portrayed in glossy photos is a place of deep canyons, ancient Puebloan sites, high a
PaulMags

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Trips

Backpacking the Elusive Eagle Rock Loop of Arkansas

I wince with every step as I cross the river. Bare feet had seemed like a good idea. But now, after too many crossings to count, my soles feel the pain. I grip my trekking poles for stability against the current and tread cautiously on the slick stones, picking my way to the other side. The river glitters in the late afternoon sun. Jessica and Shay are already on the opposite bank, searching for yellow blazes. Before attempting this crossing, we had bushwhacked away from the last vestiges o
Susan Dragoo

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Trips

Hiking Maine's 100-Mile Wilderness | Appalachian Trail

I’m no stranger to a new challenge. Two years ago, after two decades as a carpenter and building contractor, I took a chance and changed my life. Though sawdust runs in my veins and I’ve always imagined myself as a builder to the end, the only other profession I thought I might like is teaching. In October 2019 that notion became reality when I became an instructor in the Building Construction Technology Program at a local Community College. That’s when the challenge began. The idea of teac
Curry Caputo

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Trips

The Million Steps: Backpacking the Colorado Trail

A long hike is more than a short hike extended. At nearly 500 miles long, it takes a million steps to get from Denver to Durango on the Colorado Trail. A million is, by just about anyone's reckoning, a large number. And that means that long hikes are subject to the Law of Large Numbers: anything that is not impossible is inevitable. Hike long enough and you will see beauty on a grand scale as well as many tiny ones, experience freakish weather, fall down, get lost on an easily-followed route, se
HappyHour

HappyHour in Trips

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Trips

Backpacking in Kluane National Park: A Remote Yukon Hike

Canada. The Yukon: it’s almost synonymous with adventure. And exploring the glaciated terrain of Kluane National Park on foot is an exercise in adventure any way you go about it. Just a few miles into our trip, the trail we’d been following quickly dispersed into a vast valley that I am certain some countries could fit into. The trail of your choosing was the only real path through the snaking mud pits of the low and glaciated brown river. The river which, I assumed in spring, covered our walkwa
jansenjournals

jansenjournals in Trips

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Trips

Backpacking Across Zion National Park: A Desert Traverse

I smiled as the white sprinter van disappeared down the road, leaving me with only one way home, the trail in front of me. Months of planning and waiting had finally come to an end as I started down the dirt path with my friend Jon. Jon had flown out to Colorado 18 hours earlier, and had driven through the night with me to southwest Utah. This trip had been 3 years in the making; ever since I had seen the Kolob Canyons of West Zion in May, 2009 and decided I must come back. Ahead of m
tmountainnut

tmountainnut in Trips

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Trips

The Torres del Paine O Circuit: An 8 Day Hike in Chile

If you’re an avid backpacker, and you have ever thought about doing a trip in South America, you’ve doubtlessly heard of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. And even if you haven’t, you would recognize some of the sights from magazines, books, and television. Within the park, there are many backpacking options but most travelers do either the “W” circuit which visits a number of the main sights on the southern portion of the main geologic feature of the park, the Cordillera Paine, while the
eliburakian

eliburakian in Trips

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Trips

The Lost Girls Ride Again: Hiking the Ouachita Trail

The rock looms large in my headlamp as I stand, trying to gather both my wits and my hiking poles. The sun is long gone, and we are hiking in the dark along the ridge of Fourche Mountain, searching for a flat place to pitch six tents. The guidebook says there is good camping somewhere up ahead, but we’re desperate to stop and in this blackness can see very little beyond the trail’s edge. We are section-hiking the Ouachita Trail, a 223-mile national recreation trail running west to eas
Susan Dragoo

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Trips

Hiking Algonquin Peak in the Adirondacks of New York

Algonquin Peak, the second highest peak in New York, lies within the confines of the Adirondacks. She’s the crown jewel of the MacIntyre Range standing at 5,114 feet, dwarfing all but one peak around her. My husband Nick and I had the privilege of hiking Mount Marcy (the highest peak in NY) and Algonquin a few years ago. Mount Marcy left me with tendinitis in my knees while Algonquin was more forgiving. We have be pining to get back ever since. On a recent weekend, Nick and I found ourselves wit
sarahtied

sarahtied in Trips

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Trips

Hiking Mount Monroe: White Mountains, New Hampshire

For a long time, just thinking about climbing Mount Washington gave me chills and made me nauseous. A few years ago, Nick and I were in the White Mountains of New Hampshire for the first time. Reaching the top of Mount Washington (whether by car, foot, or railway) is a must do. It is the highest peak in New Hampshire and the highest in the Northeast. It is known as the “Home of the World’s Worst Weather” due to the convergence of three different weather systems at its peak. Clear summits are few
sarahtied

sarahtied in Trips

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Trips

The Canadian Rockies: Day Hikes in Jasper National Park

Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks are a great location for hiking, and attract millions of visitors every year. At 10,878 km² (4,200 sq. mi.) Jasper is one of the largest, but Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks are also part of the network as is Mt. Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia and Waterton in Southern Alberta. Much of the traffic tends to go to the commercial hub of Banff, leaving the rest for hikers and others who enjoy the wilderness. But my philosophy has always bee
Peter

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Trips

Hiking the Donjek (Dän Zhùr) Route: Kluane National Park

The opposite bank is tantalizingly close, just a couple of meters away. In fact, it would be fewer than 10 paces on solid ground. Instead, we can only gaze longingly across the un-crossable, raging river that stands between us and the next section of our route. We are stuck on the west bank of the Duke River. It’s a crushing defeat. On a normal hike, this would be a mild inconvenience, but we are on day six of a backpacking epic that is far from normal. View of a scenic upland section
DKim and PatriciaV

DKim and PatriciaV in Trips

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Trips

Hiking & Camping in Goblin Valley State Park Utah

Located a solid 102 miles from the tourist base at Moab, Goblin Valley gives quiet respite from all things civilized. First discovered by cowboys roaming the range in search of lost cattle, this geological playground was designated as a state park as recent as 1964. Originally the site was known as Mushroom Valley, the name inspired by the comically organic appearance that the rock formations take. Since then, the title of Goblin Valley was added, giving the park an otherworldly name
Jessica Smith

Jessica Smith in Trips

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Trips

The Pyrenean Haute Route & GR5: Hiking through France

When I mention hiking in France, it tends to illicit an immediate reaction of assumptions and misconceptions. The comments tend to address the validity of long distance hiking in Europe compared to what most Americans have experienced in the United States. The most common comments include, “Is there real backpacking in France?” “Isn’t it all road walking and overcrowded hostels?” “You need a lot of money to hike out there.” “You know camping is prohibited out there.” “Are there even mountains ou
Wired

Wired in Trips

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Trips

Thru-Hiking the Colorado Trail as a Family

In 1996, when I was 22, my boyfriend, Curry, and I set off on the 471-mile Colorado Trail. Over nine grueling, awe-inspiring, and life-changing weeks, we hiked most of the way from Denver to Durango, only to be snowed out 60 miles before the finish by an October blizzard. Three years later, we returned to hike the final segment on our honeymoon. In 2016, exactly twenty years after we started that first CT hike, we hiked it again, this time with our three sons: Milo, age 15, and the twins, Z
AndreaL

AndreaL in Trips

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Trips

Sandstone Paradise: Hiking to the Wave in Arizona

Winning the lottery. Enduring 108 degree desert heat. Taking in the most amazing sandstone formation on the planet. What do all of these seemingly unrelated experiences have in common? A hike to the Wave. The Wave or more officially, North Coyote Buttes, is an almost mythical place that has captured the imagination of hikers and photographers from around the world. Impossible to describe with words, the Wave really has to be experienced and photographed to be fully understood. As a landscape pho
DustyD

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Trips

Backpacking Kungsleden: Jewel of the Swedish Arctic

If there is such a thing as a backpacker’s paradise then look no further than the Kungsleden, Sweden’s Royal Trail above the Arctic Circle near the border of Norway. If you can hike just one section of the 240-mile long trail, start with the world-class hike between Nikkaluokta and Abisko. Imagine wide Arctic valleys, stunning northern lights, reindeer, and, if you go in September, incredible fall colors covering the landscape. The 80-mile hike from Nikkaluokta to Abisko can work for all skill l
DustyD

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