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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Contributors to this blog

  • Aaron Zagrodnick 244
  • Mark Wetherington 76
  • PaulMags 27
  • Susan Dragoo 27
  • Steve Ancik 18
  • tmountainnut 12
  • David Cobb 11
  • Eric 10
  • HappyHour 9
  • jansenjournals 8
  • DustyD 7
  • Cinny Green 6
  • HikerBox 6
  • Karen Garmire 6
  • SparbaniePhoto 5
  • George Graybill 5
  • michaelswanbeck 5
  • AndreaL 5
  • Daniel Anderson Jr 5
  • Kevin DeVries 4
  • mgraw 4
  • Wired 4
  • JimG 3
  • Steven Genise 3
  • JimR 3
  • eliburakian 3
  • Adrienne Marshall 2
  • sarahtied 2
  • Jessica Smith 2
  • Doug Emory 2
  • seano 2
  • Jen 2
  • MattS 2
  • BSuess 1
  • Curry Caputo 1
  • Tucker Ballister 1
  • Allison Johnson 1
  • SarahLynne 1
  • Peter 1
  • Isak Kvam 1
  • Grace Bowie 1
  • Greg Jansky 1
  • Claire Murdough 1
  • DKim and PatriciaV 1
  • Barbara 1
  • Madeline Salocks 1
  • J. Parascandola 1
  • Ben Libbey 1
  • Tephanie H. 1
  • Adel 1
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Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Gear

Best Backpacking Utensils and Trail Cutlery Strategy

Although your local or online retailer likely carries an array of backpacking and camping utensils sure to satisfy even the most advanced culinary ideas, most of us that don't work as a chef for a living can attain backcountry mealtime prowess with the simplest of choices and without cluttering or weighing down our pack. Here are my thoughts on the main players in this department and what I've found has worked best over the years. A selection of backpacking utensils The Backpacki
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

2
Trips

Desert Escape: Backpacking Arizona's Aravaipa Canyon

While not an unknown destination by any means, Aravaipa Canyon in southern Arizona is considerably less famous, even among backpackers, than many other destinations in the Grand Canyon State. One of the few perennial streams in the Sonoran Desert, Aravaipa Creek offers those who hike in the area a reliable source of water. This is a welcome treat in arid Arizona, since many backpacking trips in the state must be carefully planned around water sources. Not only does the year-round water in the ca
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

0
Reading

Wind River Trails by Finis Mitchell

I’ve dreamed about flyfishing for golden trout in the Wind River Range ever since I picked up a flyfishing magazine when I was about 13 years old that had a short article detailing a backcountry trip in pursuit of the elusive golden trout. Even at the time I was an avid fisherman, but what I read about in that article was the polar opposite of the type of fishing and the type of outdoor experience I was familiar with. While the magazine has long been misplaced, and internet searches to track dow
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Reading

0
Gear

Review: Gossamer Gear LT5 Trekking Poles

As far as hiking gear goes, trekking poles are one of the most utilitarian and least flashy pieces of gear out there. Whereas sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, down jackets, and rain shells all seem to have copious amounts of energy and ink expended in marketing campaigns to promote them, trekking poles seem to have a much lower profile. Trekking poles can help with your hiking efficiency, and can often be used for shelter setup while backpacking as well. Trekking Poles and Backpa
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Gear

1
Trips

Hiking the Panamint Range | Death Valley National Park

Spacious silence and cool, dry air. The sun is always warm in California, even in the dead of winter. Winter time is the off season here in Death Valley National Park, but I can’t imagine why. Boasting the hottest recorded temperature on Earth, it seems funny that most of the park’s visitors come in the summer. If you want to feel some serious, otherworldly heat, then pay us a visit in July! However, if you come to explore at any other time of the year, California’s mild and pleasant weather can
michaelswanbeck

michaelswanbeck in Trips

1
Gear

Garmin InReach Mini: Battery Life with Basic Messaging

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
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Trips

Backpacking in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest

“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
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Gear

Kahtoola EXOspikes Traction System Review

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 p
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Reading

Book Review: The Carry Home by Gary Ferguson

In his beautiful and evocative memoir The Carry Home: Lessons from the American Wilderness, acclaimed travel writer Gary Ferguson breathes emotional and humane life into the Mountain West. After 25 years of marriage and as many seasons sharing a USFS ski patrol hut, Ferguson’s wife Jane passes away suddenly in a tragic canoeing accident in northern Ontario, dividing Ferguson from not only his partner and best friend, but from his identity in relation to her. In recognition of her last wishes, he
Steven Genise

Steven Genise in Reading

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Trips

Desert Gold: Backpacking in the Superstition Wilderness

Long before I’d ever shouldered a backpack for a hike into a wilderness area, I found myself intrigued by Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. As the purported location of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine, I was first exposed to the Superstitions in books about lost treasures and historical mysteries I checked out from my middle-school library. An episode of “In Search of . . .” with Leonard Nimoy that featured the legend and aired as a re-run on the History Channel further deepened my fascination. Hi
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Stough Creek Lakes Trail Overnighter: Wind River Range, Wyoming

With limited time and a good forecast, Jen & I decided on a quick overnighter for this trip close by in the Winds. It would need to be a quick trip – obligations (a bit more on that later) would have to keep us close to civilization, and on top of that we would have to work with a later start on Saturday. Our plan was to take the Stough Creek Lakes Trail into the Popo Agie Wilderness up to Roaring Fork Pass / Stough Creek Saddle, then retreat part of the way back to make camp. The
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

2
Trips

Subalpine Splendor: Hiking in the Bitterroot Mountains

With so many places to explore in Montana, it might seem a bit strange to visit the same place for a second time – much less a third time. But one lake in particular has drawn me back to it three times over the last few years. My first visit to this lake was coincidentally my first summer in Montana. My eagerness for mountain scenery led me to visiting it so early (late May) that even though it had been a mild winter, the lake was still frozen over and although the scenery was magical I wasn’t a
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

1
Trips

A Winter Refresher: Backpacking at Chief Joseph Pass

Although I did several trips on cross-country skis and snowshoes that involved camping out in the Northern Rockies in below freezing temperatures for multiple nights, the past few years my definition of “winter backpacking” has either included a US Forest Service rental cabin with a wood stove or a plane ticket to southern Arizona. I still find winter to be a beautiful time of year and I enjoy the heightened elements of the season that seem so magical, but I just hadn’t hadn’t been motivated to
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

1
Trips

Welcoming Spring in the Welcome Creek Wilderness

It is doubtful that T.S. Eliot had backpackers in mind when he wrote that “April is the cruellest month”. Literary context aside, I’ve found this observation to be unpleasantly accurate in regard to outdoor recreation in Montana. After the short days and cold nights of winter, April tantalizes eager hikers with longer days, blue skies and mild temperatures in the valleys. The skis are put away, but the trails are either too snowy or too muddy to provide much enjoyment. Conditions on most rivers,
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

0
Technique

An Ode to Hiking Maps

One thing that I seem to love are maps. When I’m not on the trail backpacking or hiking I’m most likely planning my next adventure, or when I head home from a trip I always seem to find myself staring at sets of maps to find out what the name of that peak that I saw in the distance was, or just where that other trail lead from a fork when I went right and the other trail went left. Maps at Home Usually, this results in maps spread out across the house for days – once I find out just wh
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

5
Technique

How to Use the Gaia GPS App and Trip Planning Guide

Among smartphone mapping and GPS apps, Gaia GPS is one of the most popular and one of my favorite smartphone applications for backpacking and hiking. The app is continually updated, and over time it's been one tool I've utilized to plan my backcountry trips at home and to plan out days while on the trail. The app has the ability to store what would equate to a huge stack of USGS topos right to my phone for offline use, and is free to download for iOS here, or find it for Android here.
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

2
Gear

Tarptent Interiors: Mesh and Solid Fabric Options

Tarptent offers a wide array of 1-4 person shelters that all offer a nice blend of weight and functionality, and once you’ve decided upon the best model to suit your needs one additional factor will need to be considered if you’re going with one of their double wall models (now most of their lineup) – as these models are offered with your choice of interior tent type. Mesh, solid, or partial solid interiors may be available depending on the specific model and the conditions that particular tent
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

2
Trips

Choose Your Tour: 7 Scenic Multiuse Recreation Trails

I am a photographer. I am a hiker. I am a backpacker. I am a mountain biker. Sometimes I am all of those in the same day. But most often, I am on an awesome trail and am trying to take an award-winning photo of the area. My trips are usually built around getting to an area to photograph its beauty. I am always searching for beautiful photographic exposures of scenes that not everybody has viewed, looking for vistas that excite my eyes. Sometimes hiking or backpacking is the best way to get there
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

2
Trips

Hiking the Wailau Trail: Lost in a Hawaiian Jungle

I was muddied, bloodied, and soaked, but I had reached my goal. I was standing on the rim of Wailau Valley. Just beyond my toes, the land dropped away steeply to the valley floor 3,000 feet below. Waterfalls streamed down the cliffs that surrounded this lost world as it swept away before me to the north shore of Moloka’i. It was hard to believe that 50 years ago I had descended this cliff and then hacked my way through five miles of jungle to the ocean. I must have been crazy. I was definitely l
George Graybill

George Graybill in Trips

1
Trips

Exploring an Ecosystem: Hiking a Greater Yellowstone Loop

The United States tends to protect its public lands in piecemeal fashion. Congress designates a single landform – a mountain range, coastline, or canyon – as a National Park or wilderness area, but leaves the surrounding land open to settlement and industry. As a result, an ocean of development – towns, roads, mining claims, and logging operations – surrounds a few islands of protected space. Only a few ecosystems are protected in their entirety. One such ecosystem is the Greater Yellowston
Kevin DeVries

Kevin DeVries in Trips

4
Technique

Digital vs. Paper Maps for Hiking and Backpacking

Ten years or so ago, questions about smartphones were just beginning to come up in backpacking circles. Questions like “Do you take your phone with you on the trail?” were typically asked. Some – including myself at times, saw little reason to take the extra weight and a potential distraction into the wilderness. Others simply packed theirs along so they didn’t have to leave it in their car at the trailhead where it could be stolen. However, these days you are more likely to hear questions perta
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

1
Trips

A Backpacker, a Wolf, & Wilderness: Fall in Boulder Canyon

There’s something puzzling but incredibly satisfying about arriving at an empty trailhead on a sunny Saturday morning during Labor Day weekend. While some national parks are setting records for visitation and crowded campgrounds and packed trails are the norm, I had an entire canyon in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness of Montana to myself for 24 hours. Ten miles of well-maintained trail passed through lovely coniferous forest and beside a delightful waterfall to reach four subalpine lakes. This
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

1
Gear

Sea to Summit Aeros Pillow Review: Premium & Ultralight

Now nearly a prerequisite before I head out on any backpacking trip, an ultralight backpacking pillow is an item that will add just a few ounces to your pack but might just be at the top of the list when it comes to a weight to comfort ratio. While the choices on the market are almost endless, Sea to Summit’s Aeros inflatable pillow line has become a popular choice. In this review, we’ll take a look at the Sea to Summit Aeros Premium and Aeros Ultralight backpacking pillows. Sea to Su
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

3
Trips

Along New Mexico's Cabezon Road

I have been exploring interesting and scenic areas in New Mexico for several years. Often these visits have been at the beginning or end of longer trips to places farther west, so the visits are often just a day or so – much less time than the area deserves. I am especially intrigued by the so-called “badlands” of the northwest part of the state. These badland areas include several wilderness areas, including the better-known Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. I first drove down Cabezon Road to ride my
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

1
Trips

A New Mexican Oddity: Hiking to the Paliza Goblin Colony

Even though this sounds like somewhere from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, it is indeed a place here on our Earth, in northern New Mexico. I had already planned a trip in May 2021 to see some New Mexican scenery, and this was right along the route, so I added it to the itinerary, and boy am I glad that I did! Leaving the somewhat boring highway, my hiking buddy Rod and I headed up into the Jemez Mountains where the colony is located. Climbing up higher into the hills, the scenery changed from dr
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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