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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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  • Aaron Zagrodnick 239
  • Mark Wetherington 76
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Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Technique

How to Photograph the Slot Canyons of the Southwest

Imagine hiking through a dark and narrow slot canyon. So narrow that you’re moving sideways as your chest and shoulder blades are touching the canyon walls as you go. Just around the corner you can see a glow that looks like molten lava pouring down the wall. That’s what the slot canyons of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona can offer. Slot canyons provide some unique hiking challenges and extraordinary beauty as other worldly landscapes unfold right before your eyes. The wild colors, textures a
DustyD

DustyD in Technique

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Technique

Snow Water Equivalent (SWE): Hiking & Backpacking Jargon

Snow Water Equivalent is a measurement used to determine the total amount of water mass contained within the snowpack of a specific geographical area, usually expressed in inches of water (if the entire snowpack were to melt, this would in turn = X inches of water). SWE is a particularly useful way to measure potential spring and early summer runoff as well as a good way to predict year to year when trails will start to become free of snow. Since snow and snowpack contains a substanti
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking & Hiking Jargon: Contour Interval (Mapping)

On a topographic map, the contour interval is the physical elevation difference between each contour line, usually expressed in feet or meters. The smaller the contour interval, the more accurately landscape features and any elevation changes will be represented. Understanding contour lines and the interval when performing map and compass navigation are key skills to have, and especially useful for offtrail travel, though be aware that micro features are not always well reflected – a slope that
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking & Hiking Jargon: Topographic Map Scale

On every decent map, a map scale should be provided near the legend. Map scale can be used to determine the level of detail a map will possess and is expressed as a fraction formula, such as 1:100,000. What this means is that every 1 unit (inch, foot, etc.) is representative of 100,000 of the same unit on the ground. For example, 1 inch in this case is representative of 100,000 inches in real life. Map scale can get a bit confusing. A small scale map will have a larger fraction and a large scale
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Anatomy of a Mountain: Backpacking and Hiking Jargon

Mountains rarely conform to the version a child might draw of a simple inverted cone. Instead, they often sprawl in many directions and are rumpled with lumps and divots, like an unmade bed. The very highest of the lumps is the summit, which may be part of the humped or domed mass of mountain, or it may rest at the tip of a sharp point, in which case it's also a peak. A single mountain may have multiple peaks, but only one summit. From summits to spurs and buttresses, a mountain is ma
AndreaL

AndreaL in Technique

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Technique

Becoming a Trail Naturalist: Hiking & Observing Nature

When I first started hiking, I knew the names of only a few wild denizens of the forest: ponderosa pine, gray jay, Colorado columbine. Over the years, as I learned to identify more trees, birds, and wildflowers, I also began to see more. As I hiked down a trail, greeting familiar plants like old friends, I realized they grew among a leafy ground cover whose name I did not know. I became more attuned to small movements that drew my attention to an insect, bird, or mammal. I noticed the
AndreaL

AndreaL in Technique

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Technique

Trail Tip: Hiking in a Wintry Mix / Rain & Snow

The words “wintry mix” are horrible enough to hear if you’re just commuting to your job, but they’re even more terrible if they’re in the forecast for a backpacking trip. When a wintry mix is predicted, it often means that a backpacker will have to deal with multiple forms of precipitation – rain, sleet, snow, and perhaps even freezing rain – as the temperatures fluctuate from night to day or due to elevation during a trip. What might start off as a miserable cold rain can shift to sleet before
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Compass Declination

Declination refers to magnetic declination – the difference between true north and magnetic north. This poses a conundrum when navigating and utilizing maps, as maps are oriented to true north, but your compass needle points to magnetic north. This difference between true north and magnetic north will be listed on any decent map and can be looked up online. Magnetic declination will vary by location, and many compasses allow you to adjust for the exact declination of an area to make n
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backcountry Nordic Skiing: An Introductory Guide

It is a cold, blustery day in the Colorado backcountry. The mountains are covered in a blanket of snow. The tree branches are bending under the weight of the previous night’s snowfall. A canopy of branches is over the trail. My breath forms a cloud in the morning air. My cheeks are cold. I do not dread heading into the mountains in these conditions. I embrace them. I am about to explore the backcountry. Not plodding through the snow in boots. Or stomping down a path with snowshoes. I plan on gli
PaulMags

PaulMags in Technique

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Technique

How to Make a Quick & Easy Backcountry Snow Shelter

When hiking and backpacking in the winter, having the knowledge and preparation to easily build a snow shelter is an essential skill. Some people even prefer snow shelters over tents during the winter because they are quieter and warmer than even the best 4 season tents on the market, which can be very pricey too. Even for people that do not plan on spending any overnights in the backcountry during the winter, knowing how to quickly construct a solid snow shelter is a good skill to have in case
tmountainnut

tmountainnut in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking Trail Tip: Hot Water in a Nalgene (Sleeping)

While ultralight disposable bottles reused can make great and lightweight water containers for summer backpacking, as fall begins to make its presence known with crisp nights, the occasional dusting of snow, and with backcountry trips often featuring more extended back to back bouts with wetter weather, staying warm is at the forefront of my mind. While my efforts here focus on selecting the proper, and proper amount of, insulation across the board, sometimes nothing beats a source of warmt
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Winter Hiking & Backpacking: Keeping Water from Freezing

When temperatures never rise above freezing on a winter backpacking trip, or even for day hiking in very cold conditions your tried and true 3-season methods of carrying water may not offer the best approach. In this trail tip, we’ll take a quick look at different containers that will give you an advantage when it gets cold, as well as some other tips to keep your water in a liquid state. Storing water bottles upside down is one trick that is helpful when it comes to winter water stor
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Weather Inversion

In mountainous areas most live in the valleys and often hike in the mountains – normally a colder environment as you gain elevation. However in winter, often a surface temperature inversion will form in these areas as cold air, in contrast to the norm of temperature decreasing several degrees for every 1000 feet gained, remains trapped in the valleys, and often along with the any air pollution that may exist. Inversions are likely to happen during periods with long winter nights, calm
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Postholing (Snow)

One of the least enjoyable methods of snow travel, postholing is the usually unplanned effect of your foot falling through the outer surface of the snow and sinking to the knee or farther. The result is a deep hole in the snow as if it had been dug by a posthole digger prior to placing a post in the ground. Travel in this manner is quite difficult, requiring large amounts of energy while testing a hiker’s patience. Postholing in deep snow makes for difficult and strenuous travel.
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Terrain Association

Terrain association is a backcountry navigation process by which one can navigate and determine their position using a map, by evaluating terrain features seen on the map, and matching up what you’re seeing in the field to the map. The method when used alone can be described as “approximately precise”. By orienting yourself and the map to a specific direction – north for example – that jagged peak directly to the west, the river in the valley below, combined with the small hill on your right for
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Hiking & Backpacking During the Fall Hunting Season

Fall – a time of the year when the crisp air is enjoyed and the greens of summer are replaced with hues of orange and yellow. And, it’s also the time that we as hikers contend with hunting season. Strategies for hiking during this time range from doing nothing different at all to simply staying home, and while hunting season is a worthy pre-hike consideration, by taking a few steps and modifying our gear and routine just a bit, we can continue hiking during hunting season with a few changes to o
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking Jargon: PPPPD Definition & Food Calculation

Pounds per person per day (PPPPD) is an acronym used when determining how much food to pack on multi-day backpacking trips. By utilizing a digital scale and packing calorie-dense foods, after a little practice one can simply multiply their personal PPPPD by the number of days a trip will last, while also of course ensuring that requirements for each meal of the day are met. Usually after assembling food for a trip and weighing the lot, the PPPPD number helps save weight in your pack by making su
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Hot Weather Backpacking: Not Too Hot to Handle

In an ideal world that seems to only exist in outdoor gear catalogs, all our backpacking would take place in temperatures that are 65F during the day. Our nights would be a cool and crisp 45F or so. A few delightful sprinkles of rain would occur to add some atmosphere and perhaps a change of scenery to delight photographers. Otherwise there would be perpetually sunny skies with only a few clouds. Clouds to form interesting shapes that materialize as movie characters, castles, or butterflies in o
PaulMags

PaulMags in Technique

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Technique

The PCT Method: How to Hang Your Backpacking Food

There’s more than one way to hang a food bag – but after trying a few, I’ve come to rely on the using the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) method. The PCT method balances simplicity, speed, and effectiveness. Rather than simply tying one end of your throw line onto a nearby tree, where a bear or another hungry forest dweller could attempt to chew through the line, break the line, or cause other forms of disorder, PCT style hanging eliminates that point of failure in a quick and easy way. The
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

How to Keep Your Backpacking Sleeping Pad in Place

No matter the lengths we may go to in order to find a great campsite, when it comes to the flat and level part of the selection process I can think of only a few occasions when a chosen spot for the night was truly perfect in this regard. Most of the time in the backcountry, instead of finding a spot that is perfectly flat and level, you’ll likely end up finding one that’s flat and level enough. When you combine these types of sites with a slippery tent floor and especially when combined with sl
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Technique

Backpacking and Tenkara: Ultralight Fishing on the Trail

When I became intrigued by the trout swimming in mountain lakes in the Northern Rockies, I realized the tenkara rod gathering dust in my gear room would be a great way to test the waters before outfitting myself with a full fly rod and reel set up. Tenkara is a Japanese method of fly fishing that focuses on simplicity and forgoes a reel in favor of a longer rod length, fixed amount of line, and uses as few fly patterns as possible. Presentation, mindful casting, and technique are emphasized more
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Technique

1
Technique

The Newly Proposed 8th Leave No Trace Principle

In recent years concern has risen in some circles of the outdoor community regarding the impact that sharing hyper-specific location information can potentially have on specific outdoor places and wilderness. While this has always been a topic of discussion in the outdoor community over the years, the more recent popularity of social media has made it easier to post something like the coordinates to an obscure place, and potentially overwhelm it with visitors in a near instant time frame, at lea
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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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

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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

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