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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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  • Aaron Zagrodnick 248
  • Mark Wetherington 76
  • PaulMags 27
  • Susan Dragoo 27
  • Steve Ancik 18
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Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Trips

Backpacking the Highline Trail: A Utah High Country Hike

5am – July 4th 2013 – “What am I doing?” pops into my head before getting a few hours of sleep. The previous night entailed 8 hours of driving to shuttle my car to the end of Forest Road 43 in the middle of nowhere. After leaving it in darkness on the far eastern slope of the Uinta Mountain Range, we switched cars and drove another five hours to reach our destination. My GPS showed that I was over 55 miles away from where we had left the car, but I knew the trek to get there would be closer to 8
tmountainnut

tmountainnut in Trips

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Food

Sweet & Savory Noodles with Broccoli Backpacking Recipe

In my book, a good trail meal needs to taste great and pack in needed calories and nutrition, without being overly complex or time consuming to make on the trail. With dinner frequently being fit in just as the light begins to fade and with tired legs, I often want to jump in the sleeping bag sooner rather than later, but still want a great meal. This one takes a little prep at home and just a little specialty shopping before the hike, but is still ready in minutes on your trip and tastes great.
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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Reading

In Praise of Guidebooks: Time-tested, Hiker Approved

While guidebooks lack the high-resolution pictures and crowd-sourced content about trails found in the digital world, they offer hikers information in a tangible, time-tested format that makes them a pleasure to use. Flipping through a guidebook and being inspired to plan trips to a new area is like unwrapping a gift that keeps on giving. Turning the pages on a years old, dog-eared guidebook where I’ve done most of the trips and made notes in the margin is a great way to take a trip down memory
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Reading

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Trips

New Heights: Hiking the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas

Conquering each state’s high point could take a lifetime and, unfortunately, I didn’t start peak bagging soon enough to expect to claim all fifty. But I’ve acquired a small handful – that of my home state of Oklahoma (Black Mesa, 4,973 feet of elevation) and neighboring states Arkansas (Mount Magazine, 2,753 feet) and New Mexico (Wheeler Peak, 13,167 feet). Being right next door, Texas was a logical next step. Texas being Texas, however, it’s a very long drive from central Oklahoma to
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

Magnificent Solitude: Hiking in Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park – the key word here is Big – so big, in fact, that the park is home to thousands of species of plants, animals, and insects, and is so large that it contains an entire mountain range! The park is also quite a ways away from major cities, being in far southwestern Texas up against the Rio Grande River and just across from Mexico, allowing it to be a dark sky location. Ocotillo and Sunset on the Sierra del Carmen Range in Big Bend The Chisos Mountains dominat
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

The Great Divide Trail: Thru-Hiking the Canadian Rockies

The Great Divide Trail in the Canadian Rockies is the stuff dreams are made of. Remote grand mountainous wilderness, picturesque scenery, a level of solitude that’s rare to find these days, and that hint of anticipation and suspense that comes with hiking through grizzly country. There is definitely an intimidation factor that comes with hiking in the lesser traveled Canadian Rockies, but the secret is out, and the GDT is gradually becoming one of the most destined thru-hikes in the world.
Wired

Wired in Trips

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Food

Spicy Squash Soup with Crispy Lamb Backpacking Recipe

For those of you who live in areas where you can camp year-round – or those of you intrepid enough to dig snow caves and hunker down, this squash soup makes a rich seasonal meal that’s spicy enough to heat you from the inside. The topping of crispy lamb with cumin and sunflower seeds adds a taste sensation bold as a winter camper. Soup “bark” is dehydrated pureed soup. The liquid is poured on solid trays then dehydrated until crisp (see dehydrating your own backpacking meals). It often tast
Cinny Green

Cinny Green in Food

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Food

Curried Chicken Ramen Noodles Backpacking Recipe

For cold weather backpacking, nothing hits the spot quite like a soup. The broth heats up a person from the inside and is welcoming. And if the dish is on the spicy side? Even a little more heat to warm those winter or even early spring nights. Here is a meal that is quick to make, fills the belly and has a bit of heat to keep a person warm during cool weather backpacking trips. This recipe takes ramen noodles to the next level, and especially hits the spot on cold weather backpacking
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Trips

Waiting for Daylight: Hiking the Ozark Highlands Trail

Nights are long on the trail in late October. The sun sets early and there we are in camp, 13 hours of darkness ahead. The camp fire – if we build one – provides amusement for only so long, and after hiking together all day there is little left for the four of us to talk about. We try to stretch the evening all the way to 8 o'clock but typically give up and retire to our tents by 7:30. Once inside my MSR Hubba, I use the light of my headlamp to review what the trail guide says about the miles we
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

The Grand Canyon: Hiking the Hermit Trail Rim to River

Reasoning that I’m not getting any younger, I decided recently that the Grand Canyon was something I needed to do before I no longer could. Such a decision, by its very nature, triggers some urgency. And “doing the Grand Canyon” meant, for me, a rim-to-rim hike. But as I began to navigate Grand Canyon National Park’s backcountry permit system, I realized that actually hiking the hike might not be the hardest part. Obtaining the necessary permit for camping within the canyon on a multi-night
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

Hiking the Escalante of Southern Utah: Colors & Canyons

It’s a land of seemingly infinite slickrock and canyons, anchored by the Escalante River and its tributaries. The landscape’s intense colors are dominated by red and ivory sandstone and accented by brilliant green cottonwoods and willows along the waterways. In the deep slot canyons, the reds take on shades unimagined…maroon, purple, and indigo. Easy it’s not. Exceptional, it is, and worth every ounce of effort for the experience. Within the massive Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

A Monumental Tour: Gold Butte & Grand Canyon-Parashant

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

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Trips

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Shoulder Season

In backpacking circles, shoulder season refers to the time of season between the full peak (summer) and off season (winter) hiking periods. Shoulder season timing varies by region. In the fall, warm care-free summer days are gone and likely replaced by crisp, but often pleasant shorter days with nighttime temperatures calling for that warmer sleeping bag you may have stashed away for the summer. Sudden cold snaps aren’t uncommon, and in many parts of the country, you can encounter significant sn
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

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Food

Garam Masala Beef Jerky with Lentils Backpacking Recipe

Strips of jerky make delicious snacks as well as fabulous stews. Jerky is remarkably simple to create: slice, marinade, and dehydrate strips of meat. The key to texture is in the cut of meat and thickness, and the key to flavor is the marinade. In Backpackers’ Ultra Food I have several marinade recipes that are designed to compliment certain ethnic dishes, such as curry and Mexican spice. Each jerky can be adapted to more specific tastes. More or less spicy; different dishes; crispy or chewy. Ho
Cinny Green

Cinny Green in Food

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Food

Savory Breakfast Potatoes Backpacking Recipe

Unplanned happenstances often create some happy discoveries. I made a quick and easy breakfast on one trip. Wanting a quick meal at the end of a five-day excursion, I just had some odds and ends in the camp box. I took some leftover mashed potato flakes, some cheese, milk, butter and mixed them together with a can of green chile. As I ate my quick dish, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. The dish was a heartier and a more savory version of grits or polenta. And it seemed
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Trips

Backpacking and Hiking Jargon: Permits and Passes

When the caveat “but you’ll need a permit” follows a glowing recommendation for a backpacking trip, or is noted in a guidebook description or online trip report, what it actually means can vary significantly. In this article we'll detail the types of permits and passes that are typically required in National Parks, National Forests, and in other management areas where your next hiking trip may take you. Hiking & Backpacking Permits & Passes Explained For some trips, like backpa
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Technique

Mountain Pass Terminology: Backpacking & Hiking Jargon

Humans have long sought routes through mountains for travel, trade, and warfare. Archaeologists recently unearthed evidence that suggests that in 218 B.C., Hannibal and his army crossed the Alps at a pass now called Col de Traversette. While we're less likely to travel with 30,000 soldiers, 37 elephants, and 15,000 horses and mules these days, we still seek low spots when moving through mountains. Mountain Pass in the Rockies Passes and Saddles In simplest terms, a pass is t
AndreaL

AndreaL in Technique

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Food

Southwest Style Backpacking Pudding Recipe

New Mexico is called the “Land of Enchantment” for several reasons. The natural beauty is as striking as anything found in Rockies or the Southwest. The history is deep. And an intoxicating blend of different cultures greets any traveler through this land. Another enchanting aspect of New Mexico? The food. And what delicious food there is to be had for any hungry outdoors person post-trip. Hatch chiles are delectable. Mole sauces delight the palate. And fresh sopapillas warm from the oven with f
PaulMags

PaulMags in Food

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Technique

Backpacking & Hiking Trail Tip: Navigation by Elevation

While wilderness navigation is comprised of many techniques that could range from terrain association to triangulation to utilizing a GPS enabled device, normally navigation will involve multiple techniques that when used together, help us keep track of our current location throughout the day and keep us on track as we move towards our backcountry destination of choice. One technique that can be utilized and that’s especially helpful in mountainous terrain is adding altitude into the equation. B
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Trips

Hiking the West Coast Trail of Vancouver Island

As my son and I took the mandatory trail class by Parks Canada we were warned of many things that one might encounter. Along the shore there were the tides that can block beach routes and river crossings, fast changing surge channels that were responsible for the only death documented on the trail, and the remote possibility of a tsunami. Along the West Coast Trail, time and logistics turns more by a maritime clock, whether by tide or ferry. The trail itself owes its creation to the sea, in
JimG

JimG in Trips

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Technique

How to Choose the Best Wilderness Backpacking Campsite

If your next trip is taking you to a popular trail in a National Park or areas where campsites are available by obtaining a permit and making a backcountry reservation, often times there will be little to decide upon when it comes to choosing a campsite; if designated sites are all that’s available most of the deciding has already been done for you. When exploring more remote wilderness areas and in all areas where dispersed or zone camping is allowed or all that’s available however, when choosi
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

1
Technique

Hiking Blister Prevention, Treatment, and Care

Blisters are a very common hiking injury. Blisters can cause a trip to become very uncomfortable, and in worse case scenarios they can slow you down significantly causing unintended consequences. I find a small first aid kit with a few specific items and some practice will eliminate most foot issues, and will quickly alleviate small problems before the blisters and related problems get big. Preventing blisters from happening is the first step when it comes to backpacking and hiking bl
tmountainnut

tmountainnut in Technique

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Trips

Hiking Buckskin Gulch: A Trip Report and Guide

During an April trip several years ago, Ted Ehrlich and I spent a few days hiking and camping in southern Utah – one highlight of that trip had to be our hike through Buckskin Gulch, one of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the world. With a snowy drive through Wyoming and then a whiteout in Colorado, the drive wasn’t a fast one and I met Ted at a deserted trailhead near Grand Junction around 10pm. From here we’d carpool into Utah. We drove west in the night, eventually moving past the sno
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

5
Trips

Hiking, Biking, and Climbing to Three Fingers Lookout

We had been warned that the Three Fingers Lookout wasn’t for the faint of heart. But that didn’t take away from the shock of first seeing it. The hut was just a speck in the distance, perched precariously on a jagged spire of rock rising up above a crevasse-riddled glacier and a low sea of clouds. From our vantage, it seemed impossible that the wooden hut could balance there for another night, let alone that there would be a passable trail to reach it. My partner, Emily, and I had got
mgraw

mgraw in Trips

2
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

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

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