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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Gear | Trips | Food | Technique | Reading

Entries in this blog

Technique

Summer Hiking: Tips & Techniques for Hot Weather Hikes

Summer is a great time to be out on the trail. The long daylight hours expand opportunities, and you can get away with lighter gear when staying warm isn’t as large of an issue during the day and at night. At the same time however, considerations such as heat, hydration, and insect protection must be considered – any one of which can quickly turn a great trip into a journey where putting one foot in front of the other becomes an exercise of sheer determination. Here are a few tips and techniques
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Technique

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Trips

Backpacking the Needles District, Canyonlands National Park

On this trip, I was able to return to Canyonlands National Park, but this time stayed on the opposite side of the river from the Maze to join up with Ted Ehrlich and Christy who drove in from Colorado to backpack through Salt Creek Canyon and the Needles. The Needles offer a near endless array of unique rock formations to find and routes to explore. Backpacking Into the Needles Our respective drives late on a Thursday night resulted in a noon-ish start from the Cathedral But
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

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Trips

Backpacking North Cascades National Park: A Smoky Trip

After the landscape itself, the memories made with companions, and the wildlife seen, the weather is usually one of the most memorable parts of a backpacking trip. Bluebird skies, sideways rain, scorching heat, unexpected inches of snow – these are often the things which come to mind when reminiscing on trips where weather was either a blessing or a curse. In much of the West, another weather phenomenon also has an outsized influence: smoke. Even if you’re hundreds of miles from an active wildfi
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Thru-Hiking the John Muir Trail: A Day in the Life

The first light of morning begins to stream over the mountains, through the tree’s canopy, and into your tent. These mornings were welcome, as seeing the sun’s morning glory while still bundled up warmly inside your tent was actually a rarity on the JMT. More often than not, however, you’re confronted with the unenviable task of rising to the dark, cold blanket that lies heavily on your campsite before the sun’s rays have the chance to lift it off. Chilly mornings thicken the blood and slow
Tucker Ballister

Tucker Ballister in Trips

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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

Curry Caputo in Trips

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Food

Backpacking Food: Core Food, Staples, & Meal Ingredients

Stay fueled. Here are some versatile items that we like to always have in our food bag to add extra calories, flavors, and variety to backcountry meals. The possibilities are endless, but by carrying these ingredients you can take any off-the-shelf backpacking meal to the next level or add calories and taste to your own creations. Dehydrated or Freeze-Dried Vegetables A great way to add flavor and variety to your meals, as well as have a few servings of veggies during the day or with d
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Food

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Trips

Hiking the Canyons & Trails of Southern Utah

Canyons are compelling for reasons I rarely consider on a conscious level. Like no other terrain they attract me with an intrigue born of curiosity and an underlying sense of danger. The potential for flash floods, snakebite, falls, and losing my way brings an edge to the experience of walking a path between walls of stone, not knowing what’s around the next bend – this is the essence of a canyon. Slot canyons compound the appeal – their narrow, sinuous heights enclose me as I probe their depths
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Gear

Best Backpacking Backpacks: From Overnight to Thru-hike

One of the big 3 of backpacking gear choices (backpack, tent or shelter, and sleeping bag), the backpacking backpack you choose will have a profound impact on your comfort during the hiking day. Your pack will also be one of the more expensive items you’ll purchase, and to get the best pack within your budget a little research will be needed as there are a myriad of packs out there on the market. In this guide, we’ll look at the best backpacking packs currently on the market based upo
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Gear

Backpacking Hydration Options: An Overview and Guide

As soon as we set foot on the trail, a way to carry one of the most essential ingredients for a successful hike – water – becomes essential. With a myriad of options available from bottles of nearly every variety to dedicated, and often complex, hydration systems on the market today, when choosing a way to carry your water while backpacking the shopping experience can become complicated quickly. What follows is an overview of options that are available for this task along with my preferences, an
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Gear

How to Choose the Best Backpacking and Hiking Backpack

No matter your approach to backpacking – ultralight, comfort light, traditional, or whatever our own unique approaches may be in the gear department, backpacking in and of itself goes hand in hand with a gear list (whether on paper or simply in our heads), making a way to carry all that stuff one of the most important gear related items we need to consider. What follows is a guide to selecting an appropriate backpack for hiking and backpacking, including an overview of features, technologies, ma
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Trips

The New Hardest Thing: The Trek to Everest Base Camp

Strong men and women are laid low by this place. Acute mountain sickness, the “Khumbu cough" (also known as the high altitude hack), gastroenteritis, the cold, the food...what makes them want to come here? What made me want to come here? Our friend Paul walks down the hall of tonight’s tea house, remarking on the sounds of hacking and coughing emitting from the guest rooms. “This place is full of crazy people.” And I can’t argue otherwise. I wondered, before I came to Nepal to hike to
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

Sawtooths & Spires: Backpacking the Sawtooth Mountains

The people of Idaho know what a gem they have in the Sawtooth Range, but few people elsewhere in the world have a clue it exists. Recently my travels took me to Stanley, Idaho which lays claim to being the gateway to the Sawtooths, and from here it’s an easy drive to numerous trailheads in the Sawtooth Range. I have photographed this mountain range many times around its periphery, but this time I wanted to backpack through the heart of these mountains. With the help of a shuttle, who would shutt
David Cobb

David Cobb in Trips

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Trips

Hiking and Exploring the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma

Oklahoma is generally not high on most lists of hiking destinations. Common perceptions of the state are rooted in the Dust Bowl: flat, arid plains; dust storms; and a generally inhospitable place to live. Much of Oklahoma still fits this bill, though it is less arid than expected, and the farms and ranches are productive again. It does not seem like the place for hikers to go in search of interesting terrain, wilderness and beauty. Emerging from the unyielding flatness of the Oklahoma plains, t
BSuess

BSuess in Trips

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Trips

A Spring Hike on the Buffalo River Trail of Arkansas

A cool, rainy weekend in early April provides the perfect backdrop for a hike on Arkansas’ Buffalo River Trail. Moist spring weather in the Ozarks means the lush hardwood and pine forest is bursting with wildflowers, ferns and all manner of growth, keeping hikers engaged in identifying each plant and marveling over the delicate and diverse shapes and intense colors. Cloudy, humid weather intensifies the deep, vernal greens enveloping the trail, and likewise accentuates the rainbow shades of coun
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

Waterfall Hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

The White Mountains in New Hampshire are renowned for having the best hiking east of the Mississippi River. Treeline in New Hampshire is around 4,000 feet, and there are forty-eight mountains in the state that rise above this level. Most people have heard of Mt. Washington, infamous for the “worst weather in the world” and mountain climbers of all levels train in the Whites for major expeditions. In addition to the beautiful peaks however, there are a ton of small and large waterfalls throu
eliburakian

eliburakian in Trips

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Trips

Backpacking Royal Basin in Olympic National Park

I stood, breathless and exhausted, on the top of the divide, looking down at the pristine and untrailed cirque that lay ahead. My route bared before me, for a moment continuing on across the three passes that lay ahead seemed achievable. Then my eyes lifted to the glaciated massif of 7,600-foot Mount Mystery on the opposite wall of the basin, and my shaking legs sent an unmistakable message: I would make it no further. Olympic National Park offers hikers rugged terrain and stunning vi
mgraw

mgraw in Trips

0
Trips

Backpacking Washington's Scenic Pasayten Wilderness

While much of Washington is a veritable backpacker’s paradise, its three national parks and the areas of national forest closest to the Seattle megalopolis seem to absorb the bulk of the crowds. The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, with its spectacular scenery and name-brand destinations like The Enchantments, and Mount Rainier, with its life-list Wonderland Trail, deservedly draw hordes of eager backpackers. But for those willing to travel a bit further east, incredible backpacking and ample opportunit
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Gear

Ruffwear Approach Dog Pack: A 15 Year Review

While bringing along man’s best friend on our backcountry adventures comes with many advantages, especially when backpacking it also comes with an extra set of dog-specific gear. Dog food, a section of foam pad, dog jackets, bowls, leashes, and perhaps even a sleeping bag for your dog all serve to increase the weight carried. The solution of course is to have the dog carry some of their own gear or other gear to help offset some of the weight – most importantly of course without overloading the
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Trips

John Muir Trail Tips and Hiking Guide

Some years ago I was eating breakfast with my wife, Lyn, at the Vermillion Valley Resort when a group of unusual looking people sat down at an adjacent table. They were wiry and weather beaten and gave off a raised-by-wolves vibe. They proceeded to eat enormous platters of food, which they washed down with beer. They turned out to be thru hikers from the nearby John Muir Trail (JMT). After they told us a little about their trip, I said to my wife, “I want to do that! – or, at least, I want to lo
George Graybill

George Graybill in Trips

4
Gear

Choosing the Best Backpacking & Hiking Shoes or Boots

Both a prerequisite for the enjoyment of any day hike and critical for the success of any extended backpacking trip, our choice of a hiking shoe or boot is one of the most important gear related choices to make and dial in prior to any outdoor excursion. Not only does the best hiking boot or shoe depend on fit and our own individual preference, but the best options will also vary widely by season – although many options can also be workable across more than one season, or even with a few caveats
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Trips

Luna Peak: Hiking the Heart of the Wild North Cascades

The Cascades have a reputation for long and brushy approaches, and the Pickets, a subrange in far northern Washington, have a particularly bad reputation in both respects. Even after escaping the dense vegetation, reaching many of the summits would feature more technical climbing than hiking. Together, these two factors have deterred most hikers from even contemplating a trip to this rugged and scenic area. The Pickets' reputation is not entirely deserved: Whatcom Peak at the far nort
seano

seano in Trips

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Gear

Nalgene Ultralite - Best Backpacking Water Bottle Ever?

When hitting the store for a backpacking water bottle we may be inclined to at first reach for our favorite color bottle or the bottle featuring the most appealing printed design on the side. While there’s nothing wrong with that when it comes to having a water bottle around the house or at work, when it comes to choosing a hiking or backpacking water bottle other performance factors should be considered. With weight being paramount in the backcountry, the prototypical standard, Tritan Nalgene b
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

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Gear

Hiking and Backpacking Jargon: Headlamp Lumens (Light)

Lumens are a unit of measurement used to determine the total amount of visible light emitted from a source. In the backpacking and hiking world, you can use the lumen value to compare the amount of lighting you’ll get from various nighttime illumination sources such as a headlamp. Lumen Considerations / How Many Lumens Higher lumen values typically come at the cost of shorter runtimes and decreased battery life. Brighter lights are also generally heavier and more expensive. For general
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Gear

Backpacking & Hiking Jargon: Piezo Igniter (Stoves)

A piezo igniter is a push-button stove ignition system that is often integrated directly onto upright canister stoves for convenience and ease of use. The system works via use of a striker that hits a piezo-electric crystal, which generates electricity even when slightly deformed. When the ignition button is pushed the resulting electrical charge generates a spark. With the integrated ignition system there’s no need to hunt down your lighter or use matches – simply open your stove’s g
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Gear

0
Trips

Section Hiking and Backpacking Along the Ouachita Trail

I hear the wind approaching as it moves up the ridge. No other sound breaks the night's long silence, not even the rustle of a possum in the undergrowth. It is early autumn in a year of drought; perhaps the lack of water at this elevation keeps the critters away, which suits me fine. We took care to hang the bear bag high off the ground, regardless. Why tempt fate? I drift off, awakening later to an unmistakable sound a few feet away. Zzip! Opens the tent. Zzip! Closes the tent. It is Mary,
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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