I can’t seem to pull the trigger on buying a GPS unit, but Rebecca has no such reticence. She has an in-depth collection of first impressions of the new Garmin Colorado 400t GPS unit. Among them: The 400t model includes…
Monthly Archives: February 2008
Link payback to Rocky at The Goat
by tom • February 29, 2008 • 9 Comments
If you’re a gear hound, you’re probably already one of Rocky Thompson’s devoted readers. If not, the back story: Rocky’s the guy Backcountry.com brought in to be the company’s tell-it-like-it-is gear blogger. I have no idea what they’re paying him,…
Fear of the wilderness, cont.
by tom • February 28, 2008 • 2 Comments
Steve at the WildeBeat has posted Part II of his “Scared Inside” podcasts. If you listen you’ll get the chance to hear me rambling at a pace roughly equivalent to Martin Scorsese on crack. As long as I’m on the…
Hiking boots: anybody still wearing them?
by tom • February 28, 2008 • 21 Comments
I realize this is heresy against the footwear in my blog’s logo, but a post at Uncooped the other day reminded me I ought to throw this out there and see what sticks. When I was auditioning footwear awhile back…
Mt. Huashan — the harrowing “plank” route
by tom • February 28, 2008 • 4 Comments
Remember the picture of the hiking route that consisted of planks bolted into a Chinese cliffside with chains for hand holds? Well, an industrious Web surfer tracked down a bunch more pictures and a written account by an American, who…
Boutique hiking gear makers
by tom • February 27, 2008 • 6 Comments
I’ve added a list of small companies that build cool gear way down on my right-hand rail. It’s not like this is really free advertising because these links generate about three clicks a century — they’re really just there so…
The other half dome
by tom • February 27, 2008 • 1 Comment
Rick D. says it’s in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Sokehs Rock, or Paipalap, juts out and towers over the northern extreme of Sokehs Island. About five hundred feet from base to summit, the massive basalt formation is easily…
Waterfall photography, what I learned yesterday
by tom • February 26, 2008 • 12 Comments
I’m learning something new about taking pictures of moving water pretty much every time I go out. The coolest waterfall imagery, to my mind, has a certain flow that you don’t get by setting your camera on “automatic” and hoping…
Gambolin Man at Point Reyes
by tom • February 26, 2008 • 0 Comments
Tom had a nice walk the other day from the Bear Valley Visitors Center. In all honesty, I’m totally blown away by this hike, the land that it goes through, where it ends up. Although flat and easy, and no…