One of the New West writers recounts a hike with her month-old baby. This was my favorite part. Nursing in the Woods: Not as Freaky as Anticipated The kid was going to need to eat a few times along our…
Hiking
Playing well with others
by tmangan • July 18, 2006 • 3 Comments
The worrywarts tell us: never hike alone, but pretty much all of us do it probably most of the time, because it’s so much easier to just find your way to a trailhead and start walking than it is to…
Trail compatibility
by tmangan • July 3, 2006 • 1 Comment
The managing editor of New West talks about how hikes become dates when people live near cool trails. It’s true that around here, how two people work together while hiking, biking or kayaking can be a big indicator of the…
Why synthetic clothing reeks to high heaven
by tmangan • July 3, 2006 • 1 Comment
I came home from yesterday’s 12-miler with a stench somewhere between county landfill and EPA Superfund site. This morning I was wondering how a single day-hike could be so malodorous, so I did some googling and found this page explaining…
Avoiding trailhead break-ins
by tmangan • June 29, 2006 • 1 Comment
Andrew Engleson of the Washington Trail Association sent me a link to these tips: Don’t leave anything of value in your car. Period. Bring your wallet with you. Leave the laptop at home. Open your glove compartment and empty it.…
What’s your most versatile piece of gear?
by tmangan • June 27, 2006 • 4 Comments
You never know what you’ll end up getting the most use out of till you start, well using it. When I first started hiking I found I always wanted a soft seat when breaking for lunch, so I picked up…
Made in Japan: Mt. Fuji
by tmangan • June 23, 2006 • 0 Comments
July and August are prime climbing season for hiking to the top of Mt. Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain. From Wikitravel.org: The thing to do on Mt. Fuji is, of course, to climb it, preferably overnight so you can reach the…
Boot basics
by tmangan • June 19, 2006 • 1 Comment
St. Louis Post Dispatch has a how-to on buying hiking boots. “We start with the socks,” says Bono. “First thing we ask is how are your socked feet? Cold and clammy? Hot and sweaty?” After they set you up with…
Caution: more geer geekery
by tmangan • June 19, 2006 • 3 Comments
Last time I went backpacking, I poked around for an hour looking for a campsite that might have ground soft enough to get a good night’s sleep upon. Such places were available, but only by trudging throug hip-deep, tick-infested grass.…