Alum Rock Park, on San Jose’s southeastern edge, is about as fine a hiking park as you’ll find within the city limits of a town with a million people living in it. Most city parks have little need for trail…
In the news
Lost 3-year-old survived 53 hours in Missouri wilderness. How’d he do it?
by tom • May 8, 2009 • 0 Comments
I put a short account of this story in the paper the other day: 3-year-old Joshua Childers, being an inquisitive boy of his type, simply walked away from his family’s house and wasn’t found for over two days. The puzzle…
Faves, Gear
Best hiking gear brands: my faves
by tom • May 7, 2009 • 9 Comments
Who do I like? Vasque and Keen for shoes/boots. Gregory Mountain Products for backpacks. REI for backpacking tents. Columbia for pants. Wigwam for socks. MSR for stoves. I’m all about promoting the folks who build cool gear in their garages,…
Gear
Hiking staffs and medallions from Redwood City
by tom • May 7, 2009 • 2 Comments
Roy Klebe sells hiking staffs and medallions to affix to them at HikeAmerica.com. I happened upon his site this morning. Here’s the back story. In 1988, Roy Klebe discovered a long standing tradition in Europe of collecting medallions on hiking…
Gear
How to fit a Gregory backpack
by tom • May 6, 2009 • 0 Comments
Wayne Gregory, founder of Gregory Mountain Products, sheds light on getting all your straps in order on this video from the company’s blog: Notably, he recommends fitting the shoulder straps first, then snugging up the hipbelt. I’m interviewing Gregory this…
Blogs
Henry Coe Backcountry Weekend updates
by tom • May 4, 2009 • 6 Comments
OK so these accounts are from the Jurassic Era in Internet time, but I didn’t get a hike in this weekend so the least I could do is post to some other folk’s blog posts. David reports on his Henry…
Gear
Calipidder’s concise guide to bear canisters
by tom • May 3, 2009 • 0 Comments
If you’re heading up to bear country this summer, you’ll want to read this. Rebecca, being a tester for Backpackgeartest.org, has tried ’em all: Bear Vault, Bearikade, Ursack, etc. I own a Bear Vault Solo, which, as Rebecca notes, has…
In the news
Ken Knight’s adventure on the Appalachian Trail
by tom • May 3, 2009 • 9 Comments
Most of you already know the story: Ken Knight, nearly blind production editor at BackpackingLight magazine, disappeared a week ago today on the Appalachian Trail near Buena Vista, Virginia. On his seventh day of wandering he decided to light a…
In the news
This just in: Supreme Court justice retiring to get more hikes in
by tom • May 1, 2009 • 0 Comments
Turns out Justice David Souter is an outdoorsman who wants to get in more hours on the dirt. From today’s New York Times: Friends said Thursday evening that he had often spoken of his intentions to be the court’s first…