JMT Trip Planning: Shelters

Posted on February 1, 2018 by

In all of my planning for this summer’s 2018 JMT hike, picking which shelter I would carry was one of the easiest choices I had… mostly! It shouldn’t be any surprise that I chose my Zpacks Hexamid Solo Plus Tarp & Hexanet, which is the same set-up that I have been using for the past 4 years (although, early last year (2017) I did pick up the updated model of the Hexamid tarp.) I will admit though, I did think about picking up a Zpacks Duplex tent, but in the end I decided not too. I love that my set-up is modular, not to mention that was another $600 I could spend on other things! Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, John Muir trail, Trip Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Altra Lone Peak 3.5 – First Look

Posted on January 27, 2018 by

A few days ago I posted my thoughts on the Altra Lone Peak 3.0 shoes, which I had been wearing for the past 5 months. The gist of it was that I loved them, however, in a half-size larger than my normal size, the 3.0’s weren’t necessarily what I was looking for to wear on my JMT hike later this year. The Lone Peak 3.0’s are just a little too big in the toe box for me… But, based on the reviews I had read on the updated Lone Peak 3.5’s, they were now a little smaller in the toe box… A lot of folks seemed to be unhappy about this change, but it sounded like just the thing I was looking for! Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, Shoes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

JMT Trip Planning: Electronics

Posted on January 25, 2018 by

So, about 2 weeks ago I locked down the permits for our summer 2018 JMT hike. We will be heading northbound (NOBO) out of Horseshoe Meadows via the Cottonwood Lakes trail, and taking the better part of a month to make our way down to Yosemite (woohoo!) If anyone reading this knows me, you know I like to take pictures and shoot video… in which I talk… a lot! Considering how epic this trip is going to be, I need to make sure that I have plenty of juice to keep my gadgets going so that I can accomplish this… So in this installment of my JMT planning series, I will talk about the electronics I plan to carry, and how I plan to keep them going… Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, Gear List, Gear Talk, John Muir trail, Trip Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Altra Lone Peak 3.0 – 5 Month Review

Posted on January 21, 2018 by

Back in August, 2017 I picked up my first (two) pair(s) of Altra’s… specifically the Lone Peak 3.0’s. I had shunned the Lone Peaks from years back simply because so many folks complained so much about how little traction they had. However, with my 2018 JMT hike drawing nearer, I knew that I would need to replace my dying Inov-8’s, so I started researching shoes again… Continue reading →

Posted in Gear | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

December ’17 Florida Trail Hike: Ocala NF w/ Zpacks & GooseFeet Gear

Posted on December 20, 2017 by

Early last Thursday morning my son and I woke up around 3:30 am (Central time), made some coffee, loaded up the car and drove off. About five and a half hours later we were standing in my buddy Craig Smith’s house near Atlanta, GA. That afternoon we had some beer & pizza for lunch with Craig, Benny Braden (Plug-it In Hikes) and Ben Smith (from GooseFeet Gear), then loaded all of our gear in the back of Craig’s truck, and drove south… Continue reading →

Posted in Backpacking, Florida Trail, Hiking, Trip Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

JMT Trip Planning: Random New Gear…

Posted on September 11, 2017 by

My summer 2018 JMT hike is still quite a ways away, but, it’s also steadily growing closer too! In just a few more months I will start working on actually getting our permits, and from then it will begin to feel even more real… Until then though, I am stuck with daydreaming and planning! That’s not a bad thing though… I have only hiked out west once, and even that hike won’t be exactly quite like this one, so there is still much I need to learn. Sure, some of it I won’t learn until I am actually standing on the trail, but until then I enjoy learning as much as I can beforehand! Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, Gear Reviews, Gear Talk, John Muir trail | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments