Last Sunday, I woke up with the dawn and broke like the wind to get in a solid walkabout. I initially had my eyes on a Cuyamaca walkabout, which has become my go-to for a longer, more involved hike that also features good views and a splash of fall color. But for a variety of …
Before I get into clothing, I have a confession to make. I'm going to say it loud, and I'm going to say it proud: I. Don't. Care. About. Gear. There. It's out. I don't care about gear. Not in the slightest. Sure, I love to wander around REI looking at expensive high fill down jackets, …
Imagine for a moment that you just completed an epic hike. Your handy dandy GPS application reported your distance at a whopping 17 miles. You screenshot your app, and post is to social media. Within minutes, you get some know-it-all saying, "Well, actually, that hike is only 15 miles." Punked! Either that know-it-all on social …
Continue reading "Hiker’s Handbook: Why Your GPS Track Lies about Distance"
Recently, I wrote a post breaking down the Ten Essentials, and there was some feedback about including cell phones on this list. To recap, the Ten Essentials are items that you need to have on you when you're hiking to ensure a safe situation AND protect you in case of most emergencies. They should be …
Continue reading "The Hiker’s Handbook: Are Cell Phones the Eleventh Essential?"
In previous posts, I broke down where to find reliable information, how to incorporate a knowledge of climate into your planning, and various means of determining what the weather will be like when you hit the trail. I even talked a bit about the sunk cost fallacy, a thinking error where we fail to recognize …
You did it! You somehow managed to emerge from the Half Dome permit lottery with permits in hand. You've tried for three years to get those permits, and now you've finally managed to obtain what was starting to seem unobtainable. You plan for months and months, which includes multiple challenging day hikes designed to build …
Continue reading "The Hiker’s Handbook: The Sunk Cost Fallacy"
In the last blog, I did a quick and tidy breakdown of climate and how it factors into general planning. I compared climate to "personality" by pointing out how it's a collection of traits, tendencies, temperaments, and characteristics that remains stable over time. I then compared weather to "moods," which are day-to-day, or even moment-to-moment …
Here in the American west, we have a tremendous degree of climate variability, and those variables are some of the principle factors to take into account while you prepare. Does this seem too basic? Well, consider that, every year, hundreds of people require rescue due to heat related injuries because they started an inland hike …
In just about every hiking guide I’ve written, I’ve used the phrase “nothing in life guarantees success as much as good planning.” I can attest, as I’ve had more than my fair share of fails arising from poor planning. There’s the time I arrived at Yosemite in the middle of a snowstorm with nothing to …
Welcome to the first in a series of blogs that will break down many of the in's and out's of hiking skills. This series will function in the spirit of the adage, "teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime," and it's my hope that I what I share over the course …
a place for books and such
SoCal Trail Guides | Trip Guides | Gear Reviews
Adventures in hiking...
Because life's too short to be an indoor cat.
Stories and Fiber Art from 5,000 Miles of Adventures, by Kris Grenier
Beguiling pearls of wit, wisdom, and whimsy-with attitude
Life Is Better Outside
Thru Hiking and Bicycle Touring the worlds best trails
Over 1,000 hikes in So Cal and beyond!
Just another WordPress.com weblog
Just another WordPress.com site
Hiking and photography in the Southwestern U.S.
