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Home »2016 (Page 6)

Year: 2016

Pecorino Romano cheese – fantastic hiking food

Posted onMay 26, 2016November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags17 Comments

A tribute to an ancient food for traveling on foot that still works well today. Read More …

CategoriesGetting StartedTagsfood, Italian-American, Roman

Natural Bridges National Monument

Posted onMay 25, 2016October 15, 2018AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

A full day and a night in the Natural Bridges National Monument of Utah. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsAncestral Pueblo, Colorado Plateau, national monument, Natural Bridges National Monument, utah

Into the Darkness – Dark Canyon, Utah

Posted onMay 24, 2016May 21, 2019AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

A backpacking trip into the upper Dark Canyon of Utah. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsAncestral Pueblo, Cedar Mesa, Colorado Plateau, utah

Utah bound…

Posted onMay 18, 2016AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Off to Utah for a few days. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsPueblo, utah

Corporate sponsorship in the National Parks?

Posted onMay 17, 2016June 20, 2025AuthorPaul Mags11 Comments

The National Park Service is actively courting corporate sponsorship. Is that good? Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsactivism, National Parks, Wildness

Amazon Prime – Perfect for the outdoors person

Posted onMay 16, 2016April 25, 2025AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

Want to buy outdoor supplies and gear and not a lifestyle? Get an Amazon Prime account. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsAmazon, lifestyle, time bank

Change o’ plans

Posted onMay 13, 2016AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

We can plan. But Ma Nature often decides what we end up doing for a backpacking trip. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsNew Mexico, Pecos Wilderness, Pueblo, Taos

Walden Ponds – Bird Photography

Posted onMay 9, 2016July 9, 2018AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Some birding and photography at a wildlife refuge in early spring. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsColorado

Hiking the Appalachian Trail – Rodale Press

Posted onMay 6, 2016June 18, 2017AuthorPaul Mags5 Comments

An overview of a seminal two-volume set about the early years of the Appalachian Trail. A compendium of some of the first 46 people to travel this storied path. Read More …

CategoriesBooks and MediaTagsAppalachian Trail, backpacking, books, camping

Spring has arrived

Posted onMay 5, 2016July 9, 2018AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

I saw a Pasque flower. Spring is here. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsColorado, spring, wildflowers

Sports Authority, EMS and the change in retail

Posted onMay 5, 2016November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags8 Comments

The financial woes of two outdoor retail stores and thoughts on today’s outdoor commerce market. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagscommerce, EMS, gear, retail

Gear Review: Black Diamond Firstlight tent

Posted onMay 4, 2016May 18, 2017AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

The Black Diamond Firstlight is a light and easy to setup winter shelter for the solo winter backpacker not spending a lot of time in camp. Read More …

CategoriesGearTagsgear review, shelters, tents, winter

May Day Weekend Backpacking…on skis!

Posted onMay 2, 2016July 9, 2018AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A backpacking trip for May 1st weekend. Fresh powder, winter-like conditions and beautiful terrain. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsbackpacking, Colorado, ski

Gear review: Deuce of Spades

Posted onApril 28, 2016May 30, 2017AuthorPaul Mags8 Comments

A lightweight, durable and compact trowel for doing what needs to be done. Useful in more popular backcountry areas. Read More …

CategoriesGearTagsDeuce of Spades, gear review, trowel

What is rotten snow?

Posted onApril 27, 2016November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

A brief explanation of what is “rotten snow”. And why it is best to not plan on extended travel in these conditions. Read More …

CategoriesGetting StartedTagsColorado, colorado-tip, rotten snow, travel

An encounter with a Northern Goshawk

Posted onApril 26, 2016November 2, 2020AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

There was only one incident where I ever felt threatened by a wild animal. Where? In the “wilds” of Rhode Island. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsanimal encounters, goshawk, New England, Rhode Island, wildlife

Spring wildflower hunt

Posted onApril 25, 2016November 17, 2023AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A few hours in the foothills with my camera? It means looking for spring wildflowers. Read More …

CategoriesOther Outdoor JauntsTagsBoulder, Colorado, spring, wildflowers

LWCF permanently reinstated

Posted onApril 22, 2016June 18, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

The Land and Water Conservation Fund was reinstated. A victory for the outdoors! Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsactivism, Land and Water Conservation Fund, LWCF, Wildness

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A Quick Guide to Moab

The Squak – A readily available, $60, active-focused grid fleece hoodie from a Utah-based company. Read the review.

Women’s | Men’s | Children’s   

The Squak Camp Dress 

One of Joan’s favorites!

The Squak Alpha Fleece 

                                                                    

– 15% off coupon = PMAGS-SQUAK                                                                                                      

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Two years inside the Park Service, trying to balance trade and calling. I left in fall 2025, and I’m still making sense of it - part grief, part gratitude, and part closure.
With a brief but noticeable bit of winter this past week, we opted not to travel the muddy, snowy roads into more remote areas. Instead, we tackled some home projects on Saturday and spent Sunday revisiting a place we hadn’t seen in a while. Red rock, canyon wrens, images, and late winter desert light accompanied the day.
@ramblinghemlock and I pivoted from an original trip after much-needed rain on Friday. On Saturday, we avoided muddy roads that would have derailed our original plan and spent two nights poking around a place we could reach only because of temporary, water-filled potholes and a handy Ziploc bag that made it possible. We also revisited sights we hadn’t seen in a while. Red rock, grand views, and old images marked the unofficial long weekend kickoff of spring around Moab.
@ramblinghemlock and I finally felt better and took a long-overdue trip into the backcountry. We slept outside and enjoyed the peace of the wild places. Canyon wrens filled the canyon with song during the day, and owl calls echoed off the walls at night. We returned to places we had not seen in a while and saw places new to us. The land endures.
@ramblinghemlock and I are recovering from the flu, so we decided to keep things local this weekend.
Small, good things.

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    • Thru Hikes, Long Walks, or Routes
      • My Alphabet Soup summary
      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
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