Cold and Wet: The Hardest Hiking
What to wear in what many people consider to be among the most difficult of conditions: cold and wet. Updated Sept 2025. Read More …
Into the south San Juans
An enjoyable trip to the Southern San Juans Mountains followed by a trip to Chimney Rock National Monument. Read More …
Gear Review – Gossamer Gear Mariposa 2025
Joan looks at 2025 Gossamer Gear Mariposa. It’s a pack she’s used for a while in both the 2014 and 2016 iterations and she compares and contrasts the various iterations. Read More …
Ten Minutes of Terror in the San Juans
A gorgeous loop in the San Juans Mountains with a spicy scramble not to Joan’s liking. Read More …
Lonesome in the San Juans
A quite trip to a lonesome, cone-shaped peak at the edge of the San Juan mountains. Read More …
Paralysis by Analysis
A look at paralysis by analysis that I think stops people from getting out in the wild places. Read More …
Eight-year review – Stanley Adventure Cook set
An eight year review of the Stanley Adventure Cook set. A humble piece of kit we probably have used hundreds of times at this point, Read More …
Not Gatekeeping – Guardrails
Some thoughts on maps, miles, and giving people the tools to see what they want to see. Read More …
Geyser Pass Loop
A quick and easy overnighter to the local mountains. Read More …
Pay to Play on Public Lands
A piece inspired by a recent article in the Florida Phoenix about a private corporation now controlling access to public lands. Read More …
Whitman – Almost a decade later
More thoughts about Whitman almost a decade later since I took my solo Walk Across Southern Utah. Read More …
A recharge in the San Juans
Two nights of a mental recharge. Read More …
A Tale of Three Mugs
A review? A philosophical look at gear? Navel gazing? Or recognizing I seem to run on caffeine, sarcasm, and stubbornness most days? Read More …
Celebrating the wild places
We celebrate not the trail, but the wild places it passes through. – Ray Jardine, PACIFIC CREST TRAIL HIKER’S HANDBOOK, 1996 Read More …
The La Sals, Molas Pass, and fires
Joan is off to Denver on the CT but we did an acclimation hike in our local mountains first. Read More …
Times are a changin’ – Walking in time of weather extremes
Call it climate change, weather events, cycles, or bad juju. But there are more fires, swings in snow levels, droughts, closures, etc. Some thoughts. Updated July 2025 Read More …
Map, Compass, GPS: Not Either/Or, But All of the Above
A collection of my Reddit posts. cleaned up and expanded, with thoughts on how maps, compasses, and GPS all work together in the field. It’s not about which tool is “better,” but how they complement each other. Read More …
Gear Review: UCO Utility Spork 3-in-1 Combo Spoon-Fork-Knife
The UCO Utility Spork 3-in-1 Combo Spoon-Fork-Knife from is a modest item that Joan and I use all the time since 2019. Read More …