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Home » Archive for  Musings (Page 14)

Category: Musings

My views on life, the universe, and everything.

Another Wednesday Reset

Posted onMay 14, 2015August 30, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

A blissful after work hike Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagshiking, Wednesday Reset, work life balance

Outdoor Failures – What we learn from not meeting goals

Posted onMay 12, 2015November 28, 2018AuthorPaul Mags13 Comments

Thoughts on not meeting personal goals in the outdoors. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, goals, hiking, running, time bank

Senate Amendment 838 – Our lands for sale

Posted onMay 11, 2015October 31, 2018AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

A newly passed, if symbolic, amendment could affect how our public lands are administered. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsactivism, Murkowski, public lands, SA 838

The Perfect Campsite

Posted onMay 6, 2015November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

The perfect campsite is more that just a list of bullet points to check off. The perfect campsite is something less tangible. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, camp sites, camping

East to the Wildness

Posted onApril 22, 2015November 17, 2023AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

To the east, on the The Great Plains, may just be where wildness is located. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagscamping, High Plains, hiking, The Great Plains, Wildness

April Showers

Posted onApril 16, 2015November 17, 2023AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Snow in April means it is spring. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsColorado, spring, wildflowers

To the happy place

Posted onApril 15, 2015February 7, 2017AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

In order to get the time off I need next month, I had to juggle my on-call schedule.  I am on now call for two out of three weeks this month. (Normally it is one out of six weeks) And Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, time bank, work life balance

Are you going “Hiking” this year?

Posted onApril 10, 2015June 19, 2017AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

The capital “H” means long trails with a designated route. The answer is no. And probably not for a while. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, hiking, thru hiking

FKT, OKT, YKT and OK-Dokee : The Roger Banister effect

Posted onMarch 19, 2015March 24, 2015AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

Some thoughts on trail records and their impact. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, FKT, hiking, records, ykt

Gossamer Gear Blog : Time for a Walk

Posted onFebruary 24, 2015July 19, 2017AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

A recent post I wrote for the Gossamer Gear website about shorter thru-hikes. At this stage in my life, I want to get out as much as I can. But taking off for 4-6 months may not be an option. Read More …

CategoriesMusings, PressTagsGossamer Gear, short hikes

Technology, gear and decision making

Posted onFebruary 23, 2015November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags7 Comments

Some recent thoughts on the recent tragedy in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. And how gear and technology can only go far. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsdisaster, New Hampshire, technology, White Mountains, winter

Grassroots to organized – The changing nature of thru-hikes

Posted onFebruary 11, 2015January 3, 2019AuthorPaul Mags11 Comments

The nature of The Triple Crown hiking trails are changing rapidly. Here’s the how, why and what the changes (possibly) mean.
Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsthru-hikes, trail angels

And now a PSA

Posted onFebruary 5, 2015January 1, 2020AuthorPaul Mags6 Comments

Critters can be a problem…even at the trail head.

CategoriesMusingsTagsmarmot, rodents, trailheads

At the temple of gear – The Winter OR show

Posted onJanuary 28, 2015April 25, 2025AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Three days at the winter OR: Seeing a lot of gear, seeing a lot of friends and pitching in to help a good cause.

CategoriesGear, Musings, PMags NewsTagsOutdoor Retailer show, The Trail Show, Winter OR

Tools of the trade

Posted onJanuary 16, 2015December 8, 2023AuthorPaul Mags8 Comments

Gear is just a tool. And it really does not state anything beyond that. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsgear, navel gazing, tools

Backcountry mobile device etiquette

Posted onJanuary 14, 2015January 3, 2021AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

Thoughts on possible etiquette for mobile devices in the backcountry. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackcountry, connectivity, electronics, favorite, mobile devices, Wilderness Ethics, Wildness

TBT Gear: GoLite Bitterroot

Posted onJanuary 8, 2015November 26, 2023AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

GoLite gear is now rapidly becoming “throw-back” gear. The GoLite Bitterroot is an example of what GoLite did well: good, light gear that is not expensive.
Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagsclothing, down coat, gear review, GoLite, puffy, TBT Gear

Why guided trips?

Posted onJanuary 6, 2015November 25, 2023AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

As one internet sage stated “It’s just walking”. So why go on a guided trip? Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, MusingsTagsbackpacking, hiking, time bank

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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.

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PMags Instagram

@ramblinghemlock and I had some company in town this weekend, along with some very muddy roads. A quick trip to a place just off the pavement proved perfect for our needs. Plenty of water-filled potholes, great views from the canyon rim, and a memorable sunset.
Snow in our local mountains yesterday and today. And, of course, flooding in the desert. Much-needed precip, but the wet, heavy New England-style snow caused quite a few blowdowns. Gonna be interesting...
"The mayor of Willcox in southern Arizona is optimistic that Chiricahua National Monument will soon be the country’s 64th National Park.
A few days on the Colorado Plateau. We saw new sites, revisited old favorites, and enjoyed a solo hike while @ramblinghemlock took a class at the nearby @crow_canyon
Bearing witness in a changed, post-fire landscape. Fire and flood shape the environment; some history passes away, while other traces remain untouched. The land eventually recovers: Some of it recently, some of it long after my lifetime.
On a rare group trip, we heard rain overnight and woke to this raging torrent. After the Babylon Fire, flooding was inevitable. The water carried a lot of ash.

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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
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
      • A Walk Across New England
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      • Colorado
      • New Mexico
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