2020 ended up being a pretty good hiking year for me, and hopefully 2021 brings more of the same. My mileage last year (1500 hiking/300 treadmill) was a little on the low side, so I’m hoping to get the combined total up from 1800 to at least 2000 this year. That should be reasonably achieveable, I j...

I love when @friendofthundergod is even more cheerful than usual.

Down socks. Goosefeet Gear makes some good ones, but there are other brands too.

@chumley Your self-awareness is refreshing.

@azbackpackr I know. That’s why I was saying that her “accomplishment” wasn’t all that impressive.

Hiking uphill on a halfway decent trail in a heel that chunky (as shown in the picture) would not really be all that difficult, assuming whoever is wearing them is used to heels. Her calves were probably more sore than her feet. Stilettos would be more difficult, and hiking downhill in any heel woul...

Horton Creek is a great overnighter for kids, my kids enjoyed it when they were younger. There are some good campsites about 2 miles in. The best spot is easy to see—it has a teepee looking thing built out of tree branches, about 6-7’ tall. Easy to cross the creek without getting your feet wet. Doub...

@Mountain_Rat Sounds like you already got your answer on attaching to pack straps. I’m not creative at all when it comes to stuff like that, but I think even I could figure out a way to attach it to a pack. I’ll text you some pictures of everything that came with the light.

@Mountain_Rat I think 400 was pretty good for most conditions. 800 was very bright, but I could see everything very well, so that was pretty nice. That brand also has a 600 lumen for about $20 cheaper. I think the settings were 600-400-200, but I don’t remember for sure.

I tried out the new waist lamp while hiking Pyramid this morning. Used it for about 4 miles, and was happy with the results. The belt is comfortable, and I couldn’t feel it while I was wearing it, even tightened enough to keep the light snug enough to not bounce while hiking. The buckle is smooth on...

@DmN I think the price is similar, but this is the brand I use. Never had any issues with them.

https://www.packitgourmet.com/Storage.html

@wildwesthikes Either you have a giant cranium or you must be incredibly small to get a headlamp strap around your waist. Even loosened, there’s no way any of the straps from my headlamps would fit past my chest or hips. I’d think that the elastic in the strap would allow for too much bounce of the...

@nonot I’ll hike sans headlamp in the winter, but not when it’s warm. Considering I usually see at least one rattler per night hike between March—October, there’s no way I’ll hike without something bright. I want to see what’s trying to kill me from as far away as possible.

Has anyone tried a waist lamp as an alternative to a headlamp? Headlamps tend to give me a headache--not from the strap, but from the refocusing around the beam of light. I found a waist lamp with good reviews (UltrAspire 800 lumen) and ordered one, but was curious if anyone else on here has used on...

If you’re talking about navigating to trailheads, forest roads, etc, you can just create a track in Route Editor to follow for the drive in RouteScout. That’s what I do, typically from the time I leave a major road all the way to where I want to park. Obviously, you have to know where you’re going a...

@nonot Lol, I don’t think I’ve ever paid much attention to what anyone has put in as their signature. Didn’t notice the link in yours at all.

@LosDosSloFolks It doesn’t look like the base 64 nor the 700 comes preloaded with maps. If you search Free Maps for Garmin online, you can find lots of free topo maps that can be downloaded. A few websites had concise directions of how to do that. I recall there were some free Garmin maps on HAZ on...

If the 700 comes with preloaded maps, then that might make the choice a whole lot easier!

@chumley I couldn’t remember. I knew I had put RS on one of my son’s apple devices and it worked, but it must have been an old iphone and not the touch.

Also, I’m not 100% certain, but for some reason (Joe can confirm) I think RouteScout can run on an iPod Touch. If so, that would be your smallest and lightest option. You’d just have to be on wifi to upload your routes to/from HAZ. And you can blast some music while you’re hiking ;-)