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Category Archives: Trail Running
June 11, 2013
Ask Me: Advice on Backpacking in Grand Teton National Park
Michael,
Do you think Paintbrush Divide would be passable in late June… around June 23rd? Would snow equipment like crampons or ice axes be required?
Vince (submitted as a comment on the story at thebigoutside.com/american-classic-the-teton-crest-trail)
Vince,
I would expect snow at Paintbrush Divide into early July, unless there’s an unusually low snowpack and warm temps right before your trip. It may still be passable, depending on how firmly frozen the snow is and whether there’s a cornice at the pass. Continue reading →
Featured Photo Gallery: Dayhiking Across Zion
You may think the idea of a 50-mile dayhike across Zion National Park is too far past sane for your taste–or that it sounds like a bit of inspired genius. Either way, this gallery of photos from a north-south traverse of Zion may inspire you to dayhike, trail run, or backpack all or part of it, and spring is an ideal time for this adventure. Read my story and watch a video about that one-day hike, or see my story, photos, and video about a family backpacking trip along part of this route.
Above Zion Canyon on the West Rim Trail, Zion National Park, Utah.
November 11, 2012
What Should I Wear? How to Dress For Outdoor Adventures
For hikers, trail runners, climbers, and others who play hard outside, fall, winter, and spring—and sometimes summer in the high mountains—challenge our ability to dress comfortably. You’re hot one minute, cold the next.
There’s a simple explanation: Temperatures below about 55° F. are cold enough to induce hypothermia; but when exerting hard, we can sweat even in temps well below freezing, and sweat conducts heat away from the body, making you cold. The key to comfort? Smart management of what you wear and your body temperature during activity. Continue reading →
November 8, 2012
Cranking Out Big Days: Ramp Up Your Hikes and Trail Runs
I don’t remember the first time I hiked more than 20 miles in a day. But living and hiking in New England at the time, where one mile of rocky, up-and-down trail feels as physically punishing as two miles in other parts of the country, I undoubtedly got to that distance through incrementally longer dayhikes. I only wish I could remember the sense of pleasure with myself that I must have felt that first time.
But I can list precisely the number of times I’ve hiked more than 30 miles in a day. Continue reading →
July 15, 2011
Mid-Life Crisis: Hiking 50 Miles Across Zion In a Day
La Verkin Creek, swollen and bellowing with spring snowmelt, charges past us like a stampeding herd of bison—with a force and noise level that can make a reasonable person question the wisdom of stepping into its path. Deep in the Kolob Canyons in the northwest corner of Utah’s Zion National Park, it’s tearing enough dirt from its banks to turn the water muddy brown, making it impossible for us to gauge its depth. The pitch-darkness of shortly after 5 a.m. doesn’t help in that regard, either.
We need to get to the other side. Continue reading →