Ask Me: The Best Hikes For 3 Days in Glacier National Park

Michael,

Thank you for providing a wonderful blog filled with amazing photos and inspiring trips. I enjoy your family adventures section, as I love taking my kids with me to enjoy the outdoors. I live in Utah so the options are endless.

I am heading to Glacier National Park with my husband for our 20th anniversary and am wondering what your hike suggestions would be. Continue reading →

Gear Review: Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles

Trekking Poles
Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles
$50, 1 lb. 3 oz. (with trekking baskets)
One size, adjustable
montemlife.com

Despite how useful they are at reducing impact on leg and back muscles and joints, letting you hike farther with noticeably less fatigue, trekking poles are often one of the last pieces of gear that hikers and backpackers acquire. I suspect that has to do with cost almost as much as the time lag between becoming a hiker and discovering the utility of poles. But what if poles were cheaper? Seeing the Montem Ultra Strong Trekking Poles priced one-third to one-quarter the cost of many leading, popular pole models, I used them backpacking the rugged, 25-mile Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop in the Grand Canyon, a four-day trip in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, and dayhiking in Zion National Park to see how they measure up. Continue reading →

When Your Kid Gets Better Than You

By Michael Lanza

Some 200 feet above the shore of Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park, on the face of a granite cliff with a name that sets high expectations—Stately Pleasure Dome—I crouch and contort my torso and limbs to squeeze into a slender passageway barely wider than my body. Inside this claustrophobic “chimney,” as this type of formation is known in rock-climbing parlance, I start grunting and panting loudly enough for the sounds of suffering to reach my 17-year-old son, Nate, who’s belaying me at the other end of our rope, below the chimney.

“How’s it look in there?” he calls to me from the relative comfort of his spacious ledge in the warm sunshine. Continue reading →

Ask Me: Should I Hike or Backpack Solo in Bear Country?

Michael,

Here’s a question I’ve struggled with. Because of the timing of my trips, I often end up hiking and backpacking solo. I enjoy that (and enjoy groups). However, as a result, I’ve had a number of bear and moose encounters that have left me a little uncomfortable, and with a feeling of powerlessness in those situations. I’ve read about bear encounters and technically know what to do (making noise, etc.), but I’ve sometimes exhausted all those tricks and found myself still staring at a bear in my path. What do you recommend I do—especially about hiking solo? Continue reading →

Ask Me: 8 Great, Big Dayhikes in the Tetons

Hi Michael,

I love your blog, very inspiring. I am taking a family trip out to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks with my family this summer (about 10 days in the parks). I understand it is the most crowded time of year, but as a teacher and coach and with a wife in education administration, our time off is around the summer busy times. I have two girls age 8 and 10 and we will not be going as BIG as you normally do. We will be staying in various hotels/cabins in and near the parks, but we do intend on trying to get in many dayhikes and see both the popular spots and some off-the-beaten-path spots.

While in Grand Teton, I am hoping to get one day to do a solo, big dayhike. I am looking for something in the 8- to 12-hour range. I have done the Presidential Traverse in the White Mountains twice, so something similar or maybe a bit less than that. Any suggestions? While in Grand Teton, we will be staying at Colter Bay. Continue reading →