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I know what you mean by how comical the difference is in boiling time between the WhisperLite and the Reactor. It's made even funnier because at the same time as you're watching the two stoves work on their respective liters of water, eager to get your meal going, you're witnessing the angry...

A final caution (and the rangers usually have the Intel): the tote road can get so icy (and occasionally even bare) between snows that hiking becomes the preferred mode of travel. On a related note, my own to-do list features a similar day ski/hike in Baxter - but to the Katahdin summits. The...

Another thought: if you're out on a day that bodes to be wet, you may want to consider a route and destination that permits quick relief in the event that you perceive a hypothermia threat. No 4K meets this need better than Cannon. You have your choice of a very expeditious 2-mile hike via the...

Great shot of the mouth of Chemin des Dames - inviting indeed! Alex

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the pictures - and perhaps you should do the drive - after all, how long can you stand to wait to take your rightful spot in the currently ongoing 'longest day trip drives' thread?! Alex

Glad you got to partake! One thing I've noticed about the 'cotton, sneakers and 1-pt water' crowd is that they don't tend to be out early. However, even later on when I was on the other end of the ridge, everyone I met seemed appropriately equipped - a pleasure to see! Alex

The Williams Pond Rd approach is not usually broken out, and so usually won't support the single-day (and sometimes also multi-day) option. One time, a friend of mine reported being confronted with 6 miles of unbroken, belt-high powder and his group simply laughed and aborted. The one time I...

The biggest winds of my day happened on the south of Lafayette, SW at 30-35 mph, around 11. I was pretty much in the trees after 2:30. What I found interesting about the winds I encountered was their on-again-off-again nature, along with how cold they were on a day that I was expecting some...

I'm not a regular coffee drinker. I love the taste and sensations of a cup of fresh, strong black coffee, but don't want to 'do' it enough to have addiction issues. The drive home after a long hiking day is one of the times at which I'll open the floodgates. Ditto on all of the above measures...

I’ve been hoping to get in a big above tree line hike in of late, and unfortunately wasn’t able to take advantage of some wonderful days we had earlier in the month. Today (Sat 1/30/2016) looked like the best possibility over the next several days of forecasts, though it didn’t seem...

I heard back from Katadyn customer service re: whether the Hiker Pro filter can deal with freezing temps. Their response: the Hiker Pro filter will not be damaged by freezing temps, so long as you're careful to pump out as much residual water as possible after use, and if frozen, refrain from...

Thanks for the observation. The actual wording from Sawyer's website FAQ section is a bit more obtuse that what you paraphrased. Verbatim: Can the filter be frozen? - While we have no proof that freezing damages the filters we have no proof that it does not. Therefore we must recommend...

Tim, here are some thoughts I would offer that have served me well in wintertime Baxter (beyond what's in chocodove's list above) ... - Most cabin folk I know filter their water. Good practice though, once filters are wet, is to take care to protect their elements from freezing, which might...

David, done are my days of being in the backcountry with any ski boot that I can't also hike in . . . Alex

Actually, no. On reaching the grt/GRT junction from Beaver Brook, the logical thing to do is to stash the skis, do the GH/Twins out&back on snowshoes, then pick up the skis and either head toward Garfield or bail. Opinions vary, but I really like the Galehead/Twins out&back hike. The incremental...

Maintaining a more or less flat power curve is a great way to make layer management less of a hassle over the course of a hike - the more steady your heat output, the less often you have to adjust layers. My sympathy to folks who have a tough time controlling sweat until temps go sub-zero. If I...

I took a few minutes to video this and my other (sliding) Gerber pocket saw. Feel free to compare the swivel area of your saw with mine. Let us know how you make out with a limb or two of your downed pine! Alex

Hi DayTrip, from your comments, I assume you got the Exchange-a-Blade model? As described earlier (post #13), it actually *does* work like a lock-blade knife. To operate the saw, there is NO need to remove the screw. To open/deploy the blade: simply loosen the knob about 3/4 of a turn, push...

Yes Dave, same saws -- but note that the Gerber stat *includes* the holster. Silky PocketBoy 170 saw: 170mm, 9.6oz w/holster, 7.2oz without. Gerber Exchange-a-blade saw: 6.75" (171mm), 6.5oz w/holster, 4.6oz without. 1.0oz per extra blade carried. I had exactly the same reaction when...

It ain't short, but this video says it all: https://youtu.be/iXlBFJW4aK8 The only thing to keep in mind is that for whatever reason, these 'saw off' videos seem to feature much thicker logs than the spruce boughs we're talking about being prepared for here. My bottom line: If I'm packing for...