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Huh... I guess I've never run into (har har) that problem, or at least not that badly. I've had toe damage from wearing trail runners that didn't fit quite right, which is why I mentioned it's very important to have a great fit, but I haven't had anything worse than temporary ouchies from...

Double-bagging it sounds like a perfectly reasonable idea :-) My first attempt with the turkey-bag vapor barrier was on a 10-degree day on Monadnock, so getting wet feet was not a concern (I did have gaiters to keep snow from jamming into the sneaker tops), but another recent one was Mt...

I stopped wearing any kind of boots two years ago when I got a pair of these for winter. For the shoulder seasons I just use my trail runners the same as if I'm hiking in relatively wet summer conditions. At some point it comes down to how uncomfortable you are in wet conditions. I'm perfectly...

The terrain didn't stand out as anything overly difficult-- very similar to the Metacomet-Monadnock or Monadnock Sunapee Greenway, if you're familiar with those. Lots of rolling terrain in the forest, old woods roads, and some lowlands with swampy ground. I hiked it just once in April, so all of...

The elevation gain makes for a pretty easy hike, but the challenging part would probably be avoiding all the short side trails that lead to nice views and waterfalls :-) I remember a few places where the trail is a little hard to follow, too, plus a three-mile road walk. Very pretty area...

Nice! Sounds like a good finish to your 67... I just have North Brother left, and I can't wait to see that peak (not to finish the list, but just because it looks really great). Hope you get back there again soon. What a wonderful place :-)

Hah! I was warming it up for you, I guess. I must say, I was blown away by Doubletop. What a mountain!

This is a bit "old news" since the trip was almost a month ago, but my buddy Tom and I spent a week in the park, mostly backpacking, and seeing as many of the sights as possible. I can't think of a better place in the world to be. Here are the daily write-ups from the trip: Day 1: Roaring Brook...

In the past year I've noticed that every AMC managed campsite in the Whites and Mahoosucs has a bear box. My guess is they probably got sick of poorly hung food bags or people sleeping with their food in shelters and campsites. Either way, at least along the AT, every campsite from Eliza Brook...

Sectionhiker.com has a post this morning about the missing sign and mentions many of the summit cairns have been knocked over. I don't see why anyone would speculate that the Forest Service did this-- you could just ask them, but knocking cairns over doesn't seem like a FS kind of thing. At the...

Not quite the Berks, but has anyone in Western MA been near the Tully Trail or northern M-M Trail recently? I'm thinking of hiking there this weekend, but I'm curious about how flooded the trail might be. Wasn't able to get in touch with the park office by phone this morning, but I'll try again...

I haven't been in the south side since January, but I can attest to the frost heaves then being pretty epic. My Jetta handled things fine once I remembered to slow down, but that first bump nearly sent me airborne. I can't remember how bad the road was in summer, since the last time I was there...

I didn't use a baseplate since they didn't make them at that point. I've only used my cones with alcohol, never with wood or esbit. I've heard good things about the Inferno setup, though. For full-on winter, I would never go with anything but my Whisperlite. That's the only time of year when I...

I've been using the ULC version for almost five years now, and I love it. I used the standard Caldera cone for about a year before that, and also loved it. The only time I had any problem with the stove was when I stepped on it. Oops. The crushed stove worked well enough for the rest of the...

Wow. This guy looks like he was tailor made for the job. Glad to hear the news.

I'm usually up for hikes in Maine, too. I'll be away for most of the summer, but if you're looking for a partner before May or after August, I'm around. I may even be able to make the trip to Vermont from time to time.

Aww, thanks for the shout-outs guys :-D If you're like me and like carrying paper maps, too, I think the only paper map of that section of trail is the official ATC map set. And, of course, buying those ones goes right to the ATC, which is a good way to support the trail.

Doh! That was kind of foolish of me not to think of that. Thanks for all that info, though. The more I think of it, the more I'm getting excited to hike around there some more. Maybe this spring will be the time for that.

Good topic, DayTrip! I need to get out on trails in April more than I have in past years, too. I hadn't thought of Cardigan, but you've made me curious. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing some of the suggestions here. Speaking of Cardigan, what's the road up to the lodge like in mud...

Backpackinglight.com did an extensive review of all the new shell fabrics a few years back, including NeoShell and several others that had come out with claims about how much better than GoreTex and eVent they were. The final findings were that none of the new fabrics performed significantly...