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I've had a rather heated disagreement over this with a microbiologist friend of mine. Her feeling was a foot fall could cause damage to top soil and all bushwhacking was bad and that the forest could not recover all that quickly. I'm out to lunch on this question still but over time I've...

Pharaoh Lake 6 to 8 times. Nice Place and I like it to bring folks there as a first trip. I always prefer a new place to somewhere I've been before, but I certainly return to places I've been and redo old walks.

I get 4 weeks of vacation and 1/2 day Fridays. it's those Fridays that give me any hope of reaching the Whites on the weekend. My boss knows about the outdoor stuff and is generally understanding. I tend to reserve a few floating vacation days that I can take on a moments notice to go chasing...

I've taken my 15° bag down to a measured 4° at bed time. At some point during the night I need to put a jacket on- I assume it was colder then. Coldest I've been was was first year out, usiing an old Campmor synthetic bag at the old Denning lean to in late October. I was damp, it was cold and...

Bandana wetted in the summer, but that's mostly to keep my hair from dreadlocking and becoming a nest. I carry a Royal Robbins floppy light Nylon hat I use instead of a hood in all but heavy rain or snow, I think I'm switching to a Kokat gore tex hat shaped like the classic fishermans rain cap...

The mine shaft is at rock pond (an old Graphite mine I believe). I only know of one there and I haven't heard of one at Grizzle Ocean. Look at the USGS maps, they still show old mines. I was once told that there was supposed to be a cave in the area that lots of bats lived in and that at night...

Never worry about it away from highly used close to trailhead areas. But I do prefer out of the way not used bivy sites so sometime the concern is not will someone find my stuff but can I find my stuff again.

I've had good luck with merill ventilators while doing a 4 day pemi loop last october. They do dry faster, though in doing so you tend to foam at the feet. I have a pair of big all leather Sorel's, that I tend to use before plastics are needed. If I have any rule it's the type of walking and...

The Gregory Reality series may have something for you- the mesh sides are a bit baggy and the fabric light but still strong, I think there's a model in you size range. I'd take it on an ADK bushwack. Otherwise I'd look at the Arcteryx packs. The side pouches are nylon, not mesh so they are...

Chances are they were trading off on the carry out. It's supposed to be tiring work.

I carry a medium size half serrated folder or an Opinel folder, I don't like to carry a non locking blade knife. I augment this with the leatherman little folding pliers (generally in winter) and a folding scissors. Having the pliers and scissor in a separate tool gives me a better quality...

I face a simliar drive, I would say it's doable. The trail that reaches to the Hunter/Rusk col is a fire road, you're likely to make good time, in fact most of the trail walking will be on the easy side of things. For me I would be cautious on timing if the weather was hot and humid I slow down...

After your base layer I would use a soft shell. For insulation I prefer synthetic fill the DAS parka being a nice one. On Baer the guides used soft shells and down for heavy duty insulation.

I so agree with self reliance being fundamental to the backcountry experience. I do think that those of us who travel the backcountry should be mentally prepared to get themselves out of whatever they get themselves into. But is a cell, kept as a first aid item all that different from a whistle...

It's worthwhile to double check this, but I stayed at that site last winter and I too was skeptical about it. However I do believe it is marked as a designated site on the newest ADK High Peaks Map *and* I was told recently that it has a camping OK marker disc. I'll try and check the map when...

Starting last year, due to heat and traffic concerns I've taken to kayaking in the summer. Last year I did two camping trips, this year I hope to do more with an eye on the Santoni Range via Long Lake and Cold River. Playing in water while the fish feed is much more fun than trying to draw...

I tend to tarp (not tarp tent) and bring along a bug bivy this time of the year. The only reason I do the bug bivy is the dawn feeding frenzy, i find I don't really get bit at night. For those looking at tarp tents, check out Oware's Alphamid. Like a half Megamid. I'm among the tarp tent...

Artex, You can get it again. You may be have heard (and I could be confusing this myself) either that you can ride it out and then show symptoms occasionally or not at all also, some folk just don't show symptoms.

A few years back I was using myself as test, drinking unfiltered/treated water unless I knew I was downstream from a campsite or heavy use area. It was my intent to do so for a few years and then get myself tested for giardia. I started hiking with other folks soon after and never really carried...

Not a lister, but that trail from Lincoln Woods is not one I look forward to. First off it's a road, not a trail, second off it's a straight corridor and so visually uninteresting. Owls Head via the Lincoln slide has been something I've been wanting to do for a while though I've wanted to add a...