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Once I did all three in one day (starting and ending at Crag Camp)! :) My memory may not be superb, but I think Chemin des Dames is the most fun and scrambly. There was one particularly daunting ledge on Great Gully (I descended), but was otherwise just steep. King Ravine Trail is probably...

First time on Six Husbands was a retreat off Jefferson in bad weather. We didn't know better, so we descended in the rain with heavy packs (and it got dark). That was pretty miserable and scary. Going up is no picnic, but it's quite feasible and fun if you have a bit of nerve. The Subway is...

How far I go off-trail to pee depends on several factors, such as the busyness of the trail, visibility, terrain, etc. Being a guy, of course, makes things easier. But either way, I think the rule of thumb is: if you don't want to be seen, then don't be seen. In the vast majority of...

My wife and I are moving to Lancaster County, PA, in less than a month. After living most of my life in Vermont and Colorado, I've already submitted to a life of 'lesser' mountains for hiking and skiing, but with our first child (a boy!) on the way, lesser mountains might be a good thing for a...

And thus, I say that I've "orange-lined" a trail if I haven't hiked it in a long time (and the marker has faded).

I'll second the notion of always bike downhill if you can help it. It's a lot more fun that way! I usually try to do the biking portion first, just in case I get to the end of a hike only to find a flat tire. As for locking them up safely, I've always just ditched them a little ways into the...

20"-22" in the village of Woodstock, VT. I'm guessing the central Greens got the most out of this.

Vermont was the big winner in this storm. A legitimate 20"-22" fell in Woodstock; 26" in Sharon.

I agree with this assessment. I had a pretty sketchy go up the Chin one time, mixed ice and rock, with some good gusts of wind. One of my more uncomfortable moments for sure. I've also tried Sunset Ridge and completely lost the trail because of severe drifting, requiring a retreat on my part...

Descending from Madison Hut on the Valley Way can be a daunting routefinding challenge in the wrong conditions, especially a stiff north wind kicking up loose snow. I have found that finding the "gateway" back to the below-treeline trail is the most anxious part of traveling above treeline...

Around Aspen, you should definitely drive up to the Maroon Bells, which is classic Colorado. Climbing/Hiking the Bells is a pretty daunting undertaking, but you can (relatively) easily hike up to Buckskin Pass for a nice tour of the Bells. Around RMNP, there a dozens of day hikes that are not...

I assume you are spotting a car, so I would agree that up Jewell, around on Gulfside, and descending on Valley Way is probably best. I don't like descending Jewell b/c of the potential for bad visibility to make routefinding difficult. I would avoid Randolph Path from Edmonds Col to GK/Perch...

Agreed. The Obs forecast applies to above-treeline territory, the way I think about it. Other than the Presies and Franconia Ridge, the weather is generally much more benign than the Obs. Looks like a great hike. The view of Franconia Ridge on a bluebird day from Cannon and Lonesome Lake is...

I am the 1(.4) percent! #occupyhale

I get the questions about staying out overnight quite frequently in the winter; I think it is mostly from the Z-rest on the outside of my pack. I use a 3000-cubic-inch pack from EMS, and I usually don't quite fill it, but I may have crampons/microspikes and snowshoes on the outside as well. On...

Definitely no snow in Virginia in May, unless there's some freak storm, of course. (I've barebooted 4Ks in February with no snow and mild temps.) May is getting pretty warm, but obviously not as bad as June, July, August.

It doesn't say which trail they descended. Apparently they had summitted Adams and were making for Gray Knob. My guess is that they descended to Thunderstorm Junction, and headed down the Great Gully instead of the Spur Trail. That's a confusing jumble of cairns and trails in that area, and...

I grew up on that hill. We used to run around and mountain bike and x-country ski those trails as kids. It was a lot less official back then, but it sure was fun to explore as a kid (and as an adult, for that matter).

Good luck getting people to respond online to their favorite secret spots! :) My philosophy is: I won't tell you, but I'll show you. I.E. If we're hiking (or skiing) together, then I'll take you there, but otherwise I'd rather keep my favorites from getting overrun.

Sometimes the trickiest part of winter travel is the route-finding, especially when descending from above treeline. Finding the 'entrance' to the trail below treeline can be surprisingly hard/impossible, and the more snow, the harder it is. I've had some dicey situations descended off...