Search results

We love camping but the real treat is the hike out, which is only 5 miles. The packs were lighter (45 & 27 pounds) and we were rested from the previous day (not that it was strenuous) but the real delicacy is the views. Always a great time.

We took our trip later this year due to a vacation in the UK, so I was worried about the black flies but as luck would have it, the later winter meant we hardly saw any. Bonus! What can I say, this is one of the best hikes and camping sites in Maine, and certainly with some of the most...

That's too bad, Abol is one of my favorite trails. Keep in mind everything from Chimney Pond is still closed as well.

Stayed at Hiker's Paradise a number of times and would not hesitate to do so again.

And another one to add: Maine - Ragged mountain summit in West Rockport/Camden. New as of a few years ago. Nice views and accessible from either the hiking trails or the ski slope.

Oh, this again. Not going to happen. There is nothing special about that area to draw people, so if you think Acadia is losing money, just imagine that place.

I've been on hikes with members here and been left behind, on Lafayette Ridge during a storm no less. The only problem was they had the keys to our car and we couldn't find them for over an hour when we got down. To this day I refuse to hike with them again and this was 6-7 years ago. I...

I can also attest to how much exercise has helped my arthritis (which I have had from birth). When I don't exercise for some time (for various reasons) the return is much harder due to constant flareups until I get back into a routine. Once in this routine the debilitating flareups seldom occur.

I've seen those down jackets at Bean's and was unimpressed. They are nothing like the old down jackets in any way, more like urban wear than technical wear. I have three down jackets, an older LL Bean (which is HUGE), a MH, and TNF. I prefer the MH but it has no hood, the LL Bean is huge for...

Mine did not go away and still persists to this day. When my hands get cold the smallest finger on each hand is pretty useless. I can also pluck the facial hairs from certain spots easily since there is no feeling there. Warming up from frostbite is one of the most painful things I have...

Sweet! Maybe they'll have it perfected in time so I won't need my arthritic joints replaced.

Now that was funny! Toss the Viper and Python crampons on there and it may be worthy. Until then, I'll stick with my Atlas.

I carry the Esbit Titanium stove along with 5 or 6 fuel tabs. It weighs about 0.4 ounces and the fuel tabs are 0.2 ounces each. The stove was $13 and the solid fuel tabs are really cheap at any Army-Navy store, I think I have 20 of them kicking around on the shelf. I have a few of the...

No worries, Brian. The conditions were dry and overcast, no sun. Cold at about 15° with a light wind. I remember the wind because we got cold very fast (water under the ice will do that) and we were immediately soaked from the waist down. We built the fire on the shore, just outside the...

You are correct in that it was our decision, but we had no dry clothes to change into, which was the reason for the fire. The house was only 2-3 miles away (40-60 minutes hiking time) so we probably could have made it there without much incident and just been cold. We instead made the fire and...

I had to build a fire once when a few of us went through the ice up to our waist when crossing a beaver flow. We could have pushed on but felt getting dry was more important at the moment. It isn't hard to build a fire once you've built hundreds of them since you know what to do automatically...

Winter definitely adds a measure of uncertainty into the mix. A lot of people are turned around on the higher peaks due to changing conditions. I was on Lafayette when an ice storm moved in, creating a whole new set of conditions. Would this be a hard hike normally? Nope (and earlier on...

That was the link I included in my post.

I was thinking of those snowshoes when I read this earlier: I have a few sets of those snowshoes, and in addition to being magnesium, they have aircraft stainless cable for webbing. My brother used to parachute into WY and MT with them for training in the Army. I have yet to see a pair fail...

I have a pair of shredded and patched OR Croc's that are still functional. I went to the OR Expedition Croc's and am very happy since they are much tougher and not as prone to tearing with crampons. I also have some of the OR lows for summer, but prefer my old TNF GTX ones. I used to have...