Days 10-11: Braemar to Tarfside The next few days will put my navigation skills to the test. I'll be passing over very wild, open country to get to Lochnagar, a cluster of magnificent Munros, south of the Royal Balmoral Castle and Estate. …

Days 8 & 9: TGO Challenge Route Plan (2010) If the weather is good, Days 8 and 9 will be an incredibly scenic walk. My path on these days runs along Glen Feshie on the southwestern boundary of the magnificent Cairngorm Mountains …

When Naturegirl and I started hiking up to Mt Hancock (4,430 ft, above) and South Hancock (4,319 ft) on Saturday I felt like my face was going to freeze off. The trail head parking lot for this hike is very exposed to …

It’s a hot day and you’ve been piling up the mileage, hiking up one mountain after another. You come to another peak and you are overcome by fatigue and self-doubt. You think, “there’s no way I can make it up this hill. …

The Patagonia R1 Hoody fleece pullover is a great mid-layer sweater for use in combination with waterproof shell better for winter hiking and mountaineering. Why this obsession with thermo-regulation? It’s simple really. Being too warm accelerates dehydration and chilling/hypothermia from perspiration. This …

I needed to summit a mountain on Sunday and I wasn’t going to let physical exhaustion stand in my way. Starting a new job with a steep learning curve has been emotionally challenging. I wanted to reaffirm that I can still accomplish …

The Zpacks Blast 32 backpack is made out of ultralight cuben fiber, the stuff they make racing sailboat sails out of. I remember seeing one up close for the first time last year at the Carter Notch Hut during my Northern Presidential …

I did a lot of hiking last year up and down the Appalachian Trail in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in addition to climbing a lot of the White Mountain 4,000 footers. I didn’t hike nearly as much as my friend …

Days 5-7: TGO Challenge Route Plan 2010 During the first 4 days of my route plan, I kept my daily mileage low to acclimate to the local environment and build in a hedge against bad weather which is common in Western Scotland. …

    Days 3 & 4: TGO Challenge Route Plan (2010) On days 3 and 4 of my hike, I’m going to be walking cross-country to Fort Augustus which is located at the southern end of Loch Ness. I’ll spend the night …

  Day 2 : TGO Challenge Route Plan (2010) After breaking camp somewhere between Alltbeithe Youth Hostel and Carnach Mor, I continue along the northern side of River Affric passing Allt Coire Ghaidheil (NH108208) and several ruins on the other side of …

I bring an Equinox Ultralite Marsupial Pouch on every backpacking or day hike I go on. The Marsupial is a small silnylon stuff sack with a plastic clip on one corner. I use it to store the little things that I can’t …

If you want to go winter hiking but don’t own a pair of specialized mountaineering boots and you want more traction than  microspikes, you should consider getting a pair of strap-on crampons. I own Black Diamond Contact Strap Crampons that fit onto …

  Introduction As I’ve mentioned before, the TGO Challenge is a 14 day coast-to-cost walk across Scotland running from May 14th – May 29th, 2010. I’ve been accepted into this year’s event from a field of international applicants. I’m in the final …