On Sunday, I finally got to climb Mt Monadnock (3,165) in New Hampshire or Grand Monadnock, as it is also known. This mountain is the second most climbed peak in the world with 125,000 visitors a year, second only to Mt. Fuji …

I purchased a pair of ultralight snowshoes this winter designed for mountaineering and winter backpacking that are manufactured by a company called Northern Lites. Weighing just 43 oz per pair, these 30″ snowshoes are 57 oz lighter than 30″ MSR Lightning Ascents …

I got out Sunday for a hike up Mt. Major (~2,100) in Southern New Hampshire about 90 miles north of my house. We had a pleasant 3 hour, 5 mile hike up to the summit and down on a snow-packed treadway with …

As a side sleeper, I have a hard time getting to sleep outdoors when my head is not propped up. This is not an problem during the winter when I have enough extra down or synthetic clothing to bunch up as a pillow, …

On Sunday I climbed Welch Mountain (2,605 ft) and Dickey Mountain (2,734 ft), both on the 52-with-a-View List, with a meetup.com group called the New England Hiking and Adventurer’s Group. This is a very active group of hikers, climbers and peakbaggers that …

Over the holidays, my wife gave me an ultralight cuben fiber backpack cover from Zpacks.com. Weighing 1 oz, it replaces a silnylon Equinox pack cover I’ve been using the past few years that weighs 3.2 oz. A backpack cover is an important …

Marmot makes two styles of Precip Pants: Full Zip Precip Pants and Regular Precips. The Full Zips are designed for winter hiking, backpacking and climbing. They are sometimes called “New Style” Precips by online retailers because they were introduced after regular Precips (also called …

Hiking the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail I went for a very pleasant 5 mile ridge walk last Sunday at the Mt. Tom State Reservation in Western Massachusetts, overlooking the town of Northampton and the Connecticut River Valley. I used to live in this area …

A balaclava is an incredibly useful piece of gear to bring hiking or camping. It can be worn during the day in cool weather as a hat, face mask, or neck gaiter or at night as head covering to keep you extra …

Do you still long for the old days when Golite made a backpack that had mesh pockets? Those were the days of the Golite Trek, a multi-day backpack with an internal volume of just under 3950 cubic inches with a 700 cubic …

Step-in Crampons After much consideration, I decided to buy a pair of Black Diamond Sabertooth Pro step-in crampons last week that require front and toe boot welts, rather than strap-on ones that can be used with a wider variety of boots. The …

Hiking and Lyme Disease Last year, I switched to wearing long pants for all of my day hiking and backpacking trips to lower my risk of Lymes disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I have an alarming number of friends who’ve contracted …

Scarpa Omega Mountaineering Boots are lightweight plastic mountaineering boots that weighs just 5.2 lbs per pair in a size 9.5 US. They retail for $360/pair. The level of ankle flex in the boot is fantastic: almost like a leather boot instead of …

Outdoor Research Alti Mountaineering gloves are designed for technical climbing in very cold weather or at high altitudes where you need to be able to grasp and manipulate tools and ropes. The shells are waterproof Gore-Tex with leather palms and are anatomically …