Recent content by whcobbs

I am a fan of Northern Lites for off trail backpacking in gentle terrain, they are the lightest, but experience on ADK trails was disappointing. You need more traction, and rocks beat up the NLs. Suggest EVOs. Folks at the LOJ are helpful. Walt

In my early fifties I tore 1st L, then R medial meniscus marathoning. Advised go low impact, gave up running and tennis, went swim bike, now 73 & still swim bike, some back packing. The readjustment from running was substantial, there's a learning curve. Walt

Logan bars, bake them yourself, last forever in dry state, don't crumble, high calorie Walt

Re Economy DriClime Windshirt: I've had mine more than 15 years and still use it for biking and hiking. A more recent version had an inferior revision of the breast pocket, not really a big deal. Measured in $/year it's actually a bargain. Walt

Albee-- I had an email exchange with Northern Lites. They will repair/replace the broken clips ( mine now need repair ) for the cost of shipping. Walt

What runs through my mind is that an ice axe at the top of Abol slide might well encounter only rock in the first crucial seconds after the slip/fall. So do you rope up, or what? Walt

Had my Northern Lites Backcountry for 10 years +. Yes, they are lite with good flotation, in keeping with light weight winter back country back packing. No, they are not any good on a moderately steep slope or any kind of icing condition, e. g. most of the ADKs. I like them best with mukluks...

I have used Spot 1 for going on 5 years, through hiked the JMT, Foothills Trail (SC), 50 miles along the AT Hundred Mile Wilderness, various other AT and Whites excursions. My wife and my sister have been able to plot my position from the Spot website and anticipate problems on occasion. When...

The lad from Toronto needs to be integrated with some more experienced winter hikers familiar with the Whites. He has initiative and the desire for winter hiking/camping. I have had the pleasure of meeting Montreal natives on ADK peaks and at the Loj, accomplished outdoorsmen. Perhaps he is a...

Hikerbrian, And please don't neglect springs! In Pennsylvania the springs along the AT run year round at 43 d F. With insulated water bottles, its possible to hike without melting snow, as your bottle should stay liquid for about 6 hours. However, at -16 F in the Adirondacks, this scheme...

I like to SS solo in late winter in the ADK wilderness areas. Trails well marked, snow pack consolidated, not many people, ADK leantos plentiful. Last August-September I "soloed" the John Muir trail, Tuolumne Meadow to Whitney Portal. Quotes because the JMT was pretty popular, never more than...

Thanks for the bday message in March. Not a great hiking year for me, but I did get to do some day hikes at the AT Conservancy Biannual Meeting Emory VA couple weeks ago. Hope to be visiting the Forum more often Walt

Sill Sealer Paradox-- Sill Sealer sounds like a good thing. Is the foam rigid or maybe semi-rigid, and I guess closed-cell? Is it a Home Depot or Lowe's sort of item? The only trouble with fiber insulation is that it does get beat up by the bottle after a while. Thanks, Walt

bottle cozy-- sew one Chip-- It's easy to sew or have sewn an insulated sack, bottle size, and with a drawstring. If you work out the dimensions right the sack will double as an overmitt frost bite preventer. I sewed mine from silnylon for the shell, primaloft insulation (because it has...

Love that Pharaoh Thanks Dub, great pix. Doesn't look like much snow pack for SS types (so far). Walt