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Have careless hikers ever been billed for rescues? Articles often conclude with statements like "authorities are considering billing the hikers for the cost of their rescue," but I have never seen quantitative evidence where payment was made in recent years. I hike safe and obtain the card every...

An avid mountain biker, I have been following and supporting this effort in its evolving form for a few years now. I hope opponents understand this does not give bikes carte blanche access to wilderness areas. Rather, it removes the blanket ban and gives local land managers and user communities...

Summit fever can push us hikers into making poor decisions that result in our peril. A similar thing can happen with hunters. It is called buck fever. When game is spotted, adrenaline spikes, and impulsive decisions can be made with disastrous outcomes. As a former hunter from Michigan, I have...

It was on the internet, it must be true! We all get burned sometimes. Spot uses the GlobalStar network, which uses an uplink frequency of 1.6GHz. A distress signal would transmit at this frequency. The downlink use 2.5GHz, which is used in two-way communication, like sat phones. Not much is...

I picked up the ACR ResQLink a year ago as my solo hikes grew longer with bushwhacks. In theory, PLB's should be more reliable in rugged tree covered terrain due to longer wavelength (406MHz) and much higher transmit powers than tracker devices such as SPOT that use the Globalstar satellite...

When I hiked Cabot in early March this year, the gate was buried in the old-snow bank and looked as though it hadn't moved all winter.

My La Sportiva Ultra Raptors finally came in this past week. They were on back order from Mountain Gear. At least I got a good price... I ordered half size bigger than my size 42 Scarpa's after reading reports they run a tad small. The 42.5's fit perfectly. I took them over to Mt Cardigan in...

Thanks for the excellent review. I went to EMS in Nashua this weekend to try on some La Sportiva's, but they didn't have the Raptors or the Bushidos that were also recommended. Definitely have to get down to REI in Reading now. I did get out on NH granite with my Merrill Moab shoes after...

Not paying attention and stepping on a loose stone or small root under the heel is how I most often turn ankles. I found low heel rise approach shoes reduces the risk of this happening. It's a more stable platform. Just wish I could get all-day comfort from the Scarpa's I love.

I can anecdotally back that claim up. I used to have terribly rolly ankles, having double-fractured an ankle from a roll several years ago. Plate, screws, pins, the works. It is one of the reasons I avoided hiking. When Tim invited me on a Presi traverse last summer, I started hiking with nylon...

Very fair question. As JFB just commented, approach shoes are not the most comfortable for long hikes. They are stiffer and have minimal underfoot padding. I've grown fond of linking multiple peaks together in bigger loops, so most hikes now go over 15mi. Longest hike so far was 24mi. Usually...

Here's the deal. Both shoes I've hiked in have "Vibram" soles. The Scarpa's grip like crazy, the Merrell's are lousy. I suspect the rubber composition is very different between the two shoes, but there is nothing in the product labels or advertising jargon that brings this out. Of course, the...

So far I've hiked Abe/Ellen in rain and Mansfield/Camel's Hump on dry day with some wet areas. I did not feel confident even on the dry Mansfield ridgeline in the Merrell's like I would in my Scarpa's. Maybe Vermont granite is slicker than my home state NH granite. Planning on a Pemi Loop soon...

I became an avid hiker about a year ago. Last summer I picked up a pair of Scarpa Crux hiking shoes, marketed as "approach" shoes. I have tendency to roll ankles and I liked how stable my feet felt in these shoes. I was thoroughly impressed with grip of these shoes on smooth granite, especially...

I have never encountered coyotes while hiking, but have encountered them many times while mountain biking after dusk in southern NH and Mass. Kind of spooky with helmet light panning forest and seeing 6 or 8 sets of glowing eyes staring back at you out of the darkness. They always kept their...

FWIW, I started this winter with Yaktrax XTR's. They utterly failed on my second hike. The front pad area is joined together by nothing more than a thin sheet of plastic, not metal plate. This design is completely unsafe for hiking icy trails in the mountains and the XTRs should only be used for...

Anybody have boots on ground condition of Jefferson Notch Rd? FS site says open unless any snow, then gates locked. Was wondering if vehicles or snowmobiles have been on it, packing it to a firm base. Toying with a bike-hike-bike loop this weekend.