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This is the fattening up time for black bears. I was wondering if the mandatory bear-canister rule in the Dacks has had any effect on the frequency of bear visits to campsites there. I know in the past, the odds were 100%. And hanging food from trees, cables, etc. had little effect in deterring...

The men's Asolo AFX 520 GTX is the finest hiking boot I have ever owned. It fit me perfect right out of the box with hardly any break-in period. My current pair is wearing out, but this model is no longer made. Anybody know what its "successor" is? If I can't get another 520 I'd like to get the...

I have to seam seal a lot of tents - I mean A LOT. The seam sealers I've used before come in very small containers, a few oz. What IS seam sealer anyway? Is there a commonly available substitute I can buy in a quart or gallon container? Can I make it myself from common petrochemicals? Seams...

Picaridin is supposed to be an alternative to DEET. Anybody tried it out? Cutter uses it in some of their repellants. Their website however does not say what percentage of the chemical is active ingredient. If picaridin is as good as some people say, I would love to find a 100% version of it...

I've been dieting and exercising for a number of weeks now to bring my weight down and my stamina up for some major backpacking this Fall. My question deals with the so-called "energy" foods sold in outdoors stores. Do these foods really provide "quick energy" on the trail? The ads make it...

I'm trying to find a lightweight 2-person tent with a ceiling higher than the usual 4' max I've found thusfar. I'm tall, and when I'm sitting Indian-style, my head rubs the sides/ceiling of every tent I've tried (except the family mega-pound ones). Campmor has a chart for all its tents, but none...

I'm a die-hard 46er in love with solitude and mountain splendor. My family wants me to go with them on a trip to the Grand Canyon. Can someone like me really find an Adirondack-type outdoors experience there? Thanks, and if so, any tips would be deeply appreciated.

As I read these winter trail reports, I am struck by the amount of traffic the 46s get in winter. You're almost guaranteed in having any summit trail open and packed down even this late in the season. Time was (here I go ... "When I was your age...etc") when the trail register at the Loj listed...

Lately I've been seeing ads on TV for the "forever" flashlight. It does not use batteries or bulbs. Instead it uses an electrical induction principle to produce juice that runs the LEDs. You shake the thing for 30 secs and you get 5 minutes of light. Sounds like a hiker's dream, yes? No...

Got a late start on Wednesday intending to do as much of the GR as possible. What a great day. Temp just at freezing. Lost daylight though 200' from the top of Upper WJ and had to bivy on the only flat spot I could find, a 3' X 5' ledge. My tent sucks to bat. Ahy hoo, woke up way too late...

I'm planning on doing about 5 days in the daks soon, just moving from peak to peak as the spirit moves me. I'll sleep wherever I happen to be at nightfall. I need to pack light, so I'm wondering about others' experiences with this sort of trekking. Specifically I'd like to know about shelters...

And now for something completely different! I can't cross-country ski worth a damn, so I was wondering if anybody here has ever tried sledding ... yes sledding ... down the trails to the peaks? Glissading is fun but it would seem that a proper flat-bottom sled could be a very quick way down a...

Anybody know if digital cameras function normally in winter temps?

Was just wondering if anybody out there has info on getting to Rocky Peak via the route from Chapel Pond by ascending to the altitude of the col between Giant and RP and then bushwhacking to the col. How hard/easy is that b-w? From the S face of Giant on the way up, it looks covered with low...

And now for something completely different. Having admired the cliffs, slabs and dikes above and to the south of Chapel Pond, I thought many years ago that this would be a unique way to the summit of Round Mountain. The traditional route is kind of round-about. The forecast was exceptional so I...

Anybody know if Round Mountain can be climbed via the cliffs above Chapel Pond? I have no formal rock climbing training but I have climbed many of the slides in the Daks. I've done the Trap Dike on Colden several times. Can someone like myself do it? Seems like it would be an interesting...

I have an old gray pur water filter. I tried to find an element for it, but could not find one at the REI site. But they did have a filter that looks almost exactly like the pur. It's called the "hiker". Are these really the same filters? Will new katadyn elements fit my old pur? Thanks.

Instead of taking along my 4 lb tent, I was thinking of saving weight by using my 16' X 20' silcoat nylon sheet (half pound). Anybody ever use something like this in building a snow shelter? Just wondering what are the recommended methods. Is this a bad idea? Thanks.

I've seen the snow field on the NE slope of Mt. Marcy filled with snow long into the spring season. Anybody want to take a guess as to how deep the snow would be in that hollow at this time of year? If you've checked it out in summertime you may have some idea. But I never have. Just curious...

I often hike alone in winter in the Daks. I've dropped in a spruce trap or two and spent 10 - 20 minutes extricating myself. I'm wondering if there are any tips you could offer if I ever fell in the mother of all spruce traps. (Do they ever top 6' feet?) The problem seems to be that once you...