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Maddy, It's rare enough to have the opportunity to see a bear, it's even rarer to have that photo. Awesome pic!

I second the brownies! Always my favorate on long hikes. A giftcard to a local restaurant (Hiker friendly, of course) in an upcoming trail town can be awesome magic. Hope he's having a great time.

Below is a picture of a bear print taken about four weeks ago in the Zealand falls area. Sorry, I didn’t think to place a piece of gear for scale, but I’d guess that the size was about 6 x 6. In 35 years of hiking I’ve seen 3 bears in the wild (one was with a cub) and all three were skittish...

In addition to the routes being different, many of them were not broken in. There were fewer hikers, and because of this, some trails stayed unbroken most of the winter. We also had no internet. We didn’t know which trails were broken in until we got up there. We would pick a few different...

I’ve done the Ammo-Jewell loop a number of times in winter. The above tree line distance to Washington from the Ammo is 1.3 miles verses the above tree line distance to Washington from the Jewell trail is 2.1 miles. It’s a shorter distance above tree line traveling from the Ammo to Washington...

*Raises hand* I use a whisperlight. :D

Sometimes the change in elevation can effect the bottle pressure and alter the effectiveness of the pump. Try releasing the pressure by unscrewing the pump from the bottle. Tighten the pump back to the bottle and then repressurize the bottle.

I met two hikers on Saturday who said they went down The Dry River Trail (Oaks Gulf) from LOC. They were disapointed and regretted their descision to hike the Dry River. They said it was a mess and difficult to follow. They went back up to the ridge via the Mount Eisenhower Trail. Sorry, I...

What do Thru Hikers do?....Check out TrailJournals.com and read the AT thru hiker's journals. Specifically the journals that were recently updated. There's quite a few stories of hikers stranded in small towns and unable to get back to the trail head because of washed out roads. I'm not sure...

Wow. Awesome hike!

If your interested in a big day, I like to do a large loop in that area: 12 miles. I start at the Mt. Major parking lot and hike around Major and head over to East Quary, then on to Rand, Klem, Round Pond, Mac, Anne, Straightback and finish for a late day snack on top of Major. You can...

Last time I stayed at the Heermance site I had to go down the Whiteface Trail (North, towards the Sleepers) about .3 mi. to get water. The water source was a small stream flowing across the trail right before the trail began to accend up to the junction with Rollins.

I would recommend the REI Taj 3. We’ve been using it for about 8 years for a family of three. Our boy was about 7 when we started using it. We have also used this tent for three adults and still have room for gear and stuff. It has two doors and two vestibules. My only complaint is that the...

At this time of year, in the rain, a short hike to a raging river or a waterfall sounds like a great idea. However, 5 to 10 miles in the White Mountains, in the rain. No. It's hypothermia weather. I'd rather stay home.

We've done a similar hike to the one you mentioned; only we started on the Piper Trail, went over Chocorua, then to Kate Sleepers and finishing at Waterville Valley. An excellent hike. There's some very nice camping at the intersection of Bee Line Trail and the Boles Trail. Paugus Brook runs...

Another way to determine if there are leeches in a pond is to put some warm water in a plastic bottle, secure a string around the neck of the bottle and place the bottle in the water. Tie the string to the shore. Wait about ten minutes and slowly pull the bottle in. If there are leeches...

I have a custom made Moss tent. The tent has two bodies that share the same fly and poles. One body is for winter (fully enclosed panels) and the other body is for summer (netting panels). The tent is a small lightweight two-person model. Because of the tent’s versatility, I constantly switch...

I’ve been surprised by so many wonderful backcountry places and have had just as many surprise encounters with wildlife, but one of the most unexpected surprises for me was my first hike ever. It was 1976 and I was with some friends driving around Maine. We stopped on the side of the road at a...

Tent platforms are difficult to rely on in winter/snow conditions. Unless they are continuously cleared off of snow during the winter, more than likely they will be covered with snow and possibly they will be unable to find. The benefit of camping in snow is that you do not need to find a...

I used the Bearvolt model BV-400 for 20 days on the JMT in '05. Canisters were required. I chose this model because it was certified and was approved by the parks. The can weighed 2lb 9oz., was clear and was rated to hold 7 days of food, which it did. During my hike I met a ranger who asked...