Awe Yeah! Optimus has sent us some goodies to test, play with, and review! The Optimus Crux Lite Solo Cook System entered the market in 2012 as an Ultralight Camping Cook System that wouldn’t break the bank. This is a flooded market with brands like MSR, and Jetboil taking their share there’s a lot to…
Field Tested: Katadyn BeFree 1.0L Water Filter
When I first got into hiking and backpacking I would carry an MSR Sweetwater pump style water filter. This type of filters uses a lever/plunger assembly and tubing to filtrate the water through a carbon filter for drinking. While they do work really well for filtering gross dirty water in a fast manner, they are…
Single Day Pemi Loop! – August 2015
With cooler days in New England becoming more common. The sun going down earlier and earlier with each passing day. I decided I needed to squeeze in another long trail run / hike in the whites before the seasons change. Having just completed a Presidential Traverse in July… I wanted to push myself harder than before. This brought me to the Pemigewasset Loop AKA the Pemi Loop!
My First Hike Ever! – A Failed Attempt At Mt. Isolation
August 2011 – With great success comes great failure. I figured a post like this might help some of the newcomers to the hobby or give the experienced folks a good laugh.This is a story about my friends Jon, Dan and myself back in 2011. This was a time when I had no idea what hiking or backpacking really involved. We all decided we wanted to take on a new challenge and hike a 4000 footer in New Hampshire. It was August and the weather looked good. We googled a bit and tried to find the most “remote” peak to do an overnight backpacking trip. We all went on Amazon and visited REI stores several times to build our arsenal of packs and gear. On August 27th, 2011 we embarked on our maiden voyage.