by Paty | Jul 19, 2021 | Gear, Oregon Coast Trail, West Coast
Packing for the Oregon Coast in June/July was a much more daunting challenge than I ever expected. First up, I wanted to pack appropriately for the weather conditions. Locals joke that there are only two seasons on the Oregon Coast: (1) rainy or (2) windy. I’d...
by Paty | May 27, 2021 | Gear, Mt. Whitney
Trying to summit Mt. Whitney right in the middle of May can be a rough time of the year for an adventure. Lucky for me, the Sierras had below average snowfall this past winter, which meant less ice and snow to deal with above 10,000′. Consequently, I was able to...
by Paty | Mar 12, 2021 | Gear
It’s 2021 and I’m super ready to start the hiking season! I’ve been planning my tail off, in fact. Although the pandemic is still quashing my super long trail dreams of hiking the PCT or CDT, I am still excited to sink my teeth into a few shorter and middle-distance...
by Paty | Sep 27, 2020 | Gear, Hiking
Plenty of typical backpacking staples are missing in my food bag. No salami or pepperoni. No bags of beef jerky. Not even pre-packaged beef stroganoff or chili mac. As someone who follows a pescatarian diet (I eat fish about once a week when I’m off trail), my...
by Paty | Sep 15, 2020 | Gear, Uinta Highline Trail
When I was deciding how to use my REI dividend back in May of this year, I had one major purchase on the top of my wish list. I wanted a Garmin inReach Mini GPS device. Retailing at $350, this satellite communicator was a splurge for me. It was right on par with...
by Paty | Sep 12, 2020 | Gear, Rockies, Uinta Highline Trail
The Unita Highline Trail was the last of my summer thru-hikes for 2020. I’d already thru-hiked the Tahoe Rim Trail and North Umpqua Trail, so I pretty much had my gear dialed in for this adventure. Nonetheless, I did make some major additions and changes to the...