I grabbed my favorite running rain pants — the Ultimate Direction Ultra Pants — and noticed that the zipper on the pant leg was damaged — the slider was off on one side of the teeth — ugh! The zipper is small and somewhat delicate and the pressure of forcing my shoe through the pant Continue reading…
I’ve been getting asked a lot recently: what is that thing on the bill of my hat? Well, for the past couple of years, I’ve been wearing and reviewing hooded sun shirts – I now have quite the collection! I tend to travel a lot above treeline and it can get really windy – and Continue reading…
For my Colorado Trail FKT attempt I wanted to have the best footwear system I could possibly put together. Foot health and comfort is one of the most critical details to get right: if your feet hurt, if they’re covered in blisters, if they start looking similar to hamburger helper: you’re not going to have Continue reading…
In this episode of Backpacker Radio, Justin Simoni discusses his extensive hiking and biking adventures including traversing Colorado’s highest peaks and creating unique routes. The conversation covers his car-free lifestyle, his gear preferences, and the physical challenges faced during his expeditions.
At a glance The Black Diamond Distance LT 1100 Headlamp is a handsome, sleek hiking/backpacking/trail running headlamp with an impressive amount of lighting settings, all within a well-engineered package, weighing in at only a little over a hundred grams. The battery is modular, with the light itself and buttons on a swivel housing, connected Continue reading…
(There is talk of bodily functions — my bodily functions — in this post. If you do not want to read about that, kindly skip over this post. — JS) I’ve often been in the situation where after a long hot day, I feel particularly dehydrated. I’ll stand on a bathroom weight scale morbidly curious, Continue reading…
You’ve probably heard of the fictional character called the Lone Ranger, but what about the Long Ranger? Meet Justin Simoni, aka the Long Ranger. I heard about Justin back when I was going to school in Boulder, Colorado. I put his name in Google and instead of a running blog, I found his art website. Continue reading…
My trips into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to traverse over from Salida to the start of Lake Como Road are some of my all time favorite projects. The terrain is nothing short of some of the most difficult I’ve found in Colorado, but the route in total has also been some of the most Continue reading…
At a Glance What Comes in the Box? The box itself is quite small for the size of the headlamp, which I appreciate, as it shows a little thought when it comes to package waste. Inside, you’ll find the headlamp itself with strap. The headlamp does feel surprisingly hefty for its size as it’s not Continue reading…
Monday “Rest” Rest is a difficult word for me to use for today as it was actually a 14+ hour work day, without any time to really train in any effective way. Tuesday Bouldering, 1 hour I was also going to do some sort of spinning, but I forgot my phone to watch something, so Continue reading…
Monday Hike/Snorkel Had some photos to take – the weather is exquisite at the moment – so off to some local snowy peaks I went! Turned out the snow was quite heavy, and I did as much snorkeling to some locations I knew than I did hiking, which took quite a bit of time while Continue reading…
Starting and finishing a summit of Mount Massive adds 26 miles to the 14 1/2 miles East Slopes route of Mount Massive, a perfect challenge for THE LONG RANGER – and in Winter to boot! No traffic once on the trail made the going a tough, slow: slog!
Monday Flat Run Got a coffee and then visited the Sport Recycler. From the house, there’s some good options to get some flat miles, including around my old stomping grounds near Yarmouth and points North. I’ve been trying to up the weekly mileage a bit, as I feel that’s a weakness of mine: I can Continue reading…
My thanks to both Eric and Zach for having me on their Colorado 14er-related podcast. The podcast is aimed at sharing insights and stories of some of the easier routes on 14ers, but they thought it would be fun to have me on as well, even though I described the routes I take more being Continue reading…
Head on over to OutdoorGearLab’s updated Ultralight Sleeping Bag review roundup, where I go over some of the best ultralight sleeping bags available and help you pick out the best sleeping bag for you!
One COLD ride up Guanella Pass to summit Bierstadt, traversing the Sawtooth and topping out on Blue Sky! I have a Patreon and release videos like these early to members. If you would like to support the content I create, consider becoming a member yourself!
My thanks to both Eric and Zach for having me on their Colorado 14er-related podcast. The podcast is aimed at sharing insights and stories of some of the easier routes on 14ers, but they thought it would be fun to have me on as well, even though I described the routes I take more being Continue reading…
Note: these sunglasses were generously supplied to me by Vallon. At a Glance The Watchtowers are Vallon’s entry into cycling sunglasses, which they’ve specifically designed for gravel/adventure-type riding – which is why they tapped me to give them some test rides and see what I think of them. I took these shades on what I Continue reading…
In April of 2023 I set up to walk the Continental Divide ridge from Loveland Pass to the next paved road 40 miles away at Hoosier Pass. I thought it would be an easy walk in the mountains. Turned out to be anything but!
A righteous time in the Sangre de Cristos. It’s no secret that this is one of my favorite ranges, but I’ve never visited in Winter – time to ameliorate that! Not the easiest location to get to car-free, but there is a bus that arrives at Alamosa at 7pm. I figured I could ride the Continue reading…