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…
The gear you bring for an adventure like the Sangre de Cristo Range Traverse can be critical to the success of the trip itself. The momentously mountainous route asks much from you to be ready for anything. With a low point of 7,073′, a high point of 14,304′ and an average elevation of 11,857′, temperature Continue reading…
LighterPack For your convenience, I’ve put all the gear I used in a LighterPack: Below I’ll go over in more detail on the majority of the gear I used. Anything not covered below is listed in the LighterPack, and/or described in the video above: Clothing Being September and with a cold front moving in at Continue reading…
Gear Mentioned My gear goes through some tough challenges with me, and I often find myself modifying it to better fit my needs to survive my adventures. My Ultimate Direction Fastpack 40 is no different. Here are some changes I’ve made to my pack: Patched and Reinforced Back Pocket Scrambling is not friendly to the Continue reading…
La Sportiva recently released a new take on their reputable Ultra Raptor trail runner: the Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX. Building upon the battle-tested base of the current Ultra Raptor model, it adds a few new features and flourishes: mid top ankle cuff, Gore-Tex upper, a new black and grey colorway, and it comes in Continue reading…
Fastpacking differs from ultralight backpacking to me (although the line is indeed blurry) in one major way: the brisk movement through terrain is most likely the only objective. There’s rarely a large camping/cooking/hanging out portion of a fastpack. Instead it’s all about that forward motion: fastpacking is a multi-day, unsupported run. It’s best to be Continue reading…
Nutrition is a difficult subject for me to broach, as I don’t feel as if I’m an expert on the subject to give advice to others. But, I can share the strategies that I personally take when doing my projects, and invite you to use it as a model for your own experiments. What I Continue reading…
Scrambling! Joyously moving on easy rock routes. In Boulder, we have a King’s ransom of big rocks to fumble about on and there’s a lifetime of routes to tick. The Flatirons are one of Boulder’s most iconic natural wonders. It’s somewhat impossible to roll into to town and not take a moment to look out Continue reading…
The Sportiva Mutant is my personal Greatest Of All Time trail runner – and it’s a good chance, it’s yours too. Sock-like upper, tons of cush., knobby outsole, and sticky as all get out rubber. They’re my go-to shoe for any on or off trail adventure, be it a run, a fastpack, or a backpack. Continue reading…
OFF TO ALASKA! I’ll guiding two intense trips with the man/myth/legend/my Boulder neighbor of walk-abouts: Andrew Skurka in Gates of the Arctic National Park/Preserve for the rest of the month of May.
Check out the La Sportiva Blog to read and read about just how I got to where I am in all this peak-bagging self-powered adventuring. Thanks goes to La Sportiva for believing in me, and providing me with the best trail running shoe on the planet: The Mutant.
The electronics gear kit list! Bringing any sort of gear – especially electronic gear, is a fine balance between the convenience of having the resource, and the burdens of carrying it all with you. Doubly so with electronic gear, as it all requires some sort of power source to charge it all up. Choose wisely. Continue reading…
To my surprise, people seem curious in the gear I use that comprises my sleep system. I’ll be describing my current setup that I’ll be using for the Tour of the Highest Hundred, a two-month bikepacking and peak bagging adventure. Like everything, it’s a constantly evolving kit, that changes depending on weather, seasons, geographic location/environment, Continue reading…
Although it took me a little while to warm up to the idea of using a GPS, once I got one, I found them almost indispensable. This walkthrough is my basic workflow on getting a .gpx file into my eTrex 20. As much as the Garmin eTrex is a great piece of hardware, it’s software Continue reading…
Somewhat puzzling, I haven’t mentioned on this site officially that I’m now an Ultimate Direction Ambassador! I utilized the UD Peter Bakwin Adventure Vest on my little 14er Mountain Bike/Run shindig last year and it filled out the exact niche I needed: a pack that I could ride and run in, without being too bulky Continue reading…