Looking for New Boots

Published on May 9, 2008 in Gadgets and Gear and hiking. 2 Comments

Another New England transplant wrote me this morning (how many of us are there here? You guys all want to get together to try to find good apple cider?) because she wants to take advantage of the the big REI Anniversary Sale before it’s over. Her target: New boots. She writes:

Wanted to see if you have any advice on good brands. I used to have high-top ones for ankle support, but I rarely hike with a big pack anymore and mostly just do day hikes, so I figure I maybe don’t need to buy big ol’ heavy ones.

I’m partial to the high-top boots myself, and recommended the Vasque Breeze, a lightweight, superbreatheable high-top that’s done me very well for over two years on short day hikes and 3-day backpacking trips. As luck would have it, both the
women’s and
men’s versions are on sale, too.

… but since I’ve already found my preferred boot, I’m not much help if she gets to the store and doesn’t dig the Vasques. So does anyone else have a favorite lightweight boot or low-top hiking shoe? Share! And hurry up, the sale’s almost over.

Hiking Sycamore Canyon

Published on May 8, 2008 in Point Mugu State Park, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Write-Ups and hiking. 0 Comments

null A pleasant loop through the low mountains and wide grasslands of northern Point Mugu State Park. This route features a seasonal waterfall, cabin ruins, and great spring wildflower blooms — and while I hiked just under 11 and a half miles, there are plenty of alternate, shorter routes.

Continue reading ‘Hiking Sycamore Canyon’

New RSS Feed

Published on May 6, 2008 in Geek Stuff and site news. 0 Comments

I know there’s a few of you guys out there who subscribe to Modern Hiker via an RSS reader.

That’s great, and I encourage it, wholeheartedly. But hey, can you guys do me a solid and change your subscription to the Feedburner RSS feed? Not only will it give me a better idea of who’s reading the site, but it will also allow me to add stuff like comments, links to email the post, and other fun stuff in the RSS feed itself … at least, in theory.

All you have to do is click on that big orange RSS logo to the left, or click here.

Modern Hiker recommends — and is also horribly addicted to — the Google Reader. But whatever floats your boat is fine by me.

Thanks!

Sycamore Canyon Blooms

Published on May 6, 2008 in Photography. 0 Comments

I hiked a big loop in and around Sycamore Canyon over the weekend, and was surprised to still see a very healthy amount of wildflowers dotting the landscape.

I’ll have a full write-up posted soon, but here’s a few flowers to whet your appetite until then.

Assuming, of course, that you eat flowers.

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e-Survivalist in Joshua Tree

Published on May 6, 2008 in Gadgets and Gear, Geek Stuff, Joshua Tree National Park, in the media and product reviews. 1 Comment

nullThis weekend, the LA Times ran a story by Dan Neil, following his adventures as he tries to make a six-day, north-south backpack through Joshua Tree National Park — weighed down with 7 pounds of high-tech gear. And that’s 7 pounds in a pack that already tips the scales at 50 pounds. Ultralight, this is not.

I realize this Neil probably did this just for the story. No experienced hiker would feel the need for a GPS receiver, two personal locator beacons and a satellite phone. Nor would they ditch their tent in the middle of the park because their pack was getting too heavy. *I* wouldn’t bring an iPod, but that’s a personal thing.

There are mini-reviews of several of the devices he uses, including the much lusted-after Garmin Colorado, as well as a few traditional travel tales to keep you entertained. Neil’s a good writer, and his description of the mindset of long-distance hiking is one of the most accurate I’ve ever read:

Like other sustained-heart-rate aerobic exercises, backpacking releases neuro-hormones that, first, bring a rush of mental energy — the brainstorms, flashes of insight and relived conversations that you mutter to yourself like a crazy person.

Then, the lull of repetition, the hypnosis of boots, the trance of the trail. Crunch crunch crunch. No talking now. This is the time of listening to your body.

But for all his modern gadget-based assistance, in the end — even though he drove through the park before he set out to bury water all over the place — after 3 days and 40 miles his toenails threaten to fall off and he hitches a ride back to his car.

Goes to show you — the gadgets don’t make the hiker. The hiker makes the gadgets.

But the hiker still probably wants all those gadgets, anyway.

Photo Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

ZOMG Heights

Published on April 30, 2008 in Video, climbing and hiking. 0 Comments

For a hiker, I have a few issues with heights — mainly where sheer, death-creating drops are involved.

I’m getting better — while I still have trouble making the descent on Strawberry Peak’s Mountaineer’s Route, I only had moderately severe leg-shaking while going down the Mooney Falls ladder in Havasu. One trail I will probably never do, however, is the Camino Del Rey in Spain.

Besthike dug up this first-person video tour of the hundred-year-old crumbling cliff-side walkway, and it’s guaranteed to give you at least two or three “OMG, no!” moments while you’re watching it.

… or maybe it will make you a little more confident in tackling those less terrifying ascents you’ve been putting off.


Toe Jams

Published on April 29, 2008 in clothes and hiking. 2 Comments

A new hiker named Matt has just started regularly hiking some longer distance trails, but he wrote in to me because he’s got a toe-related problem he wants fixed, pronto. He writes:

My second toe on my left foot (but oddly enough, not my right foot…) is longer than all the others. This can cause intense pain when going downhill for long stretches as my toe hits the front of the boot…

I’m wondering if any of your readers might have a similar problem and how they might have dealt with it. Should I get a bigger pair of boots just for one toe, or is there another way to solve the problem?

I will say — when I first started hiking, I had no idea what I was doing. I figured an athletic shoe should be tight fitting to give me the best support to prevent twisted ankles. I also figured cotton would be the best sock material for hot, Southern California days.

Needless to say, my feet for the first few months of hiking got pretty beat up. After spending week after week nursing blisters and sore toes, I decided to actually ask someone about proper boot fit. Things I learned:

- Cotton is awful for hiking socks.
- Buying hiking boots is much different than replacing your everyday sneakers.

I was lucky enough to get a very helpful clerk at the Santa Monica REI, who explained the basics of boot-buying to me. One of the most shocking bits of info I remembered was that boots should be supportive, but not necessarily tight. The best fit actually has to allow your foot a little bit of wiggle-room … which sounds like the problem Matt might be having.

Basically, when you’re hiking, you want your foot to have enough room to spread out to maintain balance, leave space for ventilation, deal with the slight swelling that happens when you’re walking 10 miles, and — most importantly — be able to deal with downhills. When you try on a new boot, you should find a diagonal surface and hit your foot against it — like you would if you were trying to make a quick stop on a steep downhill.

This mimics the way your foot will act in the boot when you’re coming back down from that summit. You want to make sure your toes don’t connect with the front of the boot — because if they do it once in the store, they’re going to do it thousands of times when you’re out on the trail.

null… so I hate to say it, but you might need to invest in a new pair o’ boots for this one. An arch-insole might change the way your foot sits in the boot enough to pull your middle toes back a bit, but changing the way your foot is positioned when you walk might cause discomfort in other ways.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? Or know of any other solutions? Don’t be shy.

image by pietroizzo

Hiking La Jolla Canyon

Published on April 29, 2008 in Point Mugu State Park, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Write-Ups and hiking. 0 Comments

null A beautiful hike in the coastal mountains. Phenomenal flower blooms in the spring, strong sun in the summer, and a small spring and waterfall (during wet years), the main attraction are large swaths of native California grassland — some of the last remaining unspoiled areas in the state. A well-traveled area with lots of trail options can make this area and easy couple of hours or a full day excursion.
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Sierra Madre Wildfire

Published on April 28, 2008 in Angeles National Forest, City Life and fires. 0 Comments

nullUnder the weekend heatwave, I was enjoying my first post-surgery hike just off the Pacific Coast Highway. Further east, however, a wedding at Sturtevant Camp was interrupted when a wildfire started tearing up the mountains just north of Sierra Madre.

The fire began just off Santa Anita Canyon Road and spread northwest toward Mount Harvard, burning over 400 acres (as of Monday morning) and causing Sierra Madre officials to evacuate a large chunk of their city.

Nothing has been posted to the Angeles National Forest web site yet (that site is sloooow to change), but I think it’s safe to assume the Santa Anita Canyon should be off your list of hiking destinations for at least a week or two.

Via the LA Times.

Image by gtiboogieman

Getting Your Girlfriend (or Boyfriend) to Hike

Published on April 25, 2008 in City Life and hiking. 1 Comment

nullI got an email from a recent L.A. transplant the other day, who’d just moved here after living in Glacier National Park for six months. Lucky guy that he is, he managed to find himself a Gal Friday who isn’t the stereotypical SoCal airhead. But, there’s one problem — he can’t seem to get her to go hiking with him:

“It’s as if there is some deep-seeded fear of being away from the city.

I have gone hiking in the Santa Monica mountains, specifically the circle X ranch loop. I figured this hike would be perfect for a beginner, but even that won’t convince her. So I am wondering if you have run into this problem before, and if so, what to do about it?”

Some of the best things about being a hiker in L.A. are the sheer amount and broad range of hiking that’s available to you. Do you want to kill 30 minutes on a quick morning pick-me-up? Can do. Do you want to spend 3 days trekking through a mountain wilderness? We got that, too. First up, you’ve got to do a little pre-production. Here are some hints for picking out a good first trail:

Continue reading ‘Getting Your Girlfriend (or Boyfriend) to Hike’