Backpacker (March 2010)

FINDBETTER HIKES NEAR YOUP. 22

+

(and stay on budget)

TESTEDHeadlamps

RaingearCameras

Wine!

Hike Farther,Feel Better

WAYS TO GET STRONGER AND RECOVER FASTER7

Take Your Best Photos Ever

TIPS FOR SCENICS, WILDLIFE,PORTRAITS & MORE66

PICTURE THIS: LEARN HOW TO CAPTURE

SUNRISE SHOTS LIKE THIS IMAGE OF

CHILE’S CUERNOS DEL PAINE ON PAGE 36.

ULTIMATE ROCKIES THE TOP TRAILS, VIEWS,PEAKS, AND CAMPSITES

Dream Big!affordable epics in Yellowstone, Yosemite, Alaska, Glacier & more34

MARCH 2010

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Options shown. 12010 EPA 17/23 city/highway mpg estimates for 4Runner 2WD V6. Actual mileage will vary. 2Before towing, confi rm your vehicle and trailer are compatible, hooked up and loaded properly and that you have any necessary additional equipment. Do not exceed any Weight Ratings and follow all instructions in your Owner’s Manual. The maximum you can tow depends on the total weight of any cargo, occupants and available equipment.3V6 models only. ©2009 Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

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03.2010 BACKPACKER 1312 BACKPACKER 03.2010

Ultimate Rockies With 3,000 miles of world-class alpine scenery in the heart of the country, no other North American range offers such easy access and immense payoff. From New Mexico to Canada, the continent’s most exalted mountains serve up several lifetimes of unforgettable adventure. Where to start? With this complete guide to the best weekend and weeklong treks, epic dayhikes, and summit climbs, of course. By Steve Howe, Rocky Mountain Editor

FAST FORWARD: REACH THE SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS’ HELL

ROARING LAKE AFTER JUST AN HOUR OF EASY HIKING ON THE

IMOGENE PASS LOOP (BELOW).

UTM 11T 0665397E 4876679N

Alaska! 60 The HikesPlan your perfect trip—from a budget-friendly weekend to an entry-level expedition—with fi eld reports from Steve Howe.

74 The Mystery Imagine an Alaska paradise with trout bigger than your leg, bears and caribou traipsing by camp, and no people—except your good friends. This place exists. Jonathan Dorn has photographic proof. He can’t tell you where it is, but he can tell you how to get there.

80 The Adventure Forty years after his own adolescent ascent of the Arctic’s Mt. Chamberlin, John Harlin returns with his 13-year-old daughter. But can she overcome her fear of mountains? On this father-child epic, glaciers and grizzlies may be the least of the hazards.

YOUARE

HERE

DESTINATIONS

22 NEW TRIPS NEAR YOU! 41 brand-new hikes from Asheville to Whitefi sh, mapped by our contributors.24 TOP 3 LUXE HIKESExplore trails by day, then kick back by night at these hiker-centric resorts.26 NATURAL WONDERS Death Valley’s blooms can blanket 100,00 acres. Plus: Colorado’s tallest ice waterfall and Florida’s tiny deer.28 MY BACKYARD ADIRONDACKSOur ’Daks junkie dishes on the best peaks, waterfalls, and campsites.29 RIP & GO WEEKEND ADVENTURES Load pack. Tear out page. Go. This month: Yosemite, Nebraska, and Maine. 35 THE PEAK MT. TAMALPAISNice: wilderness solitude with Pacifi c views. Nicer: It’s 20 miles from San Francisco and comes with a beer garden.

SKILLS

36 SHOOT LIKE A PROOur top photographers share their secrets. Plus: 6 trail-friendly cameras44 THE MANUAL SPRING SNOWFIELDCross the steeps safely and avoid ava-lanches with these guide-approved tips. 46 PREDICAMENT RAGING RIVERLearn the best way to ford an ice-cold torrent without getting swept away. 48 HEALTH HIKE FAR, FEEL BETTERDouble your mileage with our training plan. Recover with four healthy snacks. 50 GEAR SCHOOL INSULATION Here’s how to choose, store, and main-tain the right fi ll for your bag and parka.

GEAR

52 FIELD TEST HEADLAMPSFrom superbright to superlight, we review fi ve great lamps that do it all.56 REVIEW HYDRATIONDrink up with the best new bottles, packs, and more. Plus: go-fast shoes.

PEOPLE

58 The upside to getting downsized? More time to thru-hike! Plus: wilderness webcams and a record-setting paddler.

March 2010

Hike to the cover Jon Cornforth snapped this sunrise in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile.

60 BACKPACKER 11.2009

Alaska { } 2010

BigEasy

The


IMAX ENVY: ALASKA VIEWS PUT EVEN THE BIGGEST SCREEN TO SHAME.

HIKE UP 7,300-FOOT TRIANGLE PEAK TO SCORE THIS VISTA OF THE

CASTNER GLACIER (PAGE 68).

12

Ultimate Rockies Disappear into Yellowstone’s forgotten peaks. Bag Colorado’s most exciting Fourteener. Hike Utah’s unknown long trail. Our fi eld editors pick 24 epics for your Rockies life list. By Steve Howe

FEATURES

7 Editor’s Note 96 Eye in the Sky

COVERSTORY

COVERSTORY

COVERSTORY

COVERSTORY

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DURAFLEX_BP_JAN10.indd 1 11/13/09 2:05:02 PM


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READERS’ CHOICEBest trail snack

Vote this month at backpacker.com.

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IN MY...PACKFirst Ascent Guide Gloves

Despite 23 inches of snow in late October, winter didn’t hit Boulder as hard this year, thanks to these PrimaLoft-filled leather gloves from the design partnership of Eddie Bauer and the guides at Whittaker Mountaineering. For active,

technical use in cold temps, I highly recom-mend them. (Read a full review on page 54.) $119; XS-XL; firstascent.com

SanctuaryWE NEED IT MORE THAN EVER. AND WE KNOW EXACTLY WHERE TO FIND IT.

TOUGH YEAR, EH? I’ve never had a more stressful one myself, thanks to the econ-omy, increased job responsibilities, and the pressure that comes with having to do more with less—and faster. We’ve enjoyed memorable moments in the last 12 months, like winning three National Magazine Awards. And unlike the thru-hikers you’ll meet on page 58, we still have jobs. But you know that hamster-on-a-wheel feeling? That was me a few weeks ago, and the wheel only seemed to be accelerating. Not fun—for me, my wife, or my kids.

Shi Shi Beach changed all that. On paper, winter is the worst possible time to hike the northern section of Washington’s wild Olympic coast. Daylight fades just after 3 p.m., storm-fortifi ed tides rake the narrow spits, and rain falls in king-sized sheets. Sure enough, as if on cue, a 30-mph gale greeted us at the trailhead.

But there was a method to my madness. I needed to escape somewhere deeply quiet, to a remote spot where we could completely unwind. When we phoned the park’s backcountry desk with our plan, I knew we’d found it. The ranger’s response said it all: silence, then disbelief, then a warning, then laughter.

Backpackers intuitively understand that nature holds the best remedy for a whacked-out psyche. Wilderness really is a sanctuary—in all of the ways the term implies. But as with other remedies, you sometimes need a really strong dose, which is exactly what the Olympics in winter provided. Even as the wind and waves crashed, we found a place of stillness and refuge, almost holy, like the bosom of a church. Anywhere on earth, in any conditions, you can walk into the woods, peel away society’s barnacles, and meditate your way back to balance.

That’s what we discovered. Endless rain? No matter. We got silly wet exploring tide pools, then slept for 12 hours. (Wow, did that feel good.) Tides too high? We counted ferns, studied anemones, and blissed out on an agenda-free agenda. Need your own remedy? Shi Shi is one option (view my trip at backpacker.com/hikes/578574), or turn to page 60 for a route in America’s ultimate refuge: Alaska. Even if you have to wring puddles out of your socks—as I did—it’ll be worth it.

NETWORKHow to join our reader panel

Would it surprise you to learn that I gathered feed-back on every feature story in this issue from a select group of readers before our editors assigned any of the ideas? I did, and we

hope the results match what you want from BACKPACKER. If they don’t—or if you’d like to join the monthly voting on content, covers, and more—sign up for our exclusive panel at backpacker.com/readerpanel.

If you’ve read my column for a few years, you know that I shamelessly promote my favor-ite hikes, causes, and BACKPACKER ven-tures. But the latest project is one I can plug shame-free, because NationalParkTrips.com is the most comprehensive family of trip- planning sites for park fans on the web. Visit now to research your next getaway to Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, or Zion. You’ll find expert advice on the best outfitters, hikes, wildlife viewing, and more. You can also receive a free vacation kit with special offers on local accommodations and activities.

BOOKMARKSFive new national park sites

Editor’s NoteBY JONATHAN DORN

03.2010 BACKPACKER 7///// /WEB EXTRA

RELEASE YOUR INNER ANSELI have an old photo from a Rainier hike that’s so vibrant it instanty takes me back to the musky odor of the milkweed, the tartness of the huckleberries, and my buddy’s impromptu yoga poses. I have another picture from the Catskills that could have the same impact—but it’s dark and fuzzy. Sound familiar? If so, we have two cures. On page 36, our favorite photographers share their secrets for nailing stellar images. And at backpacker.com/pics, our photo editors dispense wisdom on exposure, composition, and techniques that will help you produce consistently great pics like the beauties in the 60-plus slideshows at backpacker.com/mediacenter.

0310EdNote.indd 7 12/3/09 5:28:38 PM


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10 BACKPACKER 03.2010 PHOTO BY CHAD CASE / IDAHO STOCK IMAGES

Inside this month...22 New Trips Near You29 Rip & Go: Yosemite Snowshoe36 Photo Special: Shoot Like a Pro46 Cross a Raging River—and Survive52 Field Test: Headlamps

SWEET DESTINY: THE FINGER OF FATE LOOMS OVER HELL ROARING LAKE, NEAR THE START OF THE IMOGENE PASS LOOP IN IDAHO’S SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS (PAGE 13).

UTM 11T 0663235E 4876719N

Rockies_Dest.indd 10 12/2/09 3:40:15 PM


BASECAMP





Ultimate Rockies With 3,000 miles of world-class alpine scenery in the heart of the country, no other North American range offers such easy access and immense payoff. From New Mexico to Canada, the continent’s most exalted mountains serve up several lifetimes of unforgettable adventure. Where to start? With this complete guide to the best weekend and weeklong treks, epic dayhikes, and summit climbs, of course. By Steve Howe, Rocky Mountain Editor

BASE

CAM

P

ROCKIES EVENTS: CACHE CREEK TRAIL RUN THIS TETONS CLASSIC CELEBRATES ITS 31ST YEAR IN JULY (TETONMOUNTAINEERING.COM).




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Soaring granite ridgelines and clear blue lakes make the Sawtooth Mountains an Idaho treasure. Consider the numbers: 40 peaks more than 10,000 feet high, 300 lakes, and 250 trail miles packed into a spectacular, 217,000-acre wilderness. Only got a weekend? Sample the best of the Sawtooths—a high density of lakes and peaks with a short approach—on this 15-mile loop (with a six-mile shuttle). One caveat: With peakbagging options to the east (10,125-foot Imogene Peak) and west (10,211-foot Payette Peak) of Imogene Pass, you’ll want a loooong weekend for this route. From the trailhead, hike 1.75 easy miles to

Hell Roaring Lake, with its killer views of Mt. Cramer, Decker Peak, and the Finger of Fate, a 1,000-foot pinnacle (and 5.8 route, for you climbers in the crowd). Continue three-plus miles to lakeshore camps on either side of Imogene Pass. From Edith Lake, it’s an eight-mile descent on the Yellow Belly Trail to the trailhead, just off ID 75. The shuttle’s an easy 6.25 miles south along ID 75 (leave a car or bike, or hoof it). The way Hell Roaring trail-head is off ID 75, on FR 315 (4WD) south of Stanley. Map USFS Sawtooth National Forest Ketchum (North) ($14, see Contact) Contact (208) 774-3000; fs.fed.us/r4/sawtooth Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563523

Northern RockiesExplore the Lower 48’s wildest alpine terrain, where you’ll find challenging peaks and big-ticket wildlife.

WEEKEND

Imogene Pass Loop, ID Swim, climb, nap—repeat. This Sawtooths trek has it all.

» GO BIG Hike Canada’s Great Divide Trail from Kananaskis Lakes to Field. In 137 glorious miles, you’ll pass through seven iconic parks, including Banff and Jasper. Guide Hiking Canada’s Great Divide Trail, by Dustin Lynx ($25, rmbooks.com) » GO HIGH Climb Irene’s Arête in Grand Teton National Park. The nine-pitch, 5.9 rock route has superb granite and good protection—and one very exciting horseback-ridge-straddle. nps.gov/grte» GO LUXE After the Great Divide Trail (top), splurge on the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. It’s a mountain castle, with spas and restaurants to match the scenery. Ask for rooms on the Gold Floor. fairmont.com/banffsprings

FAST FORWARD: REACH THE SAWTOOTH MOUNTAINS’ HELL

ROARING LAKE AFTER JUST AN HOUR OF EASY HIKING ON THE

IMOGENE PASS LOOP (BELOW).

UTM 11T 0665397E 4876679N

GLACIER MOUNTAINEERING SOCIETY CENTENNIAL SUMMIT JOIN THIS ALPINE PARTY AT GLACIER NATIONAL PARK JULY 20-26 (GLACIERCENTENNIAL.ORG).

Rockies_Dest.indd 13 12/2/09 10:57:27 AM



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DESTINATIONSULTIMATE ROCKIES

+

The trek to this classically craggy, 10,751-foot summit makes for a long day or sweet overnight. Either way, it belongs on any peak lover’s must-do list because it provides one of those wild journeys that only a remote mountain can deliver. Thompson lords over its surroundings, with a jaw-dropper view of the Stanley Valley and the Sawtooths’ jagged spine. To reach it, hike 6.5 miles (one-way) and gain 4,200 feet from the Redfish Lake backpacker’s parking lot. Follow the Fishhook Creek Trail northwest on timbered ridgelines to an unnamed lake basin at 9,000 feet; find good campsites here if you’re overnighting. The rest of the route is off-trail: Climb to the 9,800-foot saddle between Thompson and Williams Peaks. From there, swing south around the far (west) side of Thompson. Traverse across talus on Thompson’s west face to a ridgeline saddle southwest of the summit, and make the final ascent by following climber trails through the cliff bands above. (This route is not technical until the last 50 feet—an exposed scramble to gain the summit block. Pack an ice axe for added security on snowfield crossings.) The way Five miles south of Stanley, on ID 75, take Redfish Lake Road west; go two miles to the trailhead. Map USFS Sawtooth National Forest Ketchum (North) ($14, see Contact) Contact (208) 774-3000; fs.fed.us/r4/sawtooth Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563518

BAG IT!

Thompson Peak, IDClimb the high point of the Sawtooth Mountains.

Mix It Up Raft Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon.Among river aficionados, this is thewilderness stream that makes everybody’s life list. The bottle-green Middle Fork offers 96 miles of class III-IV rapids, deep-gorge scenery, superb campsites, and numerous hot springs. The catch? Private river runners have a 1 in 30 chance of scoring a permit (applications for this year’s lottery will be accepted until January 31). Another option: Go in September, when low water makes it easier to snag a permit; use an inflatable kayak and portage as necessary. Contact fs.fed.us/r4/sc/recreation/4rivers

DEVIL’S BACKBONE WE SUGGEST THE RELAY OPTION FOR THIS 50-MILE TRAIL RUN OVER THE GALLATINS (MATH.MONTANA.EDU/~THAYES/RUNS/RUNS.HTML).

The Tetons’ problem? Alpine beauty + short approaches = busy trails. Solution: Paddle away from the crowds on this 30-miler. Start at Lizard Creek Campground on Jackson Lake’s east shore. (Rent canoes at Colter Bay Village Marina: 800-628-9988.) Paddle .75 mile west across the lake to Wilcox Point. (No boat? Reach the trailhead via a 7.5-mile hike south along the Glade Creek Trail.) Hike 10 miles up the Webb Canyon Trail, over Moose Creek Divide. Place your tent at the head of Owl Creek and enjoy stunning views of the Teton Crest’s awesome spires. Return to Wilcox Point via the Berry Creek Trail. Permit required. The way From Moose, go 32 miles north on US 89 to Lizard Creek Campground. Map Trails Illustrated Grand Teton ($12, natgeomaps.com) Contact nps.gov/grte Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563515

WEEKEND

Moose Creek, TetonsFind solitude with this surf-and-turf trip.

PITCH PERFECT: GET A JUMP ON THOMPSON PEAK WITH A BASECAMP AT 9,000 FEET.

UTM 11T 0659161E 4889492N

JACKSON LAKE



03.2010 BACKPACKER 15MAP DATUM: WGS 84

Twice voted America’s best park by BACKPACKER readers, Glacier’s most popular trails are predictably busy during the summer, and it’s no surprise why: The views-per-mile here can’t be beat. But you can get the scenery without the crowds on this 17.6-mile loop in the southern part of the park; it wanders along the ridgetops with superb views to some of Glacier’s highest and steepest peaks. In fact, it was this area, not the park’s northern regions, that first inspired naturalist George Bird Grinnell to lobby for the creation of Glacier National Park. The Blackfoot Indians rightfully called these ridgelines mistakis: backbone of the world. From the trailhead bridge at Two Medicine Lake’s outlet, climb Pitamakan Pass Trail through wide-open Dry Fork to clifftop overlooks at the trail’s epon-ymous pass. Continue to nearby Cut Bank Pass, then run the balcony ridgeline trail (unnamed) south around Flinsch Peak to Dawson Pass. Descend the Dawson Pass Trail through Bighorn Basin, beneath the rugged cliffs of Pumpelly Pillar, and finish along Two Medicine Lake’s north shore. It’s possible to do the whole trek in an aggressive day, but better to savor it: Camp at Oldman and Noname Lakes, reserv-ing the ridge run for day two of a three-day trek. Everywhere: Keep an eye out for bighorn sheep and grizzlies. The way From East Glacier, drive 4.5 miles north on MT 49, then turn left onto Two Medicine Road and follow it 7.7 miles to Two Medicine Campground and the trailhead bridge at the outlet of Upper Two Medicine Lake. Map Trails Illustrated Glacier National Park-Two Medicine ($12, natgeomaps.com) Contact (406) 888-7859; nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/back-country.htm Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/28335

SOLITUDE

Dawson Pass Loop, Glacier National ParkSee the best of Montana without the crowds.

At one extreme, you have the boardwalks-and-bus-stops Yellowstone. At the other, this wild alpine route. The 40-mile trek winds along the spine of the Gallatin Range, where you’ll cross massive summits, skirt streamside elk meadows, and even explore a petrified forest. The route traverses 9,888-foot Big Horn Peak (day two) and passes two more must-bag peaks: 9,855-foot Sheep Mountain and 10,959-foot Electric Peak. Allow a half day for the straightforward detour up Sheep Mountain from Shelf Lake, and a full day for the challenging scramble up Electric Peak. Expect to see elk, deer, and swans along the rivers, bighorn sheep on ridges, and probably bears. The price for such a wondrous trip? The initial 3,000-foot climb out of Gallatin River Canyon, and scarce water sources; carry a gallon for the dry six-mile leg between Black Butte Creek and Shelf Lake, more if you’re camping between the two. Get advance reservations ($20, beginning April 1). The way Start: Daly Creek trailhead on US 191, south of Bozeman. Finish: Glen Creek trailhead, south of Mammoth. Map Trails Illustrated Mammoth Hot Springs ($10, natgeomaps.com) Contact (307) 344-2160; nps.gov/yell Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563516

WEEKLONG

Gallatin Skyline, Yellowstone National ParkGo high for the see-it-all hike in this iconic park.

//// / / WEB EXTRA

GET MAPSAccess digital maps for these trips and more Rockies hikes at backpacker.com/ultimaterockies. You’ll get turn-by-turn directions and a digital topo you can print or download to your GPS. Plus: Text maps and directions to your phone. Simply text imap and the Trip ID (the numbers at the end of the hike’s URL) to 32075 (for the trip above, text “imap 563516” to 32075).

WINTER PHOTO FESTIVAL THIS MARCH EVENT IN WEST YELLOWSTONE SHOWCASES TOP SHOTS (NPS.GOV/YELL).

Mix It Up Climb at Idaho’s City of Rocks. With 600 established routes of all levels, on some of the finest rock around, “The City” arguably has the country’s dens-est concentration of high-quality rock climbing. The routes—half trad, half sport—scale 2.5-billion-year-old granite spires that thrust 300 feet from the Snake River Valley. Avoid summer’s intense heat, and if the City is busy, just slide over to neighboring Castle Rocks State Park, with its concentration of bolted sport routes. Contact (208) 824-5519; nps.gov/ciro

COOL REWARD: PITAMAKAN LAKES SEEN FROM CUT BANK PASS

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DESTINATIONSULTIMATE ROCKIES

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Central RockiesFrom rugged thru-hikes to the country’s highest concentration of Fourteeners, you’ll find it all here.

No fewer than 78 of the Rockies’ 100 highest peaks lie in Colorado, but even with all of that competition, 14,259-foot Longs Peak is in a class by itself. Credit its striking profile, excellent rock, and spectacular approach. Not surprisingly, crowds of hikers storm the standard Keyhole Route in good weather. Avoid this bottleneck—and goose the adrenaline factor—by taking the 13-mile Clark’s Arrow Loop. The clockwise traverse ascends 6,300 feet via the scrambly Loft/Clark’s Arrow Route and descends the Keyhole. Start at 2 a.m. at the Longs Peak trailhead and hike 4.5 miles to Chasm Lake, beneath the gigantic East Face Diamond. From Chasm, scramble steep slabs, then a straightforward but very narrow ramp (class 3) that leads south across cliffs to The Loft, a wide saddle between Longs Peak and Mt. Meeker. Cross the broad, flat Loft and drop down a steep, loose gully until you reach the base of the Palisade Cliffs. Find the faded paint splotch called Clark’s Arrow, then begin a 1,500-foot, class 3 scramble up Keplinger’s Couloir, until you intersect the Homestretch, the upper section of the standard route. Ascend the final 350 feet to the broad summit. Complete the loop by returning on the Keyhole Route, which rejoins your inbound trail at Chasm Lake Junction. Caution: Snow, ice, rain-wet rock, and thunderstorms can complicate any climb on Longs. The way Longs Peak trailhead is nine miles south of Estes Park, off CO 7. Guidebook Colorado Scrambles, by Dave Cooper ($25, chessler-books.com) Contact (970) 586-1242; nps.gov/romo Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563530

BAG IT!

Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National ParkClimb this iconic summit on an uncrowded sneak route.

Well-traveled 19th-century explorer Ferdinand Hayden called Utah’s vast Uinta Mountains—with their gorgeous pine forests, high-alpine meadows, and graceful symmetry—his favor-ite range. See why on the 78-mile Highline Trail, which arrows right along the spine of the Uintas, seldom dipping below timberline as it traverses a range with more than 100 sum-mits topping 12,000 feet. The track crosses eight major passes and affords plenty of opportunities for peakbagging detours and sweet layover camps. Highlight: From the pass on the shoulder of King’s Peak (Utah’s high point at 13,528 feet), ascend a boulder-field to the summit. Camp on benches at the head of Painter Basin for a head start on the summit climb—and superb views over an idyllic meadow. Schedule at least seven days for this life-lister. The way Start: From Vernal, Utah, drive 20 miles north on US 191; turn west on FR 018, and go 13.5 miles. Turn north on FR 043 and go 10 miles to Leidy Peak trail-head. Finish: Highline trailhead on UT 150 at Hayden Pass. Map Trails Illustrated High Uintas Wilderness ($10, natgeomaps.com) Contact Wasatch-Cache National Forest, (801) 236-3400; Ashley National Forest, (435) 789-1181 Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563528

WEEKLONG

Highline Trail, UTDiscover Utah’s best-kept secret.

» GO LONG See a summer’s worth of Rockies scenery on a high-altitude ultramarathon. The Leadville 100 tops out at 12,600 feet (bike race: Aug. 14; trail run: Aug. 21). leadvilletrail100.com » GO SOAK For your post-Leadville recovery, head to Antero Hot Springs Cabins, tucked creekside between two Fourteeners in southern Colorado’s Collegiate Range. anterohotsprings.com » GO STEEP Shelf Road, just north of Cañon City on CO 9, has more than 1,000 bolted routes on high-friction limestone. blm.gov/co/st/en.html

PIKES PEAK ASCENT TACKLE THIS CLASSIC COLORADO TRAIL RACE—GAIN 7,815 FEET IN 13 MILES—IN AUGUST (PIKESPEAKMARATHON.ORG).

FACE UP: STARTING AT CHASM LAKE, THE CLARK’S ARROW ASCENT OF LONGS PEAK IS

STEEP AND STEEPER.

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Want to pitch a tent in one of the most sublime spots in all of the Rockies? You’ll find it in the isolated Bowl of Tears cirque, midway around a 12-mile loop that tops out on 14,005-foot Holy Cross. The clockwise route skirts the peak’s spectacular, cross-shaped eastern cirque, ascending Notch Mountain, Halo Ridge, and Holy Cross Ridge, with in-your-face-views of the mountain all the while, and descending the standard North Ridge Trail (which gets moderate traffic). From the trailhead at 10,300 feet, follow the Fall Creek Trail southwest for three miles, climbing switchbacks to gain the south shoulder of Notch Mountain (site of an emergency shelter in case of bad weather). To reach the aforementioned campsite, stay on the trail .3 mile west-northwest from the shelter, then scramble south-southwest down 1,000 feet of class 2 talus; now camp lakeside in the magnificent Bowl of Tears, and thank us later. Continue the climb by ascending south, then west past an unnamed lake, and scrambling easy slopes to Holy Cross Ridge, .4 mile and 500 feet below the summit. To reach the summit from the Notch Mountain shelter, continue west, hugging the trailless ridgeline south, then west, then looping north to gain the summit after 2.75 miles and another 1,000 feet. For your descent, hop boulders and faint trail down the North Ridge, making sure you turn north at 13,400 feet to follow the ridgeline. The way From Minturn, drive 2.85 miles south on US 24. Turn west on Tigiwon Road (high clearance) and continue eight miles to the trailhead. Map USGS quad Mount of the Holy Cross ($8, store.usgs.gov) Contact (970) 827-5715; fs.fed.us/r2/whiteriver Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/564861

BEST CAMPSITE

Mount of the Holy Cross Loop, COScramble to a remote refuge on this peak’s secret side.

The Wind River Range is famous for its soaring granite peaks, countless alpine lakes, and solitude. But most great trips here require long approaches. Not so with this stunning 14-mile round-trip. You’ll see iconic Square Top Mountain, pass through moose habitat, and walk along an emerald-green stream—while gaining little elevation. Peakbaggers: In late summer, climb Square Top via a seldom-used sneak route by fording the rib-deep Green and ascending Marten Creek to Marten Lake; scramble up the 1,600-foot, class 2 gully that rises directly above the lake. The way From US 191 north of Pinedale, take WY 352 east; when it turns to gravel, continue 22 miles to the trailhead. Map Earthwalk Press Northern Wind Rivers Hiking Map and Guide ($10; rei.com) Contact fs.fed.us/r4/bthf/offices/pinedale Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/564863

SNEAK ROUTE

Green River Lakes, WYHike to the heart of the Winds and take the back door to an 11,695-foot peak.

MOUNTAINFILM IN MAY, WATCH THE BEST NEW ADVENTURE FLICKS IN THE ROCKIES’ PRETTIEST TOWN: TELLURIDE (MOUNTAINFILM.ORG).

Mix It Up Ride the Monarch Crest Trail, CO.This might be the single best one-day mountain bike ride in the country (empha-sis on mountain). The 36-mile route starts at an elevation near 11,500 feet and stays there for 12 miles, with expansive views of the central Rockies all the while. But bet-ter keep your eyes on the trail—it plunges 3,800 feet down fast singletrack, through pine and aspen forest, to end in the small town of Poncha Springs. Start early to avoid thunderstorms, and pack plenty of flat repair gear. The Monarch Crest Bike Map is essential ($12; absolutebikes.com). Shuttle: High Valley Bike Shuttles, (800) 871-5145; monarchcrest.com

AMEN: THE BOWL OF TEARS, BELOW THE EAST FACE OF MOUNT OF THE HOLY CROSS

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END IS NEAR: SQUARE TOP MOUNTAIN RISES OVER THE GREEN RIVER VALLEY.

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DESTINATIONS

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Southern RockiesFind a stash of uncrowded trails, peaks, and lakes in the range’s forgotten south.

If you have six months to hike the entire 3,100-mile CDT, go for it. If you only have a week, choose this 100-mile section. The path hugs the Continental Divide for all but six of its miles, providing a matchless stroll through Colorado’s largest designated wil-derness. Start at the 11,700-foot trailhead at Wolf Creek Pass and hike north. You’ll stay between 11,500 and 12,500 feet until the last day (lightning alert!), and, despite the elevation, it’s a moderate journey with few big climbs or descents—until the 3,000-foot plunge at the end. Life-list camping abounds:

WEEKLONG

Continental Divide Trail, CO Hike high on this above-treeline route through the Weminuche Wilderness.

Be sure to stay at Twin Lakes and the alpine ponds beyond Squaw Pass. In late July or early August, you’ll wade through Indian paintbrush and alpine bluebells, particularly on Highland Mary Plateau. For the descent, detour north to Stony Pass and Stony Gulch. The way Start: Wolf Creek Pass is on US 160, 23 miles east of Pagosa Springs. End: Howardsville is 4.5 miles east of Silverton on CO 110. Map Trails Illustrated Weminuche Wilderness and Telluride/Silverton/Ouray/Lake City ($12, natgeomaps.com) Contact fed.us/r2/sanjuan Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563539

» GO WILD Immerse yourself in the coun-try’s first federal wilderness area: New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness. From Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, connect the Gila River’s West and Middle Forks for a 62-mile loop. Go in early fall for low-water river crossings. fs.usda.gov/gila » GO FAST Ride the South Boundary Trail, outside of Taos. Ascend three miles, then bomb down singletrack for 22 mostly downhill miles. taoscyclery.com» GO ANCIENT Visit the 400-room pueblo at Bandelier National Monument, then hike the rugged 22-mile round-trip to the rock art at Painted Cave. nps.gov/band

ADVENTURE RACE PADDLE, BIKE, TREK, AND MORE AT JULY’S AXS ADVENTURE RACE SERIES IN DURANGO (GRAVITYPLAY.COM).

HIGH WATER MARK: PLAN AN OVERNIGHT AT 12,090-FOOT HIGHLAND MARY LAKES.

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Here’s to towns with storied pasts. And backwater places without names. To the spirit of adventure and a cold drink at the end of it. Welcome West. Loaded with adventure. Hip slung in history. Step back at wyomingtourism.org

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DESTINATIONS

Start early to get up and down New Mexico’s highest peak before summer thunderstorms roll in. The 16-mile out-and-back gains 3,800 feet, ending with a long ridgewalk to Wheeler’s 13,161-foot summit. En route, you’ll likely see bighorn sheep and golden eagles (and brazen, pack-ravaging marmots—don’t leave your stuff unattended). Two routes start at Taos Ski Valley: Take the Bull of the Woods/Wheeler Peak Trail (it avoids the ski runs and steep talus slopes you’ll find on the Williams Lake Route). The way From Taos, drive 19 miles northeast on NM 552 and NM 150. Continue beyond the Taos Ski Valley one mile to the Bull of the Woods trailhead, at Twining Campground. Map USGS quad Wheeler Peak ($8, store.usgs.gov) Contact (575) 586-0520; fs.fed.us/r3/carson Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563533

BAG IT!

Wheeler Peak, NM Climb to the crown of the Sangre de Cristo Range.

WEEKEND

Twilight Peaks, COExplore a secret wonderland in the West Needle Mountains. Despite their impressive appear-ance from Molas Pass between Durango and Silverton, most hik-ers pass by the twisted, slabby West Needle Mountains on their way to somewhere else. Too bad, because one of Colorado’s best peakbagging weekends is a climb of the three Twilight Peaks—North, Central, and South are each a hair more than 13,000 feet

high. From Molas Pass, hike six miles to Crater Lake. It’s moderately popular, so keep going before setting up your basecamp. Continue a quarter mile southeast, climbing across metamorphic slabs to the obvious pass above Crater Lake. Cross it and drop several hundred feet, then turn southeast and traverse beneath the rugged face of North Twilight. Pitch camp here at an unnamed lake perched at 11,700 feet and surrounded by craggy summits. To the south, you’ll have views across the yawning gulf of the Animas River gorge. The Twilight climbs are rugged but technically straightforward class 2-3 scrambles. Allow a full day for any two of the peaks. Aggressive parties might be able to bag all three in a day. Take helmets for the solid but rarely traveled rock slabs, and a light rope in case of trouble or routefinding errors. The way Crater Lake Trail #623 starts from the Andrews Lake Day Use Area, off milepost 63, just south of Molas Pass on US 550. Map USGS quad Snowdon Peak ($8, store.usgs.gov) Contact fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563531

ULTIMATE ROCKIES

WHEELER’S ROCK-STREWN RIDGE

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fi ndmeSPOT.comPrepare Yourself.

SPOT’s satellite GPS technology lets you communicate your current location and that you are OK with a

push of a button.

Communicate.

Record and share waypoints, photos and stories of the trip with friends,

families or others.

Track.

Help and SOS buttons give access to emergency assistance via satellite

if needed.

Summon Help.



The steep and craggy Sangre de Cristo Mountains—far from any major metro areas—serve up plentiful alpine surprises at the Rockies’ off-the-radar southern end. Tag 13,102-foot South Truchas Peak—the highest point in the range—plus West Truchas and Middle Truchas on this 14-miler. Start from the Quemado Creek trailhead on the western slopes (requires a high clearance vehicle and permission from the Truchas Land Grant; get trailhead directions when obtaining permission, 505-351-4250). Hike 1,900 vertical feet and five miles up the rough Quemado Creek Trail to a high-alpine basin above a small waterfall, below the west face of North Truchas Peak. Camping? Find a good spot near the basin’s southern wall. Scramble routes linking the triple crown are obvious; climb 13,066-foot Middle Truchas, then South Truchas, then 13,024-foot North Truchas. Alternative: Make it a long weekend by starting from Jack’s Creek Campground, on NM 63 north of Pecos, for a 25-mile round-trip on Trails #25 and #257 (and add Pecos Baldy Lake to the itinerary). Map USFS Pecos Wilderness Map ($13, see Contact) Contact (505) 757-6121; fs.fed.us/r3/sfe Trip data backpacker.com/hikes/563534

SOLITUDE

Truchas Traverse, NMHit three 13,000-foot peaks in the wildest wilderness south of Glacier.

Mix It Up Climb a sheer face on Wham Ridge, CO.This stunning—yet moderate—route climbs 13,864-foot Mt. Vestal’s northeast face. The remote location keeps traffic low, but the reward for your effort is a triangle face of hard quartzite with plenty of solid holds and protection placements. The standard center-to-right-skyline route is only 5.6, but you’ll face 1,500 feet of climbing in a storm-prone range. Experience necessary. Take a 60-meter rope and cams to three inches. Contact fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan

PECOS BALDY LAKE

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DESTINATIONSLOCAL HIKES

> Adirondack Park: Cascade Mtn.(TRIP ID: 369196)> Amicalola Falls SP, GA: Len Foote Hike Inn to Springer Mtn. (ID: 384038)> Anchorage: Bird Point (ID: 517323)> Asheville: Little Lost Cove Cliffs Loop (ID: 40828)> Austin: Enchanted Rocks Loop (ID: 555380)> Blue Ridge Parkway, VA: Harkening Hill (ID: 533212)> Boulder, CO: Saddle Rock Trail (ID: 527518)> Chattanooga: South Cumberland Three Gulf Hike (ID: 540693) > Cheyenne: Guernsey SP (ID: 398174)> Chicago: Blackwell Forest Preserve (ID: 541006)> Chicago: Morton Arboretum Heritage Trail (ID: 554127)> Crested Butte, CO: 401 Trail (ID: 533097)> Denver: Beaver Brook Trail (ID: 370976)> Great Smoky Mtns. NP: Albright Grove Loop (ID: 42377)> Guadalupe Mtns. NP: Smith Springs (ID: 555344)> Harrisburg, PA: Governor Dick Park (ID: 42333)> Hays, KS: Castle Rock (ID: 370988)> Indiana Dunes NL, IN: Little Calumet River (ID: 344270)> John Day Fossil Beds NM, OR: Blue Basin (ID: 536378)

Send these trips to your mobile phone or access them on Backpacker.com. You’ll get directions, trail beta, a map, and more—at no charge from us! Text imap and the Trip ID to 32075. To view them online, type backpacker.com/hikes/Trip ID. Example: For Anchorage’s Bird Point hike, text “imap 517323” to 32075. Or go to backpacker.com/hikes/517323.

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Glacier NP: Dawson Pass LoopDiscover solitude in this alpine paradise by hik-ing in the park’s uncrowded southern half. This 17.6-mile circuit crosses dramatic ridges that native Blackfoot called mitsakis, or “backbone of the world.” This is the area that first inspired naturalist George Bird Grinnell to lobby for the creation of the national park. (p. 15)

Get These Maps!

> Logan, UT: Ricks Canyon (ID: 298557)> McCall, ID: Rapid River (ID: 32382)> Morristown, NJ: Speedwell Park (ID: 413023))> New York City: John Kieran Nature Trail Loop (ID: 541154)> Phoenix: Geronimo Cave via Peralta Trail (ID: 250144)> Portland, ME: Casco Bay Loop (ID: 34985)> Portland, OR: Columbia Slough (ID: 43605)> Portland, OR: Ramona Falls (ID: 536188)> St. Louis: Walkers Island (ID: 330391)> Santa Barbara: Romero Canyon (ID: 540654)> San Francisco: Lands End (ID: 562858)> San Gabriel Mtns., CA: Mt. Islip (ID: 562861)> Seattle: Fifteenmile Creek (ID: 378746)> Seattle: Lodge and Beaver Lakes (ID: 541030)> Springfield, IL: Beaver Dam Lake (ID: 330520)> Springfield, MO: Big Piney Trail (ID: 399755)> Tallahassee: Wakulla River Loop (ID: 44939)> Vail, CO: Gore Lake (ID: 522504)> Vancouver, WA: Dog Mtn. Loop (ID: 417637)> White Mountain NF: Mt. Waumbek (ID: 550154)> Whitefish, MT: Fish Trails (ID: 453619)> Yellowstone NP: Black Sand Geyser Basin (ID: 300051)

NEW TRIPS NEAR YOU!It’s never been easier to find one. Each dot on our map represents a GPS-enabled trip you can view online, beam to your printer or mobile, or save to your personal profile on backpacker.com. The freshest batch: 41 new hikes below from Asheville to Whitefish.

Austin: Enchanted Rocks LoopThe native Tankawa believed that “ghost fires” flickered atop 1,825-foot Enchanted Rock. Explore this 640-acre batholith (an underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) on a 4.4-mile loop.

/// ///MAPS

FREE FIELD GUIDESWant to collect and share GPS hikes like our editors and map contributors? Download step-by-step directions for new GPS units by DeLorme, Garmin, and Lowrance at backpacker.com/hikes/usinggps.

Portland: Ramona FallsBeat the crowds to 120-foot Ramona Falls (Mt. Hood NF’s most popular) by tackling this 14.4-miler in winter.

LegendBACKPACKER subscribers per square mile by zip code

New tripsAll Backpacker.com trips

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Santa Fe: Truchas TraverseUp for a big, 14-mile day? Deep in the Sangre de Cristo Range lie three 13,000-foot peaks connected by a high ridgeline. (p. 21)

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READERHIKES

OF THE MONTH

3 8 0 0 TOTAL TRIPS 0 0 6 2 NEW TRIPS 1 1 8 MAP CONTRIBUTORS

Most tweeted national parks 1. Yosemite2. Zion3. Fiordland (New Zealand)

SHENANDOAH NPHIKE SLOW, SEE MORE

Three reasons not to rush the Jones Run-Doyles River loop: giant hardwoods to nap under, colorful wild-flowers to photograph, and several waterfalls to admire. Bruce and Barbara Gaisse advise doing this seven- miler counterclockwise. Start at Browns Gap and drop 1,300 feet to Jones Run, then ascend again on Browns Gap Turnpike past a Confederate solider’s gravestone. backpacker .com/hikes/487721

TRINITY ALPS, CASWIM IN ALPINE LAKES

Looking for a remote camping paradise? In a recent trip report on this hike, Scot Glarson describes six days of amazing peak-bagging and cross-country boulder-hopping—with endless views of Cascade volcanoes. His 20-mile route starts at Big Flat trailhead, then switch-backs to the Caribou Lakes region. backpacker.com/hikes/494580

JOIN THE TEAM BACKPACKER.COM/POSTATRIPTHE ONLINE TALLY

Atlanta: Len Foote Hike InnUltralight done right: Backpack eight miles in Amicalola Falls SP, but leave your tent and bag at home by making reservations at the off-the-grid (but posh) Len Foote Hike Inn. (p. 24)

Bangor: Big Moose MountainThink there’s nothing in Maine outside of Acadia, Baxter, and L.L.Bean? This 21-mile lollipop loop, 70 miles north of Bangor, proves otherwise. Explore quintessential North Woods terrain along the shore of Moosehead Lake and test yourself with a 2,000-foot climb of Big Moose Mountain. (p. 33)

Springfield, MO: Big Piney TrailAll-star map contributor Charlie Williams uncovered another Ozark Highlands winner with this waterfall- and overlook-packed overnighter in the Paddy Creek Wilderness. It’s 16.5 miles round-trip.

Springfield, IL: Beaver Dam Lake Moment of truth: Beavers didn’t really build this dam. But the lake is still a fetching centerpiece to this 750-acre park and the highlight of this 2.9-mile loop.

Adirondack Park: Panther GorgeCandidate for best vista in the state? The mountain view from the streamside lean-to in the Adirondacks’ Panther Gorge. Hike in nine miles from Elk Lake. (p. 28)

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DESTINATIONS

AMICALOLA FALLS SP, GATREK TO AN OFF-THE-GRID BUNKHOUSE.

The tarp-and-alcohol-stove set will be steaming when they spy your tiny daypack. That’s all you’ll need for this posh overnighter near Springer Mountain, the southern termi-nus of the Appalachian Trail. From the park-ing area at the top of Amicalola Falls, follow green blazes five miles—crossing oak- and pine-topped ridges and trickling creeks—on gentle grades to the Len Foote Hike Inn. This solar-powered haven has 20 rooms, each with a bunk and bedding. Dinner (family style) is served nightly at five and six. And there are two main rules: Check in at the visitor cen-ter before 2 p.m., and—our favorite—no cell phones or iPods allowed. Make it an 11-mile loop by returning via the Appalachian Trail Approach Trail, one mile west from the Inn.

RECHARGEHit the Sunrise Room to browse its library, play a board game, warm up by the fire, or sit in on a program on green techniques like composting. ($70/person/night year-round; hikeinn.com)

THE WAYFrom Atlanta, head north linking GA 400, US 19, GA 9, GA 136, and GA 52 69 miles to Top of the Falls Rd. Turn right to reach the visitor center in .5 mile.

MULESHOE RANCH, AZ DISCOVER A DESERT OASIS.

Hike a mile down Hot Springs Creek, to its confluence with Bass Canyon, and you’ll skirt deep pools, picnic under shady cottonwoods, and undoubtedly see at least a few of the 180 bird species that inhabit the area. Then back-track to the 6.5-mile Vista Trail to hike a well-marked path that climbs saguaro-dotted hills to sweeping views of the Galiuro Mountains. Then pinch yourself and ask: Where are all the other people? Three things keep this Nature Conservancy paradise from being overrun: 1) Except for birders, few know about it; 2) a long dirt-road approach keeps casual visitors away; 3) it’s day-use only—unless you’re staying at one of the rustic-comfortable casitas. Right outside your door: hot springs (available for overnight guests only), and a 22-mile net-work of trails that winds through the desert.

RECHARGEThe kitchen-equipped casitas are strictly DIY (bring your groceries). But you’ll feel pam-pered after a few days of hike-soak-hike-soak-repeat. (From $125/night; nature.org)

THE WAY From Willcox, take Airport Rd. north 15 miles. Bear right at the fork with mail-boxes and continue 14 miles to the headquarters.

Luxe Hikes Hit the trail, then hit the oh-so-soft mattress at one of these hiker-friendly lodges.

NAVAJO LAKE TRAIL, CO HIKE TO A HOT SPRINGS AND PRIVATE CABIN.

The Navajo Lake Trail is the most popular path in Colorado’s Indian Head Wilderness. But that doesn’t mean much—the nearest town is Dolores (population 857), an hour away. That isolation is the big payoff for hik-ers and the main draw of nearby Dunton Hot Springs; the ghost town turned lodge provides off-the-map seclusion, five-star dining, and off-the-charts luxurious private cabins. The trail starts at 9,393 feet and gen-tly ascends for almost three miles through sloped meadows laced by Engelmann spruce and, come summer, rife with larkspurs, blue-bells, and sunflowers. The last mile gains 1,000 feet through tight switchbacks to a ridge, then descends a quarter-mile to rock-ringed, pale green Navajo Lake. Windswept and deserted, its quiet solitude is the perfect pairing to the opulence back at the resort. Nine miles round-trip from the lodge.

RECHARGEWith rates starting at $600, you should grab as many fresh-baked cookies as you can. duntonhotsprings.com

THE WAYFrom Dunton Hot Springs, drive 3.3 miles northeast on FR 535 (West Fork Rd.) to the trailhead.

3TOP

DAYHIKES

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You’re going to needa bigger map.

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SUBARU_BP_JAN10.indd 1 11/30/09 5:19:47 PM


DESTINATIONSDAYHIKES

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Natural Wonders

The Wonder Each November, Bridal Veil Falls freezes solid and clings to Telluride’s glacier-carved canyon wall like candle wax on a wine bottle. The state’s highest free-falling waterfall has lured expert ice climbers every winter since Mike Weiss and Jeff Lowe’s nationally televised first ascent in 1974. By May, Bridal Veil Creek thaws and again cascades the length of a football field to form the San Miguel River headwaters.

The Way From Telluride, take Colorado Avenue east until it dead-ends at the Idarado Mine parking lot to pick up a 3.5-mile out-and-back route to the fall’s peak. Switchback 1.2 miles up Bridal Veil Falls Road to the base of the waterfall; look up, and you’ll see a century-old hydroelectric plant–that still provides about five percent of Telluride’s power–perched at the brink. Climb another .5 mile for eye-level views of the frozen falls; pack snowshoes and heed avalanche warnings. visittelluride.com

Colorado’s Tallest Frozen Waterfall See a 365-foot cascade turned to ice.

Three treks to life-list phenomena

M9432-1_Backpacker.indd 1 11/3/09 12:40:32 PM



The Wonder During the first two weeks of March, blooms here can blanket several hundred acres with colors like sunshine-yellow desert gold and violet-and-red desert fivespot. And that’s in an average year. Keep an eye on winter rain: Consistent moisture throughout fall and winter (as opposed to intense, isolated downpours) is more effective in breaking through the tough coating that enables some wildflower seeds to lay dormant for decades. Under optimal conditions, blooms can exceed 100,000 acres.

The Way No matter what season, canyons hold more moisture. Park at the Titus Canyon Mouth parking area to access a six-mile out-and-back into Fall Canyon, a shady slot that nourishes notch-leaf phacelias and endemic Death Valley sage. Go north along the base of the mountains for .5 mile, then turn into the mouth. Hike another 2.5 winding miles through the crevice to a 35-foot dry falls (scramble the right side to access nar-rows beyond). Find daily bloom updates at nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit.

Death Valley’s WildflowersTrek through lush fields that thrive on just two inches of annual rainfall.

The Wonder Endangered Key deer, a Labrador retriever-size subspe-cies of white-tailed deer, occur only in the Florida Keys. About 10,000 years ago, rising seas separated the Keys–and the deer’s larger ances-tors–from the North American mainland. The stranded deer shrank, generation to generation, in response to the islands’ less nutri-tious food sources. Only about 50 Key deer remained in the mid-20th century, due to habitat loss. Federal protection, slower speed limits, and the 1957 establishment of the National Key Deer Refuge have boosted today’s count to between 600 and 700.

The Way Key deer roam the refuge and its trails year-round, especially at dawn and dusk. Take Key Deer Boulevard north three miles from US 1 to access Watson Nature Trail, a .7-mile loop through Big Pine Key’s ver-dant forest. Or link old fire roads for a four-mile loop around No Name Key–where deer flock to a freshwater lake contained in a limestone bowl. On Watson Boulevard, about five miles northeast of the visitor center, look for barriers marking a fire road that leads into a tropical hardwood hammock. Pick up a map at the visitor center (staff will highlight the route). And pack bug dope. fws.gov/nationalkeydeer

America’s Smallest Deer Glimpse miniature deer that barely escaped extinction.

®

© 2010 Offi ce of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism. JPFB10

Follow your own path in Texas. To take this vacation or plan

your own Texas adventure, just visit Travel Tex.com/ tripplanner.

Or for your free Texas StateTravel Guide, Accommodations

Guide and Texas Map, go online or call

1-800-8888-TEX (ext. 5408).

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In the past six years, Jan Wellford, 28, has spent 480 days in the Adirondack backcoun-try. He works at The Mountaineer, a gear shop in Keene, NY, and has summited the area’s 46 highest peaks five times.

Why the Adirondacks?There’s a rugged beauty and remoteness here that you can’t find anywhere else on the East Coast. The park is huge, but the mixture of public and private lands also gives the ’Daks a distinct fla-vor that you won’t find in any national park. I’d be happy in the High Peaks for a lifetime, and that’s only one small sec-tion of the Adirondacks.

How do you beat the crowds?Avoid the Garden and Adirondack Loj trailheads during summer and holiday weekends. The rest of the park is all yours, all the time. When to visit?For dry trails, tamer humid-ity, and fewer bugs, August to October. For reliable snowpack and generally sunny days, target February to April.

8. BEST WATERFALL

The 80-foot Hanging Spear

Falls on the Opalescent

River. Do it via a 14-mile

loop beginning at the Upper

Works trailhead on Tahawus

Road in Newcomb. Link

Calamity Brook, Flowed

Lands, and Hanging Spear

Falls Trails. Don’t go after big

rains–the loop requires ford-

ing the Opalescent twice.

EPICENTER

ADVENTURE PLANNER Get beta on 18 more Adirondacks hikes at back-packer.com/adirondack.

9. BEST SNOWSHOEING Avalanche Pass is a wonderland of deep snow nestled between 1,000-foot cliffs. The trail, starting at the Adirondack Loj (ask about conditions here), is reliably covered all winter and follows moderate grades for 4.5 miles.

///// /WEB EXTRA

DESTINATIONS

4. BEST RAINY DAY HIKE

Socked in? Skip the sum-

mit hikes for the West

River Trail and a 7.5-mile

loop. The trail follows

the Ausable River before

reaching Lower Ausable

Lake in four miles. Then

hike .2 mile to 150-foot

Rainbow Falls and return

via the East River Trail.

1. BEST SHORT HIKE

The 2.5-mile hike to Rooster

Comb’s 2,762-foot summit

is a great way to notch an

Adirondack summit in just a

half-day. You’ll pass chunky

rock formations and gain

just over 1,500 feet along an

impeccably maintained trail.

End at outcrops with views

of Keene Valley.

2. UNCROWDED PEAK

Mt. Hopkins (3,200 feet) gets

far less traffic than its neigh-

bors. Why? It’s not one of the

area’s 46 peaks higher than

4,000 feet. But it’s every bit as

scenic. From the trailhead at NY

73 (where the bridge crosses

the Ausable River 2.5 miles

south of Keene Valley), climb

to the summit—and gain 2,120

feet—on the 3.2-mile Mossy

Cascade Trail.

5. FAVORITE MOUNTAIN

4,736-foot Gothics is not only

my top hike, but its flanks

host the best ski descent,

mountaineering route, and

backcountry rock climb,

too. It has steep faces and

slides on nearly all aspects.

Approach 5.2 miles from the

Garden trailhead in Keene

Valley, climbing 3,200 feet to

Gothics’ summit.

3. EASY ICE CLIMB

Hit Roaring Brook Falls

(NEI 3) on a sunny

afternoon. The 400-foot

climb’s low angles make

the route great for begin-

ners, but if it’s your first

time on ice, hire a guide.

cloudsplitterguides.com


7. BEST EPIC

Want to test your mettle? Hike

the 24.8-mile Great Range in

a day. You’ll bag eight peaks,

including the state’s tallest

(5,344-foot Mt. Marcy), and

gain 9,500 feet. Start at Rooster

Comb trailhead and end at

Keene Valley’s Garden trailhead

(on the Phelps Trail). Drop a

shuttle car, or do what I do: Beg

other hikers for a ride.

10. BEST BACKPACK

Make a 33.6-mile loop

around the High Peaks using

Indian Pass, Calamity Brook,

Mt. Marcy, John’s Brook

Valley, and Klondike Notch

Trails. Leave your car at

South Meadows, but walk

two miles down the road to

start at Adirondack Loj to

avoid roadwalking at trip’s

end. Budget four to five days.

6. TOP CAMPSITE Spend the night beneath three of the four tallest peaks in the Adirondacks—Marcy, Haystack, and Skylight—in Panther Gorge’s remote streamside

lean-to. Five trails lead to Panther Gorge. The shortest approach is a nine-miler from the Elk Lake trailhead.

0310Destinations.indd 28 12/2/09 4:41:17 PM


Do it Strap on snowshoes, and you’ll enjoy some of Yosemite’s most remark-able pinnacle-top views in total solitude. And this beginner-friendly 7.2-mile

(round-trip) snowshoe trek is a perfect place to start. The route crosses gentle, rolling terrain dotted with lodgepole pines, ending at 7,385-foot Dewey Point, with views of Half Dome and Clouds Rest. From Badger Pass Ranger Station (1), snowshoe northeast along Glacier Point Road (don’t walk in the machine-groomed cross-country ski trail) for .7 mile to a junction (2) with the Ridge Trail—an alternate, more strenuous route to Dewey Point. Stay straight and ascend moderately for another quarter-mile to the Meadow Trail (3) (directly across from Summit Meadow). Turn northeast (left), and if there isn’t a path already broken, fol-low the triangular reflectors through the trees. In .9 mile, you’ll reach Dewey Meadow (4). Surrounded by red fir and lodgepole pines, this long, flat meadow is the perfect place to break and scan for animal tracks (flip the page for a field guide). From here, continue north to cross the meadow, then head .5 mile through dense, lichen-covered pines and drop into a small valley. Reach the junction of the Ridge and Meadow Trails (5) in .3 mile. Soon after, you’ll get your first glimpse of Half Dome and Clouds Rest. Continue north as the route roller-coasters to the top of Dewey Point (6), 3.6 miles from the trailhead. El Capitan, towering 3,500 feet above Yosemite Valley, soars directly across from you; Mt. Hoffman and Mt. Conness rise to the northeast. Camping on Dewey Point proper isn’t allowed, so cruise 200 feet back into the woods; find a level site off-trail and away from snow-loaded trees. Return the way you came.

TripPlanner


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Driving From Yosemite Village, take CA 140 west 6.1 miles to CA 41/Wawona Rd.; turn right and go 9.3 miles. Turn left on Glacier Point Rd. and drive 5.1

miles to parking at Badger Pass Ranger Station.

Permits Required. Self-regis-ter at Badger Pass Ranger Station (209-372-0740; nps.gov/yose).

Gear up Yosemite Mountain Shop (209-372-8396) in

Curry Village has most supplies. Rent snowshoes at Badger Pass cross-country ski center ($19.50/day, 209-372-8444, yosemitepark.com/BadgerPass.aspx).

Discover the rewards of winter camping on this easy snowshoe trek.

Dewey PointYosemite National Park, CA

//// //MOBILE

MAP & MORE Send a topo, photos, and route info to your cell by texting “imap 51745” to 32075.

Day 1 Day 2

7,250 ft

7,400 ft

Rip&Go

Total Miles: 7.2

Data Map

PENTHOUSE VIEW: EARN THIS EXCLUSIVE VISTA OF OF EL CAPITAN AND THE THREE BROTHERS WITH A MELLOW HIKE TO DEWEY POINT.

UTM 11S 0266215E 4176298N

.9 1 .8.2.7

13 4 5 6

mi.

2

3.6

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Snow captures paw prints that go unnoticed outside of winter. Here’s how to determine who left what.

Mountain lionHot spot Anywhere you find mule deer, particularly in rugged terrain with ledges ID it The front track is round, while the back track is oblong. Claw marks are usually absent and four toes form a slight arc. The inside toe is larger. Prints are the diameter of a baseball.

[ ] Granola bars (2)[ ] ¹⁄³ C. sun-dried tomatoes (4)[ ] ½ C. frozen blueberries (4)[ ] 1 package flour tortillas (5)[ ] 5 oz. Swiss cheese (5)[ ] 1 package precooked bacon (5)[ ] 1 C. pancake mix (6)

[ ] ½ C. powdered milk (6)[ ] 8 oz. (2 cups) shell pasta (8)[ ] ½ head lettuce (back wall)

Pack Salt, pepper, mus-tard powder, dried pars-ley, syrup

THE GROCERY LISTOn The Menu

Breakfast 1 On the roadLunch 1Bacon and lettuce wrapsDinner 1Dewey’s Mac ‘n’ CheeseBreakfast 2Valley View PancakesSnacks Granola bars

CoyoteHot spot Dewey MeadowID it Claws are evident, and the inside toe is slightly larger than the outside. The front foot is larger than the hind. No claws? It’s probably a fox.

Mule deerHot spot Where meadows and forests meetID it Heart-shaped, with a convex wall. Prints are larger than a white-tailed deer’s.

NEAREST GROCERY STORE VILLAGE STORE IN YOSEMITE VILLAGE 9011 Village Drive, Yosemite NP, CA; (209) 372-1253


+

Key Skill GREAT GRAY OWL

If you wake to a series of deep, rhythmic “whoos,” it’s probably this 2.5-pound owl, Yosemite’s largest. It perches in the broken tops of tall trees near open meadows. The endangered owl is distinguished by a white mustache (fuzzy feathers beneath the beak) and black bow tie (dark chin feathers). It averages 27 inches tall with a massive 60-inch wingspan. Concentric circles ring its yellow eyes. Facial discs (called ruffs) focus sound to its ears—it can hear prey burrowing beneath two feet of snow. And to get that concealed rodent? The owl can crash through a snowpack that would support a 180-pound hiker.

Dewey’s Mac ‘n’ Cheese So good, you’d eat it at home

2 cups shell pasta½ cup powdered milk1 tablespoon parsley½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons mustard¹⁄³ cup sun-dried tomatoes5 ounces Swiss cheese, diced

Boil 3½ cups water. Add pasta and tomato. Cook until al dente. Drain. Stir in dry ingredients, then the cheese. Turn off heat and stir until cheese melts evenly.

Valley View Pancakes A hearty breakfast on the ledge

1 cup pancake mix½ cup frozen blueberries Syrup to taste

Grease and warm pan on medium heat. Combine pancake mix, blueberries, and ½ cup water. Pour batter onto the surface to form a four-inch pancake. Let cook for two to three minutes. When bubbles have risen to the surface but have not broken, turn pancake and cook other side one to 1½ minutes.

*

See This

Identify animal tracks

WEEKENDS

PIT STOP Drop by the Mountain Room for the Flatiron Steak and a slice of raspberry cobbler. 9006 Yosemite Lodge Dr., Yosemite, CA; (209) 372-1274; yosemitepark.com/Dining_MountainRoom.aspx

Dewey Point

Locals KnowYosemite’s notoriously cunning black bears don’t stop thieving in the winter. Even if snow covers the Badger Pass parking lot, you still need to bearproof your car. Though they’re not as active during the winter months, many black bears skip hibernation if they can continue to feast on Snickers and fast-food fries from your floorboard. “Your car is just a can, and their claws are the can opener,” says Yosemite Park Ranger Keri Cobb. “I’ve seen them punch out windows just to get a tube of toothpaste. It happens every month of the year.” Store all food in a locker at the trailhead and use a canister on the trail. Food is anything with a scent, including canned goods, trash, and toilet-ries. Be extra-vigilant if you own a minivan. These cars represented 29 percent of the 908 vehicles ravaged by bears between 2001 and 2007, though they made up just seven percent of all the cars in the park.

(AISLE #) IN NEAREST STORE BELOW

Traffic congestion in Yosemite Valley has become such a concern–hour-long entrance lines

are common–that officials are con-sidering banning private cars. Visitors registered at a hotel or campground would be allowed to enter, while others would use a free shuttle bus (or bicycles). According to a recent survey, 84 percent of visitors listed sightseeing or taking a scenic drive as their only activity. Discuss: Is this regulation good for the park, even if it causes a drop in overall visitation?

Camp Chat

DESTINATIONS

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Do it With Wyoming and Colorado as neighbors, it’s no wonder Nebraska gets overlooked. But the northern panhandle has a pocket of rugged hills with tricky

routefinding and a genuine feel of wilderness exploration. And because the crowds will be a state away, you can have it all to yourself on this 11-mile figure-eight loop. From the parking area at the North and Middle Fork trailheads (1), walk 500 feet northwest to the Trooper Trail (2). Go through the gate (close it behind you), cross Soldier Creek, and hike to a pine grove where you’ll cross the Boots and Saddle Trail (BST) (3). (Several game trails intersect the path in the first three miles; when in doubt, maintain a northwest course.) Go straight into a vast shortgrass prairie, and soon reach another grove. The Trooper Trail cuts south here, but two use trails continue east. Take the trail on the right (4), to begin a 2.2-mile off-trail loop to access seldom-tramped grasslands with great camping. In .6 mile, pitch camp (5) in an open field near a trickling stream. The next day, hike cross-country northwest and cross a dry riverbed (6), then make your way toward the slope straight ahead (it’ll be covered with sunflowers in July). Gain the top and continue south-southeast until you crest a third hill (7), where you’ll encounter a barbed-wire fence; follow the ridge east and close the loop by rejoining the Trooper Trail (8). Now, backtrack southeast .7 mile to the BST (9) to start a second loop. From here, you’ll roll along gentle hills with side-cut ravines (and little shade) to a creek crossing (10). The trail turns left here, forks at mile 8.1 (11), and traces its way around the fingers of a ravine system. Gain one last highpoint at mile nine (12), then enjoy a long descent through wild plum and grape (blooming in June) to the trailhead.

Explore an unknown Nebraska wilderness for a surprising dose of rolling hills, wildlife, and solitude.

Soldier Creek Loop Fort Robinson State Park, NE

Driving From Crawford, take US 20 three miles west to Fort Robinson State Park. Turn right onto Soldier Creek Rd., the first right after entering the

park. Drive seven miles to the trailhead (4WD rec-ommended).

Map USGS quad Smiley Canyon ($8, store.usgs.gov)

Gear Up Herren Brothers True Value Hardware on 2nd St. in Crawford has

TripPlanner

Data Map

SHADY BUSINESS: THE AUTHOR EXITS A GROVE OF GREEN ASH NEAR THE TRAILHEAD.

//// //MOBILE

MAP PLUS Send a topo, photos, and route info to your cell by texting “imap 490445” to 32075.

Day 1 Day 2

4,100 ft4,700 ft

Rip&Go UTM 13T 0617033E 4729013N

white gas and duct tape. (308) 665-1600

Contact Fort Robinson State Park: (308) 665-2900, ngpc.state.ne.us/parks

Total Miles: 11

.1 .61.9 .7 2.2 .3

42

165 73

mi.

.4 .5

8 11109

.7 .9 2.7

12

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DESTINATIONS

Despite the lush grasses and wildflowers, hiking through Fort Robinson is strikingly similar to desert hiking: There’s precious little shade. Here are four key pieces of gear for stay-ing unbaked.

Sun hat Choose one that pro-tects the top of your dome, ears, and the back and sides of your neck. The Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap ($30, outdoorresearch.com) provides complete coverage, but it’s more versatile than most: Remove the skirt, and it’s a normal lightweight cap.

Long-sleeve shirt A lightweight, loose-fitting nylon with SPF protection shields your skin and helps minimize

[ ] 2 bagels (2)[ ] 2 flour tortillas (2)[ ] 3 granola bars (2)[ ] Raisins (2)[ ] Garlic pepper, chili powder (3)[ ] Honey (3)[ ] 3 Tbs. olive oil (3)[ ] 2 packs instant oatmeal (3)[ ] 2 packs ramen (4)

[ ] 1 pack precooked chicken (4)[ ] 1 C. refried beans (4)[ ] 3 Tbs. tomato paste (4)[ ] 8 oz. peanut butter (5)[ ] 3 Tbs. powdered milk (5)[ ] 3 Tbs. soy sauce (5)[ ] 8 oz. cheese (5)[ ] 2 bananas (produce)

Lunch 1Peanut butter and honey sandwichDinner 1 Fort Robinson RamenBreakfast 2 Oatmeal with raisins Lunch 2 Cheyenne Cayenne TortillasSnacks Granola bars, bananas, peanut butter

GOLDEN EAGLE Soldier Creek’s remote, grassy plains provide ideal hunting grounds for pred-atory birds. The shrill call you’ll hear is likely a red-tailed hawk (look for them high in trees). But the real prize here is the golden eagle, which is dark brown with golden accents on the neck and wingtips. A golden uses its huge wing-span (up to eight feet) to ride thermals upward for a high-and-wide view of its vast hunting grounds. A master of soaring, it can go hours without flapping its wings. After spotting prey, it can tuck its wings and swoop in for the kill at speeds up to 200 mph.

Fort Robinson Ramen Take-out flavor in camp

2 packs chicken ramen1 package precooked chicken½ tablespoon garlic pepper3 tablespoons olive oil3 tablespoons soy sauce3 tablespoons peanut butter

Cook noodles per directions, then cover to keep warm. Add oil to fry pan and sauté chicken. Once browned, add soy sauce, peanut butter, and ramen seasoning packet. Stir until creamy. Add to noodles.

Cheyenne Cayenne Tortillas A spicy bean burrito

3 tablespoons tomato paste3 tablespoons powdered milk1 cup instant refried beansDash chili powder8 ounces cheese, cubed2 flour tortillas

Mix tomato paste, powdered milk, and instant beans together. Boil two cups water and pour into mixture while stir-ring. Add seasoning and cheese cubes. Spoon onto tortillas.

*

See This

Sun protection

WEEKENDS

On The Menu THE GROCERY LIST

NEAREST GROCERY STORE ABSALON FOOD CENTER 202 Main St., Crawford, NE; (308) 665-2772PIT STOP Head to the Fort Robinson Restaurant inside the park’s main lodge. They’ve got

the best bison bacon burgers and iced tea in the region. 3200 NE 20; Crawford, NE; (308) 665-2900

Soldier Creek Loop

convective moisture loss from hot wind. REI’s new Sahara Shirt ($50, rei.com) is featherlight and sports multiple, well-hidden vents.

Bandanna It has myriad uses. Turn any cap into a sun hat. Keep sweat out of your eyes. Shade your neck. Dunk it in a creek and use it to cool your head and neck.

Sunscreen Go for a cream instead of gel-based lotions or sprays. Creams moisturize; gels often have skin-drying alcohol as an ingredient. Our longtime choice: A one-ounce tube of Dermatone Skin Protection Creme with Zinc Oxide, SPF 36 ($5, dermatone.com).

KeyGear


In 1989, a wildfire sparked by a single lightning bolt torched 48,000 acres in the Soldier Creek Wilderness and neighboring Fort Lewis State Park. It denuded the landscape of grasses and

trees and burned so hot that even minerals in the soil were destroyed, thus delaying regrowth. Previous programs to suppress fires jacked up the level of destruction by creating more fuel: The overgrown forest canopy burned longer and hotter than if the trees had been allowed to blaze over the years. Discuss: Should the park work to balance prescribed burns and fire suppression, or just let Mother Nature handle it?

Camp Chat

Locals KnowFort Robinson, now a state park, was first built as a temporary frontier outpost in 1874 to monitor Indian activity. It grew to be the largest military base on the northern Plains and was used as a U.S. Army training ground through World War II. It once held a herd of 12,000 horses, a K-9 Corps training center, and a weapons-testing field where soldiers put experimental cannons, like the mul-tibarreled Hotchkiss Gun, through their paces. “It’s a historical treasure,” says Dave Nixon, retired 25-year curator of the on-site Trailside Museum. “And the best view is from Red Cloud Buttes to the north. Bighorn sheep were introduced to this area in the 1970s, and they huddle on the north side.” To gain this vantage and spot sheep, hike a six-mile out-and-back on an unmarked but well-worn trail from where Soldier Creek Road turns to dirt.

0310RipGo.indd 32 12/2/09 2:56:11 PM


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Do it See what makes the Moosehead Lake region the gem of Maine’s North Woods on this three-day, 21-mile lollipop. Start at the Greenwood trailhead (1), five

minutes west of Greenville, and after a few perpetually muddy spots, rise through fir and spruce to an overlook (2) of Moosehead Lake’s west cove. At just over one mile (3), you’ll see Big Moose Mountain’s stony, 3,196-foot summit (where you’ll stand the next day). Crest Little Moose’s ridge at 1.6 miles and weave your way through stunted spruce to the top (4). From here, descend .8 mile to Papoose Pond (5) and then .4 mile to the Loop Trail (6). Turn left onto the loamy path, and take it .9 mile to the Notch Ponds Trail (7); track along a hardwood ridge 2.2 miles to a sharp drop over loose rocks. Continue .1 mile to a campsite at Big Notch Pond (8), a remote bog teeming with underwater vegetation like coon’s grass—perfect for moose-spotting. On day two, return to the Loop Trail and go downhill to reach the Mountain Road Trail. Cross over an old dam (9) and ascend slate stairs to the Mountain Road trailhead (10). Turn right and follow a dirt road 1.2 miles to reach the Firewarden’s Trail to Big Moose Mountain (11). The blue-blazed path meanders gently through maple and beech, but after passing the dilapidated warden’s cabin in 1.2 miles, it spikes—gaining 900 feet in .6 mile to an overlook (12) of Moosehead’s many islands. From here, it’s .5 mile to Big Moose and a sprawling North Woods vista stretching from Moosehead (Maine’s larg-est lake at 37 miles long and 18 miles wide), to 5,267-foot Katahdin, the state’s tallest peak. Head 3.6 miles back to Little Moose’s trailhead and, 1.1 miles later (staying left at a junction), Little Moose Pond’s campsite (13); listen for loons in this serene enclave. On the final day, head 3.5 miles back to the Greenwood trailhead.

Hike to an historic fire tower and camp beside secluded ponds.

Big Moose Mountain Maine Public Reserved LandsLittle Moose Unit, ME

Driving From Bangor, take ME 15 north 70 miles to the (only) light in Greenville. Turn left, and drive another 2.9 miles to Moose Mountain Inn. The trailhead

is in the left corner of the parking lot.

Gear up Northwoods Outfitters in Greenville: (866) 223-1380, maineoutfitter.com

Map USGS quad Big Squaw Pond ($8, store.usgs.gov)

TripPlanner

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

0 ft

Rip&Go

//// //MOBILE

MAP PLUS Send a topo, photos, and route info to your cell by texting “imap 555483” to 32075.

Permit/Contact No permits are required, but camp only in designated sites. Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands: (207) 287-3821, maine.gov/doc/parks

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LITTLE BIG VIEW: YOU’LL REACH THIS VISTA OF BIG MOOSE LAKE FROM LITTLE MOOSE MOUNTAIN WITHIN TWO MILES OF THE TRAILHEAD.

UTM 19T 0447681E 5033564N

11 12 13

.8 .4 .9 .4

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DESTINATIONS

[ ] 1 pouch tuna (1)[ ] Mini Oreos (1)[ ] Reeses Pieces (1)[ ] 1 can creamed corn (2)[ ] Instant potatoes (2)[ ] Marshmallow Fluff (2)[ ] Dried apple (3)[ ] Instant oatmeal (3)[ ] Maple syrup (3)[ ] Yogurt raisins (3)

[ ] Honey roasted peanuts (4)[ ] Peanut butter (7)[ ] Pepperoni

(back wall)[ ] Pepper jack (deli)[ ] 3 Bagels (deli)[ ] Jerky (deli)

Pack Salt, pepper

THE GROCERY LISTOn The Menu

Breakfast 1On the roadLunches 1 & 2Peanut butter & Fluff on bagelDinner 1Big Moose Shepherd’s PieBreakfasts 2 & 3Instant oatmeal w/diced dried apples & maple syrupDinner 2Fire Tower TunaSnacksReeses Pieces, pea-nuts, yogurt raisins, Mini Oreos

BIG MOOSE FIRE TOWERThe only way to spot a forest fire in 1905? Go look for one in the forest, on foot. Not very efficient, or safe. Two Greenville locals, concerned with protecting the area’s most important asset—trees—suggested put-ting a watchman on a mountaintop—specifically, Big Moose. Big Moose’s fire tower, essentially just planks nailed to a tree, was the first in the country. With map and alidade, the watchmen would pin-point the smoke, then run down through the trees to give the alert.

Fire Tower TunaA filling sandwich with a spicy kick

1 pouch tuna1 bagel2 slices pepper jack2 ounces pepperoni, sliced

Split bagel, add pepperoni to both halves, then throw on the tuna and pepper jack. Serve.

Big Moose Shepherd’s Pie An easy-as-pie pub dinner

2 ounces instant potatoes3 ounces jerky, diced8-ounce can creamed cornPinch of salt & pepper

Boil one cup water. Stir in potatoes; remove from heat for one minute. Add diced jerky, creamed corn, salt, and pepper. Stir and serve.

NEAREST GROCERY STORE INDIAN HILL TRADING POST148 Moosehead Lake Rd., Greenville, ME; (207) 695-2104*

See This

WEEKENDS

KeyGearBugprotection

Come July, the tourists pick up. But you can have the trails (and campsites) all to yourself—if you head out in early June. The only caveat

is that this is also when the area’s notorious black flies make their debut. Solution? Pack some DEET and dress like a Mainer. Dark clothing attracts the winged blood-suckers, so wear lighter, khaki-hued shirt and pants.Try ExOfficio’s long-sleeve Buzz Off Baja shirt ($80, exofficio.com). It’s impreg-nated with permethrin, a man-made version of a natural insect repellent found in certain chrysan-themum plants. ExOfficio says it will last through 70 washes, and when used in tandem with insect repel-lent, the author, a life-long Mainer, has been pleasantly surprised with the results.


Big Moose Mountain

Locals KnowSure, the solitude, wildlife, and surround-ing pine-blanketed mountains make Moosehead Lake special—but they aren’t the only attraction. Before or after your hike, go for a ride on the 250-ton S.S. Katahdin, a steamship that’s been plying the lake’s waters for nearly a century. The 115-foot long, 26-foot-wide boat is the last of a fleet of eight; each one towed 6,000 cords of wood per trip across Moosehead. Three years after “Ol’ Kate’s” final log drive in 1975, she became a National Historic Landmark and has since been serving as a passenger ship. She runs daily at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday from the end of June through early October. Fall foliage season is primo. $32, katahdincruises.com

In 2000, the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission and the Maine State Legislature confabbed

to pass a law eliminating the word “squaw” from the names of state landmarks, reasoning that its use is offensive to native peoples. Most sites were renamed “moose”–like Big and Little Moose Mountains. There’s even a peak in Baxter State Park now named Moose Bosom. Discuss: Do you agree with the name changes? And is there a better name than Moose Bosom in any wilderness?

Camp Chat

A

B

PIT STOP Hit the Stress Free Moose Pub & Café on Moosehead Lake Road in Greenville for a Cranberry Salad Wrap and a shot of Moose Piss, a concoction of Stoli Raspberry, tequila, and “secret ingredients.” (207) 695-3100

0310RipGo.indd 34 12/3/09 2:25:42 PM


You don’t need a million-dollar penthouse to savor the best view in San Francisco. Just hike to Mt. Tam, as locals call this iconic peak. Twenty miles north of the city, it’s the centerpiece of a 6,300-acre pocket of undeveloped woodland, lakes, and open

meadows laced with more than 50 miles of trail and capped by one of the best views on the West Coast: a 360-degree panorama of the mighty Pacific, San Francisco Bay, and, on a clear day, the Sierra Nevada a couple hundred miles to the east. But the view isn’t even its best feature. What is: the opportunity for a real wilderness experience amidst redwood forests, grasslands, and rugged coast within minutes of one of the most densely populated areas of the country.

With a road to the summit, the top can get busy, but you can nab the same view from its uncrowded ridges on this stout 14.8-mile out-and-back. From the Dipsea trailhead in Mill Valley, climb 671 stairs into the heart of Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Continue under a canopy of coast redwoods paralleling Muir Redwoods National Monument. From here, the trail climbs steadily to Windy Gap before losing elevation to the base of Cardiac Hill. This long (and aptly named) climb tops out at 1,360 feet, where views of Stinson Beach and the Pacific open up. Enjoy a gradual downhill to Stinson Beach and its perfect arc of soft sand (picnic, anyone?), then retrace your steps. Just before reaching the trailhead, sidehike .7 mile on the nar-row Sun Trail to a paved path leading to the Alpine Tourist Club, built in 1914 by German immigrants.This private club opens its out-door beer garden on weekends until 5 p.m.

Mt. Tamalpais, CA

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+

The Best...Mountain bikingWelcom to fat-tire ground zero. Locals love linking Samuel P. Taylor State Park and Loma Alta Open Space Preserve via the Bay Area Ridge Trail for 10.6 miles of fast singletrack and killer scenery.

App Download Tom Harrison’s Mt. Tammap to your iPhone ($5, apple.com). It’s as detailed as the paper version—and cheaper.

CampsiteHawk Camp Campground in the Marin Headlands is centralized for hik-ing and biking. It’s a 2.7-mile hike or ride on the Bobcat Trail from Bunker Road. Free. (415) 331-1540, nps.gov/goga

ThePeak

EPICENTER

SUNNY SIDE UP: PACK A HEADLAMP TO NAVIGATE YOUR RETURN AFTER CATCHING

MT. TAM’S SPLENDID SUNSET VIEW, SEEN HERE FROM BOLINAS RIDGE.

UTM 10S 0533033E 4196194N

TK

/// ///MAPS

TAM TRAILS, PLUS Get maps, pho-tos, and GPS data for Mt. Tam hikes—and 58 other treks within an hour of San Francisco—at backpacker.com/hikes/sfo.

MT. TAM AND BOLINAS RIDGE

COAST REDWOODS

DESTINATIONS




BASECAMPCompositionJust getting started? Master these basic rules to improve all of your pictures.

REPEAT IT Frame your shot to include similar shapes and colors—such as a curved branch over a dome tent.

Want to capture photos as gasp-worthy as the ones you see on magazine covers and gallery walls—without spending a fortune on gear or enrolling in photography school? Our go-to shooters share their secrets on technique, equipment, and cameras. The scenery, well, that’s up to you. By Steve Howe

Shoot Like a Pro

» Clean your background. Position subjects against an uncluttered space, making sure that no branches intersect some-one’s body or peaks rise out of your friend’s head.» Include a strong anchor in the foreground, such as the people in the photo at left, a cluster of flowers (see right), or a boulder. This helps provide scale and creates leading lines that draw viewers into the image. “If you just shoot a mountain, it will end up too far away and too small,” advises photogra-pher Tomas Kaspar. » Make subjects pop. Place them against a contrast-ing background, like light rocks if they’re wearing dark clothing, or bright green moss if they’re wearing red.» Use the rule of thirds. This adage is too often ignored as amateurs instinctively center their subjects. Imagine two vertical and two horizontal lines run-ning across the frame; position your subject where the lines cross. Leave space for the sub-ject to look or move into. » Shoot at dawn and dusk. Low-angle, golden light creates texture and mini-mizes harsh contrast. » Don’t forget to turn your camera. It’s no surprise that tall peaks lend them-selves to vertical compo-sitions, while coastlines make more sense hori-zontally. But try all scenes with both perspectives; you might find a surprise. » Be selective. Your photo needs a strong theme—don’t try to fit everything into one shot.

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LandscapesWide angleThe inspiring scenes you see in this magazine? Chances are they were taken with a wide-angle lens (14-24mm). Shorter focal lengths keep subjects tiny against a grand landscape. “You convey a sense of place with wide-angle shots,” says photographer Jon Cornforth. “You give somebody the feeling that he’s standing there.” Here’s how to get them.

» Include an interesting foreground object, then get close—set the camera within two feet of flowers or rocks. » Shoot at the highest f/stop possible (f/11 to f/22) to increase your depth of field. “This lets you shoot from three feet away to infinity, and everything will be in focus,” says Cornforth. (See right.) » Tiny apertures require slower shutter speeds, so a tripod is essential for a crisp image. To prevent blur from a shaky trigger finger, use a cable release or the self-timer delay; both keep your hands off the camera.

SCOUT IT OUT Find prime shooting locations before you arrive by checking trip reports, Panoramio, and Google Images.

ZoomLonger lenses also make for striking landscape shots because they compress the scene, making background peaks look more imposing—as if they’re rising right behind your subject (see photo at left). Use a 70-200mm telephoto lens with an SLR. (Using a point-and-shoot? Get crisper photos with an optical—not digital—zoom of at least 10x.) Also, remember that small slices of the landscape can make for unforgettable photos—think a moonrise over a ridge or a rainbow plunging into a distant canyon. Zoom in to grab the details.

MacroDetail shots of blossoms, lizards, and bugs add variety to your slideshow. Emphasize the subject with a shallow depth of field that keeps the object in focus while artfully blurring the background. » Choose subjects carefully. Close-ups emphasize flaws as well as beauty, so hunt for the brightest flower in the bunch. » Set your point-and-shoot to macro mode, which will make the depth of field smaller, and focus to within an inch of the lens. Or use an aperture between f/4 and f/8. » Shoot macros on cloudy or foggy days, when diffused light erases harsh shadows and brings out tiny details. Even better: Use a polarizing filter to reduce glare (see page 38). But skip close-ups when wind moves your subject around—unless you’re after a blurry foreground and background.» Dark shadows on your subject? Pro fix: Use a portable diffuser to soften the light. Easier: Fill in shadows with a reflector made from a white piece of paper, shirt, or piece of foil. Easiest: Use your fill flash (dial it down one or two stops).

PRO TIP: TAKE YOUR TIMEOne of the biggest mistakes made by amateur landscape photographers? Shooting too quickly, says pro Tomas Kaspar. When you find a vista that grabs you, take a moment to look through your camera to find the perfect angle. “What you see in the viewfinder is different from what your eye sees,” says Kaspar. Scout for a shot with the perfect foreground, beautiful light, and no distracting branches or other features. “It shouldn’t be point-and-shoot; it should be point-look-and-shoot.”

Photo.indd 37 12/2/09 3:44:02 PM


SKILLS


+ SHOOT AFTER STORMS Get striking photos by positioning a sunlit subject in front of a dark, brooding sky.

LandscapesWaterWant your waterfall or stream photos to look silky and fluid, like the shot at right? Use a tripod and set your shutter speed between ½ second and 2 seconds. This will capture a blurred-water effect. Shoot on cloudy days or at dusk for best results; on sunny days, add a polarizer.

SnowChallenge: Convince your camera not to turn the white to gray. Fix: Overexpose the shot, taking several photos between +1 and +2 to dial in the right exposure, or use the snow mode on a point-and-shoot. Don’t worry about balancing exposure for your snowshoeing pal: “Snow acts as a reflector, so the subject ends up a little lighter, too,” says Tyler Stableford.

PRO TIP: USE A POLARIZING FILTERDigital photo-editing programs have made most lens filters obsolete—except the polarizer. This screw-on filter elimi-nates reflections and deepens colors. “It makes the green of the stems or the yellow of the leaves really glow and pop,” says Jon Cornforth. Attach one to the front of your lens, place yourself at a right angle to the sun (not in front of or behind it, or the polarizer won’t work), and rotate the glass element until glare, reflections, and haze diminish.

When To Shoot WhatAT DAWN AND DUSK» Wide-angle scenics. These grand landscapes reach peak magnificence in low-angle light: An SLR’s large sensor wrings maximum light out of the scene. Or choose a point-and-shoot that can take photos in the uncompressed RAW file format (instead of JPEG), which lets you extract more light and correct exposure problems when editing.

ON OVERCAST DAYS» Deep forest scenes, slot canyons, fall foliage, and close-ups of flowers and bugs. They’re best when clouds erase distracting shadows and bring out rich details.

AT HIGH NOON» Silhouettes. Put your subject in shadow in front of a brightly lit background and expose for the lightest parts of the scene.

PortraitsGet a classic shot of friends or family.

» The best light comes at dawn and dusk (but don’t shoot too early, or you’ll get puffy eyes). Position yourself so that your subject is slightly sidelit, and use a fill flash to soften the shadows on his or her face (see below). “The trick

is to dial down the flash,” says Tomas Zuccareno. “You don’t want to wipe out shadows—just soften them a bit.” He takes the flash down ¹⁄³ of a stop from the default setting. Or use your headlamp to light the subject, moving it closer or farther away until you get the right look, advises Michael Clark.» Keep faces lean with a 200mm zoom lens with a wide-open aperture (try f/5.6); stand about 10 feet away. This puts faces in focus while blurring the

background. Got a point-and-shoot? Set your camera to portrait mode and keep the subject at least 10 feet in front of the background.» Self-conscious subjects? Give them a task (cooking, bear-bagging), then have them pause and look while you snap the pic.

TECHNIQUE

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ActionWhen you’re dealing with a subject in motion—a hiker, cyclist, or falcon in flight—you have two choices: Stop the action or pan along with it for a blurred effect.

Stop actionTo snap a trail runner in midstride or to freeze the water droplets around a paddler, increase your shutter speed to at least 1/500 of a second (make it 1/1,000 of a second or more for faster subjects, like cyclists or your friend leaping into a swimming hole). Set

a point-and-shoot camera to action mode for a similar effect. For the best results, scout out the location before-hand. “Try to hone in on the most pho-togenic 10 feet in the whole area,” says Patitucci. Set up, then wait for your subject to enter that spot.

Blurred pansTo catch your subject in focus against a blurred background (see below), slow your shutter speed to between ¹⁄3030 and ½ a second. Holding the camera as steady as possible, follow the moving

subject with your camera. Release the shutter as you pan along. “It creates a neat painterly effect,” says Zuccareno. Blurred pans work especially well when the subject is backlit, notes Stableford, because the brighter background emphasizes the difference between the crisp subject and the blur. Use this technique when basic point-and-shoot cameras struggle in low light.

Take control of the action» Don’t wait for action shots to pres-ent themselves. You’ll miss fleeting opportunities, and never create the kinds of shots the pros imagine—then make happen. » When you know photo ops will come fast and furious—fording a river, scrambling a cliff band—set your camera on program. Carry it in your unzipped chest pack, turned on, with the lens cap off and the neck strap around your neck. » “Take cool angles—get down on your knees or scramble up on a rock and look down,” advises Zuccareno. “If somebody’s jogging, maybe it’s a shot of his foot leaving the frame.”» Use a wide-angle lens and get close, with the action coming toward you, for a sense of movement and immediacy. Or walk just behind and to the side of your subject, shooting over his shoulder and including the terrain ahead.

PRO TIP: SHOOT MORE“When some-thing cool is happening, let it rip and delete the junk,” says Dan Patitucci. Set your camera to its fastest frame rate (at least three frames per second) and shoot until all of the action has stopped.

SummitsResist the urge to take the standard “conqueror on the mountaintop” photo. A hiker posed against a featureless blue sky? Boring. Instead, emphasize the steepness of the approach and the surrounding peaks by scrambling above your subject and shooting down with a wide-angle lens. Include a plummeting ridgeline to show depth—even better if one side of the ridge is in shadow —and minimize the sky.

///// /WEB EXTRA

GET INSPIRED! BACKPACKER’s new photo and video center is your one-stop shop for photography tips, gear, and hundreds of dramatic shots. Check out reader galleries, watch trip slideshows from our editors, and improve your game with Senior Associate Photo Editor Genny Fullerton’s instructional blog. backpacker.com/mediacenter

Photo.indd 39 12/2/09 3:45:23 PM


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SKILLS

+ FIND YOUR PREY Go where hunting isn’t allowed—wildlife is more likely to engage in natural behavior around humans.


Exposure: A PrimerAperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together to determine the amount of light that reaches your camera’s sensor; you must adjust one when you change another. Shutter speed controls the length of time the shutter is open; f/stop controls how wide the aperture opens; ISO is a measure of the camera’s sensitivity to light.

To capture a large depth of field (such as a landscape shot) on a sunny day.

APERTURE SHUTTER SPEED ISO USE IT

100½ secondf/22 (tiny pinhole)

To capture a shallow depth of field (portraits, close-ups) on a sunny day.100

1/500 or 1/1,000

f/5.6 (wide open)

To freeze a moving subject in low-light conditions.

8001/500f/5.6 (wide open)

NightProblem: Night shots often contain lots of digital noise, or graininess. Solution: “You want to use the lowest ISO you can,” says Stableford, “and take as long of an exposure as you need. Shooting at a low ISO, you’ll get a cleaner image with more detail.” Here’s how to get four night shots.

» Campfire Night scenes demand a shutter speed of a second or longer, so steady the camera on a sandbag or tri-pod. In manual mode, bracket the shot with exposures just over (+1) and under (-1) what the meter suggests. Throw some dry tinder on the fire right before you shoot to make it flare up and illumi-nate your subjects, advises Stableford.» Glowing tents Use a small “slave flash” (they cost as little as $18; bhphoto-video.com). Put one inside your tent (facing away from your camera for more diffused light); the remote flash triggers when its sensor registers your camera’s flash. Or turn your headlamp to its brightest setting and leave it on in the tent (but the slave flash lets you shoot with faster speeds). » Light painting Mount your camera on a tripod and compose a shot. Set the shutter to “bulb” and leave it open for a minute or more. During the long exposure, use your headlamp to “paint” the scene with light. The cam-era will catch the light streaks, allow-ing you to draw images or even words.» Stars Grab a tripod and locate Polaris, the North Star—around which all other stars appear to rotate—and compose it according to the rule of thirds. Leave the shutter open for one to four hours.

WildlifeThe secret to catching life-list animals on camera: patience. If you do get lucky, avoid startling the animal: Wear natural colors, avoid shiny items, and approach your quarry slowly, from downwind.

» Find the perfect backdrop first, then wait for a chance to place the animal in it. “If I see a mountain that I want, I’ll move myself to where I can frame the elk looking toward the mountain,” says wildlife photographer Ken Archer.» Observe your subject until you can begin to predict its movements and behavior. “The more time you spend with an animal, the better photo you’re going to

get,” advises Archer. That way, you’ll be ready when the bull elk raises his head or the bear looks toward you.» Remember the rule of thirds, and leave active space for the animal to look or move into (like the bull elk above).» Use a 100-400mm zoom lens with the largest aperture you can. (Archer uses f/5.6 to f/11). This lets you shoot at faster speeds in low light, when many animals are most active.» To catch an animal in motion, increase your shutter speed and pan along with it as it moves. Use about a 1/1,000 for small, quick mammals. For eagles in flight, Archer shoots at least 1/2,000 and tracks the bird as it passes. Release the shutter and continue panning for a few more seconds.

TECHNIQUE

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With digital photography, shooting is just the start. The technology lets you optimize images after you take them. Michael Clark, author of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom: A Professional Photographer’s Workflow, shares these tips on polishing images in any program.

SoftwareRefine your work with these top programs.

PICASA AND APPLE iLIFE 09Pros Let you organize photos into albums; easy, one-click editing and resizing; manually geotag shots in Google Earth; great for sharing photos with friends (iLife links to Facebook and Flickr); can be used to buy prints and posters; iLife also edits movies and burns DVDsCons Allow only basic editing adjustmentsBest for Casual photographers who want hassle-free editing and easy photo-sharing features Picasa: Mac/PC; free; picasa.google.com. iLife: Mac only; $79 (comes with most Macs); apple.com/ilife

COREL PAINT SHOP PRO PHOTO X2Pros Processes some RAW files; can do basic edits as well as more advanced fixes, such as changing perspectives to eliminate converging lines and combining different images to get the perfect exposure (HDR photos); auto-saves original filesCons PC only; doesn’t support RAW files from all camerasBest for Advanced enthusiasts who want more editing control at a bargain pricePC only; $99; corel.com

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 8Pros Includes basic editing tools as well as advanced; handles RAW files; allows you to create panoramas, correct skin tones, change perspectives, and merge photos of pals by combining the best individual portraits into one image (Group Shot); saves editing history of each shot so you can dial back if you turn the sky greenCons More complex to learn; no batch processing; compresses files every time you save, which slightly reduces quality. (Need more orga-nization and searchability, better photo quality, or to process lots of files? Upgrade to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, $261.)Best for Serious photographersMac/PC; $99; adobe.com

Editing

» White balance Fine-tune colors with this adjustment—great for fixing the orange or reddish skin tones you get at dawn and dusk, when the light changes too fast for your camera to set auto white balance accurately.

» Recovering highlights If one part of your image is overexposed (such as the lightest areas on the tree root, above), use the recovery slider to bring the bright spots into balance with the rest of the shot.

» Saturation Use this tool to make col-ors pop (or alternately, to desaturate tones for a muted look). But don’t go overboard—Clark sticks to a maximum of +15. Many printers can’t reproduce oversaturated hues.

» Contrast Make dark tones darker and light tones lighter with this tool. This adjustment helps subjects pop on photos with lots of gray and brings out details on distant peaks—but again, don’t overdo it.

» Localized adjustments This tool lets you fine-tune exposure or saturation on a small section of a photo, rather than changing the entire image—for example, to edit just a subject’s face. “This can take you from zero to hero pretty fast,” says Clark.

» Crop Remove clutter or dead space with this tool. Ideally, you do that when you compose the shot, since you lose data when you shave off parts of the photo in processing. But when you need to clean up a hasty shot, cropping works wonders.

» Remove unwanted objects, such as dis-tracting boulders or an inconvenient fence post, from the image with the Clone Stamp or Healing Brush. These tools take sections from other areas of the photo and superimpose them over the objects you wish to erase.

BALANCE EXPOSURE Use the gradient tool to fix too-bright skies with too-dark foregrounds.

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SKILLS

+42 BACKPACKER 03.2010

TECHNIQUE

Your ShotPanasonic DMC LX3KWith a Leitz f/2.0 lens that creates very

sharp lines, saturated colors, and quick autofocusing, this 10.1MP model performed the best out of the four point-and-shoots we tested. The lower pixel count reduces interference, which cuts digital noise in low light. Testers also praised its manual con-trols (rare in a compact) and excellent black-and-white reproduction, and it shoots in RAW. Bummer: No long telephoto capability (the lens stops at 80mm). $500; 8 oz.; panasonic.com

Pentax Optio W80Testers declared this waterproof, freezeproof,

crushproof, 12.1MP camera “a joy to use,” citing its deck-of-cards size, 24-140mm zoom range, excellent video, and saturated colors. Menus are easy to navigate and features impressive: The panorama mode automatically stitches photos together, and face detection mode captures great por-traits. Downsides: long shutter lag; autofocus struggles in low light. $300; 4.4 oz.; pentaximaging.com

Olympus Stylus Tough-8000Tough is right: This waterproof point-and-shoot survived stream dunkings, thunderstorms, and accidental four-foot drops, all the while delivering

sharp 12MP photos. The image stabi-lization and high ISO set-tings reduced

blurring in low-light conditions, plus it packs 3x optical zoom and is slim enough to fit in your pack’s hipbelt pocket. $379; 7 oz.; olympus.com

Olympus E-P1The new breed of “four thirds” digitals might become the

ultimate trail camera. With the optics, advanced sensors, and interchange-able lenses of a DSLR, compacts like the E-P1 take outstanding stills and video—at sandwich-size. Our tester clipped the E-P1 to his hipbelt on a six-day hike and came home with images good enough to print in future issues. Downside: There’s no viewfinder, so you must compose shots with the display. That chews through a battery every 150-200 pictures, and that’s with no playback. $800; 12 oz.; olympus.com

Pentax K-xPerfect for hik-ers who want to upgrade to a DSLR with-out cashing in their 401(k), the small, fairly

light K-x’s intuitive menus help begin-ners produce crisp, 12.4MP shots. It also excels in low-light conditions (great for landscapes and wildlife): Superb high ISO performance controls

digital noise as well as cameras three times the price. You can even com-bine multiple exposures in-camera for the perfect photo. Bonuses: Runs on trail-friendly AAs and takes HD video. Bummer: No focus dots in the viewfinder; loud kit lens scares away skittish wildlife. $650 (includes 18-55mm lens); 1 lb. 7 oz.; pentaximaging.com

Nikon D300sThis could be the last camera you’ll ever need: The D300s shoots 12.3MP images

and captures HD video through most compatible lenses, from fisheye to telephoto. The result: a two-in-one gadget that gives both aspiring and seasoned photographers full control in lens choice, exposure, and aperture. The Active-D mode preserves fine color and shadow details on sunlit faces and wispy clouds that often trick the sen-sors on other cameras. Other highlights: dual memory cards; 10 in-camera editing features, including the ability to trim movies on the LCD screen; and a GPS connection for auto-geotagging. Downside: Movie clips are limited to five minutes. $1,699 (body only); 1 lb. 14 oz.; nikonusa.com

Tripod picks» Serious shutterbugs The Impact 1018A extends to 53 inches and adjusts easily. $40; 2 lbs.; bhphotovideo.com » Ultralighters Mold Joby’s Gorillapod Flexible Mini-tripod to steady a camera on any terrain. $22; 1.6 oz.; joby.com» Multitaskers REI’s Four Winds Travel Staff is a trekking pole that doubles as a monopod. $80; 8.5 oz.; rei.com

Photo Survival Guide» Pack 2GB of card space per day if you’re shooting a lot of RAW images. Bring even more if you’re after action or people photos and will be firing in continuous mode—or need to capture just the right expression or position.» Shield your camera from mild precipitation with a freezer or garbage bag. When not in use, keep it dry in a roll-top drybag (we like models from Pacific Outdoors and Granite Gear).» If your camera gets wet anyway, revive it by putting it in a zip-top bag with a desiccant packet or a dry paper towel. Suck the air out, close it tight, and keep the package warm overnight to force moisture into the absorbent items.

» Even with waterproof cameras, condensation from cold, humid conditions can form inside the housing. Put cameras and gear in a zip-top bag before leaving a warm house or tent. That way, drops will condense on the bag, not your lens. Remove your camera when temps equalize. This also works when you’re going from the cold outdoors to a warm tent. Don’t blow on the lens, or you’ll create more condensation.» Subzero temps require three to four times the battery power of summer climates. Swap alkalines for lithium batteries, which last longer and work better in the cold. When they’re not in use, keep all batteries warm in an inner pocket or sleeping bag, or rubber-band a chemical handwarmer around them.

STAY JUICED Pack one spare battery for every two or three days when using a point-and-shoot.

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CRUMPLER_BP_MAR10.indd 1 11/24/09 6:57:24 PM


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TheManualCross a spring snowfield

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TECHNIQUE

STOP ANY FALL WITH SELF-ARREST

Assess the snow“In spring, the days are longer and temps rise—so heat pen-etrates the snowpack more deeply,” says Caroline George, a Utah-based guide. That can saturate layers, destabilizing the snowpack and increasing the risk of avalanches. In these conditions, slopes are safest in the morning, after cold over-night temps have refrozen and consolidated the snow. Travel before 11 a.m., when the sun starts turning the surface snow to slush. “If you’re sinking in farther than your boot top, it’s time to get off the steep slopes,” says Andrew Councell, a Colorado-based guide. Here’s how to handle a day up high:

>> Weather Check the forecast and recent conditions through local reports. Avalanche risk increases after several warm days and overcast nights in a row, or after spring storms dump fresh snow or rain on top of older, crusty layers. >> Angle “Spring snow can produce slides at lower angles than in winter,” says George. Late-season slides occur most often on slopes between 27 and 45 degrees. Pack an incli-nometer to check angles accurately; we like Backcountry Access’s Slope Meter ($24). >> Terrain East- and southeast-facing slopes soften before those facing west or southwest, because the sun hits them first. Leeward slopes are also less stable than windward aspects.

AscendSwitchback up softer spring slopes by kicking flat, evenly spaced steps into the snow with the toe of your boot. Prevent a serious fall with a self-belay: Holding your axe in your uphill hand, plunge the spike and shaft into the snow. Take two steps forward. When you’re in a balanced position—uphill leg bent in front of you, downhill leg straight—pull out the shaft and replant. To turn, plunge the spike into the snow and plant your feet in a level, duck-footed stance, facing up. Switch hands and swing the new uphill foot forward in the new direction before moving the axe up. Run into a short icy section? Use your ice axe, not your feet, to chop a few steps, says Councell.

On gentle slopes, head straight down instead of traversing diagonally, says Councell. On steep descents, switchback down, plunging your heels into the snow in a rhythm and keeping your knees slightly bent. Hold your axe in the uphill hand and plant the shaft for balance and self-belay.

Feet first on your back Hold the axe diagonally across your chest—one hand gripping the shaft and the other gripping the head, near your ear. Roll toward the pick and flip onto your stomach. Press all of your weight onto the pick to dig it into the snow and kick your toes into the slope to stop.

Headfirst on your stomach Reach forward and to the side and dig the pick into the snow. Pivot around the axe head and dig in with your toes.

Headfirst on your back Dig the pick into the snow at your hip. Twist onto your stomach and let your legs swing around to get in position to stop.

GlissadeIf you’re descending a rock-free slope with a safe runout, sliding down the snow is much faster (and more fun) than walking. Councell’s preferred method: Sit down and slide on your feet and butt. Place one hand on your axe’s head (pinkie toward the pick) and the other on the shaft at your hip. Press the spike into the snow at your side to steer and slow down. (Note: Never glissade in crampons; the points can catch in the snow and make you lose control.)

If you fall...

DESCEND

0310Skills.indd 44 11/30/09 11:38:17 AM



SURVIVAL GEAR: ONE COIN

1½ cups sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 2 cups instant whole-wheat couscous6 ounces salmon jerky, shredded½ teaspoon curry powder½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon black pepper

AT HOME Place curry powder, salt, and pepper in a zip-top bag.

IN CAMPPlace the tomatoes in a pot and cover with three cups water. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes. Remove from heat, add the couscous, stir, and cover. Let sit for five minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Remove lid and stir in the curry powder, salt, pepper, and salmon.

This satisfying whole grain is filling, fiber-rich, and ready in less than five minutes.

Couscousdirtbag / gourmet

DIRTBAG

Salmon-Tomato Couscous

GOURMET

White Bean Chili with Couscous

Minutes Hours

Prep time2 min

Cook time8 min

Price $6 per serving Weight 3 ounces per servingServes 4

Calories 414Fat 6 gCarbs 76 gProtein 35 g

2 cups whole-wheat couscous6 cloves garlic 2 onions 2 red bell peppers1½ cups dried corn2 cubes vegetable bouillon2 cans white beans2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, chopped2 teaspoons dried basil2 teaspoons dried oregano1 teaspoon chili powder1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon pepper½ cup olive oil

AT HOME Drain and rinse the beans, then double-bag in zip-top bags. Combine salt, pepper, and spices in another zip-top bag. Transfer oil to a spillproof container.

IN CAMPBoil 2½ cups water. Add the vegetable bouillon and stir. Add cous-cous; remove from heat and cover. Let sit for five minutes, or until the water is absorbed. While couscous is cooking, slice garlic cloves and chop onion and bell pepper. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the garlic, onion, pepper, and spices. Cook for five minutes, until the pepper is tender. Add the beans, sun-dried toma-toes, corn, and ¼ cup water. Cook three more minutes, until the vegetables are heated through. If desired, add more water to make more sauce. Pour the chili over the couscous and serve.

Prep time10 min

Cook time15 min

Price $5 per serving Weight 4 ounces per servingServes 4

Calories 937Fat 33 gCarbs 146 gProtein 29 g

////// VIDEOS

WOW YOUR FRIENDS Want to bring Thai taste to the trail? Looking for an impressive camping dessert? Trail Chef has you covered. Learn how to bake campfire cupcakes in an orange (yep, you read that right) and whip up quick-and-tasty Pad Thai for backpackers in our latest videos. Find it at backpacker.com/padthai.

0310Skills.indd 45 11/30/09 12:56:09 PM



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START

The surging water is much too powerful— you tumble downriver. The last thing you see are your friends’ horrified faces right before your head smacks into a huge rock.

Sidestepping carefully, you make your way across. Once on shore, you hike to the road and catch the bus. A few hours later, you and your friends toast a successful trip with a cold beer at Talkeetna’s West Rib Café and Pub.

Good choice—wide channels and braids tend to be shallower, and therefore safer, to cross. What’s the best way to make it to the other side?

Without a dry sleeping bag or clothes, the cold wind makes you hypothermic within minutes. Your friends, who crossed before you, go for help—but no one comes in time to prevent your core temperature from dropping too low to recover. Hypothermia can kill within hours.

You change into dry clothes and huddle in your sleeping bag until you warm up. Rescuers arrive

with a video camera in hand, and a few months later, you find yourself starring in the park’s new river safety film.

Your heavy pack drags you underwater. You desperately try to release the straps, but your numbed fingers can’t grasp the buckles. In a panic, you inhale a lungful of icy water—and drown. Four days later, Lunchbox The Cadaver Dog sniffs out your waterlogged corpse several miles down the river.

Nice form—but going solo makes it more likely that you’ll lose your footing. Flip a coin to see if you’ll make it.

You maneuver into a calm eddy, then make your way back to the bank—but you and your pack are soaked, and you’re still on the wrong side of the river. Are your extra clothes stored in drybags or trash compactor bags?

You’re ready to go. What’s the safest technique?

Smart move. You wriggle out of your pack and manage to keep your head above water. What’s the best way to get to shore?

Moving upriver, past a few tributaries, you find several

potential crossing spots. Which do you choose?

Uh-oh—midway across, the deep, fast-moving river sweeps you off of your feet. (Shallow ripples, not standing waves, indicate a safe place to cross. Narrow channels and river bends tend to be deeper and faster. And the Knee Test? Your last living thought might be to curse the friend who passed it off as gospel truth.) Your head plunges under the icy water as you struggle to stay afloat. Did you unbuckle your hipbelt and sternum strap before you started?

A) No

B) Yes

On your final day of backpacking with two friends in Denali National Park, you must cross a wide river to reach the park road. You can see several four-inch standing waves in the channel. Probing with your trekking pole, you determine the silty water is just under knee-deep along the bank. Your move?

A) Toss in a rock to judge depth in the middle of the channel

B) Cross here—the waves indicate shallow water, and the river passes the “Knee Test”

A) Maintain a straight line across the river, perpendicular to the direction of the current

B) Face upstream and sidestep across, angling slightly downriver and stabilizing yourself with trekking poles

A) You need power to get out of the strong current. Swim forward, headfirst in freestyle position, and stroke as hard as you can for the opposite bank.

B) Lead with your feet. Face downstream, with your knees bent and toes up, and backstroke to steer to a safer spot.

A) Heads B) Tails

A) Link arms with your friends to form a tripod and cross together—you’llstabilize each other

B) Cross one by one—if someone slips, the others won’t be dragged down, too

A) Yes B) No

A) A narrow channel

B) A spot where the river splits into several braids

C) A widechannel

D) A bend in the river

When you heave a rock into the river, you hear a deep “ker-plop” sound. What does this mean?

A) The river is shallow enough to cross safely

B) The river is too deep—scout for a better spot

START

The surging water is much too powerful—you tumble downriver. The last thing you see are yourfriends’ horrifiedfaces right before your head smacks into a huge rock.

Sidestepping carefully, you make yourway across. Once on shore, you hike tothe road and catch the bus. A few hours later, you and your friends toast a successful trip with a cold beer atTalkeetna’s West Rib Café and Pub.

Good choice—wide channels and braidstend to be shallower, and therefore safer, to cross. What’s the best way tomake it to the other side?

Without a dry sleeping bag orclothes, the cold wind makes youhypothermic within minutes. Your friends, who crossed before you, gofor help—but no one comes in timeto prevent your core temperaturefrom dropping too low to recover.Hypothermia can kill within hours.

You change into dryclothes and huddle in your sleeping bag until you warm up. Rescuers arrive

with a video camera in hand,and a few months later, youfind yourself starring in thepark’s new river safety film.

Your heavy pack drags you underwater. You desperately try to release the straps, but yournumbed fingers can’t grasp the buckles. In a panic, you inhale alungful of icy water—and drown.Four days later, Lunchbox The Cadaver Dog sniffs out yourwaterlogged corpse several milesdown the river.

Nice form—but going solo makes it more likely that you’lllose your footing. Flip a coin tosee if you’ll make it.

You maneuver into a calm eddy, thenmake your way back to the bank—butyou and your pack are soaked, andyou’re still on the wrong side of theriver. Are your extra clothes stored indrybags or trash compactor bags?

You’re ready to go. What’s the safest technique?

Smart move. You wriggle out of your packand manage to keep your head above water. What’s the best way to get to shore?

Moving upriver, past a few tributaries, you find several

potential crossing spots. Which do you choose?

Uh-oh—midway across, the deep,fast-moving river sweeps you off of your feet. (Shallow ripples, not standingwaves, indicate a safe place to cross.Narrow channels and river bends tendto be deeper and faster. And the KneeTest? Your last living thought might beto curse the friend who passed it off asgospel truth.) Your head plunges underthe icy water as you struggle to stayafloat. Did you unbuckle your hipbeltand sternum strap before you started?

A) No

B) Yes

On your final day of backpacking with two friends inDenali National Park, you must cross a wide river to reach the park road. You can see several four-inchstanding waves in the channel. Probing with yourtrekking pole, you determine the silty water is justunder knee-deep along the bank. Your move?

A) Toss in a rock tojudge depth in themiddle of the channel

B) Cross here—the wavesindicate shallow water, and the river passes the“Knee Test”

A) Maintain a straightline across the river,perpendicular to thedirection of the current

B) Face upstream andsidestep across, anglingslightly downriver andstabilizing yourself with trekking poles

A) You need power to get out of the strongcurrent. Swim forward, headfirst in freestyle position, and stroke as hard as you can for the opposite bank.

B) Lead with your feet. Face downstream, withyour knees bent andtoes up, and backstroke to steer to a safer spot.

A) Heads B) Tails

A) Link arms with your friendsto form a tripod and crosstogether—you’llstabilize each other

B) Cross one byone—if someone slips, the otherswon’t be draggeddown, too

A) Yes B) No

A) A narrowchannel

B) A spot where the river splitsinto several braids

C) A widechannel

D) A bendin theriver

When you heave a rock into the river, you hear a deep “ker-plop” sound.What does this mean?

A) The river isshallow enoughto cross safely

B) The river is too deep—scout for a better spot

THE PREDICAMENT Swept Away

SURVIVAL

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0310Skills.indd 46 12/2/09 10:55:01 AM



While ascending a class 3 summit, you and your partner encounter a stretch of particu-larly sketchy terrain: exposed, steep, and rocky. The route is stable—your partner’s nerves, not so much. Turn back? Not if you packed a rope and know how to perform a hip belay. Requiring only a coil of rope, this old-school technique provides added security on nontech-

nical peaks, gentle snow slopes, moderate canyoneering trips, or any terrain where technical climbing methods are unnecessary. “When moving in the mountains, speed and efficiency are key, and the hip belay allows a team to do just that—it’s lightning-fast and stable,” says Jackson, Wyoming-based Exum Mountain guide Cara Liberatore. Here’s how to do it:

Tie inUsing one end of a single climbing rope, tie the easy-to-adjust bowline knot snugly around your waist; have the climber do the same. For added security, tie backup overhand knots right next to the bowlines at both ends. Use a 30-meter length of rope for alpine scram-bling; a 12-meter rope is usually sufficient for shorter downclimbs while canyoneering.

Brace positionTo belay your partner, you’ve got to be comfortable ascending without protection. Scramble up ahead and find a solid terrain feature, such as a large, live tree or a boulder that’s too big to fit your arms around. Test the feature for stability before commit-ting. Sit down and brace at least one straightened leg (both, if possible) against the feature; this is your brace leg.

Hand positionPosition the rope so that your brake hand is opposite your brace leg (for example, if your brace is your right leg, use your left hand to brake). If both legs are equally braced, either hand can brake. Your other hand is your guide hand. Pull up any slack between you and your partner, then flip the rope over your head so that it rests below your backpack.

Belay methodUse the traditional slip-slap-slide method to belay: As your partner climbs, remove the slack by pulling the rope back around your body with both hands. Slip your guide hand back up and use it to pinch (“slap”) the two strands of rope together in front of you. Then slide your brake hand back toward your body without ever taking it off of the rope. Drop the brake strand from the guide hand and repeat.

Stop a fallWhile using the hip belay, always keep a tight leash on your partner—you should feel his weight on the rope at all times. If he falls, immediately bring your brake hand down and across your body, wrapping the rope farther around your core. The friction of the rope against your body stops the fall.

PracticePerform the hip belay on low-angle terrain with an experienced partner or guide until you become comfortable with the tech-nique. And be aware of the hip belay’s limitations: If the belayer weighs significantly less than the climber, the terrain increases to 5th class, or no natural brace features exist, you’ll need more advanced belaying skills to proceed.

Scramble SafelyAdd security on steep terrain with the simple hip belay. T ight seal

For added insurance against leakage, I always wrap all the bladder threads on my Platypus reservoir with pipe thread tape, which creates a tighter seal (it’s available at hardware stores). Twenty-eight trips, hundreds of nights out, and no leaks yet.

Bryan Bradley, Buffalo Grove, IL

READER TIPS

// ////PHOTOS

WATCH & LEARN Check out a step-by-step photo demo of proper belay and safety technique from Associate Editor Shannon Davis by going to backpacker.com/hipbelay.

Water bedFor a pillow, I use kids’ water wings, sliced down the seam (carefully). I take two and wrap them in a shirt, then inflate them about halfway for a great night’s sleep. They cost about a buck for two, pack down tiny, and weigh about two ounces.

John “Jay44” Hines, Cedar Park, TX

Submitted via the Trailhead Register forum, backpacker.com/community

0310Skills.indd 47 12/3/09 5:16:47 PM


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SKILLSHEALTH

Eat For RecoveryDouble your trail miles—or just boost your energy—with protein-rich snacks.

“Carbs are critical to recovery, but they can’t do the job alone,” says Stacy Sims, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist and sports nutritionist at Stanford University. “To get glycogen into your body and repair the muscle microtears

that occur during any strenuous workout, you need protein.” To reap the benefits, Sims recommends eating 20 grams of protein immediately after a hike or workout (also snack on protein-rich foods throughout the day, aiming for a total of .6 gram per pound of body weight on high-exertion days). Whey, egg, and soy sources are easiest to digest. We tested 10 recovery products to bring you the three best new choices—plus one old favorite.

Best for workouts Hammer Nutrition RecoveriteTesters reported noticeably less next-day fatigue when they downed a Recoverite after a tough hike. This milky drink hits the sweet spot with a 3:1 ratio of complex carbs to whey protein isolate (an easy-to-digest protein derived from milk) and it’s full of antioxidants and electrolytes. Best flavor: strawberry. Calories 170 Fat 0 g Carbs 33 g Protein 10 g ($2.69 per packet; hammernutrition.com)

Best for the trail Clif Shot RoksCrunchy on the outside and nougat-soft in the middle, these malted milk ball-like bites are easy to pop on the move and contain two grams of highly digestible protein per piece. Testers reported that the Roks prevented bonking on long days and reduced muscle fatigue the morning after. Bonus: Roks never melted, even in the hottest summer weather. Best flavor: peanut butter. Calories 270 Fat 4.5 g Carbs 38 g Protein 20 g ($3; clifbar.com)

Best for a sweet tooth PowerBar Recovery This caramel-filled, chocolaty bar may taste like junk food, but its 12 grams of highly digestible whey and soy protein isolates elevate it above typical vending machine fare. It’s like a candy bar with nutritional value and full recovery benefits. Best flavor: peanut butter caramel crisp. Calories 270 Fat 10 g Carbs 30 g Protein 12 g ($1.60; powerbar.com)

Best value Eggs This favorite meets all our essential amino acid requirements and packs six grams of easy-to-absorb protein per egg—and is also an excellent source of antioxidants like cho-line and selenium. Carry them in a reusable plastic egg crate, crack a few into a water bottle and scramble them in camp, or hard-boil a few and stash them in a plastic bag (in cool weather, they’ll last for 48 hours). Calories 78 Fat 5 g Carbs .5 g Protein 6 g ($.25 per egg)

OUTFITTING YOUR DREAMS

EQUIPMENT

CLOTHING

& MORE!

WWW.CAMPMOR.COMFOR OUR FREE CATALOG CALL

1.800.CAMPMOR (800.226.7667)OR WRITE US AT: PO BOX 680-6BP

MAHWAH, NJ 07430

0310Skills.indd 48 12/2/09 12:07:44 PM


MEDICINEMANBUCK MAKES YOU RIGHT.

Urine TroubleQ: Will drinking urine when no water is available allow you to survive longer?

Dan, Toronto, ON

A: Let’s all take a step back from the pee bottle, shall we? True, liquid is vital to pretty much every human function—losing just two percent of your body fluid results in confu-sion, fatigue, and a 25 percent reduction in the body’s ability to function normally, and a 10 percent loss of fluid can be fatal. And true, you’re constantly losing water (to the tune of 2.5 liters per day) through sweating, breath-ing, and elimination. But pee isn’t the answer when your reservoir runs dry. As dehydration progresses, urine output decreases, which ups the concentration of waste products like uric acid, ammonia, calcium, and sodium contained in the little you do produce (that’s why dark pee is a sign you need to drink up). Those substances could speed dehydration at best, and induce vomiting at worst. The SAS Survival Handbook says it all: Never drink urine—never!

Air OutQ: Is it safe to use cookware that held untreated water after it air-dries?

Jens, Washougal, WA

A: Waterborne germs will probably not sur-vive a complete drying—especially in the sun, as ultraviolet rays help with disinfection. To be really sure, wipe your pots with a clean bandanna to remove any lingering microbes before setting them out to dry.

Buck Tilton is a cofounder of the Wilderness Medicine Institute and author of Wilderness First Responder ($35), a comprehensive guide to preventing, recognizing, and treating backcountry medical emergencies.

Spring Training

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Sure, you could hike yourself into shape come spring—but you could hike yourself right into an injury in the process. A too-sedentary off-season can shorten and weaken your hamstrings, and that means feeble knees. “The hamstrings keep the knees safely aligned as you hike,” explains Suzie Snyder, an adventure racer and strength-and-conditioning coach based in Wallingford, Connecticut. Strong hams support your pack’s weight and help ligaments stabilize the knee over uneven terrain, especially when you’re descending with a pack. “Work those muscles, and you’ll hike downhill faster and reduce the risk of knee injuries,” Snyder says. Strengthen your hamstrings with these three exercises; for maximum benefit, do them three times per week, starting six to eight weeks before your first big trip.

ALTERNATING LUNGES>> How Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, take a large step forward, shifting your weight to your front leg while bending the rear knee and dropping the hips toward the ground. Keep your front shin vertical and your thigh par-allel to the floor. Pause briefly, then step back to a standing position without dragging the front foot. Alternate with the other leg for 20 lunges total. Work up to three sets of 20 reps per leg. After two weeks, drop to three sets of 10 reps while wearing a 10-pound backpack. Add five pounds to the pack per workout until you reach 30 to 40 pounds.>>Why Lunges work the hamstrings and glutes, which “apply the brakes as you hike downhill,” Snyder says. Wearing a loaded pack raises your center of gravity and challenges your balance, which trains your hamstrings to steady the knees over loose rock or uneven ground.

STABILITY BALL LEG CURLS>> How Lie face-up on the floor with legs extended and heels on top of a stability ball. Lift your hips off of the floor and pull your heels toward your butt, keeping your toes and knees pointed up. Hold your hips high and straighten your legs; do three sets of 10. When that move becomes easy, try them one-legged: Extend one leg toward the ceiling while you roll the ball toward your butt with the other.>>Why Each time you step down, the hamstrings contract and pull the lower leg beneath you, “like doing leg curls all the way down the mountain,” says Snyder. This exercise mimics that on-trail movement to strengthen hamstrings and prevent the knee pain caused when the quads are dispropor-tionately stronger than the muscles on the back of the leg.

HAMSTRING ROLLS>> How Sit down on a foam roller placed just below your butt, perpendicular to the leg. Resting your body weight on the foam, use your hands and nonsupported leg to crab-walk your body backward, rolling over the foam from butt to knee. Reverse direction and roll from knee to butt. Repeat eight times, or until the tenderness and discomfort in your hamstrings

subside. Switch legs and repeat. >>Why This rolling exercise relaxes and length-ens hamstrings after a tough workout, soothing fatigue and flushing lactic acid from the muscles. “If muscles do not recover from one training bout, the next session will be compromised,” says Snyder. This simple recovery move prevents cramping and lowers the risk of injury during your next training session. Get the same benefits on a multiday trip by substituting a water bottle for a foam roller to restore hamstrings’ full capacity and range of motion.


Want strong knees when hiking season starts? Work your hamstrings now.

///// /WEB EXTRA

FIND WATER ANYWHERELearn to dig a well, make a still, and sniff out water in the desert at backpacker.com/findwater.

0310Skills.indd 49 12/2/09 10:43:29 AM



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BUY>> Down The Rolls Royce of insulation, down has by far the best warmth-to-weight ratio, the best compressibility (read: packability), and the best long-term loft and durability—a high-quality down bag will last decades. It also breathes well by allowing sweat vapor to pass through, increasing comfort in a wide range of conditions. Cons: It’s worthless when wet because down clusters—and all their air pockets—collapse if exposed to moisture. It’s also more expensive; a three-season, 800-fill down bag can cost up to $200 more than a comparable synthetic. You get what you pay for: Buy the highest fill power you can afford for the best performance and durability. >> Synthetic This insulation is the best choice for frequently wet conditions (that’s you, Northwest). Polyester, unlike down, is hydro-phobic. Translation: When it gets wet, the water slides between the fibers, not inside them, which means the fill maintains loft and a higher degree of warmth. Synthetics also dry faster and cost quite a bit less than down, but they’re bulkier and heavier for the warmth. Continuous filament fill won’t fall apart when stretched or clump up when stuffed, but it’s the heaviest, least compressible option. Short staple fill is loftier and more packable, but not as durable.

USE>> Keep it clean. Wear a clean set of layers to bed—not the day’s hik-ing clothes or your birthday suit—to prevent contaminating your bag’s liner with grit and sweat. You’ll have to wash it less often, which lengthens your bag’s life by avoiding unnecessary wear and tear on the shell, zipper, and fill.>> Air out your bag. Body moisture builds up inside the insulation over-night, especially in colder temps. Turn your bag inside out and drape it over a rock or branch in the sun while you pack up each morning.>> Store it right. On the trail, protect your bag and puffy jacket from the elements in waterproof stuffsacks or trash compactor bags. Back at home, keep your bag’s loft alive by storing it loosely in a big cotton sack, hanging it in your closet, or laying it under your bed.>> Lighten your load. To save money and weight, wear your puffy jacket (plus a hat and booties) to bed. You’ll be able to get away with a smaller, lighter bag rated up to 15 degrees higher than nighttime lows.

FIX>> Spot-clean Surface stain? Rub it clean with a toothbrush and a paste of powder laundry detergent and water. Rinse well and air-dry.>> Wash Dirt and oil can seep into the down and decrease loft. When the bag smells funky, looks dark or grimy, or has lost notice-able loft (after about 20 or 30 nights of use), it’s time for a wash. Use a front-loading machine, run it through extra rinse and spin cycles, and dry thoroughly on low with a few clean tennis balls to break up clumps. >> Restore Even the best bags will sometimes lose a few feathers. But if yours has lost enough fluff to reduce its warmth, send it back to the manufacturer (some will restuff for a nominal fee) or to Rainy Pass Repairs (rainypass.com) for restuffing ($37 and up).

InsulationStay toasty with the right fill for your bag and puffy jacket.

Problem: Two 20°F bags from different brands may not be equally warm. Solution: A new standardized system from Europe, called EN13537, that makes ratings consistent. The standard relies on independent labs that test bags using a heated copper mannequin and 20 thermal sensors. REI and Marmot currently use this system, with more companies expected to follow.

Gear SchoolDown

This natural insulation, which comes primarily from geese, contains thousands of overlapping filaments that create countless micro-scopic air pockets. The insulating power comes not from the down itself, but from the body heat that gets trapped in these pockets.

SyntheticThis insulation consists of polyester fibers, crimped to boost loft and increase the number of air pockets. There are two main types:

Continuous filament insulation consists of long batts of woven, hollow-core fibers. Examples: Polarguard, Climashield, PrimaLoft Infinity

Short staple insulation is made of batts of hollow-core polyester cut into shorter pieces and com-pressed to mimic the airiness of down. Examples: PrimaLoft One, Mountain Hardwear’s Thermic Micro

Companies use down clusters—the soft clumps found tucked under a goose’s feathers, not the feathers themselves—to stuff clothing and sleeping bags.

Fill power refers to the num-ber of cubic inches occu-pied by one ounce of down. The higher the fill power, the larger the cluster.

600 FILL 700 FILL 800 FILL

The Ratings Game

+

GEAR

SKILLS

+ VIDEOS

LAUNDRY LESSON Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Dorn leads you through the steps of washing a sleeping bag at backpacker.com/sleepwash.

///// /WEB EXTRA

BEHIND THE SCENESRead our in-depth report on EN13537—and learn to decode the ratings—at backpacker.com/ratingsgame.

0310Skills.indd 50 12/2/09 10:46:14 AM


Experience more

THOSE WHO RUN IN ANYTHING WON’T JUST RUN IN ANYTHING.

You’re a runner. The question isn’t if you’re going to run in nasty weather, it’s

how. Whether it’s through mud, wet grass or snow, GORE-TEX® fabrics improve

performance and reduce discomfort by keeping your feet absolutely dry, guaranteed.

It’s why some of the world’s best running brands refuse to use anything else.

© 2009 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. GORE-TEX®, GORE®, GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU DRY® and designs are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates

GORE_BP_JAN10.indd 1 11/30/09 12:15:44 PM


BASECAMP

We hiked and camped through 78 inky nights from Whitney to Katahdin to evaluate five featherweight headlamps—then ran a battery of controlled tests to rank brightness and longevity. By Casey Lyons

Lightest of the Lights


[best all-around]Princeton Tec RemixFrom spotlighting trees along a compass bearing during a

nighttime bushwhack through Colorado’s White River National Forest to softly illuminating pages of the latest Tom Clancy, the

Remix passed every test we threw at it. Credit four light options (two levels in both spot and flood mode) and excellent battery life. In camp—where head-lamps get the vast majority of their use—its three-LED floodlight (also available in night vision-friendly red or battery-friendly green) lit the close range better than any other light; in spot mode, a fourth, high-power LED penetrated the darkness up to 170 feet. After banging it around for months, one tester raved that its construction is “drop-off-a-cliff strong.” Its overly-stiff swiveling mechanism takes two hands to adjust, but after a groggy late-night pee trip, one tester happily noted that the 120° range-of-motion means “the lamp has no upside down.” Bummer: The big on/off button can accidentally engage. Reader service #101

> Batteries 3 AAAs> Weight 3 oz. > Price $45 > Info princetontec.com

OVERALL

4.5

[brightest]Black Diamond Spot“The Spot makes other headlamps look like upheld lighters at an Eagles

concert,” one tester wrote after night-hiking in Maine’s Baxter State Park. The Spot’s yellowy, ultrabright LED mimics the warm glow of an incandescent bulb,

and is deeply nestled in a grooved cone that throws a focused beam almost the length of a football field (see chart for comparisons). That makes this

headlamp ideal for biking and off-trail jaunts. The Spot also shone for two days in spot mode on alka-line batteries, 15 hours longer than the next closest competi-tor on a similar setting. When

less light was called for, a whopping eight settings—three strengths and a blinker for both the spot and the diffuse three-LED flood—offered our Moab tes-ter more brightness options than he knew what to do with. Unique feature: If you accidentally leave it on, the Spot switches itself off after 10 hours to conserve battery life. The catch: It’s bulkier (the size of a tangerine) than the others, and its loose tilter slips during trail running and banzai descents. Reader service #102

OVERALL

4.3

> Batteries 3 AAAs> Weight 3.1 oz. > Price $40 > Info bdel.com

[FIELD TEST]

+All weights are on BP scales with alkaline batteries.

//////

0310Gear-JD.indd 52 12/2/09 10:07:15 AM


[best light quality]Petzl Tikka Plus 2A tester who packed the Tikka Plus 2 while peakbagging in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest

loved the lamp’s intuitive functions. When batteries are 50 percent depleted, a small red indicator light blinks on “as obviously as a car’s gas light.” The Petzl shoots a bright point of light straight ahead and fades smoothly outward to the periphery with no dark spots. On high mode, it easily illuminates good bear-bag branches after a late dinner. The tilter clicks firmly into place with one hand, and the deep and narrow on/off switch remains clickable even when wearing gloves.

One tester liked the night vision-friendly red LED on buggy nights around camp: “Fewer moths and bugs try to dive-bomb your face,” he reports. Drawback: The beam isn’t focused enough to stay tight over long distances. Reader service #103

[steady burner] Mammut Lucido TXliteAfter thru-hiking the 211-mile John Muir Trail without replac-

ing the Lucido’s batteries, a tester concluded: “You couldn’t land a chop-

per with it, but it’s good for trail hiking and camp chores.” And it’s steady: After 10 hours, the Lucido’s beam retained the highest per-centage of its initial distance. Credit a highly efficient single-bulb design. It also has sev-

eral unique features. A clever switch guard prevents accidental turn-ons, and you can hold the switch down to

check battery life (three blinks is full, one is empty). The Lucido shoots a defined, circular swath of white light within a larger, dimmer circle well-suited to lighting the trail ahead. Swivel it all you want: The LED housing’s bal-anced in-bracket design won’t jostle out of place. Bummer: The settings aren’t all intui-tive, and the detachable battery cover is easy to lose. Reader service #104


[lightest and cheapest] Coast LED Lenser Micro“Thru-hiker approved,” says a tester who carried

the tiny Lenser on the 500-mile Colorado Trail. The long-lasting, superefficient LED did nearly as well

on a single AAA as others did with three, and the LED housing is smaller than a quarter, which makes it a no-brainer for ounce-counters. As with a lot of superlight gear, some functionality is sacrificed for weight savings: The Lenser has one brightness setting, and while it can light up maps and perform other in-camp tasks, its diffuse, violet-colored light didn’t have enough gusto to spot far-off trail blazes on extended night hikes. It is bright enough for street jog-gers, with a well-balanced fit and two rear-facing blue LEDs that let cars keep track of you. In the morning, the Lenser balls up smaller than a plum tomato. Drawback: only two inches of strap adjustment. Reader service #105

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CRITERIA LEDs less than 3.5 oz. and $50 with easy-to-find batteriesTEST NUMBERS Hours in the dark 616; batteries drained 80; pages read 125

RATINGS SCALE 5 = Perfect gear, 1 = Save your money

OVERALL

4.2

> Batteries 3 AAAs> Weight 2.6 oz. > Price $50> Info mammut.com

OVERALL

4.0

> Batteries 3 AAAs> Weight 2.9 oz. > Price $45> Info petzl.com

OVERALL

3.5 > Batteries 1 AAA> Weight 1.5 oz. > Price $20> Info coastcutlery.com

< Instant Lantern Where campfires aren’t allowed, clip the Mammut Ambient Light onto the Lucido TXlite to transform it into a hillbilly chandelier with enough illumi-nation for a poker game. (1 oz., $11; mammut.com)

Headlamp

Princeton TecRemix

Initial brightness (lux*)

Distance of usable light

with fresh batteries (feet)

Distance after 10

hours(feet)

4.1 170 60

Black DiamondSpot 4.4 255 95

MammutLucido TXlite 3.1 160 70

PetzlTikka Plus 2 3.3 160 40

Coast LED Lenser Micro

.7 110 45

Battery life

(hours**)

41

56

36

36

33

Testers: Ryan Dax, Adam Dixon, Stephen Fredericks, Casey Lyons, Michael Wegryn

*Lux measures illumination of an object 6.5 feet away (the full moon on a clear night is .25 lux). All lux measurements were taken on the headlamp’s highest setting using a light meter.**All tests were performed on the highest setting in 60°F temps using fresh alkaline batteries.

0310Gear-JD.indd 53 12/2/09 10:08:19 AM



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REVIEWS

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PRODUCT VERDICT BEST FOR TESTER DATA

FIELD NOTES THE LATEST WORD FROM OUR TESTERS

All-season hikers who want a one-shell quiver; ultralighters who need reliable weatherprotection for alpine conditions

Patagonia M10

For the weight of a freeze-dried dinner, this jacket brings all-season protection. I wore it as a windshell for a week of cool-weather hik-ing in the Alps and never overheated. Credit the three-layer (rare in a ultralight shell) fabric, which moves moisture well enough that I rarely opened the 16-inch pit zips. Those pits are mesh-lined, so they

double as pockets—which creates two huge stor-age units without the weight of two more zippers. Other nice details: adjustable cuffs, a drawcord hem, and a roomy fit that layers over a puffy jacket. Pros: year-round protection at summertime weight. Cons: steep price. patagonia.com. Reader service #107

> Kristin Hostetter > Other testers Kelly Bastone, Shannon Davis > Duration May to Nov.> Locales/conditions Rain, temps from 10°F to 60°F; Northeast, Rockies, Alps > “The hood cinches over a helmet and down to a gasket around your face with one drawstring pull.”

Black Diamond Octane/Spark

This daypack handles up to 20 pounds on a hardware-laden dayhike or summit attempt. But it also has a killer four-strap compression sys-tem that lets you shrink it for shorter jaunts. The frame is a standard plastic sheet surrounded by an aluminum skeleton that connects via

a ball and socket to the hipbelt. This creates a ful-crum in the lumbar area that rotates in all directions, creating a very dynamic suspension that stuck like glue when I was stemming through slot canyons in southern Utah. Pros: snug fit, excellent load support. Cons: heavy for its size; Allen key required to adjust torso length. bdel.com. Reader service #108

Anyone look-ing for a ver-satile daypack with excellent weight transfer and a sus-pension that adjusts to fit a wide variety of torsos

> Kristin Hostetter> Other testers Shannon Davis> Duration May to Nov.> Locales/conditions Canyons, glaciers, peaks; UT, MA, Alps, Longs Peak> “Once you dial in the torso size, there’s some hip swivel that actually makes loads feel lighter.”

> $140> 3 lbs. (w’s)> 28 to 30 liters> 2 men’s and 2 women’s sizes

//////

These four-section aluminum poles were perfect for my Long Trail thru-hike, because they’re lighter than many carbon-fiber models and collapse to a mere 20.5 inches. The adjustments are rock-solid, with a

push-button on the bottom section and twist-locks on top. The long foam grip let me adjust my hand position during steep traverses. Pros: bomber, ultra-light, and green, thanks to DAC Featherlight alumi-num. Cons: The push-button is tough to operate with cold fingers. outdoorresearch.com. Reader service #110

Taller hikers, ultralighters

> Berne Broudy > Other testers Aaron Loomis, Emily Steers> Duration May to Nov.> Locales/conditions VT, Alps; on and off trail> “They come with wide winter baskets, a nice perk for ski season.”

> $125> 15 oz. > adjusts from 20.5 to 51 inches

> $399> 10.5 oz. (w’s M)> men’s XS-XL; women’s XS-L

First Ascent Guide Gloves

Want a superb technical glove for mountaineering, skiing, and winter camping? These Pittards leather gloves are soft enough for nose-wiping yet tough enough for ice axes and high-friction rappels; for grip and dexterity, leather this supple has few equals. Inside, a merino wool lining kept my palms dry and didn’t catch when I slid wet hands in and out. A wide, adjustable, elastic cuff helps there; it also seals

tight against spindrift. Insulated with PrimaLoft, the Guides are warm well below freezing if you’re active. Pros: impeccable fit and great dexterity. Cons: The water-resistant leather wets out after prolonged rain or slush. firstascent.com. Reader service #109

> Jonathan Dorn> Other testers Shannon Davis > Duration Aug. to Dec.> Locales/conditions Alps, Rockies; six types of snow> “In subzero windchills, you can’t afford to take your gloves off to fiddle with gear. The Guides have the touch you need.”

Salomon XT Wings GTX

If you favor low-cuts over beefy boots—but don’t want to sacrifice support or protection—check out this souped-up trail runner. The upper is a complex pattern of breathable ripstop nylon and rubbery abrasion reinforcements, with a Gore-Tex lining. The midsole is sup-portive and stable—especially for overpronators—and quite cushy. I was able to eat up miles on bouldery trails in Shenandoah National

Park with a 20-pound pack. The thin, ultradurable metal-core laces cinch (not tie) and tuck into a tongue-top pouch. This system stayed tight and never required retying. Pros: the support of a hik-ing boot with the agility of a trail runner. Cons: long break-in time. salomon.com. Reader service #106

Fastpackers, rugged-trail runners, travelers who want one do-it-all shoe

> Bremen Leak > Other testers Jonathan Dorn> Duration July to Nov. > Locales/conditions Rocky and muddy trails in MD, VA, CO, Finland > “After a 20-mile training run around Lake Jyväsjärvi in Finland, my legs were shot, but my feet felt fresh.”

> $160> 2 lbs. (size 12) > men’s 7-14; women’s 5-11

Mountaineering, backcountry skiing, and tool- intensive cold-weather trips

> $119> 6.7 oz. (m’s L)> XS-XL

Exped Explorer Poles

0310Gear-JD.indd 54 12/2/09 10:09:53 AM


TM

HONDA_BP_JAN10.indd 1 11/13/09 2:01:37 PM


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GEARREVIEWS

Quench your backcountry thirst with these new water (and wine!) products. By Berne Broudy

Liquid Assets[BIG BOTTLE]

Klean Kanteen Wide 64 oz. Safe. Strong. Big. That, in a nutshell, is why we love

this bottle. While the BPA debate rages on, stain-less steel bottles—which require no lining—have emerged as a no-brainer choice. (Go to back-packer.com/bpanews for a quick primer on BPA—and how to spot a bottle without it.) On the durability front, stainless trumps all other bottle materi-als; it’s impervious to dents, drops, freezes and thaws, and it never absorbs funky odors, tastes, or col-ors. But what testers prized most was this

bottle’s 64-ounce size, which holds two liters of liquid in less space than two separate bottles. On a 20-mile-a-day Long Trail thru-hike last

fall, a Vermont tester said that the capacity meant less stopping to pump and less fiddling with filters from bottle to bottle. The wide mouth makes cleaning, pouring drink mix, inserting ice cubes, and using a wand-style water purifier a breeze, and the opening is compatible with most water filters. Only downside: It’s more expensive than a pair of standard plastic quart bottles. $33; 12.6 oz.; kleankanteen.com. Reader service #111

[HYDRATION PACK]Osprey Manta 25

Load your average daypack with 100 ounces of

water plus gear, then try hammer-ing down the trail or scrambling up

some boulders. Chances are, you’ll get some sloshing and thumping as the water weight pulls on your

shoulders and shifts back and

forth as you move. Not so with the Manta. This daypack features an easy-to-fill 100-ounce reservoir (it has a handle) and a stiffened holder that locks the water in place. Load lifters clip directly to the top of the back panel to compress the top of the reservoir. Not only does this further stabi-lize the load, it improved testers’ balance, whether they were scrambling up ladders on Vermont’s Mt. Mansfield or just hightail-ing it down a trail in California’s Santa Ynez Mountains. The stretchy shoulder straps and hipbelt—which hugged our testers’ every curve—also contribute to stability. “It’s not like wearing your average daypack,” said one tester. “It’s like the pack is actually inte-grated into your back.” Nice details abound: elastic hipbelt pockets that accommodate a digital camera and a couple of bars, an integrated rain cover, a magnetized sternum strap buckle for attaching the bite valve (no more fumbling), and a stretchy pocket for securely stashing a helmet or bulky jacket. Capacity is enough for lunch, extra clothes, and safety gear for a big dayhike. $139; available in two torso lengths: S/M is 1,300 cu. in.; M/L is 1,500 cu. in.; 2 lbs. 1 oz. (S/M); ospreypacks.com. Reader service #112

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0310Gear-JD.indd 56 12/4/09 12:08:26 PM


[HYDRATION GAUGE]CamelBak Flow MeterSome of us laughed, some of us cel-ebrated—and some of us wished we’d had this device in college. The Flow Meter is a digital gauge that mounts in your hose and measures both how much you’ve drunk and how many ounces are left in your keg, er, reservoir. No more running out of fluids just when you’re getting thirsty! An advanced mode (who knew?) also lets you enter the amount you want to imbibe, then moni-tors your progress and estimates the ETA to an empty bladder. Skip the confusing owners manual and follow these directions (courtesy of a call to customer service): Hold both buttons down to get started, switch modes with the top button, and toggle numbers with the right. Runs on a watch battery (included). Breathalyzer not included. $30 (also available preinstalled in a CamelBak reservoir); 1 oz.; camelbak.com. Reader service #113

[DECANTER]Innate EssePerfectly sized to hold a bottle of vino, this 26-fluid-ounce, insulated stainless steel container kept our whites perfectly chilled and our reds perfectly unchilled, regardless of the outside temperature. When it’s cocktail time in camp, one press of the push-button top releases the vacuum seal, letting a steady and directed stream of liquid cascade into your cup—spill-free. A second cap ensures it won’t get bumped open in your pack. For chugging and easy cleaning, the whole top unscrews. $22; 14.8 oz; innate-gear.com. Reader service #114

[HOUSE WINE]The Climber, by Clif Family WineryPair your next pasta dish with this affordable red. Made

by the same people who bring you Clif Bars, the tasty zinfandel/caber-net/sirah blend is a 2005 North Coast vintage. Sophisticated wine types called it “smooth, rich, and voluptuous.” The rest of us called it “yummy.” $17; cliffamilywinery.com. Reader service #115

[CHALICE]GSI Outdoors Stemless Wine GlassAdd some class to your campsite with these compact plastic glasses. They’re made of rug-ged, BPA-free Tritan polyester, which is dishwasher-safe and doesn’t stain or go cloudy no matter how much you use it. We love the squat, stable design, which is almost tip-proof on uneven surfaces. $6; 2 oz.; gsioutdoors.com. Reader service #116

All weights on BP scales. Testers: Berne Broudy, Kristin Hostetter, Ginger Lubkowitz, Mark Lubkowitz

©2009 Rosetta Stone Ltd. All rights reserved. Offer applies to Personal Edition only. Patent rights pending. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer. Prices subject to change without notice. *Six-Month Money-Back Guarantee is limited to product purchases made directly from Rosetta Stone and does not include return shipping. Guarantee does not apply to an online subscription or to Audio Companion purchased separately from the CD-ROM product. All materials included with the product at the time of purchase must be returned together and undamaged to be eligible for any exchange or refund.

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0310Gear-JD.indd 57 12/4/09 12:08:53 PM



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BASECAMP

BASECAMP

Thru-Hiking the RecessionThe upside to being downsized? Having time to hit the nation’s long trails.

We’ll let economists and career counselors dither about whether going for a six-month hike is the most appropriate response to losing your job. Either way, it’s sure to be the most gratifying response.

While no one tracks the reasons thru-hikers hit the trail, anecdotal evidence suggests that the 2009 class of end-to-enders was larger than average, and that the increase came chiefly from unemployed hikers making the most of their forced time off. Exhibit A: The number of northbound hikers on the Appalachian Trail spiked to 1,425, up almost 200 from the previ-ous year. Dave Tarasevich, a ridge runner for Baxter State Park, said that most thru-hikers he’s encountered over the years have been fresh out of college or retired. But in 2009, Tarasevich noticed a jump in the number of middle-aged hikers, and says, “many of them were downsized or outsourced.”

The Pacific Crest Trail also experienced a bump. Brenda Murray, office manager for the PCT Association, says that she had people calling at the last minute, looking for “thru-hiking permits” (there are none) because they had been laid off. “I had never seen that before,” Murray says. Ditto on the Continental Divide Trail. It typically gets only about 20 thru-hikers annually, but Teresa Martinez of the CDT Alliance estimates that the 2009 number increased to at least 50. “In hard economic times, people turn to our natural spaces,” Martinez says. “It’s an inex-pensive way to have an adventure.”

Meet some of the lucky/unlucky hikers:

» Kevin Downs, AT: On December 16, 2008, this 36-year-old civil engineer was en route to a job interview (he’d been laid off). At the end of his six-hour drive to the appointment, his prospective employer called to cancel. On the way home, the frustrated Downs made a deci-sion: stop looking for a job and start hiking the Appalachian Trail. “I used to be a big-house, big-car person,” he says, posthike. “After the trail, I’m going to live my life more simply.”

» Maya Kapoor, AT: As a field biologist, Kappor, 30, says job prospects are few because research budgets have dried up. “I wanted to [hike the AT] since I was a kid growing up in Jersey,” she says. “The spirit of generosity that you see on the trail is astounding.”

» Pat Raphael, AT: When his appraisal business shrank from 14 employees to two, 30-year-old Raphael decided to leave his remaining employees in charge and hit the trail. “The backpack, the sleeping bag, and the clothes are the ultimate icebreaker,” he says.

» Jack Haskell, PCT: After losing his job at a food co-op, Haskell, 26, hiked the PCT, and now he plans to knock off the CDT in 2010. “There are so many people searching for jobs,” he says. “Why should I join them if I alreadyhave the key to happiness?”

Unfiltered

Eric Coulter I thought Aron Ralston was a nut ’til I read his book. Jami Broecher I hope Ryan Gosling plays him in the movie.Shawn Baker Movie? About poor planning and overconfidence?

KILLER SHOTGot a great image from your last trip? Enter it in our next contest at backpacker.com/photos for a chance to have it published in an upcoming issue.

// ////PHOTOS

THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL AT MAX

PATCH BALD IN NORTH CAROLINA.

from facebook.com/backpackermag

0310People.indd 58 12/2/09 2:59:19 PM



Fast Off His Feet Wilderness paddler Mike Stavola sets a record on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

Some would argue that the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail is meant to be traveled slowly, savoring one scenic day—and one arduous portage—at a time. Not New Jersey native Stavola, 57, who shattered the previous speed record last July, when he kayaked the whole NFCT in 32 days, 3 hours, and 56 minutes.

HOW DID YOU BEAT THE RECORD?The NFCT is the ultimate adventure paddling trip in this country, but so far, most people have canoed it. Kayaks are faster. Plus, an older kayaker started a few weeks earlier than me, and I didn’t want him to show me up.

SCARIEST MOMENT?The two-mile crossing of Flagstaff Lake. I was paddling into 20-mph winds, and the boat was diving into the waves. I kept thinking of that chapter in The Perfect Storm about what it’s like to drown.

WHAT WAS THE MOST SCENIC SPOT?Attean Pond in Maine. Mountains sur-round the whole pond, and I paddled my boat in circles, taking pictures.

WHAT’S NEXT? My partner Juan Carro and I will paddle across Nicaragua, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. We’re going to portage over the Continental Divide.

READER SHOT OF THE MONTHMike Sherwood of Phoenix, Arizona, was in a “secret canyon” carved out of the crumbly granite near Colorado’s Pikes Peak. It’s 40 feet deep and 100 yards long. “To navigate it, you have to swim through frigid water and under car-size boulders,” he says. “And that’s not even the hard part. After that, you squeeze through a narrows just 15 inches wide while climbing over a chockstone.” Then, the canyon opens to this stunning view, where Sherwood experimented with shutter speed to blur the water.

As six employees of Yellowstone National Park’s concessionaire discovered in

May, the wilderness has eyes. Or at least video cameras. The six received citations for vandalizing Old Faithful (two were caught peeing into the geyser) after the park’s webcam (nps.gov/archive/yell/OldFaithfulcam) recorded their antics. The bizarre incident provided fodder for blogs everywhere, but also brought atten-tion to an obscure provision in

Yellowstone’s recently published comprehensive plan for wireless communication—the potential use of webcams all over the backcountry. The plan suggests that such webcams could be used for “resource monitor-ing or to address safety concerns, but these will not be available for public viewing purposes.” Does this mean Big Brother’s coming to your campsite? Yellowstone superintendent Suzanne Lewis says hikers shouldn’t be alarmed. “We would not install webcams for the general purpose of having eyes in the backcountry.”

The Rangers are WatchingAre wilderness webcams good for the backcountry—or bad for privacy?

STAVOLA NEAR MAINE’S ALLAGASH FALLS, JUST 40 MILES FROM THE END OF HIS RECORD-SETTING PADDLE

0310People.indd 59 12/2/09 2:59:44 PM



Alaska { } 2010

BigEasy

The

Backpackers regard Alaska the way surfers view

Hawaii: Going there is a rite of passage. But too

often, hikers think that the truly wild side of Alaska is

accessible only to big spenders with heaps of

experience and a bush plane. Wrong. Last summer, our

team spent more than a month scouting trips.

Result: 10 life-list adventures for every hiker and budget.*

BY STEVE HOWE


*Total trip costs—after airfare, including ground transportation and food—start at just $200 per person for two hikers.

Alaska-GF.indd 60 12/3/09 2:28:53 PM


IMAX ENVY: ALASKA VIEWS PUT EVEN THE BIGGEST SCREEN TO SHAME.

HIKE UP 7,300-FOOT TRIANGLE PEAK TO SCORE THIS VISTA OF THE

CASTNER GLACIER (PAGE 68).

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GET COMPLETE TURN-BY-TURN DIRECTIONS AT

BACKPACKER.COM

Find everything you need to pull off the ultimate Alaska vacation in our comprehensive guide at backpacker.com/alaska2010. Download tracklogs, print maps, get detailed trailhead information, and fi nd extensive route directions for all 10 trips here, plus more hikes from our Alaska team. Bonus video: Follow author Steve Howe on his trek to Castner and Canwell Glaciers. Plus: See photo galleries from our team’s adventures, and get essential skills videos and gear lists.

{1}

Don’t be fooled by the short mile-age. The routefinding, utter isolation, and potential for big weather—you’re only 18 miles from Prince William Sound and its frequent storms—up the ante here. But front-row views of the toothy, glacier-clad spires in the Valdez Mountains more than reward the effort. And thanks to the road access to Thompson Pass, set at 2,678 feet beneath the glacier-draped pyramid of Girls Mountain, you don’t have to claw through alder to reach the hiker heaven above treeline. For a world-class dayhike, trek 5.7 miles round-trip from the pass, crossing pond-dotted

Best Views

Thompson Pass See the awesome Valdez Mountains on this off-trail adventure to Point Odyssey and beyond.

Cost Difficulty

tundra benches broken by short cliff bands. Follow the ridgeline east-northeast toward locally named Little Odyssey, the first large bump on the ridge. On the far side, cross the gully and scramble up class 2 rock bands to 4,539-foot Point Odyssey—with its 360-degree vistas. Multiday options: Find superb campsites on tundra shelves below the summit, or hike 10.5 miles (one-way) toward Marshall Pass.

The way Drive 89 miles south of Glenallen on the Richardson Highway.

Contact nps.gov/aplic/center

Perfect Ten1. Thompson Pass2. Lost Lake3. Flute Glacier4. Johnson Pass5. The Goat Trail6. Harding Icefield7. Grizzly Pass8. Devil’s Pass9. Castner Glacier10. Hidden Creek Lake

Anchorage

Seward6

28 4

3 510

7 9

1

COST (PER PERSON AFTER AIRFARE; INCLUDES HALF SHARE OF FOOD AND RENTAL CAR): 1 = $200 3 = $600 5 = $1,000

Gulf ofAlaska

Alaska-GF.indd 62 12/4/09 9:31:59 AM



This 15-mile thru-hike requires no arduous bushwhacking, delivers you quickly to spectacular alpine terrain, has a simple shuttle, and serves as a gateway to big-mountain explor-ing. The easy-to-follow Primrose Trail, just off the Seward Highway south of Kenai Lake, climbs through thick pine forest and emerges onto rocky ridge-lines with views of looming 5,710-foot Mt. Ascension and the massive Snow River Valley to the east. Continue to Lost Lake, at mile six, and cast for rainbows from open tundra at 1,920 feet elevation. Your basecamp: a pond 1.5 miles west of the lake, which has the best solitude, up-close vistas of the glaciers on Mt. Ascension, and days’ worth of tundra hikes through the alpine valleys of Martin, Primrose, Ship, and Boulder Creeks. Tip: Hike this route from the north for the best views, but start from the southern Lost Lake trailhead in bad weather, to avoid rain-laden headwinds off of the gulf.

The way Primrose trailhead: Take Primrose Spur Road, at milepost 16 on the Seward Highway. Lost Lake trail-head: milepost 6, Seward Highway.

Contact dnr.alaska.gov/parks

With gorgeous lakes and an icefield set between towering peaks, the sights here scream classic Alaska, yet the moderate challenges (straightforward routefinding and creek crossings) make it a perfect introduction for Alaska nov-ices. The 19-mile out-and-back follows

the South Fork of Eagle River to Eagle Lake (mile 4.5). The lake is popular with locals, but few hikers venture where you’re going—to the Flute Glacier. To reach it, follow user trails east from the upper end of Eagle Lake. After short stretches of alder bashing, cross the Eagle River and head upstream along the north bank. At mile 8.2, start the first of two short scrambles that lead to the glacier toe, where you’ll find campsites—and stay-awhile views.

The way From Anchorage, go 10 miles north on the Glenn Highway, then 8.5 miles on Hiland Rd. to the trailhead.


Easy Basecamp

Lost Lake Bring plenty of supplies to this alpine plateau in the Chugach Mountains—you’ll want to extend your stay.

Cost Difficulty

{2}

{3}Anchorage Quickie

Flute GlacierJust minutes from town, score big scenery fast on the South Fork of Eagle River.

Cost Difficulty

DIFFICULTY RATING: 1 = BRING KIDS 5 = BRING A BEACON

BIRD’S EYE: SCORE THIS VIEW OF THE EAGLE RIVER VALLEY FROM

ATOP HARP MOUNTAIN.

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Okay, we can’t resist recommend-ing one bush plane expedition. Why? This one has short, reasonably priced flights, and it leads through brawling, glacier-clad mountains that make the perfect introduction to remote Alaska. The 20-mile point-to-point trip is a variation of the renowned Goat Trail route from Skolai Pass down Chitistone Canyon, but you start from the high Wolverine airstrip, getting all the sce-nic highlights while avoiding the alder thickets and potentially dangerous river fords of lower Chitistone Gorge.

You’ll hike on glorified game trails, cross unmarked tundra, search for the pass that leads to the Goat Trail (once used by prospectors), and follow that sketchy track along the Chitistone River before descending off 5,800-foot

{4}

Chitistone Pass to the airstrip at Lower Skolai Lake (not the abandoned airstrip shown on maps). The route passes water-falls, skirts huge moraines, and plunges into a deep gorge. Allow at least five days in case of weather delays—and for excellent detours like a circumnavigation of Wolverine Mesa, or exploring around Chitistone Pass and the Skolai Lakes.

From Wolverine landing strip, keep an eye on your footing as you cross a massive talus slope to the northeast—it’s easy to be distracted by the Twaharpies, giant peaks that rise to 10,500 feet across Chitistone Gorge. After 2.5 miles, the wildlife track you’ve been following vanishes in the tundra around Hasen Creek. You won’t see established track again until you hit the Goat Trail at mile 9.8. Literally a Dall sheep track, the nar-row and exposed route cuts across steep talus. (Sound tricky? It is—get our track-log at backpacker.com/alaska2010.)

The way Flights to Wolverine start in McCarthy (reached via a rough 60-mile dirt road). Flights cost approximately $350 per person, two-person minimum (wrangellmountainair.com). Your air taxi operator will file an NPS itinerary.

Contact nps.gov/wrstGold rushers blazed the Johnson Pass Trail, originally part of the Iditarod miner’s route from Seward to Nome. Today, the trail’s bridged streams and easy grade make it perfect for families. In midsummer, fireweed and lupine grow thick and grasses sprout chest high. Nearly the entire trail lies below treeline and trailside vegetation is thick; make plenty of noise as you hike to avoid sudden bear encoun-ters. Your destination: Johnson Creek Summit’s broad saddle (10 miles one-way, starting from the northern trail-head). Here you’ll find the best camp-site hidden on a spruce-covered knoll above the trail, just before it descends to Bench Lake. Pack a rod for the Arctic grayling in Bench and rainbows in Johnson Lake. Return the way you came (the 13-mile thru-hike to Moose Pass is muddy and overgrown, and not worth the shuttle).

The way Go 96 miles south of Anchorage on AK 1, to milepost 64.

Contact fs.fed.us/r10/chugach

Family Trip

Johnson Pass Hike a historic, kid-friendly trail to wildflower meadows and fish-filled lakes.

Cost Difficulty

Weeklong Adventure

The Goat Trail Tackle an epic route through Chitistone Canyon in Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve.

Cost Difficulty

LOWER SKOLAILAKE AIRSTRIP

GOAT TRAIL

WOLVERINEAIRSTRIP

Alaska-GF.indd 64 12/3/09 2:33:27 PM


MORE PHOTOS Inspired by images like this view near Lower Skolai Lake landing strip? Our Alaska slideshow has 50 more reasons to start your planning now. backpacker.com/alaska2010

STRONG FINISH: THE ROUTE ENDS NEAR

THE HOLE IN THE WALL ROCK FORMATION.

Alaska-GF.indd 65 12/3/09 2:33:55 PM


ON RAMP: THE STEEP HARDING ICEFIELD TRAIL

QUICKLY REACHES VIEWS OF THE EXIT GLACIER.

Alaska-GF.indd 66 12/3/09 2:34:37 PM



Imagine Wyoming’s Wind River Range with black rock, remnant icefields, few trails, and no people. That’s the Talkeetna Mountains, located 56 miles north of Anchorage. This 29-mile out-and-back links an on-trail start to a tough off-trail route, passes two back-country huts, crosses a scary-narrow and near-secret mountain pass, and finally reaches a seldom-visited val-ley in the heart of the range. En route you’ll cross the Mint Glacier, which is

exciting yet nontechnical (though light crampons or microspikes make travel easier). From the Gold Mint trailhead, follow buffed trail with marked mile-posts along the Little Susitna River. When the path fades after mile five, persevere through bogs and willow into the head of the valley. There, a thready trail turns west and climbs 700 feet to a plateau, where you’ll find the Mountaineering Club of Alaska’s Mint Hut (membership required for use, mcak.org). If the weather is good or the hut busy (it’s first come, first serve), there’s excellent camping just a mile beyond: Continue climbing northeast to a gorgeous lake—unnamed and unmapped (it’s on ours)—with views of Montana Peak’s buttressed pyramid and the jagged Mint Spires. The next day, traverse the Mint Glacier and climb to a gap locally named Grizzly Pass—the key to finding total solitude. Just before reaching the knife-edged saddle, skirt one large crevasse by rounding it on the left. After the pass, descend to the headwaters of Moose Creek where, in clear weather, you’ll spot your next goal: Dnigi Hut. The rarely visited hut (also MCAK) sits below imposing but-tresses that rise 1,800 feet. Basecamp here for explorations into the remote headwaters of Kashwitna River.

The way From Palmer, drive two miles north on the Glenn Highway. Go left at Hatcher Pass, then 13.8 miles to the Gold Mint trailhead. Parking: $5/day.

Contact dnr.alaska.gov/parks

{7}

This demanding trail climbs 3,000 feet in 3.7 miles. The reward: some of the most spectacular views in all of Alaska, where you’ll gaze across end-less plains of glacial ice punctuated by dozens of nunataks—isolated, conical rocky peaks that protrude through the ice and rise several hundred feet. No surprise Harding is a popular dayhike. But very few visitors continue past the first major overlooks. So to enjoy the view in solitude—and make this trip an unforgettable overnight—just con-tinue west 1.3 miles, across the obvi-ous dark moraines, to more secluded viewpoints and choice tent sites, which offer world-to-yourself silence, equally good views of the icefield, and reasonable access to water running over the nearby ice. The total one-way trip is 5.3 very strenuous miles; the exposed trail gets slick in rain and is a scorcher on sunny days. Keep an eye out for grizzlies and mountain goats.

The way From milepost 3 of the Seward Highway, take Exit Glacier Road 8.5 miles to the visitor center.

Contact nps.gov/kefj

{6}

Alaska Made Easy Yes, unprepared hikers can get into trouble here. No, you don’t need special skills to stay safe. Just understand these hazards and avoid them. [ ] Delays Alaska newcomers routinely overestimate how far they can hike and underestimate the weather. Cut your typical mileage goals in half—especially if you’ll be hiking off-trail—and allow extra time (and carry extra food) for storms and unplanned delays. [ ] Grizzlies Always use proper bear etiquette

(travel noisily; cook and store food well away from your tent site). Beware if you camp near cabins or well-used landing strips where previous visitors may have been sloppy. And carry bear spray just in case. [ ] River crossing Don’t attempt to ford swift rivers that are more than thigh-deep. On out-and-back routes, beware of rivers that swell with runoff after you cross going out. See page 46 for more river-crossing advice. [ ] Gear Intense rain and wind requires a rock-solid tent and full raingear, plus waterproof gloves, boots, and gaiters. Always pack trek-king poles, river-crossing shoes, bug repellent, a head net, and (until mid-July) bugproof pants and shirt. See our complete Alaska gear list at backpacker.com/alaska2010.

Sneak Route

Harding Icefield Hike a classic in Kenai Fjords—and escape the crowds by making it an overnight.

Cost Difficulty

Secret Solitude

Grizzly Pass Hike to a private paradise deep in the Talkeetna Mountains.

Cost Difficulty

DIFFICULTY RATING: 1 = BRING KIDS 5 = BRING A BEACON

ROOM WITH A VIEW: THE MINT HUT SLEEPS 6 TO 8

LUCKY CAMPERS.

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Hike the Alaska Range in all its glory—but without Denali National Park’s crowds and heavily regulated backcountry—in the Delta Mountains, a hundred miles east of the park’s main entrance. This 23-mile round-trip up the Castner Glacier leads into the heart of one of the most accessible glacier basins in all of Alaska, where you’ll find classic sights like icefalls, as well as signs of global warming. The shrinking Castner is literally collapsing in on itself; much of the central glacier has become a deep, meltwater-filled trench. The off-trail route climbs Castner to the Silvertip Icefield and, despite being almost entirely on the glacier, does not require crampons, ice axes, or ropes. That’s because most of the ice is bare and hard with minimal crevasses, or buried entirely under moraine rubble. Allow exploring time for Castner’s upper forks.

The way From milepost 218 on the Richardson Highway, just north of Castner Creek, take the gravel road heading upriver for a quarter mile. No contact.

{8}

With the massive Kenai Range and rugged Gilpatrick Mountain as back-drops, your photos will make this trek (mostly on trails) look a lot harder than it is. Sample the best of the area on this 20.7-mile near-loop (no extra car needed; the 4.5-mile road shuttle is easy to hike or hitch). But don’t mis-take trails for crowds: The open tundra country above treeline makes solitude guaranteed for those who seek it—just head cross-country between Devil’s Pass and Summit Creek, and find your own private Alaska.

Begin by climbing 8.2 miles and 1,300 vertical feet on Trail #5 to wide-open Devil’s Pass. Continue 1.5 miles to the Devil’s Pass USFS cabin ($35/night, recreation.gov; book up to 180 days in advance). Just south-

east of the cabin, take the fork signed “Hope” (Trail #17) and follow it almost to Resurrection Pass. Find Trail #48 (unmarked) and ascend east over a ridge. A small pond southeast of the trail, at mile 13, makes an excellent, isolated campsite. Schedule an extra night here or at another pond, at the head of Colorado Creek, to give the sweeping Kenai Mountains their due.

Next, drop steeply down to East Creek, and climb this moderate trail east to your last pass, at mile 16.8, a narrow gap set amid rocky cliffs. Then descend into Summit Creek drainage. To fin-ish, head four miles down the Summit Creek Trail—steep and overgrown with chest-high grass down low. End at mile-post 35 on the Seward Highway.

The way The Devil’s Pass trailhead is at milepost 39.5 on the Seward Highway, 87 miles south of Anchorage.


Best Loop Hike

Devil’s Pass Easy routefinding and life-list sights make this thru-hike a must for Alaska novices.

Cost Difficulty

See a Vanishing Icefield

Castner Glacier Witness the effects of climate change on a challenging trek in the Delta Mountains.

Cost Difficulty

FREE DOWNLOADS Make these trips even easier: Send fact-checked tracklogs and waypoints (our map scouts marked every key turn and navigational landmark) to your GPS or phone. backpacker.com/alaska2010

DEVIL’S PASSCABIN

DEVIL’S PASSTRAILHEAD

SUMMIT CREEKTRAIL

Alaska-GF.indd 68 12/3/09 2:35:19 PM


For a FREE DVD log on to

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Take a long, spectacular glacier walk without ropes or even an ice axe. The low-elevation Root and Kennecott Glaciers (less than 3,000 feet high) are like broad ice highways, with cre-vasses that are either squeezed shut (safe) or exposed and easy to avoid (also safe). The glaciers are like back-country highways, where you can crunch along asphalt-smooth ice with nothing more than lightweight cram-pons and trekking poles. Just bring extra warm clothes for the chill winds

that often blow off the glaciers.

From the remote town of McCarthy, the 25-mile round-trip trek

leads from historic mine ruins to spec-tacular Hidden Creek Lake, tucked in a 3,000-foot-deep rock gorge where you might see mountain goats or Dall sheep. The 1.5-mile-long lake itself is a glacial phenomenon: Every spring it fills with snowmelt, then drains suddenly and impressively in late summer, when lake water floats the buoyant glacier dam, releasing the milky turquoise waters. It empties in just a day or two, with the flood raging from the glacier toe.

From the mine ruins at Kennicott, follow the Root Glacier Trail northward past thickets of soapberry bushes (bear alert; proper food storage required). Step onto the ice at mile 2.25 and start a 10.5-mile journey up the Root and Kennecott Glaciers (all but the stron-gest hikers should plan on camping along the way). Caution: While crevasse danger is low, watch out for vertical columns of meltwater called moulons.At Hidden Creek Lake, basecamp on the flats above its northern shore and allow time to explore Glacier Gulch.

The way In McCarthy, take a trail-head shuttle five miles to the mine ruins of Kennicott ($10/person; 800-478-1160).

Contact nps.gov/wrst

Hike on Ice

Hidden Creek Lake Journey up a 10-mile-long glacial highway in Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve.

Cost Difficulty

MAP MOTHERLODE Study each of our hikes from every Google angle and create and print your own annotated topos at backpacker.com/alaska2010.

Before You Go Book air travel, rental car, and motel rooms at least three months in advance. Alaska services sell out in summer. Best hiking season: mid-July to mid-August. You’ll see fewer bugs and avoid early-fall storms.

Groceries From the airport, go straight to the Carrs supermarket at 600 E. Northern Lights Boulevard (it’s just 4.5 miles; get turn-by-turn direc-tions at backpacker.com/alaska2010).

Gear From Carrs, turn left onto E. Northern Lights and drive 1.1 miles to the REI on the corner of Northern Lights and Spenard. Shop here for bear canisters, pepper spray, stove fuel, fishing lures, and other last-min-ute gear. Note: Kaladi Brothers Coffee Company, farther west in the same mall, has free internet access and computer rentals. (Need to wash clothes on the return? Find Lee’s Laundromat one block farther west and kitty corner across Northern Lights, behind the Chevron Station.)

Eat Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse (humpys.com) has excellent salmon and halibut and a huge choice of microbrews. Plus, it’s easy to find going in and out of downtown on West 6th Avenue, between F and G Streets.

Stay Microtel Inns & Suites (microtelinn.com) is roomy, clean, and located close to the airport. You get continental breakfast, free wifi, a hot tub and pool, an airport shuttle, and good access to jogging paths.

Save Use the plan above, and with an early arrival in Anchorage you can head to the trailhead the same day you land, avoiding an extra hotel night. A rental car will be your biggest expense, and even that can be eliminated—take a taxi to the Flute Glacier hike, or a shuttle (alaskatransportation.net) to the Lost Lake trailhead.

AnchorageCheat SheetSpend more time hiking, less time with travel delays. Here’s the quickest way to slip from airport to trailhead, while getting gear and grub along the way:

ROOT GLACIER

KENNECOTTGLACIER

HIDDEN CREEK LAKE

Alaska-GF.indd 70 12/3/09 2:35:44 PM


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StoryFish

Deep in the mountains of *****st Alaska, the *********** River tumbles from a windswept lake frequented by caribou, grizzly, and the occasional wolf pack. Relentlessly resculpting an ancient path carved through tundra and boreal forest, it courses 100 miles to the ******* Sea, providing habitat for mink, otter, eagles, and—in summer—untold thousands of spawning salmon and the giant rainbows that gorge on their eggs. Join our editor-in-chief for the ultimate float-and-fish adventure.


Alaska { } 2010

Story & Photography by Jonathan Dorn

Fish.indd 74 12/3/09 2:52:27 PM


DEPOSIT, WITHDRAWAL: SWEEPER-SHIELDED CUT BANKS PROVIDE EXCELLENT COVER FOR FISH ON THE RIVER. HERE, FRANK TUGS A 20-INCH DOLLY VARDEN OUT OF A HIP-DEEP EDDY WHILE GERRY WAITS HIS TURN.

Fish.indd 75 12/3/09 2:52:51 PM



Salmon feed and fertilize Alaska. From Ketchikan in the southeast to Bethel in the southwest and around the coast to the North Slope, there’s no source of nutrients more important to the state’s population and ecosystems than the sockeye (aka red), Chinook (king), coho (silver), pink (humpies), and chum (dog) that return every year to spawn in its rivers.

In the part of Alaska, where the River empties into the Pacific, up to 70 million salmon swim as far as 100 miles inland to lay their eggs. They generally stop feeding once they hit freshwater, which explains why native Alaskans erect their camps and drying racks low on the rivers, to capture fish still thick with ocean fat. It also explains why most salmon species turn red as they spawn: Lacking sustenance, the fish are literally dying as they swim upstream, their bodies shedding pigment, muscle, and—eventually—the very skin off their backs.

On our trip, we see lividly red kings swim by within inches of our legs as we cast across thigh-deep channels, and we marvel at chum that snap at trout to protect their eggs—despite bodies so far molted that strips of flesh hang from them like the rotting undead in a Hollywood zombie flick. On other visits, I’ve watched gulls perch on the backs of (barely) living silvers and peck away, taking the first bites of a feast that will eventually feed more than 120 species.

The value of fresh salmon flesh to bears, otters, birds, and other fish—especially the roe-dependent trout and char—is obvious. But you don’t notice the impact of decaying salmon on the landscape itself until you fly over a river like the

in a bush plane. Taking off from a small lake outside

, our heavily laden De Havilland Beaver bounces through waves of turbulence above gradually thinning spruce forest as we climb towards the Mountains; the trees soon give way to tundra gone brown and red with the colors of early autumn. The only strips of green are alder and willow hugging the banks of the creeks and rivers. The reason: Not every salmon finds a belly. Thousands decompose on beaches or become trapped under submerged logs, releasing nitrogen and phosphorous compounds almost identical to the active ingredients in your Miracle-Gro.

The supply of those compounds has fluctuated wildly over the last century. In 1953, overfishing had reduced runs to such low levels that President Eisenhower declared the state a natural disaster area. Not until the mid-1970s did numbers improve significantly, thanks in part to a hatchery program that exists today largely to increase the commercial harvest.

These days, total salmon numbers flirt with historic highs, but only a portion are truly wild, native stock —undilutedby hatcheries and augmented runs. And in any individual stream, there are other threats: warming water temperatures, increased glacial siltation, and industrial pollution. A current flashpoint is the Pebble Mine, a massive, multibillion-dollar open-pit gold and copper mine proposed for an area near Lake Clark National Park. Critics worry that its location—above the headwaters of two major Bristol Bay tributaries—and potential for toxic runoff could spell disaster for salmon. But private land development might be a more immediate and insidious threat statewide. Conservation groups are tracking hundreds of native allotments that could hit the market in the next decade, each one the potential site of a lodge—with the sewage and boat or plane traffic that entails. One lodge or second home, managed in a sustainable

Even in my wildest daydreams, the fish weren’t this big. They measured 12 inches, maybe 14, about the length of my wading boot, but not 20, the size of the rainbow I’d hooked as we careened through the whitewater of the River’s Falls, or 22, the size of the Arctic char James had coaxed from a deep pool just below. And they certainly weren’t as powerful as the hefty slab of king salmon that’s just now bending my fly rod at an alarming angle toward the opposite bank.

Only three days into a 10-day float from the Range to , a hardscrabble village chiseled into the permafrost along the coast of Alaska, almost every fish outstrips a fantasy I’d nurtured for 30 years. My forearm shaking from a 20-minute fight, I’m enthralled and mildly disoriented: This place was my personal Atlantis, a mythical spot I never expected to find. Yet here it is, a sprawling wilderness brimming with bears and salmon, unspoiled by the hands of man. The fish are huge, and we’re catching so many. It makes no sense—no logical sense—that reality could so far exceed the expectations that a favorite uncle had planted in my head three decades ago while teaching me to fish. But it has, and over the next seven days it will only get better.

*NAMES AND LOCATIONS REDACTED TO PROTECT THE LOCATION. TURN TO PAGE 79 FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO LAND A TRIP HERE.

Fish-JD.indd 76 12/4/09 9:15:57 AM



Fish.indd 77 12/3/09 2:53:31 PM


might have little impact—but several hundred?At the suggestion of the Conservation Fund, a nonprofit

that has preserved more than 6 million wild acres since 1985, I’ve traveled here to see what’s at stake—and to catch (then release) as many monster fish as I can hook. Three childhood friends and longtime hiking partners have joined me. James, Gerry, Steve, and I will float one of the world’s most pristine rivers on three-person rafts packed with basecamping tents, beer, steaks, a deluxe kitchen setup—even a shower with propane-heated water.

If the accoutrements are deluxe, our guides are an embarrassment of riches. Glenn , a 30-year veteran of Alaska land management and the former manager of the

Refuge, will lead us. Rowing the other rafts are Frank and Bill , who together represent another 60 years of wildlife and wilderness experience.

Of course, such riches don’t come cheap: It will cost us $7,000 apiece to visit paradise, which includes a $4,500 donation to the Conservation Fund. That’s a steep ticket for guys with kids and mortgages and a penchant for budget travel, but soon after the De Havilland drops us at a sheltered inlet on Lake, we start to taste the benefits.

The storm raging outside is the kind that makes two-person backpacking tents seem awfully tiny. But in true raft-trip style, we’re not bunkered down. Instead, we’re sipping merlot, snacking on baked brie with crackers, and swapping tall tales beneath a sturdy Sierra Designs dome big enough for a dinner table and six folding chairs.

We pepper our guides with questions and learn that the first two days—as the rafts glide through shallow waters with little vegetation—will be quiet. “But then,” says Glenn with a measured voice and a thousand-yard squint, “we could be hitting 40 to 50 fish a day.” We’ll tie pink and orange knitting yarn to our hooks while drifting, and

use plastic jewelry beads when we stop to cast. Bill, equal parts fly-fishing shaman and profane jokester, explains that the yarn will mimic a cluster of roe bouncing along the streambed, and the bead a single egg. Later in the trip, a 20-inch rainbow vomits reddish-orange salmon eggs into my hand as I remove its hook—and I’ll change my bead to match the color, to immediate effect.

The morning comes soon, and with it our new daily routine: a leisurely breakfast (pancakes, bacon-egg sandwiches, fresh juice, and coffee), a few casts, onto the river by 10 a.m., drift until 5 or 6 p.m., appetizers followed by a lavish dinner, drinks (boxed wine, single malt scotch, 18-year-old bourbon), cigars, sunset around 11 p.m., and one last look at the grizzly tracks where we pitched the tent. (Bear sign covers every gravel bar, and wolf and caribou tracks are frequent, but we encounter no evidence of human activity in the first week except for two small fire rings.)

The action picks up in the miles below Falls. The big king I catch while riding the bow of Frank’s boat signals that the run is arriving. “The rainbows and Dolly Varden will jockey for space behind the salmon that have stopped and dug pits in the gravel for their eggs,” he explains. “The salmon guard their spots pretty ferociously—you’ll see them take bites out of other fish—but the current washes a lot of eggs downstream.”

After navigating the whitewater of Falls and , we hook more fish than the stars of an ESPN

bass show. (I can’t credit our technique; in the windy, brushy conditions, every tenth cast finds a bush.) The rainbows explode out of the water with spectacular acrobatics, while the Dolly Varden and grayling seem to


SWEET SPOT:

Fish.indd 78 12/3/09 2:54:02 PM


prefer the dive-and-dart method. Without exception, they go right back into the water, their hunger pardoned by Glenn’s strict catch-and-release policy.

On day six, we stop for lunch at a heavily braided bend in the river and watch a bald eagle soar back to its nest with a glinting fish gripped in its left talon; the nest, which holds a juvenile bird, must be 10 feet wide. For the river’s full length, the avian life nearly matches its aquatic abundance. We see owls, terns, loons, and harlequins that dive below the water or zip along three feet above its surface. Two mother mergansers guide their combined brood of 12 into a sheltered eddy where they can clamber ashore and hide in the bushes. At another bend, I almost lose my hat to a dive-bombing gull whose downy chick lurches out of its nest and across the smooth cobbles.

Just when it can’t get any better, it does. In the wildest version of my dream, I would catch 20 rainbows while casting long, graceful parabolas—like Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through It. In the real-life version, circa 2009, I’m neither elegant nor ruggedly handsome, but in one day I land more than a hundred fish, most big enough to feed two hungry adults. The light, the water, the 10-to-2 flick of the wrist—it all comes together in a died-and-gone-to-heaven kind of way. After thousands of casts, I can spot each silver belly from 25 feet away, and I can drop a bead where the current will deliver it within inches of an unsuspecting mouth. After a week on the river, I’m in the zone.

Working various braids, I nab a few salmon, and lots of energetic trout, but the Dolly Vardens are the prettiest fish I’ve ever seen. One looks like an outtake from Monet’s Haystacks: A russet stripe from gill to tail, blending to ribbons of red and sunset orange dotted with pink freckles just above the milky-white belly. During the entire day, my reverie is interrupted only once—not by food, or fatigue, but by Frank, shouting above the wind to point out a mother grizzly and two very blond cubs sprinting across the river 60 yards upstream, spray flying from their haunches.

My daydream—the one where trout and salmon fight over my lure along a remote Alaska river—was born in childhood, at the knee of an uncle who taught me to bait a hook, troll for pike, and clean a perch. A giant Swede with bad hearing and a booming laugh, Uncle Carl told stories worthy of Twain, including whoppers about the fish he’d caught while working construction up north during the Great Depression. My imagination took flight on his tales, and gained steam as I pursued my own wilderness adventures—with and without a fly rod. Only recently have I come to appreciate the gift he’d given me.

Out of deference to the Conservation Fund—and the River itself—that sense of wonder is all I’m passing

on. This spot deserves its anonymity, and that’s why I’ve blacked out every clue to its location. “There ought to be a few places on this planet,” Glenn insists, “that never get discovered, that remain as untouched as they’ve ever been. Places that are still intact, that have the same wildlife in the same balance they started with—places like theshould see humans rarely, and then only briefly.”

Fortunately, this is Alaska, so there are a dozen undiscovered paradises to exceed every dream. “You could live in Anchorage, paddle a different river every month, and never repeat yourself,” Frank tells me as we sip Guinness in the sun one afternoon. “And I promise that somewhere along the way, on some isolated stretch of water, you’ll find a spot that

belongs to you and no one else.”

The fishing gets tougher in the last two days as the river swells with rainfall. But the salmon, which are arriving fresh from the sea, are at full strength; the battles get longer and more entertaining. James and Steve hook silvers that fight like hornets and nearly tangle. A submarine hammers my bead, flashes a long crimson side, and strips line with an angry whine; I give chase in my hip waders, running downstream with the


Your Own Piece of Paradise Snag a spot on an exclusive BACKPACKER trip to the River.

Talk about a win-win. Glenn , a veteran of Alaska wilderness travel and our guide on the River, has agreed to lead a repeat of the fishing trip described in these pages—exclusively for BACKPACKER. Six readers will get to experience a one-of-a-kind 10-day adventure in a rarely seen corner of the state. And the Conservation Fund will net a hefty donation for its work to save salmon.

There are two ways to claim a seat on the raft: Buy it or earn it. Beginning in mid-January and ending on March 1, we will auction off five spots. The final seat will go to a reader we hire to cover the trip as an official BACKPACKER reporter. To earn this position—which will be selected later by judges from the magazine and the Conservation Fund—you must submit an application detailing your volunteer work in support of the environment and convince us (in an essay) why you deserve this special free-of-charge spot. Find more details at backpacker.com/alaska2010. Continued on page 95

Fish.indd 79 12/3/09 2:54:19 PM


80 BACKPACKER

On a remote Arctic peak, a father and his teenager encounter the hardest of all human challenges.

Story by John Harlin III Photography by Arlene C. Burns

Alaska { } 2010

LOVEhigher


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TIED UP IN KNOTS: THE AUTHOR’S DAUGHTER LEADS

THE WAY ON MT. CHAMBERLIN’S SUMMIT RIDGE AFTER ASKING—

TEARFULLY—TO ROPE UP.

Mt.Chamberlin-DL.indd 81 12/3/09 2:31:30 PM


But, to be honest, I remember the peak as a grinding climb. At the spot where the picture was taken, I recall having the impression that the summit was still a long ways away. I’m sure the smile in the photo was genuine, but it is far from my happiest memory of this trip. No, that came when we found my leather ski glove a few days later. Not because I particularly missed the glove, but because now it had two fresh holes in it, spaced just right to be the fang marks of a wolf pup. The glove still hangs on my wall as one of my most cherished possessions. Mountains I could (and did) climb back home in Washington. What I really wanted in the Arctic was to see wolves, and these fang marks meant they were close.

So why, 40 years later, am I so intent on taking my own 13-year-old—my daughter, Siena—to the summit of Mt. Chamberlin? She’s always been afraid of heights, and yet here we are on an exposed ridge, moving together without a rope. I look back and notice a pinched expression on her face. I toss out casually, “Anytime you’d like the rope, just let me know.”

“Didn’t you hear me earlier?” she responds, her eyes moist daggers. “I asked twice about the rope. This is freaking me out.”

I hadn’t heard a word. A chemical wash of shame flows over me. As a former guide, I’m supposed to be attuned to my charges. Yes, I know that in the end most people remember and cherish the moments when they felt pushed—just enough but not too much. A little fear sharpens the experience. But as a dad, I know that Siena needs no more anxiety than she’s already feeling. This is her first mountain. Her first long backpacking trip. Her


first big adventure away from Mama. She didn’t ask to be pushed so hard. She’s here living out my dream, not hers. And now I’ve brought her to tears. Again.

Three days ago our bush plane bounced down onto the tundra. When the propeller sputtered to a halt, the adults unloaded the plane while Siena loped across the tundra in her sky-blue outfit, like a colorful caribou unleashed. Watching her sweep across the land, Kirk Sweetsir, our pilot, exclaimed that in all of his years of Arctic flying he’d never seen anything like it. My heart swelled with joy at Siena’s apparent happiness. And then Kirk spun his plane and gunned the engine hard. In minutes even the sound had vanished, leaving us—Siena, me, and friend and photographer Arlene Burns—utterly alone.

Not long afterward the clouds parted, revealing a white-crusted summit 6,000 feet above us. Its point jutted up from behind a long, rocky ridge.

“There it is!” I yelled, delighted. “Mt. Chamberlin! Look!”Siena didn’t gasp audibly, but the smile that had been on

her face vanished instantly.“Are you serious?” she finally asked, visibly stressed.

“That thing is HUGE!”Watching her smile disappear sent a jolt of fear through

me. Not fear of the mountain, but fear of the adventure we’d just launched—fear that my idea of a father-daughter bonding trip would overwhelm her, fear that my dream of passing on my love for the Arctic—even for wilderness adventure itself—would fall on deaf ears, might even be turned against me. The plane had gone and here we were with two weeks of food,

One of my favorite childhood pictures shows me holding a Frisbee at age 13.There’s a rope tied to my waist. Behind me, the ice-encrusted summit of Mt. Chamberlin—at 9,020 feet the highest peak in the Brooks Range on Alaska’s North Slope—rises through the clouds. A huge grin spreads across my face. I appear to be the happiest kid on earth.



a mountain towering over us, 40 cross-country miles to our only pick-up option, and no contact with the outside world. We were stuck with the plans I’d concocted in safety back home, far from this wilderness outpost in the far north—itself the very definition of remote.

The Brooks Range sprawls 700 miles across the top of Alaska, from Canada to the Bering Sea. In the northeast corner, where Chamberlin rises above it all, the rounded peaks consist of loose shale broken occasionally by bands of limestone. There’s not a tree anywhere. Sparse willow bushes grow a few feet tall in streambeds; in summer, wide valleys radiate green as tundra grasses soak up sunshine 24 hours a day. Peaks like Chamberlin jump thousands of vertical feet above the bare landscape, culminating in glacier-crusted summits. But mostly it’s the light that I love up here. An evening’s golden hour can last all night; the hills glow as if illuminated from within. The buckled landscape extends as far as you could hike in a summer—and chances are you’d never see another human in all of your travels.

When I first proposed the idea of climbing Mt. Chamberlin, Siena fired back enthusiastically, “I don’t know what I’m getting myself into, but sure!” Later, when details of the trip sank in and friends and family half gasped as they asked what she thought of the adventure, Siena dropped her eyes and answered, “I’m nervous.” She wasn’t the only one. There was also her mother, Adele. And my mother—Siena’s sole living grandparent. I grew tired of them constantly pounding into me the need for safety and for adjusting the trip to Siena’s pace. These things were obvious, even to me.

The great unknown was how Siena would take to the Arctic and climbing. While she and I had read some Arctic books out loud together, including Farley Mowat’s Lost in the Barrens—one of my childhood favorites—she never identified with young survivalists happy to eat what they kill before wearing its pelt. In Siena’s books, the protagonists ride dragons to battle against evil princes in faraway kingdoms. I knew she loved nature and camping—but heights, backpacks, and breaking a sweat? That was another story.

But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t faced—and overcome—real challenge. We moved to Mexico when she was nine. As an adult, it’s easy to see the benefits of learning a new language and adapting to a foreign culture. Of course, Siena

didn’t understand that. Besides not knowing the language, she was the only blonde in her school, the only kid not born in Oaxaca. It was hard, but in a year she studied her way to the top of her class, aced all of her tests, and made new friends. After four years, even she agrees that moving to Mexico was a grand adventure. My dream for our Chamberlin climb was for her to conclude the same thing about the Arctic—after two weeks.

To take her mind off the mountain’s height, we went fishing. It was July and there was no ice on the lake, but I remember ice well from a June arrival in 1970, the year after my ascent of Chamberlin. We’d just hiked in from the Arctic Ocean in an epic walk under crushing packs. I remember being hungry, and standing on the lake ice, watching a 38-inch, 20-pound lake trout swim toward my silver spoon before engulfing it. Now it was Siena’s turn. Wham, her thin rod with its six-pound-test line bent double. Soon I was standing in the shallow water, and tossed the 28-inch fish onto shore with my hands so that the line wouldn’t break. She carried it back to camp for a feast. All would have been well if it weren’t for the mountain, still looming above.

It was hard to reconcile Siena’s anxiety with my own memories of this spot. I’ve always taken pride in my youthful


DÉJÀ VIEW: THE AUTHOR, AGE 13, BELOW THE SUMMIT OF MT. CHAMBERLIN IN 1969. RIGHT: CARIBOU LOPE PAST LAKE PETERS AT THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN.

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adventures. The ascent of Chamberlin joined a list that began with rock climbs with my father in the Alps when I was six, seven, eight, nine. Then Dad’s rope broke as he attempted to put up a new route on the Eiger, in Switzerland where we lived at the time, and he fell 4,000 feet to his death. Losing him ripped a giant hole in our family. Mom moved us to Washington, where she entered graduate school. And I continued to climb and ski, now with Mom’s fellow graduate students. But a sense of real purpose came when, at 12, I discovered the Arctic in the pages of Farley Mowat’s Never Cry Wolf. At once, I knew I’d become a wolf biologist. Soon after a high school teacher invited me on a Seattle Mountaineers outing to climb Mt. Chamberlin. But it wasn’t until 1974, during my fourth trip to the Arctic, that we finally saw a wolf: a whole den full of puppies playing alongside the Kongakut River. As it happens, I didn’t become a wolf biologist. But I never lost my love for the Arctic. Or mountains.

After dinner, as I was digging for enthusiasm, Siena spilled her heart.

“If we could just hang around and fish and see things it would be great,” she said. “But I’m pretty nervous. That mountain is big. If we didn’t have to climb the mountain then hike out 40 miles I wouldn’t be so nervous.”

She paused, faint moisture gleaming in her eyes, and

then she finally let the rest out: “Why do I have to follow in my dad’s footprints so much? Living in a foreign country. Watching you on the Eiger [I climbed it a few years back]. Climbing the mountain you climbed as a kid.”

Her questions stung. Am I really like that? I assured her that she doesn’t have to follow my footsteps.

But I also told her that these are the things that mattered to me when I was growing up; they still do. I want her to know them. Like all parents, I struggle with boundaries. When should I just open doors and let her choose which ones to enter? When should I nudge—or even push—her through one? When she was younger we learned the “10 times rule”: keep putting a new food item on the plate, and eventually it will seem familiar enough to try. With hiking Adele and I have nudged her a little harder than we did with food. With skiing I even pushed a little, then gave up. Now I wondered if this trip was more like a shove, given that she had so little idea of what Chamberlin would entail. Yes, I’d asked her if she wanted to come, but it really wasn’t a fair question.

My own father had no concerns about pushing. I remember coming back from my first big ski race, held in Italy when I was eight years old. When Dad found out that I’d fallen—twice—he was furious. Another time he discovered me getting pummeled by the playground bully; Dad made clear what he thought of my weakness. These are not the memories of him that I cherish, and yet they dominate. With my sister he was different. She wasn’t expected to be strong, like him. I often wonder how different I’d be as the

QUICK STUDY: SIENA JUMPS A CREVASSE WHILE CROSSING THE CHAMBERLIN GLACIER EN ROUTE TO HIGH CAMP AT 6,500 FEET. TOP: ON DAY 4 OF THE HIKE OUT, THE TEAM STAYS ALONG FRANKLIN CREEK. BOTTOM: WITH THE SUMMIT BEHIND THEM, THE HARLINS START WHAT COULD BE THE EXPEDITION’S HARD-EST STAGE—A 40-MILE TREK TO SAFETY.



father of a son. With Siena I manage to back off, taming my disappointment when she doesn’t want to go bicycling, or climbing, or even to help build her own tree house. “Ah, well,” I say to myself, “she has her own interests.” But would my son get off so easily? Would I expect to see myself in him? I can imagine telling a son to stop whining, start climbing. But when Siena is afraid it squeezes my heart; I want to provide comfort, not lessons in toughness.

At breakfast Siena said she felt, “Kind of lousy. Restless and nervous and homesick. And missing Mama.” She pointed to her upper stomach area. “It all kind of settles right here, like a knot. The only time I feel good is when we’re reading Never Cry Wolf.”

Later, when I checked on her in the tent, she wasn’t sleeping. I decided that this was the time to remind both of us about our deal: The summit is entirely optional. The thing that matters is the journey, the experience of being here. If Chamberlin frightens her this much, maybe we should instead concentrate on the hike out.

Then she asked, “How much time do we have for the mountain?”

“I’ve allowed a week—four days plus three for weather. But if we decide not to, that leaves more time for the hike out.”

She pointed her finger upward. “What’s that?” I asked. “I’m going to hike up the mountain.” “You really don’t have to.” “I don’t want to disappoint my dad.” “I won’t be disappointed. This is about

the journey.” “You wouldn’t be even a little bit

disappointed? Come on. I know my dad.” “OK, just a little bit. But really, it’s fine.

This trip is as much a growth experience for me as it is for you.”

At that moment, Arlene called out, “Look! Caribou!” A herd of at least 50 trotted alongside the lake; they hadn’t

detected us because we were downwind. They stopped for a while as we watched their scatterbrained antics, dashing here then there, splitting and merging, no attention span at all. Eventually they resumed trotting along the lakeshore.

Siena beamed. “Remember when I said how cool it would be to see caribou out the tent door?”

My plan for success: carefully pace each day. It helped that the heavy stuff went into my pack. And that ankle-high blueberry patches graced our route. We alternated talus and berries for 1,500 vertical feet, until we reached a green field: a carpet of moss, deep and soft as fresh snowfall, a living memory-foam mattress.

We pitched the tent and I left to scout the route ahead. I

didn’t know the best way to reach the glacier from here, nor even which glacier to choose on our way to the now-hidden summit. I found the best route on a long lateral moraine on the far side of valley, where I hiked past flightless ptarmigan chicks and browsing Dall sheep.

Two hours after leaving camp, I was back in sight of it, yelling, waving my shirt, and hoping they’d see me. No response. But soon I saw Siena’s bright blue shirt not far below, scrambling toward me fast. She had a familiar, frightened look, her face tense and concentrated.

“Were you worried?” I asked when I reached her. “Yeah.” By her expression, I could tell it had been a lot

worse than mere worry.I’d underestimated how much she

depended on me up here. On the mountain, so far from home, I was her connection to everything she knew. I went to sleep wondering what else I might have misjudged.

The next morning we followed the moraine to the toe of the glacier, nearly 1,500 feet above Mossy Camp. Here, she strapped on crampons for the first time in her life, and tied into a rope. As she practiced walking in crampons along the glacier’s base, punching her feet down to make the points stick in the hard ice, she grinned and said, “I’m not feeling scared anymore, Daddy.” She flashed me a thumbs-up. My heart skipped a beat, I was so happy.

One of my most cherished memories is of the time I first crunched glacier ice in crampons. It was on the Mer de Glace in France while hiking up to the mountain hut where Dad was based during a drawn-out siege on a new route above. I was seven years old, but I swear that in the 46 years

since, each time I crunch blue glacier ice underfoot the sound transports me straight back to that hike. There’s no place I’d rather be. I wondered what Siena will remember when she’s my age.

The basin below Chamberlin’s summit pyramid didn’t turn out to be as flat as I thought. What was white was slush, not snow. What was blue or black was ice, steep as a boat ramp. Eventually we found a place where we could chop a flat spot into the ice and fill it out with gravel. I twisted in ice screws to anchor our tent.

To my delight, Siena wanted to play, not hang around camp. “At this pace, I’m not tired,” she declared. So we hiked up the glacier in search of a place to slide. Finally, at the left edge of the rocky north face of Chamberlin, we found a patch of ice where we could safely slide a couple dozen feet using a piece of ensulite pad. Siena was clearly happy, enjoying her first day on crampons, looking forward

“Until today, I never thought that you had to learn to be a dad,” she said, both amused and surprised.




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to her fi rst night on a glacier. She didn’t mention the climb.

On the way back down to camp she brought up a conversation she’d had earlier. Arlene had told Siena about the time when we went for a short hike near Hood River, where Siena was born. Siena was perhaps a year old, in a pack on my back, and we were exploring a canyon near Arlene’s house. As I reached onto the cliff and started climbing, still low to the ground, Arlene reminded me about Siena, implying that I might want to think about being more careful. Still, I traversed across easy rock above a deep pool of water. Because of the water, I felt completely safe. Then a new feeling hit me partway across: an instant, paralyzing realization that falling into the pool with Siena was a horrible option. While we’d make it out alive, the trauma and above all the loss of trust that she’d feel would be utterly inexcusable. I climbed out of there as if we had a 2,000-foot drop below.

On the glacier above camp, Siena reminded me of that conversation. “Until today, I never thought that you had to learn to be a dad,” she said, both amused and surprised. I told her there was a lot to learn. I’m still learning now.

She followed up, “Have you been surprised by how much I’ve changed from when I was a baby until now?”

I didn’t understand the question, so I dodged it. It seemed obvious that she’d changed enormously, standing here at the cusp of becoming a young woman. What surprised me is what hasn’t changed: her warmth with her family, her unfl agging consideration toward others, her subtle humor, her sharp insight, her sparkling smile, her quiet introversion, her love for animals and good stories. Also, her need for security, her worries for the future, her competitiveness (usually handled with grace), her high self-expectations (and frustration when thwarted). These traits have been there since before she could speak. Adele and I can only nudge the course of their braiding strands, trying to tame the ones that don’t help her, nurturing those that do.

That evening in the tent, while we


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were reading, she unzipped the door and exclaimed, “It’s kind of wild to be in this enclosed little space—and then open the door and it’s, ‘Wow!’”

In the morning, with good weather, we started our summit bid. Cresting the rocky ridge that we’d follow all the way to the icy summit, we discovered a cluster of Dall sheep beds in the fine schist gravel. But Siena wasn’t much interested in wildlife; on the ridge we could see the dramatically steep slope on the other side, which startled her into a touch of vertigo.

It’s always easier looking up, and as we scrambled along the crumbling ridge we stayed preoccupied with finding passage through short cliff bands that broke up the boulderfields. After more than an hour of this scrambling, we stopped for lunch. For me, rest stops demand a view, so I led us back to the crest where an amazing ledge of ochre- and brick-colored shale jutted over a 1,000-foot plunge. On our left, the black scar of Chamberlin’s rocky north face revealed its 2,000-foot profile. And way, way down below, a barely discernible speck of yellow, our tent. Spectacular.

Siena ate with her back to the void and said, “You sure know how to pick ’em.”

“Thanks,” I replied, before realizing it wasn’t a compliment.

That’s when I should have roped her up, right after lunch. But I was focused more on her physical abilities—I knew she wouldn’t fall off the ridge—than her psychological needs, and I shamefully missed her requests to tie in.

Her tense grumpiness eases as I attach the rope to her waist. Just being connected by a rope makes such a difference. It’s a bond of trust and of teamwork, in addition to a sense of security. We move together, 10 to 15 feet apart.

When our ridge finally merges into the main summit shoulder, I’m giddy about how close the top looks. This is the exact spot seen in my childhood Frisbee photo. So I’m surprised that Siena is again wearing her deeply pained look, her eyes wet with barely repressed tears. I don’t know what’s going on, so I hold her tight in a long hug. I assure her that she’s just tense from the recent scrambling. But again, I’m clueless. She’s looking at the summit ridge, and it scares the hell out of her.

“It’s so steep! I don’t know if I can do it.” I remind her that we don’t have to climb it, that we can

treat any point of the climb as our personal summit. That was our deal, and it still is. In a cracking voice, she replies, “But it will feel like such a waste to have come all this

distance and not climb to the summit!”

So I tell her not to worry about the slope in front of us: “One of a mountain’s biggest tricks is to make you think it’s steeper than it really is.” Then I explain with my hands how something looks steep

when you view it straight on, but from the side you see the true perspective. Things aren’t always as they seem, in mountains or in life.

Does she understand? I don’t know, but after we eat a snack and put on crampons, the tension eases. Our crampons crunch the ice as we move toward the summit. And then everything drops away on all sides and there’s no higher place to go.

A giant Yeeeehaaawww!!! rips from my throat as I turn around to pull the rope. “Can you believe it?” I yell. “This is it! The summit! This is incredible! We’re here! We’ve done it! Yeeehaaawww!” Now I really am the happiest man-child on earth. I grab her and dance. I can’t help it. Though she’s smiling and obviously relieved, Siena’s mouth still looks tense, her true reaction hard to gauge. But my joy knows no limit and it wants to be contagious. “You did it, you did it!” And I grab her again and hug tightly.

Then we break out the Frisbee. Siena and I toss it for a while as she indulges my nostalgia. She’s smiling, happy to have reached the top and amused at my antics, but I can tell that something’s on her mind. The descent.

“Do you want to go down now?” I ask. “Yeah,” she says.

THROW BACK: FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 40 YEARS, THE AUTHOR TOSSES A FRISBEE ON TOP OF MT. CHAMBERLIN.

“One of the mountain’s biggest tricks is to make you think it’s steeper than it really is.”




The next day, down at the lake, I ask Siena what’s wrong. Aside from the weather—we experienced a powerful lightning storm in our glacier camp and a drizzly hike down—the descent went smoothly and we arrived safely at basecamp.

“I’m feeling rotten,” she says. “I’m dirty. My clothes are dirty. Everything is wet. This gray gloom. I’m cold. I haven’t slept well. I miss Mama. And everything feels hard. Everything is hard!”

I feel that hollowness that you get when your loved one hurts and there’s nothing you can do to help. I can only try for words of comfort.

“Yes, I miss Mama too. But isn’t it beautiful here? Do you feel that glow of satisfaction from the amazing climb you just did?”

“Some. But this trip is sooo long. A backpacking trip would be good if it were a weekend or three or four days. We have so much more to go.”

That’s true. I’ve actually worried a lot more about the second half of our two-week trip than the first half. We could have turned around at any point on the mountain. We can’t turn around on the hike out. But what she just accomplished on Chamberlin looms huge in my mind, if not in hers.

“You’re right,” I tell her. “It is a long time. But it takes time to feel comfortable on a trip like this. After a while you just start to feel like this is home, like you’re a part of the land. I think that as soon as we get some sunshine you’ll feel a lot better.”

“If we ever get sunshine. It might rain the whole time.”Siena sleeps 11 hours, finally waking to a few rays of

sun as they break through thinning clouds. We can see far beyond the lake, all the way to the Sadlerochit Mountains. After an inspection of the old cabins a mile away (built in the 1950s to house scientists), I ask Siena if she wouldn’t mind a rest day. We’ll make pancakes on cast-iron skillets, sleep on mattresses, fish, and recharge. Duh. Siena and I move down the lakeshore, one cast at a time. Suddenly her rod doubles over and the reel starts screaming. She carefully protects her lightweight line, and eventually I can reach into the water and shove a 34-inch lake trout onto the tundra. I work the lure from its teeth, and then we slip the gorgeous creature back into the water. I doubt I’ve ever seen Siena smile so broadly. This is what she loves. Not high summits or long hikes, but cool huts and beautiful fish.

I’m so happy to give her this moment, this free day at the lake, this wolf-bitten glove. It’s obvious that if our two weeks were spent here, like this, she’d be happier, more

eager to return, perhaps even in love with the Arctic. I don’t yet know if I did the right thing by basing the trip on a mountain, rather than a lake. From my perspective, the challenge is the thing: It forces you to grow as you overcome it. I want this for Siena. And yet, it’s only down here at the lake that she sees the Arctic as I do: the vastness of its horizons, the delicacy of its textures, the richness of its details—all framed by these magnificent mountains. It’s like your soul expands to match the vastness.

When I told Siena that this trip would be as much a growing experience for me as for her, I had only a vague idea of what that really meant. I’m still not sure. Will my life lesson be to indulge her or to push her? To accept or to challenge?

After our pancakes-and-fishing layover, we need to average seven miles per day—no trivial distance considering that Arctic tundra changes its stripes every few hundred yards, from smooth and dry to wet and boggy to ankle-deep moss or ankle-spraining talus. Whenever possible we hike caribou paths, which appear and vanish intermittently. Where side valleys enter we cross fast-moving streams. The creekside ritual is always the same: After changing into rubber wading slippers, I first carry my pack across, then go back to carry Siena and hers.

On the second night we camp on a pass that must be a thoroughfare for caribou. Bands of bulls gather around the tent, wondering what the strange yellow object might be. When the wind shifts and they smell us, they toss their heads skyward and lope off, ankles clicking in that

Continued on page 95

HOOKED: SIENA LANDS A WHOPPER—AND DISCOVERS THE THRILL OF ARCTIC FISHING. BELOW: A MOMENT OF LOW ANXIETY

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distinctive caribou style. From the pass we drop into the Franklin Creek drainage, which we’ll follow for three days before turning up the Canning River to reach our airstrip.

Barely 200 yards below the pass, Siena becomes grumpy because her pack keeps bumping her lower back. I offer to help, but she gives me an exasperated shrug, dismissing the possibility of improvement. I react with equal exasperation. By now she’s proven herself and knows the score. Enough with the princess syndrome.

“We can try to adjust the pack,” I tell her, “but we know your attitude can be adjusted. That part is up to you.”

After a brief standoff, she lets me tackle the problem. I cut one of our ensulite pads to add cushion, and the bumping abates.

A few miles later, we spot a mother grizzly and two cubs—fortunately, on the other side of the valley. Just specks, really, but binoculars reveal what they’re doing: digging up roots and ground squirrels, stripping currant berries from bushes. We’ve been filling baggies with huckleberries ourselves.

At the end of the day, as we’re going to bed, Siena tells me, “Daddy, I thought this was going to be a bad day, but it turned out to be a good one.” She seems at last to be submerging into the journey, accepting and maybe even welcoming it. She’s hiking strong and sure, easily managing campsite rituals. We’re reaching our daily mileage goals, which lowers the stress, as does the prospect of nearing Mama and home. But I see more. In the little details of the long trek out, I see her confidence rising daily, and with it her appreciation for our surroundings.

“I have a question for you,” she continues. She likes to bedevil me with “choose this or that” questions.

“Would you rather carry the food or carry me?”

This one is easy. “I’d rather carry the food,” I tell her, “and know you can walk on your own.”

In the morning, while the ladies are still sleeping, I steal out of the tent to visit the tundra. I lie on my belly to explore its miniature intricacy, the layered little worlds that you can only see if you get down at nose level and look closely. Lichens three inches tall form an understory to heather only two inches taller. Six-inch blueberry “bushes” tower over moss so thick and lush that my elbows disappear in its folds. You can see as much in a square yard of such tundra as in an acre anywhere else. Across the valley a band of little puff clouds breaks off from the Canning and streams up Franklin Creek at caribou speed. The cloud formation flows up the valley, all the way to the pass that we crossed, hangs out for a while, then slides back to the Canning and disappears. They look alive, these clouds. I remember them from past Arctic trips, like old friends.

Siena wakes up in a great mood. Our bluff-top campsite is glorious. Her pack feels light. After only a couple of miles of hiking, she declares, “Let’s cover some distance today!” And we do.

At our daily fast-water stream crossing, I’m packing my camera into its waterproof bag and rigging my shoelaces to suspend boots around my neck, so I can cross before I attend to Siena. When I look up, I’m startled to see that she’s halfway across the stream, trekking poles braced against the rushing current. Then the water washes up to her knees, causing her to wobble; my stomach clenches and I nearly jump into the creek. Suddenly I’m angry that she didn’t wait for me to help.

But she steadies herself, finding her balance. A few more steps and she’s across. As she turns to face me, I see the expression on her face—not tense anymore, but interested, expectant, assured. She smiles and waits patiently for me to follow.

Contributing editor John Harlin’s latest book, The Eiger Obsession: Facing the Mountain That Killed My Father(The Lyons Press), explores his family’s mountain roots.

Continued from page 89Higher Love

BACKPACKER (ISSN 0277-867X) is published nine times a year (January, March, April, May, June, August, September, October and November) by Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc., 475 Sansome St., Suite 850, San Francisco, CA 94111; sub-scriptions are $29.98 per year in the U.S., $42.98 CDN in Canada, $42.00 elsewhere (surface mail). Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA and additional mail-ing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BACKPACKER, PO Box 50022, Boulder, CO 80322-0022. GST #R122988611. BACKPACKER publications, including GearFinder®, Waypoints®, and Adventure Travel®, are registered trademarks of Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. © 2008 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Volume 38, Issue 274, Number 2, March 2010. Subscribers: If the postal authorities alert us that your magazine is undeliver-able, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within 2 years.

Continued from page 79Fish Story

agility of a wounded musk ox. On our last night out, we dig into

our first salmon dinner. Glenn has baked thick steaks carved from the silvers in foil with herbs and butter, and we wonder how we’ll ever be able to eat store-bought again. After dinner, we lick fish grease from our fingers, too stuffed to get up and wash, too tired to worry much about bears.

The next morning, a boat takes us back to , and we clean up for our flight to Anchorage. “We’re spoiled now,” Gerry muses as we shave off 10 days of stubble. “We should hand in our rods—there’s no way it can ever get better than this.” He’s joking, I think, but he has a point: Try to replicate any great adventure, and you risk ruining the memory.

Yet he’s wrong, too. Gazing at a map of Alaska tacked across the lodge’s living room wall, I recall what Frank said—and count hundreds of rivers and mountains where new plans will take root. Gerry sidles over, then James and Steve, and soon we’re plotting another adventure. And in that moment, standing there with my oldest friends, fresh from the best trip of our lives, I realize that what I love about Alaska is that it’s big enough, and wild enough, to nourish the fantasies that sustain people like us. I don’t know when we’ll enjoy another trip as extraordinary as the River, but I know it’s possible. And if it takes another 30 years? So be it. I’m perfectly happy to daydream.

Jonathan Dorn lives in Boulder, CO.




EyeSky

+

The rafters and backpackers who come to this desert landscape are the latest in a long line of visitors that has included ancient hunter-gatherers and 19th-century cowboys. The dramatic park also features 527 square miles of redrock canyons, mesas, and buttes. Use these clues to guess the name of the park that includes these twin rivers.

350Number of desert bighorn sheep in the park, up from a low of just 100 in 1964. Reintroduction programs since the park’s inception have helped boost their numbers. Hikers should also keep an eye out for collared lizards, kangaroo rats, and midget faded rattle-snakes.

2 Percent of visitors who raft either of the park’s two rivers. Even fewer attempt the park’s infamous whitewater run: a 15-mile stretch of class III to V rapids that come in the middle of a classic 90-mile, five-day trip that includes 49 miles of flatwater paddling.

114,900Flow, in cfs, recorded in the park’s premier whitewater canyon in 1984—the high-est in more than a century. Treacherous class V rapids form anytime the flow tops 50,000 cfs.

7,000Age, in years, of the oldest pictographs found on the park’s best-known panel of rock art.

227 Total trail miles in the park. Almost 69,000 people backpacked here in 2008 (most popular month was October; least popular, January). There are just 21 designated camp-sites, but extensive at-large camping zones ensure that you’ll find solitude.

Twisted Sisters

in the

////// NOVEMBER ISSUE ANSWER Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia WINNER Pamela Hansen, Tiffin, OH

WIN! Tell us the name of this desert park for a chance to win an Osprey Manta 25 daypack. Contest rules at backpacker.com/skyeye. Entries are due by February 17.

Satellite image by GeoEye

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COCONA_BP_MAR10.indd 1 12/3/09 11:58:00 AM


Backpacker (March 2010)

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Transcript of Backpacker (March 2010)