Sep 18

Gear Shed: Run For the Hills

Since New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington picked up its first snowflakes of the season a few days ago, we’ve been extra motivated to squeeze in some trail running this week. Be it the rock and stream hopping, the hill climbs, or the quick foot work as you whip through the beautiful hardwood forest, trail running is great training for the snowy season ahead. Over the last eighteen months, we’ve been putting a good variety of shoes to the test, including the line of Patagonia trail running shoes featured here – each of which were put to good use as trail running and light hiking shoes on approximately 100 days.

Beside offering excellent out-of-the-box comfort and impressive traction on both wet and dry surfaces, these shoes have performed beyond our expectations, while continuing to offer consistent comfort and resistance to wear throughout the prime of their lives as our go-to trail running shoes. And while the heel fabric began to tear apart slightly on all shoes after 60-70 days of use, the shoes showed no other signs of significant wear. In fact, considering how light and comfortable these shoes are, we’re a bit surprised by how durable and solidly constructed they are. Most other shoes we’ve used over the years have had a tendency to peel apart and require some glue repair within 100 days of use.

Patagonia uses a variety of recycled polyester and foam to construct their shoes, which are also sourced, manufactured and distributed according to some of the most progressive labor and environmental standards in the industry.

From left to right, the models of the Patagonia shoes featured here are the Tsali, Release and Specter. For strictly trail running in primarily dry conditions, the Specter is our favorite. Stay tuned to for some other feedback about La Sportiva and Garmont shoes we’ve been trying out lately, too.

With fall’s cooler weather upon us, it’s a great time of year to enjoy some trail running, and it’s hard to beat the skiing related skiing-related fitness, strength and flexibility that it offers. Check out this link for some ideas about where to run, or head here for a listing of some upcoming trail running events in the Northeast. If you want to get really serious, check out the USATF’s New England Mountain Circuit. Feel free to add any other links or related info by commenting below.

Ski you out there!

-Brian and Emily

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Sep 06

Photo of the Week: It Won’t Be Long Now…

It won’t be long now before the first solid nor’easter of the season pulls enough cold air down from the north and let’s the snow fly across our northeastern mountains. Over the past decade, this scenario has consistently played out by mid to late October in the Northeast, and when we are lucky, the cold air lingers long enough to offer at least a few days of fun skiing on smooth terrain.

The satellite image here depicts the storm that made our first turns of the season possible in 2010. It was a surprisingly powerful storm, and it also dumped enough rain and generated enough surf to make the whitewater paddling and ocean surfing as tempting as those first turns of the season in the days following the storm’s passage (second image, below).

-Brian

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Aug 28

Photo of the Week: Do Big Tomatoes Mean Big Snow?

Let’s hope so…because by the looks of this giant mutant heirloom beauty, we’re in for one heck of a snowy winter. Perhaps this is how the folks at the Farmer’s Almanac come up with their latest predictions for the Northeast.

Hmmm…
-Brian

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Aug 17

Photo of the Week: Deep Thoughts

It’s late August. Summer has crested. Pre-dawn temps might dip below forty degrees in some colder mountain zones this weekend. It’s dumping in the Andes. And the first issues of Backcountry and Powder magazines have already hit news stands. Ahhhh… It won’t be long now.

Meanwhile, the hype about the winter season ahead has become a hot topic around the barbeque lately, too. Although annual climate predictions for the upcoming Northeast winter are as about as reliable as a good friend on a powder day, they are trending toward a colder and slightly wetter (snowier) season than last, especially in areas closer to the coast. We’ll take it.

Ultimately, we can only hope for the winter of our dreams. And while winter it is still a long ways off, it’s fun to stir up a few deep thoughts now and then.

-Brian

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Aug 10

Photo of the Week: Rand Family on the Long Trail

This past weekend, Vermonters Annevitte and Karin Rand, just seventeen and fifteen years old, respectively, arrived at Journey’s End in northern Vermont after twenty days spent walking the 200+ mile length of Vermont’s Long Trail. With the great support of their parents, Matt (who walked more than half the trail with them) and Pennie (who also joined them for numerous sections and nights’ out), along the way, the Rand girls immersed themselves in their backyard mountains unlike ever before.

“It’s amazing that we live here,” shared Annevitte when we bumped into the two sisters at the top of Mt. Mansfield last week, the highest point along the trail. “It’s been especially nice to spend so much time getting to know our own local mountains, too.”

Annevitte and Karin were all smiles when we encountered them, and it wasn’t just because we had just surprised them with some homemade blackberry pie. Despite a few lovely blisters, some exciting moments spent hiding from downpours under giant boulders, and some very long days b/w camps, the Rands were loving the rhythm, adventure and daily discoveries of life on the trail.

Both talented skiers, and having grown up in a skiing family (Pennie once helped to run the Catamount Trail Association (CTA), and the Rands are very active members of the Cochran’s Ski Area community), Annevitte and Karin often have skiing on their minds, even during mid-summer.

“We’ve passed through some beautiful places to ski,” one of them said.

“I’m psyched to do some more backcountry exploring this winter,” shared the other.

And as we all gazed out along the Green Mountain divide under the warm summer sunshine, the two of them couldn’t help but dream up a few skiing adventures for the long, cold and snowy winter ahead.

(Click on the thumbnail below for full size image. Thx!)

-Emily and Brian

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