Out On Trail

  Where is the Tracy Ridge Trail System? The Tracy Ridge Trail system is located in Pennsylvania, within Allegheny National Forest. The trailhead parking lot is 18 miles west of Bradford, on PA-321. What should one expect on the trails that make up the Tracy Ridge Trail System? The Tracy Ridge Trail System offers 33.69 miles of interconnected loop trails, primarily identified with gray markers along the trail. The trail also joins the North Country National Scenic Trail for 10 miles, where blue markers are present. Additionally, maps are mounted on signposts at trail junctions. The trails are maintained for hiking and cross country skiing; mountain bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles, and other motorized vehicles are prohibited. The US Forest Service classifies the trails as "more difficult." Elevation on the trail ranges from 1328 to 2245 feet. The trail passes by the Allegheny Reservoir, in several locations, and slopes along the reservoir can be steep. There are also 8 small streams ...

Where is Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area located? Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area is located near the city of Horicon, in Dodge County, Wisconsin. Horicon is about an hour northwest of Milwaukee. The hiking trails are located off of Highway 28, with parking available at the DNR Service Center and International Education Center.  There are also hiking trails located in the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, which lies directly to the north of Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area. The National Wildlife Refuge is run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while the State Wildlife Area is run by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Additionally, the Wild Goose State Trail runs just to the west.  What should one expect on the trails at Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area? Horicon Marsh is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States. There are five miles of hiking trails in the Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area, which illustrate the three main wildlife habitat...

Day 6 would be our final day in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After packing up and cleaning up camp, our day of hiking would begin with a climb, of a little over 2 miles, on the Forney Creek Trail. Though we had arrived in the early afternoon, we camped in the lower portion of Campsite 68. We stopped briefly at the upper portion, next to the Forney Creek Cascade, and made a note that the upper portion was the better of the two options.  As we made our way steadily uphill, the trail became at times rocky and at others was laced with tree roots. It was a departure from the road/railroad bed feel on the lower section of the trail. As the canopy above us began to thin, and we were able to catch an occasional glimpse of the surrounding mountains, we knew we were approaching the ridge that would take us to Andrews Bald.   Upon reaching the intersection with the Forney Ridge Trail, we consulted the trail signs to verify the remaining distance we needed to cover. From this poin...

In relation to the previous few days, Day 5 would be a relatively short day of hiking. We would follow the Forney Creek Trail from Campsite 70 to Campsite 68. While this would be a shorter day, in terms of mileage, we would be traveling uphill and would have to cross Forney Creek several times. With that said, the uphill grade would be relatively mild compared to the end of Day 4's hike. We crossed the footbridge back to the Forney Creek Trail and almost immediately encountered a tree blown down across the trail. While the trails throughout our trip were in pretty good condition, we did inevitably have to deal with a few of these types of situations. For the most part, they were easier to navigate than the water crossings.  Tom was able to stay relatively dry today, using stepping stones and conveniently-placed logs to avoid stepping in the water. Mike generally took the more direct route -- no longer phased by hiking with wet feet. There was, however, one crossing where the creek ...

On our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, we decided to compare the various brands of dehydrated meals marketed to backpackers. We hoped to determine which companies produced the best-tasting meals and whether some of the more expensive offerings were worth the additional cost. We're passing our findings along to you, in hopes that they will improve your future backpacking experiences! We did not receive anything of value from any of the companies involved in the tests, so you can trust our observations to be objective. How were the tests conducted? We conducted our taste tests in the field. We made our best efforts to adhere to the manufacturer's instructions when preparing meals (i.e. we didn't adjust the amount of water specified by the manufacturer nor the amount of time suggested for rehydration). In the few instances where we did deviate from the instructions, we will disclose the circumstances. We both tried each product, made notes about our observation...

We began Day 4 with a breakfast of biscuits and gravy (review posted separately) at Kirkland Creek Campsite (Site 76). By this stage of the hike, Mike had begun to develop blisters. It's important to take care of your feet when hiking in wet conditions, and it's equally important to tend to issues as soon as you notice them developing, to prevent the situation from worsening. After ensuring the injured areas were properly protected, we hit the trail for our last "full" (10+ mile) day of hiking. The start of Day 4's hike was similar to the end of Day 3's, providing consistent glimpses of Fontana Lake through the trees, with an occasional scenic overlook. The views had a different tone this morning, as the sun had been replaced by thick, dark clouds. On this section of trail, we continued to encounter stone walls, rusted metallic relics, and other evidence that human civilization had once thrived in the area. We continued to enjoy the prevalent mountain laurel ...

For those of you who joined us for the first few installments of our "Food Wars" series, welcome back! If you didn't catch them, you can search "Food Wars," on the main page of our blog, to get links to the previous installments.  A quick recap: On our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, we decided to compare the various brands of dehydrated meals marketed to backpackers. We hoped to determine which companies produced the best-tasting meals and whether some of the more expensive offerings were worth the additional cost. We're passing our findings along to you, in hopes that they will improve your future backpacking experiences! We did not receive anything of value from any of the companies involved in the tests, so you can trust our observations to be objective. How were the tests conducted? We conducted our taste tests in the field. We made our best efforts to adhere to the manufacturer's instructions when preparing meals (i.e. we didn...