(Part 3) Top products from r/hiking

I excerpted this from an email I sent to a buddy of mine. I used to guide hikes in and around RMNP.

The Completer Hiking Guide by Lisa Foster is the best guide to Rocky. She's a ranger there, or at least was when I was there.The only problem is that she doesn't really differentiate between hard scrambling and easy climbing.

http://www.amazon.com/Rocky-Mountain-National-Park-Complete/dp/0615526845/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Hikes

Easy

• Bridal Veil Falls
  
• Lumpy Ridge
  
• Circle of Lakes (Mills Lake, The Loch, Lake Haiyaha, Dream Lake)
  
• Fern-Odessa Loop (start at the Bear Lake Trailhead. Use the shuttle to get back to the Bear Lake parking lot)
  
• Cub Lake
  
• Emerald Lake, good after dinner hike
  
• Bighorn Mountain
  
  
  Medium
  
  
• Lake of Glass/Sky Pond
  
• Flattop, Hallets and Otis peaks
  ~Go up Flattop. Hike the tundra to Hallets and Otis. Glissade down the Andrews Glacier, b/t Otis and Andrews. Hike out on the Loch trail. Check the conditions on the Andrews Glacier before doing this one. Also if there's still a snow pack, you may want to go with a guide, i.e. a hikemaster form the YMCA of the Rockies.
  
• Tyndall Tarn?
  ~This is above Emerald Lake at the base of the Tyndall glacier, which is a hanging glacier. To get there, find a route over the boulder field to the South, left, of Emerald Lake. I made it most of the way there and got turned around by a storm.
  
• Timber Lake
  
• Ptarmigan Tarns?
  ~There's a climber's trail heading toward the saddle between Flattop and and Notchtop Mtn, called Ptarmigan Point on the quads. You should look for it just past Two Rivers Lake, prior to heading down toward Lake Helene. It will be off to the left of the main trail. Follow it until your reach Ptarmigan Tarns. I think there are two.
  
• Joe Mills Mtn.
  ~There's no trail once you turn off the trail to Odessa Lake. Scramble to the top and head to the west for the high point. Very nice view of Lake Helene.
  
• Chasm Lake
  
• Teddy's Teeth
  
• Twin Sisters
  
  Hard
  
  
• Mummy Mtn./Lawn Lake (very long hike)
  
• Chapin, Chiquita and Ypsilon (high elevation, hike from the Fall River Rd. trailhead)
  
• Mt. Ida, from Timber Lake
  
• The Never Summer Range ~These peaks are characterized by long approaches over rotten, unstable rock. The advantage is there are lightly visited, compared to other areas of RMNP.
  
  Restaurants
  
  
• Smokin Daves
  
• Poppy's
  
• Kind Coffee
  
• Hayley's
  
• Breakfast place in Allenspark, CO
  ~can't remember the name of it. Really, really good breakfast. Find a local and ask them. They should know about it. Head about 16 miles south on C0-7. It's right in the main part of Allenspark.
  
• Rock Inn
  ~don't remember much about the food. I went there for the live bluegrass every weekend. Here's the schedule: http://www.rockinnestes.com/
  
  
  You should definitely spend a day hitting the breweries in Fort Collins.There are six breweries, I think. The tour at The New Belgium Brewery was a favorite. The EP Brewery isn't bad, either.
  
  Lastly, some general tips for hiking there. Most of the rock there is granite. It is very hard on footwear. There will be perpetual construction on Trail Ridge road. This can lead to very long delays in both directions (hours). Plan accordingly. Much of the park is at high elevation. Afternoon thunderstorms are very common. If you're attempting a summit, or heading to a high elevation lake, you should be on your way down by around lunchtime. Plan on the early starts others have mentioned. You will probably have to acclimatize. Start with easier stuff and work your way up to more difficult hikes.The best source of information will be the rangers. They know their park and what goes on in it. Sorry for the wall of text. Enjoy the trip, RMNP is an amazing place.
  

That's why I hike. I want to see and experience things that I don't normally experience, and part of that is the beauty. Plus there are other benefits as well, like exercise.

The good thing about hiking is that anyone can do it. All you have to do is walk. The bad news is that as you go deeper and further, you need more equipment which can get quite expensive and confusing. I suggest renting gear first and doing some day or weekend trips. It'll save you some money as you figure out whether you enjoy it. Plus it will let you experiment with different gear setups. For learning about equipment, there are a lot of resources, but the problem is personal preference plays a huge role in what you use - for example, I like the enclosure of a tent over the openness of a tarp, but find a bivy too uncomfortably enclosed. Everyone you talk to has their own favorites, and every gear book is slanted toward the author's preferences. I suggest checking out Andrew Skurka's book or The Appalachian Trail Hiker. So far, those are the best books I've found as far as introducing readers to the options available to them.

You're not going to find any 3-4 day loops in that area. Your best bet would be something along the AT in MA, or a shorter loop in Greylock State Reservation.

Have you considered Harriman State Park? It's about 35 miles north of NYC, and has plenty of options that could be used to make a 3-4 day loop. The only drawback is that the park is likely to be very busy on the holiday weekend.

There's also the Catskill State Park in NY, but there aren't many loop options there.

The PA Wilds of Pennsylvania (basically the north central portion of PA) has a bunch of good options. The Old Loggers Path, a 27 mile loop, might be just what you're looking for. It's about the same distance from Philadelphia as eastern NY/western MA (maybe slightly closer). It's got a couple of rugged climbs but overall it isn't too difficult, and if you take 3 full days to do it, you only need to average 9 miles a day. This book is a good resource for planning backpacking trips in PA: http://www.amazon.com/Backpacking-Pennsylvania-37-Great-Hikes/dp/0811731804

Hope this helps!

You are going to lose the black nail- but it will likely grow back.

From looking at it- you need to trim your toenails and make sure your shoes fit properly (i.e. so that your toe is not hitting the front of the toe box). Tightening your laces for the downhill can help this.

You might want to pick up a copy of John Vonhof's "Fixing Your Feet":

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0899976387?tag=footworkpubli-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0899976387&adid=0NDTA1DRX5CAAMPJJ5DB&

This is hands down the best reference for information on endurance sport related foot issues.

I haven't been there, but I've been to the two great parks that surround it: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Joshua Tree NP. If you have a high-clearance vehicle and the road is good, I recommend visiting Font's Point in Anza-Borrego, which is fairly close to the Salton Sea. My sunrise photo from there is here.

The book California's Desert Parks has two short hikes at Salton Sea.

I'm in CT. Definitely hit Bash Bish Falls in MA - that's a special one. It can get crowded in the summer, though.

You might enjoy New England Waterfalls, a good book.

I like to practice reading the forest. Check the book out; it's fantastic. It's fun to try to "read" the woods and think about what formed the forests I'm exploring.

Glad to help. There's a book that might be helpful for you too - 60 Hikes within 60 miles: Chicago. A lot of them are suburban or urban, and therefore probably crowded, but there's some that appear to be less traveled too. You could always borrow it from your library to see if it's worth you purchasing it, though used on Amazon doesn't appear to be all that much.

These guys or these guys might let you borrow a guidebook or two like this one.

Simple google searches like "hiking near rhode island"will also get you a number of places to start your exploration.

from the ridge above Black Bear Lake, which Roper describes as the best view on The Sierra High Route.

Personally, I use a rain skirt. Easy to put on and take off as needed.

Added link.

Bradford Angier's book is a good resource for plants found in North America.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811720187/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Start reading ... https://www.amazon.com/Thru-Back-Again-Journey-Country/dp/0692880909/

And then put together trail guides, maps, apps, etc