Slow & Curious

These are my Tevas. They are sandals, and i love them. We’ve been together for just over a year now, and every adventure is further testament to how good these things are!

So as a big guy, i am naturally concerned with some of the more physical rigors of the trail: breathing, exhaustion, pace, and… foot comfort. Seriously. Let me set the stage.

We have a local mountain called Mt. Garfield, and it was the first “Strenuous” hike i attempted in our locality. At the time, i had been hiking a fair amount, but usually just in tennis shoes. Mt. Garfield changed that for me! It’s a four mile, 2000 ft. elevation gain one-way hike up some nonsensically steep grades, and on the way down i trashed those Keds pretty hard. The next week (yes, an entire week!), i had extremely painful thighs (acceptable! Also, kind of badass feeling!) but also extremely painful feet (unacceptable! Unhappy feeling!). I decided it was time to visit my local REI (another story, and another love story at that) to pick up some boots. I grabbed some Keens, and they were fantastic! I used them all the time, and in fact i still do and might be in need of a new pair.

Anyway, my keens are great for many journeys, but sometimes i want something comfortable for lounging, or for playing in the Colorado River, or for walking around my neighborhood at night with Nyssa and A.G., my roommates. So, about a year ago i decided it was time for some rugged sandals. I did a bunch of internet research and basically had narrowed it down to two choices: Chacos or Tevas. Both have their devotees (and Nyssa is a Chacos person, too), and REI carried both brands. I knew that because i have gout, a sometimes nasty condition that makes my feet extremely sensitive and painful, i didn’t want a strap that went around the big toe like both brands offer. Instead, i was interested in something that went over the foot.

Nyssa and i rolled down to REI and i tried on several pairs of both Chacos and Tevas. In the end, the vote was really close but the Tevas were just a tiny bit more comfortable, for me, than the Chacos. I bought them and immediately went on a backpacking trip with them strapped to my pack. Once we got to camp i busted them out and they were great! They’ve since become my daily companion during the summer months, and my adventuring companion as well.

Trip Report: Black Ridge Trail Round 2, April 2016

Well, we did it again. And it was great this time too! The Tandoori Hike Club, which regularly meets on Sundays, met at the local Trailhead Coffee and rolled up into the Colorado National Monument to re-tackle the Black Ridge Trail after a week of rain and even snow.

Fortunately, today was beautiful! We set out and rapidly gained several hundred feet, after which my heart was pounding and my lungs were burning, but in a good way. Shortly after beginning the trail you cross from Colorado National Monument land onto Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and then you spend the next three miles or so in said BLM land.

Today was gorgeous, as i’ve mentioned, and there are great views of the Grand Valley from all sides. After about two miles you reach a really cool natural rock bridge, and here i turned around to do some exploring elsewhere while the rest of the club continued on.

I turned back and went slowly, soaking in the great day and scenery, and when i made it back to the junction of the Black Ridge Trail and the Fruita Dugway, i took the latter for a half mile to explore. The Fruita Dugway is an extension of the Black Ridge Trail and was, 100 years or so ago, one of the primary routes from Pinyon Mesa down to the Valley. I didn’t go far, but the trai was lovely.

I then turned around and headed back to the Visitor’s Center, bought a sticker and talked about backpacking in the Monument with a staff member, sent a postcard, and met up with the rest of the Club after a short time.

Gear Talk: Trekking Poles

Why hello there, friend! Let’s talk trekking poles today, shall we? I enjoy them, but they’re a relatively new addition to my arsenal of outdoor equipment.

When i first began playing outside regularly, in 2013, i definitely didn’t use trekking poles and i had no idea why someone would. Then, at Christmas, my dad got everyone in the family a badass walking stick, hand-carved, each one unique. I gravitated towards that immediately, and used it in a number of my formative hikes, including my thus-far only ascent of the local Mt. Garfield. I love that walking stick!

Eventually, as i continued hiking, i read more and more about the uses of walking sticks. Finally, after i got into the idea of backpacking, i read that in some circles walking sticks were used as the frames for some light backpacking tents. “Well!” Said I, “That sounds like a great idea!”

And so, long before i ever bought my Nemo Veda 1p trekking pole tent, i bought a pair of REI brand Traverse poles.

I like them quite a bit, but i haven’t dialed them in 100%. The grip is foam that gets a bit slimy when wet, and i have noticed that since i use them primarily in desert environments where there are a lot of small particulates that that stuff gets inside the sheathes that allow the poles to expand and contract, and so i imagine it won’t be long until they’re too crust-ified to work properly. But, for the price point they’re pretty okay.