Snowshoeing | Hiking World

Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

July 8, 2020December 26, 2019

I bought this jacket for the Manaslu Circuit Trek in Nepal and could not have been happier. In fact, I have been using it for many other things once I returned home as this is easily one of the best purchases I have ever made. They boast “A piece of high-tech magic from Patagonia.” and I have to say that it definitely lives up to that statement. It weighs about the weight of a chocolate bar but is probably one of the warmest jackets I own, aside from my Spyder Ski jacket. How this works is way beyond me, but I can attest to it effectiveness. Additionally, it can be packed and folded up into one of the jackets pockets for easy storage and packing. How light is it actually? I bought the Balkan Blue Medium jacket and it weighs a total of 289 grams, after using it for a while. … Read more

Snowshoeing in Algonquin Park

July 8, 2020February 21, 2019

I just finished a three day trip to Algonquin park and I cannot say enough about it. It was absolutely fantastic! The weather was awesome, the trails were great, and the company was absolutely fantastic. And, a definite big shout out to Bryan and Carol Foley for organizing this weekend. Many thanks and you two rock! The snow was powder, deep, and plentiful. This, of course, meant on the first day, we had a lot of trail breaking to do. Mizzy Lake Back Country Trail in Algonquin Park On the first day, we left at 9:30 AM and returned around 4:30 PM. We were exhausted but exhilarated at the same time. I can honestly say that if there had not been 14 of us to take turns at breaking the trail, it would have been a lot longer and we may not have been able to finish it. We had … Read more

Extreme Cold Outdoors Gear Test

July 8, 2020February 5, 2019

Hi All, Today I decided I would test my gear to see how it stood up in extreme cold temperatures. When I left for my hike, it was -20 C, or -4 F. When I returned, it was -24 C, or -11.2 F. With the windchill it was -28C when I left and -32C when I returned, which equates to -18.4 F and -25.6 F. So, as you can see, these were great temperatures to test the gear out. I hiked 8.2 km’s in 3 hours and the good news is that the gear worked pretty well. I was exceptionally happy that my feet and hands were completely warm during the whole hike and perhaps the coldest part of me was my eyebrows/forehead and my arms. Both of which can be easily fixed by utilizing googles and clothing. Additionally, there is currently about three feet of snow, so hiking was … Read more

Survival Frog Hand Warmer/USB Charger and my Snow Shoes

July 8, 2020January 26, 2019

Hey everyone, hope you are having an awesome day. My day has been jam packed thus far and this evening promises to be just as fun. For those of you sitting inside because it is too cold, you may want to rethink that as there are many things you can do to stay warm and enjoy the outdoors when it is cold and snowy. Today’s blog is about two of the pieces of equipment that will help you with exactly that. Survival Frog USB Charger and Hand Warmer Every once in a while, I come across multi-purpose devices. Not devices that I use for multiple purposes but devices are actually designed for multiple purposes. The Survival Frog is exactly one of those devices and I have fallen in love with this thing. As you know, batteries lose charge quite fast in the cold and our hands are also quite susceptible … Read more