Wouldn’t it be great if you could hike a long distance wilderness route, hundreds of miles long, inside the United States without having to travel all the way to Alaska? Now you can and there’s even a guidebook for it called Blue Line to Blue Line: The Official Guide to the Trans Adirondack Route, written by long distance hiker and wilderness adventurer Erik Schlimmer.

Set in New York’s Adirondack Park, the Trans Adirondack Route is 236 miles long, running from the northern boundary of the Adirondack Park near the Canadian border to its southern boundary just outside of Albany. The Blue Line refers to the park’s boundary (shown below in light blue.)

The Blue Boundary of the Adirondack Park

If you’re not familiar with the Adirondack Park here a few facts about it that will dazzle you. First off, it’s the largest state park in the lower 48 with an area of 6.1 million acres, roughly the size of Vermont, and greater in size than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountain National Park combined. There are more than 3,000 lakes in the park with 30,000 miles of streams and rivers, including 2,000 miles of hiking trails comprising the largest park trail system in the United States. The park has 130,000 people who live within its boundaries scattered in small towns and hamlets, about 1 million acres of the park are designated as Wilderness, while another 1.7 million acres are managed as Wild Forest. The remaining 3.4 million acres are privately owned but very sparsely developed.

In other words, the Adirondack Park is really big, really wild, and really remote – the perfect setting for a long distance hiking route that is wilder and less developed than a National Scenic Trail but still well defined enough that it can be followed from the northern end of the park to the southern border.

This point is worth emphasizing because hiking the Trans Adirondack Route is not a unified blazed trail like the Appalachian Trail but an assemblage of roads, snowmobile tracks, hiking trails, abandoned trails, and off-trail sections that run from one side of the park to the other. Hikers following the route will probably have to deviate from it due to changing trail conditions or their own whims, which is the fun part of a cross-country journey like this. And Eric’s guidebook contains plenty of advice about alternate routes and optional detours for hikers who want some added adevnture.

Inside the Guidebook

Schlimmer’s Blue Line to Blue Line Guidebook ( BL-2-BL) provides turn-by-turn instructions that include all the necessary landmarks to follow the Trans Adirondack Route including what the signs along the paths and roads say, where they’re located, and any private property restrictions that exist. This level of detail is necessary because maps or GPS coordinates alone would not provide you with enough information to follow the route, connect the different trails and roads that it follows, and stay on good terms with private landowners.

The BL-2BL Guidebook is also a useful resource for hikers planning to thru-hike or section-hike part of the trail, particularly for non-local hikers who are less familiar with the Adirondack region, its regulations and phyical demands, parking and camping regulations, resupply points, public transportation options, water source purity, and seasonal challenges.

While a paper map set is available for purchase with the BL-2-BL Guidebook, it’s mainly intended to provide an overview of the route but is not quite sufficient for compass or GPS navigation lacking lat/lan coordinates, north-south grid lines, and declination information. If you like carrying maps, you’d be better off transferring the route to free online mapping program like Gmap4, printing your own custom maps on waterproof paper and/or saving the GPX files onto your cell phone or GPS receiver. It’s only a matter of time before someone does this for the Trans Adirondack Route and shares it for free online.

Even then, you’d still want to have printed sections of the guidebook along because it has detailed directions and explains what you should see at each turn, road intersection, or trail junction on the route. An electronic version of the guidebook is not currently available, but would be a very useful addition because the route is bound to change and will be difficult to keep up to date in printed form.

The Birth of a New Trail

Having read the Erik Schlimmer’s Blue Line to Blue Line Guidebook cover-to-cover, it’s interesting to compare it and the Trans Adirondack Route with the develpoment of the Cohos Trail in northern New Hampshire which also started as an assemblage of existing hiking trails, snowmobile trails, logging roads, and privately held land. During the early days of the Cohos Trail, hikers were hestitant to hike it, including myself, because an official guidebook hadn’t been written.

Erik Schlimmer has taken a very different approach, one recommended by Pacific Northwest Trail Founder, Ron Strickland, which is to publish a guidebook early on in the birth of a new trail because it encourages much faster adoption by the hiking community. Erik tells me that he’s already getting information requests from thru-hikers who want to hike the trail even though the guidebook was just published last month.

So, if you’re feeling a bit bored with the AT, CDT, and PCT, or you want to hike something that is wilder and more remote, check out the Trans Adirondack Route and Erik Schlimmer’s Blue Line to Blue Line Guidebook, and keep it wild!

Disclosure: Erik Schlimmer provided Philip Werner with a copy of the Blue Line to Blue Line Guidebook and Map Set for this review.

Lowepro Dashpoint 20 Camera Case

What’s the best way to carry a point-and-shoot camera when you’re backpacking so that your camera is easily accessible when you want it, it doesn’t get in the way of normal activity, it’s in a waterproof compartment to protect it from rain, and it won’t slip off a hip-belt or shoulder strap and disappear forever.

This problem has vexed me for several years but I’ve found a solution – the Lowepro Dashpoint 20 Camera Case – which I used quite successfully on my recent backpacking trip across Scotland in the TGO Challenge. Priced under $20, the Dashpoint Camera Case is a bargain.

The Dashpoint 20 is large enought to fit my Panasonic Lumix LX5 digital camera, but also comes in slightly smaller and larger sizes (Dashpoint 10 and Dashpoint 30) and can be used for carrying other electronic devices such as a cell phone or a GPS. Depending on your needs, it can be carried using a strap (supplied), attached to your belt, or attached to a backpack shoulder strap. I prefer the latter because it places the camera within easy reach of my hand when I want to take a picture and because it doesn’t interfere with the operation of my shoulder straps.

Horizontal Attachment

But the most important consideration for me is in knowing that the camera case is not going to accidentally fall off my backpack’s shoulder strap. This is because the Dashpoint 20 has a two-way horizontal and vertical attachment system that can be used at the same time to secure the case to the strap. For instance, the Dashpoint has a pair of wings that can be wrapped around the back of your shoulder pad and are secured together using velcro.

Vertical Strap Loops over Keeper Strap and Secures with Velcro

Before you secure these behind the shoulder straps, it’s best to thread the vertical strap around a horizontal keeper strap, if your backpack’s shoulder pad has one, to prevent the case from sliding below the sterum strap. Once the vertical strap is secured with velcro, wrap the horizontal wings around the strap for complete security.

Interior Zipper Guards

Rain Protection

The Dashpoint 20 is made using ripstop nylon that has been treated with a DWR coating so that rain beads on its surface and rolls off without wetting out the external fabric. The DWR works well – I hiked through days and days of rain in Scotland and the case never leaked – but you should also reapply the DWR peridically because it will wear off. Even so, the inside of the Dashpoint 20 is also lined with 200 denier polyester fabric providing even more moisture protection and includes interior flaps over the zippers to help prevent snags and rain from leaking in.

Interior Storage

The Dashpoint’s large lid case makes it easy to unzip the case and pull out your camera even if you are wearing thin gloves, but the interior of the case has been kept very simple, on purpose, because it is designed for self-contained point-and-shoot cameras. There is however, one small pocket on the inside if the top lid that is big enough to store an extra memory card or battery if required.

Conclusion

When I was in Scotland last month, I met someone who lost their camera during a stream crossing because it slipped off their hip belt and dropped into the water. I felt really bad for the guy because he lost all of the photos he’d taken on a bucket list hike. Don’t let this happen to you. Get yourself a backpack camera case that you can count on to be there when you finish your trip.

Disclosure: Philip Werner owns the Dashpoint 20 camera case and purchased it using his own funds. 

Crossing a Scottish Peat Bog

We don’t have peat bogs in the continental United States and it’s difficult to learn the skills for safely hiking across them in Scotland, England and other parts of the world without first-hand experience. While you can avoid peat bogs and stay on well-defined paths or tracks that circle around them, you are missing out on the abundant animals and birds that live in them and more remote areas that are less visited by others.

Learning how to walk across peat bogs is easier than you think once you understand the load-bearing properties of the surfaces you can expect to encounter, but it helps to follow an expert for a few days to get the hang of it and observe the footwork choices they make. As usual, energy conservation is the name of the game and helps ensure safe and expeditious bog crossings.

Uniform Appearance of Blanket Bog

What is a Peat Bog?

Peat bogs are expanses of decaying organic matter, primarily sphagnum moss, mixed in with grasses and woody shrubs like heather, that form in wet, poorly drained areas with abundant rain and mist. The peat bogs in Scotland and northern England are called blanket bogs because they hug the landscape like a blanket and appear to be homogenous from a distance.

Sedge grasses provide firm footing, but visibly wet peat will not hold you

However, up close, there is a great deal of variation in the surface of a peat bog including raised mushroom-shaped mounds called peat hags, continuous ribbons of sedge grass, holes in the ground that lead to underground streams, drier areas of peat, and wetter sections that will suck off your shoes and may be difficult to escape from.

Less saturated – drier peat – appears fluffy and can be safely walked over

The trick to walking across a peat bog is to pick your way across by linking up the firmer spots that will hold your bodyweight while avoiding the wetter spots where you will sink.  Making forward progress requires rapid identification of the features that will hold you and an awareness of the compass bearing you need to stick to stay on course. While you can think about walking across a bog as a game of Twister, it rarely comes to that if you are willing to backtrack when you run out of firm ground.

The degree of erosion in a bog is often inconsistent, enabling a successful traverse

Sections of bog that are completely under water should be circumvented because you can’t determine what’s below the surface. The same holds for areas with fine grained mud particles that look like chocolate moose because you’re likely to sink into them rather deeply. While it is possible to step in partially submerged areas, it’s best if you can see grass or heather sticking out of the water around you.

The best footing is found in areas of sedge grass and heather that are visibly dry or mounds that are covered with them and provide firm footing. Hopping from one mound to another is common practice. Drier, fluffier looking areas of exposed peat can also be counted on to hold your weight.

When walking down hill, it’s not uncommon to encounter a wide ribbon of sedge grass that you can follow for quite a ways. These may run beside streams or even over them if the ground below is honeycombed with water courses that have erroded the peat but are not yet visible on the surface.

Undercut water courses ae very dangerous when covered by snow

These undercut holes can be very dangerous when covered by snow because you can fall in and break a leg or get swept away by rushing water. They’re easy to see and avoid in 3 season conditions though.

Plotting a course across open moorland

Navigation

It’s important to know where you are before you cross a bog because finding a firm route may require many twists and turns to stay on terra firma. Taking and following a compass bearing is advised to ensure that you are headed in the correct direction if the mist drops, and it’s good to aim for a highly visible landmark or a hand-rail feature such as a stream or track that you can’t miss when you get to the other side. Carrying a GPS or a cell phone with pre-loaded maps can also be very useful in low visibility or if you decide you’ve had enough fun for one day and want  a quick exit to a firmer path or roadway.

Wet Feet

When you walk across a large bog, there’s a good chance that your shoes/boots and feet will get wet. But if you’re walking across open country that has bogs, chance are that your shoes/boots and feet will already be wet before you attempt to cross a bog! Under these circumatances, your best course of action is to wear a pair of shoes or boots that will dry as quickly as possible and not hold in water when they get wet (avoid gore-tex lined footware.)

Fear No Moor

I used to be afraid of crossing peat bogs because I nearly lost a shoe the first time I tried to walk cross one.  I likened them to Tarzan’s quicksand and vowed never to walk into them again. But I’m not afraid of bogs or open moor anymore. Instead I rather enjoy it, because it puts all of my navigational and footwork skills to the test, and has opened up new terriorty for exploration that is not visited by many other people.

If you’ve been hestitant about walking cross-country through bogs and open moorland (boggy countryside), I encourage you to go walking through a bog with a friend who knows what they’re doing. Once you understand where to walk in a bog, you will fear no moor.

Mt Tremont Trail

I’ve hiked in the White Mountains so much that it hurts to be away from them for too long, and while I enjoyed my recent hiking vacation in Scotland and The Lake District, June is my favorite month to hike in the Whites. So when my wife suggested we take a short mid-week vacation in Crawford Notch, I knew she wouldn’t begrudge me a few half-day hikes near the B&B where we both like to stay.

Mt Tremont has been one of those mountains I’ve always wanted to climb but never have because it’s too short a hike for a full day outing. But I can now recommend it if you want a strenuous hike that fits into 3-4 hours with fantastic views if you summit on a clear day.

At 3371′, Mt Tremont is one of the higher peaks on the 52 with a View peak list and has a great view of Big and Little Sawyer Pond, nearby Owl’s Cliff and the entire Sandwich Mountain Range. Unfortunately, the day I hiked it the sky was overcast, with blowing drizzle and mist, making the peak one of the highest on the 52 WITHOUT a view list.

More Tree Roots on Mt Tremont

No worries though – I was happy to get out because I longed to hike in a proper forest again after all that open bog and moorland in Scotland and The Lakes. Furthermore, my lastest TGO Challenge hike seems to have dampened some of my peakbagging mania. I feel like a shift of gears is in order and plan to spend a lot more time hiking to more remote locations in the White Mountains to see what there is to see.

Mt Tremont was an appealing destination because it’s on the southern edge of a region bordered the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River, Crawford Notch, and the Kancamagus Highway that I have a hankering to explore. Containing Mt Hitchcock, the Hancocks, Signal Ridge, Mt Carrigan, and Nancy Pond, it contains a plelthora of notches, slides, bushwacks,cliffs, ledges, fire tower foundations, abandoned trails, and old logging camps.

Stream along the Mt Tremont Trail

I may have been a tad over-eager to hike Mt Tremont, because I didn’t check my map as thoroughly as I should have. If I had, I’d have known that the trail ascends 2300′ feet in about 2.5 miles. That’s close to 1000′ per mile making this a very strenuous hike, what with the profusion of wet rocks and tree roots along the way.

Easy Going near Rt 302

The Mt Tremont Trail starts out quite mellow from Rt 302 ascending through beautiful forest and across several small water crossing before running alongside a gorgeous stream for the next mile or so. It had rained quite heavily in recent days, so the stream was cranking at high volume with picturesque drops and slides and even a fairly large waterfall.

Waterfall on the Mt Tremont Trail

The stream is quite accessible from the trail, especially along the lower reaches, making this an excellent place to come hang out with kids in the heat of the summer if you want a quiet spot to cool off your feet or do some sheltered wading.

Water in the Trail from Recent Rains

With the recent rain, the trail was fairly muddy and awash in water. This being black fly season, the little buggers were out and I got a couple of bites, but the cool morning weather and drizzle kept them at bay.

Ledge on top of Mt Tremont

After 2 hours of climbing, I made it to the open ledge at the top of Mt Tremont. From here, the trail continues south down to Sawyer Pond and then over Owls Cliff. The area in between has a wild feel like some hidden valley and is definitely worth exploring on a drier day.

Mist shrouded view of the Sawyer Ponds and Owls Cliff

Despite the rain and the shrouded views, it felt good to be back in the wild place I know best. I couldn’t stay as long as I’d hope or immerse myself as deeply as I wanted, but I hope to be back here before too long for some more interesting adventures this summer.

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Hayeswater

A few weeks ago, I visited Heather and Alan Rhodes of Pacerpole who live near Windermere in the Lake District, one of the most popular places for hiking in the United Kingdom. It was my first visit to the Lakes and they were eager to take me hill walking so I could experience the lovely countryside and views there.

I’d arrived at the start of several days of great weather, but on a bank holiday (three-day weekend) and the end of term break when the Lake District fills up with children and their parents for a week long vacation. Determined to find a less crowded but still spectacular walk, Heather and I poured over Harvey’s BMC Map of the Lake District and several volumes of Wainwright’s Pictoral Walking Guides looking for a loop hike that didn’t require a lot of driving and where we could be dropped off and picked up later in the day by Heather’s husband Alan. The Kentmere Horseshoe (also known as the Kentmere 7 and the Kentmere Round) seemed like a perfect 12 mile walk with plenty of big hills and excellent views.

The Kentmere Horseshoe, Harter Fell, and High Street

Having just backpacked aross Scotland in the TGO Challenge, I had low expectations that hiking in the Lake District would exceed the splendor of my latest ramble. I didn’t know anything about the Lake District before I arrived or about its history, but now I can’t wait to go back!

Climbing Past Shipman Knotts

Once on the hills, I was instantly captivated by the color of the land, the hills, ridges, stone walls and the lakes. With gently rounded mountains and high level moorland, the views are vast and unobstructed by trees, but can become disorienting when the mist comes down and landmarks are hidden from sight.

Harter Fell and Haweswater Reservoir

In addition to walking the seven hills that make up the Kentmere Horseshoe, Heather wanted to show me Harter Fell, Haweswater Reservoir, and another peak called High Street which is named after the old Roman road that runs over it.

Heather points out High Street in the distance

Though not a technically difficult hike, I had problems keeping up with Heather who is a very strong and fast hillwalker. Not that this should come as a surprise – she is the inventor of Pacerpoles - a trained physiotherapist and their most experienced user.

I’ve been using Pacerpoles for over two years and they helped eliminate the years of ITB (illiotibial-band syndrome) that I used to suffer from when I hiked. I think Heather is a genius and so do a lot of other long distance hikers and mountaineers who swear by Pacerpoles.

Helvellyn on a parallel ridge

Once we’d climbed up to the hill called Kentmere Pike, the remaining peaks on the eastern side of the horseshoe form a nearly uniform plateau interspersed with the inevitable boggy bits that one encounters on moorland. Once past The Knowe, we walked a ways down Harter Fell to get a view of Hawaeswater Reservoir before turning to take in two tarns called Small Water and Blea Water.

Small Water and Blea Water (partially obstructed)

Backtracking to the ridge that joins the eastern and western ridges of the horseshoe, we stopped for lunch in the sunshine amongst the crags of Nan Bield Pass. Heather had packed us a hearty lunch of free range eggs (raised in their backyard) on spelt bread with fruit cake and apples which we tucked into as she gave me pointers on my pacerpole technique and form.

Nan Bield Pass

I’d been placing the tips of my pacerpoles a bit too forward on the climbs, effectively pushing myself backward as I ascended, a very common problem that is also experienced by regular trekking pole users who try to climb hills hunched over their poles. Pacerpoles unique angled handgrips make it possible to break this bad habbit while standing up straight with your shoulders back, making it easier to hike uphill with far less fatigue.

After lunch we climbed up Mardale Ill Bell and walked over to the trig point at High Street. By then, more people had arrived to walk the peaks, but we had chosen well because the walk wasn’t as crowded as other popular walks probably were on the sunny holiday weekend.

Heather passes Thornwaite Beacon

Heading south by a large stone cairn named Thornwaite Beacon, we headed toward the most dramatic peaks on the route, three distinct hills overlooking the Kentmere Reservoir named Frostwick, Ill Bell and the Yoke. At 700+ meters, these hills weren’t as high or as difficult to climb as the ones I’d been on in Scotland, but their arrangement along such a beautiful ridge was no less spectacular.

The Yoke, Ill Bell, and Frostwick  overlooking Kentmere Reservoir (left to right)

Descending from the Yoke, we headed back east via the Garburn Pass down to a church that Alan, an architect, had restored years before. This had been a lovely walk, my first in the Lake District, and I will alwys have fond memories of walking with Heather on that beautiful sunny day.