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Rolo posted:I mean like some new spikes and poles. Zermatt is kinda magical. How familiar are you with Switzerland? Feel free to ignore me if you've been already, but there are some good free resources: download the Swisstopo app (maps including trails) and the Meteosuisse app (weather). The Club Alpin Suisse website has excellent info on hiking routes and things like refuges to stay at. It would be a fun experience if you can stay at one of the refuges but they are probably only reachable on skis at the moment. Depending on budget you could stay a night in the Gornergrat Kulm Hotel high up above Zermatt, fancier than a refuge but also a great place to stay. Zermatt webcams https://www.zermatt.ch/Webcams
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May 7, 2023 10:08
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I am not very familiar so thanks for the resources! I've planned trips there before but they always fell through because of a crappy schedule at my previous job. I know it's kind of a shotgun plan so I'll be erring on the side of safety. I've hiked a good bit at higher elevations and I'm semi experienced with snow and ice but this is going to be somewhere new so if conditions start deteriorating I'll stay closer to town.
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May 7, 2023 16:01
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It has been a rather cold and wet spring in the Alps this year, you should definitely contact some guide company that does Zermatt. I know near us most foot passes above 1500m are still covered in snow, and with things warming up quickly that tends to turn into a very wet and slippery path to trek through.
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May 8, 2023 11:59
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Dick Ripple posted:It has been a rather cold and wet spring in the Alps this year, you should definitely contact some guide company that does Zermatt. I know near us most foot passes above 1500m are still covered in snow, and with things warming up quickly that tends to turn into a very wet and slippery path to trek through. I spent yesterday looking at the forecasted weather and decided that if it’s still looking gross the entire time I’ll probably keep my Zurich plane ticket and just hang out in civilization that week. I may get another chance to go again later this summer but if not there’s always next year. I do appreciate your idea of calling a guide for more input and I’ll do that too. Hopefully even if the hiking dreams of this trip get dashed I can still find a way to enjoy the country.
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May 8, 2023 14:23
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Anyone have any advice for Snowdonia? I'm looking at doing Snowdon itself as well as a couple of other day hikes.
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May 8, 2023 15:00
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Yooper posted:Anyone have any advice for Snowdonia? I'm looking at doing Snowdon itself as well as a couple of other day hikes. Pack for every kind of weather! Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) has a few different routes up depending on your fitness and skill level. I wont name them all but the most common ones are these: Llanberis path - The easiest and most boring one that starts just outside of the town of Llanberis. It's a long route and not particularly interesting. Miners track and Pyg track - Both start from Pen Y Pass car park. More interesting than Llanberis, Miners is a lower track that follows the lakes, Pyg goes up higher to start with then they both link up before the last push to the summit ridge. If you do one of these or any that start from Pen Y Pass, be mindful that the car park fills up QUICK especially on good weather days and weekends/holidays. It will be absolutely packed so you'll need to find alternate parking and bus/taxi to the start. Check out this bus service - https://www.sherparwyddfa.wales/ IMO the coolest and most interesting way up to the top is Pyg Track, then instead of following it up all the way, it forks off to go up Crib Goch ridge. It's a relatively easy scramble, but it's VERY exposed. If you've done ridge walks before you should be fine on this. Only attempt it when you know you've got guaranteed good weather though. Ranger Path - Starts near the Snowdon Ranger youth hostel. A bit of a steeper more interesting path than the others (ignoring Crib Goch). I've only done Yr Wddfa via Crib Goch, but I'd love to go back to Snowdonia and do Cadair Idris. I've heard that's a great hike. Here's some photos I took on and of Crib Goch, we got so unbelievably lucky with the weather.    
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May 9, 2023 08:36
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Aphex- posted:Pack for every kind of weather! Thanks! Pyg track it is. We'll be coming from Betws-y-Coed area, so luckily there's a bus pickup there. We've got a week to hike and explore, so if you've got any other off the beaten path spots, I'd love to hear them.
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May 9, 2023 12:31
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Had my first refreshing swimmin hole dip of the year today. It was cool and restoring and some seaweed junk brushed my foot and I got all squigee.
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May 10, 2023 22:24
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Hiking in Sedona, AZ in the summer: Doable? Or ill-advised? We will be on our yearly drive from CO to CA and back, and were thinking of stopping in Sedona this time. Any good hikes to recommend that won’t be atrociously hot? Suggestions for hikes without cliffs or scrambling on smooth rock also appreciated. Thanks!
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May 16, 2023 21:57
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There is a cool park in the city that has like a 6ish mile loop that includes some caves. It’s shaded some of the time so it isn’t terrible when it’s hot. You can also get in some very wooded valleys near the western mountains that got surprisingly chilly as the trees got denser.
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May 16, 2023 22:18
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I don’t have Sedona recs but I hiked all over Phoenix and Tucson year round when I lived there so yeah I imagine Sedona is doable if you’re taking desert safety seriously. Bring a lot of water, be willing to turn around, protect yourself from the sun, have an emergency plan and go as early as you can make yourself wake up so you can be back in that sweet AC by the time the sun gets high. That was my plan and I always had a good time. It’s hard to pass up hiking in what is objectively the prettiest state (fight me.)
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May 16, 2023 22:28
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We were there in April of last year and everything was packed. Traffic was backed up forever trying to get into town as we were leaving. Maybe in the summer there will be fewer people?
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May 17, 2023 00:37
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newts posted:Hiking in Sedona, AZ in the summer: Doable? Or ill-advised? I did a bunch of Sedona hikes earlier in the year. My advice, get to the trailhead super early, like 5:30-6am to beat the crowds and the heat. There’s really not a bad hike out there, so pick any that look cool to you! We really enjoyed the Little Horse, Boynton Creek and Courthouse butte. I’d skip Devils bridge personally.
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May 17, 2023 00:54
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Cathedral Rock during sunset is great. Not particularly challenging either so the heat should be manageable. Let the vortex take you
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May 17, 2023 00:56
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Thanks all! We’ve done Zion and other southwest locations in the summer and just stuck to early morning/evening hiking. Still trying to decide between Sedona and Escalante (which we’ve been to a lot because we love it).
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May 17, 2023 13:51
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It's been like 10+ years since I went through grand Teton NP and man people really need to stop putting out photos of that place because it's a serious misrepresentation. I completely forgot how much that ridge dominates the valley. It's all you can see, no matter where you go. And they dwarf everything in front of them.
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May 20, 2023 01:52
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xzzy posted:It's been like 10+ years since I went through grand Teton NP and man people really need to stop putting out photos of that place because it's a serious misrepresentation. I follow some hiking Reddit subs and I’d say Teton posts are 50% of the content.
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May 20, 2023 08:14
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xzzy posted:It's been like 10+ years since I went through grand Teton NP and man people really need to stop putting out photos of that place because it's a serious misrepresentation. It's always been hard to capture the bigness of mountains in photos and wide angle cell phone cameras have only made it worse
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May 20, 2023 16:04
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Visiting both Teton and Yellowstone I was wondering how Teton would be distinct enough to warrant two national parks side by side, and yeah the topography is just incredible. The dominant ridgeline plus the canyon/lake formations is really interesting.
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May 20, 2023 16:57
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Visiting both Teton and Yellowstone I was wondering how Teton would be distinct enough to warrant two national parks side by side, and yeah the topography is just incredible. The dominant ridgeline plus the canyon/lake formations is really interesting. That's my favorite thing about the parks route in Utah (and dipping into AZ for the Grand). Every park feels like a different planet.
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May 20, 2023 19:13
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Any recommendations for an atlas of Oregon? This seems like as good a place as any to ask. We are taking a week long driving/camping trip around Oregon and I'd like a paper map with enough detail to show smaller roads and some of the more significant BLM/FS roads, campgrounds, etc. Hoping for a similar level of detail as the big foldout NFS maps but for the whole state. Also open to recommendations for hikes and other must-see stuff out in Eastern OR! We live in the Willamette Valley and have explored Central OR a ton but haven't really been any farther east than the Smith Rock area, so we're pushing farther east on this trip. Any recommendations are welcome for both hikes and travel/roadside cool things to see. I've heard lots of good things about the Wallowas but dunno where to start. We have a baby and a 4 year old so hikes will have to be 4 miles or less. I have Bill Sullivan's Eastern OR book but don't know where to start in it for planning a week long trip.
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May 22, 2023 21:56
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alnilam posted:Any recommendations for an atlas of Oregon? This seems like as good a place as any to ask. We are taking a week long driving/camping trip around Oregon and I'd like a paper map with enough detail to show smaller roads and some of the more significant BLM/FS roads, campgrounds, etc. Hoping for a similar level of detail as the big foldout NFS maps but for the whole state. I'd actually love an atlas like that too. Never hurts to have more paper maps in the car. I do strongly recommend Gaia GPS (or some people prefer OnX). The free version is fine, although doesn't work offline. You can find tons of free trial codes though. We use it constantly for exploring back roads and the like. John Day Fossil Beds, Painted Hills, and Strawberry Wilderness are out that direction (sort of) and are nice if you're passing through.
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May 22, 2023 22:53
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Oh yeah I have OnX, plus an inReach and the app that comes with that, I just like paper backups. Thanks for the ideas! Painted hills is def on the list! To be clear the trip is anywhere in eastern OR, I only mentioned the Wallowas because that's the main destination I always hear about that's farther east than Smith.
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May 22, 2023 23:13
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I’ve got the DeLorme Gazateer for my state and it’s a good paper backup. Oregon appears to have one too. Not perfect but for a small backup to keep in the back of the car and to just glance at occasionally for fun I like it.
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May 23, 2023 01:17
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alnilam posted:Also open to recommendations for hikes and other must-see stuff out in Eastern OR! We live in the Willamette Valley and have explored Central OR a ton but haven't really been any farther east than the Smith Rock area, so we're pushing farther east on this trip. Leslie Gulch is an amazing camping spot. Granted the campsites themselves aren't that great but it is free and being in that canyon is great scenery. Steens Mountain and Alvord Desert are also great. And all the volcanism related stuff south of Bend.
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May 23, 2023 01:20
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Today was a new one for me, multiple dogs off leash in a loving bird sanctuary. Ban all dogs from sensitive areas imo. Less than 50% of owners can be bothered to follow the rules, in my experience.
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May 29, 2023 04:46
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Went to a two night trip with friends. One friend slept outdoors, without a tent or tarp or anything, just on ground. Cool       
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May 29, 2023 13:33
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COPE 27 posted:Today was a new one for me, multiple dogs off leash in a loving bird sanctuary. Yeah, this. NPS has a blanket dog ban on all their land in WA state, and it’s probably because of this BS.
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May 29, 2023 16:48
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i love that no lessons were learned from what happened to Isle Royale lol
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May 29, 2023 16:52
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I'm super excited to go hike Grayson Highlands tomorrow for a few days solo. I moved outside the continental US and have not been out in 2 years.
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May 29, 2023 21:57
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Mercury Ballistic posted:I'm super excited to go hike Grayson Highlands tomorrow for a few days solo. I moved outside the continental US and have not been out in 2 years. One of my favorite places. Do you have a particular route planned or anything?
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May 29, 2023 22:06
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Any goon camping recommendations for the Vegas area? Been there a bit for work recently and hiked some of the cool trails around Red Rock but would like to overnight on a cool weekend if things line up next time I'm there. Unrelated, but I think I'm at the point in life where fast packing is the next thing to try. I've done trail runs before in the 20-30mi range, sometimes with gear, but never thought to deliberately combine it with camping. GG Virga 2 is on sale for 75 bux on Amazon and is light enough that I could get to a 10-12 lb base weight with the stuff I have.
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May 29, 2023 22:32
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Oh, I forgot to check back in. I did end up going to Switzerland for a week with the intention of doing crummy-weather city tourism but brought some lightweight hiking gear just in case. Ended up with 2 pretty decent days, one of which I was able to hike up Harder Kulm and back in Interlaken. It was an awesome trip overall but next time I’m gonna target better weather and go straight from the airport to the mountains.   
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May 29, 2023 22:33
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Fitzy Fitz posted:One of my favorite places. Do you have a particular route planned or anything? Grindstone campground, old orchard, Thomas knob and back I think.
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May 29, 2023 22:52
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Mercury Ballistic posted:Grindstone campground, old orchard, Thomas knob and back I think. I came in from Elk Garden at this time a couple of years ago and basically did a long loop around Mt Rogers. All the wildflowers were stunning.
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May 29, 2023 23:03
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Rolo posted:Oh, I forgot to check back in. I did end up going to Switzerland for a week with the intention of doing crummy-weather city tourism but brought some lightweight hiking gear just in case. Oh I miss Interlaken. My wife and I did that trail 10 years ago.
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May 30, 2023 00:03
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I came in from Elk Garden at this time a couple of years ago and basically did a long loop around Mt Rogers. All the wildflowers were stunning. I'm not too familiar with that loop but the flowers right now are definitely the best. The rhodo is my favorite.
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May 30, 2023 00:41
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Guest2553 posted:Any goon camping recommendations for the Vegas area? Been there a bit for work recently and hiked some of the cool trails around Red Rock but would like to overnight on a cool weekend if things line up next time I'm there. If it's not too hot, valley of fire is amazing. Lots of blm options around there too. I think it's best enjoyed in the winter months though.
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May 30, 2023 00:59
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Do any of you have recommendations for a camera bag? I bought a cheap one off amazon, and I realized after a few hikes that it is way too cramped for everything I carry.
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May 30, 2023 14:38
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That's a pretty big topic, unfortunately so without knowing what you do/don't like it's all guesses. If you want a frame pack look at shimoda or atlas. If you want a standard frame pack you can adapt anything to be camera friendly, the only feature you might want to insist on is a back opening (the side with the shoulder straps). Mammut makes some decent packs with that option. If you want something in the smaller day hike territory it's an even bigger topic.. provide more details on what features you like and people can probably make suggestions.
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May 30, 2023 15:20
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