Icebreaker Sierra 260 Jacket

Nice, but tall guys might reconsider. This marino Icebreaker 260 jacket is well-made with high-quality materials. It is the perfect thermal layer for temperatures in the low 30s to low 40s when the wind is fairly calm. Between a medium-weight base and either soft or technical shells, the wool 260 regulates body temperature just right without zipping and unzipping your shell all day long.

For example, with a Patagonia R1 fleece I might find myself adjusting and readjusting my shell and thermal layer 20 times in 5 hours depending on exertion levels. Under similar conditions, however, the Icebreaker 260 allows me to keep both the thermal layer and shell zipped up continuously and feeling warm the whole day.

While materials and workmanship are top-drawer, tall people might think twice about the Icebreaker 260: the sleeves are just long enough to be annoying. If you like extra-long sleeves that don't ride up when you lift your arms or while bending elbows then you might want to keep shopping.

Christmas 2012, Highland Forest, Fabius, NY

The first significant snowfall of the winter in Highland Forest and North Country Trail sections.

The sky cleared up after we left but it was still a nice hike. Approximately 4-6" of fine powder and not quite deep enough to require snowshoes.

Hiking to Lose Weight

Have you seen fat hikers? They don't exist, at least not for long. Hiking is the ultimate weight loss and weight maintenance time machine.

Let's say you're a 40-something professional who has spent the last 20 years working hard and moving up the corporate hierarchy only to find that you're "suddenly" 50 pounds overweight. Indeed, according to the BMI you're undoubtedly obese. You need to lose that weight because it will kill you. Visceral fat, the kind that plagues men especially, is metabolically active, pumping a host of hormones into your body, and leads to all kinds of nasty symptoms such as high blood pressure, diabetes, inflammatory diseases like gout, vision problems, indigestion, heartburn, and acid reflux, impotence, back and joint pain, prostate enlargement, and other horrible ailments.

Now what? Diet? Walking? Forget dieting (for now), unless you're just eating garbage, but do consider moving around -- but in an inefficient manner.

Let's distinguish between walking and hiking: our archaic ancestors were walking upright more than two million years ago and, by now, our species is very efficient at walking. In fact, we can stroll around the block without expending much energy at all: about double what it takes to sit on a sofa and watch TV. Hiking on the other hand, can expend five times the amount of energy as watching TV and, in some cases, three times as much as simple walking.

Hiking also provides a good core/torso workout because you spend a lot of time on uneven terrain and carrying some weight on your back.

And, since you'll be working your lower body like crazy you'll be building new muscle tissue which burns a lot of extra calories. And here's a little secret that most people don't know: most of our weight and our largest muscle groups are in our lower bodies (most of us are split into roughly a 49-51 or 48-52% distribution of weight along the transverse body plane, i.e, the split between your upper and lower body) and once the body goes into muscle-building mode in the legs your upper body will be more receptive to building muscle in order to maintain its 48-52% weight distribution. Hike with trekking poles, use them correctly, and throw in some pushups and pull-ups a couple times a week and your upper body will suddenly explode to keep up with the legs. You're not going to 'bulk up' but you will build new muscle, tone, and endurance.

What does it take to lose a lot of weight through hiking? Nothing more than a few hours per week.

Here's our model: a 40-something, six foot, male who should weigh roughly 180 pounds but who has ballooned to 230. Losing 50 pounds without dieting might sound exceedingly difficult but this guy can hike that fat off in one year or less. Indeed, here's a guy who lost 126 pounds after one year of hiking (though, he did combine hiking with Weight Watchers). Nonetheless, you can lose a lot of weight while not worrying about 'dieting'; I was always a hiking guy I put on nearly 25 pounds in my first seven years working at a university. I burned off all that and more in just four months of hiking while increasing my daily food intake.

Let's do the math:

50 pounds of fat = 175,000 surplus calories consumed over a 20 year period. Our fat guy was actually not eating like a pig. He only gained 2.5 pounds per year, or, 8750 surplus calories. That might sound like a lot but that only comes out to roughly 25 extra calories per day.

For our model to return to his ideal weight of 180 in one year he would need to turn walking into a part-time job but to hike it off will require far fewer hours (and is a lot more fun).

A six foot male who is 50 pounds overweight will burn at least 400 calories per hour carrying a few pounds in a day pack over rolling hills -- depending on his speed he may burn over 500 calories per hour or more. But we'll stick with a conservative figure of 400 for illustration purposes.

175,000 / 400 = 438 hours of hiking (rounded up)

438 hours / 52 weeks = approx. 8.5 hours per week of hiking.

That's 3400 calories, or nearly one pound of fat, per week burned off which is equivalent to 136 days of surplus calorie consumption for every week of hiking.

Each hour of hiking is equivalent to walking back in time 16 days for our 40-something chubster.

A four hour walk will put our man 'back in time' over two months, and, this not only allows for our guy to continue eating at his present rate but allows for a modest increase in food intake as well. In fact, hiking 10 hours per week will still lead to massive weight loss while increasing caloric intake by 10 - 20%. Hike 15- 20 hours per week and you can, more or less, eat whatever you want within reason.

Nothing in life is linear and our model male will not lose weight in a steady, liner fashion. Some weeks will see a loss of three pounds while another week will see gains of one or two pounds. Not only will fat melt off but new muscle will be generated and muscles weigh more than fat. Something as simple as a new pair of heavier boots or turning to snowshoeing can lead to a gain of two or three pounds over a couple of weeks.

For example, I bought a pair of Lowa Camino trekking boots that were exactly one pound heavier than my previous boots; after hiking 40 hours with them I gained three pounds! Think about it: a one pound difference between two pairs of boots, over a 10 mile hike (four hours at 2.5 mph) results in moving the additional weight of nearly three automobiles (10,000 pounds) -- you're legs will build more muscle to adapt to the new weight differential. Add another water bottle to your backpack? One quart carried for 2.5 hours will result in another 10,000 that has to be moved through the woods and along trails. New boots and more water and.... you get the idea.

Excuses why you can't hike:

But who has 8 - 10 hours per week to devote to hiking? Considering most fat people are dedicating six hours per day on TV and goofing around online they have all the time in the world.

But I'm too out of shape to go hiking! It's not that you can't hike because you're out of shape; you're out of shape because you're not hiking. Just start and try to do a little more each time and you'll get into the swing of it.

But there's nowhere to hike! With a little investigation you'll find there are lots of hiking opportunities close to you. I'm always amazed when I see people walking along the sides of busy roads oblivious to the fact that two or three miles from their location there are several thousand acres of public forests and established trails for hiking.

But I live in Big City and there's really nowhere to hike! It's Big City! No matter where you live you are close to a hiking area -- even in big cities. There are even organizations dedicated to hiking in NYC.

But there's snow on the ground! You can still hike in five or six inches of powder and when it gets deeper or icy you can rent snowshoes or buy some inexpensive Microspikes. Snowshoeing can burn nearly double the calories of hiking when performed in deep powder (plowing through two and three-foot drifts and bushwhacking through woods with 12" base can eat up approximately 800 calories per hour).

But by the time I get off work it's dark! Night hiking is something a lot of people do. Hiking at night is a good way to get an entirely new experience out of familiar trails. However, do check the rules pertaining to your chosen destination; some parks will not permit nighttime activities.

But hiking is boring! Hiking with friends or family is very fun and if you are along hiking alone you'll discover that hiking is a very 'zen' experience. You might find a 'new you' in the woods. If you're bored you can always spice things up with geocaching, a goal-oriented game that is becoming popular or take up orienteering or combine day or section hikes with camping.

Get Going!

What are the requirements to get started hiking? Get checked out by your doctor and make sure you're in good enough shape to hike and then go hike. All you need are some boots or trail shoes and some water and trail mix. You don't have to spend a fortune on gear but spending more upfront on better gear will save money in the long run.

Head on over to your local outdoors outfitter like Eastern Mountain Sports or REI, etc., and have them help you find a basic hiking kit: boots or hiking shoes, wool socks, non-cotton pants and shirt, a daypack, and whatnot. You can spend as little or as much as you want: just tell them your budget. If you have no budget at all you can still hike in your everyday clothes until you're ready to commit to your new program.

If you don't have a local outfitter then get on the phone with the people at www.Backcountry.com or www.REI.com and they can help you.

Here's the deal: you'll take up hiking to lose weight and, in a few months, you'll forget your obsession with your weight. Before you know it, you'll be normal again. Hiking is not just a way to lose weight; weight loss is just a natural byproduct of hiking activity and, unlike dieting and working out, hiking is not just a lifestyle component, something you do every day like a compulsive ritual, but becomes, for many, a way of life that combines the exploration of nature with travel, exercise, and family life -- in a sense, hiking is truly re-creation.

And remember your map and compass. These days, everybody has a cell phone and there are plenty of good GPS hiking apps you an use.

Lowa Renegade GTX (300 Mile Update)

Traction is good over the various wet and dry conditions in central New York. They are lightweight, durable (no premature sole wear and the uppers and stitching are all holding up nicely), and they fit "like a glove" for the first couple of hundred miles but have loosened since. If you have narrow, low-volume feet you might aim for a pair in B-width, otherwise, after breaking them in they might feel a bit sloppy. I have a pair of Zephyrs with about as many miles and they fit more snugly.

Proper lacing will prevent boot bang on the downhill -- though, over time, this was more difficult to control for. They are pretty good at keeping your feet dry for the first 200 or 250 miles but beyond that and they seem to lose most of their water resistance. Ankle support is sufficient, though, they are pretty flexible, arch support and overall ergonomic contouring seems pretty good, and I never suffered any hot spots or blisters.

My longest hike in these Renegades was 19 miles and my feet were pretty sore afterwards, though, to their credit I was back on the trail the next day.

Overall, I used these boots a lot for a couple hundred miles and more or less abandoned them except for occasional hikes of 6 to 8 miles in dry conditions. I might replace them with another pair in B-width or try an all-synthetic model from Asolo.