Honestly, I was all set to do the standard Tuckerman Ravine trail this weekend, but ran into a ranger at the Pinkham Notch visitor center who said the ice on the headwall is still sketchy from last week's storm. They told me to try the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail instead since it has better traction with microspikes. I spent 20 minutes looking at their map and realized I've been blindly following AllTrails without checking local conditions. Has anyone else switched trails last minute based on ranger advice and had it work out better than your original plan?
Last weekend up near the Pemigewasset River, I couldn't get a fire going after a rainstorm. I wasted 4 hours piling on wet wood and using half a can of lighter fluid. Finally a guy camped nearby showed me to grab dry dandelion fluff and use it as tinder with a ferro rod. Lit on the first spark, no joke. Anyone else have a weird trick for wet conditions up here?
I bought this REI Half Dome tent online and figured it would be a quick setup at the Jim Liberty Cabin site, but the poles kept slipping out of their sleeves in the cold wind. After 3 hours of frustration with the rain fly, I finally realized the manual was missing a step for locking the clips. Has anyone else dealt with a tent that took way longer than the '2 minute setup' it promised?
I always figured gaiters were just for people who liked looking like they were heading to Everest. But last spring I did the Welch-Dickey loop with a friend who insisted I borrow a pair of Dirty Girls. The trail was pure mud soup for the first mile and a half, and while my buddy's boots were caked, my socks stayed completely dry and clean. That convinced me. I bought my own pair the next week for $25 and now I won't do wet spring hikes without them. Has anyone else had a gear item change their mind after years of skepticism?