Outdoor Idiosyncrasies - Contemplating High-Performance Gear

A story inspired by a hiking trip in the High Tatras of Slovakia and Poland. It was useful for me to step outside the Northern Rockies mountain town "bubble" I've lived in for so long and take a closer look at my gear buying habits.

~

When You're Big in Poland - Where are My Readers From?

I'm always curious to see where my readers come from, and thanks to the analytics feature on this blog, I'm able to do just that. While it no surprise that I have readers in Serbia, Montenegro and Italy as I've recently traveled to  and have strong connections with those countries, I was pleasantly surprised to see a recent increase in readership from Poland.

So the big question is,...where are you reading from and how did you stumble upon this blog? Please leave your response in the comments section of this post. (You can do so anonymously.)

High Performance Gear – A Clever Choice?

My British travel companion Andrew limped towards me in pain. Blisters again. “That’s what you get for wearing brand new leather hiking boots,” I thought to myself.

“And why don’t you get yourself a pair of lightweight trail shoes?” I added silently. ‘They’ll surely help you move faster.”

I contemplated all of this as I soaked in the magnificent view from the summit of Rysy, a 2,499-metre peak in the High Tatras that straddles the Slovakia and Poland boarder. Andrew and I spent the prior day hiking to Chata Pod Rysy, a mountain hut precariously situated below Rysy’s summit. We woke to a noisy room filled with rambunctious Czech climbers eager to attack the nearby crags and after a hearty Slovakian breakfast, we were off to Rysy.