Pink Beds - Pisgah National Forest, NC 

Thanks Max

I am, just backlogged on many videos from the last few years.

They're still great for planning, better visuals and scale than using a laptop or phone. Truthfully while I'm actually hiking I primarily check my phone, but for planning I use books, maps, and topo software.

Thanks that's good to hear

I graduated 3 years ago, I think I mentioned it a few videos back. Never been to the Cranberry Wilderness or really anything in WV since I was a kid.

That's a difficult question and one that I hate seeing frequently in my Facebook hiking groups because people always give terrible answers. I don't actually recommend boots unless you are winter hiking where frostbite is a real threat. I've been wearing trail runners for 13 years. Low-cut hiking shoes/boots are also fine. The issue with tread is a lot of the softer trail runners may have good traction but because they're so soft they last less than 200 miles. These are some of the really popular brands you'll see for AT thru hikers or ultralight hikers like Altra, Hoka, Astral, and Topo Athletic. These are mostly zero drop or low drop shoes with excellent cushion and soft outsoles that do not last long. The only brands I've used in the last 13 years are La Sportiva, Salomon, and Brooks. My current favorite is Brooks Cascadia, probably the best combination of traction, stiffness, and weight. But I also really like any La Sportiva TX shoe or Salomon Cross shoe. What I look for with traction is a uniform lug pattern on the bottom and the lugs (grips) are not too narrow. For example, La Sportiva Wildcat and Ultra Raptor are both really popular trail runners, but I think the traction sucks. The reason is the lugs are so narrow, when you slip on rocks it actually rips the lugs off of the sole. I wore a pretty new pair of Ultra Raptors on Grandfather Mountain many years ago and at least 2-3 lugs on each shoe were ripped off just from hiking on the rocks. They're way too thin. But Lap Sportiva's TX line and similar shoes like the Akyra have much tougher and beefier grips. Conversely my Salomon Wildcross are incredible for mud, sand, and snow, but horrible at gripping on wet rock or roots. If you look at the pattern, they have really beefy lugs but huge gaps between the lugs. That is designed so mud or snow doesn't stick to your shoes. They're basically like comfortable soccer cleats for trail runners. I can hike in fresh snow with no microspikes in these shoes, but they slip easily on flat rock because there aren't enough contact points. This is the type of grip pattern you do not want for normal hiking. I use them when I know it'll be muddy. If you want a shoe that feels like a boot, look at any of the La Sportiva TX shoes. They have great protection around the toes and side, and the best traction I've used on rock. They are classified as approach shoes, which is the best of both worlds. Approach shoes are low-cut beefy trail runners for scrambling on rock. The issue with my TX3's are the circular lugs over time wear down and get very slippery. My Brooks Cascadia have solid square lugs that still grip pretty well even when worn down because there is enough space between the individual lugs. So I use those more often because I can beat them up. Ultimately what I tell people is find a brand and size that fits your feet best. That is the most important thing, full-stop. Usually you can find shoes within that brand that are more tailored for approach and scrambling. Anything classified as approach shoe on REI or Backcountry will probably be the best gripping shoes.

@@bigzach322 Thank you so much for taking the time to write this reply. This is so helpful! So much information that I have not seen before and that I will definitely use for my next shoe purchase that I will make before spring gets here. Again, thank you!

@@fastdogcobra No problem. An easy thing to do is next time you're in a store, feel the hardness of the rubber sole. A lot of the generic big brands like Merrell and Keen have stiff rubber for most of their shoes. That will last a while, but when rubber is too stiff it won't conform to a rock reducing contact surface. As it gets colder that rubber will be stiffer and you'll have less grip. Conversely some of those lightweight trail runners I mentioned will have soft, sticky rubber. These will have great contact, but because they're soft the rubber will wear down fast. You should be able to push your fingernail into a grip a little bit with effort. If you can sink the grip easily, it's too soft. If you can't budge the rubber at all, it's too hard. You should also look for uniform patterns and stay away from anything that has a lot of patterns on different parts of the sole.

The clips are from 12/30/19

Yeah you can, pretty easy to see traveling west as the highway passes through a gap in the Brushy Mtns. You can basically pick out every peak in the northwest corner from there.

@@bigzach322 oh no, I told him it was grandfather

@@bigzach322 it’s very prominent in the pic. And by itself. I thought Jefferson would be among others. And it looks like hawksbill and table rock to the left

I do not know the direction of the picture, but if you're traveling west on 421 you can see Grandfather, Elk Knob, Snake, and Jefferson all from the same spot on the highway.

@@bigzach322 I wish you tube would let us load pics