Thanks y'all!  ... View more

snap.  Peakfinder is for finding peaks as PhotoPills is for locating the milky way and identifying stars.  I just found Mt. Evans from my basement, although the basement wall didn't match the AR, haha.   ... View more

Thanks Phil!  I get all that, but I was on a hike a few weeks ago with a friend and she rolled her ankle stepping on a rock and was put on the shelf for a week.  For me, if I don't plan on stepping in any mud or if the terrain is a well worn trail, I go with trail runners or something like chacos, but I don't like wet socks and I'm overly cautious fearing ankle rolling.  It's been snowy here lately as well and it sucks to submerge your foot in cold wet slushy mud without boots.  I'm going to cue the  the @REI guys right here to link us to their article on the great debate between boots vs trail runners, haha.   Anyway, with the kids, they're ages 5 and 7, both boys.  We have a baby too, but he goes in the carrier for now.  The concern for the boys is different... they can do a lot worse damage to themselves than rolling and ankle so ankle support is the concern for the adults, whereas for the kids I'm just looking for something that won't hurt if they stub their toe, offers some level of water resistance and is comfortable for them when they're both walking and climbing things like trees and rocks.  Also the typical kid's shoe we buy wears out pretty quickly and I'm hopeful to find a boot that has potential to live through multiple kids.   In any case, thanks to all for the feedback.  I definitely agree, the in store consult is the way to go.  I did that for my own boots before a thru hike a few years ago and I still love my Asolos.  I generally know a little bit about boots, but I'm looking to really walk into the store with as much knowledge as possible to minimize my time in there... both for safety reasons in the current situation, but also because 3 boys in an REI store for more than 20 or 30 minutes usually ends up with someone getting stuck in a display tent, losing a kid in the clothing racks, or breaking up a wrestling match on the sleeping pads.  Either way, thanks to all for your help.  The how to buy a boot articles are pretty solid and while I probably won't go the trail runner route for myself, it's great food for thought, especially for the kids. Cheers! - Mike Cheers! - Mike ... View more

hey I wish I knew!  We haven't lived here long enough to be able to identify the peaks yet... I'm still letting Google tell me when to turn left, turn right, etc.  Once I get the roads and highways down I'll try to start learning the hills, haha. Great tip re: snow shoeing.  Are there places that rent snow shoes?   ... View more

Update: I bought the Kahtoola MICROspikes yesterday and did a 4 mile hike this morning up Green Mountain near Boulder.  First off, it was my first 4am hike through a pretty thick cover and I was scared out of my mind.  I'll do another post to query if that kind of hike was a bad idea or not.  I did have bear spray and a headlamp. Second, and to the point.  I don't know how I would have done that hike without the microspikes.  They made a huge difference.  I was concerned about bending them or something because the Kahtoola's are a little longer than the others, but they were totally fine.  I even took them off at one point because it was so rocky, promptly wiped out, and put them back on.  Thank you for the recommendations. The views from the top were stunning, although I think some of the interesting color may be due to pollution and wildfire smoke. ... View more

Thanks to both @REI-JenK and @Dad_Aint_Hip .  I definitely saw people wearing micro cleats on the trail this morning.  I'm glad I know the difference now.  In terms of trekking poles, I've tried them before but didn't really get into them.  I have nothing against them, but I usually hike with my DSLR clipped to my backpack so I like my hands free. With the cleats, the Kahtoola spikes seem like they would have worked better for the more icy slopes I hiked this morning so I'll give those a try.   Thanks again! ... View more

Hah I actually also have that Limelight and like it as well.  We have 3 little kids and end up doing Adult + Baby in one tent and Adult + 2 little guys in the other.  Having smaller tents allows us to still own backpacking sized tents and also do some car camping with everyone. ... View more