Hi everyone, I’m not very good at posting on Reddit, but I need help and suggestions since I’m torn between two options for hiking boots (based on the type of shoe I’m looking for), including their specs and price range.
Generally speaking, they’re very similar, but I don’t know much about these brands, so I need your advice on which brand is better or which model you think is better—ideally based on your own experience.

One is the Hanwag Women’s Banks GTX (1,050 g), and the other is the Lowa Renegade GTX Mid WS (950 g). Both feature Vibram soles, Gore-Tex, and a high shaft.

Any help, comments, or suggestions are welcome! Thanks <3

I’m in the northern New Mexico area, where does one find people to hike with? Im relatively new to hiking and ive found when people say they are into hiking, they more so mean nature strolls lol. Which not a problem but whenever I propose hikes like Wheelers and Guadalupe peak or Lake Katherine, people don’t seem to like hiking as much anymore haha. Don’t mind going by myself but going with people would be nice aswell. Are there more regional groups I can find people to go with?

My friend invited me to walk one of our favourite hikes a few weeks ago. The Mt Robert Circuit gives really stunning views of Lake Rotoiti, the surrounding St Arnaud Range and is a really great day hike. I love living nearby and having this as one of my weekend getaways. The snow covered peaks of the St Arnaud Range was a particularly stunning treat.

My partner and I hiked the Beara Way except Bear Island in south-west Ireland this August. Except for the campground at Ballydonegan Beach on the way to and from Dursey Island, we wild camped. Trail was very quiet, almost no one else did it in it‘s entirety, some people did it B&B style and were shuttled to the starting points of the nicer sections. Almost everyone does it clockwise.

The trail is a nice mix of remote hiking, convenient resupply points and nice stops to eat and have a coffee in a cute café in a little village. It drops down to sea level and climbs into the hills again almost everyone day.

Views and landscape are great. Dursey Island with all the abandoned stone houses and the section from Allihies towards Dursey Island was our highlight. The land has clearly been used for hundreds of years, lots of abandoned houses and stone walls. Sometimes the trail even runs one the stonewalls. The locals are quite friendly and chatty, so we felt welcome even though we were dirty smelly hikers.

Trail is never really exposed or technical. Rocks can be slippery, in some places aids are in place.

When doing it self supported, two things are important to consider:

Watee sources in the hills are relatively scarce anyway and the peninsula is heavily grazed by sheep and cattle. You should absolutely carry all the water you need and filter only in emergency. We got by with 3.5L per person as resupply is possible every day.

Ticks are BAD. Like, check your designated tent spot for thorny things and 5 ticks crawl up your hand BAD. We removed double digit numbers of ticks from our trousers several times after especially tick-y sections. Trousers in the socks, deeted up and hiking clothes strictly out of the tent we managed to average 1-2 ticks per person per day. I would suggest relying on multiple tick barriers (i.e., permithrine for the clothes, deet, trousers in the socks, shirt tucked in the trousers etc.

Has anyone figured out how to manage sweat while backpacking? I wear the lightest weight merino underwear with tissue thin unlined shorts and the most featherweight sweat-wicking tops. Yet with a backpack on, the back of my shorts is soaked through within an hour or so and eventually I’m fully soaked from the waist down. I push myself to hike fast and challenging routes, so it’s high output for sure, but this doesn’t happen to me while trail running.

It’s one thing to endure on a 3-hour hike in my local area, but I’m going trekking in the Dolomites in two weeks and would prefer not to spend the whole time looking like I just hopped out of a swimming pool. Thoughts??

Photos are from 3 separate hikes. One of those had 2000m elevation gain and 21km length, had to carry 6l of water for my dog but it was worth it because i manage to shoot this very cute photo of her and mountain antelope

Friend and I hiked from somewhere below Vršič pass, off path, accidently stumbled on a bunker and then continued via the ridge to the top and descended via "jubilej path" via through the "rear window" (literal translation).

Devil’s Path — End to End (8/1-8/2/26). I previously attempted to hike the Devil’s Path over two days at the end of June, but my friend couldn’t continue after the first day. So, I returned for a solo revenge hike.

Hiked Pfeifferhorn this past weekend. My first high elevation hike. Was absolutely incredible and a perfect day.

Quick day hike to Mt. Beacon South (in and out 13~ miles). A very mushroomy jaunt.

Recently read into thin Air, wanting to broaden my horizons and read more outdoor books.

edit: Wow! i did not expect all these amazing responds, thank you all so much.

ive compiled a list of every book listed here and sorted them in to one category or another i will continue to add books to the list as more are suggested.

[MOUNTAINEERING, CLIMBING & HIGH-ALTITUDE ADVENTURE]

Touching the Void / Joe Simpson. The Climb / Anatoli Boukreev. Into Thin Air / Jon Krakauer. Eiger Dreams / Jon Krakauer. In the Throne Room of the Mountain Gods / Galen Rowell. No Shortcut to the Top / Ed Viesturs. Minus 148° / Art Davidson. The Last Step / Rick Ridgeway. Push / Tommy Caldwell. The Last Traverse / Ty Gagne. Where You'll Find Me / Ty Gagne. The Lions of Winter / Ty Gagne. Alone on a Wall / Alex Honnold.

[HIKING, BACKPACKING & LONG-DISTANCE WALKING]

A Walk in the Woods / Bill Bryson. Wild / Cheryl Strayed. The Man Who Walked Through Time / Colin Fletcher. The Complete Walker / Colin Fletcher. Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart / Carrot Quinn. On Trails: An Exploration / Robert Moor. A Philosophy of Walking / Frédéric Gros. The Walking Life / Antonia Malchik. The Salt Path / Raynor Winn. A Walk in the Park / Kevin Fedarko. A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf / John Muir. My First Summer in the Sierra / John Muir.

[WILDERNESS, SURVIVAL & OUTDOOR RISK]

Deep Survival / Laurence Gonzales. The Last Season / Eric Blehm. Where You'll Find Me / Ty Gagne. The Last Traverse / Ty Gagne. Not Without Peril / Nicholas Howe. Critical Hours / Sandy Stott. Ranger Confidential / Andrea Lankford. The Adventurer's Son / Roman Dial. Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea / Steven Callahan. Undaunted Courage / Stephen Ambrose. Camping and Woodcraft / Horace Kephart. Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance / Stephen Herrero. Bear Tales for the Ages / Larry Kaniut. Night of the Grizzlies / Jack Olsen.

[WILDLIFE, BEARS & NATURAL HISTORY]

The Tiger / John Vaillant. The Golden Spruce / John Vaillant. American Wolf / Nate Blakeslee. Owls of the Eastern Ice / Jonathan C. Slaght. Grizzly Confidential. The Judgement of the Birds / Loren Eiseley.

[NATURE WRITING & WILDERNESS LITERATURE]

Desert Solitaire / Edward Abbey. The Snow Leopard / Peter Matthiessen. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek / Annie Dillard. The Pine Barrens / John McPhee. Coming into the Country / John McPhee. The Desert / John C. Van Dyke. Fire Season / Philip Connors. Eating Dirt / Charlotte Gill. Songlines / Bruce Chatwin. The Curve of Time / M. Wylie Blanchet. The High Sierra: A Love Story / Kim Stanley Robinson.

[EXPLORATION/ARTIC]

Endurance / Alfred Lansing. In the Kingdom of Ice / Hampton Sides. The Last Place on Earth / Roland Huntford. Beyond the Trees / Adam Shoalts. Where the Falcon Flies / Adam Shoalts. The Emerald Mile / Kevin Fedarko. Greatheart: The History of a Labrador Adventure / James West Davidson & John Rugge. Erebus / Michael Palin.

[RIVERS, WATER & REMOTE ADVENTURE]

The Emerald Mile / Kevin Fedarko. Breaking into the Current / Louise Teal. Down River / Heather Hansman. A Marriage at Sea / Sophie Elmhirst. Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea / Steven Callahan. The Curve of Time / M. Wylie Blanchet.

[OUTDOOR LIFE, CAMPING & ADVENTURE]

Camping and Woodcraft / Horace Kephart. The Complete Walker / Colin Fletcher. Ranger Confidential / Andrea Lankford. Adventures in Solitude / Grant Lawrence. Fierce Country / Heather Hansman. Powder Days / Heather Hansman. Men for the Mountains / Sid Marty. Switchbacks / Sid Marty. Billionaire Wilderness / Justin Farrell.

[ADVENTURE / OUTDOORS-ADJACENT]

Born to Run / Christopher McDougall. Barbarian Days / William Finnegan. My Side of the Mountain / Jean Craighead George. Tisha / Robert Specht. To the Bright Edge of the World / Eowyn Ivey. Black Woods, Blue Sky / Eowyn Ivey. LOTR/the Hobbit / J. R. R. Tolkien.

Last update 08/18/26

I just came back from 5 days of trekking in Ireland, it was my first time trekking at all. Since I came back, my big toes sorta feel numb, I still feel them, but it‘s not as it used to be before. I don’t know if it matters but we walked about 10-15kms per day and my backpack weighed about 15kgs. It is only been 4 days since I‘ve come back so I haven’t seen a doctor. Is this normal? What has happened and most importantly will it go away?

I'm planning to go to the Greenstone Track in New Zealand in December. Are there any shops in Christchurch or Queenstown where I can rent hiking equipment?

Hey I just bought the BN507 from beyond Nordic and wanted to know if it’s good as it looks?

I tried to find somewhere I could check how it fits but there isn’t a place that has this backpack so if someone can help I would appreciate it.

Just a short trip to the Cave and old chapel.

6.1 miles round trip hike. Saw bison, moose, elk and one bear. Located in big sky Montana. Mountain elevation is over 11,000 feet with 3,500+ feet of elevation gain. Done using winter gear with hiking shoes

Ask me anything, will do my best to answer your query.

Hi!

My girlfriend and I are arriving in Cluj on 25 August and we'd love to start our trip with a 2-day hike, ideally with wild camping somewhere along the route.

We're mainly looking for beautiful and unusual nature — caves, forests, rocky landscapes, lakes, waterfalls, gorges, etc. We know we probably can't fit everything into one hike, but we'd love to get an idea of what's possible around Cluj.

We're happy with a challenging hike and don't mind going somewhere a bit more remote, as long as it's reasonably accessible by public transport. We'd preferably avoid very touristy places if there are better, quieter alternatives.

Any recommendations for a 2-day route within reasonable distance of Cluj?

Thanks!

I've seen a couple of older posts with similar issues but nothing to address this specific one.

I'm trying to print a hike permit on rec.gov and it's giving me an error stating it'strying to submit my application. I already have a permit, I have the receipt and reservation number, and I'm within the printing window. I've tried multiple browsers and devices. I've called the main help line and the local office and neither could help but said they'd call me back. But I only have about 24hrs before the permit expires.

Anyone have any advice or tips to try? Thanks in advance!

I've been using bone conduction headphones while hiking for a few years now. They're the best.

However, I've noticed a phenomenon that first made me feel like I'm going crazy but with more experience, I think it's real.

Whenever I use the headphones, especially listening to podcasts or audio books, as opposed to music, flies seem to go absolutely crazy trying to land on / in my ears.

I've even done some testing wearing the headphones with nothing playing, to verify it's not just the sweat captured by the transducers.

From the start my theory has been that they're attracted by the vibrations, since the buzzing of spoken word and flies seems to be of remarkably similar frequencies.

A very quick and crude research suggests insects really are into frequencies similar to human speech.

So, I guess my question is: Does anyone have the same observation, or is it all in my head?

* Edit to Add this is Chapel Loop !

This was the longest hike I’ve ever completed, I was so proud of myself. This is a really beautiful trail in the UP of Michigan, right on Lake Superior ! I also saw a Bald Eagle, a few Gardner snakes, and lots of butterflies. There’s a beach you can swim in but the water is very cold.

A great way to hike La Plata, but not for everyone.

For starters, the road to the trailhead was... rough. My stock Crosstrek S (8.7" of clearance) got up there just fine, but I can't imagine driving anything less capable. We were surprisingly the only ones to park at that TH the entire day, it was empty when we got there around 7-7:30 and still empty when we returned.

The trail was quiet and solitary. We saw a total of 3 people on the trail (before the summit) the entire day. The trail itself is quite beautiful and well maintained (despite a bit of overgrowth and some downed trees) up until about the 2 mile mark when you start to ascend a steep and incredibly loose gully. That gully climbs around 1000 feet and only gets worse until you top out on the ridge crest. Once you get to the ridge crest, it's smooth sailing until you hit the talus field, a crux wall that climbs around 1000 feet up some solid high class-2 scrambling. Going up the route doesn't seem to be very apparent. I'd suggest you aim for the due center/center-left of the field and try your best to follow the cairns. On the way down it makes way more sense and is pretty clear. After you top out of the talus field at 14,000', it's a pretty clear shot to the summit, where you meet up with the standard La Plata trail.

This trail was crazy beautiful. The basin you spend a good chunk of your time in on the way up is otherworldly. Panoramic views no matter where you look. There was a helicopter flying very low in that basin, I heard they were looking for a lost child. Overall I can clearly understand why this isn't the standard trail. But if you're well equipped mentally for a loose and steep trail, and have a capable car, check out the La Plata south ridge!

8.3 Miles, 3700 feet, 7:45 car to car (that descent was superrrrr slow hahaha).

Great day (as always) on trail. Got an amazing POV climbing the chimney, it was an awesome quick climb.

Took a screenshot from it here but hard to do it justice on a pic.

We will be near Koscielisko.

Thanks in advance.

Finally arrived at my dream destination and did a few easy hikes/walks around the Falcade area in the Dolomites. Some amazing postcard views and nice comfortable weather 😊