For the hopelessly blister-prone, several ThisNext skiers, snowboarders, runners, hikers, and bikers may have found the magic solution for happier feet: Darn Tough’s Full-Cushion Boot Socks “never give me blisters and keep my feet dry,” says runner/biker GirlOutside, who loves the “soft wool that keeps on wicking and never blows out” and even recommends the product for “trampoline sessions.” Fiestafly loves the socks because they “keep my tootsies happy,” while brb729 calls Darn Tough “my new obsession for outdoor gear.” Here’s why:

“I found these socks when I started a marathon training program last Jan. They kept my feet warm, dry and blister free. I’ve used the ‘hiking’ sock for snowboarding, skiing, hiking and just everyday use in the winter. They’ve been washed so much, but they never get scratchy. Soft and cozy everytime. I guess they guarantee them for life because they can; they never wear out! These are soooooooooo worth the purchase!”

And both NEhiker and runbike assert that Darn Tough socks are the best of the best, with the former noting that “they’re awesome for all weather hiking in NE, for biking and skiing. They kept my feet dry and had excellent wicking ability.” Runbike points out that “I stopped getting blisters on my heels once I switched to these socks,” declaring: “They are made in Vermont and guaranteed for life.”

With peak foliage season just around the corner – or already arrived – in spots across the country, it’s time to gear up for some weekend hikes through your nearest deciduous-tree-lined terrain. Unsure what to bring along when you hit the trails? Check out JustHike.com’s list of hiking essentials, then visit ThisNext to get some specific product recommendations.

To protect your feet as your climb, lace up with Vasque’s Sundowner Brown GTX boots, a favorite for Will R. (“When I was researching hiking boots, I read a lot of magazine reviews that basically said these were the best, most durable all around hiking boots you could buy,” Will says. “That was almost 10 years ago, and my pair has never disappointed.”) For the ladies, there’s Ecco’s FYM Ankle Strap sandals, which Deb Schiff calls the “most comfortable sandal I’ve ever worn.” (“They’re somewhat technical, so you can wear them on light hikes as well,” she adds.)

...continued: Leaf peeping

Once a little-known secret among, as one Pittsburgh Post Gazette article tells it, “mountain bikers and counterculture types” (e.g., Burning Man partiers and “granola-eating fitness buffs”), CamelBak has now become the hydration pack of choice for everyone from hikers and hunters to Navy SEALs and police officers. The CamelBak-loving outdoorsmen and women of ThisNext most likely lean more toward the granola-eating fitness buff side of things (in a really good way), with each shopcasting his or her pack style of choice and favored use.

Travel and adventure writer Shanti Sosienski, for instance, takes her CamelBak Women’s Isis 100 oz. Hydration Pack along in her many excursions around the globe, noting that the small pack is “great for traveling because you can go with or without the water bladder and it makes a good day pack.”

Deb Schiff also recommends her CamelBak 2006 Day Star 70oz. Women’s Hike Hydration Pack for travel – along with long hikes – since the pack “holds extra socks, sandals, snacks, first aid kit, 70 oz of water, and more.” Deb dubs the Day Star perfect for “hiker chicks,” which may have to do with its women-specific design (including a harness that “curves with your body for a comfortable fit,” according to Outdoor Equipment blog).

...continued: How to drink like a camel

We all have our dreams. Some are just more unique than others. Take Paul at (At Least) One Cool Thing, for instance: “I’ve often said that if I am ever obscenely wealthy,” he writes in a recent post, “one of my eccentricities will be to never wear the same pair of socks twice. There is something about the new sock feel that puts an extra spring in your step.” Paul’s dream sock of choice is Thorlo athletic socks, which “retain that new sock feel even after dozen of washings.” Our own Gordon is a Thorlo fan as well, as evidenced by his Running Crew Socks shopcast (“A run without my Thorlos is always a bit sketchy, often ends in blisters,” Gordon points out).

...continued: ThisNext will knock your socks off

Bet you didn’t know dogs could blog. But at Big Yellow Bus, Timber (a giant yellow lab) posts all about the ultrarunning, hiking, mountain biking, and camping excursions he enjoys with his mom and dad in Laveen, Arizona. He even gives the occasional product plug: Dad really likes his new Brooks Dyad 4 shoes, while Mom “has been wearing Asics since running on the cross country team in high school.” (Does that mean Timber maybe shopcasts as well?)

Timber also does Darth-Vader-via-Chris-Farley impressions, but you’ll have to check the post to see that for yourself. Just make sure you’re prepared for total cuteness overload.

“Having a bad day at work?” asks NorCal hiking blogger Calipidder. “Google Evolution Basin, or LeConte canyon, or Muir Pass, of the Golden Staircase, or Rae Lakes, and pretend you’re there.” Or you could just check out Calipidder’s picture posts of her excursions around places like the Cottonwood Lakes, Tahoe National Forest, and the John Muir Trail. The inspiration’s mighty valuable, as are Calipidder’s occasional product picks - including, most recently, her “bright shiny new long handled titanium spoon from Backpackinglight.com.” Created to fulfill all your “meal-in-a-bag” backpacking needs, the spoon features ergonomic design and 8.375-inch-long handle.

If you’re in the market for some outdoor/fitness gear - whether it be a new yoga mat, kayak, skis, hiking boots, or camping cookware - make sure to check HikerDeals.com before handing over your cash or credit card. Blogger Mike scours the web to find the best deals on gear, then shares those bargains so that readers don’t have to go extra-spendy when purchasing new products. One hot deal right now: Backcountry.com’s 25 percent discount on Katadyn’s Hiker Water Filter, which - according to Mike - is the “the top-rated filter for hiking and camping.”

Calling all hikers, backpackers, and other nature-lovers who live for exploring the outdoors on foot: Andy Howell at Must Be This Way has just set up WikiTrek, a “public domain Wiki that deals with all things hiking/backpacking, etc.” Created to cover walks and treks throughout the globe, WikiTrek needs lots of you-generated content about favorite excursions, gear, cafes, and so on. Click your way to the main page and get going on building what Andy hopes to be a “great resource for walkers and trekkers everywhere.”

As Justin at My Outdoor Adventures points out, no one wants to stay standing after a long day of hiking. In the interest of “keeping my butt off the cold and wet ground” on upcoming excursions, Justin’s picked up the Therm-a-Rest Trekker Chair, designed to fit over your Therm-a-Rest self-inflating mattress. It just might be the next best thing to kicking back in a La-Z-Boy for comfort-minded campers.

While we can’t really get enough of Creek Running North blogger Chris Clarke’s whip-smart brand of humor (go read his post on The Top 25 Most Dangerous Fictional Unhinged Characters Who Are Dangerously Hurting America as soon as humanly possible), we’re also deeply smitten with the nature and science writer’s more poetic posts. One of his most lovely: this account of a hike through the Bay Area’s Mount Diablo State Park, wherein we learn about “the best moment of my life”:

“I used to leave my job, my love, my dog, I used to head for the east side of the Sierra Nevada and past it, and stoke a sunset fire in a few short deadened limbs of juniper, and it was my life reborn. An emergence from dreamtime; a waking from this petty annoyance and distraction, and I would shake myself off as from a drowse and remembering, re-enter my true life for a few hours. No mysticism, no grandiose oneness with the fire spirits. Sitting. Keeping the fire alive.

“A pair of riders will appear below me soon, and I will haul myself up to avoid being trodden upon. A hundred feet more to climb to make the saddle, and then I drop down the other side to climb absurdly steep again. The summit 1,700 feet above me will slide itself under my feet before I expect it. And then the long descent, and driving home through traffic into the next week and if I survive, I will return in a week, or two.

“This is the best moment of my life.”

Erich Angermayr at Outdoor Sports Blog is a jack of all outdoorsy trades: A near-lifelong hiker, mountaineer, skiier, and kayaker, the Quebec-based founder of Outdoor Sports Advisor also rock-climbs, canoes, and takes extended backpacking trips.

A must-visit resource for all outdoor sports enthusiasts, Erich’s blog features loads of tips and tricks, environmental news, gear reviews, and how-to advice. Here, Erich links to Superstition Search & Rescue’s list of top ten hiking essentials:

1. Water
2. Map
3. Compass
4. Flashlight or Headlamp
5. Extra Food
6. Extra Clothing
7. Sunglasses
8. First Aid Supplies
9. Knife or Multi-tool
10. Matches or Fire Starter

Enterprising though they may be, Starbucks has yet to figure out a way to bring their franchise to the backcountry. But coffee-guzzling wilderness lovers need not fret: Kurt Rapanshek at National Parks Traveler has discovered Java Juice, a “a pure coffee extract that turns into a bonafide cup of 100 percent organic, and certified Kosher, Arabica coffee when mixed with either hot or cold water.” Kurt explains:

“…for those who need a punch of caffeine in the morning, one that actually tastes like a rich cup of coffee, Java Juice meets the need. It comes packaged in these little squeeze bags, similar, but larger, than the ketchup packets you get at fast-food joints. Each half-ounce packet contains enough coffee extract for a cup of coffee between 12 and 16 ounces, depending on how strong you like it.”

Gotta love a first aid kit that includes a seven-ounce flask filled with whiskey. At Remember Your Paths, hiking blogger Becklund offers a recipe for a lightweight kit (based on one assembled by Adventure Medical Kits). Some key contents:

-Granite Gear Air Space XXS stuff sack (below)
-SAM Splint
-EMT Shears
-Hand Warmers
-7 oz. flask, filled with Whiskey
-Wilderness Medicine Handbook
-CPR mask
-Sunscreen

Winehiker Witiculture knows blisters - or at least how to prevent them. Here, the official blog for CaliforniaWineHikes.com explains the most important rule of blister prevention:

“If something is chafing in your shoe, stop and remove your shoe, and find the pebble, seed, dirt clod, or wrinkle in your sock. And, if you know you’ve got a vulnerable trouble spot (or a blister already formed, like my fellow hiker), put a piece of moleskin on it before you begin hiking. You don’t have to carry a serious humongosity like my Backpacker’s First Aid Kit, but you should consider always packing a Swiss Army knife that includes a pair of scissors, and a patch or two of Dr. Scholl’s.”

What to chow down on during a six-day backpacking adventure? So as not to have to deal with lugging a jar of marinara on the trails, Jason at Ahoyhoy.org is experimenting with dehydrated sauce for his famous Fish & Spaghetti (check his post for recipe details). Another option, as Jason notes, is Mountain House’s backpacking foods. Pre-packaged and freeze-dried, the product line includes entrees like Oriental-Style Spicy Chicken, Beef Teriyaki, Turkey Tetrazzini, and Pasta Primavera.

Whether or not you, like Cowardly Lion, believe in spooks, it’s hard not to be intrigued by Gadling blogger Adrienne Wilson’s suggestion for Halloween travel. Although she identifies herself as “the kind of person that will push a small child into the hands of a scary ghoul, goblin, ghost or U.F.O if I ever had an encounter with the paranormal,” Adrienne calls attention to Andrea Lankford’s Haunted Hikes, Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America’s National Parks.

Among the “spookiest hikes around”: Big Bend National Park, Yosemite National Park, Virgin Islands National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway and Grand Canyon National Park.

NetSweat Fitness Blog’s advice to those taking their workouts outside this summer: Drink up! Whether you’re biking or hiking or even headed out on a lengthy stroll, bring along fluids aplenty so you don’t risk dehydration. NetSweat recommends the CamelBak MULE Hydration Pack, which features a 100-ounce reservoir and ample room for packing sunscreen and snacks.

The California Wine Hiker inspires reveries of broad beach blankets spread over grass at the base of a trailhead, our tennies off after trudging through Napa’s hills, a chilled white and a sun-warmed red and enough cheese and cured meat nibbles to revive. We are dizzy with dehydration-fueled-drunkenness the loveliness of the scene.

Here’s to making the good life better by marrying two seemingly disparate but actually harmonious pursuits! Cin Cin!

The New Hampshire (a state near and dear to my heart) Fish and Game Department issued warnings about East Coast ticks this summer and possible trail closures due to heavy rains, says Maine Outdoors Today.

But even those who aren’t lucky enough to live in the tick-ridden, washed-out Northeast can benefit from their list of 10 things to bring on every hike: map, compass, warm clothing, extra food/water, flashlight or headlamp, matches/firestarters, first aid kit/repair kit, whistle, rain/wind gear and a pocket knife.

All items could fit in a small, pack, which is a lot lighter than dragging your hiking buddy out of the backcountry after confronting dehydration, hypothermia, bonking, and the like!

When Kurt Repanshek isn’t researching (read: hiking in national parks) or writing books like America’s National Parks for Dummies (one can only imagine the helpful advice he is able to share, like “Don’t light them on fire every August.”) he blogs about issues facing parklands and significant events therein on National Parks Traveler:

“Back in April I talked about an ambitious vision to create a green corridor from Yellowstone to the Yukon in a bid to ensure that wildlife populations along the route aren’t isolated by development. It’s a noble cause, one that some day I hope becomes reality. Well, today I’m happy to tell you that a group of Montanans has successfully banded together to, in a small way, help that cause by backing not only tough new regulations that will pertain to coalbed-methane development but also to prevent urban sprawl on the doorstep of Yellowstone National Park.”

National Parks Travler is a great resource for anyone wanting to track the goings on in the wilderness. Which is to say, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, it’ll probably make a sound on the National Parks Traveler blog.