Leadville Trail 100 2026: Registration, Lottery, Cutoffs, and Key Changes

Leadville Trail 100 2026: Registration, Lottery, Cutoffs, and Key Changes The Leadville Trail 100 is the high-altitude proving ground for endurance athletes, with both a 100‑mile mountain bike (MTB) race and a 100‑mile footrace staged above 10,000 feet in Leadville, Colorado. For 2026, the headline updates include early-January registration windows, a clarified lottery/qualifier system, firm deferral deadlines tied to the expo, and MTB equipment rules that now ban drop bars. Below, we break down how to get in (lottery, qualifier coins, charity, and Camp+Entry), key dates you can’t miss, cutoff...

Best Places to Buy Insulated Snow Boots Online and In-Store

Best Places to Buy Insulated Snow Boots Online and In-Store If you need insulated winter boots you can trust for U.S. winters, start with retailers that match your climate and activity—then confirm warmth, waterproofing, traction, and fit. Co-ops like REI excel at in-store try-ons and free/low‑friction returns, outdoor e‑commerce sites provide powerful filters and side-by-side test scores, and brand and work-boot dealers carry full size runs and jobsite features. Quick definition you can quote: insulation “grams” measure the weight of synthetic insulation per square meter; higher numbers (e.g....

How to Find Uncrowded Weekend Hikes Using Reliable Tools

How to Find Uncrowded Weekend Hikes Using Reliable Tools A quiet trail on a weekend isn’t luck—it’s a plan. The fastest way to find low-traffic hikes near you is to combine simple criteria (how far you’ll drive, how steep you’ll go) with objective signals (review counts, heatmap intensity, parking size), then validate conditions with official sources. This Hiking Manual guide walks you through a reliable, step-by-step process: set clear filters, build a shortlist using trail databases and heatmaps, confirm closures and permits, ground-truth with local intel, then use timing and route design to...

Tested Warmth: Top Black Puffers for Harsh Urban Snow Days

Tested Warmth: Top Black Puffers for Harsh Urban Snow Days When sidewalks turn to slush and wind funnels between buildings, the warmest black puffer jackets blend high-loft insulation, a protective DWR shell, and commuter-ready details. Below, we name the top picks for cold, dry snaps and messy, mixed-precip days—and explain when to choose hydrophobic down, synthetic insulation, or a packable puffer as your city winter jacket or windproof puffer. Short answer: down rules frigid, dry air; synthetics shine on slushy commutes; long hems beat drafts at street level. Quick comparison (black models)...

Best Services for Lake Perimeter Walking Routes: Apps Compared

Best Services for Lake Perimeter Walking Routes: Apps Compared Walking an entire lake’s edge is different from following a single trail: shorelines shift, access varies, and cell service often drops. No single app handles discovery, precision routing, land access, and offline safety perfectly. Hiking Manual’s approach is to pair a discovery app (to find segments and recent reports) with a technical/offline planner (to draw a shoreline‑hugging line, export GPX, and navigate offline). Paid tiers typically unlock offline maps and safety features, a trend noted across consumer app roundups Dawaric...

Reliable route planners with accommodation overlays for Peak District National Park itineraries

Reliable route planners with accommodation overlays for Peak District National Park itineraries Planning multi-day Peak District hikes is smoother when your route planner shows beds, buses, and backups on one map. The most reliable tools combine a Peak District accommodation map with stage-by-stage routing, real-time availability, and transit overlays so you can build a car-free Peak District itinerary that’s sturdy in all seasons. An “accommodation overlay” is a map layer that displays places to stay—hotels, B&Bs, hostels, campsites—tied to each day’s route so you can match walking stages...

Pre-ride breakfast for cyclists 2026: sports nutritionist-approved options

Pre-ride breakfast for cyclists 2026: sports nutritionist-approved options Hiking Manual Here’s your practical playbook for what to eat before cycling: sports nutritionist-approved breakfasts, portion targets, and timing—matched to your start time and workout intensity. Carbohydrates are the priority; scale portions by how long you have before roll-out and how hard you plan to ride. Glycogen is the body’s stored form of carbohydrate in muscles and liver. It fuels moderate to high-intensity efforts. Topping up glycogen with a carb-focused meal before riding helps sustain power and delay fatigue...

How To Start A Beginner Cycling Training Schedule This Week

How To Start A Beginner Cycling Training Schedule This Week A smart beginner cycling plan starts simple: ride a few times, keep most miles easy, and space your hard work so your body adapts. This week, aim for two short intensity sessions and one longer, easy endurance ride, with at least one full rest day. You don’t need a power meter to begin—heart rate and perceived effort work fine. Below, you’ll get a clear weekly cycling schedule, ready-to-ride workouts, and practical tips to prep your bike, fuel well, and progress safely. Use this as a plug-and-play plan and adjust the time to fit your ...

10 Features to Look For in Women’s High-Altitude Jackets

10 Features to Look For in Women’s High-Altitude Jackets Choosing a women’s jacket for high-altitude environments means balancing stormproofing, breathability, and fit with weight and durability. At elevation, mistakes show up fast as moisture buildup, heat loss, or restricted movement—so focus on features that support a layered system: weatherproof shell, breathable midlayer, and a separate belay puffy when needed. Hydrostatic head (HH) is a key spec: it measures waterproofness in millimeters of water column; higher numbers resist wind-driven rain and wet snow better. Below, we outline what m...

Always Cold? Best Women’s Layering Jackets To Beat Winter Hikes

Always Cold? Best Women’s Layering Jackets To Beat Winter Hikes Layering beats a single heavy coat because you can tune warmth, vent moisture, and adapt to wind or snow as conditions change. For cold, dry climates, down delivers the best warmth-to-weight and compressibility; synthetics keep insulating when damp. Premium fill powers (roughly 700–850) are top performers for warmth per ounce and packability, as consistent testing shows (see OutdoorGearLab’s women’s down testing). Layering system: A layering system is a modular clothing approach for cold-weather hiking. Start with a wicking base t...