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As we practice safe social distancing, many of us have had to cancel, cut short or alter our hiking and camping plans for this spring and summer. At CNOC Outdoors, we’ve been daydreaming about getting back on the trail once it is safe to do so. In the meantime, and to help us cope with cabin fever (and homeschooling!), we would love to hear about your Best Day On The Trail during 2019!  To enter the Best Day On The Trail contest, submit your true story from the trail during 2019 to contact@cnocoutdoors.com until April 19, 2020 with the headline...

With the thru-hiking season around the corner and rain and snow still very much part of the PCT landscape, the repeated question around water filtering comes up. When you are out in the middle of nowhere, in the backcountry, getting water from a stream, do you really need to filter that water? To jump to the conclusion: yes, you need to filter water on the PCT.  And now a bit more: Why filtering water in the backcountry? Despite the very tempting look of a refreshing stream on a warm summer day, the primary source of what gets us sick outdoors...

We often hear how much people love their Vecto and how it has made water collection so much simpler for them.

It's dark and cold. My torch is mounted to my helmet, looking where I look. Twenty-five yards away, I catch the reflection of two large emerald eyes watching me. I’m trying to make out how big the animal is.