The Alternate Stitch

What makes Darn Tough hiking socks so good? And, with dozens of styles and designs to choose from, how do you pick the right pair for you? In this post, I’ll guide you through how to choose the best socks for your next hike, whether that’s a quick jaunt to your favorite local spot, or a several-thousand-mile-long trek.

This is everything I’m doing to get me and my dog Lassen ready to thru hike the Oregon Coast Trail. If you’re planning on doing a thru hike with your dog, I hope you find this helpful.

We recently put together a gear checklist, we made sure to ask hikers about their gear – particularly which items have helped them the most and any they thought were unique or worth sharing.

The Long Trail (LT) of Vermont is a 272-mile hiking route that follows the main ridge of the Green Mountains from the Vermont-Massachusetts border all the way to Canada. Steeped in rich history, the Long Trail is America’s oldest long-distance hiking trail, conceived in 1910 by the Green Mountain Club.

You can use only one utensil. What do you pick? Simple: Spoon. The unpretentious, effective, and appealing Spoon. While I occasionally use Forks, if I must choose, I will pick a Spoon over a Fork for most meals, assuming both have similar heft and quality (nobody needs to be using a flimsy utensil).

Last summer, I became the second fastest person in the world to complete the Appalachian Trail (AT), completing a supported Northbound faster than the famous Scott Jurek. The odyssey isn't over yet. I pursue my dream of setting a new fastest known time (FKT) on the AT.

As of right now (February 10, 2023), I’m at mile 866 out of 1,287 miles of the Florida Trail. The trail starts in Big Cypress or “the swamp” (as most hikers refer to it), a 30 mile stretch through thigh deep mud and water, often labeled the “toughest stretch of hiking in the United States."

Winter hiking is a truly magical experience – when being on the trail feels akin to stumbling into Narnia. That increased beauty is not without increased risk, but it’s a risk that, with some preparation, you can account for. Here’s some common winter hiking questions I hear, and my tips on how to be prepared.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest thing that can ruin your day while ice climbing is being ill prepared for the cold, especially when it comes to your extremities. Nothing ruins your day quite like frozen fingers and toes! For this post, I’ll be diving into how to protect your feet, considering socks, boots, and more.

Before heading out for a hike, you may think about what you should wear, considering trail difficulty and weather forecast. We will cover what materials are best for hiking, the clothing, shoes, and accessories and what to wear by the season as you set out for your hike.

A group of us at Darn Tough had the opportunity to participate in Trail Magic this July, and this is our story. But first, let’s pull back the curtain a bit to uncover what secrets aid in the pull of Trail Magic’s supernatural attraction.

In 2022, the CDTC is celebrating 10 years of supporting their mission to complete, promote, and protect the Continental Divide Trail. Last summer, we launched a sock collaboration with them to give back to that mission.

Instead of us telling you all the reasons we think Bear Town is the softest, comfiest, most adorable hiker on the trail, we’ll let you do the talking. Nothing a parent loves more than hearing from others what they already knew to begin with.

When Ben Feinson, son of our Head of Product, went out for the Fastest Known Time on The Long Trail, we headed out to capture moments of his run. But what we ended up witnessing was much more than someone on a run.