If you read nothing else, read The Cleanest Line blog

"In the end it is a very old thing we are doing, walking vast distances along the surface of the earth,
drinking from streams, and laying under a pine tree on thick duff.
What could be better than this simple life?"

- Adam Bradley, Patagonia's The Cleanest Line blog

As the weather has gotten a bit chillier here in New York and reminded me that fall is on its way, I started scoping the market for a decent fleece. I have two very thin ones that each work well for summer nights on trail or crisp days in September. Unfortunately, they do not--even combined--keep me all that warm on September mountain evenings, let alone on late fall and winter hikes.

One of the major gear deficiencies I experienced on the long trip Jeff and I took last summer was insulation. I didn't think it would be a big issue since our trip was after all in the summer, but we experienced true winter conditions in Yellowstone in June. As we made dinner one night in the Lamar Valley area of the park, I had to layer myself in my two thin fleeces, Jeff's down sweater, a fleece hat, my shell, long underwear and rain pants. I also made the ever-fashionable hair scarf, pulling my hair forward around my neck and bunching it around my face. I was still cold, getting pale and starting to have involuntary convulsions like a magnified shiver. I left Jeff with the chili-encrusted pot to bear bag and booked it into the tent to climb into my sleeping bag, pulling Jeff's over me like a blanket and rubbing my torso to warm up. It took 20 minutes before the last situp-like spasm went away.

Needless to say, this first sign of cold in the Northeast and the promise of some good fall hiking ahead have got me in the market for a solid insulating layer. I think Patagonia makes the finest fleeces available*--soft, warm, some windproof, built to last, recyclable if you do wear them out. However, they are pricey.

[*ArcTeryx also is a purveyor of most excellent goods, though they too are accordingly expensive.]

In any case, shopping for a fleece got me poking around the Patagonia site for the first time in many moons. They have a little news feed which linked to a really fantastic interview with Adam Bradley, a Patagonia customer service rep who set a new record time for completing the Pacific Crest Trail unsupported a few weeks ago. I highly recommend reading it if you like hiking at all. Even if you don't, there are some fun gems of wisdom like "if I knew a killer meal was available or new shoes and socks were waiting for me, I would be pretty amped," that can apply to a variety of situations, and his thoughts on the merits of hiking at the end of the interview could convert the staunchest outdoor-holdouts.

While it is true that hiking and other outdoor sports are wonderful ways to see beautiful scenery, the reports from people like Adam Bradley about long trips show that the most incredible parts of these activities are the mental and emotional revelations that bubble up and surprise you. Reading this interview (and subsequently a bunch of other amazing posts on Patagonia's The Cleanest Line blog) made me positively itch to get outside, get moving, and get away from the city's distracting conveniences.