River & Trail Talk

Sandi Cubberley and Taryn Giles walked from Sussex to Rothesay, over 60km, on a classic maritime spring day in New Brunswick, with mixed weather conditions. They left early morning on April 3rd and proceeded to walk over 16 hours to bring them to a pit stop in Quispamsis. After a short sleep, they continued their walk to arrive at River & Trail Outdoor Co. around 9am on April 4th.  In this blog, we are going to talk about what they wore, and why.

As with anything, outdoor clothing and footwear is subjective! We hope this blog helps inspire your setup, but if you have specific questions, send us a message or visit us in store. Their walk was purely for fun and proved that adventures aren’t restricted to trails. If you are curious about what gear they carried, we are working on another blog that covers that!

For now, let’s chat about their “walk to work” apparel.

Base Layers

Sandi

Sandi wore Patagonia Capilene Midweight Pants and Crew. She opted for these base layers as they have are moisture wicking and the pants are a looser fit so she could fit a knee brace under.

Taryn

Taryn wore Smartwool Base layers for next-to-skin comfort.

Mid Layers:

Sandi

Sandi said the Patagonia R1 Air Full Zip Hoody provided the perfect amount of insulation and the hood made it easy to adjust for changing weather systems.

Taryn

Taryn wore a Patagonia R1 Techface Hoody for the same reasons as Sandi. The techface has a DWR coating which provided weather resistance as she dropped layers. She also added a puffy jacket, like the Arc'teryx Cerium, as an extra insulating layer that was easy to remove and stuff in her pack.

Outer Layers:

Sandi

Sandi wore the Patagonia Torrentshell 3L Jacket protected from the wind, rain and sleet. She wore a lightweight hiking pant, similar to the Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants, and added rain pants over top.

Taryn

Taryn opted for her Patagonia Granite Crest Jacket and Arc’teryx Gamma SL pants. The Gamma pants are lightweight and breathable softshell hiking pant.

Accessories:

Sandi

Sandi alternated between a billed cap, to keep rain, snow and sun off her face, and a toque for added warmth. She wore The North Face ETip gloves and an Icebreaker neck gaiter. For socks, she wore her beloved Darn Tough Hike socks on Day 1. On Day 2, she layered Smartwool Run socks and the Darn Tough socks to help reduce friction on some blisters from Day 1.

Taryn

Along with her trusty BUFF neck gaiter, Taryn wore the Outdoor Research Swift Cap with a touque over top to keep her ears warm, when the weather called for it. The Swift Cap was light enough to move moisture in case she got too hot. She also wore her favourite Outdoor Research Trail Mix Mitts which are a light fleece mitten, and Smartwool Hiking socks. Taryn's loves Smartwool socks as they don't move which keeps her feet blister-free.

Shoes:

Sandi

Sandi wore HOKA Clifton 9. They are lightweight with lots of cushion. She specifically chose non-waterproof shoes which she said was the best decision. They allowed for great ventilation and dried fast when they’d get wet. 

Taryn

Taryn went with Altra Olympus 6. They are a cushioned zero drop trail shoe which encouraged proper posture to prevent knee and hip discomfort. The traction is added was favourable as they moved through different roadside conditions.

As with anything, outdoor clothing and footwear is subjective!

We hope this blog helps inspires your set up but if you have specific questions, send us a message or visit us in store. This walk was purely for fun and proved that adventures aren’t restricted to trails. If you are curious about what gear they carried, we are working on another blog that covers that!