So what’s out there on the shorts horizon? Well, the newsworthy trends are denim cutoffs, rompers and say-it-ain’t-so, hot pants, aka short shorts – all of which are perhaps are best worn by pop princesses, Estonian runway models and Lady Gaga. For the rest of us though, comfort, performance and a dollop of style will be covering our behinds. Once you’ve got the bottom half covered, add a nice top, plus a snazzy pair of shoes or sandals stashed in your pack (see our backpack story) and you should be able to walk off the trail, make a quick change and stroll into a nice restaurant without frightening the locals. Here are a few of our favorites for this summer.

By Karen Terzano

The Bear Vault arrived today and I think I am going to have a love - hate relationship with this thing. It’s hard, and bulky, and heavy. I won’t send it back because there are State and National parks which require hikers/campers to use them, but I don’t think it will come along on this journey. I won’t often be sleeping rough in bear country, so I’ll put my food in a bear bag, hang it from a tree at night, and won’t worry if a critter walks off with it. I’ll never be far from a town, and besides, I have love handles to live off of. **grin** I am expecting the Kindle Book Reader I ordered to arrive soon. At 10.2 oz, its 8” x 5.3” x 0.36” dimensions, and its capability to carry 1500 books at a time, makes it highly attractive to me. (Books often make up 2 – 3 lbs of my pack weight). I had debated about getting a netbook for this trip, primarily to be able to surf the web for lodging, campgrounds, etc., but I’m hoping the Kindle, coupled with my usual Moto Q’s ability to do basic GPS stuff, emails, word docs, etc., will cover all my electronic needs, and maybe save me a pound or two. I hope to be ecstatic with how the Kindle performs. I am busy making up my own “guide book” as best I can, marking out routes on maps cut from atlases, and listing tentative places to stay. I’m finding it a tedious process. I am sooooo spoiled! I usually just throw a published guide book in my pack, and because they have done all the hard work of gathering relevant information about where I’m hiking, I need only to look at it each morning to decide where I am going that day. More Later. KT

As a born, bred and dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker, I consider it a god-given right to live car-free and walk/jaywalk wherever I please. My one rule? I must look stylish doing it because I never know who I might meet along the way -- be it a fashion world colleague or a still-hot 60-something Jeremy Irons perusing the towels at Bed, Bath & Beyond. (He was wearing riding boots; I was in Calvin Klein platform sandals). So with summer fast approaching and with me being a sneaker-as-streetwear refusnick, my mission this week is to find stylish, lightweight, cute little summer shoes that can handle a 50-block walk or can be easily carried in bag should a quick change become necessary. The goal? To enhance street-wise allure and prevent one from being mistaken for an aerobics instructor on the lam. To do that, try these on for size.

Mon dieu! These striped espadrilles are so Brigitte Bardot on the Cote D’Azur in 1968, n’est pas? ($70 by Pink Studio). Can’t live without a bit of heel? A low-wedge espadrille will give you a lift ($19.50 by Old Navy).    

Since the early ‘90’s, I’ve had a backpack strapped to my body – after over-stuffed-shoulderbag-syndrome gifted me with one-too-many pinched nerves. Back then, as a lowly fashion assistant, I took a lot of flack for my conversion to the two-strap lifestyle, but I held my ground – and have ever since – fashion be damned (to a point). Since going over to the two-strap dark side (as my editor called it), I’ve been on a ceaseless mission to find stylish, city-worthy backpacks that go from slope to street without making me look like a refugee from the Appalachian Trail.

As the proud owner of everything from a $19 Old Navy pack with built-in safety light, to a $500 Prada number that’s clearly seen better days, on a recent search for a new pack I turned up a few that shouldn’t elicit too many derisive snorts next time I walk into the Conde Nast building or up Mt. Washington.

1.) American Apparel Nylon Codura School Bag ($42). Roomy, simple, and straight out of the 80’s -- and we mean that in the nicest of ways. Reminds us of the days before backpacks got all technical. Weighs next to nothing and comes in several loud colors, including red, purple and flaming orange. Order it online.

2.) Muji Water Repellant Outdoor Rucksack ($69.95). At just over 18 x 11 x 6 inches, the Japanese retailing giant’s backpack is a tough number in a tight package. With an understated nod to the technical look, pared down for city trekking, this Zen little number comes in black, khaki or red. Order it online