New Tent

I'm planning a seven night backpacking trip this fall where weight and comfort will be of supreme importance, and I decided that I need to spend a little money to do a gear makeover.  One thing I've learned about backpacking is that less is more - we spend more money to save weight.  And I decided to start with my tent.

I've had my Eastern Mountain Sports Velocity 1-person tent for about six years now.  It has been a great little tent, but it always feels like I am sleeping in a coffin.  The tent with its footprint (a little ground cloth that snaps to the bottom of the tent to extend its life) weights about 3.2 pounds.  It is 24 inches wide at one end, 20 inches wide at the other end, and about seven feet long.  There is no room to bring any gear in, other than clothing - which gets stuffed at the bottom of the tent next to my feet.

After research and thought (and saving up money), I bought a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL2 Platinum two person tent.  I think the Platinum refers to the cost!  It was  very expensive, but my REI 20% coupon on any one full price item was a big help this year.  This tent, with the footprint, weighs 3.0 pounds, or a tiny bit less than my other tent.  Yet, it gives more than twice the space for less weight!

I used the new tent last weekend for the first time on two nights of camping out after backpacking into False Cape State Park, and love it so far.  I can set it up in minutes, and it is extremely comfortable.  There is a large door and vestibule on each side.  With just me sleeping in there, it is like a palace, yet there is room for a second person if it ever came to that.  (I have better odds of winning the lottery than of having my wife join me on a backpacking trip, but I am hoping to take my granddaughter camping this summer).  There is room to bring gear into the tent, and there is room to put my pack under one vestibule while using the other for entry and exit.  I think that I'm really going to like this tent.  Next up - a new and lighter sleeping pad.

This tent is a "three season" tent, meaning it is OK for spring, summer, and fall.  The tent itself has a waterproof "bathtub style" bottom, and mesh walls and ceilings.  This allows moisture from one's breathing to go right out into the air, and not condense on the walls and rain down during the night.  On a clear, warm night, one could sleep in the tent just like this, and look at the stars.

However, most of the time, you would put the waterproof rain fly over the tent.  That not only gives rain protection, but also some warmth.  The nights I was camping, it got to about 40 degrees, so the extra insulation was important.  It would be interesting to see how the tent does in really cold (20 degree) weather.  Note the door and the vestibule - one of each on both sides.

My sleeping pad fit nicely on one side of the tent, with floor space and room for gear on the other side.

I love the fact that my large pack easily fits under a vestibule.  With my other tent, there is no such room, and the pack just has to lean against a tree.  If it were pouring rain, and you were very careful, you could cook under the vestibule.

I look forward to many adventures with my new tent before I, or it, gets to old to have adventures!

Best meal in a Bag!

During my two night trip in Shenandoah National Park last month, I ate the best meal I have ever had cooked in a bag: Mary Jane Farms Curry in a Hurry!

It is always a challenge to eat great tasting meals on the trail.  The best meals have been ones that I cooked from a trail recipe, but that is a lot of trouble, and usually, a little more weight.  Someone at REI had recommended this meal to me, so I decided to try it.  Perfect!  Delicious!

Usually, I find that when I add the prescribed amount of boiling water to a backpacking meal, it turns out "soupy."  That was the case with my meal the previous night.  Not so with the "Curry in a Hurry."  The amount of water to add was just right.  The portion size is for 1.5 people.  I couldn't find a half person anywhere - I did look - so I ate the whole meal myself.  I topped it off with a piece of chocolate.  I highly recommend this meal and have already bought another one for my next backpacking trip.  It is vegetarian but not vegan.

Shaving Six Ounces

I blogged before about my weight problem (my loaded pack, not my body weight so much).  My pack on a backpacking trip is so heavy, and I hope to have a couple of trips coming up this late summer and fall, one of them a fairly long one.  So I would love to find a way to take off some weight, and I recently found a way to shave six ounces.

One is by replacing my standard hiking trowel with a new digging device, the Deuce of Spades.  Why do back packers need a trowel, you ask?  Are we doing gardening in the deep woods?  No, gentle reader, not quite!  A trowel is used to dig what is, euphemistically, known as a "cat hole," which is an essential part of backwoods sanitation.

This photo shows my old trowel on the left and the Deuce of Spades on the right.  The latter is very light and tough, and weighs 4.5 ounces less than the former.  You can dig with either end, and can use the small end to put more pressure to bear when digging in compacted soil.

The other way that I shaved a tiny bit of weight is by replacing my standard fork - spoon - knife kit with a plastic "spork." It saves about an ounce, although I could - and may - just carry the metal spoon instead, depending on what is on the menu.

My pack will still weigh too much, but every little bit helps.

My New Osprey Aether Pack

My original backpack, a Kelty, disappeared years ago when I loaned it to someone.  It was an external frame, and I had owned it for over 20 years, but the guy I loaned it to was not responsible.  After that, I've had my Millet "60+10" backpack for about seven years now.  I bought it in a rush when I was suddenly about to go backpacking again for the first time in years, up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  It has been a pretty good pack with a lot of good and useful features, but it never was totally comfortable on me.  I always felt as if it was leaning back too far, and the sleeping bag compartment was too small - although I was not compressing my sleeping bag properly, too.  So I decided that it was time for a new pack, and after a lot of reading, I settled on an Osprey Aether 85.  My buddy Hawkeye has one and swears by it, and when I tried his on before a trip a couple of years ago - fitted to his body and loaded with gear - it felt more comfortable than mine did.

I got a great deal at REI a few weeks ago.  I had a 20% discount on any one item, a $48 merchandise rebate from my purchases last year - membership has its privileges - and a $50 Christmas REI gift card.  So the pack only cost me about half price.

I took the pack on my Laurel Forks trip a couple of weeks ago for its maiden voyage, and really liked it!  For one thing, I could get my sleeping bag in the separate sleeping bag compartment at the bottom of the pack.

The body of the pack has lots of room.  My Millet has 70 liters of total space, and this one has 85 liters.  Will I need all of that space for a typical trip?  Well, given the starting weight of my pack and its basic gear, I sure hope not!  But it is there if I need it for a longer trip or for bulky cold weather clothing, and if I don't need it, I can cinch the pack down with compression strips.  The thing that looks a bit like a diaper is the removable panel that separates off the sleeping bag compartment.

At the top of the pack is a separate compartment that goes over the main pack.  It is quite large.  My Millet has this feature, too, and I found it quite useful.  You put stuff in there that you may need to get to in a hurry - first aid kit, toilet kit, trail mix, water filter, and such.  As a bonus, the top compartment can detach and become a small fanny pack for a day hike from a base camp.

The back of the pack has a "J zipper" that allows easy access to the middle of the pack to reach something buried down into it without taking everything else out.

Here's another great feature - the space for the hydration bladder is on the outside of the pack!  Say you want to refill your Camelbak at a stream - you just remove it, add filtered water, and slip it back in.  With most packs, you have to mostly unpack it to get the Camelbak out and back in.

On each side of the pack, near the hip belt, is a stretchy open pocket, perfect for a one liter bottle, or whatever else will fit - a shirt balled up, for example.

And on the back of the pack is a large stretchy pocket.  What could go in here?  Well, a rain jacket or fleece for when you stop for a break.  Water shoes.  A topo map.  Whatever will fit, assuming you want quick access to it - no need to rummage through your pack.

Finally, here is a great feature - a small zipper pocket on each side of the hip belt.  There are perfect for small items that you need easy access to.  Some things that I can think of are: extra batteries.  A knife or multi-tool.  Insect repellent.  Lip gloss. Sun screen.  A snack bar.

This pack has so many great features!  You can tell that a lot of really smart people designed it.  I cannot wait for my next trip with it, and hopefully for many more.  Based on my one trip so far with the Aether, only one night long, it is going to be pretty comfortable - if carrying 40+ pounds on one's back can be considered comfortable!

My Weight Problem

I've know for a while that I have a big weight problem, but not until yesterday, when I quantified everything did I realize just how big.  My body mass index turns out to be over 30, or borderline obese!

How is that possible, you ask?  How can a man who ran a half marathon just months ago, and who hikes a lot, be obese?  Well, I do have an explanation - just me, standing naked on a scale, am not obese or close to it.  But once I hoist my pack on my back, loaded for even the most basic one night trip, I go from a decent BMI to an obese one.  And once I start slogging up a steep trail, as far as my knees, ankles, and back are concerned, I am grossly overweight.

I've known for each backpacking trip that I have taken that I am carrying too much weight, so I decided that I needed to analyze exactly how that happens.  Thus, I have weighed each thing that goes into my pack, every item no matter how small - even down to my one and 1/8 ounce bandanna - and put it all in a spreadsheet.  What I could not weigh on a kitchen scale, I weighed on a normal bathroom scale and then subtracted my base weight, or I got the specifications from the manufacturer.  And my base pack weight ends up being 25.1 pounds - without any clothing except a rain jacket and pants, hat, lightweight gloves, and puffy jacket, and without any food or water!  And that is with my lighter weight sleeping bag, not the heavy one that I took unnecessarily to my hike to Laurel Forks last weekend.

Everything comes down to weight vs. comfort and safety.  I could save a lot of weight by just taking a tarp and a blanket instead of a tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag, right?  But if you have ever slept in the woods without a tent - I have - you know it is not a lot of fun. Every flying, biting thing and creepy-crawly comes looking for you.  No thank you!

So here are some specifics: my pack, air mattress, sleeping bag liner, my lighter sleeping bag, and tent alone weigh 12.25 pounds.  My kitchen gear and my hydration system (water filter, empty one liter bottle, and empty three liter Camelbak weigh 3.6 pounds.  Electronics - InReach, GPS, camera, and spare batteries - weigh nearly 2 pounds.  I could eliminate them and not take any photos.  And wouldn't I feel foolish if I broke an ankle and could not send a message for help, all to save a pound of weight?  My first aid kit and basic emergency and survival gear weighs about 3.5 pounds.  My essential clothing mentioned previously weighs 2.5 pounds.  My basic overnight hygiene kit weighs 1.3 pounds, if I include a small towel - nice on any trip longer than one overnight but not essential.

Not in the equation is a field guide or binoculars, extra socks or underwear, a spare shirt, any water - at 2.2 pounds per kilogram - or food.  For example, on my mystery trip later this spring, I am likely to take my Teva's (lots of streams to wade across and no bridges), two pairs of extra socks, long bottom underwear to sleep in, at least two pairs of underwear (who wants to wear the same underwear for four days?), and one extra shirt.  That would make my total clothing packed to be 5.6 pounds vs. the 2.5 mentioned above.  If I bring an extra pair of trousers in addition to the pair that I will wear, then I will be carrying 6.4 pounds of clothing.  That brings my pack weight, to a whopping 29.0 pounds!  And that does not include any clothing worn, or again, water or food.  Where we will be hiking has lots of water, so I likely won't need to carry more than a liter or so, but 3.5 days of food will probably weigh about 6-7 pounds.  So that makes my total pack weight for that three night hike in the 38 pound range.

Yeah, I have a big weight problem, and just like in real life when we have an extra piece of pie (or 20) too many, it is not so easy shaving those pounds off.  I have some time to think about and decide what I can do to lighten the load a bit, and what would be acceptable for comfort and safety.  In any event, although it sounds anal perhaps, it has been a good exercise to understand all the components that make my pack so heavy.  I guess I better bring out some of my Backpacker Magazine issues and read up on ultra-light hiking, eh?

My Emergency Kit

I've recently upgraded and modified the emergency gear kit I always carry when I hike or backpack.  It may seem like overkill until you turn an ankle on what should have been an easy day hike, the temperature is dropping, and you are facing a night alone in the woods.  My kit weighs several pounds and fits into this small orange bag:

Here is the contents of that little bag:

From the left hand side and more or less going in a clockwise direction, the items in this bag are: three heavy duty trash bags and a one gallon zip-top bag, an orange bandanna, my Leatherman Juice multi-tool, an SOL emergency bivy sack, a fire starter kit (matches, spark tool, and container with cotton pad and Vaseline "sandwiches"), a waterproof headlamp, an emergency space blanket, an emergency poncho, my Columbia River Knife and Tool RSK (Ritter Survival Knife) Mk6, the orange emergency kit bag, 50 feet of parachute cord, a small mirror, two rolls of duct tape, my compass, a whistle, and a small bottle of water purification tablets.  Depending on conditions, I could add or subtract items, such as insect repellent, hand-warmers, and sunscreen.  If I were backpacking, I might eliminate a few items, like the SOL bivy, poncho, and parachute cord on the thinking that I would have a rain jacket, a sleeping bag and tent, and separate parachute cord with my "bear bag."  But I might also carry them because they are so light and could be used to help someone else in an emergency.  Or if my sleeping bag got soaked in a river, I could still use the bivy sack to spend an uncomfortable but survivable night.

Do you think I am missing anything critical?  One thing I should add is a PowerBar as an emergency food source.  We can survive a long time without food, but a little something to eat can calm you down in a stressful and scary situation.

I'll be fine-tuning my kit now and again as I learn more and think about survival situations.  By the way, I always carry a separate first aid kit any time that I hike.

Hiking Christmas Gifts

I got a few Christmas gifts this year, and most of them has a hiking orientation.  How'd that happen?  :^)

I got my very first pair of trekking poles.  I have used trekking poles on a few backpacking trips in recent years and love them!  My gift pair should be great.  I choose them for a reason - they fold up in three sections and will easily fit in luggage.  This is important because I have plans to hike in a foreign country in the coming year, and nothing I had would fit in a suitcase.  These will, as each section is only about 40-45 cm long.  They are Black Diamond Z-Pole Trekking Poles.  They don't have the adjustable lengths or shock absorbency of a more traditional trekking poles, but being able to put them in a suitcase was a key requirement.  They are aluminum, but still seem strong and light, with a total weight for both of about a pound.

Next, I got a new headlamp, also from Black Diamond.  This one is the Black Diamond Storm, which was highly rated as a great deal by Backpacker Magazine.  It is very bright, but can be adjusted downward, and has red light also for times when you don't want to lose your night vision.  The power goes from four to 100 lumens.  It is also waterproof, which is really handy if you are out in the back country and forced to move after dark in a driving rain.  It will replace my current headlamp, which, while serviceable, is not nearly as bright, nor is it water proof.

I got a book: "50 Hikes in West Virginia," by Leonard Adkins.  I live a long way from the Mountaineer State, and have never hiked there.  But I think that the latter needs to change, and 2014 would be a great year to make that happen.  I would love to backpack in the Cranberry Glades Wilderness in the upcoming year, and perhaps do some day hikes as well.  Almost heaven, West Virginia!

And finally, I got a $50 REI gift card.  That may well go towards new rain gear that I am likely to buy as my next major gear purchase.

I am happy with these gifts and cannot wait to try them out!

Next Big Purchase?

I haven't had a chance to hike lately, although I am taking walks as the time allows.  So instead of writing about a hike, I will write about gear.

I've been thinking about 2014 coming up, and realizing that one goal for the new year will be to replace something major I have now with a new piece of equipment.  And I have narrowed it down to three possibilities, since in the last few years I have replaced my boots, water filter, and sleeping pad, and bought a tent and camping stove.  I also bought a warm sleeping bag, good to 15 degrees, and was very glad that I did on two trips in particular when the mercury dipped to or below that point.

My three possibilities for gear replacement in 2014 are: a new backpack, new rain gear, and yes, a new sleeping bag.

I list the backpack first because that is the most likely.  I've had my current backpack about six years.  I bought it without a lot of thought for a backpacking trip in New Hampshire, and it has served me well.  It has a lot of nice features.  But it just never seems to have enough room for bulky stuff, especially the sleeping bag.  When I packed up a month or so ago for the overnighter that I cancelled because I hurt my back, my bulky sleeping bag took up most of the room in the main pack.  I had to cram my other gear around it.  I am somewhere between the ultra light hiker and the guy who carries everything but the kitchen sink, so I do have a challenge getting everything into the pack.

A couple of trips ago, I think the Mount Rogers trip with my friend Hawkeye, he let me try his fully loaded pack the morning we left.  I hoisted it on, and without any adjustments, it was so much more comfortable and balanced than my pack.  We were both carrying about the same weight.  That has made a lasting impression, and I've had "pack envy" ever since.

But if I don't get a pack, maybe I should replace my rain gear (not my reindeer, my rain gear!).  It is at least a dozen years old, fairly heavy, and seems to have lost its water proofing.  The last time I hiked in the rain, up at Savage River State Forest, I got soaked right through my rain gear.  So, replacing it would be useful on both day hikes and backpacking trips.  But there also may be a way to restore the water proof characteristics.  Still, it might be better to replace it.

Which brings me to my sleeping bags.  I have two, neither of which is a down bag.  The first is comfortable to about 40 degrees, and although it is heavier and bulkier than a down bag, it is not bad.  The other is just a few years old and is a comfortable bag even in 15 degree temperatures - field tested by me twice at those levels up in the mountains.  But a down bag that has the same temperature rating would shave maybe a pound off the weight and significantly free up bulk.  When I camped at Mount Rogers, I used my lighter weight bag so I would have more room in my pack, and suffered a bit that first night when the mercury dipped into the upper 20's.  On the other hand, a roomier pack would mean that a somewhat bulkier sleeping bag is less of a problem.

Pack? Rain gear? Sleeping bag?  One of those three is likely to be replaced in 2014.  But which one?

My New "Water Shoes"

For my aborted backpacking trip of last week, I was pretty sure I would have to ford a river - the North Fork of the Thornton River.  I don't think it would be a wide, deep river, but from what I had read about the trail, I would have to find a shallow spot to wade across rather be able to rock hop it.  And I was not eager to have soaked boots.  My pair of river shoes is supremely uncomfortable.  I had bought them years ago out of desperation when unexpected kayaking the Contoocook River.  They are also bulky and heavy.  Time for something more comfortable and light that can just slip in my pack.

So last week, I went back to REI and picked out a pair of Teva Terra Fi Lite shoes, kind of like a sandal.  I figured I could switch out of my boots at the Thornton River, slip these on, and wade across.  Plus, they looked comfortable enough to wear around my campsite, although with the dipping temperatures I expected, maybe not warm enough.  The salesperson who I talked to told me that he actually uses them exclusively now for hiking, and does not even bother with boots.  He recommended a special pair of socks to go with them, so I got them too.

As it turned out, I scrubbed my trip because of the back injury.  I wondered if I should return the Teva's, but then decided I would use them at some point.  So on my six mile hike at High Bridge Trail State Park last Saturday, I decided to try wearing them to see how they would do.  It was an easy, level trail with a nice gravel surface.  To my surprise, I really liked them.  I don't know if I will ever use these instead of boots, but I do know they will be in my pack in the future when I hike anywhere I may have to cross water.  I may even try hiking in them in the mountains at some point, just to see how they do.

Here is my left foot in the funky socks that I bought.  I am trying to spread my toes out so you can see that they are kind of like gloves.  I was surprised to find that I kind of like them!

I can see wearing the Teva's a lot in warmer weather without socks, especially if I were not planning a lot of walking.  I think to hike in them without socks would invite friction.  And my original intent being to get a new pair of water shoes, these will be perfect for using in a kayak or canoe, or for making a portage with a canoe - not that I have had the pleasure of that event in many years.

How Did My New Gear Do?

On my four day pack trip to Mount Rogers last month, I took along or wore several new items.  I wanted to write an account of how they performed for me.  In a word - okay, two words - very well.

I'd been having a problem with my toes feeling a little crammed during long hikes, and reasoned that part of the problem was that I was wearing a heavy pair of socks with an inner sock as well.  Just before my trip, I went to REI and talked to them about what I could use.  They suggested Smartwool PhD Outdoor Light Crew socks.  These are made in the USA from imported Merino.  They are much lighter than my other hiking socks and I worried that my feet might blister, but I bought two pairs along and wore them - without any inner sock - on my two longest days of hiking, through the Lewis Fork Wilderness and the next day's very long hike through the Little Wilson Creek Wilderness.  I was very pleased with them.  They were comfortable and my feet didn't feel crowded into the boot.  Plus - not a single blister!  I've worn them on both my hikes since: to Rocky Mount and to the Doyles River Falls, both in Shenandoah National Park, and they have felt fine.  The Rocky Mount hike in particular had very long steep downhills, and my toes didn't "cram forward" into the boot as much as with fuller socks.  I recommend these socks.

One problem I had with my prior two backpacking trips (to the Priest and to Austin, Furnace, and Trayfoot Mountains) was my air mattress.  It was very thin, and the mercury on these trips got down to 15F and 18F respectively.  I shivered a bit, even in my thick sleeping bag.  So last summer, I resolved to buy a new air mattress, and I did: the REI Stratus insulated air pad.  It is only 20 ounces, and it packs easily into a small bundle, shown here in my hand:

It inflates in about a minute, using lung power, to 72 inches long by 20 inches wide by 2.5 inches thick.  The air mattress was very comfortable and kept me warm, even on our first night at 5,400 feet despite the fact that I brought along a lighter sleeping bag this time.  I didn't slide around on the pad, and it didn't lose any air.  When it came time to pack up, it easily fit back into the original sack - always a plus!

Ticks are a big problem in most of the east coast (and a lot of the rest of the country).  This summer for my birthday, I got a pair of trousers treated to repel (and kill if they hang around too long) ticks.  These are Columbia Sportswear Company Insect Blocker cargo pants, treated with permethrin.  They are good for 70 washings.  I wore them on a number of hikes this summer, and of course, took them along for my big backpacking trip.  I wore them all four days, believe it or not!  They got dirty and maybe permanently stained at the cuffs.  But they are comfortable, and held up well, and I didn't see a single tick on me.  My only wish is that they had a second zippered pocket - there is just one and it is small.  Zippered pockets are a good way to avoid losing small things in the great outdoors.  I'll probably wear these pants on every hike in tick season (which lasts a long time in Virginia) from now on.

I'd bought a long-sleeved Merino wool "Icebreaker" shirt a couple of years ago, and liked it so much that I looked for a short-sleeved version.  REI didn't carry the Icebreaker for some reason (I remembered later that I bought that shirt at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports), but they had a Smartwool Merino wool tee-shirt, and I bought that.  I think the shirt in the link is the one that I got.  It was extremely comfortable.  I wore it on the trip any time it was warm enough to have a tee-shirt on, and I wore it under my Icebreaker shirt as a base layer when it was colder.  I am very pleased with the shirt.  It is more comfortable than my polyester shirts and doesn't itch despite being wool. A bonus is that Merino wool does not smell even after wearing it for a number of days.  There is a scientific reason for this, which I will have to look up, because I can't remember the exact science behind it.

All my new (and pre-existing) gear performed very well on my four day backpacking trip.

Staying In Reach

Happy Independence Day!

It has been too hot for hiking this past week or so.  I've taken some early morning walks for 3-4 miles before work when I can, and on the weekends.  I went to an electric bluegrass concert ("Trampled by Turtles") last Friday night (outdoors with the actual air temperature was 101 degrees at 7PM).  I walked the cancer survivor laps Saturday afternoon at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.  But no hikes, not since my out and back to Saint Mary's Falls almost two weeks ago.  But when I do hike, I have a new way to stay in touch - DeLorme's InReach.

The InReach pairs up with my DeLorme PN-60 GPS.  I can send a customized message - up to 160 characters - from just about anywhere in the world, as long as it can find a satellite.  And I can receive a text message back, displayed on the GPS.  Think of that - you could be off hiking for two weeks in the Alaskan wilderness, and keep in touch with family and friends!  I've sent a message on each of my last two hikes, and so far, it has been fast and reliable.  The service is not cheap (although the safety plan that I am on really is very cheap) but as long as people you send messages to don't deluge you with replies, it is not expensive either.  And because you can send an SOS message that goes to command center that will dispatch search and rescue, it gives one a certain peace of mind and safety net.  I do at least some hiking in pretty remote areas by myself, so having a way to summon help in case of an emergency is a great feature.  I do a lot of reading, including some true life adventures, and in many cases, having something like this would mean that the person would have survived their adventure.

I think I am really going to enjoy this new electronic gizmo.  GPS and InReach - it's a long way from map and compass (although I never go on a hike without those either).

Feel the Power!

For two years, my DeLorme PN-60 GPS has accompanied me on many of the hikes I have taken.  Any time one of my posts shows the track of my hike, that track was captured by my trusty PN-60.  It has been a reliable and valuable piece of gear.  My only complaint has been the battery life (and the fact that I can't clip the GPS to my pack belt.)  I bought a DeLorme rechargeable battery for it, the only one approved by the manufacturer, but the charge only lasts about 5-7 hours in the field.

Enter the CabBat Rechargeable battery!  I learned about this last week on the DeLorme forums, and it got rave reviews by people using it.  Most people were reporting 13-17 hours of charge in the field.  I decided to order one, and it came yesterday.  I cannot wait to try it out on a nice, long hike!  If it works as advertised, it is the only battery I will need for a day hike.  For a backpacking trip, I'll need to bring along some extra double AA lithium batteries if I want to have the GPS on during the entire hike, but that is OK.  13 hours is a huge improvement, and it might even last longer than that.

Because the battery is slightly fatter than other batteries, you need to shave the "ribs" in the back cover of the GPS so that the cover will be water-tight.  The photos on their web page were hard for me to interpret, so I asked the company that makes the batteries about it, and they clarified what had to be shaved away with a sharp knife.  I've included my own photo of this, and circled the points in red, green, and pink that need to be shaved down.  By the way, the company has been great to deal with on this, promptly answering any of my questions by email, and shipping the battery the day after I placed the order (which was done in the evening).  I got it on the second business day after shipping, and they even threw in a digital battery charger (my new CabBat battery gets recharged right in the GPS, by the way).

How Did My New Gear Do?

On my recent three day backpacking trip, I used three pieces of brand new gear. Well, in a way, it was four. Or maybe five, depending on your point of view. Anyhow, did the gear perform well and hold up? Here is my report.

What is the most important piece of gear for hiking and back packing? Pack? Tent? Sleeping bag? Well, I maintain it is your boots, although with temperatures in the teens, I'd accept a very warm sleeping bag for an answer, too. But if your feet are miserable on a long walk, no other piece of gear is going to make up for that. I have the hardest time finding hiking boots that work for me. They never seem comfortable. Sometimes they are too tight and sometimes they are too loose. I've given up on or returned many a pair of boots. I once got a pair that Backpacker Magazine raved about as instantly comfortable with no break-in needed, and they felt great in the store. But once I started hiking in them, they rubbed and I got blisters every time I wore them, despite trying to break them in. After several months, I returned them (and got a full refund from LL Bean). So it was with trepidation that I recently got yet one more pair of boots, realizing that my current pair that I have had for years never really was very comfortable. I spent hours going through issues of Backpacker looking for highly rated boots, and finally selected several pairs to try. As luck would have it, neither REI or Blue Ridge Mountain Sports had any of the boots I had targeted. So I tried about five or six other pairs. One of them, Keen Targhee mid-height, seemed pretty comfortable, and after much walking around and hemming and hawing, I bought them from REI. I also bought a pair of Sole inserts that Backpacker strongly recommended, since the insoles that come with most hiking boots are minimal. I wore them a lot around town and even on a few hikes, and they still felt pretty good with a little rubbing. So I was really pleased how comfortable they were on this 22 mile hike with two pairs of socks. They felt great - good support, no blisters, and comfortable. We will see what the future holds, but I optimistic that these boots and I will hike happy trails together.
Second on my major gear list was my new tent, the Eastern Mountain Sport Velocity 1. I was very pleased with it, even though it took me a little while to remember how to set up as the darkness rolled in that first night. It was comfortable with good ventilation, although I did try to get the fly closer to the tent on that first very cold night. I had plenty of room - side, head, and foot. My only complaint was that the footprint was too small for the tent, and as I remember when I set it up at the house, it fit perfectly. I could remember wrong, of course. I could sit up to change clothing, and it was easy to get in and out of. Here is my tent, sans fly, the first morning we camped out near Madison Run. My sleeping bag and the tent fly are hanging on a line and airing out behind the tent.
Third on my list of major new gear was my Jetboil SOL stove. I didn't actually cook with it, and have heard mixed reviews about cooking in its little pot with such a concentrated flame. But I did boil water for tea, hot chocolate, and cleaning up, and the stove did this very quickly. Within about 2 minutes of firing it up, I had two or more cups of boiling water.
Now, although not new gear, I used a pair of borrowed Leki trekking poles for the first time on a hike. So they were new to me. I loved them! They especially made steep downhills and stream crossings less difficult, as well as really steep uphills like climbing out of our two campsites up very steep banks. I'll be getting a pair for sure, and may have to (mostly) retire my gnome hiking staff that a friend made for me from a piece of beaver wood.

Finally, although technically my feet are not gear, and are definitely not new even if they were considered to be gear, in a way, I had a new left foot. Because of a bunch of things, especially six months of plantar fasciitis, I have not done a lot of hiking this year. At the end of January, I had surgery to remove a neuroma that had plagued me for years with hiking, running, and long walks. This was my first really long, tough hike since having that surgery - and wearing a 40 pound pack to boot. I am pleased to report that the neuroma surgery seems to have accomplished the goal - no pain in that left forefoot! I still have some numbness, but the pain is finally gone. I was excited by that. Now, if I can only get the heel to get rid of the last plantar fasciitis pain, I'd be really excited! Here I am January 25, the day after my surgery, looking forward to walking normally again someday.

New Gloves

I am planning a backpacking trip soon, and I realized that I need a pair of gloves. I had a decent pair last winter until a bitterly cold day (yes, we have those on occasion) here in Ole Virginny when I ran into this homeless lady who was begging. She had a sign which said that she was out of luck and trying to get back home. I bought her a cup of coffee and a sandwich, and chatted with her for a few minutes. She was trying to get back to Maine and she looked so sad. I went back to my office and looked up a bunch of places where she might get help, then returned with the places and locations written down for her. I noticed that she didn't have any gloves, so I gave her mine. I figured I at least had a warm place to be that day, in my office. So now, I need new ones.

I found several pairs I liked at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, but they were all for women. Maybe I am getting in touch with my feminine side? I don't know! I kept looking and found a good pair of men's gloves that I liked. They are waterproof, unlike the pair I gave away. They also have a pair of light liner gloves, which will do two things - create a dead air space and give me the ability to have some minimal warmth by taking off the outer layer if I have to do some task requiring dexterity.

As a footnote, a couple of months later, I ran into the same woman at the same spot. It was another fairly cold day, but nowhere as bad as the prior time. "Didn't you ever get to Maine?" I asked, a little incredulous. "Yes," she said, "But I came back to go to a funeral of a friend." I bought her a cookie this time. I noticed that her hands were bare, but didn't have gloves to give her this go around, as my hands were bare, too.

My New Tent

My first time truly backpacking, I was 20 years old and alone in the wilds of Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. I'd hitchhiked for two days to get there after my car broke near Dayton, Ohio. I carried a ridiculously heavy pack, since everything I needed while hitching rides and camping were in it, but the one thing I didn't have was a tent. I slept on a groundcloth and as a result, I got chewed alive by mosquitoes at night, and soaked to the skin in heavy thunderstorms. Before I went on another trip, I bought a great tent that lasted decades until I made the mistake of loaning it to my son.

When I went backpacking up the Priest a year ago, I borrowed a friend's tent, and didn't much care for it. It was very difficult to get in and out of, and you could not sit up in it. So that made me realize that I wanted a tent with an entrance on the side, and more head room. After a lot of searching, I bought an Eastern Mountain Sports Velocity 1 last spring. The idea was that I would join a friend for a few days while he hiked the southern half of the Appalachian Trail. Then I developed bad plantar fasciitis, and he broke his ankle, which pretty well knocked those plans for a loop. So for five months, the tent has sat in my closet, unpacked.

Well, that changed today. I am planning on a three day backpacking trip next month. Hopefully, it won't be as cold as a year ago. And I figured I'd better learn how to put the tent up under dry and sunny conditions so that I might have a chance getting it set up if it is dark and/or raining. So I took the tent out on the patio, and spent a good half hour learning how to set it up. Then I took it all down, packed it up, and set it up again. This time, it only took about six minutes, not counting staking down the tent (the stakes are not going to go into a concrete patio real well). I think I will like this tent. It is light weight, about two pounds 14 oz. I also bought the "footprint," which adds a few ounces but will extend the life of the tent. It is not nearly as roomy as my pink tent that I slept in for two nights during the Susan G. Komen 3-Day, but it doesn't need to be.

Why get just a one person tent? Well, it saves a couple of pounds, and even if I go camping with a friend, it is more comfortable to sleep in your own tent. Two people in a two person tent - roughly 6.5 by 4 feet - have to be two very friendly people. My wife is as likely to join me on a backpacking trip as I am to wear a pink dress to work and spray paint "My Boss is an Idiot" all over my workplace. In fact, she is even less likely to go backpacking. So a one person tent should fit the bill.

Here are some photos as I set it up, starting with a picture of the "foot print" on the patio and everything else still bundled up.
The pole system is really cool. It is one assembly, all shock-corded together. There are little balls at the end of each pole that snap into an assembly at each corner of the tent. And there are things on the tent that snap on to various parts of the poles to make the tent open up. It is very easy, once you learn how it works.
Here is the tent set up without the fly. If there was a zero percent chance of rain at night, and it was a warm night, this would not be a bad way to sleep.
All set up and showing the side entrance with the vestibule pulled back.
View with the rain fly on and pulled out as well as I could without staking it down.
Inside view towards my feet.

GPS Meets Satellite Communication

To continue my story about SPOT, wouldn’t it be cool if you could not only send an “I’m OK” message, but also a custom message to your friends and family? For example, “Slow progress today, I will be an extra day before I reach the car. Don’t worry.”

A few month ago, a friend who works at DeLorme in Yarmouth, Maine told me that his company was working on such a feature as part of integrating their Earthmate GPS with SPOT to provide that type of service. It was not yet released to the public, so I didn’t tell a soul (or my blog). But now it is public knowledge. Here is a link with a lot more details.

The really cool thing is that I have been asked to be a Beta tester for this, so I will be starting that soon. It will involve a couple of months of testing. It won’t be the best hiking weather but hopefully I can get in a few hikes in rugged areas. I am looking forward to trying this out starting in a month or so. It is pretty amazing stuff, isn’t it? It makes the old map and compass, although still indispensable, look pretty tame!

X Marks the SPOT

Obviously, I like to hike. Often times, I go by myself, sometimes with other people. It might be an easy couple mile stroll where I have plenty of company, or a rugged walk through remote country where I feel like I am the only person on earth that day. I’ve never been in a situation where I badly needed help, but I know that could easily happen at some point. A storm comes in and you get disoriented and miss a key trail junction. You trip over something on the trail and take a bad fall. Or less serious but still disabling, you sprain your ankle badly. That in particular is very easy to do – how many times have you turned an ankle just a bit while hiking? And I rarely hike in areas where cell phones work. So last year, I bought a SPOT satellite GPS messenger.

Since they work off satellites, like a GPS, they work almost everywhere with a clear view of the sky, unlike cell phones - which must be near a signal. SPOTs have three functions, although you must sign up for the annual service for any of the functions to work. The first is a “911” function for a serious life-threatening problem, such as a bad fall or other incapacitation. In that case, a call center gets the message and notifies authorities.

The other two functions rely on your network of family or friends. The first of these is a help message, which sends an email or text message to the list you specify telling them that you need help. Maybe you are completely lost and in the woods for the night, but it is survivable. Or your car has totally broken down in a remote area. In any event, someone getting your email must relay the information to authorities.

The final function is the “all is OK” function, just to let your family and friends know that all is well. The help and OK messages send the text message that you set up on your account, along with a link to your exact location. Here is an example from my last hike that I did just as a test:

ArtRitter
Latitude:36.66102
Longitude:-75.91031
GPS location Date/Time:01/16/2010 20:54:15 GMT

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=36.66102,-75.91031&ll=36.66102,-75.91031&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
Message:Art checking in with a SPOT Check. All is OK.

I enjoy coming back from a hike and going to the links I sent to see exactly where I was, and toggling between the map, topo, and satellite views.

You cannot vary the message without being at your computer, logging into your account, and changing it. But imagine if you could change the message in the field. “It’s so beautiful here I am going to hike another day.” “I’m fine but hiking was rough today, and I made slow progress. So I will be late.” That would be pretty cool, eh?

Tomorrow, I will write about a new development with DeLorme that will do just that, and my fortunate involvement in that as a Beta tester. It should be pretty amazing!