Category Archives: Camping

Backpacking, Camping & Camper Stuff I Use or Have Used

Camping

Gear and equipment I use. A few of the items are newer models or versions, which I have not personally tried out. If I have previously written about a product , I have included a link to that.

Backpacking

Sleeping

Long Term Review: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Mattress

Black Diamond Mega Light Pyramid Shelter

Backpacking Cooking Stoves

Svea 123 Backpacking Stove: 48 Year Review

MSR WhisperLite Stove: 35 Year Review

MSR DragonFly Stove: 12 Year Review

MSR WindPro II Stove: 10 Year Review

BIC Lighter: Best Piece of Backpacking Gear. Ever.

Backpacking Cooking Utensils

GSI Backpacker’s Mug

Sea to Summit Alpha Cookware for Backpacking or Camping

Backpacking Water

Platypus Soft Water Bottle: Ten Year Review

Nalgene Oasis Water Bottle

Backpacking Food & Storage

Canisters, Ursacks and Bears, Oh My!!

Mountain House Meals

Ez Dose Pill Packs

 

Backpacking Clothing

Tilley LTM6 Airflo Hat

Long Term (10 year) Product Review: Salomon XA Pro 3D Trail Running Shoes

Winter Footwear

Patagonia Clothing

The majority of my clothing is made by Patagonia. This preference goes back forty years or so. The products are quality made, last a long time and do what the manufacturers says they will do. A simple formula for success.

Understanding Layers Using Patagonia Clothing as a Guide

 

Backpacking First Aid, Hygiene and Repairs

Preventing Blisters with Leukotape: a 10+ year review

What’s in Your First Aid Kit?

Ez Dose Pill Packs

Repairing Gear With Tenacious Tape

Navigation

How Accurate is a Cammenga Lensatic Compass?

Set Up Your Compass Faster & More Accurately With A Map Protractor

Miscellaneous

Binoculars for Backpacking?

My Backpacking Watches

Headlamps

Sony RX100 Compact Camera

Winter Gear

Camper & RV

Leveling & Tire Stuff

Andersen Camper Levelers

How to Level, Chock, and Stabilize a Travel Trailer

How to Level, Chock, and Stabilize a Tent Trailer

Ultra-Fab Phoenix 5500 Tongue Jack

Sherline Tongue Scale

How to Change a Dual-axle Trailer Tire Without a Jack

Camper Cargo Solutions

Easy Trailer Stabilizer Upgrade

Fit System 3891 Clip-on Towing Mirrors

 

Kitchen Stuff

Weber Baby Q Stuff

Weber Baby Q (Q120)

Weber Baby Q 120 Grill

Weber Baby Q Pizza

Camp Chef Stuff

Camp Chef Pro 60 Double Burner Stove

Camp Chef Ranger III Stove: Almost Perfect

Propane Stuff

 

Wave 8 Propane Heater Stuff

Wave 8 Heater: Long-term Review

Fresh Water Stuff

Solving RV Slow Fresh Water Tank Fill

Holding Tank Monitor

Black & Gray Water Stuff

Camco RhinoFLEX RV Sewer Hose Kit: 8 Year Review

Camco 4-in-1 Magnetic Bumper Cap

FloJet Macerator Pump (poop canon)

 

Battery, Solar & Electrical Stuff

RV Solar System

Honda Generators

Honda Generator Dual Fuel Tank System

LiFePo4 Deep Cycle RV Battery Install

Samlex Pure Sine Inverter

Awning Stuff

Dometic Sunchaser Awning & Other Stuff

Cargo Stuff

Camper Cargo Solutions

Roof Stuff

RV Roof Maintenance

Camco Roof Vent Cover

RV Security

How to Secure Propane Tanks

Other Camper Other Stuff

First Alert Fire Extinguisher for RVs

Fishing

 

Activities

 

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Lockdown or Liberty: How to Deal with Stay-in-Place Orders

Backpacking, Camping, General Talk, ,

Or When Can We Go Backpacking & Camping Again?

Like almost most Americans, we are isolated at home due the our local state, county, and city “stay-in-place” orders. Life isn’t working out according to plan. After a full-time engagement of four years of house remodeling projects, this was going to be a year of extensive backpacking and camping. I should point out that during the previous four years, we did are fair share of camping, probably more than most people. I also did several backpacking trips during each of the past four years of my retirement. Currently, in the State of California, most backpacking and camping opportunities don’t exist. Most places are closed to use. At the same time, we are in a high risk population as regards coronavirus infection. I’m scheduled to reach my 70th year milestone on the planet and Joyce isn’t far behind. Approaching 70, the fact is very real I don’t have a lot of backpacking years ahead, so I would like to maximize each year going forward.

Given all of this, it is wisest for us to stay in place until life equalizes and gets back to some sort of normality. So we are stuck at home, or perhaps better stated, we are willing staying at home for a while.

Staying at home for extended periods of time is a new state of being for many Americans today. Many aren’t handling it well. So the purpose of this post is to share my experiences as a retiree for the past four year, and more importantly, the 18 years I spent working from home – often for months at a time. The following topics will be reviewed with a focus on how to maximize your time, or better yet, how not to waste time. Continue reading Lockdown or Liberty: How to Deal with Stay-in-Place Orders →

The “Top Ten Lists” – Can You Trust Them?

Backpacking Gear, Camping, Hiking, Shelters, Tents, , , , , , ,

It sounds counter intuitive, but I spend much less time on the Internet since I retired, even though all my time is free time, that is, I can do whatever I like, as long as Joyce is happy. I keep myself busy around the house with many tasks, plus we camp more often, not to mention my time spent backpacking.

One thing I am seeing more and more on the Internet are Top Ten Lists for all kinds of consumer goods. Given a good portion of my readers are backpackers, this begs the question, “Can you trust these reviews?” The short, quick answer is, “No.” If it is, “No,” then where can one find good quality trusted reviews?

Continue reading The “Top Ten Lists” – Can You Trust Them? →

Why I Replaced a Perfectly Good Water Pump – Hope You Avoid the Same Mistake

Camping

Just got back from a camping trip.

We left early on a Sunday morning. On Saturday afternoon, as I always do before a trip, I filled our fresh water tank and then ran the hot and cold water to purge any air, and to fill the water heater so when it is turned on there is no damage done by trying to heat an empty tank.

When I turned on the water pump it was extremely noisy and then it quit pumping water. Crap.

On our last few trips, the pump was louder than normal, but then I was wearing my new hearing aids, so I had not been concerned now that I can hear well.

Continue reading Why I Replaced a Perfectly Good Water Pump – Hope You Avoid the Same Mistake →

17th Anniversary Camping Trip & Some Thoughts on Marriage

Camping,
Sitting outside waiting for the full moon to rise. I turned on the interior camper lights to take the picture. We normally enjoy sitting outside without any lights or a campfire.

We recently returned from an extended camping trip in the Southern Sierra Nevada. It was our almost annual marriage anniversary camping trip. We have gone camping to celebrate our anniversary every year except twice, when Joyce wanted to go on a cruise instead.

Joyce had never been camping before we met and has become an avid camper. In fact, starting next year (after I finish remodeling the house) she wants to go camping several months each year. If you are a frequent reader of our blog, you know we prefer to camp where there aren’t many people and of course where there is no electricity, cell phone service, Wi-Fi and all the other “amenities” of civilization.

Continue reading 17th Anniversary Camping Trip & Some Thoughts on Marriage →

The First Camping Trip of Autumn — or is it Fall?

Camping,

So we got home from our end-of-summer camping trip on September 20th, or two days before the official end of summer, which marks the beginning of autumn. I like to call it autumn because that name is derived from an old Latin word, autumns. Autumn entered the English language about 700 years ago.

Of course when we think of autumn, changing colors in forests and the falling leaves often come to mind. Poets often wrote about this colorful season and soon it was referred to as “the falling of leaves.” So about 500 years ago, in the English language, this was changed to simply “fall.”

In the desert, unless there are cottonwood trees nearby, there isn’t a “falling of leaves” during this time of the year. But there are balmy nights, and the night sky becomes darker and clearer. So with this in mind, I headed to the high desert a few days after our trip to Lake Mead.

Continue reading The First Camping Trip of Autumn — or is it Fall? →

The Seventeenth Day after the Day After

Camping

20 Sep

We’ve been at Lake Mead for over two weeks. Many people couldn’t stay in one place this long. I can. There is plenty to do and see – one just needs to learn how to slow down and take a micro-look at their surroundings. Every day Corky and I walk and explore. I see eye-candy, Corky smells dog-candy.

Today we are sitting by the lake. It will be the last day of this trip. Time to go home.

I have often written here about Lake Mead Recreational Area. What first attracted my attention were the vast wilderness areas, potentially prime backpacking destinations that became achievable due to the proximity of water in Lake Mead. Often times getting to the lake and water isn’t an easy task, and for the inexperienced can result in bad outcomes, to include death. However, sometimes a little risk returns huge dividends. I wrote about some of these backpacking trips in:

Lake Mead Walkabout 2008

Lake Mead Walkabout 2009

Lake Mead Walkabout 2011

The Eye Candy Backpacking Trip (2014)

Often camping trips with Joyce spark an interest for areas to explore via a backpacking trip. Other times camping trips inspire me to explore the history of an area. Lake Mead Recreational Area has ticked of all these buttons. From backpacking trips into the backcountry and numerous tours inside Hoover Dam, the area just mesmerizes me.  Continue reading The Seventeenth Day after the Day After →

The Fourth Day after the Day After

Camping,

8 Sep

Early in the morning, as I am outside enjoying a cup of coffee and surveying the world around us, Corky comes to the camper door and lets me know he is ready for our morning walk. Something we have done together a few thousand times.

I began to reminice.

Corky, our wonder dog, has been our constant camping companion since we rescued him from a shelter in 2006. To say we “rescued” him isn’t fair to his previous owner. He was in fairly good health and had been well cared for. From what I was told, his owner had to move to a location that did not allow pets and he was given up for adoption.

The decision to get a dog was somewhat scary – both Joyce and I came up with the decision independently – that was the scary part; we were both on the same wave length, a conjunction of Mars and Venus. At the time I was traveling frequently away from home and a dog would make us both feel more secure in my absence. Both of us have had dogs before, but we are in complete agreement that Corky is special – the best dog either of us have ever owned. Perhaps part of this is that we are older with more life experience and our kids were grown and on their own.  Continue reading The Fourth Day after the Day After →