Ostensibly it is pretty common for backpackers to bring an extra pair of shoes for crossing streams and/or to use at the campsite after a long day of walking. So I thought I would share how I do this. This does not apply to winter hiking, which I shall define as daytime temperatures below freezing and lots of snow. For those trips, this is my shoe system.
Continue reading How to Choose Backpacking Water and Camp Shoes
After finishing my backpacking trip and leaving the Trinity Alps, I headed west to the northern California coastline around Arcata and Trinidad. Two goals were foremost: (1) check out some campgrounds for an extended camping trip with Joyce later this year and (2) do some backpacking in the coastal Redwood forests. I spent the night camped next to the ocean and was treated to continuous rain and wind — an encore to the previous four nights. After checking a couple campgrounds for future reference, the decision was made that being outdoors in the rain 24/7 wasn’t much fun anymore. This was not a reason to cancel a trip, but it was motivation to consider options. One enticing option was the central coast area of California south of Carmel all the way to San Simeon, which was enjoying wonderfully warm weather. So I headed south on Hwy 101, dealt with bumper-to-bumper traffic through San Francisco and jumped on Hwy 1 in San Jose savoring a bit of driving along the Big Sur Coast and then a backpack in the Los Padres National Forest, not expecting this…
The Internet is a strange beast. With the anonymity of a computer screen and keyboard there are many people who are not what they appear to be — a counterfeit persona. Along with this there are many people who collect “friends,” “followers,” or “likes” as some sort of ego fulfilling stamp collection.
In spite of this electronic universe, a diligent person can recognize the sincere and honest people on the World Wide Web. But these folks can only be acquaintances. Friendship requires face-to-face real world interactions. At the end of October I spent a few days with some Internet acquaintances who I can now say are friends.
I want to point out that unlike camping and camper stuff that have a longevity in production, backpacking gear changes quickly. Old models are discontinued often, especially clothing and footwear. If I find a garment or shoe that I like and want to use long term, I usually buy several of each item, because if it is good the manufacturer will probably soon discontinue it and replace it with a “new and improved” model that is mostly marketing hype or worse — simply discontinue it.
“What should the tire pressure be when towing?”
This is a common question. If there is one subject among trailer owners that is wrought with misinformation and voodoo, it is tire pressure and load capacity. A discussion about tire pressure is, well, a numbers discussion. Ah, numbers are our friends. Just in case you dislike technical stuff and a bunch of numbers, let me pique your interest with a couple commonly asked but rarely correctly answered questions.
Q. Tire pressures are always shown as cold. Can I set my tires after driving on them and what should I set them at?
A. You should add 5 – 6 psi above the specifications. For example, if the specification is 35 psi, then set your warm tires to 40 or 41 psi.
Q. My SUV/Light Truck came equipped with passenger tires. Is there anything special I should know?
A. Yes. The load carrying capacity of P-Metric tires when used on SUVs, light trucks, and vans is 91% of the stated capacity.
Continue reading Tire Pressure Secrets for Camping Trailers & Tow Vehicles
If you’re reading this you probably know what an inverter is. Just in case that is not the case let’s quickly cover the subject. I have been using inverters for decades and through a lot of trial and error, research and tenacity, have learned much. By sharing this I might be able to assist you in making a good inverter decision and save you from the timely and often expensive option of learning through mistakes.
Yeah, I know…
Here’s the deal. I built this site over 4 years ago mainly to let my kids and a few friends know what I was up to. This eliminated the need for phone calls, emails, and texts. Over time the site grew. Part is my fault because on the two Internet forums I visit I would sometimes just link to a post here instead of typing in a lengthy response. However, 80% of the traffic comes from search engines like Google. To date there have been over 1.5 million page views.
Now I am retired and on a fixed income. I have enough to live well enough, but this site costs money to maintain. Yearly fees for a domain, service hosting fees, and some licenses to make the software work properly especially on mobile devices. I am hoping I can generate around $20 per month to cover the operation of the site.
But I want to be completely honest about the ads and tell you how they work.
It’s surprising that most people don’t carry a portable air compressor in their vehicle. Especially these days when gas stations no longer have free air and the pay for air stations that replaced it usually don’t work. I always carry a portable air compressor due to Murphy’s Law: when some can go wrong, it will. Especially when you are towing a trailer miles and miles away from cell phone coverage.
In the past the air compressors that lie in wait in the back of the SUV have been inexpensive mostly plastic affairs. They work for a year or two then die. When our 2006 Niagara tent trailer was vandalized and totaled by our insurance company, I had placed the air compressor in the trailer during the tire debacle. It was stolen too.
When we bought our new Milan in 2013, I decided to get the highest quality air compressor for the most reasonable price, which means Amazon is my best friend. When towing the trailer there would now be 8 tires to maintain. The VIAIR 88P had nearly 1,000 reviews on Amazon with a score of 4.6 out 5. It has been used for three years and this June I really put it through a hard test. It passed with flying colors.
I have camped in the desert during summer without air conditioning many times. In our local deserts, temperatures do occasionally hit 120F and once in a while even higher. See this post where I re-packed our wheel bearings in 123F temperature. The rare occasions we patronize a campground with electrical hook-ups is usually when we take our inflatable boat to the lower Colorado River in the middle of summer.
Old Age is Creeping In.
Staying cool in the hot desert during the day is simple: just stay in the shade. But as I get older, it is getting more difficult for me to sleep when the nighttime temperatures are 90F or higher. This June we spent a couple of weeks at Lake Mead and most days were above 110F and a couple hit 114F. Anticipating this, and not willing to stay in a parking lot campground with hook-ups away from the lake and in civilization, I came up with an idea – a portable evaporative cooler (aka swamp cooler).
Now, I could buy a generator, which is expensive and more importantly noisy. So that was out based on principle and philosophy. Being familiar with evaporative coolers, I first needed to do some simple math.
Continue reading Camping in 114F Temps and No Air Conditioner (sort of)
Back in June I asked folks in this post to Please Help Save Off-Trail Hiking in Anza Borrego. It just dawned on my that an update to the situation was never communicated here.
Continue reading “We the People…” made a difference at Anza Borrego