why i HATE trip reports

Backpacking, ,

Okay, I’m really pissed off.

I have pontificated here many times about finding and keeping secret places secret. In that article I mentioned that one of the places I have hiked to many times and never, ever disclosed how to get there is Carey’s Castle in Joshua Tree National Park. In that post I chastised a unethical author who included directions to this site in a trail guide. That author is an asshole. And worse than this author is the prick who posted GPS tracks to Carey’s Castle. Most hikers don’t have the skill to locate Carey’s Castle on their own, which is why directions to the site should never have been published – ever!

107
Carey’s Castle

On Monday of this week, Joshua Tree National Park closed the area containing Carey’s Castle and his abandoned mine.

Continue reading why i HATE trip reports →

Another Day in Paradise

General Talk
San Jacinto Sunset
Sitting in our backyard watching the sun set behind the San Jacinto Mountains.

This weekend I thought we were going camping, but instead I had to deal with some irrigation problems and then do our income tax return. All in all a good weekend. When you’re retired you don’t feel guilty about 4 hour “work days.” This evening we sat in our backyard and watched the sun set behind the San Jacinto Mountains. Once it got dark, I checked the temperature – a balmy 79 F. Much better than what I had been dealing with the past three winters.

Continue reading Another Day in Paradise →

Air Force One in Palm Springs

General Talk

“Salute the rank, not the man.”

Maj. Richard Winters

Band of Brothers

Today Joyce wanted us to have lunch together and watch President Obama land at the Palm Springs Airport, which is only a couple miles from our house.

The President’s views on just about everything and mine are diametrically opposed, just about 100% of the time. But I learned in the military that you respect the rank and he is our Commander in Chief. Given that, it was exciting to watch Air Force One land. Besides, it dismissed me from the Honey Do List, and I couldn’t go hiking on the trails leading out of Palm Springs into the San Jacinto Mountains… the Police shut down access for security reasons. Too bad I don’t have a camera with a large telephoto lens.

Landing with the Santa Rosa Mountains in the background
Air Force One
San Jacinto Mountains in the background
Air Force One
Mount San Gorgonio and the San Bernardino Mountains in the background

 

Backpacking Wallet – you’re kidding right?

Backpacking Gear

Tonight I was reading a couple blogs via Bloglovin, and I see this raffle for an Ultralight Cuben Fiber Hiker’s Wallet. What the Hell? So I check it out. Holds 6 credit cards, 2 hidden compartments, and a billfold compartment. Oh, and it costs $35. Of course someone will get a free one in the raffle. Not me, it’s silly. It does weigh only 22 grams.

When I am backpacking I bring my Driver’s license, one credit card, my California Fire Permit, and some cash. I put it into a little sack that weighs 3 grams. I like it because it has a little draw string to keep the contents secure.

Wallet

Edit: After I posted this, it dawned on my that I had read a similar post somewhere and the author uses a Ziplock bag, which is just about free. There is only one person with this kind of common sense – pmags. So a quick search found this post last year extolling the Ziplock wallet. A Ziplock bag this size weigh around 6 grams. Elegant solution.

Trail Designs Fissure Ti-Tri Stove System & Other Stove Thoughts

Backpacking Gear,

After 5 years, I am changing my Go To stove system. For the past five years, my primary stove system has been a Caldera Keg GVP Stove system. The total weight of the stove, pot, lid, and wind screen weighs 87 grams (3 ounces).

cone comparison
Caldera Cone GVP next to a 12 ounce Pepsi can. This has the Esbit Graham Cracker set-up with a total weight of 3.08 ounces for stove, ground sheet, cone, lid, and Cuben Fiber stuff sack.

THIS ISN’T A GEAR REVIEW

I have owned many backpacking stoves in my life – around a dozen or so. This sounds like a lot, but you have to take into consideration that this covers a 45 year span. I still have all of these stoves, except two I gave away. Three of the stoves require obsolete gas canisters, so I can no longer buy fuel for them.

I recently acquired a Trail Designs Fissure Stove System, which will become my primary stove system. You may be surprised with what will become my second choice.

Continue reading Trail Designs Fissure Ti-Tri Stove System & Other Stove Thoughts →

Backpacking 500 Miles in the Mojave Desert (epilogue)

Backpack Trip Report

In November and December of 2000 I backpacked from my house in Palm Springs to Lake Mead and back.

Part 8 can be viewed here.

Mojave 500 mile map

It took over a year to document this trip in 8 parts, something I could have done in one afternoon sitting in front of a computer. It wasn’t an epic trip, but for me it was an adventure. It wasn’t presented as a trail journal or daily diary, and it isn’t full of insights or as a “how to” guide. There are no gear or equipment information. Just short daily summaries of a month in the Mojave. It is mostly for my kids. They probably don’t remember that I took this trip and I may not have even mentioned it to them. But what I will share later will jog their memory. As I normally operate, I didn’t bring a cell phone with me. In 2000 cell phone coverage was just about nil in most of the places I walked. Today, fortunately, there still is no cell reception in Joshua Tree National Park or the Mojave Preserve – this is a good thing. But in 2000 phone booths were common and I did make a couple calls to my kids when resupplying in cities. So, are there any learnings, conclusions, or insights to be gained from all of this?

Continue reading Backpacking 500 Miles in the Mojave Desert (epilogue) →

Weather Got You Down?

Hiking

This weekend after a nice hike in 70 degree weather, I came home and turned on the TV to watch the news. Much of the Northeast was digging out of a blizzard, northern California and the Pacific Northwest was dealing with rain and flooding, and other parts of the country were also suffering from crappy weather.

If you live in one of these places and the weather negatively impacted you or you are just feeling down because of weather crapola, here is a small antidote.

Continue reading Weather Got You Down? →