A Four-day Walkabout & GGG X for Dessert

Backpack Trip Report, ,
the Gear Geeks begin gathering for a chilly morning breakfast

Back in 2009 a group of people who frequent the forums at backpackinglight.com started an annual get together they called the Gathering of the Gear Geeks (GGG). Apparently an ultralight backpacking gear-centric weekend affair, it was of no interest to me as gear is mostly boring. I equate it to a bunch of auto mechanics getting together to share their wrenches and sockets… something that never happens.

Over time, as the so-called ultralight gear became more main stream, it seemed the GGG was becoming more about diverse people getting together for a weekend with one common interest – backpacking. Re-winding to last year, my friend Craig suggested we ought to go up and meet some of these folks in person, which would be an 870 mile round trip for me. Not a trip I would want to do again just to camp out for a couple of nights. But… Continue reading A Four-day Walkabout & GGG X for Dessert →

Hackers, Thieves, and Property Rights

General Talk, , ,

A little over a week ago, I wrote about this site being hacked. Since then there have been several more successful intrusions and one of these deleted a significant amount of files. This has kept me busy, working with the companies that provide security and backup services for this site, and adding even more security to protect me against these malicious criminals. The site is back and running with all intact. All of this has entailed a lot of time, energy, and money to keep PopUpBackpacker in existence. Given that this site has a small audience, is not influential, and has a limited scope, one would wonder (as I have) if all this aggravation is worth the effort. I seriously pondered this same question. Continue reading Hackers, Thieves, and Property Rights →

Update: BLM – Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Land Exchange

Backpacking, The Environment

Almost three years ago I wrote about  the proposed land swap between the BLM and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (ACBCI), and why it was a bad deal for the public.

A couple days ago I received an email from the BLM with links to three documents. Having spent considerable time reading all of this, I think it is a good deal for the public and the tribe. Continue reading Update: BLM – Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Land Exchange →