Don’t forget to get your 2014 California Campfire Permit

Backpacking, Backpacking Gear, Camping, General Talk

If you are camping or backpacking in California and build a fire, use any kind of stove or lantern with a flame, you must obtain and have on your person a California Campfire Permit. There might be some areas that are exempt, but it is best just to always have one because it can be difficult to sort out the regulations and many Government employees don’t know the regulations either. Normally if you are camped in a developed campground, a permit is not needed. However, sometimes there are exceptions.

This has been required for as long as I can remember, even in the 1960’s.

Permits are issued at most offices of the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. But not always. You are dealing with government agencies. You can also get them online at these agencies, but not always.

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Can’t We Just Let Christopher McCandless Die?

General Talk,

Even though I am tired of hearing about Christopher McCandless, this is not about him. It is about the lack of real heroes as role models in our society.

WHO WAS CHRISTOPHER McCANDLESS?

He was a young man who tried to live a minimalist life and died in Alaska because he did not have the skills or knowledge to survive. His life was chronicled in the book and the movie, Into The Wild.

There is even a website dedicated to McCandless and almost 7,000 people (as of today) “Like” the site. Whatever on earth “Liking” a website means.

It is probable that McCandless had some real-life dysfunctional problems that led to his demise, but our culture wants to romanticize his life and put him up on a pedestal. We want to make him a hero, because he was vulnerable.

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Backpacking, Camping and Marijuana

General Talk

marijuanaThe legalization of marijuana in several states has been the leading  nightly news story lately.

It appears that a majority of folks on both the left and right of the political spectrum think marijuana should be legalized, but both sides are advocating for the wrong reason.

The issue of marijuana use involves two important thoughts that at first glance seem to be contradictory.

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Keep the Change

General Talk, , ,

OR HOW I RISKED MY LIFE

coinsJoyce doesn’t like the idea of receiving appliances for Christmas, her birthday, or our anniversary. I think she has watched too many Chick-Flicks or Oprah reruns. Seems she thinks these celebrations should be romantic, which would indicate jewelry, diamonds, perfume, Dom Perginon Champagne, or fine art. So I took a big risk this Christmas.

It all started when we got married in 2002. She started grabbing all my change and saving it. She told me after a while we would have enough money to buy something special — which usually means something totally useless, like furniture. But what is a man to do? I took a chance and bought her an automatic coin sorter.

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PopUpBackpacker the Year in Review (2013)

General Talk

Somehow I managed to piece together this website in July of 2012. The company that hosts the website sent me a bunch of statistics and listed the most popular pages for the year. So I thought I would share them.

  • # of Unique Visitors = 40,945
  • # of Visitors = 96,538
  • # of Page Views = 326,828
  • # of Hits = 2,287,007 (Note: I have no idea what this means)

Visitors came 126 countries in all. Most visitors came from The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

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Arctic Blast Hits US!

Backpack Trip Report

The US is in the mist of the coldest weather in 20 years.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

If you live in the northern half of the U.S. your backpacking/outdoor gear may not be adequate for the severe weather. If it is adequate, and if you want to go backpacking, the roads may not be navigable and you might be stuck at home.

If, like me, you live in the desert it maybe be different. This weekend the local deserts were forecasting highs in the 70’s and lows in the high 40’s. This would indicate that any logical and rational hiker would, like Crocodile Dundee, pack their gear, food & water and go for a walkabout.

And that is exactly what I did.

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Return from Base Camp

Camping

WE’RE BACK FROM OUR BASE CAMP

Dictionary.com defines a base camp as

a main encampment providing supplies, shelter, and communications for persons engaged in wide-ranging activities, as exploring, reconnaissance, hunting, or mountain climbing.

 

Xmas 2013-2
December 29, 2013 — Lake Mead Recreation Area

This is how we generally use our camper. It is a base for backpacking, hiking, biking, or even visiting friends and relatives.

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Out of Office Message

General Talk

emailIf you have my email address, and if you send me an email, most of the time you will get an “Out of Office” reply.

That is because I am often traveling for business, backpacking, or camping with Joyce.

Most of my family and friends really don’t understand the importance of these messages. Because I work in the corporate world email is important. Also, since I work from my home office instead of a cubicle in the Mother-ship in Warren, MI, people in my company often don’t know where I am. In addition, the good folks who work for me are often traveling too. The ability to automatically inform people I am not available and when I will be back is important. This also is important to all our clients.

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