Our desert is warming up. Every day is now into triple digits and this weekend called for temperatures close to 110F, so it is time to focus our camping from the desert to mountains. Our first mountain camping trip of the season provided three nights of cool mountain air and rich starry nights.
A Good Day to be Old
“You are only as old as you think you are,” is a well known saying. I like it. Over the years I have pretty much continued with the hobbies and recreational activities I started as a kid. Yesterday something happened that caused me to think about the things I have done over the years.
Telescope Upgrades
Getting ready for the Sierra camping season and I have completed upgrading my Celestron C8se telescope.
A New Fridge for the Niagara
A Pencil for the JMT
I am not a pencil user; my preference is a fountain pen. It has been decades since I regularly used a pencil. Even in math, chemistry, and physics classes taken in high school and college I used a fountain pen – probably because my teachers and professors didn’t like pens. But my dislike of the lowly pencil may have changed.
“Old” (backpacker) Guys Rock!!
I don’t spend a lot of time reading blogs, backpacking or otherwise. But when I have a little bit of extra time there are a few I like to check. Mostly hikers in the UK, especially those who frequently hike in Scotland, where the weather is often terrible and they just deal with it.
I especially enjoy a handful of “old” hikers close to my age (over 60) who hike often and can do the same kind of hikes (mileage and terrain) comparable to people half or even a third of our age. Here is a list of the “old” guys, and I am sure there are a lot more out there. I have never met or corresponded with any of them, but their Internet persona and blog content makes for good reading.
Continue reading “Old” (backpacker) Guys Rock!!
John Muir and Freedom from Restraint
All my life I have been a voracious reader. Unfortunately there has been little fiction or non-fiction written since 1957 worth reading. So I spend most of my reading time catching up with the classics I have not read, or re-reading the best of the best.
For some reason I can’t explain, my reading seems to be theme-based. That is, I read about specific subjects or read specific authors without interruption. Currently I am re-reading most of John Muir’s works. A couple years ago my theme was the writings of our founding fathers and those great minds that influenced them. Last year it was mostly Jack London and then Victor Hugo.
The “Magic” Patagonia Houdini Windshirt
The most versatile piece of equipment in my backpacking kit is a wind shirt, and more precisely, a Patagonia Houdini wind shirt.
It seems that many backpackers can’t grasp the utility of a wind shirt and hopefully I can help explain why a wind shirt should be one of your most important pieces of clothing.
Esbit Stove Shoot Out: Caldera vs LiteTrail
Groupthink and Collaboration on the Trail
In the past I posted a couple of articles: Solo Backpacking and Solo Backpacking: Crazy and Dangerous? For some reason, I get the greatest criticism about hiking solo from other backpackers. This might infer that backpackers have greater knowledge about the dangers of solo walking than non-backpackers, or perhaps I come across as elitist. I couldn’t disagree more. In my opinion, hiking alone is safer than hiking in a group.