A while back an acquaintance of an acquaintance, who is a friend of a friend, sent me an email inquiring whether I could recommend a backpacking gear App or did I think a spreadsheet could possibly suffice. I occasionally get these kinds of requests, but more often people ask me to review their gear list and then want to debate any recommendations I might make. Worse than that, they send me a link to some online gear program that won’t run on my iPad, forcing me to open my computer to look at it. I’m too busy to jump through hoops like this to help someone out. What is the world coming to?
campfires, drought & camping
CAMPFIRES
I am not big on campfires. I build a campfire on less than 5% of our camping trips. I haven’t built a fire on a backpacking trip since 1971.
But there is something special between our species and campfires…
Packrats and how my summer is going…
As you know, if you have read my posts here, I get out quite often every year for backpacking and camping. Usually over a hundred nights a year. Well, that hasn’t been the case this summer: so far. You see, there is one very important rule in life:
Happy Wife = Happy Life
Is my BIC empty?
My last post was about the wonderful Bic Lighter.
I touched on the fact you can hold a light to it and see how much fuel is left. I have never tried to check the level on a trip with a headlamp, because I am incredibly smart — I check it before I leave home with a flash light. Below is an example.
Best Piece of Backpacking Gear. Ever.
I often read gear reviews that are really just initial impressions. Some folks use gear for a year or two and call it a long term review. I think if gear is used for 10 or more years, it qualifies as a long term review. This way we can answer the question, “Does it stand the test of time?”
For the past 40 plus years there has been only one piece of gear I have taken on every backpacking trip. It has also accompanied me on most day hikes and camping trips too.