Category: Backpacking
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2019 Bob Open summary
The Open has always been my idea but the story has always ever been a tiny bit my own, at best, something which is proving to be less and less the case as years go by. Rather than attempt the more exhaustive accounts I have in the past, this one will be as terse as…
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Little Missouri and Maah Daah Hey logistics and debrief
While I long ago accepted that every new trip in the woods would spawn ideas for 4 new ones, and really great trips would give birth to more, better ideas for the future, I’m quite proud at how few really vital, urgent ideas have remained un-done for years and years. One of those few, packrafting…
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Rebuilding the Osprey Vertigo
Sometimes function is encapsulated in a moment. Back in the day Todd Goss had a solid gig guiding rock adventure courses for guests at the Green Valley Resort in Saint George, which in either of the few locales (Moe’s valley for convenience, the mountains to avoid the worst heat) involved some steep hiking, some easy…
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How the Imlay Kolob works
Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time. M and I lived in Moab for most of 2004, which was significantly the first spring after Mike Kelsey’s Technical Slot Canyon Guide to the Colorado Plateau was first published. Prior to this there was plenty of incomplete or tangential beta for technical slots…
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Layering in 2019: insulation
Moreso than with most categories I feel sympathy for beginners trying to come to terms with understanding insulated garments for the outdoors. Staying warm outside, on the face, shouldn’t be so complicated, and while the nuance and especially implementation of staying warm outside can be hard to hew closely with, having warm enough clothing shouldn’t…
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Layering in 2019: mid and wind layers
Since 2011 I’ve owned around two dozen windshirts, and while a third of those were for larger reviews and garments in which I didn’t have an inherent interest, this still amounts to an extravagant total. As of today there are only four in regular rotation. In the same period I’ve had at least the same…
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Layering in 2019: introduction and baselayers
Any discussion of layering has to start with it being somewhat of a misnomer; the point of a good layering system is to provider a few solid pieces which cover as great a range of conditions as possible. If you have to swap, add, or remove layers often, you chose poorly for the day. That…
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The perfect pole; revised
These poles have worked very well in the 5.5 years since I put them together. They’ve been light enough, bomber, and the ability to swap lowers and have a pole longer enough for nordic skiing (or pitching a mid with a single pole) has been very handy. Shortcomings have been two fold. While the…
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The present of synthetic insulation
Last year I wrote about my lasting dissatisfaction with synthetic insulated jackets. Today I’m happy to report that substantial progress has been made, in the form of the Patagonia Hyperpuff. I bought a Hyperpuff jacket last spring, during the annual 50% off sale, and tested the most intransigent concern for a synthetic insulated jacket, durability,…
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Angles
In the last few days, winter has finally caught up with us. The forecast for the past 24 hours was impressive, 45 and sunny falling to a few degrees (F) below 0, with close to a foot of snow, maybe some rain, and winds up above 20 miles an hour. At my 5000′ camp only…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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