Category: Backpacking
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The 610 pack, diaper version
I’ve made this pack, or one to fulfill the same role, 6 or 8 times now. Most for my own use, a few for friends. It continually evolves. The most recent version got axed because the back panel taper got too funky and resulted in a subtle narrowing pinch point in the middle of the…
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The 2016 BD Alpine Start Hoody
As I’ve mentioned here and elsewhere, the Black Diamond Alpine Start hoody is one of the better pieces of outdoor clothing one can buy. The original version had a fabric which was as perfect as current technology allows; mine has stood up impressively well to lots of use in the past 20 months. The only…
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Little brown lines, summer 2004
Sorting through quadrangle maps turned up one with notes from many years ago, and I realized that for a variety of reasons I’d never written anything about one outstanding trip from the last months we lived in Moab, publicly or privately. As I have written many times, modesty ought to be the rule for claims…
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Fuzzy longevity
Yesterday I finally retired* my Rab Xenon (*cut up for parts and usable scraps of material). I received this jacket in early 2012 for a BackpackingLight project, and for the better part of two years it got the snot beat out of it. Starting last spring it stayed in the closet more often than not…
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The next big pack
There were a few persistent flaws or sources of discontent with this pack, which eventually had to be remedied. Ergo the monster below, and yet another doorway/Bob map photo. It’s been tested in a very basic manner on a dayhike, but backpacking with Little Bear in Utah next week will be it’s first real trip.…
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The five-foot tarp
A five foot wide tarp is a dead useful thing to have around, for emergency use, hiding from the weather to cook or glass (above), or for a primary solo shelter which will force one to use good site selection and pitching techniques. It’s also an excellent and relatively cheap and easy MYOG (make ya…
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Little Bear rides the wind
We still haven’t taken Little Bear backpacking, which I feel bad about. He’s proven to be a good sleeper, but still fusses and cries unpredictably and fairly often, especially during nighttime diaper changes. Frankly, I still can’t get it out of my head what a fantastic predator call his wailing is, and thus we’ve been…
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Low percentages
Sam came back over the sage at a slow run, white mustache twitching with moisture in the bright noon air. “I like to think I’m a good judge of character,” he begins, then tells me how when he walked to the other side of the pass to get service he looked up after dialing his…
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All about insulation
Insulation in outdoor clothing can be confusing. The common question is “will ___ keep me warm during ____”, which is as understandable as it is naive (and bluntly, stupid). Clothing does not make you warm, clothing keeps you warm, and neglecting metabolic training (ex: burning fats), proper fueling and hydration, and technique (ex: slow down…
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Planning pile: Tendoy Bighorn hunt
I’m nervous about being rusty. It’s been almost 3 months since I went backpacking, and while taken as a whole it isn’t exactly a perishable skill, the profusion of little things which come together to make a backcountry trip go smoothly make it easy to forget stuff. So I’ve got a nice pile on the…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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