Category: Hiking with ropes
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The full sun rig
It’s not too often I have cause to dress only for sun and heat, but there always at least a few weeks mid-summer, and this year they are here right now. Thankfully, I’ve finally discovered the missing link in my system for multiday backcountry trips when it’s darn hot. M photo. As per above; I…
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Feathered Friends Vireo Nano review
Last fall I decided I needed a new “three season” (i.e. lows above 20F) sleeping bag. The synthetic quilt/bag I’d been using for the past four years was not nearly as warm as it used to be. I decided that I did not want a quilt, as I don’t value roominess or venting ability, and…
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Vortex Solo Monocular review, and Beaver Chilindron
The Vortex Solo R/T is a solid little monocular (8×36 is the only option available). It weighs 10.4 ounces, is a little over 6 inches long, and features rubber armor and a big clip which make it easy to hold and carry. The ranging reticle features features both milliradian hashmarks and silhouettes which allow you…
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Liebster’d
Courtesy of Woodtrekker. The Leibster Award has fuzzy origins, and amounts to a series of questions to answer, and a series of questions you in turn ask of the bloggers to whom you pass on the award. Amusingly, the german word has a platonic, male connotation. The answers: 1: Who are some of the people…
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Paradox Unaweep by the numbers
Disclaimer: as an ambassador for Seek Outside I got this pack for free. A few months ago I was chatting with Seek Outside/Paradox Pack’s Kevin Timm about, among other things, becoming an ambassador and working with them on product development. Kevin mentioned that they were thinking about making a pack which would integrate the Paradox…
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The penultimate pack
Just like with beer or coffee, every one is the penultimate. I wanted to do a couple things with this one. First, experiment with 5.3 oz/yard hybrid cuben fiber. Second, fix the mistakes/things I didn’t like about this pack. To whit; a too-short torso length (you’d think I would know better), less than ideal shoulder…
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The bearable weight of backpack features
A backpack should be a sturdy bag to hold your stuff, with a suitable suspension system, and just enough straps and/or exterior accoutrements to not impede efficiency. Efficiency in the backcountry has more to do with knowledge and experience than equipment, which makes the question simple: how little exterior stuff on your pack can you…
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The Grand Eight: Day 7 and Epilogue
The first part of the last day was simple: climb up Scotty’s Hollow until the drainage gives way, then turn right and climb up a steep slope to the rim. The second part was less so: walking two miles of road to my car, driving as close to Brendan’s truck as possible in said car,…
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The Grand Eight: Days 5 and 6
Just because we were in the second half of the trip did not mean that suffering was not be to had. I wasn’t any more sore on the morning of day 5 than previous days, but legs and feet didn’t feel any less abused either. The simple fact of it was that we had passed…
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The Grand Eight: Days 3 and 4
Waking in a narrow defile was a great way to start the day. As was the case every morning of the trip, it took a little encouragement to stand up and get the legs and feet functioning normally. We immediately rapped the short chockstone drop, did a few more downclimbs, and popped out of the…
Bedrock & Paradox 
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