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near flood
There’s a level for every river of any size, when water is getting close to filling the banks but is not yet in flood, when things get weird. Too much water tries to get downstream too fast, all at the same time, resulting in substantial and unpredictable vertical and horizontal movement within the current. Whirlpools…
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Honaker-Slickhorn kid hiking gear and logistics
First, the route; it’s very scenic and has great variety for a low(physical) price of entry. The floating is expedient, easy, and all rapids can be scouted and/or portaged. The hiking is not easy, and while there is almost always a use trail in Slickhorn it is rarely obvious or very useful for sustained stretches. …
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Little Bear gets real, part 2
The adults were a bit worse off come morning. The endless sun and heat yesterday had made it hard to keep hydrated, especially on the boat. Note that when I say heat, I mean above 70F. Little Bear seemed in fine shape, the only evidence of a big day last a wake up that was…
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Little Bear gets real, part 1
This trip was a big deal. A proof of concept for the near future, and the first backcountry outing with Little Bear on a route that wasn’t a compromise; our loop down the Honaker trail, down the San Juan River, and up Slickhorn Canyon all the way to the northernmost TH was one we’d have…
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8.5 months
We’re supposed to be 1000 miles south, finishing our big spring trip right now. But all three of us got sick last week, and are fortunate that jobs and permits let us move the start date back a week. After eight and a half months Little Bear has little interest in crawling, though he has…
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4th class
The east exit chimney in Rock Canyon in not 4th class. I’m fairly Steve Allen first called it that, in Canyoneering 2, but Allen’s notorious, egregious overgrading can be justified as he was usually the first person publicizing these things. What is less easy to justify is the use of that rating in the Hayduke…
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The nuclear option
I was hoping things wouldn’t have to go this far, but as I discussed here sorting out carry options for baby and multiday gear has not been simple. Putting this pack on the back of the Poco AG has worked well, but it’s short on space, and relies on the Poco belt, which is good,…
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BD Alpine Start hoody: the final word
Black Diamond’s Alpine Start hoody hasn’t changed much in the two years it’s been on the market (and since I first wrote about it). The material, a light and tough softshell with excellent breathability and darn good weatherproofing, is unchanged and remains the heart of what is (still) the most versatile and all-around best outdoor…
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Future baselayers now
Baselayers, I’ve written many words on the subject, including these and these. Fancy underwear may be a prosaic subject, but given that you wear it more often than anything else while In The Woods, it is worth both more words and perhaps, more money. Because exciting things are happening. The orthodoxy of baselayers has for…
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Why, again (part 2)
Read part 1 here, and some trip background here and here. With dry clothes, a sandy bed, hot water bottle, and the whispering river twenty feet away I slept well, a welcome contrast to the occasional shivers the previous night. Even better, experience has shown that getting on the water at dawn on a cold…
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Bedrock & Paradox 
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