Interesting thread at The Lightweight Backpacker on various man-made fibers in sleeping bags. I ended up buying a synthetic-fill bag partly because it was super light, but also because synthetics insulate when wet, unlike down fill. One contributor begs to…
Backpacking
Links and comments about backpacking, camping and long distance hiking at Two-Heel Drive
Check out the Blackpacker
by tmangan • November 26, 2005 • 0 Comments
A thread at the Hiking HQ led me to Blackpacker, a blog by a guy who says he joined the military for training as a revolutionary (I have a weakness for radicalism — sort of a release valve for working…
Cooking in the backcountry
by tmangan • November 25, 2005 • 1 Comment
My last camp-out gave me a chance to compare a couple philosophies about dining in the backcountry: one is to go ahead and do business with companies that take much the trouble out of providing nutrition, provided you don’t mind…
A shout-out to the Snow Nymph
by tmangan • November 23, 2005 • 0 Comments
Spent about an hour this morning checking out page after page of spectacular scenery at the Web site of Snow Nymph, who with her male companion Snow Dude seems to have hiked every trail worth hiking in the Sierra, and…
Loving in the woods
by tmangan • November 22, 2005 • 1 Comment
So you’re in the wilds with the one you adore when the Cialis Moment arrives. Assuming that the exertions of hauling heavy stuff up steep hills haven’t, uh, drained you completely, there are serious practical concerns to weigh before the…
Stove stuff
by tmangan • November 22, 2005 • 0 Comments
I must be turning into a total camping geek because I cannot stop reading all the info at zenstoves.net. I have one of those tiny canister stoves (MSR Pocket Rocket) that’s easy to use but a bit unwieldy with those…
Back in the hills of Henry Coe
by tmangan • November 20, 2005 • 5 Comments
Weather last week was wonderful, except when it was gorgeous. I checked the San Jose forecast around Tuesday — blue skies and highs in the 70s through the weekend triggered my inner Boy Scout, which made it impossible to think…
Love among the thru-hikers
by tmangan • November 17, 2005 • 0 Comments
So a young lass creates a thread about romance along the great Appalachian Trail. Can’t help but post this comment: I did discover a great bit of “trail wisdom”: if she’s still shaving her legs, she’s looking for a man.
Why all these stories…
by tmangan • November 16, 2005 • 0 Comments
… about people conquering the AT, PCT, etc? Oh, yeah, because now people are finishing the trails. It helps to live in a small town with a paper desperate for anything remotely interesting to fill its pages. Long-distance hikers come…