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…
Blogs
Thankfulness has its limits, I guess
by tmangan • November 26, 2005 • 0 Comments
So I stop by TrailForums and click on this link about Thanksgiving, just for fun. You know, that holiday about being generous and good and kindly toward one’s fellow man during the commercial breaks in the football games. The thread’s…
Backpacking
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…
Backpacking
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…
Wildlife
Good thing the grizzly wasn’t hungry
by tmangan • November 24, 2005 • 0 Comments
No bald jokes please. He lost a chunk of scalp to a defensive mama grizzly. The Otters were carrying bear repellent, but there was no time to react. The mother bear lunged at the two hikers. All Johan Otter remembers…
Tom's travels
Turkey Day jaunt
by tmangan • November 24, 2005 • 2 Comments
Last Thanksgiving I hiked to the top of Mission Peak, where I met a guy who told me he hikes the Peak every year on this day. So I’m gonna go back and see if I can run into the…
Blogs
Hawaiian scenery that will drive you mad
by tmangan • November 23, 2005 • 1 Comment
Gambolin Man recounts his trip to Kaua
Backpacking, Photography
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…
Blogs
Why it’s good to be in Tennessee
by tmangan • November 23, 2005 • 2 Comments
Because you’re so much closer to Gatlinburg, where Jonathan the Weekend Blogger spent the weekend. He’s got some wonderful pix of the mountains nearby, and to my surprise, sharks at an aquarium. I’ve been to the town just once, during…