Heating water to make breakfast, May 2025. Hercules Glades Wilderness. 3
Backpacking Gear
Ready to move on — The sun is shining at last after nearly twelve hours of rain, huge thunderstorms, and lots of wind. I was snug and dry. It’s a late start because I fell asleep reading my book while waiting for the rain to stop.
March 23, 2025 14:11
Is it a stupid idea if it works? — I don’t have footwear suitable for bad weather, so four years ago I bought some waterproof socks.
January 11, 2025 12:35
I don’t want to lose another pencil — As I was taking gear pictures, I thought I’d also take a picture of my solution to losing my pencils while backpacking. +1
March 28, 2024 15:13
Lunch stop, and time to filter some more water. +3
March 28, 2024 15:09
New hiking Sandals — I’m not sure when they stopped calling shoes like these huaraches, but sandals seems to be the current nomenclature. These are Bedrock Cairn Evo PRO Sandals. So far, I am much preferring these to my Luna sandals.
March 28, 2024 12:42
My new Hammock Gear Circadian Hammock — My first impressions are that it is wider, and the structural ridgeline is slightly shorter than my Chameleon’s. That appears to result in my being able to lie flatter, and I’m not bashing my head on stuff hanging on the ridgeline when I get in and out of the hammock.
March 28, 2024 10:26
Gear all packed — Irish Wilderness, Missouri. February 2024.
February 1, 2024 10:12
My winter backpacking gear ready to be packed away — Well, I already had a lot of my stuff laid out on my ground sheet while I was playing “Hunt the glasses,” so why not?
February 1, 2024 9:58
A break in the weather means I’m off on a four-day hike of the Whites Creek Trail, South and North Loops at Irish Wilderness. Just for a change I thought I’d take out my old 60/70-liter Deuter backpack for a trip. Then I changed my mind. 2
January 30, 2024 9:37
Running Repairs — I’ve always had a plan for dealing with broken shoes on the trail. But … that plan reckoned on the toe post breaking not the side posts. I did a bit of head scratching before I came up with this solution which lasted me the ten-plus miles I needed to hike to get back to the car.
December 6, 2023 8:14
Sig Sauer P938 Extreme, Alien Gear Shape Shift Retention Holster, and a spare magazine — I could have sworn that magazine was full when I headed out.
April 29, 2023 13:17
Drying out — That will teach me. I didn’t set the tarp and the dew point must have been just perfect for everything to get soaked, including my hammock and my down top and under quilts. I decided to delay the start of my day’s hike (any excuse) and get everything dry before packing it away.
March 5, 2023 10:19
Charging — Giving my InReach Mini and my GPS (phone) a boost. My power brick will keep all my electronics going for about a week. I’m impressed.
March 5, 2023 10:18
Packing for my first backpacking trip of 2023 — The temperature is forecast to vary from the mid-twenties overnight Saturday to the mid-sixties on Monday, so it is a full winter load-out plus some spring additions. The whole lot including food, water, and fuel weighs in at around 26 lbs. +4
February 11, 2023 15:00
Titanium backpacking wood stove modifications – My titanium wood stove needs a bit more air. This afternoon I added some more air holes.
November 19, 2022 22:48
Clear-up after breakfast – I’ve used this stove a lot on this trip, and its final outing was heating water for my breakfast – biscuits and Gravy, and my morning cup of mocha. +2
September 13, 2022 12:33
Firebox Nano – Put away ready for the next time – My trusty Firebox Nano wood stove.
August 22, 2022 10:25
Hammock ridge line holster mount — When I first saw the Alien Gear ShapeShift holster system, I thought it would be great for backpacking. When I bought my Sig Sauer P938, I checked the Alien Gear website and was very pleased to see that there was a holster for it. 2 7
August 22, 2022 8:56
Sig Sauer P938 & Alien Gear Shape Shift Holster. I may (or may not) have been doing a little target practice.
April 16, 2022 11:09
Milwaukee Fastback 48-22-1990 – I’ve finally got around to replacing the pocket knife I gave to Katie. One-minute read, +1
March 16, 2022 17:30
Charging the Garmin. We all know what this means. I’m charging it up ready for another backpacking trip.
October 1, 2021 9:31
This would have been a great weekend to get away into the woods. The temperatures are in the low eighties, and the rain has cleared out for a while. Instead, I decided to do some chores at home. One-minute read, +1
August 15, 2021 14:11
Ginger’s new tent – we splurged a lot of cash on an ultralight (24oz) Dyneema tent. Now Ginger or the kids can come out with me. +1