Category: Leisure

April 24, 2025 – The Tide Has Definitely Turned

April 24, 2025 /

I recently took my inaugural hike with my new pack full of all that shiny gear that has never been used. I am happy to report that I did not have any straps slip and everything was great. I probably need to add some more weight because I didn’t have anything representing food or clothing in my pack for realistic weight. A large part of this trip was also gear shake out so I wasn’t pushing distance or speed.

The day was a sunny, low seventies day. It was the first that I have seen here this year. I think that there was one in February that I was sick and in bed all day. There was also one last weekend when we were in North Carolina. But the forecast had low seventies all week long. The tide has definitely turned on the weather. It also appears that there is no frost danger in the forecast.

Along this trail system, there are several places marked as viewpoints. I set a goal to hike to the closest viewpoint testing my satellite communicator. I forgot my map so I wasn’t totally sure where it was. But, after a couple of miles I got a good view of Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sisters. I figured that this is good enough.

Mt. Jefferson is the second tallest peak in Oregon. I have grown up within view my whole life. Yes, Mt. Hood gets all the press as it is the tallest and closer to Portland than Mt Jefferson. But still it is an impressive sight. Typically, Mt Jefferson can’t be seen in the Summer or Fall due to air pollution, largely agricultural dust. We all know how many sunny days there are in the Winter and Spring in the Pacific Northwest. It is a special day when it can be seen.

Recently, I was sitting around thinking, I wonder how the mountain got one of the most coveted names of American history? Then it came to me, Jefferson sponsored Lewis and Clark. Of course, but wait they didn’t come through here they would have passed Mt Hood on the Columbia river. Jefferson wasn’t the first name of course, turns out that the natives called it Seekseekqua.

Lewis and Clark did see Mt Jefferson on their journey. The story goes that due to its distance and proximity to Mt Hood, they felt it held a reserved status compared to the other things that they have seen. Those in the know recognize that there is a Mt. Washington and a Mt. Adams as well in the Cascade mountain range. There are places in this state where you can catch many of these mountains from the same viewpoint.

The weather was great, my pack was staying put, how about the satellite communicator? The instructions say that it should be used in a clear and open area. How realistic is that in western Oregon? I wanted to see how would function under typical conditions. After all, how often is an emergency in ideal conditions? The things I was interested in are battery life and effectiveness.

My plan allows for both text messages and pictures as well as periodic bread crumb tracking. The preprogrammed messages are (paraphrased) 1. I am starting, 2. Checking in, all OK, 3. I am done. Those all tested fine. I also successfully sent several free form messages. I made sure that my phone was in airplane mode so that it was not mistakenly communicating in cellular mode.

The picture did not send. More troubleshooting will be necessary. Probably since messages went but pictures no I am thinking that the message size is a problem. I assume that the device will do what it is supposed to do, something that was more potentially concerning was the battery life.

I am not planning on taking a battery or charging capability. In my two hour hike, I used 3% of battery capacity of the inReach. This was leaving breadcrumbs once every 30 minutes. It also requires the phone app to compose and read messages and my phone was about 10% down after the hike. My next test will be just having the communicator on. I think that in order to make it a week, I am going to have to use them somewhat sparingly.

The last thing that I wanted to do was to check the breadcrumbs. Everything worked like it was supposed to. A position once every 30 minutes is not terribly helpful on a 2 hour back and forth hike. I might turn up the frequency just to see it work on the next hike. But, I can say that it works.

End Your Programming Routine: I am definitely checking things off. With Easter last weekend and family obligations next weekend, I have to find some time for some overnights. This weekend seems to be an opportunity that might be too good to pass up for an out and back. Then I can try out my new tent and actually cook as well as do my first consecutive days.

April 17, 2025 – It’s Been a Good Run

April 17, 2025 /

I read an article recently that said that the iPhone Xr (10th generation) was not going to support iOS 19. The current operating system version is 18.4 which means that it is still a viable product but I wondered what that meant to me. I remember vividly December 7, 2018. That was the day that my iPhone 6 just stopped working.

I remember it because I was on call for my job. I had received a call about midnight and worked several hours to resolve the issue. I tried to call back stating my position on the issue and my phone didn’t work. Several hours later, my phone was still not working. Several hours later again, a trip to the Apple store confirmed that my phone was bricked. The answer was some phones just do that when they get old. What a crappy answer.

The next day which was a Sunday, I picked up a Red, iPhone Xr that I have used every since. I was still on-call until the next Thursday but at least I had a working device. As a result of running around I decided to skip the company Christmas party due to lack of sleep and a lot of frustration. It didn’t take a lot for me to not want to go to the party but my wife was very disappointed. This was her Christmas bonus for putting up with me travelling on a dime and being on-call every three weeks.

In retrospect, I was being a little cheap and didn’t want to pay the extra money for the smaller Xs model. I regretted that since the day that I made the decision. One of the primary drivers I wanted in a new phone was a smaller format. I am tired of the the bulk of large phones. I have other devices to watch video and or type. But, it turns out that Apple discontinued the smaller format phones with the 13 model.

Of all of the latest iPhone 16 models, at least the 16 and 16e are the same size as my old Xr. It turns out the more expensive models are larger than what I got which is the 16e. So, I couldn’t get a smaller phone but at least it is not any bigger.

Let me tell you that I think I am fairly tech savvy. I run my own website, I am a software programmer by trade. Swapping data from the old phone to the new phone was not easy. Neither my iPhone nor my wife’s Galaxy were able to activate and required going to the factory store. Fortunately, I took a back-up before I started doing all of the work so I was able to start from ground zero.

Since my iPhone Xr was running iOS 18, most everything seems familiar. There is one feature that I wish I knew a few weeks ago however. It turns out that since the iPhone 14, they have the capability to make satellite phone calls in case of emergency. This relegates my brand new, not even activated yet Garmin inReach significantly less valuable.

Don’t get me wrong, the inReach is not obsolete. I have decided on the plan that I want and the strategy that I want to use. It will allow breadcrumb style tracking as well as periodic messages and pictures included in the plan. But, one of the primary justifications for buying it was ‘In Case of Emergency’.

I am probably not a typical user. I barely touch social media and my phone remains almost charged most days. I can typically last two days without charging due to minimal use when travelling. As a result, my phone has lasted six and a half years and was running fine by all accounts. My kids and wife in contrast have all had at least two phones each since I got this phone in 2018.

The one thing I have noticed lately is the battery draining much quicker. I blamed it on the other devices connected. It seemed to me the battery life started to drain much quicker when I added the Garmin Instinct 2 watch. Then when I paired the inReach it was if the phone would lose about 5% per hour. My quick research on the subject seems to debunk that theory so maybe the battery is just losing steam.

For a lot of people, getting a new phone is a status symbol and not an obstacle. My little observations today may seem ignorant, putting me as a technological rube. Notice I didn’t get the most high powered device that I see so prevalent when I am out and about. That is OK because to me it is a tool that I applied my requirements before purchasing and size was more important than the best camera and the most storage. I learned my lesson from the last time and would have gladly paid more for a smaller format if available.

End Your Programming Routine: I am not a iPhone snob but I have used both Apple and android. I much prefer the iOS experience to android. Since my wife has a Samsung phone, I frequently have occasion to use that operating system. As a result, I have made my preference. I wouldn’t be surprised if my next phone is an iPhone as well. Look for an update in six plus years if things hold true this round.

April 10, 2025 – A New Year New Gear, Part 8

April 10, 2025 /

Whoa. It has been a busy period. I have been waiting for a long time to pull the trigger on my next purchases because of cost. Recently, I bought my tent, a satellite tracker and a new head lamp. Not only is this a big purchase but it represents a significant change to my strategy in training. I am shifting from my training pack to my new trail pack. I will also be moving from day hikes only to include overnights.

After these purchases, I have a few other things that I want to buy but they are truly optional. There are a few things that are possible as well. For instance, I may or may not buy new shoes. Right now it seems like they are holding up just fine but my actual hike is still a ways away. The last expensive and necessary purchase is going to be my food,

This tent is incredible. I have yet to set it up but I will of course test it out. I researched features and made some optional choices like doors that open to the side so each doesn’t have to climb over to get out. I decided on a two person tent rather than a one person tent. This is because it only added three ounces. I figured the versatility of possibly allowing another person and certainly more space was worth the weight.

The tent itself is only two pounds and eight ounces. It feels like nothing. I have seen bread loaves that are bigger than everything when it is packed up. There is one optional accessory which is called a footprint that I would like to buy. It’s purpose is to add a second layer to the bottom and prevent moisture coming through. But it also adds more resiliency to prevent tears in the fabric. I sure don’t want a $400 tent with a rip in the bottom.

A tent is potentially optional. I could have chosen a bivy bag or hammock or even toughed it out under the stars. I wanted a tent for two reasons. If the bugs get crazy, I want to get away from them, especially as I sleep. Also, if the heavens open up I want to be able to get away from rain if I have to. A tent is peace of mind for me and it is something I can use for years to come.

The satellite communicator is definitely a luxury. What it is supposed to do is send periodic GPS coordinates to somebody as well as contact emergency services when summoned. I don’t think that it is strictly necessary and wouldn’t have one if I hadn’t fought with my wife for the last twenty years about going into the woods alone.

I am looking at this device as an opportunity to be able to do some more back country hunting and fishing. Year over year, I have held back because I didn’t have a partner to go with me. Even this trip, I am supposed to be lining up some fellow travelers (which I do not really want). This of course requires a subscription service that can be turned on and off. I am planning on turning it while I train and probably leave it on until hunting season is over.

I would have gone on the trip without the satellite communicator but it happened to be 25% off this month. When the stars align with income and sales, it is time to act. More on how this works as I do more testing with it.

Finally, I really did not need a new headlamp. However, there were some new features that this has that I wanted. First of all, the other headlamp I have is in my hunting pack. I used it on my fishing trip last year and it worked fine. I didn’t really like how it accidentally would go to the red light when the button sequence was not pushed correctly. Plus, it is good to have some redundancy.

But more so than that, this new headlamp has a rechargeable battery pack that can also take alkaline batteries. Hopefully using rechargeable, batteries will never explode in the device and when it becomes discharged, I can replace with alkaline batteries until I get the point to charge again. It also has a nice carrying bag that will turn the lamp into a lantern by the light reflecting inside the bag. Pretty cool.

End Your Programming Routine: What started as a desperate search for topic ideas has now gone eight versions. As I said, I am not likely done buying things but this topic has run it’s course. It definitely wont be the end of my hiking topics. I plan on doing a whole pack-out before I leave. I am going to talk about lessons learned from my training as I get through them but the strictly buying gear posts are done. You probably didn’t enjoy them as much as I enjoyed planning and buying the stuff but more hiking coming on Thursdays.

April 9, 2025 – I’m a Lumberjack and I’m OK

April 9, 2025 /

You may have seen the Stihl Timbersports competition on ESPN. This is the logging related competition where competitors cut through a log the fastest called ‘hot saw’ with souped up chainsaws. They also chop through telephone pole thickness poles with an ax in less than 20 seconds. Like other competitions, rodeo as an example, timber sports have their origins in practical skills.

When I was a kid growing up, our town hosted the biggest timber sports competition in the world and the competitors reflected that. It was called the Albany Timber Carnival. As with the fall of timber in the mid 1990s, so too went the Timber Carnival. But the lasting tradition of the competition and quietly preserved skills can still be found, if you know where to look.

I shouldn’t be surprised but I ran across the Oregon State University’s competition area when I was doing some of my practice hikes. One of OSU’s foundations is a strong forestry school. The hiking I have been doing is in the forest owned and managed by the college for teaching purposes. Why wouldn’t they have a competition program and the facilities to perform?

Ultimately, these competitors have to come from somewhere. My cousin competed on a team in high school in the late 1990s. I remember asking what the secret was to chopping with an axe. He said that there is definitely technique but a lot of it is how you sharpen your tools. That part I don’t quite know but I spent a couple of days sharpening my ax one time. I put a whole new bevel on the blade that was much sleeker. That thing definitely cuts like a house of fire.

I am no expert in this by any means. I have never competed or trained let alone barely watched one of these competitions on TV. I just think it is pretty cool to see this of throwback activity (to me and my past) is still alive. I takes me back to when I was a kid and timber was king. It was a time when my town crowned the world champion in each of these events.

End Your Programming Routine: I would love to be able to climb up a pole and know how to sharpen an ax so that I could whack a giant log in less than ten swings. Even more than my sentimental pride, the point of my writing today is you never know what you are going to find in the world. You have to get out there and explore that world to find it. TV and internet can expose and publicize things but when you just run across it incidentally, it is pretty neat.

April 2, 2025 – Cross Training

April 2, 2025 /

I won’t say that I grew up skiing, but I did go probably once or twice a year in the high school years. Once I got to college, I purchased my own skis and would go four or five times a year. But once we moved to South Carolina, I got rid of them and never did it again. That is, until a couple of weekends ago.

We have been to the snow a number of times over the years. Sometimes it was to take out of town family to take lessons. Sometimes it was to take our kids to take a lesson. Always, I would just stay in the lodge with my wife while they did their thing. The truth is, I was never a good skier and I was afraid that being older and out of shape was a recipe for injury.

Our exchange student loves the snow. He has been invited four or five times since he has been here. So, this was a family trip. Since my kids had very limited experience, we decided to take lessons. Good decision since it has been 25 years since I had even been on skis. My wife asked me, do I want beginner’s or advanced lessons. I think that I already know about the snow plow, so I chose advanced.

It turns out that there were eight levels of lessons. We ended up at level 4. Since my one and only lesson was a couple hours at 14, I actually learned a lot of things that I did not know. Plus, equipment rental was included in the price of the lesson. The result was that I am way more confident now than I was before we went on the trip.

There was a lot of struggle with this experience. At first, I couldn’t get my boots to buckle. After carrying everything downstairs to the rental, the tech just undid the buckle. Then, as I was testing the boot fit, one of the instructors told me that the boots were too big. It was not easy to get my feet in the boot, I was already sweating profusely just trying to test fit.

The new equipment does seem to be better than it used to be. The one and only time I fell was getting on the chairlift with my boys when they did not leave enough room for me to sit down on the chair. During our lessons, we practiced control, skiing back and forth across the mountain. This technique took a lot of physical effort. Rather than carving swiftly down the mountain, we were inching our way down. Runs were taking 30 minutes.

By the time the lesson was over, I was definitely ready for a break. My knee was hurting a little bit and my thighs were burning. There were periods of total sweating from the exertion of control. After we had lunch, I decided to sit it out while the kids went off.

After an extra half an hour, I went out alone. By this time the mountain was getting a lot busier with new people all over the easier slopes, I do mean all over. This meant that I had to practice my controlled descent even more intensely. By the time I got to the bottom, my physical reserve was gone. I didn’t want to risk tweaking my knee or eating it a bunch of times.

The reality is that I didn’t get my money’s worth from a lift ticket and rental standpoint. I was only skiing about two and a half hours. But I definitely got my workout’s worth. The next day, I could hardly walk up the stairs, my thighs were still burning and I was out of breath going up and down to my office. Having not skied in so long I had no idea what muscles were going to hurt. I feel good about what I got from the lessons and my confidence has improved tremendously.

End Your Programming Routine: I stand by my decision to quit early. I could feel my body fatigue on the last run was at the edge of empty. It was definitely more fun than sitting in the lodge all day but it doesn’t make me want to run out and buy skis again. I still think cross country skiing might be a better fit for me now. After a good long hike the day before, I was bushed for several days afterward. That sounds like good cross training for me.

March 27, 2025 – New Year, New Gear, Part 7

March 27, 2025 /

This week is all about water. I purchased an MSR, in-line filter. This is going to be my solution for water filtration and protection from water born pathogens. Not only is it more inexpensive than the pump filter but it is more compact as well. Don’t get me wrong, the filter itself was not cheap but at $50 it sure beats $300. It is supposed to be good for 1500 gallons, that should do for a while.

I decided to purchase the filter from a sporting goods, big box retailer. The price was a couple of dollars cheaper than Amazon or REI. More than price, I wanted to spend my money with an entity that holds the same values that I do. That would be primarily staunch second amendment support rather than wishy-washy at best. I will still patronize the others when they have what I need, but given the choice I want to spend my money where it matters.

I know, you probably do not care where I bought it or why I chose a particular retailer. The thing that kind of, sort of chaps my hide is that the filter came with a missing part. The female quick connect was not in the box. It appears if somebody opened the package, I can see that the paper is torn where there was a sticker holding the box together.

I can surely say that I don’t really know how to communicate this. I suppose that I could return it but the most important part is there, the filter. I can buy the missing component and move on. So that is what I am going to do. Time after time my experience with purchasing open packaging, this happens. Unfortunately, I bought it online and didn’t get to pick in the first place.

I have already mentioned this before but I do plan on purchasing a second filter as a back-up. In theory, I would get the component I am missing and I really only need one. But, I realized that there are cheaper in-line filters. The Sawyer brand is half the cost and is also a smaller form factor. I will most likely go in that direction rather than a direct replacement.

The plan is to splice the filter in between the reservoir outlet and the draw end, quick connection. This will be one compact, self contained package for the water that I need on the trail regardless of source. I think that this should work out nicely.

The other hydration bladder pictured is my backup that I will carry. This provides me with the confidence that should I have a problem with my primary one, I will have another. This is not just for backup however. The plan is that if I need to leave the trail for water, I can carry twice as much, eliminating the need to refill before the start of the day as well.

I specifically chose this hydration bladder for three reasons. It is 3 liters in size, it has a carry handle so that I can more easily carry it bare from the source and it fills from the bottom rather than a twist cap. My thoughts are that filling from the bottom allows for a more flexible way of collecting water if the source is shallow. I may have need to collect water in my secondary bladder so that I can transfer to my primary.

You know when the battle plan falls apart? On first contact with the enemy. My next purchase is going to be the tent. Once I have that, I am ready to switch from my training pack and start to do some overnights. I won’t have everything I want or am planning on buying but I will have everything I basically need for my trip. I need to get some familiarity with all of these things to make sure it is working as anticipated.

End Your Programming Routine: I have some backpacking experience so I am not going into this endeavor blind. That being said, a lot of my plan is theory or how I think it is going to work. I need to get to the testing phase as soon as possible so that I have time to maneuver if and when things don’t go as I am expecting. I will not be going far away from civilization and just for over night but it will be valuable insight that I need.

March 26, 2025 – Experimenting For Peace of Mind

March 26, 2025 /

I am in the opening phases of meal planning. I am planning on using freeze dried meals for at least some of my meals, preferably both morning and evening. One of the things that I have no handle on whatsoever is how much fuel will I need for this. As with all containerized gas, even a fuel style gauge wouldn’t be terribly helpful other than giving something to worry about.

So, I set about running a test. How long does it take to heat up water to boiling and how long will a full cannister burn. From that information, I will be able to devise a usage calculation to tell me how much fuel will I need.

Technically speaking, I could probably do this on the trail during my practice runs. But I think an actual controlled experiment not only will give the information faster but also probably will be more accurate. Trying to keep track of stuff in the field is difficult unless you are extremely disciplined. I try to do this at the rifle range, even keeping notes and I still forget stuff all the time.

I performed this experiment using the 100 gram fuel cannister. It is the smallest and I would think the fastest to complete. I will extrapolate the results to a 230 gram cannister which is what I think I want to take with me but I don’t want to run the test for double the amount of time.

The other potential variable of the test is that I am burning a Jet Boil brand cannister. The larger size (more locally available) is the Kovea brand. I am going to assume that the fuel weights are as advertised and that both brands are the same fuel mixture generating the same BTUs.

Here are some variables that I cannot test here. The first one is elevation. Because air pressure is lower at higher elevation, water will boil at a lower temperature. This effect becomes prominent at elevations greater than 3000′. Assuming complete combustion (full BTU conversion), in theory elevation should add runtime to the stove.

Another is temperature. The outside temperature will presumably be lower in the morning and warmer in the evening. I performed my test at ambient basement temperature which was 62 degrees F. Those effects will possibly cancel each other out taking more time in the morning and less in the afternoon.

A larger temperature component would be the starting point of the water. I started with tap water which is probably around 40 degrees F. If my water is straight out of a mountain stream, it could be 33 degF. It could also come from my pack which may be 90 degF (I really hope not). So, that may range from no effect to longer run time.

The final variable I could test is how much water do I need to heat up? I ran two measurements 1L time and 1/2L time. For freeze dried meals, I will likely only need 1/2L but for breakfast, I very will want some coffee or tea. I think it is always better to heat up more than you need for cleaning purposes as well. I guess what I am saying is it seems like 1L is probably the realistic measurement.

To my surprise, the 100g cannister ran for two hours. I found that 1L took 9:20 to boil and 1/2L took 5:40. If I round up, I should get 12, 1L boils or 20, 1/2L boils. This tells me that one 230 gram cannister should be more than adequate for my meals for a week. That would be a 4.6 hour (276mins) run time with 27, 1L or 55, 1/2L boils.

One critical thing my test did show me is a result of the fact that I didn’t run it straight through. I found that the igniter only worked the first couple of times. I do see it sparking but I cannot say if that is a gas issue or an igniter issue. As a result, I will need to have a secondary ignition source. I already have a lighter in my pack so that should be good to go. More testing on this is definitely warranted.

End Your Programming Routine: I now have peace of mind. The only other consideration I may make is redundancy. If I choose to only bring one cannister and a leak develops or some other issue, I may be stuck. I could choose two 100g or one spare 100g or none at all. I have not yet decided if I want to bring a back-up. That is to be determined.

March 13, 2025 – A New Year, New Gear Part 6

March 13, 2025 /

What you see below is my new stove. Did I need a new stove? Technically no. I have an old 1980s era stove and my son also has a Jet-Boil (this stove is very similar). I thought about just borrowing my son’s stove and I also thought about taking my old stove as well.

First and foremost, the stove I already have. It works. My younger son uses it on camping trips. I have no qualms about the function. The main disadvantage is that it is heavy. I would guess that it weighs around five pounds. I like the fact that it uses liquid fuel as I am not a fan of disposable cylinders. I have an aluminum bottle that I use but again, that is more weight and bulk.

Using my son’s Jet-Boil was the backup plan. At one point, he said that he wanted to go. I am hoping that he is actually working by the time that I am hiking. I figure worse case scenario, I can trade out this new stove with the old one that my younger son is using. While I am enjoying this process, I will only be doing it so many times and I can put the old stove into backup duty rather than primary duty.

Why FireMaple and not Jet-Boil? The best reason is that it is cheaper by about 50%. I heard about this on the Explore Oregon podcast a few months ago. It was a show about getting into backpacking and this is the brand the expert recommended. I have to say, looking at the two side by side, they seem comparable quality and function.

In addition to the stove, This ‘kit’ comes with a 1L cup, a fuel can stabilizer and a pan adapter. Each of these pieces can be purchased individually because you can buy a stripped down option that is just the stove and pot. There are a few other things that you can add like a pressure pot (for high elevation cooking) and a French Press screen for coffee or tea. I am definitely not looking to add more weight to my trip but I am not opposed to using this stove on more trips.

The fuel cannisters come in three sizes 100g, 230g or 450g. The nice thing about the design is that both the 100g and 230g cannisters nest in the pot. Unfortunately, the 230g cannister is large enough that the lid will not lock on but it still fits. I don’t have a 450g can but that is what I am planning on taking with me. I need to do some duration testing but I am planning on only taking one cannister with me. The less the weight and bulk the better.

The stove does have a built-in igniter. I think that I will pack a secondary ignition source as well. I haven’t decided if it will be matches or a lighter. I like matches better but they limit your attempts. The old, strike anywhere matches I could light off of a zipper or rock but the the new matches are just not the same. If you wear out, lose or get your OEM striker, you matches are toast. So, it will probably be a lighter.

No doubt that this is a highly desired luxury. A water system failure can have deadly consequences. Dehydration and parasites are no joke. A stove is technically not required. In fact a friend suggested that I could eat cold freeze dried meal if I was looking to keep weight and cost down. No, not really but if I run out of fuel, it is not the end of the trip. From the other perspective, I suppose I could technically boil water so it is just another option in the toolbox.

End Your Programming Routine: Believe it or not, I am starting to get all of the necessities collected and moving onto the luxuries. The next purchase is going to be a water filter, definitely a necessity. I have plans of getting my tent at the beginning of next month. I am looking forward to that because then I can start doing some overnights. I will also switch over to my new pack on my weekend hikes carrying all the gear I will have with me.

March 6, 2025 – Do You See Me?

March 6, 2025 /

Early last week, I caught the crud. As a result, I took the whole week off. Trust me, I needed to because I could not breathe anyway. The photo below was taken the weekend before, when I was on my long hike. It was the first time I saw a game animal in the area that I have been hiking.

As I have been exploring the area, I see all of these great places that seem like ideal hunting spots. This is a research forest belonging to Oregon State University. As such, hunting is severely limited. I keep thinking that there should be an elk heard right there and I know that there are several in the area. Regardless, it makes me happy to see game. I just hope that I don’t have an unexpected cougar encounter.

I didn’t have a solid plan other than I wanted to go as far as I could before the weather started to change. Downpours were predicted to start around noon and unfortunately, I couldn’t leave until after 11AM because my wife wanted me to stop at the post office before I left. They keep extremely limited hours on Saturday only being open 11AM-1PM.

You might think, knowing all of that then maybe I should have targeted getting out of the house earlier. True, that might have been a better plan but by the time I got going and had breakfast it was 9AM. I really didn’t want to rush my training just so that I could make it to the Post Office in time. And my sickness aside, I need to have the mindset that I am going no matter the weather or other environmental factors.

True to forecast, it started drizzling at about 12:30pm. After about a half an hour, I stopped and re-arranged my pack to put my poncho on top. I told myself that if it gets much worse than this, I am going to put my poncho on. It never really got worse than intermittent drizzle until I was ten minutes from the car when it started actually raining. I figured I would suck it up and just get out of there which is what I did.

The final numbers on my hike was right at 10 miles in four hours. What I noticed is that each week I challenge myself, it gets slightly easier. From that I am gleaning, what I am doing is working. Was it hard? Absolutely it was. Did I feel like I wasn’t going to survive like on week one? No. I had to stop and catch my breath at times, my shoulders ached at points and my joints were ready to be done at mile eight, but I did it.

As I stated at the beginning, I didn’t have a real plan. The only real thought I had was to continue to explore this trail system that I have been working through. I wanted to take new routes and get familiar with all of the nuances. I had a rough idea that I was going to go to a new trail via a different route. My idea was to get to this new trail and go half a mile up the trail and turn around. By the time I got half a mile in, I wasn’t completely sure that I was on the trail that I thought I was on.

I looked at the map and I told myself that I should be meeting another trail within a couple of tenths of a mile. If not, I would backtrack the way I came all the way back to the car. As it turns out, I met the intersecting trail right where I expected it to be and so I carried on. The point I am making is that it is that desire to push a little bit farther, and then a little bit farther that is the mindset to get do more each week.

It is not like you are completely alone out there. As I was having doubts about my route a trail runner came by. If it came down to it, I would ask somebody as they seem to come around every thirty minutes or so. The area has hikers, bikers and horse riders. I have seen all three.

End Your Programming Routine: I keep telling myself that I have to embrace the suck. I distinctly remember shortchanging my half marathon training because I wanted and excuse to not do it. I literally wanted to not be fit enough to race. What actually motivated me to run was signing up. Once I had a date, I knew that I had to be ready. I probably will never be as ready as I like for this hike but I am making strides.

February 27, 2025 – A New Year, New Gear Part 5

February 27, 2025 /

Despite the fact that I listen to podcasts all day long, I have made a habit of not having anything in my ears while I do my long Saturday hikes. It is me and my thoughts with the idea that this is how it is going to be on my actual PCT hike as well as I need some time to engage with the brain. One of the things that I have come to the realization is that there are only six paydays between now and when I was thinking of doing my hike.

Paydays are how I advance my agenda. I try to plan and spend $50-75 each time and I have all of my gear wants listed out. Clearly, there are some things that are more than that like my tent, so that is excluded but this trip is coming up fast. But when I do buy my tent, I will not be spending the $50-75 that I would spend on a normal pay period. There are four items that fit that bill remaining. Today is not one of them.

After my experiment with the generic water reservoir, I have decided that concept is going to work for me. I purchased the Gregory 3L reservoir for a particular reason. Because my pack is also a Gregory, I figured that a complimentary water reservoir would have some advantages. As you can see there is a specific hook to hang it in my pack.

Is the upgrade over generic worth the money? Well, lets talk about some of the features that are different with the Gregory over the generic. The first one I already mentioned. Second, the tubing disconnect is placed in a position that you can leave the feed tube threaded through the pack and still take the reservoir out to refill. One of my future purchases is going to be an in-line filter that I will ultimately splice between the outlet and the tube connector. This will be my plan to have safe drinking water on this trip.

When the reservoir is out, there is a carry handle that the generic does not have. At the outlet point, there is a hook so that it can be hung upside down for cleaning and drying purposes. At the dispensing point, there is another on/off valve. This is nice because I have experienced some leakage with my generic model. A pinch on the supply nipple will cause this. Finally, the Gregory has a rare earth magnet connection that I am using as an extra securing point. But it could also be used to retrofit packs that don’t have the tubing loop on the shoulder strap.

Is the $35 reservoir better than the $20 reservoir? I would say in every way and this is particularly true when matching the Gregory reservoir and pack. I haven’t fully investigated this and there is nothing wrong with a Camel Back or other premium brands. I suspect that some of the benefits are negated when mixing brands of packs and reservoirs.

I don’t plan to throw out my generic reservoir. It will have a place in my gear as a utility item or backup because I have more than one pack. Ideally, I would like to have one drying while I use one. I simply plan to use the one with the best features on my hike.

I am going to have to make critical decisions when it comes to what I pack. I am seriously considering packing two bladders for the reason that at some points, water will not be on the trail. It will be an extra mile or two to water off the trail. My thoughts are after hiking fifteen miles, I am going to want as much water in one trip rather than making one at the end of the night and then in the morning.

The second reservoir would be for the purposes of carrying water for cooking cleaning rather than making two trips. I would plan to hike with it empty. In addition to that, what if the one I am carrying malfunctions? The trip is over. I cannot realistically carry backups for every item but the ones that are critical survival cannot be overlooked.

The other little package are some clips for straps. I plan on trying to address my pack constantly loosening with these. Unfortunately, I purchased the wrong size and I have the right size coming. They were not expensive but I do not know if they will work. More on this to come in the future.

End Your Programming Routine: As I alluded to at the beginning, this thing is coming fast. I need to be thinking of stringing multiple days together and not just procuring the necessary gear to get started. Picking and choosing gear in the right order is critical to enabling training as I go along. I am targeting my tent by Spring Break time so that I can start unlocking the next level of training.