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July 3, 2024 – The Gear List

July 3, 2024 /

Those of you that have fantasies of hiking the PCT like I do may have a disconnect with reality. As it pertains to gear, we can spend a lot of money on getting outfitted and can easily get lead in the wrong direction. As an example, my wife used to be fairly active in a local kayaking group. Almost without fail, you would see new participants show up with the cheapest possible kayak. They would struggle, get discouraged and quit soon after.

I don’t necessarily think that inexpensive will lead to failure. Nor do I believe that trying something for the first time warrants buying the top of the line. But, what it does mean is like all things in life, you need to apply critical thinking about it. Start small or reasonable. Maybe even borrow things rather than investing in a failure to launch. Once you get to know what you like and not, then you can start personalizing the things you want versus what you really need.

I have or can find any of the gear that I really need for my trip. I have been on a weeklong hike before. That part I am confident in. But, now that I have some means I am likely in line for some upgrades. I would say that we had top of line gear in the early 1990s. But there have been some significant technological advances since that point, primarily in weight.

Most of the trips included my brother. We had a two man tent. One of us would pack the tent and the other would pack the stove as an example. That tent probably weighed ten pounds and strictly speaking a tent is not required. But, I want to be able to get out of the weather if necessary and I am a little worried about being eaten alive by bugs. That puts the tent on my list of wants.

Part of the reason for me to put this gear list together is that I need to start practicing. I want to know if my current gear is adequate or not. I want to start planning so that I don’t end up buying things all at once and give me some time to practice and make decisions. I want to know what doesn’t work as well so I am not stuck out in the wilderness with something I have never used.

My existing pack is an external frame pack from the late 1980s. At the time I purchased it, it has a lifetime warranty. My recent research has revealed that the company has gone out of business. Not from making poor products but from having poor company management. It is an age old story of company sold and run into the ground by the new owners.

Now that I am freed from that life long warranty, I can admit that newer designs and materials may have advantages. But, I want to take some hikes with this old pack. It has seen plenty of use but I want to determine if this fifty year old can tolerate 1980s technology. My son has also been using it for Boy Scouts. I may want another pack if he decides to go. But, at this point, there is no reason to rush out and spend $300 on a new pack without determining if what I already have will serve. Even if my boys decide not to go or they cant, I still might want to have some practice hikes including them. Upgrading my pack remains to be seen.

Certain costs on my list are unavoidable. I am going to need to eat on my hike. I might be able to mitigate some of that cost by bringing my own homemade granola or trail mix or dried fruit. I figured that I would put worse case scenario down and have an entire menu of freeze dried food. For budgetary purposes, I have a cost of my meal plan.

That of course will be purchased before the hike. But again, it may be worth trying some of this stuff out. I remember that I thought freeze dried food was pretty good when I was a teenager. But the stuff that I have eaten lately has been terrible. I want to try some different brands and entrees to determine what I like best.

I came of age in an era that believed ankle support was necessary. If you look at the NBA today, nobody wears a ‘high top’ shoe. Hiking boots with heavy waffle souls were the trail preferred footwear. But plenty of ultramarathoners wear a trail running shoe for a 100mi race. It is no wonder that Cheryl Strayed threw her boots off the mountain as they were the cause of the pain, and not the resolution of it. The most important footwear is the one that you can walk all day and be comfortable.

In my running days, the common mantra was about 200mi per pair of shoes. I found that after a few months, the padding started to break down causing me knee pain. When my knees started hurting, it was time to get a new pair of shoes. I want to make sure that I am comfortable with my footwear before my trip. The last thing you want are blisters foot pain for a week on the trail.

As with all things, all gear is in degrees. I could choose a much cheaper water disinfection rather than filtration. I probably want some wardrobe upgrades with specialty clothes. I even have some optional items that I haven’t totally settled on. This trip isn’t about how much I can carry but to be comfortable with what I am taking.

End Your Programming Routine: All things considered, outfitting for $2500 is not an outrageous vacation. That would be if I bought all of the options. Plenty of people have a $1500 rifle for hunting and then add all the other gear you are probably topping $5000. As you should know by now, I don’t want to buy stuff just because I can. I have plenty of useful gear already, let’s see if it still works for me.

July 2, 2024 – Wearables

July 2, 2024 /

I have had a GPS watch for a long time. My wife bought it for me when I was training for my half-marathon in 2015. I found that by using the GPS function, the watch would go from fully charged to dead before I finished my half marathon (13.1 miles/2 hours).

The watch was advertised as being able to last several day in GPS mode. Initially it lasted several hours or several runs worth which was a couple of days for me. But after a year, it became almost useless in the GPS mode. So it became a rechargeable, digital clock. I wore it as a watch only until the silicone band broke.

My wife has been hounding me to get a wearable. The real reason is that when I am working in the shop, I don’t hear or feel my phone ringing most of the time. It is more of a tracking mechanism than a productivity enhancement. I like having a watch and it certainly isn’t worth fighting the power.

I considered two options. One was the Apple Watch and the other was Garmin and their many models. I liked the native Apple integration and I believe that they make quality products but it was the battery life that sealed the deal for me. The Garmin Instinct 2x has built in solar charging. You can see from the picture that the watch claims to currently have 39 days of charge.

The first model I considered was the Garmin Fenix. I am not sure what the total capabilities were, but it had a full color GPS screen in the watch face. When I looked at the cost of around $1000, I took a step back. What am I really asking a watch to do?

The Apple Watch is really a scaled down phone. In many ways, that appealed to me because I don’t like having to carry the phone around. That being said, this comes with a service cost. This means the cost of ownership perpetually grows. From a preparedness standpoint, it does give you duplicate capability. That is a good thing.

I am a believer in single purpose devices or tools. It is better to have a tool do the one thing it is intended to do well rather than three things marginal. If you can get the one thing well and the others marginal, that is better. Make sure to have another tool do those marginal tasks as well. So, a color GPS watch is cool, but is it really practical? I guess if I had money to burn I might choose the top of the line and just never use the feature. That is not really a position that I am in.

I am going to give an unvarnished opinion. I think the Garmin has the best features for fitness oriented people. If you want to track miles, and heart rate, etc this watch is for you. The Apple/Samsung watch is for people addicted to their phones. If you don’t fall into either of the groups, like me then wearables are a solution looking for a problem.

Like I stated in the opening, my wife wanted me to have the watch for her reasons. The selection and features I made were oriented toward my PCT hike. Maybe I will use it and maybe I wont. I plan on practicing with an actual GPS. In fact, I am looking into a satellite communicator integrated into a GPS device not just for the hike. Why would I carry a watch, a phone, a GPS and a satellite device? It definitely seems like overkill.

End Your Programming Routine: I have been wearing the watch for a couple of weeks now. I am still learning how to use it and optimize it. For instance every time my ring camera senses motion, it buzzes my wrist. Talk about annoying, but that is a subject for another day. I like seeing the weather, sunrise/sunset times and things on my wrist. The model name says ‘Tactical’ in it. That is totally worth the money. But really, it is an expensive toy.

July 1, 2024 – Let Freedom Ring

July 1, 2024 /

I feel like we like to celebrate freedom that we don’t ever exercise or maybe not even believe in. This is a seasonal discussion that links the principles of freedom with the milestone events of the period namely graduation and the Fourth of July. Join me as I discuss what my graduation speech would be like and why I will never give one and how that relates to the founders.

June 28, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto X – XIII

June 28, 2024 /

I think that we can all imagine stepping onto the moon. Possibly we could imagine going to Venus or Mars, but the sun? That is where we landed today on the fourth layer of Dante’s paradise.

I haven’t done the research but I find it interesting that when Dante went to the moon, he goes to great lengths to describe the ‘glassy’ surface. The topography of planet played heavily into the how the characters interreacted with Dante. As we go farther along in the journey, the more abstract the surroundings become.

There is barely a mention of being on the sun in four Cantos. When it is, it really is not clear where the characters really are. It is just the brilliance of the souls as a inference to the sun. In fact, the surface and interaction on each planet are more closely related to the Roman mythology than the are to the actual astronomy.

I know that this is written before the great scientific discoveries of the Renaissance. Dante’s theory about the planets and the sun rotating around the earth proves that they didn’t have all the data. It certainly predates anything but rudimentary optics. I suppose that it is fair to say that they just didn’t know much about the planets.

Not being Catholic, I am not well versed in many of the important figures. I have heard of some of the monastic orders, not well enough to name them all, let alone what the primary focus is about. Once again, this section is heavily influenced by the figures of Dante’s Catholic world.

The basic premise of this layer is Dante is met by one group. After they have made fun of one order, that order shows up to make fun of the former. I think this is part of the ‘divine comedy’ aspect of the work. I really didn’t get the jokes. Unlike a lot of this study, I at least recognized the overt attempt at comedy. For a lot of it, I suspect that you had to be there.

The first circle was led by Thomas Aquinas. There is a name that I have heard before. In fact, I have written a little bit in this series referencing him. Aquinas was a member of the Dominican order. Looking up their mission, they are focused on preaching, specifically against heresy. They use their spotlight to make fun of the Franciscan order.

Francis of Assisi was the founder of the Franciscan order. There focus was on a nomadic, evangelical mission. He and his group make fun of the Dominican order. Then, they get together an sing Dante and Beatrice off to Mars. If you are interested in Catholic politics, then this may be the level of Paradise for you.

I think what strikes me as a protestant is the cult of personality. I have no idea whether these people were creepers who happened to do something good or not. In fact, while I heavily disagree with the theology of the Catholic church, I won’t deny that the appearance of piety has my respect. I think that with all things a degree of critical thinking is necessary for goodness.

What I mean is that I am positive these orders have done many good things for the world. That being said, I highly suspect that they have been involved in some pretty bad things too. If we accept the fact that all men sin, that means even founders and followers do as well. Preaching, educating, helping the poor, trying to live like Jesus are all noble goals. I don’t foresee saking one approach over another is necessarily the end all be all.

That is not to say that I don’t respect the decision to join an order, all I said above applies. I just cannot concretely agree that one is better or worse than the other. We as believers need to be careful that we are not sucked into human hierarchy of better/worse and one right way.

End Your Programming Routine: Next week is one of the longer remaining sections. That would be Canto XIV – XVIII. Every since we have have been in Paradise, I just see technicolor weirdness. I guess my vision of eternity was always light, bright and serene. This seems manic and all over the place. It sure beats the alternative I guess but seems a little too surreal for me.

June 27, 2024 – Am I the Doppleganger?

June 27, 2024 /

I am keeping it light and fun today. I am digging deep to keep up with everything going on in my life. I am also struggling to do anything other than what I can do. So, why not do something fun?

When I started dating my wife, this would have been the mid 1990s I met her grandparents. One of her grandmother’s ‘hobbies’ was to identify celebrities that looked like people that she knew. One day my wife took me to the refrigerator to point out my picture along with one of Michael Keaton.

Honestly, I didn’t see it. But, that was really just one of me and one of him. Subsequently, There have been times that I definitely see it. This picture being one of them. Subsequently, I have had multiple people say to me that I look like Michael Keaton. I usually share this photo afterward.

As I am writing ahead, by the time this posts we will be through the initial part of the transplant process. We have a little over one week until we are at the hospital for at least 35 days. Aside from working, I will also be caretaking. I have been wondering if I will be able to do any Altf4.co work. I certainly will probably have time to read and write but anything other than that will be a push.

Why am I saying this? Because I am not sure that I can keep up. If you remember last year, I had to take a hiatus in the July time frame for our vow renewal, exchange student hosting and preparation. The difference being that I had written my Friday book reviews already. I am just barely keeping up with Paradise because it is too complicated and I am starting to get fatigue from reading a book this long. I am sure that my situation isn’t helping much either.

I am going to plan on doing some posting but I cannot guarantee anything at this point. Just know that it would not be my preference to go radio silent but it might happen. Fair warning.

End Your Programming Routine: Michael Keaton is a generation older than me. I could be his child, so clearly I am the doppelganger. Since accepting my fate, I have become more of a Michael Keeton fan. Always a fan of Batman, now I will watch movies just because he is in them, not that I am interested as much in the plot. I don’t know if I really want to watch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice but I probably will just because he is in it. Maybe it is something to do while we are cooped up at the hospital.

June 26, 2024 – Proving That I am Not a Purist

June 26, 2024 /

Not that I care about judgement, but I do want you to know that I am a normal person. I don’t always hold true to my beliefs. One of my beliefs is avoiding processed foods. We were experimenting with a ‘boxed dinner’ as they say in Canada. This was to see if this was something that we wanted to use to get by when we are staying up in the hospital.

Back in my early life, before I really started to challenge myself cooking we used to eat these boxed dinners. They were right sized for the two of us, the were cheap and easy to make. I shifted away from them as we started to work toward healthier choices but I remember thinking that they tasted pretty good.

I am a big fan of Crocodile Dundee. He has a famous line ‘you can live on it but it tastes like shit’. After eating one of these, I kind of know what he means. Mushy noodles, thin sauce with a slight chemical undertone. It certainly was easy to make and it definitely filled us up but boy it was not good.

Unfortunately, I bought several of these. Maybe the kids will eat them while we are gone? I doubt it since they didn’t grow up with it and my younger son is a vegetarian. But I will continue to side with Crocodile Dundee.

As I stated on the title, I am not a purist. While I would not like to recommend this as a diet plan, I think that there is a time and place. A good time would be a camping trip or being stuck at a hospital with limited facilities and options. Based on my exposure to freeze dried meals, I don’t think that this is any less bad. This was another thing that I used to think tasted much better.

One of the things that we used to consider gourmet in the early years was a boxed pasta. We would also buy some fish parts that were off-cuts of salmon considered cheeks and odd bits. I would grill them on a tiny barbeque and then serve them with fettucine. We thought that was kind of high society. At least it wasn’t ramen like we were eating in college.

Talking to my wife’s insurance company, they have a benefit for meal planning and food drop off. There is more on that to come but it sounds like they are going to suggest a menu and then drop off the food too. It will be interesting to see what they suggest. One of the restrictions on her recovery is that food cannot be over two days old. So, there is only so much planning we can do. I am thinking maybe those frozen stir-fry packages might be a better option than boxed dinner.

End Your Programming Routine: Well, we have this in our back pocket as an option. I am hoping the meal planning provides a better solution but I am also glad that we tried. It just reminds me why we left these behind. Sometimes we need reminders of why we make the decisions that we make. It is almost like you remember why taking tequila shots on Thursday night is not a good idea on Friday morning.

June 25, 2024 – Ten Essentials

June 25, 2024 /

Back in my day… We were required to have two things to leave the campsite, a compass and a whistle. Of the two, the whistle is probably less obvious but possibly more useful. In case of getting lost, the whistle could be used to try and draw attention. It could also be used for self defense against animals or people. I still have one although I have never used it.

The compass kind of makes sense although I would argue it is one of those things that makes you feel better than actually helpful. A compass is really no good without a map and you really need a kind of sort of idea where you are on the map. Further, I have seen a lot of people doing poorly despite active practicing in orienteering.

Today’s Boy Scouts have a more sophisticated set of requirements than I had. The rule of safety is the Ten Essentials. It is not just Boy Scouts, but hiking guides, REI and others recognize the value of being prepared. I am going to cover what is exactly part of the ten essentials as I prepare to get ready for my PCT hike.

List vary slightly and in their detail but this is an example

  1. knife
  2. First Aid Kit (with bug and sun protection)
  3. Extra Clothing
  4. Rain protection or sun protection depending on the season
  5. Water bottle (filled)
  6. Flashlight or head light
  7. Trail food
  8. fire starters
  9. shelter, like a personal bivy
  10. Map and compass or GPS or Personal locator beacon

I do believe in making some modifications. For instance, I like a heavy duty garbage bag. It can make an emergency poncho, it could be part of an makeshift shelter and it can serve it’s intended purpose as a trash bag. They are cheap and light. A proper set of raingear adds a lot of bulk and weight that is likely not necessary in most cases. I would probably also add cordage like paracord. If you need to make a shelter or a splint, you are going to be super thankful that you had 20′ of cordage.

Another alternative to shelter might be a space blanket. I have a lot of them but honestly I have never used one. The have three principle advantages being cheap, light and reflective to help with being found. I carried one when I was in Boy Scouts and I have multiple in each vehicle just in case.

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned on any list that I looked at was signaling devices. I always carried a steel mirror along with the whistle. The theory being that I could flash an airplane or helicopter or even a far away ridge.

I don’t think that it is possible to have everything needed when needed. So for instance, having an extra set of clothes doesn’t make a ton of sense in the summer when the sun can dry you out but may be imperative in the winter to stave of hypothermia. My preferred way to handle this requirements is more like layers. I might bring an extra garment like a pull over or sweatshirt that can double as a single outer layer if needed.

One item that I have seen listed but mostly ignored is hunter orange. There are a hell of a lot of dumbass hunters out there. I have known some of them. There are also a hell of a lot of ignorant hikers out there. Typically those two worlds don’t intermingle and operate independent of each other. In Oregon turkey, bear and predator season start in April and some run through November. This would be prime hiking season as well. I like earth tones as well but maybe one of the spare garments should be hunter orange.

Water is obvious but food is very subjective. I don’t think you will ever carry enough food to matter if you really are stuck or lost. A short, temporary delay you will be fine skipping a meal. A broken leg where nobody knows where you are, I am sure you didn’t carry enough. I have a couple 2000 calorie bars that I take hunting with me that probably need to be replaced but that is my solution. I will often carry lunch as well for a day hike. Of course a multi-day hike you will already be carrying food for your trip.

End Your Programming Routine: I didn’t talk about all of the items but this could get out of hand if I gave my opinion on everything. Boy Scouts was one of my seminal experiences in my preparedness lifestyle. I always err on having more than I need within reason. I carry a bandana, fishing gear (also doubles as mending) and don’t get carried away with first aid. There is only so much you are going to be able to do in the woods anyway. Smart money says get help when you can. One last tip – keep a one shot of toilet paper. When you need it, you need it.

June 24, 2024 – What Is a Stem Cell Transplant?

June 24, 2024 /

Am I at the beginning, middle or end of this? Well, if you don’t understand or know the process then it might be difficult to figure out. I am talking about the high level process and some of the gotchas in the Stem Cell Transplant process. Hopefully you will never have to be involved in it, but if you do then give this a listen.

June 21, 2024 – The Divine Comedy, Paradise, Canto VIII – IX

June 21, 2024 /

Today, we are on Venus. In Roman mythology Venus is the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, victory and generally all those good things. So what are we going to hear about? Why all of those spirits that have love for the lord of course.

A funny story I guess. But these various characters that Dante meets have taken their turns with sin, as all men have. What I found extremely interesting is that punishment seems to be unevenly handed out. These characters admit to their sins which they attribute to making their exuberance for the lord that much stronger. This is like saying that ‘I am just a passionate person. Of course I murdered that person when I got angry. I just couldn’t help it, it is my being’. And by the same token, there is no real penalty as a result.

Whereas in the same book, certain figures could progress no further in heaven because they married against wishes when they were serving in the clergy. So approved sin is not penalized while unapproved sin has eternal consequences.

A lot of the commentary talks about the erotic love of god. I find this to be a little unholy personally. That being said, I heard a fascinating discussion a few months ago about the feminization of Christianity. This is playing a role in the ultimate decline of the church. While other major religions are focused on key tenants, Christianity has emphasized the concept of worship. Worship by it’s nature has a feminine appeal. Hence, men are turned off each generation and dwindling in participation.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is true. What I knew to be Agape or sort of spiritual love has become more of an perverted lust or love affair for some. That unhappy marriage has a new partner. Something new to worship and love and never lets you down. I think that this is much more typical in evangelical protestant denominations.

Relationship with god is a tricky thing. It requires something called faith. I have to believe that I am having one without becoming delusional about it. It is serious without being fanatical. I wouldn’t go as far as saying subdued though. We cannot deny or discount faith but rather be quietly confident and upfront about it. We have to trust the process without getting lost in it.

I actually didn’t realize that there were so many video analyses of the Devine Comedy. There are multiple series of the work in 100 days (Because there are 100 cantos). It seems like they were all published during the pandemic. This probably came out of the online only school movement. If I would have realized this, I probably would have linked to each canto every week.

End Your Programming Routine: Next week is the Sun. This is Cantos X – XIII. From what I have learned, we are about to go into some kind of new dimensional shift. I guess we will have to see when we get there. For now, we will just keep ticking boxes and collecting information. You probably get the sense of what I think about Venus.

June 20, 2024 – And Now, Quilting?

June 20, 2024 /

If you were looking at the tools displayed in the picture, it looks like I am starting to quilt. I don’t blame you, I would too. In fact, these are quilting tools. But in fact, looks are deceiving. I am making rifle cleaning patches out of rags.

My wife has an image problem. That would by my image. She insists periodically that I clean out t-shirts that are no longer completely white. Using my moral filter, I do not give anything to charity that I wouldn’t buy myself. So while I would consider the clothing serviceable, it is not proper to try and pawn off on somebody else.

At times, I have tried to use them as rags using the cut an rip method. This means that I cut the shirt and then try to rip it into sheets. Why I get something, they are not uniform size and can have varied results. I try to work around screen printing by using the rest of the shirt. I will likely continue to make rags out of colored, cotton shirts.

Most gun cleaning patches are made out of some sort of synthetic or blend. I like how 100% cotton works better. I discovered a brand called Bloomers a few years ago but like everything since the pandemic, inventory is spotty. It is not like I use that many patches over the years, but finding the caliber and quantity with price has not been easy.

Why not just make them? I will warn that it will take a bit to return on investment. The mat, ruler and cutter setup cost $50. That buys several thousand cleaning patches. Then, there is the time. I would estimate that I spent two hours making several hundred patches. I did figure out that I could gang the strips together significantly speeding up the process.

I would point out that having something custom is never about cheaper and faster. In the end, this process will be cheaper than buying patches. I do always plan to have a surplus of clean patches. It is another thing I can do with music or a podcast on in the background. For me this is about putting a resource to work that would otherwise be trash. I feel good about that and I don’t have to buy them when I see them.

End Your Programming Routine: No, I am not quilting. I could if I wanted to though. This rotary cutter setup gives me nice, clean cuts in fabric so that I can repurpose discarded clothes into a second life. Sometimes that is a quilt and sometimes that is gun cleaning patches.