Peaceful Day Hike in November

Another 60 plus degree day in the high country.  Clear skies and light breezes surrounded our walk in the woods.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended up at a yellow dry grass meadow with a charming small creek. done

 

The musical water flowed by our lunch spot.  The high meadow was filled with it’s quiet song.

 

Day Hike in October

It’s the tag end of the season and I’m savoring the last few trips into the high country.  We parked the Jeep and hiked about 4 miles up a bumpy road from 5700 ft to 7500 ft.  It was a climb but at the top we had a lovely sky blue lake to ourselves.

It was cloudy and cold at the lake, but I managed to catch and release a couple trout before heading back down. 

Skies cleared on our descent and my favorite star poured that wonderful autumn light into the valley below.

How was your Saturday?

Gear for Sale

I had knee surgery a couple weeks ago to fix an old injury.  Consequently I’m going stir crazy.  So I decided to sort through my gear room.  I found a few things I don’t really need.  Well, more than a few.  Anyway, here’s some items I’m ready to part with listed on WhiteBlaze.net

Free Presentation – Intro to Lightweight Backpacking for Boomers and Others

I’ll be giving a free presentation on lightweight backpacking for OLLI in the Campbell Center on the SOU Campus, 655 Frances Lane, Ashland, Oregon on Wednesday Sept 30 from 1-3 PM.

Although boomer backpackers are my people, the concepts of lightweight backpacking can be applied to many things from motorcycle touring to dayhiking.  All ages and experience levels are welcome from day hikers to hardcore backpackers, bicyclists, RVers, etc.  I’ll do a short PowerPoint slide show and bring some gear for you to check out.  Hope to see you there.

MSR Hubba Review

Not ultra light by any means, but the MSR Hubba is not too bad at right around 3 lbs.  This is a bigger, better bivy for a solo sleeper.  It’s not new either, but a tried and true fixture in the camping world. 

Here’s a NeoAir small inside the tent alone.  One of the nice things about the Hubba is how it holds your pad in place within its 26″ width.  The small footprint will squeeze into tight spaces where bigger tents would be impossible.

I like the narrowness of the tent and the height is generous.  Plenty of room inside for me (5′8″) to sit on my NeoAir/Big Agnes camp chair.  And it’s not just a small center pyramid peak like many tents; the entire center third, back to front and side to side has nice height.  The all mesh is good too, if like me, you like looking at the scenery.

The fly is the heaviest part, but it goes up quickly and withstands winds well.  Our test conditions were 40 mph winds and driving rain!  No problems.

I’m not a tent person, but if I were to ever give up my hammock, this tent would be a strong contender.  I would probably forgo the heavy fly in favor of a light weight tarp, but then the ease of setup would be lost…

I have a Tarptent too and I like the hybrid design.  What the single-walled tarptent lacks is the open all-mesh option for rain free evenings.

The MSR Hubba is a classic design in the double walled tent category.  If you’re a grounder, take a look.

MLD Grace Duo Spectralite Tarp

The MLD Grace Duo Spectralite Tarp is state of the art.  Made with the lightest functional fabric available, it weighs only 9.85 oz. with the ridge line seam sealed and including the guy lines and stuff sack.  My old favorite home made Rayway tarp weighed 18.2 oz. similarly configured.  So close to half the weight.  I use a hammock and I like a big area under my tarp.  My Rayway is a rectangle about 9′ x 9′, but a little longer than wide.  The Grace Duo is 8′ x 7′ x 9′ (front width x rear width x ridge length).  The baseline (side length at ground) is 5″ shorter than ridge line for a slightly pointed front.  The long baseline gives it more coverage than many cat tarps, whose baselines are significantly shorter than the ridge line.

My test run was perfect; 40 mph winds and driving rain for about 10 hrs.  I was worried about blow-in on the ends, but had no problems.  The tarp covered my Blackbird Hammock very nicely.  I was comfortable and dry.

I did miss the beaks from my old Rayway, shown in the above photo, and may add them to the Grace Duo to give me more usable space and the ability to pitch the tarp higher and still be covered.

An unexpected bonus with this tarp were the line tensioners.  Wow, what a great design (MLD’s website does not show these in their photos of the tarp, must be a new addition).   I’ve tried quite a few of these little guys and they’re all pretty clever, but this is the best design I’ve ever seen.  Permanently attached to the tie-outs on the tarp, the lines can be threaded or un-threaded onto them very quickly.  Then you can tie off your lines without worrying much about the tautness of the pitch.  Just tighten it up with the tensioners, later, when all your tie offs are done.  I’ll be leaving only the ridge line tie-outs attached when stowing my tarp.  That way if it’s windy when I have to pitch it the next time I won’t have all the perimeter lines flapping around while I tie off the ridge line.  Also, they make it easy to center your tarp over your hammock; loosen one end and then tighten the other, until it’s where you want it.  Easy!

One of the advantages to Spectralite is that it doesn’t stretch when it gets wet like sil-nylon.  So the tensioners aren’t used for that issue.  But, boy would they be nice on a sil-nylon set up when the tarp starts sagging after a little rain.  I’d like to find a place to purchase these by themselves.

The only down side is the cost at $270.  But, if you have the $, you can’t do any better than this tarp.  If you don’t need all that space, MLD makes the smaller Grace Solo Spectralite Tarp too.

AntiGravityGear Ultralight Rain Jacket

I have yet to find rain gear that really keeps me dry while hiking.  When I get aerobic, I sweat and no matter how breathable my jacket is, I get wet from condensation on the inside.  So when hiking, I often wear my Possumdown Sweater over my BPL Thorofare UL Shirt and just let them get wet.

When it’s really cold, I’m at camp or on easy terrain I wear my Patagonia Spector (9 oz) rain jacket, a discontinued breathable model.  I’ve tried a few lighter, breathable alternatives, but they’ve all leaked from the outside as well as condensing on the inside.  The Spector is the lightest jacket I’ve found that actually keeps the rain out.  You can find them on eBay for around $50 once in a while.

But I decided, since the breath-ability factor rarely works for me, to try a non-breathable cheaper, lighter alternative.  Enter the AntiGravityGear Ultralight Rain Jacket (4.6 oz).

It works very well in non-aerobic situations.  I used it around camp and found it to be comfortable and roomy.  Being essentially a vapor barrier, it provides quite a bit of warmth too.  It comes with a hood, full zipper and no pockets.  Made of sil-nylon, like a tarp, cost is only about $60.

I’ll be carrying this jacket until the next generation of breathable fabrics comes along to tempt me.

Light My Fire Firesteel Scout Firestarter

This is the funnest way to start a fire ever!  This tool includes the fuel and the spark in one stroke.  It works when it’s wet.  Weighs only 1.13 oz.  I really enjoy using it.  I’ve tried a few fire starting tools and have always gone back to your basic book matches.  This is just as easy, almost as light and way safer since it’s waterproof.

done

This video shows the ignition of just a single untreated cotton ball.

Developed by the Swedish Army and used by armies around the globe, the Light My Fire Firesteel creates a 5500 degree F spark.  And it’s good for 3000 strikes.  That should last me a couple summers, at least.  Too heavy for you at 1.13?  Try it’s 0.5 oz baby bro.

Wood Burning Stove Matrix -Update

Here’s the matrix of the wood burning stoves I’ve tested this season.  The weight is for just the stove, not the pot or carrying sack.  The costs are approximate.

The boil time is for one liter of water.   Tests were performed in my backyard starting from a cold stove.

Stove                                               oz.  Boil Time  Cost       Comments

Bushbuddy Ultra	4.90	12.0	$110	Easiest, perfect for 1 or 2 people, my top pick
Bushcooker Lt II	3.20	23.0	$90	Slow
Caldera Inferno Ti-Tri and (2) ti stakes	4.05	10.5	NA	Most stable, fastest, best for 3+  people, more parts to assemble than BB Ultra
Caldera Ti-Tri and (2) ti stakes	2.30	slow	$30-40	Hardest to keep fire going, lightest
Sierra Zip Stove Titanium w/battery	10.40	fast	$130	Heaviest by far

I will fill in the missing boiling time data when I have time to run the tests.

Please read the comments for more information on the Bushcooker LT II.  Other testers using this stove show much shorter boil times.  This is due to those testers using 2 cups of water rather than the 1 liter volume used in my tests on all the stoves.

Also please note that you can get the Bushbuddy Ultra for less by going straight to the source.

Warbonnet Yeti Under Quilt – Got Ya 2/3’s Covered

This is another innovation from Warbonnet Outdoors.  A 2/3 under quilt.  It covers you from the shoulders to about the knees.   Like their Blackbird Hammock it’s a winner.  Innovative, functional and light.

It has kept me just as warm as my Jacks R Better No Sniveller at about 3/4 the weight.  JRB No Sniveller 20.1 oz, BB Yeti 12.5 oz.  It also packs down smaller.  It’s all black shell is 1.1 dwr ripstop.  It has 800+ fill goose down, measures 40W x46L and is on sale for $175.

The shock cord hanging method keeps it nice and tight around the hammock.  It even worked well for me in 40 MPH winds one night.  You do need something to insulate from your knees down.  But, you may already have an item in your pack that will serve the purpose.  Like say, the pack itself.  Most packs have a cushy back panel that works great as under leg insulation.

I use a NeoAir small that I have along as a chair in conjunction with the Big Agnes Chair Kit.  It’s a little big to go under my legs, so I fold it over and deflate it down quite a bit.  (I also use the NeoAir as a flotation device for cruising mountain lakes.)  For under leg warmth you could also use a piece of the standard blue foam cut to size or a Thermarest Lite Seat.  Or even Reflectix.

I found no down side to the Yeti.  It’s now a regular part of my kit.

BTW, at press time the Yeti was not listed on Warbonnet’s website.  But, just email Brandon and request one.  You may have to wait a bit.  It’s a small place.  And people like their products.