GooseFeet – Better than Down Booties!

I just received my GooseFeet.  I’ve been looking for a product like this for years.  The perfect sleeping socks for the cold footed camper.  That would be me.  Nothing more – nothing less, just a super warm and super light sock. 

These are so light, at only 2.2 oz including a stuff sack,  you won’t mind bringing them along.  That’s about the same as a pair of regular hiking socks and about 1/3 the weight of my old down booties.  You can’t walk around camp in them, but they’re socks not shoes.

For camp shoes I’ll stick with my knock-off Crocs I got at Payless Shoes.  They look something like these Trailbreak Crocs ($49.99), but cost only about $10.

They weight about 10 oz for the pair and work well for the occasional stream crossing too.  Not to mention they’re great for fishing.

Otherwise, I wear my Merrell Pulse II Waterproof Mids for the trail.  They are so comfortable I wear them around camp often as well.  Of course, they have discontinued this particular incarnation.

You can still find them here and there as online closeouts.  Merrell has many similar styles.  I guess when these wear out I’ll have to experiment with something new.

But back to the GooseFeet.  At $55 they may seem expensive.  Good down is expensive.  Similar products cost even more.  Like Nunatak’s Teanaway Down Slippers pictured below.  Nunatak is known as one of the best down outfitters around.  These babies weigh more at 3 oz and cost more at $116.

There is a less expensive alternative in Sierra Design’s Packable Down Booties (not shown).  They cost only $35, but weigh 7 oz.  My guess is they are made using less down and down of a lower grade.  The GooseFeet are made with premium 800+ fill goose down, the best available.

I know I’m pretty enthusiastic about this product, but it fills a niche that needed filling.  I usually make my own gear when I can’t find what I want.  But, down is a bear to handle so IMHO it’s worth it to pay for the finished product.  And these are very professionally finished products.  They should keep my feet warm for years to come.

If your feet don’t get cold, order a pair of the GooseFeet for a cold footed lightweight backpacking friend.  They’ll never forget you!

Also available Waterproof Shells for GooseFeet $28

Raw Food for Backpacking

I’ve been eating raw food lately.  It has more nutritional value than cooked food and, as a result, I’ve been enjoying increased health & energy.  But, carrots and apples don’t go well with the lightweight backpacking philosophy.  So, I’ve been dehydrating.  If you keep the temps down below 110 F food is still considered raw,  retaining all it’s life force.   Here’s an all-raw cookie recipe that I discovered as a result of making my own Almond Milk.

Almond Milk is just raw almonds and water (a little salt or vanilla if you want).  After blending and straining of the milk there is a residue of almond pulp.  I wondered what I could do with this stuff besides toss it.  So it has become the basis of my cookies.  They are great! (if I do say so myself).  And super easy.  But, you will need a dehydrator and a blender for this recipe. If you’re into raw food, you’ll need these two tools anyway.

2 cups Raw Almond Pulp (what’s left after making Almond Milk)

1 cup Raw Almond or Macadamia Nuts ground in a coffee grinder

1/2 cup Agave Syrup

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

2 t Sea Salt

2 T Maca Powder optional (a Peruvian Root, found at most health food stores)

3/4 cup whole Raw Sunflower Seeds

1/3 cup Raw Sesame Seeds ground in a coffee grinder

2 t Vanilla

Mix ingredients together in mixing bowl.  Place on 2 Tel-flex sheets from dehydrator.  Cover with wax paper and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.  Remove wax paper.  Score with knife or other tool to make 1.5″ square cookies.  Dry on 145 F for one hour.  (the evaporation for the first hour keeps the cookies temp below 110 F)   After an hour turn them down to 105 F overnight.  Flip cookies onto mesh panel dryer tray without Tel-flex sheet by placing one dryer panel on top of the other and turning them over.  Then remove top panel and carefully peal off Tel-flex sheet from back of cookies.  Continue drying until ready to eat (about 15 more hours).  Timing isn’t critical on these, except only an hour at 145 F.

I took them on a day hike yesterday.  I think they’ll be a great Clif Bar substitute.  I’m working on other ideas for trail food from the dehydrator.

Prairie Creek Redwoods & Lake Earl

The redwoods have enchanted me for decades.  This New Years Day hike was no exception. 

No new gear on this one, just old trees and one repaired knee (my knee surgery was a resounding success!).

When it’s cold here in Southern Oregon, I like to go west to the Crescent City area of Northern California.  The temps were pushing 60 and there was rain, wind, sun and fog over the 5 day stint.  We hiked in the fog and biked in the sun.  

We found a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle at a thrift store for a $1 and assembled it on the 50 mph windy, rainy day.

The biking North of town is outstanding for boomers, if you like easy scenic mountain biking.  This road ride goes right along the coast for about 10 miles.  There’s very little traffic and the few cars you see are going 25 mph. 

It ends at a secluded beach looking out to the historic lighthouse at Point St. George.

We also biked an old gravel road in another area just North of Crescent City:  Lake Earl.  It’s a 5500-acre coastal lagoon bracketed by 5000 rolling acres of state park land and another 5000 acres of a Department of Fish and Game preserve.  This area is closed to vehicles and open to many birds.  In the past we’ve also flat water kayaked and fished here.  As you can see in the aerial photo, it’s adjacent to the sea.  There is also a stretch of wild beach that runs for many miles.

A fine way to start the year.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! Get out there and experience our beautiful world!

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.

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.