I Put Kool-Aid In That!!

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

My water, that is… I add Kool-Aid to my water while I am hiking along the trail… I love me some Grape Kool-Aid (and before you ask, no, it has nothing to do with Tinny’s Cult). Continue reading →

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Post Hike Gear Thoughts

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

This past hike was quite an experience for me. First and foremost, I got to revisit the same section of trail in which my wife & I experienced our first true backpacking trip. As well, this time I got to take 2 of my buddies along, and guess what…it was their first hike along the Appalachian Trail as well! But, that is not all…on this trip I got to experience some new gear as well as hone in on some of my older gear… Continue reading →

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Springer to Neels Gap…

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

This past weekend a couple of buddies and I packed up and headed to Springer Mtn, the southern terminus on the Appalachian Trail. Our plan was to take a nice casual 3.5 days and finish up at Neels Gap! This is a bit of a sentimental hike for myself since it was the very first backpacking trip that my wife and I embarked upon, so I was really anticipating it. As well, for my buddy Andrew (Blister), this was his very first backpacking trip and I thought it would be cool for him to do the first 30 mile section of the AT. My other buddy George (chode) has some past backpacking experience but he was looking forward to this new adventure… Continue reading →

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All Packed Up & Ready To Go…

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

Well I am all packed up and ready to go! I will be heading out for 3.5 days to hang out on the AT in North Georgia with a couple of buds! What more could I ask for? Continue reading →

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Food Prep For a 3.5 Day Hike

Posted on January 11, 2012 by

Some of my buddies and I are getting ready for a 3-1/2 day hike along the Appalachian Trail in North Georgia. The above picture is most of the food that I will be carrying with me for this hike (all that is missing is 3 bags of dehydrated apples which should be done in about 30 minutes). I have put together a Food Planner on a spreadsheet in Google Docs which can be viewed here:

Food Planner Continue reading →

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ZPacks Hexamid Solo Plus Tent w/ Beak & Ground Sheet

Posted on January 10, 2012 by

12/16/11: I placed an order for the Blast 30 backpack and a Multipack along with some other smaller items. I requested to receive the items by 1/10/12 for an expected trip.

12/30/11 (approximately 6 pm): I placed an order with ZPacks for the Hexamid Solo Plus Tent with the beak and the cuben fiber solo plus LITE ground sheet, among a few other small items. I was fully aware that ZPacks was closed for the holidays and would not be back in until 1/2/12. However, I requested that if possible could this tent be shipped with my Blast 30 backpack by 1/10/12 for a trip I am leaving on.

12/31/12: Joe responds to my email and says that he has been away for holiday and has a lot to catch up on, but that he will shoot for the 10th for the tent. As well, he said my backpack would be ready to ship early that week separately.

1/2/12: Email confirming that pack would ship the next day, 1/3/12.

1/3/12: Backpack and all small items from both orders shipped.

1/5/12: Backpack and small items arrive.

1/6/12: Tent & ground sheet shipped.

1/9/12: Tent & ground sheet arrived.

So, why did I say all of this? Because Joe rocks, that’s why! Continue reading →

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“One Cook Kit To Rule Them All”

Posted on January 8, 2012 by

Over the last few months I have posted a few times on different cook kits that I have been trying out. Truth is, like many others, I have been trying to find a system that works for me. There is a balance between weight and functionality that must be met, and I think that I have finally found that sweet spot for me.

The cook kit that I’ve put together has everything that I need to simply boil water, have a cup of Joe in a separate cup and to cook my food in a Ziploc container. And the best part is, there is hardly any clean-up after I’m done! As for weight, the entire cook system weighs in at 8.3 oz (235 gm) so it’s not entirely “UL.”

I am actually very happy with this cook kit and knew that I would have to show it off before my trip next weekend. So, this morning I decided to do a little video to show off this cook kit, aptly named:

“One Cook Kit To Rule Them All” Continue reading →

Posted in DIY/MYOG, Food, Gear | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Rite-in-the-Rain Notebook Hack

Posted on January 7, 2012 by

Thanks again to Brian Green at Brian’s Backpacking Blog, I had something to do on this rainy day while I am just sitting around waiting to be called into work… This morning as I was poking around at blogs in which I frequent, I came across an entry that Brian has added to his blog about the Fisher Space ink pen (well, the insert). Carrying on from his use of Heat Shrink Tubing, he created a nifty, light-weight “ink pen” worthy of carrying on the trail. So, I thought to myself, I don’t have a Fisher Space pen, but I do have other ink pens, and some more Heat Shrink Tubing… Continue reading →

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ZPacks Blast 30 Backpack & Multipack

Posted on January 6, 2012 by

A few weeks ago I was able to put my hands on a ZPacks Blast 30 backpack thanks to John Abela from Redwood Outdoors, and more than likely because of this I ended up ordering one of these packs for myself. Then yesterday, the mail lady delivered a sweet piece of cuben fiber gear to my door…my very own ZPacks cuben fiber Blast 30 backpack as well as the cuben fiber Multipack! Continue reading →

Posted in Gear, Gear Stores | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Adding Color To Ti Tent Stakes

Posted on January 1, 2012 by

Every since I received the Ti-Eye stakes from Lawson Kline I have wanted to add some color to them so that they would be less likely to become lost. However, I was never really sure how to successfully do this. Then on down the road I picked up some more of Lawson’s Shepherd Hook stakes. Shortly after picking these up I decided to do something about it… Continue reading →

Posted in Gear | Tagged | 15 Comments