The Camera Case

I know this may be hard to believe but sometimes I get so focused on riding 50 miles in 4 hours, bagging the peak by sunset, or kayaking the length of the pond before the tide changes that i have trouble stopping long enough to enjoy where I am or even take a picture. I just don't want to break the momentum long enough to get out the camera.

Or, knowing that was an issue, I'd, dangle the camera from my handlebars, stuff it in a side pocket or lash it to the deck, basically keeping it handy but not all that safe.

Not anymore! S. went on a search for the perfect camera case and found the Pedco Wrap-Up - Camera Wrap . A case which quickly took its place in the small world of well-designed gear. The camera doesn't go into the case - the case attaches to, and wraps around the camera. After only a few practice runs I was able to unsnap the cover and take a picture - all while riding along on schedule. And while I haven't dropped the camera yet (there is cord that goes around the wrist) the case is also padded enough to protect the camera from a fall.

I'd take a picture of it, if I could only figure out how!

Equipment shakedown - Day 2 From Zeeland Mountain to Guyot basecamp, then out and back to South and North Twin (theoretically)

There are 3 key factors in every backpacking trip.

1. Planning
2. Equipment
3. Physical abilities

It was on Day 2 that the Equipment factor weighed in. First and foremost there are The Socks. On Day 1 I wore my well worn Smartwool Ombre Crew No. Technically they are not hiking socks but after many hikes they are unequivocally the best socks for my awesome Asolo TPS 520 GV Hiking Boots. After many hikes they are also literally threadbare and it became painfully clear this was their last hike.

Next in importance in the backpacking lineup is The Pack. The right pack carries all your stuff comfortably, is easy to keep organized and accessible, while at the same time weighing as little as possible. My Gregory Z55 Pack Backpack[the blue one!] fits the bill. It fits the stuff, weighs very little, and is easy to organize. S., on the other hand, is still mid quest for the perfect pack and after one day had the sore hips and shoulders to prove it. We hiked from the camp on Zeeland to our basecamp at Mt. Guyot where we set up the MSR Hubba Hubba on a nice platform overlooking the Pemi Valley. The Z55 compressed right down into a manageable day pack which we loaded with a day’s worth of food, and fleeces and took off for South Twin.

This is when the poles became indispensable. The Twinway between Guyot and South Twin runs along a low forested rim. The perfect conditions for creating a 2 mile snow pile or monorail. If it weren’t for the poles we’d have been post holing all the way.

We reached the summit of South Twin around 1:30 and pulled on our cozy fleeces against the cold wind. The view was beautiful. Looking toward North Twin, and looking at the map, then back at the 1.5 mile trail between South and North Twin, then again at the map, I realized I would again, just as I had in July of 2007, have to leave that summit for another day. One thing about good equipment, in this case maps, is that no matter how good they are, you really have to use them.

Back at Base Camp we fired up the pocket rocket, cooked an edible dinner of curry chicken, and before the sun set crawled into our sleeping bags. At 4000 ft, in May, temperatures are bound to fluctuate and on this night they were fluctuating downwards. Quickly. When I crawled into my 45 degree bag I was wearing my techwick tops and bottoms, heavy socks, and heavy fleece. Regardless I soon discovered my bag was failing. The down had clumped and areas of the bag were completely empty. It was going to be a long night. When I did sleep, I dreamed of warm, fluffy synthetic sleeping bags.

An Ode to Gore-Tex

When spring hikes follow showers
And mud fills in the trail
When the sun rises through mist at an early hour
And the day ends with a hearty ale,

Then it's time to salute the Gores,
Robert, Rowena and Wilbert.
Those saviors of all small, dry pores
Those inventors of ultimate water resistance.

But 'tis not Robert's induction in the hall of fame
Nor fluorosurfactant perfluorooctanoic acid
For which we toast his name.

It's the fact that we can hike all day,
In wind, and snow and rain
And all the time stay toasty dry
Through the 100 mile wilderness of Maine.

Monadnock and Microspikes

Yesterday S. and I, and a lot of other like minded people headed up Mt. Monadnock. Only the white dot and white cross trails were open so in some ways it was a bit like walking up and down a highway but it was a white highway to an icy summit with 50 knot winds. As always good gear played a major role in the hike. Along with techwick and smartwool, winter hiking boots and windbreakers we also tried Kahtoola Microspikes. While some of the hikers had nothing on their boots, some had full mountainering crampons and some summitted with snowshoes, the Microspike folks were the ones with the perfect gear for the day. They were easy to put on, stayed on with no trouble, didn't add any drag and really dug into the solid ice sheets that were the last mile of the trail. Definitely a good addition to the gear closet for anyone who does winter hiking.

Mt. Eisenhower, and Mt. Monroe - I Join the Hiking Pole People

For many years I’ve literally cursed the clickitty clackitty of hiking poles and those people who use them. The number of times I’ve been out enjoying the pristine quiet of the woods, or the desert only to be disturbed by the clicking of hiking poles striking against rock. And for what? I questioned. Really how much can two sticks really add to the hiker’s abilities?

Today I got some learning and some converting. It all began back there on Mount Hancock a few months ago. It was only fitting that the end would be the next 4000fters – Mt. Eisenhower, and Mt. Monroe. We left the trailhead at 8:00, and began the gentle climb up the first 1000 ft. When the climb got a little more serious I decided, “what the heck, I’m carrying the darn poles, why not use them?”

“But wait” you ask, “where did you, curser of hiking poles get hiking poles? And not just any poles – Contour Elliptic Shock Trekking Poles by Black Diamond”

“Ah” I reply. “Good question. Back when I was climbing – or rather descending – Mt. Hancock. S. lent me his – just in time to save my knees. And so it came to pass that for my birthday S. bought me a pair, and not just any pair but Black Diamond Contour Elliptical Shock poles.

But back to Mt. Eisenhower which we climbed expecting the fog to lift after we cleared the tree line. It didn’t. At the peak, marked by a very nice, very large cairn, it still hadn’t. Walking the Crawford Trail north along the ridge to Mt. Monroe was nice, the trail nice. We assumed the view would have been fantastic – but honestly there were times when it was hard to see the next cairn. Still, it was our first 4000 fters since July.

And the question is raised – can you count a peak if you can’t see it, or anything from it?
(We’ll leave that for you – our valued reader and perhaps peak bagger, or another day – to decide)