Category: gear

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article “winter camping for beginners”

Club Tread is a site I have been using for years for advice on trips in Western Canada. We link to many of their pages.

But this is the best Club Tread article yet!

Thanks so much to author Stephen Sharp.

He is less keen on building a quinzee than am I:

All my experiences with snow shelters have not been successful or comfortable. They are fun to build but I am claustrophobic!

They are definitely warmer than a tent but take at least three hours to excavate. Having to evacuate a snow cave in the middle of a blizzard because the roof was collapsing under the weight of an enormous snowfall has soured me completely on them.

My favorite snow shelter is a snow trench. Essentially it is a trench dug into the snow in which sleeping platforms have been cut and is covered by a tarp that is covered with a layer of snow. Remember to bring some sort of sleeping bag cover to protect it from getting wet from dripping melt water!

I find that a candle lantern is an essential piece of gear to use in any shelter or tent. Besides providing light, a candle will help dry out the air and add a little warmth.

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ClubTread.com – Winter Camping for Beginners

(via The Adventure Blog)

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gear – backpack with solar power

We took a roll-up solar charging panel with us to Peru. And ended up neither needing it or using it.

But … if it was built into the backpack itself. We certainly would have.

TreeHugger.com posted a short video with Shayne McQuade, inventor of the Voltaic Solar Backpack. Very interesting.

Looking forward to hearing from those who have tried this technology on the trail.

There are a number of different models available. This pack costs about US$220.

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Voltaic Solar Panel Daypack

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foot pain when hiking

I’m taking my new hiking boots to be “stretched”. Which of these foot problems is motivating my radical action (which might shorten the life of my expensive footwear)?

  • Bunions
  • Hammertoe
  • Morton’s Neuroma
  • Plantar Fasciitis (can lead to heel spur)
  • Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome
  • Hallux Limitus
  • Nail Fungus

    • Answer? ….

    Bunions. Mine are not genetic, rather built up after injuries.

    Bunion pain is my biggest problem as a hiker. Any advice for me? (Leave a comment below.)

    Active Feet to Aging Feet to Aching Feet – New York Times

    bunion.jpg
    image source

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    anti-friction skin cream

    If you suffer from chaffing, check out this product. Runner Trish Monks swears by it.

    bodyglide_skin_formula.jpg

    I have used Bodyglide Skin Formula on my lower back (when I wear my water belt over long distances it prevents my skin being worn away), on my feet to help prevent blisters, on my inner thighs to prevent skin on skin chafing and on my chest around where my sports bra rubs sometimes. It works miracles, and has prevented many a painful abrasion ‘injury’ – unfortunately it’s only when I forget to put it on, that I realise just how great it is!

    … I have only had only moderate success with it protecting my feet.

    The Review: Bodyglide Anti-Friction Skin Formula

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    gear – Exped “Foot Pump Pillow”

    We love the new Exped mattresses despite the one with the leaky valve that failed on Mt. Whitney last summer.

    One of our few (minor) complaints, they’ve answered:

    exped-pillow.jpg

    Exped’s down-filled mattresses are ingenious, but they took so long to inflate that you always end up just calling it good enough when you’re halfway done.

    Now Exped is making a pillow filled with open cell foam that makes blowing up your sleeping pad a lot easier. From this angle the pillow looks like it would be as comfy as sleeping on a piece of firewood, but you’ll have to trust me that it’s not too bad.

    Written by Rocky Thompson

    Backcountry.com: The Goat

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    Griffin iTalk – iPod microphone

    I’ve been looking for a light-weight voice recorder for use on the trail. Ideally it would be built into my camera tagging each photo with “voice notes”. (I have done this with video, of course.)

    But since I carry an MP3 player anyway (for podcasts and books on tape) the Griffin iTalk might be worth a try. It works with an Apple 2 GB iPod Nano – Amazon.

    iTalk Pro is perfect for capturing how the world around you really sounds.

    Whether you’re taking lecture notes, conducting an interview, or just want to bring the sounds of the great outdoors indoors, your only limitations are your iPod’s capacity, and your own imagination.

    iTalk’s twin built-in mics record directly to your iPod, and adjustable gain settings give you control over the volume. You can even use external microphones with iTalk Pro.

    Griffin Technology: iTalk Pro – Stereo Mic for iPod – Griffin

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    Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod – Amazon

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    Buckskin and Paria Canyon, Utah

    My legs ached with cold, like a swarm of angry hornets had stung me with freezing venom they throbbed. Jen sobbed as our weary group of five sloshed through the turbid Paria River on the start of day 3. I stretched a nervous hand behind to feel how much the holes abraded by the red sandstone in my pack had grown since the day before. I swallowed hard when I felt my gear poking through.

    “Once the sun gets into the canyon it is going to be a beautiful day,” I said almost convincingly. In truth, it was the lowest point of our five-day hike in the S. Utah and N. Arizona Paria Wilderness.

    Paria – VenturingOutdoors.com

    Wow.

    Now this is a trip report!

    Certainly the best we’ve seen for Paria Canyon.

    They detail problems with JetBoil stoves. and critique the rest of their gear. A new GoLite Infinity pack (made of lightweight silicone impregnated fabric) get holes in it the first day from rubbing against canyon walls and has a large tear by the end of the hike.

    Hiking Trip-Reports Paria-Trip-Report 2

    Paul Grube’s Buckskin and Paria trip report is a fascinating, honest look at the challenges and rewards of canyon hiking.

    We’ve linked to the report in a number of places from Paria Canyon – on besthike.

    Hiking Trip-Reports Paria-Trip-Report 17

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    gear – “Ursack” – bear and bullet resistant food bag

    tko_72_smlr.jpgHard to believe, but here’s a food bag a bear cannot penetrate. Amazing.

    No worries at all about rodents and other pesky varmints.

    Ursack – bear-resistant containers

    A 10.5 litre Ursack is now in stock in a gear shop in my town for about US$65. Price seems a tad steep. But I’ll likely get one before my next major hike. This is a big improvement over the sturdy kayak bag I use now to hold food.

    You can also buy an aluminum liner for extra protection, but the weight is prohibitive, I feel. (For example, “the Ursack TKO 2.0 weighs 6.2 ounces. The aluminum liner adds 14.2 ounces.”)

    The Ursack alone sounds like it will turn away all but the most persistent bear.

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    tiny laptop, full keyboard, satphone

    It’s tiny (although bigger than a PDA), it looks great for expedition blogging. Connect it up to a solar panel and a satphone/3G/GPRS/WiFi connection and you’re away. I like it and I like it allot!

    There are no firm details yet other than it having a finger print reader for security.

    Geared Up includes a video clip of how it works.

    Team Geared Up Blog » Expedition Gadget: The Folding Laptop

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    waterproof camcorder – Oregon Scientific ATC2K

    For the second time in two days I hear raves for Oregon Scientific products.

    Very nice new gadget for the holidays. The ATC2K is waterproof to 3 meters, shock resistant, and easily clips to your helmet, head or handlebars via an accessory kit made for action sports. So you can surf with this. Ski with it. Climb with it. Whatever, and you don’t have to worry about sweat, rain, snow, or water. It takes full color digital video in 640 X 480 VGA at 30 frames per second, which is fine for the web, because really where does anyone watch video any more? And at $130 retail …, it’s good value, especially compared to the only competitor it has, the Samsung SC-X205L Sports Digital Camcorder.

    Get Outdoors – Oregon Scientific ATC2K Waterproof Camcorder – Getoutdoors.com Outdoor Blog

    Oregon Scientific ATC-1000 Hands-Free Video Action Camera - Play Hard, Record Everything!

    Oregon Scientific ATC-1000 Hands-Free Video Action Camera – Play Hard, Record Everything!