Backpacking! and back to pittsburgh
Sorry everyone, but I'm not dead yet.
I had a good backpacking trip with my family. My brother came too this time which is awsome. I carried pretty much my full complement of gear (minus bearbagging, and water treatment equipment). We all came in under 30 lbs, closer to 25 a piece for total pack weight upon leaving, so that was awsome. We did about 16 miles total over 3 days, walking through lots of muck. I tested my super light mesh running shoes for backpacking and the worked okay, except for the whole in the bottom of the shoe which kept sucking up water. My brother and I tested my tent in a true serious downpour with sideblown rain, we got about 3/4 of an inch built up under the tent but stayed dry. My dad tested his new ULA backpack which is AMAZING (oh man want... going to buy one soon). My brother and mother tested new EMS 3 lbs ultralight backpacks... tiny things (I think 2600 cu). They fit everything for 3 days though. I showed dad my tent and cooking system, and we both cooked meals. Mom learned how to use an internal, and avoided getting hit the the head. We saw some wonderful flora and fauna (including a loon from about 30 ft, and some very cool songbirds). It was all around a very nice backpacking trip. The first day involved quite alot of black flies though, such that even though it was in the 30's dad had on long pants and his warm jacket, because he didn't have a long sleeve shirt. I went for most of the day with just tee shirt and shorts, but finally gave up and put on my rain pants in the evening. So my legs have little bloody holes all over them, but it's just a little itchy. It is a little creepy though when you look down at your leg, and in the 4 inch span from the top of your pulled up socks to your shorts there are 15 or 20 gnats on just the frontside of your knee. All in all a fun trip. We BURNED through water. We were using a capacity of about 2 quarts per person, and we did a complete refill 5 times a day. My arms got pretty tired from filtering water.
Anyway, will be coming back to pittsburgh tomorrow. See many of you soon. I can't wait to go again as soon as possible... YAY outdoors!
I had a good backpacking trip with my family. My brother came too this time which is awsome. I carried pretty much my full complement of gear (minus bearbagging, and water treatment equipment). We all came in under 30 lbs, closer to 25 a piece for total pack weight upon leaving, so that was awsome. We did about 16 miles total over 3 days, walking through lots of muck. I tested my super light mesh running shoes for backpacking and the worked okay, except for the whole in the bottom of the shoe which kept sucking up water. My brother and I tested my tent in a true serious downpour with sideblown rain, we got about 3/4 of an inch built up under the tent but stayed dry. My dad tested his new ULA backpack which is AMAZING (oh man want... going to buy one soon). My brother and mother tested new EMS 3 lbs ultralight backpacks... tiny things (I think 2600 cu). They fit everything for 3 days though. I showed dad my tent and cooking system, and we both cooked meals. Mom learned how to use an internal, and avoided getting hit the the head. We saw some wonderful flora and fauna (including a loon from about 30 ft, and some very cool songbirds). It was all around a very nice backpacking trip. The first day involved quite alot of black flies though, such that even though it was in the 30's dad had on long pants and his warm jacket, because he didn't have a long sleeve shirt. I went for most of the day with just tee shirt and shorts, but finally gave up and put on my rain pants in the evening. So my legs have little bloody holes all over them, but it's just a little itchy. It is a little creepy though when you look down at your leg, and in the 4 inch span from the top of your pulled up socks to your shorts there are 15 or 20 gnats on just the frontside of your knee. All in all a fun trip. We BURNED through water. We were using a capacity of about 2 quarts per person, and we did a complete refill 5 times a day. My arms got pretty tired from filtering water.
Anyway, will be coming back to pittsburgh tomorrow. See many of you soon. I can't wait to go again as soon as possible... YAY outdoors!