Today I began a project that's been on my mind for a few weeks, to catalogue and organize all of my outdoor gear. I'm using lighterpack.com to track weight, and I also created a chart mapping out what's in which pocket of my backpack. The impetus was my store manager's plan (now abandoned due to a handful of whiners) to hold our upcoming biannual ( Read more... )

I've been working full time and also my annual winter cough showed up early and brought the flu with it, so I haven't had much free time or energy to post lately. But I can report on the sleeping pad, having used it for four nights now ( Read more... )

Ordered the sleeping bag and pad I blogged about a few days ago. I went with Nemo's Disco 15 sleeping bag and Cosmo 3D pad. Even with  my employee discount, that's a painful chunk of money. But there've already been a few cold nights, and it may be a couple of weeks before they arrive ( Read more... )

"Sleep System" is camping jargon for the combination of sleeping bag and sleeping pad. As I mentioned, both of my current bags are wearing out and need replacing before it gets too cold ( Read more... )

I mentioned in the previous post that I need to upgrade my sleep system for the coming winter. I've learned a lot about sleeping bags and pads in the 2½ years since I first became homeless. On the minus side, I have less money to work with. On the gripping hand, I do get an employee discount at REI ( Read more... )

I want to get back to posting here regularly. I guess I should start with a life update. I'm still homeless, with no prospects for that changing anytime soon. I got some help from social workers to apply for housing assistance, and despite their best efforts I was turned down. I'm not a drug addict and have no disabilities, so other people have a ( Read more... )

Ocean conservation is a big deal to me. Goes hand in hand (fin in fin?) with being a mermaid. And a big part of the plastic clogging up the oceans and killing fish is discarded fishing nets ( Read more... )

Being homeless led to my interest in backpacking, which in turn has been like a "gateway drug" for other outdoor activities. I've been attending introductory classes at my local REI for rock climbing, mountain biking, and (as of last night) kayaking. I'm Boat People, dammit, I should have a boat. :p ( Read more... )

The Portland OR office of the US National Weather Service posted this on their facebook page. If you spend a lot of time outdoors, like I have been these past couple years, it's a useful reference.


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I'm posting this here to get it fixed in my head:

• Base Weight - pack plus everything in it or hanging off it, except for consumables like food, water, fuel, etc.
• Pack Weight - base weight plus consumables.
• Skin-out Weight - pack weight plus what you wear, stuff in pockets, and what you carry (trekking poles)

Once I've finished it, I'll edit in the ( Read more... )