Post trip

Creative use of the hotel room balcony

After a few days powering down the spectacular Minong ridge on Isle Royale, I'm resting and refueling at Lake Bemidji, the headwaters of the Mississippi, grateful for everything in my pack (especially my trekking poles, critical on that quarter mile, one-plank "river crossing").

I hope the NPS will find time to recheck the mileage along that route. I met only eight people in three days along a thirty-plus mile footpath, all of them seasoned, and we all agreed that every mile felt like two--and very likely was closer to one and a half.

So much of the rocky, root-studded trail is hidden by armpit-high foliage this time of year that the hike turned into 38 miles of one deliberate step after another. The section where the ridge is exposed and slabby, between Little Todd Harbor junction and Lake Desor, would be unsafe (if even passible) when wet or foggy. Take heed and pack extra food for the rest day it would take to dry the rock or for the marine layer to lift.

Josh Knox and I admiring the view across Lake Superior to the Sleeping Giant

Don't forget to write up your trip report. After recording the weather, the route conditions, what was in flower and what was ripe enough to eat along the way (blueberries and raspberries were everywhere around me but alas, unripe), jot down what you needed (extra fuel and mosquito repellent!) and what you could have left behind (power brick for my iPhone). Take time to alert the rangers to any issues along your route. Your post trip checklist should also include a full day for laundry and air-drying a clean tent.

Don't let wet, dirty gear languish in hot cars where condensation can contribute to mold growth.

Once you get home, check to see if anything needs repair before shelving it.

See you out there next time. 

Signing off with the sunset view (minus the symphony of loon calls) of Todd Harbor, one of the loveliest nights I've spent in a tent in years. It's got everything a girl needs including a dock! 

Seaplane, anyone?

Group Site 1 at Todd Harbor has level tent platforms, a dock for your seaplane and your morning dip, a picnic table, this view at cocktail hour and a fire ring for tall tales, wolf songs and northern lights after dark.

Prius power

Adore your Prius and its 50-plus MPG?  This setup schleps extra gear on long trips with very little impact on your daily fuel efficiency. Just take the cargo basket off when you don't need it. And get out there!

Modern Poncho

Climb high and dry in Patagonia's Post Foamback
Cagoule. Plus it's got that cool William-of-Baskerville
look in The Name of the Rose. 

AT, CDT and PCT thru-hikers, check it out! Barbour people, this compares favorably:

Patagonia has sent their limited edition, retro classic Cagoule (a long, pullover rain shell) to the Dillon outlet store. Prices have been slashed by a third, and soon there won't be any more left. Who knows if they will ever make this amazing piece again?

GoreTex Packlite provides waterproof/breathability over a wide temperature range with a soft, quiet hand. Perfect for walking in the rain all day with very little else worn beneath. The jacket folds into its own pocket (you can clip it to your harness). In driving rain, for grace under pressure, pull the long skirt down over your knees and sit out the storm.

I started coveting this elusive garment as a student learning to navigate icefall on the Roosevelt Glacier on Mt. Baker, years ago. I awoke on Day 2 to rain pissing down at 36 degrees Fahrenheit, and it never stopped for the rest of the week.

My instructor, on the star-spangled team at the American Alpine Institute (the best climbing school there is, in my view, which puts me in agreement with Jon Krakauer for once!), spent the week shouting encouragement at the base of various seracs, totally dry under an umbrella in a Scottish cagoule from the 1960s or something, and I've never been so jealous. He just rolled it up and cinched the drawcord waist when he needed to tie in. Today's Patagonia version even has side zips for kangaroo access.

Expensive, but worth every penny.

If there's only one gift you ever give the long distance hiker in your life, this is it.  But hurry, because they'll soon be only just a dream once again.

Sideways: check. Climbing? Not. This is an ass-kicking
17th century downpour from
Brotherhood of the Wolf.
The Patagonia Cagoule protects from these, too.

How Many Packs?

Springtime in Virginia: almost time for my annual service project in memory of my childhood friend, Lolly Winans, who was murdered in Shendandoah National Park on Memorial Day weekend back in in 1996, four years after I spent my year on the trail. Time to pack the overnight gear, shoulder the burden and head up to the Appalachian Trail to commune with this year's crop of thru hikers on their way north from Springer Mountain, Georgia. They'll be hungry; it has been a very cold spring.

Photo: Chad, trailname "Stick,"
courtesy sticksblog.com.

Like most outdoorsy types, I've got a few rucksacks. People ask how many. Here's what I carry on my back and what they're for.

Just remember that, as with clothes and shoes, packs are designed with model users in mind, and not all packs fit everyone well. Torso length, back breadth and the cut of the shoulder straps are the three main fit issues in backpacks.

Sometimes you have to rule out an entire manufacturer. Doesn't mean they don't produce tricked-out, high quality soft goods. Cold Cold World make some terrific alpine rucksacks, for instance, but they don't fit my body. Same with the super rugged crag packs by Mountain HardWear and Marmot. Obsessed with ultralight, I carried big heavy winter loads with an ultralight MontBell pack for a few years until I simply got fed up with the poor fit. I remember the day I had to give away my expensive, off-the-rack McHale Dyneema pack because it had been hell to carry on a couple trips in the Sierras. (Custom is the only way to go with acclaimed McHale, who are superb craftsmen, just like Feathered Friends who have the happy hand with custom down bags and apparel, and so I look forward to trying out a McHale rucksack again someday.)

Other times, certain lines just don't' feel right, while others fit like a glove. I've had this issue with both Patagonia and Black Diamond. So there's no substitute for trying on a fully weighted pack (loaded with your own gear) before you buy. And since this is such a hassle, just accept that you'll make a few mistakes before you settle on the perfect rucksack.

Packs and their uses are best laid out by size. Back when I trekked the Appalachian Trail, the standard volume measurement was cubic inches. The world has switched to liters now:

9 L Black Diamond Flash

The Patagonia Ascenionist
ready for Chamonix.
I bought the light grey
version because I like to
see what's inside.
Choose bright colors for
alpine routes. 

Basically an adventure racing or trail running pack. Barely enough room for water, snacks, essentials and a windbreaker or safety blanket. Light as a feather and disappears into your travel luggage. Great for running up the Sky Meadow blue blaze to the AT, cycling around the Mall, half days along the Hudson or rollerblading in Santa Monica.

20 L Black Diamond Bullet 
The breed standard climber's pack, this goes inside my crag pack or approach pack on rock and ice climbs. It has two haul loops, a whistle on the sternum strap, works with a water bladder and carries everything you need for a long day. Rugged, reliable, intuitive enough to give to your partner, stripped down. A bottomless pit. Can never work out why trad leaders need the bigger size.

32 L Black Diamond Sphinx 
My crag pack. Carries a full rack, rock & ice gear, helmet and a rope to the bottom of your route in addition to all your personal gear (stuffed inside the 20 L lead pack). The stiff lower back pad anchors the heavy 45 lb loads you'll carry in winter. 

35 L Patagonia Ascensionist 
The new kid on the block. Perfect for fast approaches, warm weather overnights or winter day trips where you keep moving. Ice tools attach easily but there are no haul loops, no floating lid and not even a place to secure your keys: this is a seriously minimalist design aesthetic. Flexible fabric suspension, tensioned by a light aircraft aluminum grade rod, moves with you and the shoulder straps/hip pads are comfortable. Don't overload it, and this will be an ultralight joy to carry.

The Osprey Variant 52 and a paddle
gets you to your route in Norway.

52 L Osprey Variant
Short winter alpine trips are no problem for this lightweight, full-featured workhorse. I can pull a sled from the gear loops on the waist belt (no harness needed), carry skis, haul the pack, and lug all the climbing and camping gear I need for a couple days in the backcountry. Side pockets accommodate pickets and wands. Has a similar suspension system to the Ascensionist's, only this one is burlier, extending through the lumbar  pad. Also features my favorite detail: a whistle on the sternum strap. (Dude, no not separate from your pack when you are cold, injured and lost!) Easy and secure ice tool attachment system. I love the dedicated med kit pocket in front of the shovel pocket. Everyone on your trip can get to it in an emergency. Plus this pack fits me like a glove and carries great even without back stays. (BTW, I've noticed Ospreys dominate on the Appalachian Trail. Great mix of quality, value and intelligent design.)

The Astra 62 by Canadian
quality masters, ArcTeryx.
Hi tech with thoughtful details
like helmet compatibility
and a jointed hip belt.
The color is tasteful enough
for trekking.

62 L ArcTeryx Astra
People say it's over designed and maybe it is. I take this on trips of 3-5 days, on shoulder season trips when I need a warm bulky sleeping bag, and on all deluxe backpacking trips where extras like big tents, chairs, lanterns, wine, whiskey, camp shoes, cooked breakfast and French Press coffee are non-negotiables. Friends tell me it's the best trekking pack they've ever owned, with a horseshoe zipper that makes it easier to play Town & Country. It's not the lightest, at just over 4 pounds, but it organizes and carries 50 lb. loads like nothing else. If you've ever had to play superhero, camp with kids or haul somebody else's gear off the mountain, you know what those bulky, unexpected loads can feel like. The hip belt is jointed at the lumbar attachment point--a bit high tech (requiring silicon lubrication)--but the pack moves with you, and you feel very agile under the weight. Beautifully designed down to the last detail, although the side water bladder pocket is a bit skimpy; only big enough for a 2 liter platypus bladder.

115 L Dana Designs Astralplane
Old faithful. Highly customized fit. Most reparable in the field. Very useful for field medicine and search and rescue: side zips allow you to carry out a sick or injured person in this pack. Alaskans and military types swear by this thing. Carried one in winter on my 1991 AT hike after my trusty old Mountainsmith blew out. For hunters and white gas stove people fearing leaks, the separate fuel pockets are worth the weight. NOLS people: this is the kinda thing you want for those trips. Big enough to pack the kitchen sink. Heavy at like 8 pounds but carries 60-100 lb. loads like a porter. (Some smartass on the internet writes, "if you have to ask how heavy that is, you won't be able to pick it up." Not true. There's a trick to it.) Dana Designs are now manufactured by Mystery Ranch in Bozeman, Montana.

These packs keep their place in my gear loft because they all add to the pleasures of self-sufficiency off the grid. So experiment with rucksacks of different styles and volumes and get out there!

Poetry in Motion

Got home last night from another Death Valley moto trip. Settled in with one of my favorite poets, C.P. Cavafy. The Alexandrian adventures of the anglo Greek modern master might have seemed tame after a few days of twisties at 5,000 RPM.

But the sweep of a glance is as gorgeous as the sweep of a long desert curve. Or even the sweep of the hour before sunset.

"What is life?" asked a Blackfoot chief. "It is the flash of a firefly in the night."

It's never the same old landscape if you can always see it differently. As the Blackfoot people so wisely noted, "there are many paths to a meaningful sense of the natural world."

So get out there and try some poetry.

Here's one of my motorcycling poems set in Death Valley posted on my author site, suzannestroh.com . And here's a likeness of C.P Cavafy looking more like Proust than Woody Allen. And a Blackfoot chief with his own trusty steed.

Chief of the Blackfoot nation

 

C.P. Cavafy, chief of the Anglo Greek gay poets

More Glamping Greats

I'm posting this from my mobile device, but I thought you'd like to check out this incredibly beautiful cabin on wheels, the ESCAPE cabin (it's really an RV) from SALA. Go, tiny house movement! You are changing domestic lives into real adventures! I'm all for it.

How It's Done: Getting in and out of skis on firm steeps

I ski on the Diamir Eagle bindings, and as I was browsing YouTube to learn more about the Dynafit setup (hint: half the weight at 1,000 grams), I came across one of the best little instructional videos I've seen in a long time.

How it's really done. Mike Hattrup.

Here's veteran Mike Hattrup for K2 playing ski mountaineering guide, offering tips on how to get in and out of skis on a firm, steep slope. And he's damn good at both explaining and demonstrating it.

So today's blog is about raising a glass to all the guides in your life, and in mine, who have showed us the way in the backcountry. Few of us got out there and back safely in our early days without care and feeding from folks with the patience to pass on the tips and tricks of life's great outdoor experiences.

In my life, these people are too numerous to name here. Thank you all.

There was thunder and lightning to go with the downpour today at my daughter's Mini Ski Olympics, which motivated everyone with Sochi conditions. But I'm bracing for one, last big snow dump this year, and I plan to spend a good hour or two on some of the backcountry tips I just learned on YouTube from people like Hattrup and my daughter's favorite, Andrew McLean, demonstrating here how to change over smoothly from climbing to skiing when there's no time for a brew-up.

Get out there, support great guide services, tip handsomely, and practice, practice, practice.

 

Happiness is...Reproofed Foul Weather Gear

My drover's cloak is hanging in a warm, dry place getting ready for the worst that Boston weather can throw at it later this week. It's been brutal up there, so I'm not taking any chances. I want a winter coat that covers my boots.

And actually sheds rain and snow.

When was the last time you reproofed your "waxed cotton" apparel? If you used actual wax the last time you did it, it's time to join us in the 21st century, where the new creams don't rub off on everything else in your closet.

The mighty Duck Back
from Outback Trading Company.
There are lots of reproofing formulas.
Just don't mix and match. 

I just learned that it takes two cans of Duck Back to cover a bone dry, full length oilskin coat. If yours is Drizabone or Barbour and you have a month or more to spare, consider using their corporate reproofing services. Your garment will come back with that desirably thin, even coating that only the professionals ever seem able to apply.

For the rest of us, there's Duck Back. Goes on easily and smells pleasant. Works like a charm. Just don't forget to hose down your coat in a wash stall beforehand (or rinse it by hand; I cheated and used the hand wash setting on my front loading machine). Let it dry fully and then warm it up with a hairdryer before applying the reproofing cream. Warm cotton fibers, like leather, really do absorb better.

Now get out there and rebuff all the wind, rain, driving snow and fashion critics you come across.

With any luck you'll start attracting photographers. Like this guy.