spklbuk
Well-known member
I have base camping and riding loops down; but my goal to pack a dual sport for travel from place to place camping along the way is a whole other ball of wax.
A recent rainy weekend camping put me past the tipping point for some gear purchases that had been on hold for a while. Not only was quicker drying clothing items highly desirable so was a as a place to better store them out of the weather. Hanes and Champion kindly contributed quick dry t-shirts and athletic shorts and Fox River Mills shared some hyped as quick drying socks from their military collection. As a replacement for necessary compression socks to help combat swelling in my aging lower legs but a royal PITA to get on, CSX forwarded a pair of compression sleeves for testing. To overcome a “where to stow my gear when hammock camping” syndrome, I latched on to a Molly Mac Gear Hammock. I also suspended a new rigged bug net system over my hammock that resulted in way less bulk but remained untested. New gear in hand, I made a vow to test it the very next bout of good weather.
Father’s Day weekend forecast was perfect.
I invoked an axiom of “trouble travels in threes.” Three sets of clothes, one to wear, one to wash and one to dry. I devised a list of essentials and knowing I was in for an education, I proceeded to load Snowflake with pared down from usual gear Friday evening and went camping. I rode a tortuous 250 yard route from my garage to my man hide-away up on the hill behind the house and set up camp. Rounds of thunderstorms were being displaced by a high pressure system with quite windy encouragement. I tinkered around the garden holding off departure well into the day for the weather to clear so got a late start but managed to get set up, catch a nice sunset and moon rise before kicking back to enjoy some libation and fire tv before turning in.
As a weight/space saving measure, I was using my old and tattered lightweight top and bottom quilts on the hammock and dressed in my new summer attire. I awoke about 1:30 a.m. to answer the call of necessity but once back in the hammock, it took over an hour to convince myself that my head was safe from the tree-hole mosquitoes whining in my ear. New bug net gets a thumbs up!
By 3:00 a.m. (and the last time I’ve seen my watch since) with a now clear still sky, the temp dropped to a cool 50* and I was relating well to a Popsicle. I could have donned my riding gear, stirred the fire, did some jumping jacks, warmed up and crawled back into the hammock which I would have done out of necessity if actually out on the road. But being the big wimp I am, I simply abandoned the mission and walked down the hill, into the house and slipped into bed under a warm blanket. Lesson 1…forget the camp chair as your luxury item, bulky but warm quilts, wicking base layer and hoodie make the list for night two.
Once on my feet again I showered and sink washed a set of my new duds, wrung and rolled in a towel to get out as much water as feasible and stashed them in a dry bag (thanks Wayne!). I moseyed back up to hill, tore down camp and loaded the bike.
I rode one of my favorite local loops for a couple of hours and returned to the hide-away and…you guessed it…set up camp again including hanging my wet laundry.
I retreated home on foot, mowed the yard and finished my honeydos but spent a second glorious night in the toasty comfort of my heavy quilts, long johns and hoodie securely under my newly configured bug net.
By daylight Sunday morning, my overnight laundry was doing quite well. Adequately dry, at least during dry weather. Very impressed with the Fox River socks. In spite of their reputation, I would never have believed anything that weight would dry that quickly if I had not done it myself. Lesson 2, take two towels, one to dry yourself and one for to wring your clothes. Maybe two sets of the right clothes is enough like Mr. Ashe tried to tell me years ago. Jeff’s hypothesis bears further testing.
Cold trailing...I took time out to cook Pap’s Father’s Day Sunday brunch. Getting all fancy and for the very first time cooking shrimp egg foo yung topped with onion/ginger/soy/teriyaki gravy and shrimp and cocktail sauce on the side. Nailed it! Excellent!! Dad, a young nonagenarian, ate like he meant it.
Back on the hot track. Moral to the story, saving weight and space is not always the most logical way to pare down your gear list. I am a step closer to being able to travel and camp in comfort. I packed everything but did not cook in camp since I have Chef Glenn’s (I salute you sir!) well-proven backpacking cooking system already in place. I find my current bulky water hauling system to be adequate but eyeing room for dromedary improvement.
The next step is for Snowflake and me to roam from campground to campground spending a night or two in between with an eye to how well my gear comes through and figure what else I am willing to do without or am lacking. I’m thinking a couple of campgrounds near Wytheville might provide a good test and an opportunity to reconnoiter. Tough duty to be sure.
I suppose I should soon wander back up on the hill to tear down camp and try to locate my missing pocket knife and watch then ride that challenging route home. There’s a 3rd lesson in there, something about a place for everything and…
Hey. Wait a second. What am I thinking? I have a hammock set up in the shade on a hill with a nice breeze; maybe I’d better catch a Sunday afternoon nap first!
Spklbuk by firelight long time gone.
A recent rainy weekend camping put me past the tipping point for some gear purchases that had been on hold for a while. Not only was quicker drying clothing items highly desirable so was a as a place to better store them out of the weather. Hanes and Champion kindly contributed quick dry t-shirts and athletic shorts and Fox River Mills shared some hyped as quick drying socks from their military collection. As a replacement for necessary compression socks to help combat swelling in my aging lower legs but a royal PITA to get on, CSX forwarded a pair of compression sleeves for testing. To overcome a “where to stow my gear when hammock camping” syndrome, I latched on to a Molly Mac Gear Hammock. I also suspended a new rigged bug net system over my hammock that resulted in way less bulk but remained untested. New gear in hand, I made a vow to test it the very next bout of good weather.
Father’s Day weekend forecast was perfect.
I invoked an axiom of “trouble travels in threes.” Three sets of clothes, one to wear, one to wash and one to dry. I devised a list of essentials and knowing I was in for an education, I proceeded to load Snowflake with pared down from usual gear Friday evening and went camping. I rode a tortuous 250 yard route from my garage to my man hide-away up on the hill behind the house and set up camp. Rounds of thunderstorms were being displaced by a high pressure system with quite windy encouragement. I tinkered around the garden holding off departure well into the day for the weather to clear so got a late start but managed to get set up, catch a nice sunset and moon rise before kicking back to enjoy some libation and fire tv before turning in.
As a weight/space saving measure, I was using my old and tattered lightweight top and bottom quilts on the hammock and dressed in my new summer attire. I awoke about 1:30 a.m. to answer the call of necessity but once back in the hammock, it took over an hour to convince myself that my head was safe from the tree-hole mosquitoes whining in my ear. New bug net gets a thumbs up!
By 3:00 a.m. (and the last time I’ve seen my watch since) with a now clear still sky, the temp dropped to a cool 50* and I was relating well to a Popsicle. I could have donned my riding gear, stirred the fire, did some jumping jacks, warmed up and crawled back into the hammock which I would have done out of necessity if actually out on the road. But being the big wimp I am, I simply abandoned the mission and walked down the hill, into the house and slipped into bed under a warm blanket. Lesson 1…forget the camp chair as your luxury item, bulky but warm quilts, wicking base layer and hoodie make the list for night two.
Once on my feet again I showered and sink washed a set of my new duds, wrung and rolled in a towel to get out as much water as feasible and stashed them in a dry bag (thanks Wayne!). I moseyed back up to hill, tore down camp and loaded the bike.
I rode one of my favorite local loops for a couple of hours and returned to the hide-away and…you guessed it…set up camp again including hanging my wet laundry.
I retreated home on foot, mowed the yard and finished my honeydos but spent a second glorious night in the toasty comfort of my heavy quilts, long johns and hoodie securely under my newly configured bug net.
By daylight Sunday morning, my overnight laundry was doing quite well. Adequately dry, at least during dry weather. Very impressed with the Fox River socks. In spite of their reputation, I would never have believed anything that weight would dry that quickly if I had not done it myself. Lesson 2, take two towels, one to dry yourself and one for to wring your clothes. Maybe two sets of the right clothes is enough like Mr. Ashe tried to tell me years ago. Jeff’s hypothesis bears further testing.
Cold trailing...I took time out to cook Pap’s Father’s Day Sunday brunch. Getting all fancy and for the very first time cooking shrimp egg foo yung topped with onion/ginger/soy/teriyaki gravy and shrimp and cocktail sauce on the side. Nailed it! Excellent!! Dad, a young nonagenarian, ate like he meant it.
Back on the hot track. Moral to the story, saving weight and space is not always the most logical way to pare down your gear list. I am a step closer to being able to travel and camp in comfort. I packed everything but did not cook in camp since I have Chef Glenn’s (I salute you sir!) well-proven backpacking cooking system already in place. I find my current bulky water hauling system to be adequate but eyeing room for dromedary improvement.
The next step is for Snowflake and me to roam from campground to campground spending a night or two in between with an eye to how well my gear comes through and figure what else I am willing to do without or am lacking. I’m thinking a couple of campgrounds near Wytheville might provide a good test and an opportunity to reconnoiter. Tough duty to be sure.
I suppose I should soon wander back up on the hill to tear down camp and try to locate my missing pocket knife and watch then ride that challenging route home. There’s a 3rd lesson in there, something about a place for everything and…
Hey. Wait a second. What am I thinking? I have a hammock set up in the shade on a hill with a nice breeze; maybe I’d better catch a Sunday afternoon nap first!
Spklbuk by firelight long time gone.
