29th
Jun
This week I’ve decided to write about a different kind of outdoor activity: building fences. When Amy and I bought our house, we knew beforehand that all three fences and our deck would soon need replacing. Well, three and a half years later, and we are finally fixing fences that are literally falling down, and […]
22nd
Jun
One of the early enhancements we made to our Cricket was a cell signal booster. We went on 26 trips in the first year of our Cricket. That’s every other weekend plus a few longer trips (4–16 days), and we continued going out throughout the cold winter months, so having a good cell signal allowed […]
15th
Jun
When I taught backpacking to University students, the majority of the content came down to decision-making. How we go about making decisions in the backcountry can be the difference between a safe experience and a harrowing one. Values Decisions in the backcountry balance risk and reward. Underlying that balance are the values we hold. So […]
8th
Jun
It’s been a few weeks now since we installed solar on our Mantis, and so far we are loving it. Instead of plugging our Mantis in when we get home, we just turn off all the power draws (including the fridge), and let the solar panels bring the power back up and keep the batteries […]
1st
Jun
I made my first attempt to summit Rainier in 2006 and made it to our 11,000-foot base camp. However, my conditioning was lacking, and hearing stories of groups coming back down after 15-hour summit attempts, I realized I could not continue with my team. Since then, Rainier has always been in the back of my mind, […]