First Backpacking Trip in 15 or so years.

[Spooky]

Yesterday was a leisurely walk around the neighborhood with the Wife/Daughter in tow. Neighbor Eric who is coming on the trip was with us, but didn't have his pack on. Instead pulled Freyja the entire way in her wagon. That's a decent workout in itself. I've put a lot of miles on that wagon through a couple Zoos and Pumpkin Patches.

"O Street" at the top of that route isn't a lot of fun. Very busy street, and cars drive by within a few feet of you. Future routes I think are going to exclude that.

This is what I'm thinking for tonight or tomorrow.



I was wearing the Red Wing Loggers yesterday. Trying to give myself less than ideal conditions in training to make the actual trip easier. Love these boots for everyday, but they're terrible for hiking.

My particular neighborhood doesn't have a lot of sidewalks. It's actually kind of annoying. People end up walking on your lawn, and in my case cutting the corner really close to the house. (Stay away from my pepper plants!) Black Pack and my usual OD Green/Dark clothing choices make some of the walking on the street a little spooky. Going to look into one of those LED/Reflective running lights. Fortunately I'm a bit of a flashlight nerd. This one works fantastic at night for making sure I don't get hit by a car. (I swear, half the drivers in this city cut their driving license off of a cereal box...)


That actually brings me to a couple of minor pack changes. Not bringing the Glock 19 w/TLR. Too big and can't holster it with the pack waist strap. Fortunately I have a Glock 26 that fits in one of the waist strap pockets quite well. The exchange saves me 1.78 pounds total.

Also, I enjoyed the Bourbon from my flask the other day and haven't replaced it. I'm thinking 8oz is a bit much for a casual overnight. Might throw a couple of Single Malt Shooters in, but skipping the flask. Another slight weight savings. Forgot to weigh my pack after the walk last night. I think I'm still right at 38.4'ish pounds though. I've also decided to add my Modlite OKW and two spare 18650 batteries for it. I should put that on my food scale and see exactly what it weighs? Not a big deal though. That would be 3 total flashlights: Streamlight Microstream (rechargeable with packed external battery), Mini LEP Cosmos w/spare battery, Modlite OKW w/2 spare Batteries. Rumor has it this park can get a little weird/busy in the October Month, so a little extra illumination is never a bad thing.

Big fan of this light.




Off topic a little bit, anybody have any experience Apple Watches? I'm looking hard at a Black IP Ultra 2. Something to count steps and distance/etc, but also interested the idea of the Cell Service and streaming some music while hiking or running. A friend of mine has a SHOKZ OpenRun Pro that I've tried out. Love it. Two of them in the Amazon cart. Wife is looking at one of the new Series 10 in Titanium. We don't really care about titanium vs aluminum, but the Sapphire Crystal is probably worth the upcharge. Once I'm done training for this trip, I'd like to keep moving and improve for the next one. We have some decent paths in the area for running/jogging.

[rodia77]

Not that it's absolutely necessary but I'd also consider a tent/camp light or maybe a diffuser for one of the torches (although a dedicated diffused light source will almost certainly be more energy-efficient).

[Spooky]

Not that it's absolutely necessary but I'd also consider a tent/camp light or maybe a diffuser for one of the torches (although a dedicated diffused light source will almost certainly be more energy-efficient).

Counting the many hundreds of dollars I have into flashlights, and I still never ended up with a headlamp of any kind. The Streamlight Microstream works great clipped to a hat brim, but one of the friends coming along has an extra headlamp that he's gifting me:



Should fulfill that purpose well.

[Spooky]

Not that it's absolutely necessary but I'd also consider a tent/camp light or maybe a diffuser for one of the torches (although a dedicated diffused light source will almost certainly be more energy-efficient).

I may bite the bullet on something like this soon:



I like the idea of carrying an external battery pack instead of changes of AAA/Etc Batteries.

Something like this:




Next trip perhaps.

[Spooky]

3.39 miles with 39 pounds. I’m tired, sore, and out of bourbon.

Goodnight.


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