VPI

Hope it is a good one, and by that I mean you did not bother going into work.

It is the little scorpions you need to worry about. Those will fuck you up. I am definitely up for a west coast trip.

A well designed waist belt seems to make all the difference as going from not putting the bag on properly to actually using the belt right and supporting most of the weight on my hips made a huge difference. The Gregory waist belts are also very comfortable. I am pretty sure the Dana guy was the one Ari was telling me about when we discussed bags when I was in NYC last.

A 39L bag at almost 7 pounds. Is it bulletproof?

Thanks for that info. I did not know the place existed.

I am thinking Osprey for a lightweight pack. The Kestrel and Atmos series are on my list. My Gregory is heavy but seemed to be better built that anything I looked at. It is also very comfortable with weight up to 50 pounds so far in trial walks.

Mine is on my iPad.

Great, by then I will be prepped to go out on the trail with only my knife and survive. Maybe some toilet paper.

On Tidal, definitely sounds much better than Spotify on my home system.

Tried it at my office but bandwidth issues were causing cutouts and downgrading so not sure it is worth the price for office listening for me.

Watched my oldest friend get honored on the Rachel Ray show. http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/celebs/18919_meet_a_chef_who_s_using_food_to_change_lives/index.html

As soon as I choose a tent I think I am going to head out for a weekend on the AT. Probably grab a Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 to start with.

Yeah, I have two Red Oxx duffels I use for that, just didn't think I would have time to shop this trip. The Western Mountaineering bag in the compression goes down to about 5x4 inches so no problem fitting in my regular carry on.

I actually contemplated buying another backpack and packing it up with all the new stuff.

Found an excellent outdoor store in Vermont called the Outdoor Gear Exchange. An amazing amount of gear, I just wish I could carry more back on the plane. Ended up getting a Summerlite WM bag, a bunch of clearance ExOfficio stuff and some compression bags.

Wood grilled Dry aged grass fed ribeye with vermont maple whipped squash.

Yeah, you never know. This was a huge scoring week for the NFL.

I actually got a Megalite as I really do not like being hot when I sleep. Hopefully it will work but I do have the Thermalite liners to bring the rating down if I need to. Most of the lightweight tents I was looking at had DAC poles which look strong but the thin fabrics look like they would tear very easily, maybe it is just appearance?

I have been able to try out a good deal of my gear in the last week. I think I might end up upgrading my sleeping pad to a wider one as my shoulders are wide enough that my arms/hands lay naturally off of the pad which is annoying. I orded a Western Mountaineering sleeping bag as my go to bag with the REI Travel bag with inserts filling any other needs. Still have not bought a tent. I looked at several but the light wants look like I would destroy them quickly so I might end up with a slightly heavier, stronger tent before I am done.

Happy Yesterday Birthday

BBQ Sampler at Smoke and Barrel.

Happy Birthday. Come celebrate with Colin and I at the Black Squirrel.

Happy Birthday

For those looking for the peanut butter taste and protein, with a lot less fat, I found this at Costco. Lot of flavor so it does not take a lot.

Nice. If I wasn't so lazy I would try to make one of those.