Month: January 2010

Trail Twitter

  • I’m in a sad motel room in Portland, Or with a messed up computer. #
  • First the computer had a virus. Then I spilled a cup of tea on it. #
  • Then I replaced the keyboard. Next I reloaded windows and a bunch of Dell drivers. #
  • Then a guy came and replaced the mother board. For one brief shining moment my computer worked. #
  • Even though I loaded the pay version of my viruses and spyware program, I got another infection. #
  • A smart person would toss the laptop in the dumpster and never think about computers again. #
  • But I keep trying. #

Bedding that doesn’t roam

Five years ago I bought my Washington cabin.   My cabin came with a mattress up in the loft,  and since I had a mattress I thought I should cover it with something.

I was at my sisters and she gleefully produced an ad for a Mervyns white sale and a coupon for 20 percent off at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.    And that is how I came to enter a mall for the first time in 15-20 years.    And how I came to own bedding.

I bought a set of jersey sheets, a fleece blanket and a cheap down comforter.

Even though I’m an active sleeper, all my bedding stays in place and my bed is still made when I wake up.   I think it’s because the jersey sheets stretch when you pull on them instead of coming undone.    Also they aren’t slippery so the blankets stay put.

They’re also warm and feel good.

They’re not expensive—I paid less than 20.00 for a top sheet, bottom sheet and 2 pillow cases.

Oops

If you read this blog from a blog reader,  you may notice it posted 5 old random posts.  I’m not sure why but probably due to some monkeying  around by me.

I’m not back on the trail nor am I dropping out for a bit.

I have un-monkeyed it and it shouldn’t happen again.

Clothes wringer

After I bathe in my basin, I often use the water to wash out a piece of clothing.    I throw it in, let it soak over night, wring it out, and hang it up to dry by the wood stove.

To wring out the piece of clothing, I throw it over a tree branch that hangs over my deck and wring it out by twisting it like the illustration shows.

The illustration is from a book called Living on the Earth.   I’ve had this book since I was twelve.    From baking bread to building a home, nothing takes more than a page to explain.

That’s the way things should be—if something takes more than a page or two to explain you’re probably making it too complicated.

Macabi hiking skirt

I bought my Macabi hiking skirt in 2004. I tried hiking in it on the CDT but my legs would get burned when I laid down for a nap and I got some chaffing between my legs.

I see many thru-hikers wearing them though, men and women, and they love it.

I wear mine all winter long with long underwear underneath. It feels warmer to me than pants. I also think there is something about wearing a skirt that is good for flow.

There are snaps to shorten the skirt. There is also a clip to make the skirt into pants or shorts. The shorts thing doesn’t really work because it’s still really easy to expose yourself…. maybe I was doing it wrong.

If it rains, you can shorten the skirt with the snaps and wear a trash bag skirt over it or put on rain pants and pack the skirt away till it stops raining.

One thing you need to be mindful of when wearing this skirt—don’t stand next to any heat source or it starts to melt and burn. I have little burns all over mine from standing near a campfire, a propane heater, and even just standing next to a wood stove.

 

Water—as much as I want!

It snowed all day yesterday. But it’s supposed to warm up today so it might turn in to a big slushy mess. I better act fast if I want to harvest all that water.

Yesterday while I was out snowshoeing I saw a guy plowing his road with a big wooden V that he drags behind his pickup. He has a full size pickup but it’s not four-wheel drive. He puts a bunch of weight in the back of his pickup. First he drags the big wooden V going down hill and then drags it back up. It does a good job. It’s a cheap way to plow a road.

So far my road isn’t plowed which is the way I like it. Eventually the guy that lives furthest up the road and has to go to work will pay someone to plow it and I’ll contribute to be neighborly not because I want the road plowed.

Maybe when that guy retires we can stop plowing the road. I doubt it because most people can’t stand staying home.