The Internet is to blame.  New hermit rule—no Internet in the hermitage.

The thing with the Internet is you are never alone and without solitude you always just hang out on in the front country of your mind.

The decision to turn off the Internet has been assisted by my laptop dying—and this one is not under warranty.   Since my laptop is also my entertainment system, it means no music, no videos, no spider solitaire.

There are some logistical problems with living a life without a computer.  Like loading my GPS for hikes, getting maps, and ordering stuff.   But I’m happy and excited to be returning to a life of peace and solitude.

I’m writing this from the public library in town which gives me 2-30 minute sessions a day–no loitering on this Internet.

First the bag weighed 35 oz.    Then I cut off the hood, the first baffle, the full length zipper, and the zipper baffle.    Then it weighed 24oz.  Next I took all the down from what I had cut off and stuffed it in to the quilt.   Then I took down from my old Marmot Helium  and stuffed even more down into it.   Then it weighed 34 oz.   Then I sewed the seams up and  took it to the laundry and washed it.   Now it weighs 31 oz. *

This isn’t the ethereal kind of loft you get from having  just washed your bag, this is the solid kind of loft  you get when your baffles are full of down.    If you slept in a shelter with this bag you’d have to say, “Please excuse my loft.”

For this project you will need: thread, pins, scissors, sewing machine, and a mummy bag.    Also a vacuum cleaner to clean up with.

To make the seams,  I just turned both edges inward, pinned them, and then sewed them up.

Difficulty rating: easy.

*I brought two bags to the laundry and they both came back  3 oz lighter.   Which seems like it might justify the weight of a silk liner.

A person could improve a trash bag rain cover the same way.

Under what to bring, they list a meditation cushion or a meditation bench.    I found some cedar under my cabin and these instructions on the Internet and in about 10 minutes had built my meditation bench.   It’s  ingenious the way you cut both  legs in one cut.   I didn’t have any hinges so I screwed it together.  Then I put support pieces around the legs.

Then I had the epiphany to turn my old Marmot Helium into a backpacking quilt.    Searching the Internet I found another hiker who did this.   Purebound turned a 110 dollar– 2Lb 4oz mummy bag into a 400 dollar– 24oz sleep quilt.

I cut off the zipper baffle, the 3/4 zipper, the hood and the first baffle and used the down from them to stuff into the rest of the bag.   Then I slit the opening all the way down leaving a little foot box to stick my feet in and sewed everything back up.     It went from 34 ounces to 28 ounces and I kept all the down.

I like it  but every time I look at it there is another rip in it.  It has about 20 patches and repairs done to it and I ripped a baffle one night when I slept close to a sharp rock.    Also I think it could still use some more down.

So now I’m eyeing my new Marmot Helium and thinking about doing the same thing to it.  Only this time I’m thinking of slicing open up my old Marmot Helium and stuffing a lot more down into the new one.   One thing I learned doing this is there is a whole lot of down in a sleeping bag and it hardly weighs anything.  So if I, say, added 3 or 4 more ounces of down to the new bag and cut away all the stuff I didn’t need, I think I could have a seriously big fluffy quilt for  2 lbs.

If you want a down hood you can save the hood piece and wear it on your head.   I decided that I would rather have the down from the hood on my body because I already carry a fleece balaclava and there is still enough length to throw the bag over my head if it’s really cold.

I may put some straps on it to cinch the bag around me, but right now I’m  thinking that won’t  be necessary as I left the bag fairly wide.

Some people may say that I’m taking 750.00 dollars in mummy bags and trying to turn them into a 750.00 dollar quilt.

Caretakers needed for the Goldmyer Hotsprings.

Northwest Wilderness Programs maintains caretakers at the Goldmyer property all year round to assure our preservation goals for the property. Caretakers live on the property 24/7.  Duties include check-in and management of our visitors and cleaning and maintenance of facilities.  This is a unique opportunity to live and work in one of the last remaining old-growth forested areas in the Pacific Northwest.

We require a 2-person couple or team who have a time-tested and good working relationship.  There is a small off the grid, well-endowed cabin for the caretakers to live in (utilities provided).  The salary is $1500 per month per couple.  Various time periods are available depending on experience and need.  Candidates must have good people and communication skills, have a positive attitude and clean well-kept appearance, have a basic mechanical aptitude, be self motivated and willing to work hard, and able to live in a remote (and at times isolated) mountainous location.

Address inquiries and questions to our office at 206-789-5631 (office hours are Tuesday 1 till 6, and Friday 3 till 8). Please mail resumes and references to: NWWP, 202 N. 85^th St. #106, Seattle WA 98103.  Also include a cover letter that explains your past experiences that could relate to living and working in a back-country setting, and if you have visited Goldmyer.

It’s a  small book of 350 glossy pages wrapped in a sturdy vinyl cover measuring 7″ x 4 1/2″ , weighing less than a pound, and costing less than 20 bucks.   I think it’s just what was needed.

The first 90 pages covers prep, equipment, planning, what the hiking is like, resupplying, permits, getting to trail, everything.      The next 229 pages are  maps, data, resupply info, trail angel info, water caches, alternate routes, elevation  profiles, town info, birds and plants you are likely to see,  interesting facts about the sites you pass, inspiring quotes, this book has it all.   The final 20 pages are appendixes covering useful websites, books written by PCT hikers, sample hiking schedules and more.

The maps aren’t topo maps and they wouldn’t help much if you got off trail,  but  here’s the thing: the book cost 18.95 16.47 from Amazon and covers the whole trail.

But the reality didn’t measure up in the long haul.   I don’t know if barefoot hiking is compatible with  hiking 10-12 hours a day, month after month. When I get tired,  I want  to take nice long strides and slap those feet down anywhere and make some miles.    I also get  clumsy at the end of the day and that doesn’t mix well with bare-feet.   It takes a mental adjustment to hike in barefeet  that I sometimes found hard to make when I got tired.  It was slow and sometimes painful.

I then switched to Vibram Five Fingers. Though they offer some protection, if you step on a rock or a stick with your arch,  the pain reverberates through your body.    Another thing is your toes are all separated which offers the opportunity for each toe to individually snag on something and get wrenched.

I put them away for good when I caught my little toe, which I think I may have broken a few days earlier,  and it caused me so much pain I thought I was going to pass out.

You can hit miles of fist size rocks that would be nothing to hike across in shoes and those sections become tedious and exhausting in Vibram Five Fingers.

While wearing my Vibram Five Fingers and hiking south I met many northbound thru-hikers who had started the hike with them but quickly abandoned them.

The one thing I learned from going barefoot is a gratitude for shoes.    If you like hiking day after day for months, taking long carefree strides; I highly recommend shoes or hiking sandals.

My trail tested compo is Chaco Z-1 woman’s size 9 wide and New Balance 817′s mens size 9.5 EEEE with NB IPR3010 Pressure Relief insoles with the metatarsal rise. Switching shoes all day long I can hike 30 mile days.   The only problem I have with this set up is the shoes are like ballet slippers when they hit snow and it’s a lot of money to shell out on shoes for every thru-hike.    I also don’t like having to carry two pairs of shoes…. but with my feet I know it’s what I need to do.

I was really optimistic about going barefoot and gave it my best shot but it didn’t work.

It was  4am and I was lying in my frosty tent in the Sierras, thinking how splendid a hot beverage would be right now.  I was hungry as I hadn’t eaten dinner the night before because I was low on food and one of the ways I ration my food is to skip dinner.

I was thinking: for the same weight as the bear canister I could have brought my stove, pot, fuel canister, and 5 snicker bars.   Right now, I could be drinking a hot beverage and eating a snicker bar.   That would be good, but instead I have a bear canister.

I reached out of my tent, grabbed my frosty bear canister, tried to open it—it didn’t budge.     I straddled it and tried to open it,  it wouldn’t turn a bit—it was completely locked up.   And that is when I renamed my BearVault 450 bear canister: my “Goddamn, Piece of Shit!” bear canister.

The next food was 50 miles a way and it wasn’t 50 easy miles.  It was 50 of the hardest miles on the PCT.    I angrily broke camp, stuffed my  icy tent into my pack, and stomped off into the darkness.

Although I was mad and hungry there was a little part of me excited about the challenge of hiking 50 miles without food.

About 10am  I met a couple that I had been seeing off and on since Ashland.   I told them my bear can story.   He tried to open it but couldn’t get it to budge.    He brought out a big pocket knife and tried to pry it open with the can opener.   He brought out a tent stake and picked up a big rock and tried to break open the lid.     Nothing.   Then his wife straddled it and he tried turning it with all his might.   It finally, to my great joy,  opened.

I never locked it again.  From then on I slept with my unlocked can next to me.

I told someone I met on the trail  my bear can story.  He told me he had to take a lighter to his lid to soften up the plastic.

I bought the bear canister in ’07.  When it arrived at Kennedy Meadows, I couldn’t open it.   Someone else wrestled it open for me.      A couple days later the same thing happened but again someone else was able to open it.   I thought then that this bear can could be trouble, but after that I didn’t have a problem with it.

I used it again in ’08 through the Sierra’s and didn’t have any problems with it but then I usually sleep with it and leave it unlocked.

Billy Goat carried a bear can for the first time this year.  The same one as mine but  his was the new one with 2 locks.  I warned him not to lock it but he accidentally locked the first lock and couldn’t get it opened.   I tried to open it but I accidentally locked the second lock.   Another hiker was able to open it using some tool.  He was mindful of never locking it again.

On the Bearvault website they say they will send you a free tube of lube for your canister.  Maybe that would help but I’m not sure I would risk being locked out of my food again.   And since I’m not going to lock it, why carry it.

BearVault 450 info: weighs 32.04 ounces (918 grams) I have fit 200 miles of food in it– 18,500 calories.

I wasn’t sure if my nails were all iron so I’ve been soaking water and lemon juice in my cast iron skillet and drinking the water.  I’m feeling less anemic now.

Note: You can download all of Hesperian’s books at http://www.hesperian.org/ for free.

Southern California is plagued with bugs that like to hang out right in front of your face.   They will drive you nuts as they get in your eyes, up your nose, and in your mouth.   Good thing I know how to confuse them–I  hike under my umbrella and they go away.

I don’t know why this works but it does.

• Sil-nylon stuff sack for clothes
• Western Mountaineering Flight down jacket (Oh yeah)
• Novara Stowable Bike Jacket
• Dri-Ducks rain gear.   Seat ripped out of the pants the first time I squatted down in them but I tapped them up.
• Trash bag rain skirt
• Fox River wool Glo-Mitts
• Fleece balaclava
• Mosquito head-net/scrubby
• Simms Sun Gloves
• Fox River Off Road socks
• NRS Neoprene Sandal Sock
• Mountain Hardwear Canyon shirt
• Pantagonia Sport top
• LLBean hiking pants (yuck)
• 1 pair Duofold briefs
• Summer Buff
• Sunday Afternoon Adventure hat

• Pee rag
• Ditty bag–Eagle Creek Pack- It Sac large
• Brush
• Travel toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste
• Dental floss with needle
• Brush on super glue
• Ace bandage 6 ft
• Triple antibiotic + Pain relief ointment ( petroleum base.   Sores, chapped lips, chaffing, dry skin, fire starter)
• Caffeine pills
• Pepto-Bismol tablets
  
• ibuprofen and acetaminophen (taken to together as affective as codeine) Don’t take prophylactially
• Benadryl (For allergic reactions to plants and animal bites.  Also as a sleep aid)
• Pseudoehedrine (Decongestant and stimulant)
• aspirin (heart attack first aid)
• Sunblock
• Menstrual cup
• safety pins
• lighter –small Bic
• Knife—Swiss Army Classic
• Aquamira water treatment

• sink
• Clear packing tape
• Extra batteries
• cordage
• a few paper towels in a small ziplock
• hiker bidet cap
• 2 pairs of reading glasses
• sunglasses
• Duct tape ( wrapped around water bottle)  For gear repair, fire starter, etc.
• space blanket (carried a Hot Sac through the Sierras)
• Fox 40 whistle

• I-River MP3 player and FM radio with a lithium AA battery I’ve been carrying the same one for 4 years now
• Sonny MDR-ED21LP Fontopia headphones
• Blackberry phone, no data plan.   Text messaged in my Twitters.  Ditched it through the Sierras
• Carried a BearVault 450 through the Sierra’s—Review to follow 

Stuff I wished I had:  Foot file, warmer sleeping bag or a sleeping bag liner through the Sierras, stove through the Sierras, a little bigger pack, more water carrying capacity in the dessert( I had a gallon jug swinging off the back of my pack which didn’t carry that well), med’s for Giardia, supplements, a pair of New Balance 817′s with pressure relief insoles in them, washcloth.

For a  while now I have bouts of stomach pain and vomiting, then it goes away, and I feel fine.

I have the trailer at Hiker Heaven all to myself.   I’ve had a hot shower, changed into cotton sweats, cooked myself some eggs, and watched a movie.   Good times.

My reptilian brain gets in a snit  over the water issue. 

Happy to be here, though.

It was a long and beautiful hike through the Sierras.   I got some altuitude  sickness and once got locked out of my bear can but all turned out well.

So happy to be out here now–weather is great.

Hiking out in the morning.