As The Crow Flies

Keeping the inside of your tent dry.

For dealing with water inside my tent due to condensation or from wet clothes and gear, I carry a small camp towel. I cut it down; it weighs .9 of an ounce(26 grams). I’m thinking of cutting it down some more to save weight; maybe even in half.

“It absorbs 10 times its weight in water and wringing removes 92% of water making it instantly ready for re-use.”

I wipe the walls of my tent down with it, wring it out and wipe some more. It is particularly useful in sopping up puddles in my tent. Some people say that you can use your bandanna, but a bandanna doesn’t absorb any water once it’s wet; it just smears the water around.

Mine came with a loop on it so I can loop it on to the back of my pack while it dries; you can sew one on if can’t find one with a loop or just use a safety pin.

It can also be used as a super absorbent bandage.

Related Post: Camp towel versus ShamWow!

Foot care

When I hiked the PCT(Pacific Crest Trail), a big callus developed on the ball of my foot. A lot of people had this happen and most were afraid to do anything about it because they thought, “If it hurts this much with the callus, it might hurt even worse without it.” When I finished my hike I read a lot about feet and went to a foot doctor. The doctor said that you shouldn’t let calluses develop there and that the callus it self can cause a lot of problems.

This year I’m bringing a callus file and a small scrub brush to take better care of my feet. I bought the smallest scrub brush I could find and, using a hacksaw, cut it in two. I also used the hacksaw to remove the handle from the file. They weigh 1/2 ounce(14 grams) each. The scrub brush is also good for cleaning up my gear.

For lotion for my feet I think I will bring anti-fungal cream, It’s unscented so it won’t attract bears and it will protect me from fungal infections. Update: I mostly used small tubes of Carmex.

Related Posts:

Tools for your feet

Cracked Feet

Stalking the elusive split toe tabi sock

Tabi socks!
Armed only with a solar powered labtop and a dial up connection I have secured for my hike this rather impressive pile of tabi socks. I need tabi socks because I hike in Chacos Z2–sandals with a toe strap. I have 2 pairs of nylon socks I got from karate depot, 15 pairs of Teva bamboo socks I got off e-bay, 2 pairs of neoprene socks off e-bay and 2 pairs of fleece socks from sol socks. I could have just got toe socks but I think it takes to much time putting each toe in its’ own compartment.

The most elusive of all was the neoprene tabi sock. They come from Japan. The company that makes them is http://www.neoworkgear.info/ The only place I could find them was some guy on e-bay with a couple of pairs. I e-mailed the company but they never responded. I think I will trim the neoprene socks down a little to save weight.

PCT( Pacific Crest Trail) planner

Here is a site that makes you a free custom hiking schedule– complete with resupply addresses, dates you plan to get there, and miles between resupplies. http://www.pctplanner.com/

Sell everything and take a long hike.

For everyone who is selling all their stuff and going on a long hike, Ben and Lauren offer up some online selling advice. http://bltadventure.blogspot.com/2007/04/benmart.html

Water report for Southern California on the PCT(Pacific Crest Trail)

This year, people are saying that Southern California is really dry. Looks like most of the hikers are starting early because of water concerns. Every year has it’s challenges and hiking with too many other hikers on the trail is one of my biggest concerns, so I’m opting on a late start.

This is a link to the Southern California water report. A good thing to print out right before you leave. http://4jeffrey.net/pctwater

True Stories: Talking Heads

A happy upbeat musical movie about finding happiness, beauty, and individual expression in a world of prefab buildings, consumerism, efficiency, and clones. “There will be chairs for your convenience, so you don’t have to sit on your coolers.”

This is one of the best movies ever made.

The most hated people in America

Here is an great BBC documentary available for download on youtube It’s the story of a church were everyone is related, most of them are lawyers, and they hate everyone who isn’t them. The most hated people in America. I have a dial up connection; it took me 2 1/2 days to download it, but it was worth it.

If you can only leave footprints, make sure they’re annoying.

The guy at the library.

Yesterday I went to the library to get some tax forms printed out. I was sitting at the computer terminal. At the terminal beside me, I hear, “Look, you better call me or I will tell your wife where you slept last night.” I looked over at the guy sitting next to me, he pulls out his phone, looks at it, and then puts it back in his pocket. About 2 minutes later the same thing happens.

Radios and mp3 players for the long distance hiker.

On a long hike I like to have something to listen to, sometimes. On the PCT(Pacific Crest Trail) I brought a little Awia Fm radio. It weighed 1.7 ounces without the battery. For the Florida trail and the Appalachian Trail I brought a 5 ounce Sony radio that had am/fm, weather channel and TV band.

For the upcoming PCT trip I’m bringing the iriver T10 2gb MP3 player with fm radio. It weighs 1.7 ounces (48 grams) without battery. It has a little clip to clip it on to anything or clip it on to the neck lanyard it comes with.

It takes one AA battery; the battery is supposed to last 45 hours. I put a lithium battery in it because it is lighter and last longer then a regular battery, so I’m thinking maybe it will last 100 hours on one battery.

If I super compress my files, I think I can get 100 hours of stuff on it. It also records, so a person could record their thoughts along the way with the built in microphone.

It comes with a pair of ear buds that won’t work because every time the wind blows they come out. So I have ordered a pair of Sony MDR-ED21LP Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones, they weigh five grams (.18 ounces.) Even though they are in-the-ear style, they are supposed to allow you to hear what is going on around you. Update: I got the headphones. These are the same headphones that I have used for all my hikes. I thought they quit making them. They do indeed stay put when the wind blows yet they also let you hear what is going on around you. Highly recommended.

I find spoken words to be particularly helpful for letting my mind focus on something other then pain and boredom. Last summer, my son downloaded, for me, 300 hours of “This American Life”, a NPR radio documentary show. Sadly I have listened to all 300 hours–twice. But that would have made great listening, on the trail.

What I like to listen to at home is not the same thing that will get me down the trail. For music on the trail, I find folk, country and show tunes the most effective hiking music, with most stuff by Johnny Cash being about the most perfect hiking tempo.

Sawyers water purifier continues to tempt me.

Over at the Yahoo pct2007 group, the Sawyer water filter continues to get converts. One of the group posted these pictures of it. The person also put a slit filter and a carbon filter inline. It looks like a really great thing… but I have already bought 4 packages of Aqua Mira so probably for this trip– Aqua Mira it will be.

Update: I bought it and so far have not gotten it to work. Read my review here

Deer eating the buttercups.

This deer has been hanging around my cabin for a few hours… I think it is hiding out from a coyote or mountain lion that might be stalking it. I think sometimes deer hang out with people to avoid predators. Sometimes when I’m on the trail, a deer will hang out at my tent all night.

The big wild cat that lives in an abandoned old cabin

cat in an old cabin

On my walk, there is a big cat that I always see running into this old cabin. Today it was sitting in the window frame. I wish this cat would come live with me… I would like a pet that wouldn’t mind if I didn’t come home for 5 months.

Update: