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A Car Story

Since my outdoor adventures involve a significant amount of travel, and since the price of gas and environmental concerns make it more and more necessary to think about the impacts of such travel, I thought I’d write something about the car we bought last year. Yes, a Prius.

Could It Be That I Have All The Gear I Need?

Nah. Not possible. But…
I am going on a rather substantial pack trip later this summer, as I do every summer with a group of my friends. (The basic idea is a west-to-east transit of the Sierra Nevada that climaxes at the summit of Mt. Whitney.) I’ve been backpacking for decades, but it seems like before [...]

My Take on ‘Sleeping Systems’

Having just read a post at the Mt. Whitney and Eastern Sierra Hiking Blog (see “On Backpacking…Sleep System“) I thought I’d add my two cents on this topic.
To my way of thinking, a backpacking “sleeping” system includes several components: sleeping bag, pad, ground sheet, shelter, clothing - and for some, a pillow.
Sleeping Bag - [...]

Access to Mt. Whitney - a List of Passes

The Mt. Whitney and Eastern Sierra Hiking blog covers almost all things related to hiking/climbing Mt. Whitney. A post (”Mt. Whitney From Horseshoe Meadows“) covers some alternate approaches for those who either can’t or don’t want to use the usual Whitney Portal approach.
I’ve been over almost all of the passes mentioned, including [...]

A Brand New State Park…

… to me anyway. This morning I visited Pacheco State Park at the summit of Pacheco Pass between Los Banos and Gilroy. I’ve driven past here for years on my way to/from the Sierra, Death Valley, Los Angeles, but only turned off the road here briefly once a few years ago. This past week I [...]