3 day 18lb pack

When I was a kid and hiking around the wood of the west coast of Newfoundland, weight was always an issue. Back then, money and knowledge led me down a path of heavy packs. I put luxury and unneeded redundancy ahead of my general comfort. over the past 5 years or so I have really shifted my priorities. Comfort on the trial has superseded ultimate luxury in camp. Part of this may be due to the fact that my hikes have gotten longer and I rather enjoy seeing what I can do without while on the trail. Simplifying my life. A nice change from the corporate IT world I dwell in on a daily basis. Read the rest of this entry

Panthertown Valley, NC

I was planning a trip to the Panthertown Valley in North Carolina and wanted to trim my pack some more. My current go to tent for my son and I is the Big Agnus Sunnyside 2. This is an amazing tent but at 5 lbs 13 oz packed it is no longer a lightweight.
For a few years now I have been eyeing tarps from various makers. Living in Florida however, requires some sort of bug protection. So I needed something with a closed bug net.
Bearpaw Wilderness Designs (BPWD) had some great prices and a pretty good name on the hiking forums. I have been wanting to try one of their products for a few years. I browsed their site and found a two part setup that looked like it would do the trick Read the rest of this entry