Backpacking Bargains

Article over at Backpacker.

It discusses the full spectrum of gear, which is useful.  The "backpacking on a budget" articles usually seen presuppose that you live in a Colorado trail town and can bargain shop for lightly-used gear down at the local thrift store.  Good luck with that on the Gulf coast!  No, this article covers only new gear, stuff you can actually get from the few local outfitters or the internet.  That is a new and useful take on things.

Anyway, enjoy.  Deer season is over and spring weather is almost upon us.  Get moving.

WFD Post-Analysis

Following up on last Sunday's WFD 2020 post, here are a few thoughts and notes.

• Section Hiker asks: Do you need a backpack rain cover?  Uh, last Sunday, yeah.
• Getting into a comfortable operating position in a tiny tent was an issue.  Laying on my left side, propped on left elbow, facing the door and radio worked best.  But even that messed with my shoulders.  I'm thinking an inflatable pillow to recline into, perhaps a half-inflated beach ball.  Will be experimenting with this before the next trip.
• Hooking a total-current meter between the charger and the 12AH LiFePO battery for the recharge showed that I only used 4AH total.  Coulda done the trip on the 4.5AH battery and saved 2.3 lbs pack weight.  But I didn't know that going in, so it's all good.  Conversely, I used the laptop battery up almost entirely (left just enough for a smooth shutdown), doing about 2/3 the operating on digital modes.  This means that the laptop's battery and the 4.5AH battery are well-matched, and just right for one day of operation.  It's a consideration when trying to minimize weight.  Maybe bring the Eneloop Pro batts for a reserve supply, but probably not.
• Total points have not been tabulated (been putting away tent, etc. first), but I'm down one band from last year and up 2x on the number of contacts.  Looking like close but slightly up this year.

Lessons learned, there're always lessons to be learned. 

As Seen Heading West of BSL

Mr. Ernie Runs through BSL on his way across the country, at The Shoofly Mag.

Interesting article.  Saw him, with entourage including police escort, about five miles west of Waveland this morning.  Interesting quest, and I wish him well.

WFD 2020 Wrapped Up

It was a good time, involving a very short overnight backpacking trip and a lot of radio operating.  The campsite was on the Tuxachanie Trail, near and a little north of Copeland Spring.  The hike out was pretty easy and the afternoon was nice.  Then the rain started, as completely expected, as was forecast, and as we'd prepared for.  Still, it was kind of a bummer trudging back to the truck with backpacks full of wet tents and damp gear.

Contacts... 24.  Not a bunch, but more than last year.  Most of them digital, all of them at either 5w (voice) or 2.5w (digital).  Mostly it was tough going, with a few patches of lucky breaks when a band opened up.  Still have to log and tabulate scores, but it was far more important to get the gear unpacked and drying first.

Backpacking details... Too much weight once again, but the hike was very short, only a mile or so from the Airey Lake trailhead.  Things stayed pretty dry until the pack-out got going during a soaking rain, but there aren't a lot of good options here with a double-wall tent.  At least the key things stayed dry, mostly by pre-bagging them.  Finally... it is amazing how small that one-man tent gets when it's raining.  It might be worth the extra weight to haul the old two-man tent, even with the 2x weight penalty.

Anyway, lots of fun, and here, have some pictures.

  

  

Clockwise from top left:  Nice operating outside on a sunny afternoon.  Base of W3EDP-mini hanging from a convenient pine; note the bag zip-tied over the unun transformer to ward off the expected rain.  Operating inside the tent this morning, 'cause it's raining outside.  Finally (bottom left), a zoom-in of the radio gear from the first picture.  All the usual stuff to make this go, including the speech compressor in-line on the mic cord, at the bottom of the pic.  That thing is pure magic.

Winter Field Day 2020: Better Get Moving

Starts at 1900z (1pm CST) this Saturday, wraps 24 hours later.  Read about it at https://www.winterfieldday.com (site does not play well w/ Safari; use Firefox or something similar) and catch up on how it all went here sometime late Sunday, maybe Monday.

All for now.  Gotta get packing.

Name the Mars 2020 Rover

Link to the NASA voting site here: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/participate/name-the-rover/

It's a culled, ahem, curated list, taken from numerous suggestions from schoolchildren.  (So sorry, no "Rover MacRoverface" entries here).  Anyway, take a shot.  My favorite?  "Vision," because, you know, 2020.  Opinions may vary, but none of the contenders would be bad.

New Camp Mat R-Value Standard Released

Read all about it over at Section Hiker.  This is great news for those of us who like to sleep on the ground.

That is all... for now.