Meta

Volunteer firefighter. EMT. Dad. New house. New job. Baby #2 on the way. Life has never been more full, and yet, sadly, I no longer have time for backpacking. I did manage to sneak in a caving trip, and I've done a couple short bike rides, but overnights (and even day hikes) aren't really on the menu for the time being. That's ok, because I'll be getting back out there before you know it. In any case, things have settled down to the point where I think I can actually pick up writing again. Topics might be a bit different, [...]

After some grueling backyard testing, in which I set up the tent and took pictures as snow piled up, I've updated my Lunar Solo review with a section on how it performs in the snow. As a result, I now feel comfortable using it year-round.

Back in November I became a father. As a result, my time for both writing and backpacking is somewhat constrained. I still have lots of reviews and articles to write, but I doubt I'll be doing any five-day out-of-state jaunts anytime soon. Time will tell. On the other hand, in a few years I'll probably be writing about ultralight backpacking with kids so there's something to look forward to.

Two things happened in the past month that I'm still having trouble believing: First, Andrew Skurka posted a help-wanted ad on the ultralight subreddit asking for shakedowners. So I applied. And I got it. I ended up going over the gear lists of his Alaska clients since the conditions in Alaska in June are very similar to conditions on the Olympic Coast in March. I also learned that bread bags are worn between dry socks and wet shoes, not just outside of socks alone. Whoops. I guess that's what happens when you spend too much time reading about backpacking techniques [...]