Gear Review: Strappal Rigid Strapping Tape
Strappal is a rayon-based rigid strapping tape from the same manufacturer as the ubiquitous Leukotape P. Although it is noticeably easier to tear, Strappal is insufficiently adhesive and durable for blister prevention, breaking down in as little as six miles of hiking. Stats Make: BSN MedicalModel: StrappalModel year: 2020Measured weight: 86gDate Purchased: 2020-05-16Price Paid: $3.89Usage: 1 day hike I prefer to use products for at least an entire season before I review them but when something fails so spectacularly I don't feel the need to invest more time in it. I taped up my feet with Strappal in preparation for [...]
How To Remove Leukotape Residue From Hiking Socks
Leukotape is the undisputed champion of blister prevention tapes. Unfortunately its zinc oxide-based adhesive leaves a sticky residue on the inside of your socks. Over hundreds of miles this residue builds up and eventually your socks look like this: Gross. I just want to be clear about how much residue there is here: the arc on the heel (as well as the two lighter dots above it), the white stripe just behind the arch (as well as all of the light-colored area around it), the white patch where the balls of the feet go, the white near the red lettering [...]
July 2020 Loot!
Late snowmelt and family obligations have kept me cooped up so big-name trips have been slightly postponed (I'm looking at you, Loowit Trail). As a consolation, here are the new things I'm trying out in July: Vaseline Lip Therapy Cocoa Butter Mini I've been using a Litesmith mini jar to store petroleum jelly for the past month or two. At a measly three grams it seemed like a great way to repackage a product you don't need a whole lot of. Unfortunately the lack of texture or other grip mechanisms on the lid mean that as the outside of the [...]
June 2020 Loot!
Bit of a slow start this month but I'm hoping to finish strong: Exped FlexMat Plus Foam Sleeping Pad At one-and-a-half inches thick Exped's latest closed-cell foam pad is the cushiest offering on the market. Closed-cell foam has always appealed to me: it's inexpensive, indestructible, and setup and teardown are hassle-free due to the lack of inflation. However, in practice it's never comfortable enough to work on its own - it always feels like something I'll have to "get used to". The FlexMat Plus is actually comfortable all by itself on a hardwood floor: no bottoming out anywhere, even at [...]
Trip Report: Polallie Ridge
Diamond Lake Yesterday I went on a day hike along Polallie Ridge, which separates the Waptus River and Cooper River valleys in central Washington. The goal was to reach the site of an old fire lookout just shy of Waptus Pass and then try to summit Cone Mountain. I'd noticed Cone's formidable eastern face while backpacking to Waptus Lake. After examining a map of the area post-trip I noticed that the western side of the mountain wasn't even a face at all, it was a flat expanse filling the space between the summit block and Polallie Ridge. Although satellite imagery [...]
Trip Report: Waptus Lake
Mount Jerry Garcia from the south shore of Waptus Lake Last weekend I went on a two-nighter to Waptus Lake. Nestled within the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Waptus Lake offers incredible views of Summit Chief and Bears Breast Mountains as well as access to the PCT. The relatively flat 9-mile hike in follows the Waptus River on and off and sports a number of small creek crossings to keep things interesting. The horse ford Unfortunately the foot bridge at the end has been washed out so access to the main campground is via a horse ford where moderately-paced water currently sits [...]
2019 Year In Review
Let's take a walk down memory lane and see how my gear evolved over the course of the year. But first: 2019 By The Numbers Trips: 13 (4 solo, 2 trail maintenance, 6 group leader, 1 scramble)Days: 32Nights: 19Miles: 143 Gear Lists For reference we'll be comparing the following gear lists: Q4 2018 gear listQ4 2019 gear list Sleep System In 2018 I was using the embarrassingly bad (in comparison) Mountain Hardwear Down Flip 35/50 sleeping bag. In line with the logic of quilts where the only insulation that matters is what's on top, the Flip has different amounts of [...]
Trip Report: French Cabin Mountain North
This week's adventure was a day trip to French Cabin Mountain North, located near the northwestern corner of Cle Elum Lake. The forecast called for rain so I was eager to try out my new rain wrap. Recent trip reports indicated that there was a swift water crossing at the very start so I was excited to give that a go as well (I don't really do many water crossings). Goals Test out creek crossing using DexShell waterproof socks ✅ (they were awesome)Test out Enlightened Equipment rain wrap in extended heavy rain ❌ (barely got sprinkled on) The water crossing [...]
Trip Report: Sasse Mountain
Third time's a charm. After two previous attempts both ended in turnarounds due to snow I finally got enough sense to bring a pair of snowshoes with me. The final turn into the northern bowl at just above 4,000 feet was the end of bare ground but this time I was able to float over places where previously I was postholing. On the way up I encountered a few interesting people, one told me about a giant white "spirit turkey" that he'd seen a few weeks earlier down in the clearcut where I'd parked my car. Unfortunately searching for spirit [...]
Trip Report: Ancient Lakes on a Bike
Ancient Lakes and the neighboring Babcock Bench along the Columbia River Gorge are among my favorite places to backpack. The arid openness yields views for miles and the ground is crisscrossed with hiking trails and old jeep tracks. On previous trips I'd often thought about how great it would be to be able to quickly scoot around the landscape on a bike. With state lands re-opening on Tuesday I took the day off to put my idea to the test. My bike is a ye olde Trek DS 8.3. It's a hybrid bike which means that it's not a great [...]