Rei garage sale

REI Garage Sale On the last weekend in January, my sweetheart & I stopped at the local REI for their latest Garage Sale. Those of you who’ve been to one of these Garage Sales know that you can get some pretty great gear at even greater prices! We went on Sunday, the last day of the sale. From what the REI employees told us, it was mobbed on Saturday, so we were glad we didn’t that day. We may have missed out on some good stuff because of that, but I was lucky enough to find some stuff I needed. Now, we’re looking forward to the .83 cent sale!

On my last long hike, there were a few pieces of gear that broke & needed repair, broke & neededPants, Sleeping Pad & Gaiters replacing, or just plain took a beating. One item was my pair of short-gaiters. A couple of the metal eyelets had rusted & broken off. Before that, I’d torn a gash in one of the gaiters, and thought I might repair it. But after the eyelets/grommets tore off, I just tossed them in the trash when I reached the nearest town for resupply. The pair in this photo were $9.83, and are missing just the string or cord to hold them in place. Simple enough fix.

The zip-off pants were also $9.83, a return due to the broken zipper. This seems to be a common problem with the REI zip-off pants. Last year we found a different color of these same pants for under $6. Again, this repair is simple enough. I’ve found that most fine-tooth zippers, whether on pants, jackets or whatever, can fail very easily. My fix is to use velcro, sewn beneath the outer flap.

REI Lite-Core Sleeping Pad

I think the best find was this REI Lite-Core self-inflating sleeping pad. It was $2.83, and on the tag was the word "patch" followed by a question mark. I figured that even if it needed a patch, it was still a great find! Before starting this blog post, I helped it inflate & waited to see if it in fact leaked at all. It does seem to have a pin-hole leak somewhere, as it is very slow in deflating. This will be easy enough, hopefully, to find the leak & patch it up. It’ll be a great back-up sleeping pad to have, loan to friends when out backpacking, or whatever. I have one of these already, & highly recommend them. They’re light, comfy & very reliable.

So, for less than $23, I have three new (at least, new to me) pieces of gear. Now, I’m ready for the .83 cent sale!

~Steve, The Pilgrim.

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Pilgrim, February 7th 2010 | Posted in miscellaneous gear

The 1785 inn north conway, nh

Picture 013

Last week, my sweetheart & I drove up to North Conway, NH for a few relaxing days at one of our favorite places, The 1785 Inn. This is our third straight year of going up there. This year, we decided to stay an extra night, making it three days & nights.

This picture shows the inn from across the street, a view from one of the groomed trails that leads into Whitaker Woods. There are several non groomed trails on which we love to snowshoe. Surprisingly, there wasn’t as much snow up there this year as we had hoped. On our first trip to The 1785 a couple years back, the snow was piled up 10 ft on the sides of the main road, Rte. 16. Snow plows were constantly going back & forth. Though there wasn’t as much snow this year, we still enjoyed getting out to snowshoe. It’s great exercise!

Breakfast was included for each of our three days at the inn. We always look forward  to the  French Toast or Belgian Waffles witPicture 014h homemade whipped cream & fresh strawberries, or the pancakes or eggs any way you like with bacon. The turnovers, cinnamon cakes, coffee cakes & muffins are all made by the folks at the inn.  In the dining room, on the wall to the right of one of the fireplaces, hang numerous food critic awards. The restaurant at the inn is a popular place among the locals.

The fireplace in the dining room is one of three active fireplaces within the inn, all of which are connected to the same chimney. An adjacent room to the dining room holds one of the fireplaces, and is a great place to sit & read, play games or just relax & enjoy the Christmas lights that hang from the ceiling’s wooden beams & outline the windows.

 Whitaker Woods Mt. Washington

While trekking through the woods, we saw a few cross-country skiers. We’re thinking of giving that a try on next year’s trip. The picture to the above right shows Mount Washington looming in the distance. On a clear day you can make out the outline of the weather observatory on top.

Of course, no trip to North Conway would be complete without stopping into the local shops. With this year’s trip being so close after Christmas, we were a bit more frugal with our money & didn’t do much shopping. We usually eat at the restaurant inside the inn one night, go out another, and always pack a cooler of food & beverages to keep in our room. We’re already looking forward to next year.

~The Pilgrim.

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Pilgrim, January 11th 2010 | Posted in activities, new hampshire, snowshoeing

Launch of crude gear™

No, this isn’t a major launch for designer gear, including backpacks, tents, sleeping bags, etc. Crude Gearâ„¢ is an additional section I’ve added to the website. Honestly, I don’t know to what extent Crude Gearâ„¢ will reach. For now, I’ve added paracord necklaces & bracelets to the list. They’re simple but stylish accessories for hikers, backpackers, skiers, snowboarders or anyone who likes them.

As a whipmaker & braider, I often make belts, necklaces, bracelets, key fobs, earrings & other things from leather, paracord & even chainmaille. My whips are sold through Noreast Whips, yet those other things mentioned don’t have a place to call home. Occasionally, I’ll sell them through EBay, but I felt they needed a website platform from which to offer them. So, from hereon, those bits & pieces will be known as products of Crude Gearâ„¢.

First up, the Crude Gearâ„¢ Necklace & Bracelet. These can be purchased separately or as a combo. The necklace is offered in two sizes, 18 inches & 22 inches, and can be made longer on request. The bracelet is offered in lengths of 8 & 10 inches. Custom lengths are also no problem. The products are made in paracord, a nylon material that will not rot or mildew, is unaffected by water & sweat, and is washable. These can be worn in rain, snow, even while swimming. The products shown are made in black & olive drab paracord in a sided pattern. Paracord is available in over 30 colors, and new colors are being added each year. The right picture illustrates how they both fasten with a twisted loop & sliding turk’s head knot.

Necklace & Bracelet  Fastener & Knot

These are not made like the many versions of survival-type bracelets you see over the web, nor meant to copy them in any way. Yet they are functional. One practical use I’ve found for the necklace is to spray it with bug spray. Personally, I don’t like wearing bug spray, though it’s very needful in certain places & seasons of the year. I found by coating the necklace with a light spray helps to ward off mosquitoes around my face & neck. As far as Deet goes, I haven’t done any extensive testing with it on paracord, so I can’t say how much, if any, damage is caused over time. That might be something I’ll test out when the warmer weather comes back around.

To order a Crude Gearâ„¢ Necklace or Bracelet, click on the Crude Gearâ„¢ tab at the top of the page. The Buy Now buttons will direct you to the Paypal website where you can confirm your payment. The Necklaces are $18, the Bracelets $10. Shipping is $2.50 to U.S. destinations.

~Steve, The Pilgrim.

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Pilgrim, January 4th 2010 | Tags: , ,
Posted in crude gear

Happy new year’s!

Hey everyone, I trust you all had a great Christmas & a Happy, but Safe, New Year’s celebration! If you weren’t able to get outside for some hiking or camping in 2009, I hope you will in 2010. I have some hikes already planned myself and, hopefully, can drag some people out with me to enjoy the outdoors. Yesterday, I was able to get out with a couple friends for some snowshoeing. Anything to get out & enjoy some scenery & fresh air!

A few weeks back, I received in the mail a copy of the 2010 edition of The A.T. Guide. For those of you who don’t know, David Miller ended his publication of the Appalachian Pages after 2009. From hereon, his new publication, The A.T. Guide, can be found at http://www.theatguide.com/. The forum, Appalachian Pages, is still up & running, and a really good source of info & guidance for hiking the A.T. It’s a good forum & a bit more friendly, in my opinion, than some hiking forums.

AT Guide

There’s an older entry detailing my supportive review of the 2009 Appalachian Pages. David has incorporated some excellent features in The A.T. Guide, including more maps & a better layout in a easier to use landscape design. I like the zip-loc bag included with the book, as it helps protect the book when stored in a pack. I give The A.T. Guide two thumbs-up, and look forward to using it in the coming weeks & months ahead. Check out the website and grab yourself a copy!

~Steve, The Pilgrim.

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Pilgrim, January 3rd 2010 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in AT, Book Reviews, appalachian trail, crude reviews, snowshoeing

Damascus To Harper’s Ferry Completed

Hey everyone, I returned home from a successful completion of this year’s section hike. The trip went great! I made a video here, just as an intro to the remaining videos I’ll be uploading soon. Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to leave a comment. It’d be nice to hear from ya!

One thing I didn’t mention in the video was that I lost 20 lbs. on my trip. It’s hard not to lose weight when you’re accustomed to hiking 15-20 miles a day. The body is the ultimate fat-burning machine on long hikes, and you simply cannot eat enough. Even the all-you-can-eat buffets in town don’t stay with you!

Thanks again to all for your donations to the Hike For Cancer this year! You helped raise money for a worthy cause. Keep an eye out for more videos of this year’s trip, as well as day by day entries from my journal & reviews on some of the gear I used.

~The Pilgrim.

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Pilgrim, October 29th 2009 | Tags: , , , ,
Posted in AT, appalachian trail, backpacking, fundraisers, long distance hiking
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