As The Crow Flies » Adventure gear and techniques

So why did people start wearing underwear?  Probably to keep their pants clean.  And why did they start wearing pants?  Probably to cut down on chafing when they rode horses.*  And why did wo...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/03/05/hike-in-a-skirt-toss-your-drawers-and-pee-standing-up/

Now, I’m not totally blaming the marshmallow like Hoka One One shoes for me ending up with a knee brace, cane, and a dent in my leg muscle but I believe the high unstable shoe was at least part...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/02/19/gear-review-altra-lone-peaks/

This has been my trail shelter for years.  I think it’s the perfect set up– the ideal vagabond kit.  It’s a mosquito net, it’s a rain poncho, it’s a tarp, it’s a doubled wall tent. ...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/01/26/4893/

I only have one outfit—I’ve worn the same thing, on trail and off, summer and winter, everyday for years—a macabi hiking skirt and a nylon shirt. Since I only have the one outfit, I careful...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/01/24/hiking-shirts/

I discovered roasted seaweed at the little hiker store in the hostel in Lone Pine.  After doing the math, I calculated it had a whopping 165 calories per ounce (6 per gram)–pretty good for veg...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/01/19/trail-food-roasted-seaweed/

I’m in a motel room in Idyllwild.   Even though it’s late May in Southern California, winter is never far away when playing in the mountains and its freezing in the San Jacinto’s and I do...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/01/15/gear-review-western-mountaineering-flight-jacket/

I’ve resupplied out of little stores on the trail now for years.  I look at it like foraging.   I don’t go in with an expectation of what I want but more a “lets see what’s available t...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/01/12/resupply-on-the-go/

ZPacks Arc Blast 52 liter size with 2 belt pouches, ice axe loops, trekking pole holder, shock cord lashing.  Plenty big enough but next time I think I get the 60liter size cause it only weighs ...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2016/01/05/current-gear-list/

I love having a smart phone.  It’s a GPS, compass, emergency flashlight, holds maps and trail data.  I can listen to podcast, music, audio books.  On my Iphone, I had Wikipedia offline.  Yo...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2015/12/31/keeping-your-phone-charged-on-the-trail/

I now have a Samsung Galaxy 6s Active, which is supposed to be waterproof, but for three years I carried an Iphone on the trail.   When it was raining I would put it in a sandwich baggie.   I...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2015/12/10/waterproof-your-iphone/

I discovered this cool app, Overdrive, for my smart phone this year.   You enter your library card and then where ever you are, when ever you have wi-fi you can download audio books and e-books...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2015/12/07/checking-out-library-books-while-you-are-on-the-trail/

It’s snow season here in the Okanagon Highlands which means breaking out my Microspikes.   I don’t know how people out here function without them as I find it hard to bring in an armful of ...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2015/12/03/gear-review-microspikes/

Several years ago, I decided to look at trail water like something akin to the way devotees look at the Ganges River—holy and safe to drink.    That worked out okay for me on the Pacific Cre...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2015/11/18/water-treatment/

I did it.  I sliced into my new Marmot Helium and turned it in to something worthy of being in the mountains in September.  It weighs 31 oz, is chocked full of down, has not one cold spot, and ...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2011/03/28/home-modified-0-degree-quilt/

I improved the cinch strap on my trash bag rain skirt by tying a piece of string to a safety pin and pushing it through  the cinch strap pocket.    When I got to the places where the pocket wa...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2011/03/26/improving-my-trashbag-rain-skirt/

After spending a September in the Sierra’s, I want to be in the mountains every September.     Only problem is my sleeping  bag is too cold to be in the mountains in September.   I’ve ...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2011/03/22/converting-my-mummy-bag-into-a-backpacking-quilt/

After reading “Born to Run“, I had high hopes of never buying another pair of shoes.   I had visions of flitting down the trail like a fairy in bare-feet with nothing in my food bag but chia...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/12/14/hiking-barefoot-vibram-five-fingers-on-the-pct/

It was  4am and I was lying in my frosty tent in the Sierras, thinking how splendid a hot beverage would be right now.  I was hungry as I hadn’t eaten dinner the night before because I was lo...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/11/18/gear-reviewbearvault-450-bear-canister/

Southern California is plagued with bugs that like to hang out right in front of your face.   They will drive you nuts as they get in your eyes, up your nose, and in your mouth.   Good thing ...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/11/10/the-bug-confuser/

Osprey Atmos 35 backpack with Simblissity strap pockets Pack wore out on the bottom of the frame and was returned to REI after my hike for a full refund.  I liked it while it lasted but was a li...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/11/09/gear-list-for-2010-hike1300-miles-southbound-pct/

Halfmile has benevolently bestowed,  on the hiking community, waypoints for every 1/2 mile of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)—over 6000 waypoints!    So how are you going to fit all those wayp...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/06/30/how-to-put-thousands-of-waypoints-on-your-garmin-gps/

I discovered this shirt in 2003 in a gear shop in Connecticut while hiking the Appalachian Trail and have been wearing one ever since. My current hiking shirt had over 6000 miles on it and was du...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/06/12/gear-review-mountain-hardwear-canyon-shirt/

I’m gearing up.   I don’t know where I’m going but I’m packed. After buying 2 pairs of Fox River Off Road socks in 2008 and hiking over 2000 trail miles in them, 1/2 of those miles whil...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/06/04/sock-sale/

This is from “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. We monitored the results of the 2004 New York City Marathon and compared finishing times by age. What we found is that starting at age nin...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/02/23/the-effect-of-age-on-performance/

I just finished a book you’d love. It’s called “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” It’s by Christopher McDougall. A good story a...

http://asthecrowflies.org/2010/02/22/great-book-born-to-run/