Recent content by oldfogie

I've owned a dozen over the past 3 years. I sold them all except for my Petzl Tikka XP. Hands down the best headlamp ever.

This is the fattening up time for black bears. I was wondering if the mandatory bear-canister rule in the Dacks has had any effect on the frequency of bear visits to campsites there. I know in the past, the odds were 100%. And hanging food from trees, cables, etc. had little effect in deterring...

The men's Asolo AFX 520 GTX is the finest hiking boot I have ever owned. It fit me perfect right out of the box with hardly any break-in period. My current pair is wearing out, but this model is no longer made. Anybody know what its "successor" is? If I can't get another 520 I'd like to get the...

I have to seam seal a lot of tents - I mean A LOT. The seam sealers I've used before come in very small containers, a few oz. What IS seam sealer anyway? Is there a commonly available substitute I can buy in a quart or gallon container? Can I make it myself from common petrochemicals? Seams...

I was solo camped neart summit of Santanoni preparing to do the trio. Forecast temp was low teens. Unexpected cold front came through around 6am, dropping temp to -25. Got a migrain. Took my pills which are a diahrretic so I peed a lot. Water supply froze and couldn't get my stove to restart...

I bushwhacked from the Tooth to the trail below some years ago. Back then, there was no herdpath that I could find. But here was generally the route I took: As you look toward Cliff from the Tooth you will see a straight dry rill (channel) descending in that direction. Follow the ridge of S...

While bushwhacking about half-way up Donaldson I found a horseshoe... actually probably a muleshoe used duing the logging days. While exploring the north side of the Dix cirque I came across and old deserted hunters campsite with a hut cut into the hillside. Inside it was filled with beercans...

My brother has all them beat! My sister is a professional seamstress who put it together. He designed his own tent using poles for support and sylnylon - that really lightweight hi-teck waterproof fabric you can buy by the yard. He swears it is the best tent he's even been in. It has enough room...

Picaridin is supposed to be an alternative to DEET. Anybody tried it out? Cutter uses it in some of their repellants. Their website however does not say what percentage of the chemical is active ingredient. If picaridin is as good as some people say, I would love to find a 100% version of it...

I've been dieting and exercising for a number of weeks now to bring my weight down and my stamina up for some major backpacking this Fall. My question deals with the so-called "energy" foods sold in outdoors stores. Do these foods really provide "quick energy" on the trail? The ads make it...

The most wild blueberries I saw in my life were on the Spotted/East Dix Ridge.

I was climbing Macomb Mt one fall and it was a lousy day, very overcast with a pea soup type fog - couldn't see anything 10' in front of you. I figured it would be a wasted day, but at about 3800' by head suddenly stuck up through the cloud into perfectly clear sky. I mean the boundary was...

I've found bear cannisters to be practical in another way. I have a disk of soft foam velcroed to the top of my cannister. It's a great moveable seat when cooking over a stove, escpecially in colder weather when yer butt gets cold from sitting on anything else. Or I can pull off the disk and use...

Are these fines really enforceable? Nobody carries that much cash (if any) with them into the wilderness. A ticket? A person can always give a fictitious name and address. Who takes their wallet and driver's license with them when camping? Very few I'd guess. I think the best response is to...

Was camped at Lake Colden in the Daks. Woke up to a snowstorm raging outside that was not in the forecast. Dumped 24" on a 4' base. OK.. now for the embarrassing part ... I didn't have snowshoes. I was younger and so naive then and really, honest, I didn't know about the rule or the need for...