gear review

I would consider myself a backpacker, albeit not an avid one.  On a good year, I may do one weekend trip, and I haven't made it out at all in the past four years.  I would enjoy going more, but other responsibilities get in the way.  For several years I have entertained the dream of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail (2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine), and then writing a book about the experience.  But... remember those "other responsibilities"?  Yeah... that'll likely never happen!  Instead, over the years, I've read several other thru-hiker biographies that I have managed to find in my local library system.

This weekend, however, I'm taking my two oldest sons on their very first trip.  I'm looking forward to it, and I am hoping they like it.  I'll likely, being just the occasional weekend warrior, come home with some sort of sore-something-or-other that will make me wonder just what would cause someone to want to do that for 2,180 miles!

I began backpacking in college (1990), when my Baptist Student Union campus minister, Andy, introduced me to it.  I went on several trips throughout my college years, but with very little budget for gear, I used whatever rented, borrowed, yard sale/Goodwill purchased gear I could acquire.  Gear, even if you stick to lower/moderate end stuff can be pricey, and it is hard to justify a large expense for such an occasional activity.  Decent gear, however, makes a big difference, and I have slowly been acquiring and upgrading my collection of gear over a many year period, to the point where I have a "respectable" rig... not all the latest and greatest, mind you, but respectable and adequate for my skill and participation level.  I have been rounding up and checking out my gear over the past several days, and seeing how to best outfit the boys with mostly what pieces and parts I have on hand, and maybe only a moderate expense.  In the process, I decided to document my current gear in a blog post... if for no other reason than to be able to look back from the future as my gear continues to slowly evolve. 

My current pack is a Kelty Trekker 3950 external frame.  There is great debate over internal vs. external frame packs.  I have carried both, and, although they are a little more bulky, I prefer the classic simplicity of the external frame.  I suppose the higher-dollar internals (I carried lower-end ones) preform quite well, but performance for the dollar, I don't think you can beat the Kelty externals.

My sleeping pad alternates between an old Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad (mine, on the left) I acquired years ago at Goodwill, and a newer RidgeRest foam pad (Jen's, on the right).  I think I prefer the RidgeRest, and I will likely replace my Therm-a-Rest with a RidgeRest at some future point.

My sleeping bag is a Quest (Dick's Sporting Goods brand) mummy bag, rated to 20 degrees (although I've been in it in the 30's, and I don't think I'd care to see 20).  You can spend a lot on sleeping bags (and it is an important item), but this bag seems to be a good value for the investment.  It adds a little more weight than carrying a bag rated lower, but to make my bag more versatile, I use an optional supplemental fleece sleeping bag liner, which I designed and sewed myself for a fraction of what you might spend on a commercially made one.  Cozy!

My "kitchen" consists of a Coleman dual-fuel stove, an MSR cookware set, a fork and spoon, and my favorite old cup that I have carried on just about every trip since 1990.  The stove is not the lightest model available, but I already had it for car camping, before I upgraded to a two-burner propane.  Even though a little bulky, I like it because it is simple and the tank and stove are one unit.

Boots were one of my big splurges.  I wear Vasque Sundowner GTX.  The verdict is still out on these boots.  I wanted them for many years, and finally bought them a few years back.  I think I like them.  They have proven great for dayhikes, but I have developed blisters on backpacking trips.  I think this is because I wore them backpacking in the past without adequate break-in.  I am curious to see how they perform this weekend.  They were a sizable expense to my budget, but I LOVE hiking, and if I treat them right, they'll last many years.

On my last trip, I added the use of a pair of SwissGear trekking poles (Wal-Mart).  Again, you can invest a lot of money on trekking poles, but these budget ones get the job done.  I first thought them a little nerdy, but they do help reduce knee strain and promote stability.  I liked them well enough to make them a regular part of my gear.

For rain gear, I utilize a $5.00 plastic poncho, and pack my items in plastic bags inside my pack.  This is an area I might want to upgrade in the future, but for now, it works... that, and I try to watch the forecast and only go backpacking in fair weather!

I prefer classic ragg wool hiking socks with polypropylene liners.  Actually, it's not so much that I prefer them... I've just never tried any of the modern performance hiking socks.  Classic ones work, so I just stick with them.

My clothing is mostly Goodwill stuff that I have acquired over the years... nothing very fancy.  I steer away from cotton as much as possible, because it is terrible when it gets wet.  I wear a pair of bright orange (I bought them for the fabric, not the color!) No Boundaries brand cotton/nylon blend pants, with zip-off legs.  I wear a cotton/polyester blend t-shirt, and I usually carry a wool sweater, a wool shirt, and a windbreaker to layer over this.  In cooler weather, I always carry a fleece winter hat, and usually a pair of gloves.

Other essential gear includes an Energizer LED headlamp, a Leatherman multitool and a first aid kit.  Also, I never go without at least one bandanna... it weighs nearly nothing and has numerous possible uses.

Certainly, this isn't exactly an exhaustive list of gear, but it covers the majority.  Hmmm... three packs are packed and ready to hit the trail... wonder what I forgot?

three score and ten

My Dad recently celebrated his 70th birthday... twice.  Because of my Dad's cancer and chemo treatments, he has been left with a pretty weak immune system.  Therefore, we try to avoid being around him if we have any kind of an illness, even just a common cold.  It's pretty hard to get two sons, two daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren healthy and together at the same time.

We had a celebration planned for the weekend of his birthday, but part of my family was sick, so only my brother's family was there.  A few weeks later, my sister-in-law was out of town for a conference, and my brother brought his kids and his camper to my parent's house for an overnight backyard campout.  Since my family was healthy at the time, we turned it into a second birthday celebration.  I brought my tent and spent the night with my three older kids.

My Dad and I are alike in a lot of ways. Among them, is that we are both sentimental and emotional people. That's a nice way of saying we are crying men: weddings, births, funerals, Hallmark movies... we've been there, done that, have the hankie to prove it! And yet I (and I think Dad would feel the same) sometimes have a difficult time putting my emotions into words. I love my parents, but I hate buying cards and struggle to write a meaningful sentiment in them. I have no problem hugging my Dad's neck and telling him I love him, but I sometimes struggle to get any deeper, emotionally, than that. 

For some reason, though, my blog seems like a very comfortable medium to allow myself some vulnerability and emotional openness.  So, in honor of 70 years, here's a few things I appreciate about my Dad, that me and Father's Day and birthday cards struggle to express:

Two things I learned from my Dad are the value of hard work and family.

Raised a southern Ohio farm boy, my Dad is a worker and a fixer. He always has been and he always will be, though currently his age and health do not permit him to do as much as he would like. That doesn't keep him from trying, however, to the frustration of my Mom.

My Dad has held four different jobs his entire life. Four. I have had four in just the past three years! A high school graduate and a graduate of a technical school auto mechanics program, my Dad made a good living fixing things. He retired from a maintenance position, at the General Motors Corporation, just over a decade ago.  My Dad was well-liked by his co-workers and supervisors, and he believes in giving an employer a good day's work for a good day's pay.

One could assume that a hard worker translates to a workaholic. Au contraire. My Dad maintains the opinion that if the wages are relatively comfortable, 40 hours per week is enough to give to one's employer... the rest belongs to home and family.

At home, or with his family, is where he has always preferred to be. He is a hard worker around the house, and he especially loves working outdoors in the yard, or cutting firewood in the woods.  Growing up, he often expected my brother and I to pitch in and help.  I often balked at helping out, but now I appreciate him instilling a work ethic in me... one I am trying to pass on to my children... who often balk at helping out.

Dad has always been great at balancing work with play.  I can't ever remember a summer without at least one week, often two weeks, of vacation travel.  He coaxed my Mom to purchase a brand-new 1973 Four Seasons motorhome, and my brother and I grew up travelling and camping during the summers.  We visited a lot of neat places and my favorite childhood memories involve bicycles, campfires, family times and that 1973 motorhome.

I appreciate you, Dad!  Happy 70th birthday!

Here are photos from birthday weekend #2:

70 candles!

One big puff gets... 69 of 'em!

Happy Birthday Dad!

two Granddaughters sharing Grandpa's lap

And, here are a few photos (from Mom's camera, since I wasn't there) of birthday weekend #1:

Dad's favorite cake is my Mom's coffee cake.  You can see from the picture that he felt that 70 years entitled him to help himself to a pre-gathering sliver (snuck while Mom wasn't looking!) while the cake was still warm!

my niece and nephew

Dad's backyard fire pit

"I don' wannit"

I've said many times that Benny is a puzzle.  I love him to pieces, but I don't always "get" him.

Benny's limited (but growing) communication is very two-dimensional in a world that functions on three-dimensional communication. 

What do I mean by this?  Most people can tell you their preferences, then tell you why they have those preferences.  The "why" is the third dimension that gives shape to the basic two-dimensional fact.  It completes the picture and helps you understand what makes a person who they are and why they make some of the choices they do. 

While I don't think most three year-olds have a complete grasp of three-dimensional communication, it is a skill that is emerging.  The concept of the "five W's" (who? what? when? where? why?) are beginning to be understood receptively, and used expressively... everyone has probably been around a toddler who has continual questions, right?

Benny does not yet have a concept of the five W's... receptively nor expressively.  It's not that Benny doesn't ask questions, but he tends to learn language in "chunks".  At this point, language for Benny seems to be a series of one to four word chunks that he learns as a chunk and uses as a chunk.  The skill of mixing the chunks up to create other chunks is not really something with which he has much skill.  For example, Benny might say "hi", and pause for your response, and appropriately follow it by "how you doing?".  I don't think he really understands the individual words how, are, you and doing, but "how you doing?" is a chunk he has learned comes after the chunk "hi".  It sounds good, but he can't answer the question, "how are you doing?", which proves he doesn't really understand some of the language he uses.

I say this to convey a recent humorous Benny decision, for which we have no logical explanation.

Benny loves Matchbox/Hot Wheels cars.  For his birthday, he received a package of five cars and trucks.  He was thrilled.  He spent most of the evening lining all five of them up, rolling them across the table, or carrying them around.

A few days after his birthday, though, the baby blue 1959 Corvette was ostracized.  Benny distinctly decided he did not like, and did not want, the Corvette.  For no apparent reason, it was noticeably left behind.  Thinking it was just a mood or phase, Jen and I have returned it to him many, many times in the weeks since his birthday.  We'll often hand it to him and say something like, "here, you forgot one."  When he sees that it is the '59 Vette, he shoves it away and says, "I don' wannit."  Since making this decision, he has been 100% consistent.

I have never seen him make such a definite decision about disliking one particular toy, and I'd REALLY like to know why he has selected this one bright, shiny, new car to ostracize from his group of many cars.  However, any attempts to ask him "why?" just lead to a reaffirmation of, "I don' wannit!"  He'll play with just about any Matchbox-sized car he can get his hands on... whether it's his or one of his sibling's.  But, NOT this one:

the ostracized Corvette

So, if anyone has ever dreamed of owning a baby blue 1959 Corvette, Benny has one he'll sell you... really cheap!  We're not sure why... but one thing we DO know is that he "don' wannit!"

Benny is three!

Ever met a three year-old who didn't want to open birthday presents?  I don't think I had... until last evening.

To be fair, Benny does not yet really grasp the concept of birthdays.  Presents do not have a big "wow" factor for him, either, because he is a very literal kid... if he can't see what's in the package, he has little interest in its contents.

Let me turn the clock back from this photo and set the stage.  His birthday was a school day for him, so he had put in a full day there (about 8 AM to 4:30 PM, counting the bus ride each way).  I got home from work about 6:30, so his birthday events took place in the evening.  He LOVES to be outside, and we had all just finished up dinner and homework, and headed outside.  To Benny, this translates something like, "It's been a REALLY long day, but I FINALLY get to do what I want to do!", which, at that moment, was run around the driveway pushing his coupe car, and having a Nerf sword fight with his older brothers.

Don't interrupt me for something like birthday presents... can't you see I'm busy?

So... back to the presents.  Once Mama helped get the wrapping started and he caught a glimpse of the package of cars and trucks inside, his interest was piqued.  Of course, once he got the cars and trucks out of the package, we started the cycle over with no interest any any other presents.

"cars! truck! bus!"

Nope, not really interested in the learning toy... just give me the cars and trucks!

Five new cars and trucks... happy guy!

A bus, just like Benny rides!

Here's an ornery face!

There's the Benny smile!

Three candles for the birthday boy!

We're working on forks and spoons... he prefers hands.

Using the fork, taking a BIG bite!

Playing cars with Grandpa

back to school

In the aftermath of last Sunday's Kennywood excursion, which resulted in a bedtime of about 11:30 PM, Monday was back-to-school for Dylan, Zachary and Lily.  Dylan and Zachary are both still in the middle school building, and Lily, the elementary.  However, our district regrouped the busing this year, to eliminate one run from the daily schedule, which messed with the family dynamics of the bus stop.

Last year, Dylan and Zachary were together at the middle school bus stop, and Lily was by herself at the elementary bus stop.  This year, sixth grade (the last year of middle school) was bumped to the earlier junior high/high school bus, and the remainder of middle school was combined with elementary.  The  result in our home:  Dylan goes to the bus stop by himself (at 6:40 AM) and Zachary gets to walk his little sister to the bus stop! (He's thrilled about that)

The middle school uses the same bell schedule, but sixth grade starts and finishes one period earlier than the rest of the school.  Dylan says he likes the early schedule... "sixth grade rules the school, because we get there before everyone else.  The school is quieter and more relaxing with just sixth grade there."  He also likes getting home earlier than everyone else.

After a week, all three are pretty excited about school.  Lily thinks she is going to like first grade.  It's a lot about friends for her, and she was happy to see that she was in class with some of her friends from Kindergarten, and she got the teacher she wanted...  Mr. N. is one of the few male elementary teachers in our system. 

Zachary is excited to reach his recorder year.  Traditionally, fourth grade in our school system is the recorder year.  Every member of the class is presented with their own personal Yamaha recorder and the entire year's music curriculum is devoted to learning to play the instrument, culminating with a fourth grade concert for the middle school's Grandparent's Day the last week of school.  Is it just a coincidence that band starts in fifth grade and the fifth grade band teacher is also the fourth grade music teacher?  Ahhh, I think not!  Great way to pre-qualify the expectations of potential band members!

Dylan is in his last year of middle school, and he was moved up to Challenge Math, Reading, and Social Studies this year.  He should have probably been in challenge courses already, but they only test for promotion to challenge placement in third and fifth grades, and he missed the assessment in third, because we transitioned him from public charter homeschool to local public during the winter break of his third grade year.  He has friends that have been in the challenge courses since fourth grade, so  he is excited to be with them.  He'll be learning snare drum, bass drum, and tambourine in his second year of school band.

Bennywood

In West Mifflin, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Pittsburgh), in an area you wouldn't expect to find it, sits a gem known as Kennywood Amusement Park.  Nestled under acres of mature shade trees, with its mix of bigger-badder-faster thrill rides and numerous traditional amusement rides, Kennywood is a classic family park where you can still tote your family-sized coolers of food and non-alcoholic drinks through the gates and leave them parked on a table in one of the park's many clean picnic areas... for the entire day.  It's a place where "company picnics" are still actual picnics, groups wear matching T-shirts to identify themselves, and the click-click-click and clack-clack-clack of wooden roller coasters abound.

I've lived within a reasonable drive of Kennywood my entire life, but had never visited the park until this past Sunday. 

How the trip came to be is a story in itself, but it's my blog, and I'd rather blow by most of those details.  Long story short, it was originally planned and sponsored by Jen's aunt as a group trip for 3 aunts, 2 nieces (my wife being one of the nieces), and the 7 children of the nieces (4 of the 7 being ours).  I have wanted to take my kids to an amusement park for the past few years, but had not, mostly because of my employment/financial situation over that time period.  I was not scheduled to work the day of the proposed trip, and I am comfortable hanging out with her aunts at family functions (most of the men of Jen's family are camo-wearin', deer-slayin', fish-filletin' types, and, while I consider myself an outdoorsman with nothing against those activities, I'm more of a backpack-haulin', trail-hikin', gorp*-likin' type).  So, I thought it natural to invite myself to tag along (at my own expense) to share this first-time experience with my kids.  I guess it wasn't so natural.  Well, actually, I guess I didn't handle myself too diplomatically (I write more diplomatically than I sometimes live).  I unintentionally created an awkward situation by messing with the dynamics of a tradition of ladies/childrens days out... Well, OK... I unintentionally made a butt of myself... but, I'm blowing by those details, remember?  The end result was that Jen's aunt graciously blessed us by sponsoring an opportunity for the six of us to spend a day to ourselves at Kennywood, allowing me to enjoy experiencing my kid's first trip to an amusement park.

*Gorp - Trail mix featuring "Good Ol' Raisins and Peanuts", or any variety thereof.

While Hurricane Irene was shredding our eastern coastline, she threw our area a slightly overcast, dry, upper-70's, low humidity Sunday... perfect for enjoying a road trip to Kennywood.  The gates opened at 10:15 and the rides started at 11:00.  We rolled out pretty early, Garmin programmed, ETA: 10:15.  For many reasons, we were unsure how the day would go with Benny... could be really good, could be really bad.  (If you're not sure why, visit here, then here.)  I didn't know it at the time, but about an hour into the drive, when I caught this rare view in the rear view, it was a foreshadowing of the good day Benny would have.

I poked Jen and whispered, "turn around".  She quickly grabbed the camera...

We were nearly to Kennywood when the Garmin directed us to exit near downtown Pittsburgh.  However, the exit was closed.  She (I haven't named her yet) did some quick "recalculating" and looped us through some neighborhood streets to bring us back to make another attempt at our closed exit.  Now, if you know anything about Pittsburgh, you'll know that it's all hills and rivers... 3 major rivers and everything is on a hillside.  At one point, she turned us left onto West Sycamore Street, a very narrow and very steep street.  In fact, it was so steep (the Google Maps photo link does not give justice to the actual steepness) that the boys had a moment of panic from the back of the van, thinking the van could not climb it... and then as we started up the hill, they asked if it were possible for the van to tip over backwards.  Jen, too, was a little concerned and felt the urge to lean forward to help balance the front and keep it on the ground.  We went several blocks up West Sycamore, at times squeezing through tightly parked cars on both sides of the street, over the top, then down the winding and steep other side.  We raised our hands in the air (well, all but me) on the way down.  I joked with the boys that they hadn't seen anything yet... if they couldn't handle West Sycamore Street (our first ride of the day), how were they going to handle actual roller coasters?

First things first, we staked out our picnic station for the day.  We then selected the Jack Rabbit as our first ride... well, if you don't count West Sycamore Street!  The line was just starting to form, and we would make the first run of the morning.  Lily only had a vague idea about amusement parks, and really didn't know what she was in for, but she happily stood in line to get the party started.  Dylan and Zachary had a better idea, but were still blissfully ignorant, as evidenced by their comment, "that's really no big deal", while we watched the park staff run the trains through a few empty test cycles.  The Jack Rabbit was a great classic wooden coaster, but I think I still have Lily's fingernail imprints in my left arm!  The boys admitted that it was a little more than they anticipated, and they felt like they were going to fly off the track.  Yeah, boys, I think that's part of the thrill!

Jack Rabbit line

Exiting the Jack Rabbit

Lily said the coaster scared her, but she kinda liked it.  Yep, me too, girl.  She wanted to do something without hills, so we got on the nearby Paratrooper.  She thought it looked mild enough, until it lifted and tilted at it's 45 degree angle, at which point she insisted I make them let her off the ride.  This time, fingernail imprints in the right arm!

Lily and Dad on the Paratrooper

Dylan and Zachary on the Paratrooper

Two rides into the day, and I think I traumatized my daughter.  So we calmed it down with some turns around the Merry-Go-Round, this being Benny's inaugural ride.  I think, by this time, I had lost Lily's trust, because she insisted I get her a fixed bench... unsure what to expect from those crazy horses going up and down.  Benny loved the Merry-Go-Round, yelling, "Go!" and "Horsey!"

Lily, liking the calmness of a bench

Ben's first ride

Camera hams

Grand Prix bumper cars were one of the favorite family attractions

Lunchtime!  (note to self:  open pop cans + late August = bee invasion!)

After lunch, we did a variety of groupings of all six together and mixes of separate adult/various kids throughout the day.  The size and layout of the park was such that we often bumped into each other if we were in two groups.  It was easy to communicate with our cell phones to rendezvous, regroup, or swap kids. 

Benny had no nap, but was fabulous.  We were concerned that he would make the day miserable.  With his sensory "issues" we feared the crowds, noises, and ride stimulus would fry him.  Just the opposite.  He soaked in every minute of it, and resisted falling asleep in the stroller, not wanting to miss a moment.  He had no fear of any of the rides he experienced, both Kiddieland and select ones in the main park.  In fact, he really surprised us all, coming alive on the rides and getting off when they stopped saying, "again, again!"

Ben and Lily loved Kiddieland

Zachary was at an age to enjoy the whole park, even some of Kiddieland

Benny loved the Kiddieland version of the Turtle

Daddy's can enjoy Kennywood's Kiddieland, too!

Kenny Kangaroo

Well, at least Kenny always strikes a great pose

Going for a little mid-afternoon boat ride

Splashdown!  first of two hills

Zachary and I on the Kangaroo

the Musik Express, another favorite

I had a bit of a hard time fitting my long legs into the Musik Express

the Bayern Kurve

Lily thought the idea was to ride everything "no-hands"!

lovin' every minute of it!

sharing Mama's slushy

Jen says they were showing patriotism

Benny had to show his slushy tongue

photo op by a cool nighttime fountain

As the evening was winding down, I was with Dylan, Lily, and Ben.  I decided to give Benny a shot at the Turtle, since the Kiddieland version was one of his favorites of the day.  He loved, loved, loved the full-sized version!  We rode it a few times (the line was really short), when Jen called to say we should meet up and think about heading home... since the kid's first day of school was the next day.

What does anyone really do on the first day of school anyway? 

I told her I wasn't ready to call it a day yet... I wanted to remember just a few more smiles on my kid's faces.  The Turtle cars held up to six... I told her she had to come and let us all ride together before we left... she had to see Benny lovin' the Turtle.  She was tired, but she agreed.

By this time, it was dark, and the Turtle line was nearly non-existent, except for a small handful of "Turtle groupies" that kept getting off and right back on nearly continuously.  Once Jen and Zachary met up with us, we joined the ranks of the Turtle groupies.  Benny laughed, smiled, and shouted, "Hooray!", "Go!", "Whoa!", "Hold on!", and "Oh my!"  Each time the ride stopped, Benny would look at me expectantly and say, "Again?"  OK, buddy, I don't want to forget this memory...

Benny at the head of the line... we're next... again!

9 PM and still running without a nap!

"Hold on!", he says (with green M&M smudges on his cheeks)

What a great way to end a great day (at one point Zachary was heard to say, "this is the BEST day of my life!")... me and five of my favorite people packed in the front Turtle car, with my favorite un-napped toddler (who we feared would make the day miserable), leading the charge at 9:15 PM!  "Go!  Go!  Go!"

Zachary, I'd have to agree... it was a really good day!  I hope I long remember the smiles and the laughter on the faces of my four kids, and the memories of this trip to... Bennywood?