I spent most of last week in Texas. Austin, to be exact. I was pretty excited to be able to see Austin in person, because I’d heard some good things about it. A college town, Austin has a reputation of being more colorful and edgy than the rest of the state, an island of blue […]

My usual sleeping pad for backpacking is an REI Lite Core 1.5. I’m actually on my second one. My first was the original style and it leaked from day one, so I eventually exchanged it (and more money) for the current version. This one was fine for two trips, but had deflated overnight on the […]

Backcountry camping permit: $15. Dehydrated food: $20. Tank of gas: $50. Taking 7-year old daughter on her first backpacking trip: Priceless. Our Labor Day holiday weekend started a day early, which gave us the opportunity to backpack at Point Reyes National Seashore before the holiday crowds descended on the area like a thick swarm of […]

I bought a Hobitat 4 tent at a recent REI used gear sale. This tent truly appeared to be brand new, but had been returned because two aluminum poles had been split at the ends. That probably happened when a new owner had tried to put the tent up the first time. (Indoors, it seemed […]