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  1. balzaccom

    PCT Survey 2023

    I would imagine that they have to pack for a wider range of conditions that most of us who only hike for a week or less at a time.
  2. balzaccom

    MSR recall

    If you own one of these, you might want to get it fixed: https://www.msrgear.com/pot-recall.html
  3. balzaccom

    Another Interesting Article

    I've been part of a few projects to close access to ATVs. In general, the goal is the identify to access points, then fill in all access options with fencing, brush, downed trees, etc. And you would think that would work--but it requires another project a few years later, as the ATVers work...
  4. balzaccom

    part human part goat

    Nice! We'd like to see more of those photos.
  5. balzaccom

    Fungi!

    I was just out walking our local River Trail and managed to identify about a dozen different kinds (none truly "edible") with the help of an app. Here's a photo log: photos.app.goo.gl/bcRkupAJ7DJmHV618 Here's a "taste' so to speak:
  6. balzaccom

    A new tent

    We've had a tarptent rainbow for quite a few years. We love it, and it has held up remarkably well. Still good for many more trips. But we try damn hard not to go backpacking in gale force winds or massive storms. So I can't speak to how it handles those. I will say that we spent about...
  7. balzaccom

    Napa LIghted Art Festival

    The big projection artworks are only up through Sunday--so don't miss those. One on the Presbyterian Church, one on the Hall of Justice, and one on the back of the NSGW building. Truly amazing. The more static artwork stays up until late February.
  8. balzaccom

    Death Valley in January

    A lot of roads are now open,, although some of the major ones (Titus Canyon, West Side, Emigrant and Wildrose, and the road to Lone Pine) are still closed. But that seems to have limited the number of visitors, too. There were not many people around.
  9. balzaccom

    Napa LIghted Art Festival

    Each year around this time, the city of Napa hosts a Lighted Art Festival that illuminates some of the buildings downtown, and sets up lighted sculpture around the area. It's great fun, and the images are really striking. Here's our old hall of justice, in the middle of a light show: And...
  10. balzaccom

    Death Valley in January

    We're back home from spending a week in Death Valley: camping, hiking, and enjoying the desert. We did a series of great hikes: Little Bridge Canyon, Willow Creek Canyon, Kaleidoscope Canyon, Corkscrew Canyon, and an attempt at Grapevine Springs. That one was inspired by our trip to Ash Meadows...
  11. balzaccom

    Hello from Germany

    Excellent! Welcome aboard! Where do you like to hike? I hope you'll post some photos and trip reports!
  12. balzaccom

    To Do in 2024

    I've been thinking about this, since my original plans have changed considerably. Despite being retired, I had signed up for a couple of big projects in Europe for the early summer. Those fell through, and now I'm teaching this spring. So instead of a lot of trips to the desert this spring, I...
  13. balzaccom

    Yosemite winter rangers

    Each year an intrepid couple of NPS rangers spend the winter at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. Their posts are charming, informative, and, at times, almost poetic. Here's their first post from this year: https://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/update-for-december-20-2023.htm
  14. balzaccom

    Hard work on the trail--literally

    Sounds like a job well done, to me!
  15. balzaccom

    Hard work on the trail--literally

    Yesterday was the last day to do trail work this year. I did a total of seventeen days. This last section was "armoring" a trail in a new park in Napa, not yet open to the public. We're focusing on the sections that are going to be wet after a rain, and deeply setting large rocks---because the...
  16. balzaccom

    To Do in 2023

    Thanks for posting that list! I had missed your TR on Ecuador--and now got a chance to read it, much to my delight!
  17. balzaccom

    To Do in 2023

    Comical how little of what we had planned actually happened. We did spend the first part of the year traveling. But very little backpacking in the summer, mainly because by the time we got home from our travels, it was still snowy in the Sierra. And then my daughter invited me to hike the...
  18. balzaccom

    Chiura Obata

    If you don't know about this guy, you should: youtu.be/NWhbjTb59_M?feature=shared
  19. balzaccom

    Packing your pack, what goes where?

    Well, I do wedge in a few things like my clean socks, pjs, etc that fit in between the larger items. Makes for a tighter, leaner pack.
  20. balzaccom

    Packing your pack, what goes where?

    I don't hike in Grizzly country, so YMMV. At the bottom of my pack go the things I won't need until nightfall; tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc. On top of that I put the bear can and anything else I can wedge around it. On top, which is now getting close to the top of the pack, I put...
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