So here’s a review of our gear after having used it for a few days:
1. Tent – I love our tent!
It’s so easy to set up and take down. It’s not tall enough to stand up in, but
it’s quite roomy and easily fits two people with all their stuff. It even has
pockets to put your kindle or phone into so they don’t get lost during the night.
The only thing I would add to it would be a hook in the middle of the roof to
hang the lantern from.
2. Sleeping bag/pad – our
pads were quite comfortable, but man they were noisy! Like, really noisy. Just
the slightest movement created a racket loud enough to wake the dead – believe
me, I woke up each and every time he moved! Blowing them up and deflating them
afterwards was easy enough, although Bryan’s took longer each time. And our
sleeping bags were not warm enough; it got downright cold at night, so I ended
up curling into a little shivering ball each night. I think that will be the
next item on our Upgrade List.
3. Food – we brought the
Mountain House type food this time, and it was okay. Not the greatest in the
world, but certainly filling. I’m not sure I would buy their Breakfast Bowl
again, but the rice & beans was very tasty. For snacks we had Cliff bars
and M&Ms – with blueberry pop tarts thrown in for good measure.
3a. Hydration Bladder - I
used my new hydration bladder on this trip and love it! Not too happy about the
taste (it was supposed to not have any weird taste) but having water right
there the whole time I’m hiking really helped my migraine issue. Now I just
need to figure out what to do with the nozzle & hose – I just left it dangling
but think surely there’s a better way.
4. Bear Protection – those
bear-proof canisters are really hard to get into - which is the whole point, I
get that - but we probably broke two or three nails each time we tried to get
into the darned thing.
5. Bug repellant – worked
like a charm, except for the one place I forgot to apply it = my ankles have
about 20 bites a piece on them! In fact, one bite actually created a bruise! I
don’t know what critter that came from, but he has quite the bite!
6. Boots – my boots were
very comfortable. They have more ankle support than I’m used to, but once I
forgot about that, I had no problems at all. I should have worn the liner socks
from the very beginning of our journey, however - I did get a little raw at
first. But once I put on my layers, it was fine.
7. Packs – my pack rubbed me
raw in several places, namely my collar bones and my hips. I have a feeling I
just didn’t have all the straps adjusted properly. There’s only like a million
straps, so it’s hard to know what to do to adjust the thing. It’s quite roomy,
however: I was surprised at how much stuff can be stuffed into it.
8. Clothing – I pretty much
wore the same outfit the entire time. I did bring lots of socks, and a change
of clothing incase I fell into the lake or something. I should have brought a
warmer sweater along – did not expect the cold (like I should have).
9. PLB (Personal Locator
Beacon) – we arranged to send the SPOT to my sister Noel each time, and she
enjoyed following our journey on the maps. It gave her our exact GPS location so
that if need be she could pass that information along to the emergency response
people to find us more easily.
10. Lodging – the B&B we
stayed at in Homer was a very cozy little place, but not for everybody. It was
very cluttered with all kinds of knickknacks everywhere. It was a small place
but quite functional, with a very comfy bed. For breakfast the next day, we
even got 6 fresh eggs from the chickens out back! Very tasty! Our host gave us
all kinds of local information, too – very helpful.
11. Water Taxi – Ashore
water taxi was very prompt and helpful. The captain of the boat was a
fisherman, so he and Bryan talked fish the whole way. The boat was exactly the
kind of boat I’d get if I lived on the water = small but perfect for getting
around. I had a hard time not laughing like a maniac the whole way there and
back because the ride was so much fun!
12. Electronics – my kindle
worked perfectly the whole time, but I probably could have left my phone at
home since I never even turned it on. My camera has issues, however: I am not
happy with it at the moment, but have no idea how to fix the darned thing. I
may have to just toss it and get a new one – which I hate doing. Thankfully
Bryan’s camera worked so I was able to take pictures of the place.
13. Kittens – the kittens
were so excited when we got home – they missed us! Naldo just kept running
around and attacking our ankles as we walked passed her. Viktor was a bit
stand-offish at first, but eventually crawled up into my arms to nuzzle my neck
for a while.
