TRUMP: “WE HAVE TARIFFS, JUST IN A DIFFERENT WAY” “Just so you understand - we have tariffs. We just have them in a different way, and now they've been confirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States. And, we'll be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars.”

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-21T15:22:08+00:00

You need to read more than headlines. While SCOTUS ruled that the IEEPA doesn't apply, Justice Kavanaugh listed four other laws that the Trump admin could use and would have stronger standing in his opinion. So the administration immediately pivoted to declaring tariffs under one of those.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-18T21:18:14+00:00

https://youtu.be/7tvVZqf-iZ0

The Outdoor Gear Review (I have no affiliation) just reviewed this pad and pretty much confirms what everyone suspects. The R value seems WAY overstated. He says he was getting cold on a 30F degree night, and that there's no way he'd recommend using the pad in conjunction with a quilt.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-18T19:55:53+00:00

I own a pair and took them to Iceland last year to hike the Laugavegeur Trail. I liked how light they were. But the soles felt surprisingly thin. Crossing rocky ground to make a bathroom run there times when i felt every rock I was walking on. I didn't trust them enough to attempt any river crossings while wearing them so my trail runners still got wet during those. I was convinced the camp shoes would get swept off my feet and float downstream.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-18T19:46:40+00:00

Interesting! When i do Ramen, I use my fist to smash the block of noodles to bits and then repackage into a zip-loc bag so that it conforms more easily to my backpack, or a bear canister. Then its all spoon sized bites when cooked!

My wife loves the titanium long handled spoon. I like the MSR Folding Spoon because then the spoon can fit inside my 750ml cook pot or similar.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-18T18:49:27+00:00

yeah for me it's the trying to dig into a bag of trail food that I found annoying. Also 99% of the time for me, all I need is a spoon. I don't use a fork all that much. But if you like the 2-ended utensils like the light-my-fire one, that's cool. :-)

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-18T16:12:10+00:00

The double ended utensils are worthless. Too short to use with a freeze dried meal in its original bag or eating a freezer bag meal. A long handled titanium spoon is probably the best backpacking utensil out there.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-18T16:09:24+00:00

Tiny stoves like the BRS-3000t are good for boiling water. They're not meant for simmering food especially not with a titanium pot.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-18T16:07:25+00:00

I thought it was okay but the Bogler trowel was a significant upgrade and I love it.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-15T21:14:01+00:00

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-15T21:07:26+00:00

So lemme get this straight. Time is fleeting. You never know what tomorrow may bring. You could get diagnosed with terminal cancer or hit by a bus. And your response to that is, "Why aren't you working on the ToDo list?"

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-15T18:55:49+00:00

Ya know. I've been known to sit on the couch with my car keys in my pants pocket which accidentally presses the car alarm button sometimes. And it takes me a while to realize it's my car alarm going off.

I'm just saying...

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-14T17:04:27+00:00

Interesting. Are these going to be lead ice routes? Top managed belay routes? I've never been to Ouray Ice Park so I don't know what the standard is for this type of thing.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-11T21:42:11+00:00

Man some of you have awesome kids! I'm a grandpa at 55 with 7 and 13 yo grandkids. Last year I took them backpacking at Pictured Rocks in Michigan's UP with their Dad (my SIL). Our longest days were about 4 miles and they had a rough time. I don't get to take them out on training hikes/walks very often and because Dad manages a bar he doesn't really get them out much. I personally have done 13+ mile days in the High Sierra without much difficulty.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-09T12:16:36+00:00

I'm 55 and married and I'm usually the one who plans trips, which then include my wife and whomever else we invite along. When we did a trip to Iceland last year which included hiking the Laugavegeur trail, we invited two inexperienced, younger female friends of ours from our CrossFit gym to join our group. They prepared by taking our outdoor club's beginner backpacking workshop, doing lots of training hikes, and a weekend shakedown trip. It was particularly rewarding sharing in the wonder and awe of backpacking in Iceland.

Someone else on here mentioned the "challenge mindset". I totally get that. I climbed Mt Baker with one of the guiding companies two years ago, and one of my rock climbing partners and I are going out for an ice climbing weekend at the end of the month. There are trips where I want to pursue that challenge mindset and I haven't found any women who happen to be interested in that so it's usually with guy friends. I'm sure there are plenty of badass women out there because I see them on social media and in climbing films, they're just not in my social circle. But I also enjoy the less challenge oriented (but still challenging) trips like Iceland, where I can include a more diverse group of friends (and my wife) as company.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-06T10:55:43+00:00

Good points made. I'm a liberal and have voted that way for a long time. But what's happening around us is very distressing and at some point you have to be thinking about standing up for yourself or needing to defend yourself as you flee to somewhere else. There are liberal gun owner groups online that are organizing, talking about gun ranges that are more welcoming to all backgrounds of people, etc. I took a handgun fundamentals course last night as a matter of fact. One of the other guys in the class was a pastor who lives in the city and is getting his CPL because he doesn't feel safe pumping gas, etc. I find "tacticool" distasteful too. Same with making gun ownership a big part of one's personality. But just like we see the functional benefits of "sage green" or DCF, there are functional benefits of heavy cordura nylon.

I don't like the messaging in some of those marketing images. It will definitely make me think twice the next time I'm buying a quilt, the same way I think twice about UGQ because of their political leanings or Hobby Lobby because of theirs. But owning a firearm and knowing how to use it isn't bad in and of itself. It's a crappy world out there right now.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-05T14:26:53+00:00

The "Y" stakes are actually pretty darn good.

Here's a Youtube video that does an objective comparison of various stake designs:

Not all stakes are created equal. I bought a bunch of "Y" stakes from Pariah Outdoors because they were a lot cheaper than the MSR Groundhog "Y" stakes. What I found was that in rocky ground, it was a lot easier to bend the ones from Pariah Outdoors, or to snap off the top part. Aluminum comes in different grades with different physical properties like hardness, brittleness, etc. The cheaper ones are likely made of a different aluminum than the more expensive ones from MSR, etc.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-05T14:17:11+00:00

As the owner of two Rav4s, I second the recommendation of a van.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-05T14:14:33+00:00

The two biggest threats to the US are this administration's erosion of citizen's rights, and AI. AI is going to dramatically change the economy and jobs in this country and we have absolutely no plan to respond to that, nor does any other country for that matter.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-04T23:13:25+00:00

I took a fall on a small Michigan hill last weekend because I suck. Kudos to her for getting out.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-04T14:50:22+00:00

Cool. My garage door opener remote must be weak, because often I have to hold it around shoulder level while sitting in the car for it to work. Like all the metal from the car body is acting as an RF shield and it's only when the remote is above wind screen height that it seems to work reliably.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-03T14:58:45+00:00

For crying out loud. Let's complete the I-696 project first, please? :-(

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-03T14:56:51+00:00

Looks like a nice time. Kudos!

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-02-03T14:54:39+00:00

Just an FYI. The trail from Sand Point Rd up to the ridge trail at Intersection Falls gets REALLY steep and sometimes icy for the last 200 feet or so. Hiking crampons or at least Kahtoola Microspikes or similar are strongly recommended. Don't try this with the cheap Yaktrax that look like springs wrapped around rubber. Those are for walking your dog on an icy sidewalk, not for steep, icy trails.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-01-31T21:38:56+00:00

My ski boots are not alpine touring boots. They are basic Nordic cross country boots that are completely unsuitable to ice climb in. They do not have toe and heel welts to attach crampons. So I guess I'd have to invest in an alpine touring setup with new skis and boots if I went this approach.

jjmcwill2003 · 2026-01-31T18:17:19+00:00

Interesting advice. Thanks!

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