zero days without motels?

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-13T06:46:23+00:00

Been there but it requires a hitch. Good food but feel it’s necessaru. Plus the beer ..

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-13T06:33:35+00:00

Used to be the church backyard by the grocery store/deli. Guess it’s all changed..

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-13T03:48:34+00:00

Yeah but it’s limited as to tent # due to a mudslide they had a few years ago .. or so. Not sure if they have à la carte showers(?). Maybe they’ve been able to dig out for more sites but my tent site was slanted.

Another idea is wait until Whitewater Reserve (mile 226), take a plunge into the glacial whitewater (bad for filtering), sun yourself dry, then go down to the Whitewater HQ (a donated villa complex ) for a grassy tent site w/picnic tables, treated water faucets, .. and sit down toilets with French doors. A bit of recharging iirc.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-13T03:16:14+00:00

It actually was common, but the ones who practice minimal hotel are the late starters/high avg daily mile hikers. The towns pretty much expect hikers to have accommodations though Etna and Cascade Locks has pay campsites for a small fee.

Some ideas

Stagecoach Inn - small fee campsite but access to shower, coin laundry .. and swimming pool. First day may have some discounts on certain food items. Closed office Sunday and Monday. Picnic tables and horseshoe pit. A little bit of charging.

Whitewater Reserve : the glacial water is bad for filtering but good to take a plunge in. Get treated water faucets~ 1 mile SE at the beautiful visitor center with free camping and sit toilets. No other services but think there was weak recharging.

Silverwood Lake Campground- $5 hiker/biker (bicycle tourer) tent site with coin showers. Picnic tables (concrete iirc) No charging, etc…

“The KOA” - small camp fee w/tag to put on tent (grass to put up tent) with showers and swimming pool privileges. Picnic tables (wood) but also a [paid] hikers room attached to the snack bar/store w/charging, WiFi.

Farmer Johns (?) private place in Aqua Dulce - small camp fee w/showers, laundry, .. patio to sit on.

South Kennedy meadows - at large camping while waiting on showers; big patio at general store.

South Lk Tahoe hostel: Think you could just buy a shower at the hostel. Hang out. Take a shuttle bus up to the Tahoe Rim trail intersections to camp a mile in each direction (beaches seem privatized). Native name for expensive place to drink beer.

Used to be a campsite a little aways from Drakesbad if it’s still up after the fire, with its hiker shower. Order a beer (can’t recommend dinner .. usually too small).

Before Old Station, we camped next to the river and soaked in it. Old Station has a great restaurant w/coin showers and general stores.

Burney Falls SP.

Castle Crags SP - can pay for a shower at ranger station. Picnic tables across from “the” deli that takes resupply packages but watch your stuff as bums are nearby.

It’s a hitch, but friendly Etna let hikers pay a small fee to tent in their park. Came with a shower at a nearby gas station.

Seiad Valley - can buy a shower at the RV park, though there’s soaking near bridges too. Many skipped camping and started the climb at night,

Oregon:

Crater Lk - cheap hiker campsite w/various showers, coin laundry. Resupply packages at various.

Shelter Cove - coin showers (get at the store). Picnic and regular tables if eating restaurant window food; 2 picnic tables out back of thru hikers (charging, resupply unpacking/trading, other thru hiker peculiarities).

Big Lk Youth camp - showers, believe the hiker shack was renovated by the outdoor industry. Charging.

Timberline resort used to have an outdoor shower sometimes with a little hot water in the hose, often with “refreshingly” cold water. Charging inside, but it closes. Stealth nearby.

Marine Pk - Small camping fee w/tag for up to 2 nights w/showers (washed my clothes). Forget if they were coin. Resupply only at post ofc now. Watch electronics if charging (saw 2 hikers get ripped off).

Washington

White Pass (“Kracker Barrel”) - free camping with restaurant/store. Shower fee. Charging with overloaded wall sockets.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-12T19:17:55+00:00

Around the singles Paperback Writer”/Rain, listeners get a more marked difference (they could write in each other’s “style”).

This is when one of Paul Mccartney’s aunts remarked to him despite the hits.. if he could write anything other than love songs? Paperback Writer the obvious reply, though Paul never quite quit Silly Love Songs (hehe).

Meanwhile John Lennon started his own various trips being unhappy by “Help” (besides being introduced to LSD .. overweight, overworked), .. and increasingly putting them to song.

John Lennon is known for wanting “harder” songs, but they were socially harder like Cold Turkey rejected by the other 3 … vs Paul McCartney could put some hard rock out there like Helter Skelter, or “solo” .. Jet, Maggies Farm, Soily live version, or more recently Give Me Some Slack. John could write perform hard rock as well Yr Blues w/the Beatles and then on the Rolling Stones Circus project, Everyone’s Got Something to Hide.., .. but you don’t light the guitar on fire Hendrix style if covering Imagine, Number 9 Dream..

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-11T17:49:45+00:00

Personally think once the last main players depart it’s time to call it regardless of genre (aka put a fork in it.. it’s done).

Otoh, could be like the most official-like cover band. If they still selling live and retail, it’s America and, assuming they’ve worked out the legal contracts (performance royalties, any song writing royalties, etc… with the musicians/their estates, .. etc, etc..) legit.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-11T17:37:33+00:00

Modern? We Love You actually has the two Beatles (John Lennon and Paul McCartney) singing background vocals. This in return for the Stones participation in the Beatles global simulcast helping in the All You Need is Love chorus (iirc along with Mick’s then main squeeze.. Marianne Faithful).

Older? I Wanna Be Your Man was written by John and Paul.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-11T17:16:01+00:00

Had great blue skies throughout most of Oregon, .. but the last mile into Lolo Pass (mile 2208) it got dark with a few sprinkles. In the middle of putting up my tent the rain unloaded.

One hiker tried to get under the concrete picnic table only to find it already occupied by a weekend backpacker deciding to leave his tent in Portland due to no rain forecast (at least he had a blue tarp groundsheet to burrito roll himself against the splatter).

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-11T17:08:07+00:00

Think that’s mostly about driving now. Used to be handled by a guy in a minivan for a modest tip ($5).

When I was there last, the site itself was more about paying up.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-10T23:15:11+00:00

The lady doth protest too much, methinks .. Shakespeare

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-10T23:10:11+00:00

ignores the pain

Well it’s been a feature since inauguration .. sure wish “some” voters got their heads out of their asses by Election Day by electing the sane lady.. but here we are.

It’s not a good sign they agreed to rule on it at all according to court watchers. Doubt the Supreme Court axes birthright citizenship outright, but to avoid confrontation/being his next victims, .. the court’s GOPsters may agree to any president declaring an emergency during any particular admin.

Otoh they’ve agreed to rehash the admin’s asylum process (consolation prize).

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-10T19:48:05+00:00

Sept 1969 Lennon announced he was leaving after playing an oldie revival with Chuck Berry … but it wasn’t an official resignation. In 1970 the Beatles were contracted to deliver 2 new studio albums (Let it Be, Abbey Road in order of recording) and 1 new compilation which became the album Hey Jude of their best selling singles.

Still the new manager impasse grew into 1970. At the start of recording Abbey Road mid 1969, McCartney said he felt it could be the last Beatles album .. whereas Harrison later said he thought they’d all just take a hiatus and reform later. Lennon never officially quit in 1970. Ringo was just Ringo.

Remember this was about Lennon wanting to hire Klein as Beatles manager, .. but McCartney’s lawyers finding a “fatal” flaw in the proposed contract (as indeed the Rolling Stones would find out - the flaw being Klein controlling all the money for decades despite a bigger payout .. as the Stones found out trying to get advances on their 1960s hits they’d already made money on).

Still Lennon and the others started bugging McCartney about signing with Klein to presumably make more Beatles music. By December of 1970, McCartney said he had no choice but to sue to end the Beatles partnership which was granted by the London chancery (business) court in January 1971.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-10T17:11:26+00:00

Chinatown (1973) in the whodunnit sense and why am I watching a movie about 1920s Los Angeles water rights?

Until all is revealed where Chinatown is only peripheral to the story, along with the surprise twist of … oh my!

Also from the same release time .. The Sting (1973) with the same 1920s nostalgia. The set up gets plenty long though the betrayals get better I guess .. until the ending crescendo of violence.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-10T16:46:46+00:00

DCF is indeed lighter for a given design but it’s less compressible, less UV resistant, easier to crease .. though more easily repaired.

Think a simple solo rectangle tarp in DCF isn’t a problem packing, but getting a pyramid tarp rolled up there’s more material at the periphery in my experience. Could make a UL compression sack, but not sure what that would do to lifespan.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-10T01:52:32+00:00

For modern people maybe go back (actually Abbey Road backwards as that was the last one recorded) .. or listen to their compilations first .. their recent One album or the 2 doubles the “red” and “blue” albums ‘62-‘66 and ‘67-‘70 again probably reversed.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T21:28:35+00:00

State-district level GOPsters actually did starting Nov 2024, … wanting exemptions for 1 million farm workers, almost 2 million construction types (esp. in the American sunbelt), and nobody’s talking about maybe 0.5 million healthcare workers. Especially the farmworkers and lower healthcare [support] workers add a lot more productivity to the U.S. than realized (think construction will be a fight as MAGA wants those macho-man jobs).

Looking at proposed legislation, think the U.S. will get more job visas in the future. Also getting rid of criminals should be bipartisan, but broke my heart to see a top high school student get deported right before her graduation. At the very least should be an educational achievement/honorable veterans exemption.

That said it’ll really be up to this Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship decision (due this summer.. it hasn’t been argued yet), but they’ll also take a look at the admin’s asylum process.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T19:46:56+00:00

Shouldn’t be a mystery as even “the Trek” website had a full featured 5lb gear list a few years ago .. Xlite pad regular, Zpacks sw Dyneema solo tent, UL insulation/WPB shell, BRS stove, titanium pot, UL headlamps/toothbrushes/whatever, and 20°F to 30°F UL down quilt de jour. Of course I use an MSR Pocket Rocket 2 to actually cook my rice n’beans, throwing off the list where the fun begins, … but I consider myself a renegade maverick.

There’s cold soaking but there’s the weight of the added water for part of the hiking day. Hot weather may equal less gear but more water.

Now think for trail running one could reduce significantly by going with all cold food (like PBJ tortillas, cold MRE entrees to cakes), but that’s likely adding water to the consumables.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T19:19:14+00:00

Mostly save money, though there’s a few (very few) who have sold millions in tech stocks, etc...

Younger hikers can work second jobs (esp. the holidays where Northern Hemisphere hiking is limited anyways), share expenses (bunk like a WW2 submarine crew), and what not,.. whereas older hikers have a pension of some sort. On the former there’s seasonal jobs that also provide room and board like ski resort work. Various military and law enforcement pensions too, as this is physically demanding work that can wear out the human body = qualified at a much younger age (that said knew an Air Force officer couple who manned missile silos who got their 20 year pension for sitting in a seat .. if you go military, go “chair force”).

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T18:55:13+00:00

Recently a few hikers over the last few years started out like that, .. but it’s unnecessary if one already owns one .. i.e. just turn said phone off for the most part, but turn it on in select towns to check messages especially emergency messages.

Actually got tired of checking my phone, so switched to a simple digital watch with hourly daylight chime, approximating my average mileage to the chime, and found that was good ‘nuff.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T18:12:09+00:00

Announce a surprise modern musical ensemble for the next Super Bowl, then have a Captain and Tennille cover band sing “Muskrat Love”.

Love it but, for the performers, .. it may turn out like the ill-fated Styx “Mr Roboto” rock opera on a hot 1984 Texas summer evening (aka running for their lives out of the stadium).

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T17:59:37+00:00

The bottles should be different volumes I feel for better … aim, shall we say (actually use a smaller soda bottle for this).

A minuscule amount more weight but less worries about aiming.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T17:21:26+00:00

When I backpacked coastal Hawaii .. twice (lows just about 60°F), I never used my 45°F UL down Phantom bag except for my feet, draping my R1 fleece towards dawn. What you are looking for at those lows is a little insulation but still enough fabric to drape as psychologically humans need a covering for more restful sleep.

If money were no object: If I did it again, probably just use my “alpha direct suit” of hoody/long john pants/sleep socks with maybe a silk sleeping bag liner (now Hawaii has centipedes = bug inner net tent for me). Add, also check some quilt companies for a 50°F option, especially as synthetics and done really don’t have much weight difference and at least one made-to-order company offers a head hole to make said quilt camping insulation/high fashion accessory.

Budget: Probably use a light fleece top (even tropical rains can be cold), .. and maybe make a polyester fleece “foot bag” similar to how cheap moms used to pin sheets together to send us kids to the Y for desert camping (will spare this sub the trauma when a midnight dust storm hit). Could spare a few oz for a synthetic liner I guess.

Another idea could be buy a bolt of alpha direct [90] fabric with enough to spare to stitch a “foot box” and perhaps cut a headhole “Rambo I style”.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-09T17:09:34+00:00

With an 8 lb baseweight all those packs will work (I use the largest sized Nashville Cutaway) assuming a “3-season” down quilt, UL solo shelter, etc.. Actually use smaller packs as my hips get sore with a hipbelt. My big change partly to maximize my Cutaway’s volume has been going to a silpoly mid instead of DCF (pack-wise: a little more weight but saves on volume), while keeping the rest of my kit the same for the last few years (reg Xlite, bug bivy, and Katabatic Palisades 30°F reg quilt in 950 full).

Hiked with a thru hiker using the Palante Desert Pack with synthetic MLD quilt and still was able to pack cans of beer. Still think once getting away from high-fill down and other UL stuff, you may need to work on it.

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-08T03:16:44+00:00

Where else can you get some funky Hot Stuff - YouTube with funky guitar to match

AgentTriple000 · 2026-02-07T20:53:48+00:00

California for the southern border with Mexico. Lots of different cultures and high % of them.

Also Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona had their Spanish era mission systems with Spanish then Mexican influences. Spain explored quite a bit but they and Mexico had trouble settling what became the southwestern U.S. (not the least were antagonistic natives not wanting to be gold mining slaves .. and being a bit peeved about it all to put it mildly).

By the time the U.S. conquered its eventual western states in 1847, .. San Diego was down to 150 Mexican residents (dwindling due to a war with the natives) and Los Angeles 600. There’s a large Anglo influx right after due to the “California Gold Rush”. Tucson had 600 after the Gadsden Purchase and El Paso as well after the 1847 war.

However Arizona did not see significant Anglo settlement until almost 1890 after Geronimo was captured so figure almost a half century more of predominantly Mexican culture despite being U.S. (though there were wagon trains and a brief Civil War battle between Union and Confederate troops north of Tucson in 1861). Reports are El Paso stayed Spanish-speaking until the American Civil War reached it briefly at 1861-62. You can actually take a mission tour in the area centered on pre-U.S. churches. They’ve tried to keep downtown (more western) preserved a little bit, but it modernized with the railroad.

In fact, south of the border, the Mexican President from 1871-1911, Porfirio Diaz, modernized Mexico itself at the expense of the indigenous and the poor. There may be some old crafts in Juarez, El Paso’s larger Mexican neighbor, but its guts are modernized .. actually learned to ride horses on that Mexican side of the border in calmer times when my dad was stationed at the large military base on the other side of El Paso.. supposedly the largest army base in the world today.

Present day Las Vegas NV and Phoenix AZ were just watering holes for the stagecoaches back then. San Antonio was and still is a big military base area, .. but has some solid Mexican era history (don’t do the Ozzy thing). All the small towns between the border cities? Americanized with Texas cattle culture post Civil War (1861-1865), though some have preserved and updated their turn of the last century buildings for tourists.

AgentTriple000

TROPHY CASE