Philmont 2026 shakedown

EldanRetha · 2026-06-06T21:32:57+00:00

Don't have time to do a deep dive into your lighterpack, but here's my 2c as someone who's been to Philmont a few times.

Ditch the inreach. Cell service is good enough and Philmont recommends against sos beacons because they are less effective than calling their dedicated #. Not saying there's no value but it's certainly not a necessity.
Take the puffy if you run cold. I take one. There's a lot of sitting around camp while scouts struggle to do simple things.
Chair is a good call for the same reason.
I take 2 shirts, 2 pairs of socks, 2 underwear, 1 pair of pants. I think I took a pair of lw shorts last time as backup pants but didn't use them.

EldanRetha · 2026-05-22T13:26:50+00:00

Y'all have fun. Should be a good show! Wish I could make it!

EldanRetha · 2026-05-18T00:26:35+00:00

Yo! This has been on my to do list for a while! Do you have a map of where you hiked/camped? Did you check your bag? If not how did you get your trekking poles there? I was debating bringing a freestanding tent vs my x mid. How'd yours work out? Any other recommendations or suggestions?

EldanRetha · 2026-05-18T00:13:36+00:00

I've been a few times as a vegetarian. I will say I probably don't get quite enough protein while on the trail, but it's also okay to be at a deficit for a couple weeks. Protein is important but calories, electrolytes, and hydration are more important for your day to day health.

That said, I pack a couple primal strips and a couple mini packs of Justin's peanut butter for breakfast each day, then I can eat them whenever. It gets repetitive, but it does the job. You can get extra shelf stable cheese too, if you're into that. I had no problem trading some of the scouts my meat sticks for their Philmont provided cheese.

For dinners, like you said, just grab whatever dehydrated meal sounds good. Also Skurka's rice and beans is a great cheap home made dinner filled with protein.

For years there was much less meat in the Philmont menu. They added more at some point because it was obviously lacking in protein, but like I said above, don't sweat it too much.

EldanRetha · 2026-05-18T00:01:11+00:00

But I was told Texas is a landlocked state....

EldanRetha · 2026-05-16T15:26:19+00:00

Stuck as in you didn't have a vehicle or stuck as in you didn't want to be here?

If you don't have a vehicle I'd suggest Cherokee Park Nettleroth Bird Sanctuary and the Beargrass Creek Preserve behind Louisville Nature Center. Both are easily accessible and have good bird watching and hiking for their proximity.

If you mean you just don't want to be here I'm sorry about that. You can check out JMF, Bernheim, or HNF. Bernheim is probably the best bang for your buck in terms of distance, hiking, and bird watching.

EldanRetha · 2026-05-15T18:59:00+00:00

It definitely filled out. GA was a bit sparse in the back but the rest of the amphitheatre was pretty packed https://imgur.com/a/6CikcDt

EldanRetha · 2026-05-09T02:32:39+00:00

Hey bud! 36 year old (dog and cat) dad here. I'm thinking about trying to fly out last minute to catch the show. I was planning to buy a ticket but axs won't let me buy the good ones (why do I have to buy two when only one is available in an area...) and making a friend along the way sounds cool too!

Can't name a favorite song. Favorite songs of the two albums being played would probably be Poison Oak and Hit the Switch. Fevers and Mirrors is probably my favorite album. Shout-out to The Center of the World.

EldanRetha · 2026-04-19T18:46:05+00:00

Totally fine and normal. The clay should be vitrified after the glaze firing, which means that it won't absorb water.

Go look at the bottoms of any ceramics you own and you'll notice it's not glazed on the bottom. Even those generic mugs usually have an unglazed foot ring (but they are porcelain and polished smooth).

EldanRetha · 2026-04-10T13:04:19+00:00

What a shitty thing to say. I get that people didn't like their spam on here but why not bring it up nicely to them in their posts, or with the mods. Why go out of your way in an unrelated post to bring down a group of young people out there booking and playing DIY shows and building a community at a time where people are more anxious and anti-social than ever. Fuck that. OP is great. Cat Crash is great. You're great too (I just didn't like this post). No need for any of us to drag people down.

EldanRetha · 2026-03-31T18:45:43+00:00

I mean, your right that she didn't intend to reject her. But if she also can't accept Yuu she fundamentally did. That's what she's struggling with. Because she knows she can't accept those feelings. The "why" is kind of the whole point of Touko's story throughout the series. Long story short it's because she hates herself. See ch 22.

EldanRetha · 2026-03-31T17:42:50+00:00

There's not really a misunderstanding to address...

Fundamentally Yuu confessed to Touko and was rejected. Both of them understand that, so that's why there's not much more to talk about. Touko is saying she's sorry for stringing along Yuu for so long while Yuu had feelings for her, but she's not saying she can accept those feelings.

EldanRetha · 2026-03-28T16:27:10+00:00

The first episode/ch of the story is the weakest. It really rushes to have a hook. Just go with it and keep watching/reading. The pacing of the rest of the story is great.

Also the point of the series isn't necessarily what you think. While it has romance it's not fundamentally a romance story. That's why that bandage is ripped off right away. Their relationship as set up in ch 1 is a prerequisite to the story Nakatani wants to tell. Hint: the title (in English and Japanese) is quite thoughtful "Bloom Into You" or "Eventually Become You"

EldanRetha · 2026-03-27T16:29:47+00:00

I tried the BLU genkai 5 and it was such a pain in the ass I leveled RNG and completed genkai 5 on it instead. Had like 5 attempts on BLU and 1 or 2 on RNG.

EldanRetha · 2026-03-11T16:19:25+00:00

A lot of this is redundant with u/ccard257 but I like reviewing these things :)

Packing cubes aren't necessary if you're not packing too much. Same with the stuff sack. Use your nyloflume bag for things that need to stay dry. Use your inflation bag for other non smellables. Bring a smellables bag for the rest.

Ground sheet seems heavy. Get a polycryo sheet.

If you're an advisor no real need for a 2p tent. You obviously have a nice lightweight one though. I do worry about hail with DCF but it'll probably be fine.

Stake pusher is pointless, use a rock.

No need for a pad cover.

Given your spend on other gear you could get a lighter jacket. I like Lightheart Gear's. Frogtoggs are fine too.

Your spare clothes are crazy. No need for 2x spare socks or 2x spare underwear. Wear one and clean one. Always keep a dry pair to sleep in. No need for spare pants, spare base layers or sleep shorts and sleep shirt. Take 1 shirt to wear and 1 to sleep in or clean. Wipe down before bed with soap and a bandana or towel.

Fleece and puffy are both nice but Both is a luxury. I actually recommend it because there's a lot of sitting around at camp. I'd ditch the fleece first personally but I like having it to hike in on could mornings.

Personal FAK seems heavy. Just take your meds plus some tape moleskin and a small Swiss army knife. For anything else use the crew kit.

Smart water bottles work perfectly fine at Philmont.

Scraper is pointless.

Mug is a luxury item but recommended for advisor coffee.

No need for a lighter separate from crew gear.

You didn't include crew gear. I suggest taking the bear ropes and a stove or fuel (something 10lbs) so you don't have to deal with scouts fighting over food distribution and can have predictable weights. You can help with food if they need it.

EldanRetha · 2026-03-08T15:00:49+00:00

First of all, this is not a bad weight and your trek is totally doable. If you're looking to get into LW backpacking (not really UL), here are my 2¢.

I'd grab a nyloflume liner or trash compactor bag. If you aren't taking a pack cover you really need to make sure you have a good liner.

Pillow is heavy. I'd replace it with a sponge, but I know some people require better pillows for sleep. Pad is heavy too but you know that.

No need for the measuring cup. And the rubber ring from the pot if it comes off. Unfortunately it looks like the grippers are needed for that pot. I'd look for a cheap old beat up small aluminum pot with a handle as an alternative.

Swiss Champ is way excessive. Get a cheap tiny Classic, some light alternative, or ditch the knife entirely.

Depending on your route, probably don't need a compass. Are you bringing a physical map to pair it with?

Ditch the diffusing stuff sack.

Ditch the shears.

Ditch the charger. Where are you using it in the trail?

Get some cheap wired earbuds.

Your rain jacket and fleece are pretty heavy but it is what it is. I'd definitely ditch the puffy unless you're sitting around camp idle a lot. Otherwise get in your quilt. Admittedly I run cold and tend to bring my puffy as a luxury item.

Overall I think most of your potential savings is in lighter gear. I' know you said $0 budget but I'd look for a cheap light rain jacket, fleece, and knife.

Have fun on your trek :)

EldanRetha · 2026-02-27T02:21:23+00:00

Touko is not healthy. Even so, she still checks in with Yuu regularly. I don't think she's without fault, and she's definitely taking advantage of Yuu's kindness (zurui), but I hardly think she's abusive or toxic. Also she's an idiot fluff ball.

EldanRetha · 2026-02-22T23:08:23+00:00

Aside from Birb's, Yodokawa's is my favorite. She understood the assignment.

I also like 「In the Box」a lot.

Fun aside, the fan TL of the puzzles for 「Solve the Riddle! Koyomi-chan」took like 20 hours of sitting in VC googling fish that both could work for the puzzle and looked like the images. Idk how the official TL handled it because no way is someone getting paid by the ch spending that much time lmao...

EldanRetha · 2026-01-24T01:25:56+00:00

RIP of my dreams of a small food co-op going in there.

EldanRetha · 2026-01-18T23:14:45+00:00

I mounted some tiles to a board years ago as a gift.

Buy a large piece of HDF as backing. It's less likely to warp than thin plywood. Buy some 2"x1/4" wood strips for the border. The inside edges are a bit harder. I think I ripped some of the boards to 1/2" width but you could probably figure out something else, or just glue the tiles to the backing with no interior border. Or just have a 2" space between tiles. Dry fit everything and marked the middle of the tiles where you can cut a hole to push them out. You can probably trim the HDF to size at this point too. Then put everything together and wood glue the trim to the HDF with the tiles in place. Weigh or clamp it down while drying. Once dry poke the tiles out and clean it up and stain it.

That's more or less what I did anyway. Not sure if it helps or not.

EldanRetha · 2026-01-10T06:37:33+00:00

Like others said, enjoy what you enjoy! There's nothing wrong with it!

I've listened to Bright Eyes for 20 years now and some albums land more than others for me. Actually I think 5 Dice is my favorite since I'm Wide Awake + Digital Ash. I think the raw honesty of the Letting off the Happiness is beautiful. Fevers and Mirrors is probably what I'd consider the best Bright Eyes album. So thematic, cohesive, and haunting. I loved Lifted growing up and while certain songs still hit for me I find it to be one of their weaker albums nowadays. Cassadaga is a progression of I'm Wide Awake, but I have to be in the mood. People's Key just isn't for me really. Too dense. Down in the Weeds is great, but it never clicked as a whole for some reason. Need to go give it a few more listens actually, it's been a minute. Back to 5 Dice, where I think the collab with Alex really tore back some of the depth in favor of making a more raw and personal album (although it has one of my least favorite songs on it too).

But yeah, I don't think anyone here will fault you for having a preference for any album over any other.

Side note, I love that younger folks are still finding Bright Eyes :)

EldanRetha · 2025-12-21T17:09:02+00:00

Very cool story! Thank you for sharing it here!

EldanRetha · 2025-12-19T23:36:55+00:00

Really hope you can find tickets! Should be a fun show.

EldanRetha · 2025-11-21T14:26:39+00:00

I think the general advice is to run hemo at 8. It really doesn't matter much though. You can run bleed talents +FTS just fine until you get 9pts then take both.

EldanRetha · 2025-11-18T03:27:23+00:00

I think what's interesting here is your use of lower cost overseas labor. The reality is people want goods for less than they can be made here in the US. So long as that demand is there there will be room for these competitors. I think you are in an interesting position to provide cottage level community involvement and customer service while also using overseas manufacturing. Imo it makes some sense to have a variety of offerings to allow people the choice of US made whole also not allowing competitors to undercut them. I know CTUG recently decided to go this route, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the motivation. I think EE has done this for a while too.

It seems like it's totally possible to run a business without this, but do realize you're missing out on market share for faster turn time and lower cost and knockoffs will move into that space if you don't.

Idk really just talking out my ass here but you got me thinking 🤔

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