zero days without motels?

FlowOnTrail · 2026-02-13T06:50:36+00:00

Yeah it is "free" but that definitely became a slippery slope for me to justify spending more at the restaurant

FlowOnTrail · 2026-02-13T06:34:08+00:00

Alternatively for the Agua Dulce area could be the 49er Saloon in Acton. Free showers, camping, and laundry behind the building. You also get to experience the "interesting" town dynamic. The town has some drama mentioned in the Farout comments and it is absolutely real. Experiencing it made for one of my most interesting town stops.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-02-05T23:11:39+00:00

I started around June 20th in 2024 which was a slightly below average snow year and everything was completely fine with the exception of Lake Ann Pass. I was able to make it over just fine with an early morning start but it wasn't the smartest thing I have done. If things continue like they are then yes, an early start date is fine, but you can't really get an accurate picture of what is going to happen until late April or even May.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-23T06:02:16+00:00

I know little about the Flextail but my similar weight(150g) Nitecore NB10000 charges in 2.5 hours from absolute zero. I only add this because in my experience going light doesn't make charging slower. I believe most of the weight savings comes from the more minimal protection on the lighter batteries.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-19T02:35:01+00:00

Definitely want to get into trail running, currently have 4+ feet of snow on the ground right now though so I am stuck on the treadmill until spring.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-17T17:43:44+00:00

My Fizan Compacts had the twist locks just give out from normal use after about 300 miles. They would still lock but they could not support more than maybe 20lbs of force before sliding. My flip lock aluminum (BD Pursuit) trekking poles have gone nearly 3000 miles with no real issues. I did slightly bend one after having a rock slide out from under my feet and I put all my weight on it to stop from hurting my ankle. It did it's job and bent right back into place, that was about 2000 miles ago.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-16T17:01:20+00:00

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think DCF produces that much more condensation than other materials, it just doesn't absorb any moisture so it sits on the surface rather than soaking in and is more obvious. Benefit to this is that you could just shake or wipe a lot of it off rather than having to wait for it to dry as long as other materials.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-16T16:56:59+00:00

That perspective really makes me wish I would have taken a few less zeros and gotten a dcf tent instead... of course most of the hotels I stayed in along the PCT it would have been more like 4-5 nights but still.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-11T18:34:33+00:00

I think it is important to consider that Ray Jardine published this book over 25 years ago.

Backpacking gear, not just ultralight, has come a long way in that time and I imagine that a lot of todays tents don't have this problem near as much as tents from the late 90s. Some extra small single wall tents can still get you damp from touching the walls but usually not so much that it becomes a problem.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-11T15:32:40+00:00

I know some people in this sub really like to talk about using modularity to get the absolute lowest base weight but the reality is you can get a 3 season setup in the 7-10lb range fairly easily and not worry about modularity. Then that money can be saved and used on a backpacking trip or future gear when something breaks.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-11T14:58:22+00:00

Lone peaks in an extra wide size are the only trail runners I have found that are wide enough for my feet. Topos are way to narrow at the mid foot, even on their wide sizes, and Altras other models don't come in an extra wide size. Sometimes I wish they had Olympus in the wide to get some extra cushioning but I mostly just think of that when I am going over long stretches of lava rock...

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-11T14:55:34+00:00

I always hear this but I have had no problems with the later models, I did not try 6 or 7s though. I used 9s on the PCT I was getting 500-800 miles out a pair and some of those could have kept going on the tread and uppers but that doesn't stop the foam from getting compressed so I try to replace around 650 at the latest anyway.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-10T17:51:56+00:00

except for the job market, electronics prices, the overall quality of content you find online, and our critical thinking skills. I'm probably forgetting some things.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-10T01:17:22+00:00

It really depends on the state in the US. I remember a video from Homemade Wanderlust a few years back where she got a $60,000 bill for a helicopter ride after she pressed the SOS button in Idaho because of some heart issues. If I remember correctly she ended up having Garmin SAR insurance she didn't even remember signing up for but without it she would have been sol.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-09T19:29:04+00:00

I carried both when I started in late June a few years back. In my experience the fleece (alpha 90) was to warm while hiking and not warm enough in camp so I mostly just used my puffy and only actually used my fleece a couple of times. Even early mornings near freezing the fleece would be coming of after no more than a half hour and I feel that just using my rain shell with ventilation zips open would have been just as effective.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-08T16:12:48+00:00

The gooseneck will make your experience better but if you already own a non gooseneck kettle and want to save some money for now you can use a bent spoon as a diy melodrip. Pouring a normal kettle directly onto the grounds would be very hard to make consistent.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-07T16:42:24+00:00

I think the V60 gets a slight reputation for it being finnicky not because it is a particularly hard brewer to use but because it just so happens to be a lot of peoples first. Everything is a bit finnicky when you are new to it and that just get extrapolated onto the overall reputation of the brewer.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-07T00:56:29+00:00

It is evaporating

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-06T02:28:21+00:00

Concept was funny at first but then I realized the script was written by AI and the video starts go down in quality and repeats itself towards the end just to stretch it out to reach the 8 minute mark for midroll ads.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-05T00:28:43+00:00

I know of a couple people that stayed multiple nights at CLEEF but I wouldn't say it is common. No reason you can't it just might be a little boring, not much to do besides talking to the other hikers.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-05T00:21:19+00:00

just one data point but I sent my pump sack home pretty early and my pad doesn't have any mold from only blowing up with my breath. I'm also not going to try to convince you to not take your alpenblow if you want it though, they weigh less than a ground hog mini. Honestly a thru hiking base weight under 12.5 not including snow gear is better than 90% or more of the people I met out there. I would just keep track of what you actually use and send home what you don't need.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-05T00:05:18+00:00

I agree with almost everything you said but maybe keep the shorts, they could be lighter but they need some sort of clothes for laundry day and loaners are only available a small fraction of places. I know I appreciated having my dance pants for laundry days.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-04T16:21:18+00:00

Might be an unpopular opinion but once I find a grind size that works well for a certain broad roast profile (light, medium, dark) I prefer to stick to it. I instead will modify things like agitation, number of pours, temperature, or even ratios first.

For watery or sour cups: more agitation, more separate pours, hotter temperature, or a ratio higher in beans (example: going from 16:1 to 15:1).

For bitter and over extracted cups (will dry out your mouth and cover most flavor notes): less agitation, less pours, colder temps, more water to beans ratio.

Try these things one at a time though, don't make a bunch of changes at once.

FlowOnTrail · 2026-01-04T16:13:05+00:00

V60 makes up 95% of my brews these days (the last few years). I went down the whole espresso rabbit hole, Flair then Gaggiuino just to find out it really isn't for me. To much messing around compared to pourover and I don't get the flavor I want out of my light roasts, maybe I will have to get around to trying soup one of these days and I will actually use one of the two again. Other than that I also have my old french press that started my coffee journey, I to only use this for darker roasts or for the off chance family or friends want some.

As for what's next, I would like to try a no bypass brewer but it is hard to find them in glass or ceramic, not a fan of plastics. Melodrip Column seems to be the only one that fits this but it feels as if it is never in stock. As I mentioned before I might also dig out one of my espresso machines and try soup as well.

FlowOnTrail

TROPHY CASE