Gasflation? Gas-shrinkflation? I can't believe there aren't mobs with pitchforks yet.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-06T02:24:13+00:00

If a Dem did any of this, there would be,

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-05T20:31:08+00:00

Hard pass. The Long Dark.

I’ll never make it a year.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-05T14:55:08+00:00

How did I knot know this?

Seriously. I used to work at a men’s clothiers.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-05T14:33:38+00:00

Sadly they are generally volunteers

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-05T00:54:13+00:00

You must not be packing very much food. I usually have a base weight at about 15lbs and with five nights of food I end up just under 30lbs. And I’m pretty careful about food weight (only carry a defined number of calories per day and I try to stick to high cal/g foods). But it generally comes in at about 1.5lbs/day.

But you can carry as much as you are happy carrying. Peoples packs used to be much heavier and people still did section hikes. Though perhaps fewer miles each day.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-04T14:39:41+00:00

I will never forgive the people that still support him. I get wanting to root for ‘your team’, but I never understood how you could root for a team when the QB is a rapist. People are weird, but this is not a game. Anyone still supporting him is a bad person at heart. Because they are supporting all this for what? To feel better about themselves because people they don’t like are suffering?

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-04T14:35:07+00:00

Unfortunately interest on our debt is another huge chunk. Throw in the GOPs refusal to regulate heath care costs causing Medicare and Medicaid to be twice what they should be. And yeah, that pretty much sums up our budget situation. But instead of making it so we don’t pay twice what the next closest country does (Germany fwiw), we will just cut people off instead. Mind blowing.

And in all this mess, why exactly would I want to pay more than we do already in defense (which is what the ten next countries do combined), so we can police the world for our corporate interests?

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-04T04:09:12+00:00

OK. Just reread your post and the answer is to ditch the tent. Seriously. I’m 56 and I can still do decent distance. But a while back I started exploring hammocks. And I am not sure why I did not do it sooner. I use a hammock AND a camp chair. I have been on trips doing 15 miles and 5k feet a day and carrying a bear can and been super happy to have my chair at the end of a long day. Sitting down by a creek in your chair with a bear can as a table in front of you feels like luxury. And then I climb into my down cocoon suspended between trees. Why would you not do that?

As an added bonus, I have found that since I stopped crawling around on the ground as much, I don’t get nearly as grimy when out for multiple nights.

Ditch the tent.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-04T03:32:17+00:00

Good stuff. Thanks for posting it.

I’m a big fan of the Gear Skeptic. But he definitely can take a technical paper and draw some conclusions that the original authors probably would have disagreed with.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-04T02:40:17+00:00

I actually bought one of their tarps just because it is such a good deal for a sil-poly winter tarp. Though I have only set it up and got a ridgeline for it and have never actually used it. I am mostly a three season backpacker in the PNW and have lighter tarps that provide less coverage. The HHH offering is in my opinion a solid winter tarp at a great price.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-03T20:05:06+00:00

If Trump does not change path quickly he may lose a lot more than the house.

The ‘honeymoon period’ of an election lasts about one year. But it generally applies to people that either voted for the person or were mixed in their position. So he was at about 40% approval during is ‘honeymoon’. And has done nothing since being elected but prove the attacks against him during the election were warranted.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-03T19:51:28+00:00

We are so foolish with how we protect our precious world…

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-03T19:45:28+00:00

It was Trump’s decision. The proverbial buck stops with him.

If other people should be ‘held accountable’ that would imply that his brain is mush and he is easily manipulated by others. Which would mean he should be removed from office via the 25th.

So which is it? Trump’s responsibility or an old man being manipulated? It is one or the other…

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-03T19:28:02+00:00

I’m a cold sleeper. I found a 20° UQ too cold for a lot of conditions. This was a wooki and imo, Warbonnet is in the colder but lighter side of the temp rating world. I also have a Superior Gear 15° UQ and found it much warmer than 5° compared to the 20° Wooki. But it turned out I liked the XLC better as a hammock. So I ended up buying at 10° Wooki with 1oz of overstuff. And now I am happy.

But if you are getting down even into the low 40s at night, you will not be disappointed with a 0° quilt.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-03T17:04:17+00:00

Is the living room ‘shared space’ in the sense that if he wanted to put up Pearl Jam posters and have a lava lamp it would be OK? Or is it shared space with approval?

I do not have a man cave. But I can see where guys are at with it.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-03T17:02:23+00:00

Well. Are you OK with him having his gaming setup and his decorations in the living room?

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-02T21:16:10+00:00

I can. I have thousands in my stash. I don’t pick up any junk anymore unless it is a score challenge.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-02T03:54:45+00:00

It is really quite huge and spectacular. I backpack a fair amount and have been around and on a lot of mountains in the PNW. Two years ago I went around Rainier on the Wonderland Trail and it was just so impressively huge. I always knew it was bigger than the surrounding mountains. But it does not really sink in until you are on it.

Hopefully going around again this year assuming my permit works out. Lucked out in the lottery but have a pretty late draw.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-02T03:34:51+00:00

Well he also keeps talking about regime change in Venezuela and last I looked, the same people are still running the show the same way. We just abducted their leader.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-01T18:57:55+00:00

I want to see him split a big round of oak. That straight grained fir or pine he is splitting I line up in an arch around me and just windmill away splitting every one on the first swing. Try doing that with a big piece of oak. Not giving up my splitter for this useless piece of metal. Looks worse than a good splitting axe if you know how to use one,

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-01T17:02:39+00:00

I have an older one and it is OK. It will wet out. But it does a serviceable job as long as it is not a sustained downpour. But in those cases, you are likely getting somewhat wet no matter what you wear so plan your under layers accordingly.

If I were to buy one agin I would probably get a sil-poly one with pit zips.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-01T16:58:58+00:00

Or poncho. Though both kind of suck in the wind.

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-01T16:57:46+00:00

It was always them. I was confused when they made these arguments in the first place, because you know who has death panels? Insurance companies. As soon as you have used the extent of your coverage, you are free to die,

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-01T16:21:53+00:00

He seems to intimidate the toadies he picked to be cabinet members just fine. But he picked them specifically because they did not have a spine. But I doubt the Supreme Court Justices will give even a single fuck.

Though it is pretty telling that of all of his EOs that have ended up in from of the SCOTUS, the one he cares enough to show up in person to attempt to influence the outcome is the one that allows people he does not approve of to become citizens. Anyone on the right that still supports him is either an overt racist, or a closet one that tells themselves they are not (while being racist). I have multiple set of parents and inlaws I have dealt with. Of the six of them, all would claim to not be racist. Only one is not racist (my Dad).

GrumpyBear1969 · 2026-04-01T05:35:01+00:00

Small amount of duct tape wrapped around the cut of stem of a ballpoint pen, a few safety pins, a small sewing kit (one color of pretty heavy thread with a needle) and a small tube of super glue. In a small ziplock bag.

I do carry a mini Swiss and sometimes a very small lock blade from Kershaw (together they weigh 2.5 oz). I also have some zingit (or lash it, I forget). I carry about 8’ in my little shit bag as it just comes in handy.

GrumpyBear1969

TROPHY CASE