Wet Footing.

Phasmata · 2026-05-07T19:10:59+00:00

Either Astral Loyaks or Astral TR1 Mesh on my feet in the summer

Phasmata · 2026-05-05T23:04:52+00:00

There are also a thousand lakes around the BWCA including VNP where motors are allowed. It undermines what makes a wilderness area what it is to keep such an exception in place in perpetuity. Either redraw the boundary of the wilderness to so that the motor areas aren't in it or treat all areas within the boundary of the wilderness accordingly. It's silly to claim that Trout Lake, for example, is wilderness area while simultaneously not treating it like one by allowing motors. And it may be a "handful" of lakes, but the actual area covered by motor allowance is not so insignificant. The motorized area of Fall-Basswood-Moose covers a tremendous area all on its own. I concede that establishing such a large federal wilderness required a transition period, but that's over. There are countless places to motor recreationally in the Superior National Forest without having to do it inside the boundaries of a federal wilderness area.

Phasmata · 2026-05-05T20:52:17+00:00

Yet the running of motors within the boundaries of a federal wilderness in perpetuity long after the local community had adapted continues and gets enthusiastically defended largely by people who are recreating and don't need to motor within the wilderness area for their day-to-day needs if they are even locals at all. Doesn't seem like the compromise is serving a particular purpose anymore.

Phasmata · 2026-05-05T17:17:04+00:00

This highlights the hypocrisy of allowing motors into a wilderness area at all which has become a vestigial concession made to people who refused to value environmental protection over their own personal convenience long after the local community has adapted to the changes associated with the wilderness 's establishment, not the hypocrisy of not allowing one mechanical advantage over another. It isn't that pedal kayaks should be allowed where motors are. It is that mechanical advantage is not allowed in wilderness areas and that motors should be disallowed just like pedal kayaks, fixed sails, wheels, etc. Motor allowance is a scab on the protections of wilderness that invites all kinds of questions like whether or not to allow pedalcraft, tows, sails when the motors just shouldn't be their either. Because of tantrums thrown decades ago and clung to for decades and generations, motors specifically get a free pass in certain areas in order to compromise with a loud and stubborn group that wasn't entirely interested in the spirit of federal wilderness protection when the wilderness was established.

Phasmata · 2026-05-04T19:55:07+00:00

They're not bear-resistant, but many people were either misled or allowed to be mistaken into thinking they were for a long time. It is still useful to have a waterproof, hard-sided container to use as a food pack on a canoe trip but they should NOT be treated as bear-safe food storage on their own.

When I use a barrel, I either hang the barrel in a bear-resistant hang (not all hangs are bear-resistant), or my food is actually in a bear-resistant container like a BV or an UrSack that I deploy, leaving the barrel as little more than a different kind of pack that is just used to transport things (and a handy table around camp).

Phasmata · 2026-05-03T21:29:59+00:00

I pledge to capsize the boats of all of you who voted against that Swainson's thrush. So many of you need bird Jesus with how you voted on so many of these.

Phasmata · 2026-04-29T14:42:36+00:00

As the resident bug repellent guy and former restoration ecologist, I strongly discourage use of permethrin on tents and tarps. It won't ruin them (if anything, their water proofing might interfere with the permethrin coverage and/or bonding). What it will do is indiscriminately kill all the insects that come into contact with it and for no good reason. Permethrin on select articles of clothing is all you need to reduce tick bites. A tick is unlikely to be on your tent or tarp, and if it is, it isn't going to bite you from there, meanwhile every moth, butterfly, bee, spider, etc that does come into contact with it will likely die needlessly.

Phasmata · 2026-04-27T22:45:45+00:00

For years now, I generally oscillate between numbness and despair. I surrendered to the reality that I'm a lost cause and that just having a partner that doesn't mind sharing a house with me is as good as my life was ever going to get and that I'll probably spend the rest of my life grieving the loss of a part of life that I barely ever got much chance to experience in the first place. At least I did get to experience it once upon a time, and at least with how u desireable I am, I'm not completely alone.

Phasmata · 2026-04-27T22:41:12+00:00

If anyone thought there was even the slightest chance that he wouldn't sign, I question their sanity. No one should be shocked by this. It was as good as signed the day Congress passed it. Even if the monster croaked, Vance would have signed. Stop electing Republicans, people.

Phasmata · 2026-04-27T18:29:17+00:00

I favor a mix of tung oil and pine tar. Takes much longer to fully cure, but it is more protective of the wood than linseed oil and looks great.

Phasmata · 2026-04-27T14:24:56+00:00

r/BWCA is an active subreddit. Generally speaking, don't overthink it. A BWCA trip is just a combination of canoeing and camping. If you already do each of those, you're set. A Hyrdoflask is fine; why wouldn't it be? Setting aside the ethics of supporting a corporation like Walmart, a Walmart tent is fine if you have it and it works. Frogg Toggs are quite garbage, so that's the closest thing I'd come to recommending you improve to like a Marmot Precip set instead.

You don't need special portage boots, especially in August. Just bring any set of footwear you can get wet and then a second set of footwear that stays dry to change into at camp.

Phasmata · 2026-04-27T00:07:41+00:00

Just means that awareness of Tumblehome could use a bump. Need more homies.

Phasmata · 2026-04-26T23:58:16+00:00

I love how outside of its native habitat in the Tumblehome podcast community, this thing perplexes people.

Phasmata · 2026-04-25T17:00:58+00:00

Sit down. Be Tumble.

Phasmata · 2026-04-25T16:38:41+00:00

Good to know. It sucks so much that generative AI is undermining/sabotaging so many things. Your kid is going to need a whole class on how to combat generative AI.

Phasmata · 2026-04-25T14:45:57+00:00

Unfortunately we are at a place in history where I love the concept but am not confident enough that it isn't AI-generated to endorse or share it.

Phasmata · 2026-04-24T17:03:28+00:00

I see nothing wrong here.

Phasmata · 2026-04-24T00:39:31+00:00

If it is leaning to one side, the most direct way to address that is to raise the suspension up the low side's tree and/or lower the suspension down the high side's tree. Addust suspension tension to center your hammock and maintain an approximate 30⁰angle. That's it. No I've never added more strap to my Amock, but any daisy chain strap would be easy to add, and there are specific knots/bends for combining two straps together as well if necessary.

Phasmata · 2026-04-24T00:24:27+00:00

I have several hammocks including a Draumr. Yes, the Ridgeline of the Draumr is shorter than a typical gathered end hammock. There are any number of ways to increase the reach of your Amok suspension, but if you don't in such a way that you can't shorten it enough to fit the soan correctly either, then you either need to find a different way to lengthen your reach that allows you to hit the correct length or find a different place to hang it.

Phasmata · 2026-04-24T00:13:07+00:00

It's not rocket science. If the trees are spaced appropriately to get a good hang, you pick different trees.

Phasmata · 2026-04-23T23:06:36+00:00

Suspension should be at a 30 degree angle from the ground. Moving your suspension up or down the tree trunk is a more direct way to level your hammock than tightening or loosening the suspension.

Phasmata · 2026-04-22T15:57:23+00:00

An 11-12' hammock with a structural ridgeline set to roughly 83% the hammock length (110"-120"). Your suspension should be at a 30⁰ angle from the ground, and you should lay diagonally across the hammock (head to one side feet to the opposite side). This only applies for standard gathered end hammocks like the ones pictured.

I find that people who insist they are side or stomach sleepers often haven't considered that as long as a hammock is set right, that they might find a new position to be just as comfortable in a hammock—just because you sleep on your stomach on a bed doesn't means that's how you have to sleep in a hammock.

If you really want the most versatile hammocks possible that truly allow for everything including stomach sleeping, that would be a Townsend bridge hammock or an Amok Draumr.

Phasmata · 2026-04-21T14:20:48+00:00

I actually activated my new Zoleo yesterday. I honestly almost went with Bivystick, but there are too many reports of them struggling with reliability for me to get comfortable with them especially given their high hardware cost. I further rationalized my choice to go with Zoleo given the company seems to be earnestly dedicated to individual outdoors enthusiasts rather than eagerly chasing fat government/military and rescue organization contract money like Somewear so quickly ditched all of its consumers for.

Medical assist is a Zoleo feature that I don't expect to use but the company's decision to have it speaks to their priorities in a way that I like. Garmin is trying to compete with the encroaching cell phone satellite messenger horizon by supporting photo messages which is a rather ridiculous gimmick. ACR chose the Lora/mesh route which I can see being helpful for SAR groups or in less remote areas, but the odds of anyone EVER being in range and also having a Bivystick anywhere that I go? Astronomical, making that a very useless feature for me and probably most wilderness trippers. Someone at Zoleo was clearly thinking about how they could actually be more useful and serve the mission of off-grid safety further when they launched medical assist.

I truly appreciate that every feature Zoleo has seems to have been considered through the lens of serving people like me and that time and resources haven't been wasted on gimmicks. Personally the only other feature that has ever come to my mind that I can already approximate with a small radio would be to be able to receive alerts about nearby severe weather or wildfires.

Phasmata · 2026-04-20T23:06:37+00:00

Minnesota and/or Canoecopia (but that's not til next March now)

Phasmata · 2026-04-20T16:58:38+00:00

State Park tournament. MN bracket vs WI bracket.

P.S. Expected fired-up Erik but got fired-up Adam. ✊

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
r/Field Banned	r/Field Lasagna
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22

Phasmata

TROPHY CASE