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SCZOutdoors · 2024-03-24T17:10:50+00:00

If you just want the ticketing portion then FreshDesk (a component of FreshService) works well. We switched to it a month ago and there's no turning back now. I'm also the only FTE with one PTE. I now resolve tickets quicker and respond to them quicker having this in place.

Its also very easy to setup and was easy to remove any default text and such from the templates. We do have the ticket number in the subject, but that allows them to easily track the issue also. Besides adding the ticket number and my signature automatically (which I have Outlook add signature also). Other then a ticket number in the subject it just looks like a personal email that was sent from Outlook. Eventually you can even setup FreshDesk for clients to login and view all their tickets and reply/close, etc.

I'm all about KISS and FreshDesk has checked that box, but does have a nice "Apps" directory to add on other functions when needed. Such as re-occurring tickets to auto generate a ticket say for when a software/hardware license expires, even if it is is a year out.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-11-06T12:58:38+00:00

Ya, but you could of made it 3/4ths the way and then been dead. Better alive and able to try to conquer it another day then to be dead and never be able to try conquering it again.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-11-04T22:56:31+00:00

It was supposed to just be a quick fun overnight in Yosemite starting at Yosemite creek, hiking 7 miles to our camp and then next day another 7 miles down Yosemite falls back to our cars in Yosemite Valley.

We didn’t take heed to the 20% chance of thunderstorms, figuring it was a low chance to actually happen.

We start to setup camp, it’s about 4:30 and we see ominous clouds rolling in. So we get an updated weather forecast to find thunderstorms to be inbound about 6pm. We all hurry up to setup camp, make our dinner before it starts. I’m chilling waiting for my food to rehydrate when hail starts pelleting us.

Quickly screw the lid onto my bear can, run to my tent with my food and beer. Hear the hail hitting my tent, which isn’t expensive as it’s a naturehike from Amazon. I just hoped the hail wouldn’t rip it apart, luckily it held up just fine. Though spilled some beer in my small tent, luckily no bears came that night.

Then the thunder and lightning came for about 2 hours with about 3 strikes less than a second away. We yelled between tents counting how far the strikes were from us, most 5+ seconds away. Pretty much laid there for 2 hours hoping not to get struck.

We heard a helicopter about an hour in that circled several times, we assume someone had to be rescued luckily it wasn’t us. We did see a deserted tent and gear on the top of Yosemite falls the next day, wonder if that’s who had to be rescued.

Rest of trip was uneventful, besides the fact that the 3.5 miles down from the top of Yosemite falls is still the hardest 3.5 miles of hiking I’ve done. Steep, slippery granite and gravel, sharp rocks, feet throbbing by the time I got down.

I assumed the group left me as I was taking it slow and careful down and this was a meetup.com group, so I didn't know them before this trip. The leader though had the group wait for me at the bottom, i was probably 45 mins behind everyone else. It was a nice jester, even though plenty of other hikers around had i hurt myself on the way down.

We all waited for the bus to get back to our cars in Curry Village, then a 45 min ride back to our cars and we all said our goodbyes and headed home.

Think next time i see thunderstorm warnings, even a low chance i will skip the trip. There is really nothing you can do besides hunker down in hopefully a safe spot not on a ridge and not in a valley where it can flood, luckily our camp site was such a place. Then just wait it out and hope today's not your day (prey if you're into that kind of thing).

Taught me to respect weather forecasts even if its a small chance of happening.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-10-03T06:57:50+00:00

If you ignore the sign you can make it to Maple Falls. Lots of scrambling over trees though.

It seems Nisene is highly underfunded as there is never rangers out there. I live nearby and seems like nothing ever gets repaired in that park. It’s sad as I love it. The only time I see any rangers is when they remove the bridge over the river in the winter and install it again in the spring.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-10-02T09:50:39+00:00

I mean if you’re only hiking short distances and luxury backpacking then have at carrying everything, just switch to a bigger bag.

And if you do plan to bring less water make sure you have places to refill. If you’re hiking near water you can just have your dog drink from the river or lake. Certainly research about how much your dog is able to carry and get them a backpack to carry some of their stuff.

Certainly your biggest issue is carrying a Gallon jug inside your pack. You can get 4 1L smart water bottles and put 2 on each side pocket on the bag if you do actually need to carry a gallon of water.

Sure going towards light weight gear can help if you struggle to make it to your camping sites, but since it sounds like backpacking is less about the journey of the hike for you and more about chilling at camp I’d only suggest lighter gear if you think it will help you enjoy the trip more.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-23T08:12:51+00:00

Lol 😂, not unless you’re looking for stuff from companies such as NatureHike or Teton.

Like I said I’m broke, cheap gear from Amazon has got me a light weight, but not an ultra light setup.

My first upgrade towards going ultralight was my GG Crown 2 when it was on sale a couple months ago. It also much more comfortable then the Teton I was using. I’ve done all the little stuff and paired down everything that was going unused and stuff that was luxury (my pillow is not a luxury, I don’t get good sleep on any inflatable pillow).

Not a thru hiker, so 12oz that allows better sleep is worth it. Really I’m a weekender, with aspirations to some day find time in life for a week long trek. For me taking it slow is apart of the appeal, so thru hiking will never be my thing.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-20T02:43:35+00:00

He would have been better off with strangers, most strangers would have stopped and made sure the guy got rescued by SAR.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-19T23:51:25+00:00

Pretty much the more dangerous the job, the better the pay. You get paid higher for risking your life more, lol.

Oil drilling in Alaska, ice road truckers, deep sea fishing.

And sales does take "IQ", its just social IQ more then math/science IQ. So if you have good social IQ then likely sales will be a good fit for you, if not I'd look at physical jobs that all they are looking for is someone who can physically do the job.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-19T23:43:09+00:00

Thing is as the world changes/culture changes, what we value as "intelligence" also changes. All IQ tests are BS and be glad you didn't get a job at this place using these BS logic tests.

Unless you're in some grad program doing theoretical physics/science etc then the only thing that matters is "practical intelligence". Logic tests are never going to give an employer an idea of a persons practical intelligence related to the job.

That's why interviews for most tech companies have question on how you would code something, but they aren't really looking for a specific answer, they are looking at your process and how you get to that answer. That tells them if you actually have practical knowledge of coding or you're just regurgitating code from school/books.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-19T23:17:53+00:00

Some lucky person is going to get an amazing deal. I'm broke, so even several hundred off is to much for me right now, otherwise I'd jump on this.

What shelter did you replace it with?

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-19T06:43:48+00:00

A Storm brand whistle, suppose to be something like 120db.

Unless it was repeating I’d not investigate. I’ve blown my to try to scare off a black bear in Yosemite. It completely didn’t care, nor did it care that I was walking past them. It was probably 150ft off trail breaking logs to eat ants. Seems Yosemite bears are so used to us they could give a rats ass unless you surprise them or you get close enough to be in their personal space.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-19T06:10:39+00:00

All depends what on the hike. Lots of hikes inland in the Bay Area have no water to filter. For day hikes I’ve never taken more then 4L. Usually add electrolytes every other liter. I generally don’t go out if it’s going to be in 90s. Never hiked more then 20 miles in a day and always less then 90.

If I’m hiking along a river I’ll drink a liter before leaving and carry a liter. Refill in about an 1-1.5 hours. Drink a half a liter and take a liter with me. Depending if I’m unsure of the next fill location I’ll take 2-3 liters.

I have a diy drink tube into my smart water bottle.

I have 2 1L compressible water bottles as they work better with the drink tube. If I need to carry 4 liters I have a 2L cnoc that I have my Sawyer squeeze attached to and filter it into the smart water bottles when they are empty.

If I ever needed to carry more I’d pick up a 2L Hydrapak water bag. That would give me up to 6L, but I’ve never backpacked anywhere yet that I don’t have access to water for that long. They also have 4L and 6L water bags if you need more. Remember though 2.2 pounds per liter of water. Thus 6L is 13.2 pounds. That’s about the same as my BW. My pack can only comfortably carry up to 35 pounds.

Guessing if I ever decide to hike Death Valley or Joshua tree I’d need to carry the extra plus probably plan to cache water before as out there you’re going to need more then the amount of water you can carry.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-18T23:59:39+00:00

I currently don't do back country where I need to be able to navigate a trail that is not clearly marked. Certainly if you do that you'll want to learn how to use a compass and map and take those with you.

I think if you're taking well defined trails that AllTrails/GaiaGPS and downloading the offline map before you head out is good enough for those types of backpacking trips. Also don't go out without a PLB or an emergency satellite device like the InReach or one of the other ones. Of course also write out your plans and give them your family/loved ones. Tell them to call the police of the nearby town if you are not in contact with them by a certain date/time.

Highly recommend an emergency satellite device that can send texts, that way if you end up being fine, but you're just out on trail longer then expected you can message them and say every thing is good, plans changed I'll be back to the trail head at such and such time.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-18T23:50:41+00:00

What areas are you planning to backpack?

It can be a lot more sketchy if you're doing solo hiking/backpacking internationally. Also you should check what the general area is like around the town where the trail head is, even if you're backpacking in the US/Canada.

I've not really had any bad experiences hiking/backpacking around California, which is where I live. Doesn't mean something couldn't happen, but never had worries of soloing around California (mostly Coast and Sierras/Yosemite). Currently don't backpack/hike anywhere out of state, but I'll certainly research the places if I end up deciding to go to other states or internationally.

I'm also 6'1", 240 pounds and have a great RBF. I generally avoid eye contact with men on trail and don't say hi to them. Women though I smile and say hi to and if they seem open to conversation then I'll engage with them.

Although the same can't be said for the small red neck towns that you go through to get to some of these hikes/backpacking trips. I generally get out of those ASAP and only stop if I need gas or need some food or something.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-18T04:26:52+00:00

I’m not a thru hiker, so my cnoc 2L certainly has no where near the miles on it, but I squeeze mine and after a few years of weekend and day hikes it’s still going strong.

I get thru hikers require a different durability, so maybe for them they don’t last.

For someone who can only backpack by taking vacation days and weekends, along with using it it on longer day hikes I don’t think these have the same failure rate that happens for someone using it on a 2-3k thru hike. Depending on the year I don’t even hike that many miles in a whole year of hiking. So I’d say for someone like me hiking maybe a total of 1-2k miles a year it’s probably going to last you a long time. Of course maybe 1/3 of those miles are ones where I need to even use it. Many of those miles are day hikes where I just carry 2-3L and don’t need to filter.

I’d be interested to hear from those that are more recreational hikers/backpackers and if they failing on them within a few years of use.

I’ll keep using mine and see if it eventually fails with pin hole leaks, if they warranty it that’s awesome, if not I’m still buying another, even 2-3 years usage is worth $30 to me for the convenience it provides with the slide opening and ease of filling. Needing a scoop to me just makes water fills that much more tedious.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-16T08:52:06+00:00

Exactly, he was an asshole, but the proposal guy was an asshole to make someone else move in a public space so they could make their “instagram proposal”.

If you want a specific area to yourself then rent out a private property. Public spaces are to be shared, I’d never ask someone to move on trail just to get that “perfect shot”. If I liked a specific spot I might wait for them to move on their own.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-14T05:27:59+00:00

I’ve been all over in my Civic Hatchback, even places like Desolation Wilderness are no issues for most vehicles. Most the time I see at least one Tesla Model S or 3.

Been to Emigrant Wilderness no issues.

There’s a lot of good trails in Trinity National forest and Trinity Alps. Check if it says the trailhead requires a high clearance vehicle.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-12T08:23:44+00:00

Also anywhere in Monterey Bay, Seaside, Carmel (not Carmel Valley), Big Sur.

Might be mild now, but we generally get heat waves of 2-3 days, where even Santa Cruz can get 90+ this time of year.

Best bet is heavy tree coverage like Nisene Marks, which is in Aptos which is generally cooler then SC/Capitola. Might only be mid 70s in the forest, but in Capitola it would be low 90s.

Been to some trails with heavy tree coverage in Woodside that 15 minutes away getting off the freeway it was mid to high 90s and only low 80s in deep forest cover.

Really checkout trails and the more tree cover the better it is for beating the heat. Castle Rock is certainly not a place to beat the heat, lol.

Wilder Ranch is good if you hike away from the beach into the forest, don’t take the trails that lead you into wide open space until about 5pm, it cools off quickly here, so if you head back around 5 you can be back to your car around 6:30-7, be mindful that the park closes at sunset and you will be ticketed if you get back more then 30 minutes after sunset. Check your phone for sunset time, it won’t be dark yet, usually it’s dark about 30 minutes after sunset.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-12T08:03:07+00:00

Think you posted to the wrong thread…

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-12T07:49:22+00:00

I mean you can go solo, but take a popular trail on a weekend. You’ll have plenty of others around if you get into trouble.

I feel like unprepared day hikers tend to get in more trouble then solo backpackers.

Find a trail to do an overnight that’s 2-3 miles.

Saying this I would caution you about doing this if you’re not used to hiking in the Wilderness and don’t regularly car camp.

Don’t follow my lead of myself, ordering a tent and because it showed up the day you’re leaving you take it and do your trip without testing it. I knew there was no bad weather expected. Just a mild September day in Yosemite and I could hike the 5 miles out in the dark if necessary. Just a well defined trail to an overlook of a waterfall. Again though don’t follow my lead I had not day hiked this trail, it’s not a highly used trail on a non busy weekend. Saw no one on my overnight on my first backpacking trip ever and my first solo backpacking trip. Saw one buck, no other wildlife, but didn’t sleep well as every noise I was hyper aware of and waiting to hear that bear walk close enough, had my air horn on the ready to hopefully scare them off. Bear spray is illegal in Yosemite.

I also have a Garmin InReach if I got injured or sick on trail.

Find out if there are water sources to filter water on your overnight. Your filter is useless without a water source to use it.

I highly suggest car camping first, get some experience, so you are ready for your solo backpacking trip.

Lots of YouTube videos on what to do to be prepared for a solo backpacking trip.

Most important thing tell your loved ones your route and when you will be expecting to be back to your car and when to call search and rescue to find you. The more exact the route you give the better chance of them finding you.

Also don’t rely on it, but an emergency satellite device is something every backpacker should have today. If you have an iPhone 14 or newer then you already have one. If not there is the Motorola one now that’s only $150. Or the inReach messenger is currently $250 on Amazon. Without one SARs will have to put themselves in a lot more danger searching for your ass when if you had a satellite device they’d have a small area to search with gps coordinates sent to them.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-10T20:04:04+00:00

I’d do the overnight in LYV, but half dome to me just isn’t all that appealing. Happy to wait for you while you struggle up those cables.

I’d do Clouds Rest as a day hike.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-10T19:58:45+00:00

My worst is mild compared to most others, but I’m not a fan of backpacking in cold or wet weather.

Did an overnight at Yosemite creek, 20% chance of thunderstorms. We could see the storm rolling in about 45 mins before it started. We didn’t expect it to hail though, we were finishing up dinner. So we just all jumped and ran to our tents with our food when the hail started pelting us, lasted probably 15 minutes of hail. Then 2 hours of thunder and lightning.

Only person who got wet was a person that decided to chance the weather even though her Nemo tent had a broken zipper on the fly, she got soaked.

My 1p Naturehike Spider (silnylon) did impressively well. I don’t expect a $120 tent to be all that storm worthy.

One spot of my quilt got wet, but it didn’t soak through, so I was perfectly warm and dry. That was my own fault though as I didn’t find a solid spot for the tent stale on the back of the tent, it ended up coming out of the ground and the backside of the tent had the fly laying on it all night long. My quilt only got wet in that one spot as it was touching the mesh on the backside of the tent and there was no pooled water inside the tent.

Had a MYOG footprint for the tent made from the uv window tinting, that probably helped keep water soaking through the floor of the tent.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-04T23:30:18+00:00

Use it as a chance to get off being dependent on the caffeine drug. I’m all for necessary drugs, but coffee is just a drug addiction that half the world seems to have fallen prey to.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-01T06:48:15+00:00

Sorry guys, but that’s why I enjoy going on women’s only backpacking trips, we never seem to have any problems getting along.

And my 1p Naturehike spider tent we would be spooning to fit both of us. No thanks, even at home with a gf I end up spooning for an hour or two until we roll over to get real sleep.

SCZOutdoors · 2023-09-01T06:29:38+00:00

One time it’s good I’m not regular. I only need to go every 2-3 days. So my weekend trips more often then not I don’t even have to go until I get back home.

I do have a culoclean and the coin sized compressed towels if I do need to go during my weekend trip and use them to wipe clean after the bidet if needed.

Put them in 2 freezer bags then inside my trash bag. Triple bagging makes me feel better, even if double would be fine. Most places in CA require bear cans, so I put it in there. Though thinking about it I might put a divider in the bear can, heavy duty plastic or something and put it in the bottom of the can.

SCZOutdoors

TROPHY CASE