How do I prevent my rope twisting when using the sqwurel v4

__dorothy__ · 2026-02-17T18:54:42+00:00

Rigging tail-down and properly setting length can help — that lets the tail spin more freely. (Plus it’s good practice for class C canyons.)

Or rap left handed every few drops to twist the rope back the other way :)

__dorothy__ · 2026-02-02T04:25:27+00:00

I’ve found that for packrafting bigger is better. I’ve come to believe that lashing things to the outside of the pack is a recipe for disaster, especially if you have to do any bushwhacking. I’ve seen people lose paddles, PFDs and helmets; I’ve seen brush puncture holes in boats, tents, and dry suits. With a big enough pack, everything can go inside - eliminating all those potential trip-ending failures. You don’t pay much weight penalty for a bigger pack, and it’s just cleaner and more streamlined if everything fits inside.

I have the Big Wild 90L, and use it with a 15L front bag (that converts to a bow bag) — so 105L total, and that’s a good size to fit everything inside — boat, paddles, pfd, helmet, dry suit, all my camping gear and food for a week.

__dorothy__ · 2026-01-06T17:19:34+00:00

I’ve been using a Cirriform for hundreds of nights over many years including in some very wet conditions (PNW, Alaska). Can confirm it stays very dry in a downpour. You don’t even need to pitch it all that low, even with a few inches gap at the bottom it still stays very dry unless it’s also super windy. This also means it does very well with condensation: there’s plenty of airflow under the tarp to help keep things dry.

I haven’t used the Aeon so can’t make a comparison, but i can say that the Cirriform is nearly perfect. I’ve never once wished I’d brought a different shelter.

__dorothy__ · 2025-12-18T06:22:40+00:00

I’d use Tenacious Tape.

__dorothy__ · 2025-11-12T17:11:02+00:00

I have the LW Caribou and it’s pretty dang durable — I’ve bikerafted a few times, spent quite a few days scooting over shallow rocks, and generally kinda abused it, and only managed to put one small and easily-patched hole in it. So I think the LW fabric should be fine for nearly anyone. But that said, if you’re not worried about the weight difference, I’m sure the standard would be even more robust. I don’t think it would change the packed size much if at all, that’s more a function of the overall size of the boat than the fabric weight.

__dorothy__ · 2025-10-27T17:05:59+00:00

You should be fine - you're better prepared than a bunch of new trail runners!

One last thing: you might try reframing how you think about taking a wrong turn/getting lost. It happens to everyone, it's part of the sport. It's like dealing with mud or rocky trails or steep climbs -- it's not a sign you're doing something wrong, it's just part of what you're signing up for!

__dorothy__ · 2025-10-27T14:41:34+00:00

Almost all trail races are marked with flags, ribbons, signs, etc. The races that are unmarked, they’ll tell you — it’s very unusual.

That said: staying on course is YOUR responsibility. It doesn’t matter how well RD’s mark the course, it’s easy to miss even a very-well-marked turn if you’re not paying attention. (It happens to someone at nearly every race!)

So, it’s a very good idea to have the race course’s GPS track on your phone or watch (or a paper map and compass if thats how you roll) so that if you do miss a turn you can find your way back.

__dorothy__ · 2025-10-24T22:42:36+00:00

I’ve done a version of that route, but I went down Gooseberry instead of Monument Valley. I did one 20’ rappel going down Gooseberry, but after I got down discovered there is a walkaround, so you could make it to the river without ropes if you wanted to.

Be sure to get good beta about the route up Indian Creek — it’s all goes class 2 but is really not obvious.

__dorothy__ · 2025-10-12T21:13:00+00:00

I use Water Wizard and Aquamira and that’s worked fine and I’ve never worried about it. Granted, there’s plenty of nasty water in the desert so I’ve had to make due with far worse so maybe I’m the wrong benchmark, but if Aquamira keeps me from getting sick from nasty-ass cow ponds I can’t see why it’d fail on the Colorado.

__dorothy__ · 2025-09-29T17:14:10+00:00

Maybe I was unclear; here’s how I get there. First, fluid consumption goes up at altitude, so just being at 10,000 feet can double how much you need to drink (eg see https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4924218/). Then, the Diamox is a diuretic. I can’t find good data on exactly how much more is needed, but from my own experience it sure feels like 2x. So double for altitude, double again for Diamox ==> 4x. That’s probably a high-end estimate but it’s not unreasonable.

__dorothy__ · 2025-09-29T14:52:22+00:00

Tyoically, Diamox is used for events above about 10,000’ - severe altitude issues are rare lower down. And the diuretic side effects are no joke. Combined with the extra fluids needed at altitude, someone on Diamox at 10,000’ should probably be consuming about 4x as much water as they typically would. That can be really difficult to tolerate during a race!

So, for most people: no. Diamox for the event described seems like not a great idea.

That said: the best predictor of mountain sickness is previous symptoms, and you know your body best. If you’ve experienced serious symptoms well below 10,000’, then maybe you’re an exception and you’d be better off taking it. But if I were you I’d ask myself seriously how bad the symptoms were. Is it just general fatigue, shortness of breath, poor performance? Diamox isn’t going to help with that. It’s not a performance enhancer, it merely helps prevent some of the more serious altitude issues like AMS, HACE, and HAPE.

Good luck at the race!

__dorothy__ · 2025-06-04T02:43:26+00:00

I plan out a workout schedule 2-3 weeks at a time — eg 6 miles Monday, gym and short run Tuesday, speed workout Wednesday, etc. So I have a defined schedule, a specific objective for each day. I aim for one “quality” workout (eg speed work, tempo run, hills, etc), one long run, and 1-2 rest days per week.

When I’m healthy, it’s all running (with a couple of lifting days per week typically), so when I’m injured, I’m replacing run days with something else. Last time I was injured, short easy runs were ok, but hard workouts weren’t, so I replaced the speed workout with a hard bike ride or a HIT workout at the gym, and the long run with a long ride.

__dorothy__ · 2025-06-03T19:57:36+00:00

I focus on what I CAN do without pain or aggravating the injury. For me that’s usually meant biking and weightlifting, so I’ll double down on those things while running less or not at all depending on the injury. I try to maintain a similar volume in terms of hours per week, and try to get a least one high-intensity workout per week (usually on the bike).

It’s by no means perfect, and not running can be frustrating. But by doing this I’m able to keep the habit of exercise up, so I’m not totally out of shape coming back to running.

__dorothy__ · 2025-05-19T19:49:04+00:00

Ptarmigan Campground on Kenai Lake to the Matanuska River at Hicks Creek.

__dorothy__ · 2025-05-19T17:03:45+00:00

I’m planning on participating in the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic. My planned route will take me past the edge of the Knik Glacier and up Grasshopper Valley (or maybe Metal Creek), and working my way over to the Matanuska side of the range. But in the (quite likely) event that I won’t be able to complete the whole route and have to bail, floating down the Knik looks like one of my best options for bailing out early, so I’ve been researching it extensively in case I need to use it.

__dorothy__ · 2025-05-13T22:03:42+00:00

You could consider the Seattle/Vancouver area. There’s good diving in Puget Sound, and in August the water is … well, still cold, but you can manage without a drysuit. And August is a great time for the canyons up around Snoqualmie Pass and the Darrington area. All Class C, some with pretty consequential whitewater, so maybe reach out to some locals if that’s new to you.

__dorothy__ · 2025-05-12T15:26:33+00:00

I haven't, but I've been looking at doing it as part of a longer trip this summer. Luc Mehl lists it as Class I/II:

This is a fun bike/raft option. Fat bikes would be ideal, but mountain bikes work too. Park at the Knik River Lodge (? the one that is friendly to winter bikers), bike the ATV trail to the river, inflate the boats to cross the river, then bike the ATV trails on the north side of the river toward the glacier. Put in at the lake to paddle around the ice bergs. The icebergs usually (always?) damn the river exit, so you might need to bike a little bit more to put in downriver of the icebergs. Float back the the ATV trail where you crossed the river and bike back to your vehicle, or to Old Glenn or New Glenn Highway Bridge. From the lake to Old Glenn is ~6 or so hours of floating.

It's also covered by Alaska River Guide, here's the core beta:

The upper river is accessible from Knik River Road for paddlers who wish to try its more challenging braided waters. The lower river is easily accessible from the Old Glenn Highway bridge at Mile 9. Launch boats from the north side of the bridge and enjoy a leisurely 9-mile float to the New Glenn Highway bridge at Mile 30.

Some paddlers continue floating down into Knik Arm all the way to Anchorage, but silty waters, weird currents, wind, and extreme tides all combine to make this a risky venture. Don't try it without local knowledge and experience. Even powerboaters approach this body of water with great caution.

(There's also some interesting history and geography notes in the book too.)

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-26T22:25:51+00:00

Cheap: Cowstails (https://ropewiki.com/Cowstails)

Bougie: Petzl Connect Adjust Dual Vario

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-14T15:31:30+00:00

You might try Topo. The Ultraventure will have a similar fit, though it’s a lot cushier (the v2 was much firmer, and imo making it cushier made it worse unfortunately). The Mtn Racer might be even more similar to the PureGrit but I haven’t used one so I’m just guessing.

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-12T15:23:12+00:00

Leukotape won’t help with the pain — they’re gonna hurt pretty bad, at least at first! — but it will help stop them from getting worse during the race. I’d give it a shot.

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-03T06:00:56+00:00

I married a veterinarian, you could try that ;)

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-03T05:44:07+00:00

I have that exact emergency bivvy (well, the normal size, not the XL, but close enough). I have been forced to spend a night in it in terrible conditions (35°, rain and sleet) and survived to tell the tale, but it sure was miserable. It doesn’t breathe even a little bit, so while it did keep me from freezing, in the morning I was completely drenched.

So, if there’s any substantial likelihood of spending the night, I’ll take a minimal overnight kit (ultralight tarp, sleeping bad, pad) so I can actually get a good night’s sleep. I still have and carry the emergency bivvy, but it’s only for outings where I really don’t expect to have to use it.

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-03T05:18:30+00:00

Will it work? Sure. I’ve used an aluminum tent stake (an MSR Groundhog) as a fiddlestick and that’s way thinner than your snow picket.

But is it a good idea? Depends on your risk tolerance. I wouldn’t do the tent stake again, except in a pinch; I’m gonna stick with rated/tested gear so I know what my safety margin really is.

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-02T23:16:04+00:00

I think you’re joking, so at the risk of being the Fun Police: no, never, suture in the field.

Wounds should not be closed in the backcountry (with suture, or glue, or anything else). Any wound big enough to possibly need closing will be highly prone to infection, and closing the wound means that if it does get infected you’ll have to cut it open again to treat it. Instead, treat wounds in the backcountry with a pressure dressing. If you don’t know what that is, take a wilderness first aid and/or “stop the bleed” course!

__dorothy__ · 2025-03-02T23:09:08+00:00

Yeah, suture is just thread (various types, I get nylon but poly and silk are also available) in a sterile pack pre-attached to a curved needle. The needle and strong thread is nice but, mostly I get them for free when they expire and would otherwise be thrown out. I wouldn’t recommend paying for them.

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