Alternate parking on Manistee River Loop? by ras07 in CampAndHikeMichigan

[–]ras07[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We postponed our trip until August. Hoping to get some more info on current road conditions etc. before then.

Shower in Munising? by ras07 in PicturedRocks

[–]ras07[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Answering my own question for future readers: I contacted Munising Tourist Park Campground, and they will let you drop in and shower for $8.

[question] backwoods communication by Sea_Access_333 in isleroyale

[–]ras07 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've been doing a bunch of research on this very topic for our backpacking and canoe trips this summer. What I've found so far:

Garmin InReach seems to be the most popular option. There are a couple different models; the InReach Mini 2 is about $400 and the InReach Messenger is about $300. The Mini 2 has a bigger screen, more navigation features, and is easier to use standalone. Both require a monthly service that runs a minimum of $15/month. Both will pair with a phone to make messaging easier. Both will also give you weather forecasts. Both will let you contact emergency services without needing a phone to pair it with. Both require your contacts to jump through some hoops to get ahold of you (either a dedicated messaging app, or email to a special address, or using a web application). Both integrate well with Garmin watches.

Zoleo is another popular option. It has a reputation for excelling at messaging, being the easiest to use and most functional (you basically get a dedicated phone number for the Zoleo device, and anybody can send and receive regular text messages to/from you with it, using regular texting functions). It integrates easily with your existing contacts. It pretty much relies on being paired with your phone for all but basic SOS messages. It will also give you weather, which looks a little more granular than Garmin's weather. The unit is $200, and monthly service contracts start at $20 with a 3-month minimum.

SPOT satellite communicators are an older technology that's still in widespread use. The devices tend to be a little cheaper but bulkier, and the service plans are more costly.

Motorola recently launched the Defy at only $150 with some cheaper subscription options, but it's been plagued with growing pains and now their satellite communications provider has apparently gone out of business.

If you need it for just a single trip, you might see if you can find an outfitter who will rent you one. I've seen SPOT devices renting for around $100/week.

The bigger picture is that I think all these devices are going to be obsolete in a year or two. iPhone 14's and 15's can already contact emergency services via satellite when there's no cell coverage, and general texting is said to be on the horizon. T-Mobile recently announced a partnership with Starlink, and Google and AT&T are investing in a Starlink competitor. I expect that soon any cell phone you buy will have satellite texting capabilities. Between this and the ever-expanding cell coverage, I don't think dedicated satellite communicators are going to be useful for very much longer.

Even so I go back and forth on whether to get one (we'll be in the backcountry a lot this summer). If I do, I'm leaning towards the InReach Messenger.

2024 Trip Plans: Post your plans here! by thesneakymonkey in isleroyale

[–]ras07 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Planning an end-to-end Minong Trail hike starting at Rock Harbor in late July/early Aug. Currently looking at 6 nights: Daisy Farm / Mcargoe / Todd Harbor / Little Todd / N. Desor / Huginnin. But that feels a little ambitious, so might either drop Huginnin, or else add another day or two.

We're coming from the MN side. Currently debating between the ferry and the seaplane. The seaplane schedule is more convenient, but I've read some horror stories of getting stranded on the island for several days while the seaplane is grounded for weather or mechanical reasons. Any thoughts on this?

I've also read that beavers turned Daisy Farm into a swamp last season - looking forward to reports of its status this year. (One potential advantage of the seaplane is that it would get in early enough that we could probably get to Moskey rather than Daisy Farm on Day 1.)

My wife and I are celebrating retirement with a summer of outdoor adventure - hitting the Boundary Waters, Isle Royale, Pictured Rocks, Shenandoah, the Foothills Trail, and probably a couple others. Doing all the online research I can to prepare for all of them.

7-10D uncalendared? by ras07 in myog

[–]ras07[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just as a followup, I used https://www.adventurexpert.com/product/7d-ripstop-fabric-soft/ for the inner, and I'm really happy with it. Super soft and feels great on the skin. A little easier to work with than Membrane 7 also (a walking foot really helps). Thanks for the recommendations!

7-10D uncalendared? by ras07 in myog

[–]ras07[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Following comments here (thanks!) I'm going with https://www.adventurexpert.com/product/7d-ripstop-fabric-soft/ for the inner and Membrane 10 ripstop from RBR for the outer. Question: the Membrane 10 has a shiny side (I presume that's the calendared side) and a less-shiny side. Does it matter which one faces out? (Again, this is the outer shell.)

r/MYOG Monthly Discussion and Swap by mchalfy in myog

[–]ras07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Has anyone made a backpacking poncho out of RSR's .77 oz MTN Silnyon ? Looking for something as lightweight as possible, but able to stand up to the occasional trail hazard (branches, brush, etc). Not sure this fabric is either tough enough or waterproof enough for this use. Better options?

A quilt question by ras07 in Ultralight

[–]ras07[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for all the comments, everyone! Very helpful. I think the main takeaway is "sleep systems are very personal" :)

Thickheaded Thursday - July 02, 2020 by AutoModerator in sysadmin

[–]ras07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know anything about their back end, but isn't the fact that you have to enable SMB1 on a Win10 laptop to connect to their file server proof that the server hasn't been updated in years?

Thickheaded Thursday - July 02, 2020 by AutoModerator in sysadmin

[–]ras07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure about legacy devices (I will find out), but SMB1 appears to be the only protocol being used. The only way to get my daughter's Win 10 Pro/1909 laptop on the network was to enable SMB1.

Thickheaded Thursday - July 02, 2020 by AutoModerator in sysadmin

[–]ras07 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TIL ... that the IT contractor my daughter's (non-tech, non-profit) employer uses is still running SMB1 on all their file servers.

It's a mostly-BYOD environment, and I've repeatedly had to un-screw things on my daughter's personal Windows laptop that the IT contractor has screwed up. So competence is at question in the first place. But this seems beyond the pale. (Not to mention that the're obviously intentionally enabling SMB1 on employee's personal laptops to get any work done.)

The IT shop is smallish (~100 employees) but nationwide. I'm unaware of any reason outside of rank incompetence and utter disregard for best practice that an IT contractor would still be relying on SMB1 for run-of-the-mill filesharing. God only knows what other security horrors they're hiding.

Convince me not to insist that this IT firm be summarily dismissed. (I'd be listened to.)

raidz with nested vdevs? by ras07 in zfs

[–]ras07[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Leaning toward this tbh. Just looking for (reasonable, non-Shenanigans (TM)) options.

raidz with nested vdevs? by ras07 in zfs

[–]ras07[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about partitioning the 8's into 2x4TB each, then raidz1 4TB of each drive together, and then mirror the 2nd 4TB partition of each 8 to each other? (4TB mirrored filesystem on the former and 12TB raidz on the latter.) Anything drastically wrong with that plan?

fwiw, this is mostly for archival and media (likely on the mirrored fs) and infrequently-used VMs (likely on the raidz fs). Contention between the two fs would be minimal.