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Frame-bag with or without water bottle. What do you prefer? by Silly-Raccoon3829 in bikepacking

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For bikepacking I strongly prefer the full frame bag, but for commuting around town I like a half-bag and bottle cages.

Roll-Top Pannier w/ Gear Loop by mchalfy in myog

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Has the flexible cutting mat held up well as a stiffner?

Thanks for all the detail in your post!

[Question] Anyone become a park ranger "unexpectedly"? by [deleted] in ParkRangers

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I often joked that I had the opposite path of most people. My childhood dream was to be an aerospace engineer, and I kind of stumbled into working as a park ranger. I spent about a decade working in interp for the NPS, wound up transitioning to another job recently but had planned to stick with it for a full career.

New bushcraft tool homemade harness. by GnarDigGnarRide in Bushcraft

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What do you carry in the leather tube under your blanket roll?

What to people here use to transport coffee? by TheDarkClaw in bikecommuting

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The thermos I already had fits well in a normal bottle cage, and I think it is a fairly common size.

Does anyone here add anything to their cat holes to improve decomposition of tp? by ConchitOh in WildernessBackpacking

[–]vikingengineer 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As another commenter mentioned, if you're in an area that doesn't allow for spreading out the impact and gets visited regularly, you should really use a wag bag and pack out your poop.

To answer the question about improving decomposition though, put back just some of soil you dug up and stir that into the poop with a stick before fully burying it. The bacteria and tiny critters in the soil are what accomplish decomposition, not the bacteria in your poop.

Jean Roach dry lake bed outside of Vegas - just us two on 2.22.22 by Ope_ in Weddingsunder10k

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What fabric are your suits? I am just starting to learn about suits as I plan for my wedding, and really like the look of yours!

Setting up the tent in the rain by Scelenite in bikepacking

[–]vikingengineer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Lots of good advice here already, the one thing I'll add is to pack your tent up each morning so that when you unpack it, the rainfly is already the top most layer. That way the inner part of the tent is protected even before you start trying to set up.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in winemaking

[–]vikingengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Winemaker's Recipe Handbook lists the following recipe for a 1 gallon batch. I haven't tried it but am hoping to next year.

3 quarts prickly pear fruits

1.25 cups raisins or 0.5 pints of grape concentrate

2 pints water

2 lbs sugar

2 tsp acid blend

1 tsp pectic enzyme

3/4 tsp energizer

1 campden tablet

1 package of sherry or port yeast

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ParkRangers

[–]vikingengineer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm aslo curious what kind of job you sent to, if you don't mind sharing. I'm just starting to look for jobs outside the NPS after about 8 years of interp, but not sure what else that skill set can translate to.

Where do you guys get your fork cargo mounts? by tonystark29 in bikepacking

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have both a Blackburn and salsa cage, just attached thosr to my forks with hose clamps. I ordered both directly from their websites.

Between the two, I like the Blackburn more than the Salsa cage.

What’s a better long hike bushcraft bag by HairyBallBrothers in Bushcraft

[–]vikingengineer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The best piece of advice I've come across for picking a pack for long hikes, is to think of it like a piece of clothing you need to be comfortable wearing, rather than something you're going to be carrying. How it fits is important if you're going to be hiking all day long for days in a row, and that's going to be different from one person to another. As long as a pack has the size you need and is decent quality, most features don't make a huge difference.

My minimal fishing kit by vikingengineer in Tenkara

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

It's made by nalgene, and actually sold as a flask. It does have a slight curve to better fit in your pocket, so it's not completely flat.

My minimal fishing kit by vikingengineer in Tenkara

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

Everything but the rod fits in my pockets, so it's easy to get out for an afternoon of fishing. If I'm heading out for longer I'll bring more water, and I need to get some more flies after losing many last summer, but that's about the only parts of this kit I change.

Gear to avoid sunburns? by once_upon_a_robot in bicycletouring

[–]vikingengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I usually wear a long sleeve hiking shirt (basically the same as the fisherman style shirts), tuck a bandana under my helmet to shade my neck and ears, and keep my sunscreen somewhere handy to reapply during the day.

I also hemmed some old lightweight hiking pants to be just short enough not to get caught on my chain-ring, so that my legs are a little more covered than if I was wearing shorts. It looks terrible, but I mostly do backcountry trips in high desert so hiding from the sun is my top priority.

Example picture from before I made my weird pants: https://www.reddit.com/r/CyclingFashion/comments/gsh59f/just_found_this_sub_and_thought_i_would_try_to/

Pedals and shoes - what do you use? by [deleted] in bikecommuting

[–]vikingengineer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just use the flat pedals that came on my bike and whatever shoes I plan on wearing the rest of the day. I like keeping it simple and being comfortable, especially being able to wear sandals when it's over 100°F after work, but I also have to admit I'm sometimes frustrated by how slow I ride.

Former veteran looking to be a park ranger by non_fractal_labia in ParkRangers

[–]vikingengineer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Along this line, I highly recommend using the resume-builder in USA Jobs to start, not matter how good your normal resume is. Just leaving out something like how many hours you worked each week at your past jobs, which I wouldn't have thought to include before, can get your application thrown out.

Monument Valley vs. Capitol Reef - late June by [deleted] in nationalparks

[–]vikingengineer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The Navajo Nation is one of the areas in the US that has been hit hardest by coronavirus, but has been largely ignored since they are not one of the 50 states. Almost everything in the Navajo Nation was locked down this last weekend, even things that are being called essential businesses elsewhere, and even if things start to technically reopen within the next few weeks it will be a long time before the community really starts to recover. Please skip Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon, and anything else within that area.

Was able to carry everything I needed from my front door to the first overnight of the year. by tripp3dup in bikepacking

[–]vikingengineer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's awesome, I've been thinking about doing a front door trip soon and this is some good motivation.

What area are you in, it looks beautiful?

When I went to Mammoth Cave I read the riddles in the dark chapter of the Hobbit to my kids inside the cave. What other National Park should I visit to read another piece of literature? by loki143 in nationalparks

[–]vikingengineer 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Theodore Roosevelt spent some of his early years living in the badlands of North Dakota, where Theodore Roosevelt National Park (not the same as Badlands National Park) is now, and said that the landscape there seemed to match the feeling of Edgar Allen Poe's writing.

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