Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Drybags Within and Without


Speaking of river gear, “Tiger” has an interesting post about compression bags on his Pray-for-Rain blog. I'll have to try one. I've been using Outdoor Research HydroSeal pack sacks inside a drybag for double protection. Over the years I've settled on two types of drybags: the red Watershed Colorado zip duffle (if sealed properly it's the only one that keeps your stuff dry during a wrap) and the green SealLine Boundary Pack (it's the only one that has straps comfortable enough for a 3 mile pack-in).

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Verde, Arizona's only Wild and Scenic


I'd like to give a shout to my friend Brian Vogt, who wrote a great trip report of our spring 2009 journey down the Verde river in Arizona. The water was that color, a pleasant change in the desert southwest. Brian did not include this picture, which I think epitomizes the Verde: beautiful wilderness scenery, mostly class 2 moving water, never boring. Brian's writeup is at his RiverLog Blog near the top.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Dehydrated Beer

REI does not sell dehydrated beer. This is why I hate shopping. You know what you want, you go into a store, and they don't have it. So I thought about the next best thing: dehydrated margaritas. Stores don't have that either. Amazon.com to the rescue! BarTender's makes a margarita mix that is OK when mixed with tequila. It's not as good as a real margarita, but when you're backpacking, it's a lot easier to carry.