4th Annual Gathering of Gear Geeks 2012: Henry Coe State Park

[Rick Horne]

Mathew posted:

"This gives me an idea for the next GGG.
It was really nice on the last day walking with Kat P. and her showing us about the living Cambium of the trees and how the living and dead parts of the Manzanita are so well defined compared to other trees.
So how about a nature hike next time with Kat and others that are versed in such things.
I was also wondering whThis gives me an idea for the next GGG.
It was really nice on the last day walking with Kat P. and her showing us about the living Cambium of the trees and how the living and dead parts of the Manzanita are so well defined compared to other trees.
So how about a nature hike next time with Kat and others that are versed in such things.
I was also wondering what all the other species of trees and plants were around. I think i spotted some spanish moss down around poverty flat. There were several types of Oaks.
It would also be interesting to know the uses of some native plants and which ones are edible.
at all the other species of trees and plants were around. I think i spotted some spanish moss down around poverty flat. There were several types of Oaks.
It would also be interesting to know the uses of some native plants and which ones are edible."

I 2nd this suggestion. I was looking forward to Kat giving a talk. I got so involved in socializing I forgot all about the planned presentations.

[Bob Gross]

"Did not miss you being there Bob."

Well, I've been working each day for about the last week now.

–B.G.–

[Chris S]

Wow, that golden surprise looks pretty good. Maybe I shouldn't have slept in.

[Marc Eldridge]

Had a great time. Thanks to all who made this possible.

[James Winstead]

I had such a great time again this year. Huge thanks go out to both Kens for getting this together again. It was awesome to see familiar faces and meet new ones. PM's and emails will be flying out shortly about hopefully getting together for some trips. Its so great to be part of a community that can do things like this!

Just a few photos from me, I left out ones of tents and such, others covered that better than I.

Tony, Jeremy and Justin down at China Hole

Cool Rocks

Cool Ruined Shack

Good company for a fun side hike!

Cool looking trees… I think this one is a Madrone.

I'm a nerd, fun with new stove!

Cameron gets points for coolest pack liner

Morgan reposes

Around the fire

Actual hiking

Thanks All!

edit: fixed photo link

[Ken Thompson]

I'm already jonesing for next time. Keep the pictures coming. I know I saw more than 4 cameras there.

[Douglas Wolf]

Greg G might have traveled just as far or farther to be here (haven't measured the air distance from Atlanta vs. DC). Not important – I had a great time and many many thanks are due:

Matt B for the amazingly generous loan of his car in spite of having to sit this one out.

James W for the driving and being a constantly amiable traveling companion. Also, I owe my introduction to In-N-Out Burger to you.

Eric B, SaraBeth, and their non-lightweight friend, whose name escapes me, for spirited company on the hike in, and throughout the weekend. I hope we have the opportunity to coordinate wardrobes again!

Jay W for being a welcoming personage late Friday evening as we rolled into camp. Being my first time to a GGG, the impression you made was immensely important.

Diana V for engaging and instructional conversation. I hope you continue to have amazing adventures and bring back stories to whet the appetites.

Ken H for punk-rock fervor and DIY attitude. I treasured the opportunity to talk about music and bands with you.

Ken T for putting it all and holding it all together. Not familiar with possible alternatives but Coe was a great choice – my first time visiting and hope not the last.

Tony W for being a mischievous fire-stoking, soul-capturing presence throughout

Cameron for the side-splitting perfectly timed off-beat asides and swell home-brew

Jeremy P for informative conversation about trip planning in CA and west coast brews

The "real Jack" for his trip recollections with a TarpTent Moment (I think?) in snow conditions we rarely see on the east coast

Russ from Trail Designs for the demo of the micro-saw, and general perceptiveness in regards to real-world usage of the Caldera Cones.

Kat P for the hand-made knit hats, much too good to take backpacking?

Matthew "Ice-Axe" – because I'll never look at dog food in the same way again.

[Ken Thompson]

So nobody else had a good time or a camera?

There has to be more photos. No good stories?

[Miguel Arboleda]

What an absolutely delightful glimpse of what looks to have been a wonderful event! I loved looking at everyone's faces and what you were all doing. And I found the difference in points of view of the photos interesting, too. Real joy to look at.

[Franco Darioli]

Hi Tony and co
Great report..
The BD in pic 21 I think is a Firstlight and the GolIte in 24 is a Shangri La 1.
Franco

[Rick Horne]

It looks like Tony finished adding pictures.
Another awesome job of chronicling the flow of events at the GGG.
Thanks Tony!

[Diana Vann]

@ Tony

What an amazing photo essay. I'm one of the folks who did not bring a camera, and all of the work you put into this thread is greatly appreciated.

Under one of the photos you asked the following question:

Photo #26
Diana Installing a Bug Shelter Under Her Cuben TrailStar
(Who makes the bug shelter and what is the model/name?)

Over the weekend, I was actually trying out two bug shelters that I'd purchased (essentially new) on gear swap. The one pictured is a Bearpaw pyraNet. It's the extended length, customized with 10 inch silnylon added to the sides. A photo of it pitched alone (so the details are more visible) can be found on
this BPL thread , starting at the third post from the top.

I also tried out a
Mountain Laurel Designs SOLO InnerNet .

Of the two shelters (on this first attempt at using them), the SOLO InnerNet seemed to work better. The extended Bearpaw shelter may have been a bit too large for me (it's made for a much taller person), but I'm going to try to figure out how to pitch it more effectively before I make a final decision about whether or not to keep it.

I'm also considering one of the custom bug shelters made especially for the TrailStar.

I haven't yet put the TrailStar to a good test, but my first experience with it was definitely a positive one.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Great photos! Thanks to Tony for documenting things so well. Pretty danged impressive that you can recognize so many shelters just by eye.

Lots of fun — and SO much gear. I needed to clone myself (a couple of times) in order to take it all in.

Photo #11 is definitely a Ti-Tri Caldera Cone Sidewinder. I'm not sure if that's the 1300ml Evernew one I brought or the 900ml one that Doug Wolf brought. I think that's Doug's.

This photo:

Says that the person depicted is Russ from Trail Designs. Actually, that's Lee from Trail Designs. Russ was there and is in some of the other photos, but that particular photo is of Lee.

Thanks to everyone who came by my pyro-pile o' stoves. :( Embarrassing how many stoves I brought, sheesh.

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[Ken Helwig]

ahhhhh nice photos of me Tony :)

FWIW on the first page that is my GG Spinntwinn with a Bearpaw bug net.

Tony thank you for taking the time to do a photo essay… I know it is time consuming. Each year you have come through in aces!

Ken T. Great job! I had a blast. I really enjoyed meeting some new faces and seeing many old ones too. Next year will be even better.

Someone suggested that more cottage gear manufacturers be contacted about this event. I reached out to 10 or so vendors and only two could make it. Some cannot due to travel restrictions and time constraints. Others just did not reply to my personal emails. Anyhooo, I will try again next year!

[Tony Wong]

@Ken

Let me know if you want the "special" photos of you removed, but at the time, you were pretty insistant that I post them in the photo essay. :)

Thanks for reaching out to the manufactures.

Maybe you want to email them next time with a link to the photo essay.

I maded a point to give photo coverage to those who made the effort to come out to the GGG and include links to their products and websites.

@Jim

Thanks for the info and correction on Lee's name!

Making that correction now…ASAP.

As for how many stoves you have- your passion is our benefit. People really enjoyed your collection and the ability to see them hands on.

I very much appreciated your showing me your Soto canister stove and then being able ot fire it up to see the flame pattern of dispersion.

Face it….you are a great resource for the rest of us to learn from!

@ Everyone else,

Thank you for your posting and PMs to provide me with additional information on your gear so that I can clean up/correct the captions for the photos. I did my best to search quickly online to try to ID the shelters in the photos.

You are all going to make me look smarter and more knoweledgeable when this is done. :)

Also, really loved seeing other people post up their own photos because there were a lot nicer cameras out there than my little pocket camera. And to get your visual perspectives on the event adds to the story telling.

If someone would like to do the photo essay next year, happy to let someone else have a go at it.

-Tony

[Ken Helwig]

No removing the photos…warts and all!

[Angus A.]

I truly enjoyed everyone's pictures and wished that I had a chance to attend this event. I hope that I can join in on the next event.

[Hikin’ Jim]

As for how many stoves you have- your passion is our benefit. People really enjoyed your collection and the ability to see them hands on.

I very much appreciated your showing me your Soto canister stove and then being able ot fire it up to see the flame pattern of dispersion.

Face it….you are a great resource for the rest of us to learn from!

Thank you for saying that. I know I really like seeing gear "in person" and that there's no substitute for holding a piece of gear in your own hands and seeing the gear in use. I try to make my blog as close to seeing the gear in actual use as I can.

Hopefully I didn't take too much room up from those people who weren't geeking out on the stoves.

Great gathering, and a big thank you to all who attended and who made it possible!

HJ
Adventures In Stoving

[Linda Vassallo]

What a great gathering and event! Thank you everyone for posting your photos. A very thorough report and photo log Tony. Great job as always. I like the included links to the gear websites. I do indeed regret that I could not attend this year but plan to attend next year.
-Linda

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