PS NorCal GGG 2022 April 15-16-17

[David Gardner]

GTG?

[R L]

Get ToGether

[Bud]

Dave volunteered me to write up a trip report :). I only stayed the first night, but I took some photos and notes I thought I’d share.

Beautiful hike in. Never been here before and was pleasantly surprised!

I tested out my SMD Deschutes tarp + net tent that I plan to bring on a section of the PCT this year.

It rained, so it was a good test. Lots of splatter in the vestibule, I should have pitched it lower. I wish it was bigger. I think I’ll just bring a bivy next time so I can put the pack on the other side. The nettent is all over my face anyway, so I might as well just be in a bivy. But I was dry. Dry is good.

I’ll try pitching it lower next time, lol. I’m 6’4” tall so honestly it’s small for me. I guess being tall means more weight and fewer options when it comes to backpacking gear. But I don’t want to spend any more on gear this year, since I hear I’ll need to buy like 100 pairs of Lone Peaks for the PCT. I digress.

Here are some of the other shelters that were on display:

The Durston X-Mid is a pretty cool shelter, glad I was able to see it in person. Great coverage, love the headroom and the square stake design. Sorry that I only have a close up of your dirty vestibute Dave :). If I knew anything about hammock camping I would say something positive about that setup.

The campsite was really nice! Lots of tables and room to socialize.

I caught Rex’s battery display before I hiked out. I listened to Rex’s battery podcast, so it was nice to be able to chat with Rex in person about his testing.

I’ll close with some fun conversations and stories that I remembered to take note of:

• I learned what a “PCT yoyo” was (NOBO + SOBO same year), that Scott Williams did it, and that he is a nice guy.
• Rex said Zanfel works well for treating poison ivy.
• Dave told me about how to use a moulder strip to help isobutane canisters function in lower temps.
• Manfred got asked for a fishing license on the JMT once, lol. I didn’t even know there were licenses for fishing in the high Sierra.
• Apparently a cache was raided by a bear once, I forget where and who was on the trip. Further down the trail, there was a bunch of bear scat with Mountain House bags that survived bear bag digestion, and apparently they were promptly eaten, or so the story goes. No comment.
• Rex told us the first time he had a microwave baked potato after a multi-leg bus trip. The marvels of technology.
• Manfred told us about his crazy fire evacuation story in the Sierras last year. Too many details to write here, but it’s a fun story.
• We all talked about the changing Sierras and needing to start hiking season earlier to avoid fires.
• We talked about how cool it would be to have a way to see a lot of different tents together to see how they would compare and how your body would fit. I discussed overly complex software ideas (3D rendering of tents) and non-software ideas (a store?). Apparently GGG used to be a much bigger even and the shelter tour would let you see dozens of different tents. Then Rex told us about fitmytent.com, which sort of accomplishes this for a subset of tents on the market. Pretty neat.
• Whenever Rex was telling a story, he would always say “and that’s another story” at least 5 times. I love it – infinite story recursion.
• We talked about California housing policy (mostly prop 13 and it’s implications). As a California renter, I was depressed and immediately moved to Texas the day I got back.
• There are large underwater sand dunes (the “Potato Patch”) near Golden Gate Bridge. They cause choppy waters there.
• There were many jokes I didn’t understand at all. I was clearly outmatched by others’ wilderness experience and wit.

Overall, I had a great time! A fun group of people, endless stories and advice, and a lovely campsite. Looking forward to next year!

[Manfred]

Bud, nice meeting you at GGG. Have fun on the PCT!

[David Gardner]

Hey Bud, thanks for the pictures and report. Dirty vestibule? Of my Pocket Tarp? That’s the floor! But yeah, lower would have been better for me too.

Those post-bear packets of freeze-dried food were eaten, after a lot of deliberation, cleaning, and inspection to verify which ones had not been punctured in the through-bear process. They were out of food when they got to the cache, and the next cache was more than two weeks away, so their options were quite limited. As in, live or die. Shoulda used Bearikade.

I’d love to see someone develop a software & hardware combo that would allow you to select pre-loaded shelters, or enter in any set of dimensions you choose, and project them holographically so that you could sit, lie down, spread your gear, etc. “inside” the tent to see how it works for you. Even cooler would be if it could project two different tents in different colors, so you could truly see how they compare. It could even have a special “after rain or condensation” sag setting for silnylon shelters :-)

Let me know when you’re ready to yoyo the PCT!

[Ethan A.]

Thank you Bud, Manfred, David and Rex for sharing your photos and trip reports. Brings back a lot of great memories of both people and Coe. The best part of a GGG is meeting everyone. Second to that walking around to see everyone’s shelters and sleep systems and sometimes try on packs was a great way to “demo” and compare a lot of gear all at once. I may reach out to some E Coast folks while I’m our here to get a gathering together : )

[Bud]

Not sure if Rex is watching this thread, but I cannot remember the name of the service that lets you text a phone number for wildfire activity within a 50 mile radius. Does anyone remember? This would be great to have later in the year.

[Rex Sanders]

http://trailinfo.org

765-553-4737

Works from smartphones and inReach. Don’t know about other satellite communicators.

— Rex

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

Wood stove burn-off for speed
Alcohol burn-offs for speed and efficiency
Esbit burn-offs for speed and efficiency
Canister stove burn-offs for speed and efficiency
“Filter-off” – total time to gather one liter of fresh water from a “pond” (bucket) and filter it
Fastest saw under 5 oz. to cut through a douglas fir 2×2
Lightest fishing reel
Lightest complete cook kits for alcohol, esbit, wood, and canister (stove, pot, lid, windscreen, fuel container, source of ignition, and stuff sack/container)
Lightest saw capable of cutting through a douglas fir 2×2 in less than 2 minutes
Lightest knife with at least a 1.5″ blade
Prizes to be awarded and cool stuff to be given away include:

What are the results of the contests???

[David Gardner]

Thanks Rick for destroying me in the wood Burn Off. A new bar was set and a new champion crowned. Enjoy your UL 3D printed fishing reel from Matthew K. We will meet again at the Grudge Death Match that I have scheduled for next year.

Not enough people with the required items to do most of the others, and we just generally laid back and enjoyed the company and being together outside after so long.

[Author]

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