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Ahh, whoops…Now people will forever know how I was feeling about potentially returning to the office someday. I don’t think there’s a way to edit a post?
Here’s the link I intended: https://www.backcountry.com/mountain-hardwear-kelvinator-jacket-womens
I’m pretty good at turning back, probably thanks to coming from a long line of anxious people, although sometimes turning back brings its own problems that can make it hard decision. I find myself thinking I probably already used up my all good luck surviving some seriously risky behavior in my youth and that it would be pretty disappointing if my luck ran out now. I also do most of my trips solo, which lowers my risk tolerance. Most recent turnaround was at the top of Matterhorn Pass in winds so high it was hard to stand upright. Bummer to climb up, just to turn around and repeat the miles I’d just done, but the risk just didn’t seem worth it (and I don’t really relish type 3 fun these days)…
Nice write up. I’m curious about that spot in the picture, the steep grassy slope going down to the ocean. Is that the Thumb north of Lincoln City?
Luke (or anyone else) can you get a good look at Matanuska Glacier from the road or does it require a hike? I’m working out my itinerary now and I won’t have a lot of extra time on Glenn Highway, but if it’s recommended I might be able to squeeze in a power hike up Lion’s Head (which looks like a good bet for glacier viewing). Thanks!
Thanks for these tips! I’ve reserved a Jeep from Alaska 4×4 in Anchorage and I just landed a night at the Caribou Creek cabin off Nebesna Rd in Wrangell-St Elias. I’m still not sure how many extra nights I’m adding onto the trip but plan to do the loop with Glenn, Denali, and Parks hwys. There are many hikes that look excellent and will only be able to do a small handful. I’m debating going up Hatcher Pass, considering overshooting a bit on Richardson to hike to Gulkana glacier, and wondering if I should go into Denali (with my limited time is it worth the mess of shuttle bus or save that for another trip?).
Getting excited!
Thanks y’all. I’ll post again shortly before departure to get your take on current conditions. I’ve reserved a 4×4 for a few days and am looking forward to exploring some new-to-me places, mosquitoes be damned! (But I’ll have plenty of deet, head net, and permethrin treated clothes)…
You may want to reach out to a mountaineering club, depending on where you’re located. Mazamas – Portland area, Chemeketans – Salem, Obsidians – Eugene, Cascade Mountaineers – Bend. Not sure about the one in Bend, but the first three all offer intro to mountaineering courses, which would get you started building your scrambling and outdoor skillset even if you’re not interested in technical mountaineering. Good luck!
Good news! On a whim I ordered the capilene thermal hoodie in XS and it fits! I’m very small so I usually have to default to the smallest size offered (in this case, they make it in XXS) but for this layer I don’t want it to be skin tight and the XS seems about right. So I think I’m good.
For kicks, I also ordered the R1 hoodie. It’s sort of tempting to keep that as well for shoulder season trips where I might want a little more insulation than the capilene, but it feels kind of bulky and the zipper is annoying at the neck (how could they overlook a chin protector??). So I might keep an eye out for an alternative to that, ideally something with a less exorbitant price tag. Was also considering getting the R1 crew, which could possibly be paired with the capilene for added insulation. I’m thinking those two layers combined might end up at about the same weight as the hoodie, but ease of layering is a concern. First world problems…
@ewh100, I have a Air cap hoodie and love it, but the durability will be a major concern since most of my trips involve a decent bit of off trail travel. If I knew I’d always have something on top of it, it would be a good option, but this layer often is my outer layer in cool, but not cold, conditions. I also prefer having at least a partial zip so I can regulate my temp a bit.
I’ll check out some of these other ideas…
@pula58, it appears that’s a large men’s only brand and I am neither…
I carried a BV500 vertically in my Ohm for a 7 day trip last year and managed to make it comfortable. So the smaller of those two should probably be fine.
Thanks for the suggestions. I’m pretty intrigued by the idea of going to McCarthy, but it seems like it might require waiting until fairly last minute to know if anything is going to be open, so that might not work. I was in Seward briefly a few years ago but didn’t get to see very much since it was still early season. I’d love to go to a brand new place, but it would also be nice to check out some of the sights I didn’t get to see last time. Is Valdez itself worth a stop? How about the drive between Fairbanks and Valdez or Anchorage – worth it or better to fly? I’m sort of intrigued by the fact that Valdez isn’t a major tourist stop but perhaps there’s reason for that…I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed the ferrying I’ve done in AK so tempting to ferry from Valdez. Much to think about…
I have Vertex Diamondback 8 x 42 binoculars that I use for birding as my primary frame of reference. I also have super cheapo Alpen 10 x 25 monocular that’s pretty junky and never seems to be in focus. Something in between the two might be nice. I’m not looking to spend a lot of money (ideally under $100?) but don’t really have set cap…just curious what the options might be.
Primary purpose would be for viewing birds or wildlife when I’m backpacking, secondary purpose would be for scouting routes. Not looking for anything super powerful. Ideally I’d be looking to top out at ~2 oz (the Alpens are about 2.5) if such a thing exists, lighter is better, heavier might be a consideration for shorter trips when I’m not carrying a lot of weight.
(Btw, Philip, the kickers worked out great this weekend! Enjoyed a route I’ve done before without cursing through several miles of sustained climbing.)
I make a version of this, which can be tweaked depending on what kind of fruit/nut/coconut/chocolate mix you like. They can be crumbly but good, hearty, and nutritionally dense.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/breakfast-cookies-recipe
That’s good info re tires. It’s a bummer that about 1.5 years ago I got new tires and decided against the burlier ones because I was skeptical at the time tires could make much of a difference. Oh well. Fortunately in the PNW we have a lot of soil, so our roads here aren’t as bad as ones I’ve experienced in more arid parts of the west.
A few years ago I was backpacking solo in CO a bit off the beaten track to try and escape the crowds. I found a nice meadowy area to camp late afternoon, set up camp, and then killed an hour or two exploring the neighborhood. All day I’d been feeling on edge about mountain lions, given recent reports out of Oregon of a hiker killed by one – I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. My campsite was at the edge of a rocky cliffy area that felt like prime territory for a cougar to sit and watch for prey in my meadow below, but I was trying not to focus on that.
I ate dinner and as dusk fell I walked about 100 feet away to hang my ursack. Just after getting it hung, I turned around and saw just a few feet away a very fresh deer carcass, clearly killed by a mountain lion and neatly eaten. There was still blood pooling in the cavity and a couple fresh, uneaten organs.
I considered my options, which were to stay put in my camp or move to a different spot. Given it was getting close to dark, which is prime time for cougar activity, I opted not to move camp. I wasn’t thrilled with this decision, but also really didn’t like the idea of trying to quickly pack everything up in falling darkness, feeling like at any moment a cougar was going to pounce on me as I crouched down to roll up the tent. Given that cats are visual hunters, I decided to just get in the tent and stay there out of sight and hope for the best.
I was surprised that I actually got some sleep that night. When I woke up in the morning and emerged from the tent, I decided to quickly pack up and move on down the trail. I was partly packed up when three coyotes came down over the hill right next to my tent. They looked at me for a moment, then went along to the carcass, which was clearly their destination. They seemed pretty well occupied with it so I continued packing up. After a few minutes, though, one coyote came over and started to watch me. I decided it might be best to give them some space to enjoy their meal.
I grabbed my binoculars and walked a quarter mile up the valley and waited. It was fun to watch the coyotes munch the remains of the deer. Unlike the cougar, they pulled the thing completely apart, dragging limbs left and right. As they ate, crows and ravens flew in and sat in nearby trees waiting for their turn. After a while, once the coyotes had their fill, they moved on, letting the birds get whatever morsels remained. I headed back to pack up the rest of my camp. As I was finally leaving, one more coyote showed up, a little late the party. He checked out the carcass but by then there wasn’t anything left for him, and he kept moving.
When I got home I asked a wildlife biologist friend, who spent much of her career working in the Rockies, if I’d made the right choice to stay put. She said it probably would have been wise to move, because in her experience fresh kills can invite both territorial young male cougars as well as bears, and that a carcass is a hot commodity critters may be willing to fight over. That said, it still doesn’t feel like it would have been the safe move to be out messing with camp and trying to find a new place in the dark, but who knows. Since that trip, whenever I’m solo, I carry bear spray. It’s probably a waste of 6 oz but it gives me some peace of mind when it comes to a range of animals (or humans; I’m not actually worried about bears though). Although this summer I had an animal paw at my tent in the night, and though I had bear spray with me I was pretty sure it wouldn’t help me from inside a tent.
I do almost all of my backpacking solo, which has its rewards and drawbacks. The wildlife encounters I have tend to be both reward and drawback at the same time. I rarely see much wildlife when I’m with other people.
Thanks for everyone’s input. After months of debate and research I’ve decided to stick with the Forester for now. She’s still pretty young and it seems silly to pay a bunch of money now on something different. I’m going to invest in some racks to make transporting gear easier build a sleeping platform and call it good. In a few years when it’s time for a new car that’ll be the time to make a change, if I’m still looking for a change. Maybe by then there will be a new perfect option that burns zero gas and can get to even the burliest of trailheads.
Now to go kill some hours learning engineering on YouTube…
@philip-ak Sent you a PM…
Yes please, I’ll take a pair! Let me know how to connect with you to work out details. Thanks!
No pics, but had multiple bobcat sightings (my first), including some kittens, at a local wildlife refuge this summer. Not the first time, but ran into a rattlesnake in the Trinity Alps (which I enjoyed – I love snakes and rattlesnakes helpfully tend to warn you of their presence). My least favorite encounter was the mystery creature that pawed at my tent in the night in the Pasayten Wilderness. From my paddleboard on the Willamette River watched a mama merganser fight off a weasel that was going after her ducklings. Kit fox just the other day in Death Valley.
@davidinkenai As with everything in my life, I get the smallest size the thing comes and have to just deal with it being too big. Story of my very petite life. So going smaller probably isn’t an option, unless there are great kids’ size backcountry xc skis out there. Maybe I’ll just start adding bags of cat litter to my pack…
I do use a universal wax on tips and tails, but haven’t tried waxing the scales. Is there universal kick wax that doesn’t require a process to apply it?
@rossbleakney I just stumbled across this article, that’s pretty helpful. Curious if you have any thoughts on the skinny skin approach?
https://wenatcheeoutdoors.org/2020/02/12/skin-tips-for-climbing-skins/
Thanks all for the info…still absorbing.
@rossbleakney When you suggest kickers, I wonder if you could point me to any specific ones? The only thing I’ve found that I think clearly matches what you describe are the BD GlideLite kickers (https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/glidelite-mohair-mix-kicker-skins-BD163711_cfg.html), which as Jenny notes no longer seem to be available anywhere. In my googling, I haven’t found anything that appears to be similar to these, but I really have no idea what to be looking for. Thanks!Fun trip! How does the Sienna work for you as adventure mobile? Do you have the AWD version? I’ve been thinking about trading in the Subie Forester for a Sienna and getting it lifted a couple inches for ground clearance. Have been thinking of going with the 2WD version to save several thousand (or more) $ and just getting good tires, but I’m on the fence. What kind of build out did you?