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Post by cweston on Apr 24, 2021 7:55:20 GMT -8
Add me to the list--I dislike hoods for the same reason, never listen to anything other than nature (and the music in my head) while hiking.
I do like audio books in the car, though--I find that the best way to pass the time on long solo car trips. (Except when I get really caught up in it--it can be hard to concentrate on driving when you're sobbing, for example.) They can be good while doing routine housework, etc, too.
I always carry a book on solo trips: preferably something in relatively self-contained chapters, so I can read a little during a storm or in the evening, but not feel like I can't put it down, like I might with a conventional novel.
I usually don't bother carrying a book if I'm not solo. Especially in the summer when the days are long. Summer = early morning starts, so if I'm confined to the tent by an afternoon storm, I'm usually happy to just nap.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Apr 24, 2021 9:19:53 GMT -8
Another minor piece of gear I have been carrying is a tick puller: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BECRHEO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1Probably more of a Northeast thing. Unfortunately deer ticks are pretty common around here. They are small and light. From other sources as well as Amazon they are highly rated. I think maybe it is like taking an umbrella when it might rain then doesn't. I have yet to need them since carrying them. Getting a potential Lyme tick off you cleanly sooner than later is important. Possibly getting one off one of my nine years girls need to be fast and easy. I might also be able to get one off my scalp by touch with this during solo.
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Post by bradmacmt on Apr 24, 2021 10:54:09 GMT -8
nd I feel the same way about hoodies and especially the hood on my rain jacket, which is both blinders (preventing side vision) and a sound-muffler. Nice to hear someone else feels the same way. I genuinely dislike hoodies of any kind. I have one, but it was on sale
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Apr 24, 2021 12:44:45 GMT -8
nd I feel the same way about hoodies and especially the hood on my rain jacket, which is both blinders (preventing side vision) and a sound-muffler. Nice to hear someone else feels the same way. I genuinely dislike hoodies of any kind. I have one, but it was on sale Yeah, I have a hooded puffy for colder trips, but I only wear it when I've finished all my chores and can just sit and huddle with myself without needing to move my head. It's definitely warmer than a watch cap, but I don't like how it separates me from my surroundings.
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trinity
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Post by trinity on Apr 24, 2021 13:55:39 GMT -8
Now I feel I must speak up on behalf of the lowly hoodie. I absolutely love them as layering pieces, the amount of additional warmth they provide outweighs the small weight increase. I never go out in cooler temps without my Mountain Hardware Microchill Fleece Hoodie (one of the greatest layering pieces ever conceived) and my Patagonia Ultralite Down Hoodie. I don't put the hoods up unless I have to, and usually while lazing around camp, but they are invaluable to us old bald dudes. And though I don't particularly like impairing my hearing, I find that a hood pulled over a ballcap results in less impairment of hearing and vision than many other strategies. I am unapologetically pro-hoodie.
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Post by bradmacmt on Apr 24, 2021 14:13:00 GMT -8
I am unapologetically pro-hoodie. There is help available
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Apr 24, 2021 15:34:38 GMT -8
When a ballcap is added to two hoodies, does that complete the trinity?
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Post by cheaptentguy on Apr 24, 2021 16:27:57 GMT -8
Odd you mentioned hoodies. Normally I'm okay with them, but rarely wear them while hiking. Today was raining our entire hike, and the hood eventually felt like a nuisance since after a few hours I was more or less soaked through anyway, but was continuously having to move it to see or hear my buddy.
Camp is different though. Thoroughly enjoy them when just sitting around.
As for electronic media, I think the escape for many is more the routine day-to-day life stuff, not necessarily all of civilization. I enjoy listening about or reading topics that interest me while taking breaks. I have found that in general I'd much rather not listen to music while hiking despite loving music and wanting it on most other times. I'd just rather be in tune with the sounds and my surroundings. But I do enjoy a podcast from time to time since the voices don't tend to muffle the noises around you as much, though certainly the pods can muffle things a bit.
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trinity
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Post by trinity on Apr 24, 2021 17:15:22 GMT -8
When a ballcap is added to two hoodies, does that complete the trinity? I did not expect such sound, orthodox, Christian theology out of you, driftwoody . I am impressed.
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driftwoody
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Post by driftwoody on Apr 24, 2021 18:16:48 GMT -8
When a ballcap is added to two hoodies, does that complete the trinity? I did not expect such sound, orthodox, Christian theology out of you, driftwoody . I am impressed. More like smartass agnostic wordplay, but you never know -- this forum works in mysterious ways.
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trinity
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Post by trinity on Apr 24, 2021 18:31:09 GMT -8
More like smartass agnostic wordplay Tomato, tomahto....
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TrailElder
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Post by TrailElder on Apr 30, 2021 12:10:34 GMT -8
A Trinity of Cheers for hoodies! I used to think they were just a fad for the young -- which they were/are. But now after using them for years, I'm all in. My corps of top layers all have hoods that I find extremely functional for pulling on and off easily in response to changes in sun, precipitation, winds, bugs, and my gangsta vibe at the moment.... I have a light base layer that is an Arc'teryx hoodie, which is in my profile pic, not surprisingly, since I wear it all of the time and often use the hood. My Frog Togs rain layer has a great hood with a sort of visor, and my ultralight down Arc'teryx jacket is so nice and cozy with the hood up for cold evenings and mornings. I also have a super light OR hoodie that I sleep in, usually with the hood up -- helps keep a cap on too. I also use it for extreme heat/sun on the trail when I want to stay covered. Then I can just rinse it out and it dries in a minute. Love my hoodies.
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TrailElder
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Post by TrailElder on Apr 30, 2021 12:21:35 GMT -8
I have a gadget to add to the list I was reminded of last weekend, since in Colorado we can have fires in backcountry right now for the first time in a long time. Years ago, a buddy gave me the "Aluminum Pocket Size Fire Bellow." It reminds me of the antenna on my dad's 1967 Ford Mustang. What an amazing tool it is for starting, maintaining, and exhausting a fire.
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Post by cheaptentguy on May 1, 2021 14:45:38 GMT -8
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gabby
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Post by gabby on May 31, 2021 14:02:17 GMT -8
All the above chatter about music, podcasts, headphones, hoodies and the like blocking the sounds of nature brings me round to one of my own "minor pieces of gear" that isn't, perhaps, all that usual for most, but indispensable for me: my noise-blocking earplugs.
I would have never worn such a thing in the past (outside of those waxy ones for swimming), but some time in the last 20 years I started getting old (believe it or not!) and started tending more to restless nights (all those years working shifts didn't help), the wife started snoring (sinus and nasal reactions to age and cedar pollen hereabouts - she's had her sinuses "scoured" twice to date), my nocturnally peripatetic daughter growing from toddler-to-child-to-teen-to-adult, all the while maintaining her vampyrrhic habits (Note: misspelled purposely - she will pay heavily for these reversed sleeping practices some day, I suspect - but maybe not) and -finally - my housecat colony doubling, meaning I reached a point at which I could no longer sleep all night without something to block both sound and light and critters scratching at doors and cavorting up and down stairs all night. Thus, I wear a sleep mask and earplugs almost every night except for hot summer nights, when I dispense with the overly warm mask.
My everyday habit of isolation got carried over to the outdoors after the first time I was awakened on a trip by grousing, woofing, snorting and traipsing deer and some very loud bird tweets at 4 AM or 5 AM in a tree nearby, as well as woodpeckers working early. Yeah, I like some of these sounds, but not when I'm trying to sleep. Devour me if you must, Mr. Cougar, but wait until I've had a good night's rest, please!
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