A Post A Day ... Or So

Eight years ago I participated in what was called NaBloPoMo or National Blog Posting Month.  I wrote a new post for each day of November 2008.  I am considering doing it again this year ... this being the first post.  I will not guarantee that I will make it but I will give it the ol' Homer's Travels try.  Expect to see photograph posts when I come up short on topics to write about.  Not sure what I'll do when I run out of pictures to post.

If there is anything you want me to write about let me know.  If I can contribute something worth the while, I will post about it.

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween Everybody!!!

For Halloween: a spider who lived on our deck.

Camp #11: Preparation Canyon Sunset And Sunrise

My eleventh camp was in Preparation Canyon.  I've camped here two times before and I've always liked how remote it feels.

Preparation Canyon Sunset.

The park is a fairly small park but is is surrounded by farmland and the nearests towns, Moorhead and Pisgah, Iowa, are small.  The area is rural.  It is also Trump country based on the number of political signs I saw going to and from the park.  I was hoping it would be a quiet night but I forgot it is harvest season and the distant sounds of combines harvesting corn could be heard all night (I think I still heard them when I woke up at 2:30am though I might have dreamt it).

The campsite looks small when seen from a nearby trail.

Like the other campsites I have used in this park, there was no real level ground to pitch the tent on.  This meant I would wake up to one side of the tent in the morning.  I found the best spot I could up hill from the picnic table, opposite the fire ring, and put up the tent.

I like fall camping.  The temperatures are crisp, the skies are often clear, and the stars go on forever.  This fall camp was a bit odd.  First of all the temperatures were above 70°F (21°C).  Secondly the low temperature for the night was 56°F (13°C) which is much milder than I expected for this time of year.  Lastly there was a whisp of high altitude clouds that obscured, but did not totally block, the stars.

A nice fire to contemplate life beside.

I lit my fire before the sun went down.  The wood that I collected was very dry and the fire burned hot and quick.  I had to collect more wood over the next hour to keep it going.  I sat at the picnic table and ate my Spaghetti with Meat Sauce while watching the sun set and the fire burn.  On my other camping trips I usually do a lot of reading by the fire.  This one I just sat by the fire, looking into the flames, and letting my thoughts wander.

A leaf covered trail brings back memories of youth.

Once the sun had completely fallen below the horizon I layed down on the picnic table bench and looked up at the stars.  I'd hoped to see a lot tonight as the forecast was for clear skies but the wispy clouds blocked some of the view and dimmed many of the stars.  Nevertheless the stars still shined and I saw a lot more than I can from the deck of our house.

I got in the tent early (8:00pm) and read a little of my ebook before falling asleep,  I slept surprisingly well and only woke up a few times during the night.  I got up just after 7:00am, before the sun came up over the horizon, broke camp, and poured the remainder of my water on the cold ashes of my fire.

I returned to the car walking on a leaf covered trail.  There is something about the sound of fall leaves crunching and shooshing under my feet that makes me feel content.  Maybe it's a memory of jumping in piles of leaves when I was a kid.

I drove home making only one stop along the way - my customary McDonald's hotcakes and large orange juice that I always have after camping.  It was a good camp and, weather permitting, I will have one more in November. (Pictures have been added to the end of my 2014-2016 Camping in Iowa and Nebraska Google Photos album.)

After every sunset there will be a sunrise.

Photograph: "Color Explosion"

The odd summer and fall weather we are having seems to be delaying and extending the fall colors this year.  No complaints from me.

"Color Explosion"

by Bruce H.

Photograph: "Summer Dreams Past"

A child's butterfly bracelet dangling from the fingers of the Black Angel.  Taken in Fairview Cemetery in Council Bluffs, Iowa. (A few more pictures I've taken of the angel can be found here.)

"Summer Dreams Past"

by Bruce H.

Walking through Omaha and Council Bluffs has become a walking meditation for me.  Similar to the Camino, when you walk your mind wanders from the past, through the present, and on to the future.  Lately my mental meanderings have become nostalgic, dark, and full of regret while still having a shimmer of hope and anticipation of the Appalachian Trail adventures that lay ahead of me.

It is the small and simple things, like a child's bracelet in an unexpected place, that bring me back from the brink and returns me to the future.

Photograph: "Shadows Of Autumn - 1 & 2"

Imprints of fallen leaves.

"Shadows of Autumn - 1"

by Bruce H.

"Shadows of Autumn - 2"

by Bruce H.

Book: Blake Crouch's "Dark Matter"

I downloaded my latest read in Detroit while waiting for my connecting flight to Omaha.  I downloaded it to be distracted and it turned out to be a very thought provoking read.

Blake Crouch's "Dark Matter" follows a physics teacher, Jason, who is abducted and wakes up in another world nearly identical to the one he left.  In this new world he is an award winning physicist but, unlike his own universe, he is not married and doesn't have a son.

From here the novel explores the path not taken and what one would do, or not do, to make an alternate choice.  Who among us does not have regrets?  Who among us does not wonder what would have happened if you'd made a different choice?  Just looking at my own life I see how things could have turned out so differently.  If I had not entered that chat room in early October 1995 I would have never met the Wife.  If the start of my first Camino had not been delayed by a day due to a misplaced bag I would have never met G_v.  So many small things steering our lives.

The book is interesting and ends with a twist as Jason tries to get back to his family.  I enjoyed it and it provided the needed distraction.  I gave the book four stars on Goodreads because it made me think a lot about how my life could have been so different were it not for small quirks of fate.

My New Bag

I purchased another backpack (my fourth [!] since 2010).  After my Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) camping trip I decided that a lighter backpack would be better for the Appalachian Trail (AT).  The one I chose was the Hyperlite 3400 Southwest in black (The black pack has a thicker material for added strength and the other color, white, gets dirty too easily).

The Southwest is a simple pack.  It is essentially a dry sack with arm straps.  Coming in at 2.1 lbs (0.95  kg) the pack is 2.7 lbs (1.2 kg)  lighter than the Osprey pack I used on the RMNP camping trip.  The pack has a large, deep, main compartment, three external pockets, and two belt pockets.  The main compartment closes like a standard dry sack, i.e. roll it over a few times then click the ends together.  A 'Y' strap helps compress the bag vertically as well as allows you to secure equipment on the top of the pack.  There are multiple attachment points for equipment mounting.

The Southwest is a 55 liter pack rated for 40 lbs (18 kg) though, after exchanging a few emails with hyperlite, you may be able to push it up to 50 lbs (22.6 kg).  I think forty pounds will be plenty but for some of the longer AT stages the food will probably push the weight up to the low to mid forties.

The pack is made of dyneema, a very durable and waterproof material.  The dry sack construction of the pack means it shouldn't need a pack cover for rainy days (assuming you pack waterproof stuff in the outer pockets).

The pack has a hydration sleeve inside the pack.  My Osprey had an external hydration sleeve that I found incredibly convenient.  The exit for the hydration tube is on the right.  This is odd since most packs give you the option of feeding it either right or left.  This is no big deal but I am used to the drinking tube being on my left.

The simplicity of the bag is a payoff for lack of amenities.  Along with the internal versus external hydration sleeve, there are other things missing.  For example, my Osprey pack has a bottom zipper that allows for easy access to the bottom of the main compartment.  It also has a 'J' zipper that allows you to open the main compartment for easy access to everything.  The Southwest main compartment access is only from the top which means you have to dig to get stuff on the bottom of the main compartment.  You want the bells and whistles?  Then you have to carry the extra weight.  If I'm hiking 2,200 miles I'm willing to trade convenience for less weight to carry.

I used the Southwest on my September camp and it performed well (keep in mind I had a relatively light load).  The pack does not have load lifters.  Load lifters are adjustable straps on the top of the arm straps that allow you to snug the load to your back.  The idea is, when walking on level ground or climbing up, the load should be close to your body.  When you are going down you loosen the load lifters allowing the load to flop back a little thus helping you keep your balance.  My Osprey had load lifters and, during my RMNP hike, I never adjusted the load lifters and I was moving up and down a lot on that hike.  I didn't notice much of a difference so I am not concerned about the lack of load lifters on the Southwest.

All in all I am happy with the pack so far but it is early.  I will be taking it out for a second overnight camping trip next week and I will have another chance to feel out my new AT pack.

Three Years Ago - Camino Sunset

Three years ago today, G_V and I finished our second Camino.  We sat on the rocks near Faro Fisterra, ate a picnic dinner, and watched the sun set over the Atlantic.  It was the perfect end to our Camino.

Sunset at the end of our second Camino.

Photograph: "Red Vine Flower"

I took this back in August but it needs to be shared.  We need a little more beauty right now.

"Red Vine Flower"

by Bruce H.