Slogging Through the Sods - A Backpacking Adventure

This past weekend's backpacking trip through Dolly Sods was full of firsts. It was Shira and My first time in the Sods, and it was M and P's first backpacking trip ever. While we couldn't promise them that they would love the experience, we did promise it would be memorable. I explained to them that part of the joy of backpacking is the unpredictable nature - it's exactly because things can go wrong that it's so much fun. I hadn't quite expected things to go so wrong, so quickly though.

We arrived at the trail head and hit our first snag. While we had plugged in the Blackbird Knob parking area into the GPS, apparently, there are two Blackbird Knob parking areas. And we were routed to the one at the west end of the park and we wanted to be at the one on the east end of the park. In fact, this parking area was so incorrect that it said it required a permit (that we had not acquired) and was for day hikers only. So, alas, once some nice backpackers helped us figure out that we were at the wrong area, we piled back in the car for the 45 minute drive around the park to head to the parking area that was actually less than 5 miles away as the crow flies!

(As a side note: it would have still worked out OK. Dolly Sods is filled with campsites, and Blackbird Knob does connect up to the location where we had parked. We would have been confused for a few minutes, but with a simple compass reading would have figured out our conundrum and made yet another new plan. Dolly Sods is only 4.6 miles wide, so while we were in the wrong location, it was a correctable error.)

After reading the warning sign saying that Dolly Sods was used for artillery practice during WWII and that there may still be live bombs lying around in the park, we got under way. It felt good to finally be on the trail, even if the weather seemed to be rolling in.

Our trip to the campsite was mostly down hill and not particularly difficult. Though we did get a taste of one very common feature of the Sods: Mud. Over the weekend, we'd all become masters of reading the terrain and hopping from rock to rock to avoid the ankle deep sludge. I also learned that anytime we take folks backpacking, we're going to make sure everyone has trekking poles. Ultimately, Shira used one of her trekking poles and M and P shared the other. They were mighty handy for testing the ground and for keeping your balance as you hopped around the various obstacles.

We arrived at our campsite location and found that there were a good half dozen tents already set up. This would be a theme throughout the weekend: this place is busy! We've done sections of Shenandoah where we see only a hiker or two. This trip we saw tons of backpackers, all of whom were nice.

By the time we arrived at the site, we were definitely fighting against the clock for daylight. Though we encountered a small batch of rain on the hike in, it looked like bigger storms would hold off. At least the weather was on our side. We looked at the various camping options and got a bit nervous. We wanted to be near the picturesque creek because it would give us easy access to water. But the one site that was left, on an adorable little island in the stream, appeared to be too small.

After spending precious minutes investigating, we made the call. Shira would make the little island camp area our home for the weekend, and I'd go off in search of another, hopefully close by, campsite to use as a kitchen. To Shira's credit, she worked with the boys, and had our tents up in record time.

I crossed the stream away from our campsite, back to the main trail and started hunting for a cooking area. Turns out, there was a large campsite right off the trail that nobody had selected. My guess is that the lure of the creek caused people to pass it up. I poked around the campsite and to my absolute surprise, there was a large pile of wood next to, and a tinder bundle resting in, the fire pit. With the whole start-at-the-wrong-trail-head, we'd had our share of unlucky draws. But now, our luck had changed. Rather than needing to rush around searching for firewood, it had just been given to us.

I grabbed M and put him on rock hurling duty to setup the bear bag. It took him a couple of throws, but ultimately he nailed it. If M ever ends up pitching for a living, I'd like to think that it was this bear bag experience that got him started.

With the tents setup, the bear bag hung and the wood collected, it was time to get a fire going. I struck a single match, held it to the tinder bundle, and the cluster of small pine branches went up in flames. Bingo, we had fire! We cooked hot dogs and marshmallows over fire (and in the dark) and reveled in all that we'd accomplished and overcome in one day.

Saturday morning we awoke and quickly proved Shira right. I'm used to summer camping in Shenandoah where the temperatures turn your tent into more of a sweat lodge than back country shelter. Dolly Sods is at a higher elevation and has a reputation for being quite a bit cooler. When driving to the trail head we passed through a large rain storm which brought the temperature down to 64°F; it was 94°F when we left DC. On these summer camping trips, heating up oatmeal in the morning is more a chore than anything else. But after sleeping out of 58°F weather, waking up to a hot breakfast was essential. Shira had insisted we bring hot chocolate and oatmeal for breakfast, and boy was she right on to do so. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their hot meal and for my part, I can't recall the last time a cup of hot tea was so delicious.

We'd planned this trip so that in theory we could do a long hike Saturday and return to the same campsite in the evening. Doing this meant that we wouldn't need to tear down and carry camp with us. This plan worked out perfectly (finally, a plan that worked!) and was definitely the way to go. Everybody carried their backpacks filled with day hiking gear and other essentials, but they were far lighter than if we had brought everything.

We did about 10 miles of hiking through the Sods. We saw waterfalls, awesome rock formations, expansive views, an interesting infestation of spittle bugs and mud. Lots of mud. The weather was glorious, with mostly sunny conditions without the scorching heat of DC. The trails in the Sods aren't blazed, but we had no problem navigating them. The kids took regular compass readings to confirm we were on track.

After the fire experience the night before, M had a very healthy appreciation for finding quality tinder and kindling. As we hiked along, he'd point out especially dry pine branches, birch bark and other possible sources of tinder. We stashed much of this in the stretchy outer pocket of his pack, so he looked like was carrying half the forest. This all came in handy when we decided to make a quick fire for lunch to cook some couscous. We played a quick game of how well does it burn?! and found that the dry birch bark was best tinder, while the dried pine branches were the best kindling. As for the couscous, I don't know the scientific explanation but fire made it good! Seriously, best couscous ever. Incidentally, I had brought the couscous, but left our backpacking stove back at camp, hence the need for the fire. Was this smart? Uh, no. Will it happen again? Not if Shira has anything to say about it in the future.

I'd brought some fishing gear along, but alas, the creeks we encountered were too shallow to offer up fish. Oh well, fishing will have to be part of our next trip.

After more than 8 hours of hiking we made it back to our campsite. It was time to celebrate with dinner and marshmallows over the fire for dessert. I worked with M and P to create the tinder bundle and to plan out the fuel that would go on once we got the fire going. This time, M lit the bundle with a match, with the fire coming together with relative ease (again, thanks in part to M collecting wood along the trail).

With 8+ hours of hiking and a full dinner, nobody had any problem going to sleep. Though, the evening was even colder than the first, getting down to 51°F. I had a sort of improvised sleeping setup, using my summer sleeping bag liner and a Cost-Co down quilt together. This worked very well the first night, but was pushing it on the second. So I put on my buff and added a heatsheet on top and was fine.

The next morning, we again started with oatmeal and hot tea. Though the stove ran out of gas before I could make hot chocolate. How Shira let me get away with bringing only one small canister of gas is beyond me (I believe she cautioned me but I ignored the warning). In the future, I'll bring two. An Esbit Stove is also a handy addition because unlike the canister stoves, it's trivial to see how much you have left. Knowing that one tablet will boil at least a cup of water means you can plan and track your usage with relative ease.

After breakfast, we packed everything up and made our way back to the car. We encountered mud on the way of course, but because we'd had a day without rain, and more importantly two days of practice navigating it, it was hardly a concern. We changed back into clean clothes at the car, got on our way, and most importantly stopped for a post-trip meal. Shira and I had pizza, M and P had pasta and meatballs. It was glorious! Not as good as our trail couscous, but still quite good.

I couldn't have been happier with the trip. Sure, we overdid it in terms of mileage for the kids' first time. And yes, Dolly Sods was chillier than Shenandoah would have been. But the route was great, and because Dolly Sods is a plateau (the highest in the Eastern half of the US!) it's relatively flat. There were some ups and downs, but none of them were killer. The trail was interesting with far more than forest canopy to see. Most importantly, the trip was memorable, as promised. It showed that a good backpacking trip isn't one that goes exactly to plan; the very same unpredictability that causes setbacks, also delivers joyous victories. In this respect, this trip was far less about logging miles and far more about living life.

Backpacking on a Budget - Field Testing a Few Amazon Finds

This past weekend we took a friend's 16 and 12 year old's on their very first backpacking trip. For car camping, you can often get by with items scrounged from around the house (use a sheet/blanket instead of a sleeping bag, a yoga mat instead of a pad, a school bag to pack everything up), but for backpacking things get trickier. Gear weight, volume and comfort can be the difference between a painful slog and a fun adventure. To insure a quality first experience, I promised the kids that we'd outfit them properly.

With this in mind, I went on the hunt on Amazon to find gear options at bargain prices. Here's a few of my finds and how well they worked out in a real life test. Hopefully, the beginner backpacker out there will be able to put this list to good use.

Sleeping Bag - Redcamp Ultralight Sleeping Bag - camping in DC summers are typically *hot*, so you don't need an especially warm bag. With this in mind, the 'Redcamp Ultralight' is an amazing deal. For $19.99 you get a very compact and very lightweight sleeping bag that's quite roomy. The trade off is that it only claims to keep you warm down to around 60°F. This last weekend, one of boys used this sleeping bag and had one night at 58°F and one at 51°F(!). At 58°F, the bag was fine. At 51°F, he was chilly. As long as you keep an eye on temps, I don't see how you can go wrong with this bag. It's also worth noting that the bag is rectangular, and not a mummy style. For new campers, this may be preferred, and it allows for opening up the bag and using it as a blanket. Verdict: Buy.

Sleeping Pad - Naturheike Ultralight Pad - At $39.00, this pad was too lightweight and compact to not at least try. When I opened up the pad at home, I was amazed. It really is utralight and ultracompact. It also inflates and deflates much easier than my Thermarest, though that's because it doesn't have much in the way of loft. It's also crazy long and includes a built in pillow. The main downside appears to be the thickness of the mattress. Still, one of the boys slept on it and said it was comfortable. In some respects, this is a luxury item compared to a simple closed cell foam pad But even those are relatively expensive, and are more bulky than this option. Verdict: Buy.

Pack - Wasing 50L Packable Backpack - I knew this was a stretch when I picked it up on Amazon, but it had Free Returns and cost all of $23.99 to buy. This bag is amazing. It's basically the same size as my standard backpacking pack (an Exos 46), but at a fraction of the cost. It's got slick features, like a stretchy front mesh panel and water bottle pockets. Ultimately, though, it's way to big for a kid to carry and lacks all the features that make a modern bag comfortable to wear, such as a waist belt or suspension system. If I had given this to one of the kids, they'd have been uncomfortable, and if I had attempted to use it myself I'd have overloaded it so much I'd also be in a bad way. Some Ultralight backpackers prefer a frame-less pack, and I could see where picking one of these up would be a no-brainer to try that style of backpack. I decided to keep the Wasing and may use it as a travel bag. But as a kid friendly backpacking solution, yeah, no. Verdict: Skip.

Rain Gear - Frogg Toggs - I think it was over at /r/ultralight where I read along the lines of: all rain gear sucks, but at least Frogg Toggs is cheap and lightweight. Amen, brother (or sister?). Frogg Toggs really is the ideal back-country option. It's super cheap ($15.00) and super lightweight. It's not the most robust, but a bit of duct tape is all it takes to fix tears work. The problem I have with Frogg Toggs is that the sizing is crazy large. A 'small' adult is still huge. I wear a large in most clothing and can get buy with a medium. I haven't found a reliable source for Youth Frogg Toggs jackets, so I was stuck this last trip with oversized adult jackets. Regardless, the jackets did great. And when I got a bit chilly myself, I put on my Frogg Toggs and that helped warm me up. Verdict: Buy.

Knife - Gerber STL 2.0 Knife - The STL 2.0 seemed like the ideal knife for the kids. It's compact, lightweight, and totally functional. I'm not much of a knife guy, but this seemed plenty sharp. The kids used it to open food packages, trim rope and shape cooking sticks. At $8.62, it was great deal, too. The big problem I have with the knife though, is the locking mechanism. It has a frame lock which requires that you put your finger in the path of the blade, if only for a moment, while closing the knife. For kids who had never handled a pocket knife, this seemed to be more dangerous than helpful. With practice, the kids got the hang of opening and closing the knife, but as a starter knife I'd skip this one. Perhaps a Swiss Army knife, what I started with, is the way to go. Verdict: Skip.

Compass - Brunton Key Ring Compass - I purchased a handful of these Brunton Compasses last year for younger kids to take car camping and they worked surprisingly well. They snap to North quickly, hold up well and are less confusing than an orienteering base plate compass. I think they are the ideal starter compass, as they are reliable and low cost (around $8.00). Verdict: Buy.

Umbrella - Crackajack Ultralight Umbrella - This may seem like an odd item to pack for a backpacking trip, but trust me, it's essential. An umbrella is far more comfortable to hike in the rain with than rain gear, and that's only one of the many reasons umbrellas rock. There's a whole slew of lightweight models on Amazon, but this seemed to be the best balance of weight, volume and cost that I could find. At $13.99, it's not super crazy cheap, but it does seem well built and should work well as an all-year-round umbrella to add to our collection. Verdict: Buy.

Flashlights - Nitecore Tube - I had the boys use some older flashlights we had lying around, and while this worked, I could tell that compared to modern standards, they were pretty awful. I recently picked up a Nitecore Tip and I'm blown away by it. Like knives, the flashlight world is filled with a massive spectrum of options, from cheap junk, to crazy expensive awesomeness. The Tip seems like a remarkable compromise between light output (360 lumens!), size (it's tiny) and cost (it's only $30.00). Best of all, it's USB rechargeable, so that the same powerbank that feeds my phone can re-charge my light. After looking at the pathetic light output of the flashlights I gave the kids, I vowed to toss those when I got home and replace them with something like the Tip. After poking around, I decided I'd go with the Nitecore Tube. It's not nearly as bright as the Tip, with a maximum of only 45 lumens, but it's still brighter than many options, very compact, lightweight and a bargain at only $9.20. Best of all, it's USB recharageable. When the sun goes down, those woods get dark, I learned my lesson about not skimping on the quality of light. Verdict: Buy.

Cup / Bowl - Ziplock Twist n' Loc - All four of us used these Tupperware like containers as cups and bowls and they were ideal. These weren't technically an Amazon purchase, as I picked them up locally, and even later found out there's a Giant brand version that's even cheaper. These hold 2 cups, and worked just as well for drinking hot chocolate as they did eating oatmeal. I like that they have some measurements etched on the side, which makes them useful for backcountry baking. While they lack the ability to rest directly on hot coals, like say a Sierra Cup, they more than made up for this by being lightweight, cheap and functional. Verdict: Buy

My TRS-80 Model 100 Meets My LG G6 - Can They Be Friends?

I had some initial success in getting my TRS-80 Model 100 to talk to my Mac mini. The fact that I could type some text in the Model 100's terminal and have it show up on the Mac's terminal was a huge step in the right direction. Next up, I needed a reliable way to shuffle code back and forth from the Model 100. After all, if I compose some brilliant code on the Model 100 I'm going to want an easy way to share it with the world.

I was also curious if I could get the Model 100 to talk to my LG G6. I have a USB Host On the Go adapter, so technically I can plug in the USB serial cable into my phone. But would it do anything? Turns out, it does!

I hooked up the Model 100 to my LG G6 via serial / USB cable and kicked off Gnuroot. I was hoping that I'd be able to use command line tools to access the serial port. Yeah, that was a no go. Before I gave up though, I searched the Google Play store for Serial Consoles and found a slew of interesting possibilities. I installed YJ Term on my phone, launched it and was delighted that popped up a dialog box confirming I wanted to access the USB port. I clicked yes. I made sure the Model 100 and the LG were using the same port settings (9600 baud, 8-bit, no parity, 1 stop bit and no xon/xoff) and typed a message in in YJ Term. I hit enter Send and the text appeared on my Model 100! Whooo!

The reverse worked, too. In short, I'd re-demonstrated basic serial communication was possible, though now I was able to make the connection with my cell phone.

While this was fun to see, it didn't really solve my problem. I needed a way to ship entire files back and forth.

Looking through the Model 100 Quick Reference guide, I noticed that the BASIC Interpreter had a clever trick: you could treat the COM port like any other file. This is a trick right out of the Unix handbook. Or, actually, it's probably the other way around. Either way, you can save basic code to a file by entering:

  save "foo.ba"

You can save the contents of the current BASIC program to the COM port by entering:

 save "COM:88n1d"

Incidentally, you can do the same trick with writing to the printer port. Running the above, pushed all the code I'd loaded into the interpreter over the wire to my phone. This was showing real promise.

One issue I ran into is that YJ Term and other serial consoles were apparently built for debugging purposes more than anything else. So you can save a transcript of the the interaction between the phone and Model 100, but you get extra gunk like timestamps and such. I did a bit of digging and found Serial USB Terminal. This little app has the ability to remove that debugging info, which means that I was able to cleanly send code to the Model 100 and save it on my phone:

In theory, the reverse should work too. I should be able to enter the following code on the Model 100 to have it slurp in a program:

 load "COM:88n1d"

But my attempts to do this simply timed out. Once I get this part of the process decoded, I'll be ready to start my Model 100 BASIC coding career. This is going to be fun!

Weekly Discoveries

I have no idea what Bang Yong-guk is rapping about in AM 4:44, but I know he's good and I know I'm loving the song. The same goes for Sowa by Fatoumata Diawara. Again, no idea what's being said, but that's not stopping me from rocking out to the music.

Speaking of rap, L-Fresh totally brings it in 1 in 100,000. Apparently Mr. Fresh is a Sikh, and at least this one video is packed full of Sikh imagery. The rhymes are solid, and I appreciate the lack of cussing, which makes this tune quite family friendly.

I couldn't resist adding a Red Means Recording OP-1 video to the bunch. On the surface, these are almost how-to videos, with the goal of the video being to watch a song being assembled on the OP-1 synthesizer. But really, it's so much more than a typical tutorial. In effect, the song creation is a performance in itself, with the final product being a nice bonus. It's all very meta, and very good. Give it a listen.

On the non-musical side of things, I loved Zach Rotondo's 27 McDoubles + 90 Miles Of The Pacific Crest Trail. Can a hiker cover 90 miles of trail eating nothing but McDoubles? You'll have to tune in to find out. Refrigeration is totally overrated.

I also discovered a new fishing YouTuber to watch: Fisherman's Life. He has a cool series entitled Catch and Cook and Camp, where he takes you along as he does just this: catch some fish, cook it up, and stay out in the woods. It's always nice to see folks out doing, rather than just sitting on a couch reviewing gear. Watching videos like these are a great way to scratch that outdoor itch.

See all the videos here:

Citi Open 2017 - Up Close and Sopping Wet

It's hard to believe that it's been 5 years since we were able to make it to the Citi Open Tennis Tournament (formerly known as Legg Mason), but that isn't for lack of trying. Getting a chance to see the US Open and French Open have only made us appreciate this event more. It's a chance to see huge names in a very up close and personal way.

Along with seeing big names, the other thing you can depend on with the Citi Open is crazy weather. In the past, it's been unbearably hot and sopping wet. Last night, we looked to be in the clear. It was evening and the day had been relatively cool, and while there had been a couple of drops of rain on the way to the venue, it looked to be nothing more than a light sun shower.

We sat down in our seats, I took out my camera, and snapped a few photos of Jack Sock warming up :

Before they could start playing in earnest, the rain began:

And what started as a sun-shower turned into a full blown thunderstorm. We huddled under awnings for a good *three hours* as we waited for the rain to pass, and then for the crews to dry the courts:

The reward for our patience, however, was a front row center court seat in the Grand Stand stadium. From this vantage point, I was able to watch Baghdatis crush Leshem, Edmund beat Chung and del Potro take on Lacko. Seeing del Petro was a special treat, as we saw him win the tournament back in 2009. That earned him a place as the first non-main stream tennis name I'd learn. He's had his share of challenges, so it was great to see him back on the court. And sitting in the front row, that was just bonus.

Review: Pax

I rented Pax by Sara Pennypacker from the library to have an audio book on hand for J's visit. He's 8, and the book's minimum recommended age is the same. As a kids books, it starts off sad and heavy, and stays that way for a good chunk of time. While J enjoyed listening to it, this book would almost certainly be a better match for an older kid. As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and best of all, it left me trying to untangle what I just read heard. I'd like to do some of that untangling in this post, but let me cover a couple more points before I delve into spoilers.

Pax tells its story in alternating chapters, one from Peter's point of view, and the other from his fox Pax's perspective. This makes for a serious challenge: how does a fox tell his story? Pennypacker does this brilliantly, putting us in Pax's world of scents, instinct and other fox-like behavior. I'm sure she took a few liberties, but still, it's quite impressive how she manages to let us join the skulk. If you're an animal lover, you'll relish this chance to see the world from this perspective. Even if you're not a fan of pets (like, uh, myself), you can't help but appreciate the bond that Pennypacker has constructed between Peter and Pax.

Pennypacker doesn't shy away from having her characters encounter death, war and other difficult themes. This is heavy stuff. Unlike, say the The Hunger Games though, I think these concepts are treated in a thoughtful and mature way. When I started the book, I detected a sort of Hatchet feel to it. That is, it had a youth who found himself having to decode and conquer an adult situation. But while Hatchet focused almost exclusively on having a boy learn to physically survive, Pennypacker adds to this an emphasis on emotional survival. It's an audacious goal, but one I think she pulled off.

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*SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS* *SPOILERS*

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As the book closes, I was truly shocked to see that it started as it opened: with Peter sending Pax off to the wilderness. In my mind, this clearly cements that Pennypacker was after more than a syrupy kids book about a boy reuniting with his lost fox. As I said above, this is heavy stuff. But what's it all mean? Well, here's my take.

First off, Pax is a story about the search for truth. But it's even deeper than that: in many respects the characters need to first discover that they need to search in the first place. It brings to mind this classic joke:

There are these two young fish swimming along, and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, "Morning, boys, how's the water?" And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, "What the hell is water?"

For Peter and Pax, the first step is to learn that there's such a thing as water. Pax has the whole natural world opened to him, one that he never new existed. And Peter needs to learn to cope with the loss of his mother, and his fear of turning into his father. Both Peter and Pax need to figure out what's true, even if it's small victories such as Peter realizing that Baseball is peace, for Pax to discover 'flying.' Of course, it's not just Peter and Pax who are on the search for truth. Vola's on the same journey, learning how to cope with her past. Even Bristle and Runt have lessons to learn, such as the lesson that not all humans are evil.

As Vola reminds Peter time and again, nobody can tell him what his truths are. He needs to search them out himself.

While this may be true, I think another key theme in the book has to do with the role of a teacher. Vola is clearly Peter's teacher, showing him not only how to master his physical situation, but imparting many a life lesson. This relationship isn't one way though, as Peter is just as important a teacher to Vola as she is to him. While Pax ultimately needs to learn to hunt by himself, the lessons from Bristle are invaluable to say the least. While it's temping to read this book as a treatise on self-improvement only through self-analysis, I think that's giving it too little credit. Pennypacker is showing us that our best teachers may be our most subtle teachers.

Disability plays an interesting role in the book. Peter, Vola and even Runt all experience the loss of a limb; that can't be a coincidence. I think there's a clue to the meaning of this in how Peter handles his broken leg. He doesn't quit the quest, but instead opts to adapt. The plan was to trudge through the woods to find Pax, and that's what he still plans to do. Disability in this case seems not so much a curse or a blessing, but as a physical manifestation of truth. Runt lost his hind leg. He can't mourn that loss and give up, what he can do is re-learn how to walk. And so it is with Peter: his new truth is that he needs crutches and newfound strength to continue. And so he adapts.

I couldn't help but frame that final scene where Peter once again sends Pax on his way as a moving take on loss. When I tell folks that Shira and I are foster parents, they often remark how they could never fathom having a child in their home, and then letting him or her go. Peter's story, however, speaks to this scenario well. When the book opens, we find that Peter is effectively abandoning Pax. His sense of duty and truth, tells him this is wrong and he goes on a life changing journey to correct this mistake. As the book closes, Peter is letting Pax go because they've both grown and they need to be in different places. It's still sad, but ones the difference between child abandonment and the other is dropping your kid off at college. The latter hurts, but isn't on the same level of devastation that the former is.

Does your kid needs to read a book that tackles loss in such a nuanced and real fashion? Probably not. But the lessons are powerful enough, that you probably should.