The poles on my stand alone tent split and are now being held together with duct tape. Good ol' duct tape - I didn't see that in your supplies! How can you function without it? ;)

I don't like fiberglass poles for this reason, plus the fact that they're heavier than the same amount of aluminum pole. Maybe someday I'll get carbon fiber poles... "someday". Until then I'll still pack my duct tape, although I generally use Gorilla Tape these days. You can be forgiven for not seeing it in the picture above, despite the fact that it's there in plain sight.

Look for the gray sections near the tops of my trekking poles. Each one has a strip of tape wrapped around the pole. Also, I have a small section wrapped around a cardboard square in my ten essentials bag too.

Here's a close up for easier identification.

If I have an aluminum pole split, or kink or break, I have a splint for it. I would likely use it conjunction with the tape. I only take one though, so for a second break, I'd need to improvise. It's a tube with an inside diameter just greater than the outside diameter of the poles. Slide it over the owie, tape it into place, back in business.

OK you're on. Like Mc Arthur I will return. (to the specific NW. I'm actually a coffee drinker before 3:00pm, at which point I switch to tea.

Coffee is a "sled dog" drug and tea is a "philosopher" drug. Also a trail gourmet cook, we'll have some fine meals.

Suh-weet! I can hardly wait. :)

In the meantime another gear tip.

The pole splint pictured above rarely sees daylight, though it is in the picture of my regular gear turnout. It lives in my tent stake bag (where I keep my "parasail inhibitors") which lives in my tent bag, which you *can* easily see.

The thing is, the fabric is dark gray. In my opinion, this a poor design choice. And it's common for the small stake bag to be on the ground, in the dark. Where did it go? Same for the pole bag. I got tired of having to kick through the leaves to see which one is bag shaped. So I got a can of bright orange paint, the kind they use to make surveyor's marks on the road and I striped the bags. The unusual pattern is because I painted it while it was rolled up. It's now much easier to see.

I don't have a picture to go with a gear tip today, but soon.

I do have a picture to go with my post though. I am preparing for a major trip this summer, we're going to hike the Chilkoot Trail in Alaska. The trip will justify its own thread, but for now, just a peek at a recent acquisition in anticipation of the big trip.

I'm a big guy, and I carry a lot of gear, so footgear is crucial. I have a few pairs of boots, but, having wrecked my favorite pair, I needed to get a replacement pair in time to become acquainted before we hit the trail. I love gear and especially like used gear and I shop at a local outfitter here called Second Ascent. I bought a pair of La Sportiva Makalu boots. The link is to a list of reviews, and it seems to be a very polarizing boot. Love it or Hate it, no one was neutral about it. I bought a used pair, and naturally I tried them on before I did so. After reading the negative comments in the reviews, I think I'm going to be fine. My feet are not wider than normal, and since I got them used, they've been broken in some. Not to my feet, of course, which is why I've been wearing them everywhere since I got them. I really like them.

They're a full leather boots, like my old Tecnicas I murdered, and unlike the Asolos I am trading up from. I need the support, and I don't mind the extra weight. Also, I don't care how much snow seal you use, mesh/goretex/fabric panels in the boot will let the water in. And the first third of the Chilkoot trip will be wet. Rainforest wet. I am not hiking with wet feet dammit. So along with the boots, I bought a tube of Nikwax, and cleaned them up with a stiff brush and saturated the leather with the Nikwax. As you can see from the pictures, they cleaned up real nice.

Before and after:

Jesus H Christ. What in the name of all that's holy is that?

Not sure myself.

You do realise this thread now warrants an epilepsy warning? lol

HIMEOBS always warrants an epilepsy warning.

Even for non-epileptics.

That's a statue at Vigeland Park in Oslo, Norway.

oh wow. thanks for that bruce. What an amazing statue!

After two and a half years of mild irritation, I finally found the sodding picture.

I'll see your FAWET and raise you OCD:

Attachment 32046

here it is again with the explanatory notes. IIRC this was for a complex hike in late 2007, where the plan was to hike one trail, bus to another, and hike that, with a total of 8 days supplies. The food adds to about 24,000 calories, about 3,000 per day. This was in Japan so water is never a problem.

Attachment 32047

ETA there are a couple of lighters in there at the bottom too.

There's 24000 calories worth of food there?