Category: Gear

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Little Things

June 11, 2016
I have a list of small mishaps that we’ve been able to deal with and keep going. HeartSinging walking reflects how gracefully I can dance with the little things.

**Broken watchband. My cheap fake leather watchband  snapped.  Irritating! The good thing was that I noticed that it had fallen off. I threw away the band and stuck the watchface in my waist pouch where I can still get at it easily. Keep moving!

**Melted food bowl. Drat! My favorite lidded Glad bowl where I rehydrate my food on the trail was NOT microwave safe for repeated uses! I like this solution! We made an extra stop at Food Lion on our way out of Front Royal and bought  small bowl of hummus. The container fits perfectly inside our cooking pot, and the hummus was a fine extra snack for the afternoon. We might even switch to PLANNING it this way, getting hummus to pack out and a new bowl! Keep moving! read more

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Frustrated to Confident

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June 1, 2016
Today was a transition day from feeling frustrated with the technical challenge of setting up an RSS feed of my blog to my subscribers and Facebook page to feeling confident that it can actually work!  Thanks for reading!
The second accomplishment of the day was to pack our backpacks! I’m happy to say that my pack, with a liter of water and 4 days of food weighs  in at 20 -22 lbs.

Now, before you gape with too much amazement, I will remind you that one of the favorite qualities of my heartsinging walk is that I have a hiking partner who shares gear with me! That means that I don’t have to carry everything I use!! read more

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Maine Ideas: Fine Without My Brain

My PACK brain, that is! In my constant effort to lighten my pack and still have what I need I took out a few items in Monson, Maine. It’s been a week without them and all is well! I sent away my pack brain, knitted scarf, extra pack liner bag and didn’t miss them.
At Caratunk, I took one more step and ordered a lighter sleeping bag. What’s more, I wore my short sleeved shirt instead of my long, hot shirt. I could even wear the short one at night, so maybe don’t need a second shirt! I sent the extra shirt away from Stratton, Maine.
Lightening my pack gets done one piece of gear at a time! Trying a few days without things. Taking chances. Trusting. read more

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Resourcefulness on the Trail

In this photo, I’m wearing my food-bag skirt!

My shorts had ripped and my rainpants were too hot. When backpacking, I don’t carry extra clothes, just one of each type, except socks. I cut the bottom seam of my nylon food bag, which turned out to be just the perfect size for a drawstring skirt. It’s made of silnylon, silicon nylon, so it’s waterproof. It was a good rain skirt too!

When have YOU been resourceful, using something right at hand to fill in for something that you didn’t have. read more

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Regina’s Gear Lists: Summer Backpack Content

Regina’s Gear Lists
Backpack Contents for Summer

Trash compacter bag lining the pack
Pro-lite 3 Thermarest. ¾ length
Sleeping bag: Western Mountaineering 30 degree down bag
Extra clothing: fleece cap, long sleeve midweight thermal shirt, 1 pair smart wool socks, wind shirt,
Shelter: Custom homemade silnylon tarp with net tent liner (from Ray Way kit)
Backpacker’s Poncho for groundcloth and raingear
Cookset: 1qt stainless pot with lid, Pepsi can stove, 8 oz. denatured alcohol, foil windscreen, pot lifter
Food: 1-1.5 lbs per day
Wash bowl: Small zip-loc lidded bowl, small sponge, 1 oz. bottle of Dr. Bronner’s soap
Plastic trowel
Trekking poles
Water bottles: 3 liter capacity
Map, guidebook
Comfort Couch: 12”x14” piece of ensolite pad
Umbrella
Sunhat
First Aid Kit
1 oz. bottle hand lotion, 1 oz.Tecnu
2-3 plastic grocery bags for trash or bagging wet stuff read more

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My Umbrella: A Room with a View

I Love My Gear!

My Umbrella is a Rainy Day Room With a View

Yesterday, I walked on Cold Mountain, VA, in a cloud. Rain drizzled down and visibility was

"My Room with a View"

about 20 feet. Yet, I was enjoying the walk, the view, and a visit to this magical place of beauty.  As I walked, I realized that my umbrella played a big part in my ability to embrace this moment in comfort  and joy.

When I first started backpacking, I thought that an umbrella would be about the dumbest thing I could bring.  Wouldn’t it get caught in branches along the trail?, I thought.  An umbrella is fragile and awkward! Umbrellas are for city streets, not trails!  It’s just not right! An umbrella is bulky and hard to pack. My list of reasons to leave the umbrella at home was long. read more