I has been a while since I have posted here. I have gone through some big changes, along with my family. My goal now is to post previous trips we have taken, including trips in Arizona, our trip to Ireland last summer, and our trips in Oregon.

I had a big disappointment in 2012. My daughter and I finally realized our trip on the Pacific Crest Trail that summer. One goal for this blog was to record our preparations for that trip, and for future PCT trips. The PCT trip was fantastic. It was one of our best ever backpacking trips, missing only the presence of Valerie. After we returned and made the final decision to move to Portland and enroll my daughter to complete high school there, I had a computer hard drive failure (what else is new). All the pictures from the PCT trip were lost. I was only able to post my review of my REI Paddler Hat from that trip. It has taken some time for us to stabilize enough that my daughter and I will be writing posts about the trip and  publishing them here. Last summer our doggler died, and that was a big downer for a while.

To that end, you can see the recent posts and videos of recent hikes and my large rain shell test. That was a big undertaking, helped in large part by my best friend, Valerie, as videographer. This is the first of many trip postings and reviews. I am working on reviews of knives that I use, alcohol stoves I have made, and other backpacking sundries.  We have also taken many trips in the Columbia Gorge, not the least of which was a recent trip on the Ten Falls loop above Multnomah Falls. We have plenty of pictures, videos and words to share. In the coming months, Valerie, Aelin and I will be publishing a lot of materiel here, so stay tuned!!