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  1. ponderosa

    How cold is too cold to be outdoors?

    My husband & I once spent Valentine's weekend tent camping in Yellowstone. The daytime highs were -15F and overnight was at least 30 below. But the sky was brilliant blue, the snow was dry, deep, powdery perfection. The solitude was fantastic. We spent the days skiing, and used a good liquid...
  2. ponderosa

    in the market for a kayak...need advice

    Wow, I started this thread six years ago, & it was fun to be reminded of where we started compared to what we're doing now. We ended up finding a used tandem flat-bottomed kayak. Our kids were tiny, & my husband & I could easily paddle it with a kid in each of our laps, with room for a picnic...
  3. ponderosa

    8 Bucks

    That tent has been a favorite with backpackers for years. It's about $220 new and worth every penny. You could very likely get a replacement rain fly if you contact rei. Great find!
  4. ponderosa

    Winter Thoughts Jan 2019

    Thanks for the tips, and the tip o' the hat. I've been using elderberry & lots of vitamin c It's tricky spending the days with little petri dishes disguised as harmless children!
  5. ponderosa

    Winter Thoughts Jan 2019

    My school closed for 3 days. One day half of my class was out sick. I don't remember a worse flu season around here. Sorry to hear you were stuck in that mess on the pass! I saw some video footage...craziness. Glad you made it safely home. We've had sleety rain most of the day here in Rigby. If...
  6. ponderosa

    Winter Thoughts Jan 2019

    This isn't my slow time of year. For teachers, this is the time we're counting down the weeks until the big state testing season, stressing about fitting everything in before the tests, worrying about how to help those struggling kids to be successful, holding parent conferences, etc. This while...
  7. ponderosa

    What plans/desires do you have for new/changed equipment next year?

    Did you have ice on the trail in the upper parts? I'm trying to decide if I need to try to find some sort of crampons for the girls. I've only hiked it once before. It was a February trip, & we ended up using duct tape to attach little rocks to the soles of our shoes for traction the top mile or...
  8. ponderosa

    What plans/desires do you have for new/changed equipment next year?

    Our permit is to go down S. Kaibab and up Bright Angel, with 2 nights at Bright Angel cg & a night at Indian Gardens on the way out. We might skip the night at Indian Gardens & hike all the way out in one day. If we take the two days to hike out, we have to hike from IG to the top & drive all...
  9. ponderosa

    What plans/desires do you have for new/changed equipment next year?

    I need (want) a good backpacking tent for our family of four. We've used the old 2-man tents that I've had forever. One of them is 22 yrs old & the other one isn't far behind. They're not as weatherproof as they once were, & not lightweight by today's standards. Besides, we'd rather be in the...
  10. ponderosa

    Tent Choices

    No tent with fiberglass poles is suited to withstand 50 mph winds, especially one big enough for 4 people. They will bend & bow until they split vertically. I would not consider Coleman for that sort of weather. You need strong aluminum alloy poles and two opposing guyout lines from each pole...
  11. ponderosa

    Idaho, June 11, 2018

    Sounds great. Sorry about the bad trail info & lost photos. I haven't yet done any hiking in the Selway country. There's just so much Idaho to see.
  12. ponderosa

    Trivia 6/12/18

    The percussion cap.
  13. ponderosa

    Watchya Making for Turkey Day?

    I'm not hosting this year, so I have less cooking to do. I'm making some pies (coconut cream, chocolate, lemon); au gratin broccoli, cauliflower, & carrots; and a sourdough stuffing with mushrooms, artichokes, & parmesan.
  14. ponderosa

    Another Sad Day

    Oh, I'm very sorry to hear you lost your best hiking buddy. :(
  15. ponderosa

    Tentsite with Water/Electricity or Tentsite without?

    If I'm staying in a campground that offers some sites with power, I try to get the spot furthest away from the electric sites. If there's power, there will be some noisy appliance plugged into it. I also try to be far away from anyone with a generator.
  16. ponderosa

    Spring has Sprung and the yard is full of baby fruit!

    I like your philosophical view on the matter. We're a might too far north for peaches sadly. Apples, pears, one or two kinds of plums & cherries, & a few berry varieties are the extent of our fruit options here. Grandpa is a couple hours south of me...he might pull off peaches there.
  17. ponderosa

    Lightweight backpacking

    Some of both. It's getting time to replace our backpacking tents, & the new ones will be lighter. The kids will get down sleeping bags as they grow out of the kiddie bags they use now. The canister or alcohol stoves we use now are much lighter than the old liquid fuel stove they replaced. The...
  18. ponderosa

    Spring has Sprung and the yard is full of baby fruit!

    That is fantastic. I'm so jealous of your citrus trees. Here in the frigid north spring is finally taking a good hold. It snowed last week, but we had near-record temps this week (high 70s), & the trees are just starting to bud. This is a new property for us, so we just got the garden spot...
  19. ponderosa

    How old is your tent?

    Kelty Mantra 5 person car camping tent...very heavily used, about 15 years old. The seam tape is starting to come loose in a few places, but this is a great tent. Two Kelty 2 person backpacking tents, Zen and Sage...heavily used, about 18 years and 16 years. One is in great shape, the other...
  20. ponderosa

    Coleman

    The lanterns & stoves are great. Their tents are strictly fair weather gear.
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