Owlbebak

  The Trail Worn old boots crunching the dirty, dusty, brown trail. Nature's symphony!

THE NORTH FACE HEDGEHOG GTX XCR III Recently I switched to a lighter boot / shoe for backpacking since most of my hiking is geared toward ultralight. My first hiking shoe was a Merrill brand. It was light with a Vibram sole with Gore-Tex outer waterproof shell. I liked the shoe. Besides backpacking in it, I wore it daily and went on 4 mile trail runs a few times a week. Eventually, the shoe wore out and I went on the search for a replacement. I  basically wanted the same features, but I decided to try another brand so I could compare performance for future purchases. I decided on The North Face  Hedgehog GTX XCR III. This shoe is superior to my Merrill in terms of insole padding, aggressive Vibram sole and lacing eyes. It provides better support and the fit size is accurate. I wore it a daily for a few weeks, then went on a vacation and hiked 13 miles in the Smoky Mountains. No blisters, not issues. The Gore-Tex served me well due to the many wet areas I had to cross....

I finally got around to making the video of my backpacking trip hiking on the Bartram Trail in Georgia. The complete story of the trip can be found at this LINK with photos. Read and post comments | Send to a friend

We went backpacking on the 20 plus mile Pine Mountain Trail located in Georgia earlier this year. The trail is a great three day trip with very easy access for drop-off and pick-up staging. The trail was very rocky with most of us suffering from hurting feet. For the written report with photos, check out JaxTal Adventure Club's trip report at this  link. Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I made a video of my backpacking trip to Providence Canyon State Park located in Georgia. This was earlier in 2009 before the spring foliage. I made this with my Flip Ultra Camcorder. This is not the newer HD version and as you can see it doesn't have stabilization technology. For the money and size it does a pretty good job though. I just have to remember not to move around too much and pan slow. Providence Canyon State Park, GA Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Initially we planned to go hiking and camp on the Panther Creek Trail in Georgia, very near to this trail. We switched to the Bartram Trail about  three weeks prior to our trip, thinking this hike would be the greater challenge and learning experience. We were proven correct. This trail tested us, our equipment, and taught us important lesson in our quest for backpacking experience and knowledge. My friend, Shawn, spearheaded the trail logistics and most of the information gathering for this trip. He acquired a detailed map created by the Georgia Bartram Trail Group , which I highly recommend purchasing. Another informative source is the  Georgia Trails . Also contacted and utilized was the drop off and pickup service of the Chattooga Whitewater Outfitters . Mike, an owner of the service, is a great guy and their restaurant makes a mean pizza. We arrived on Friday afternoon, in separate cars, driving through steady rain showers, at Tallulah Gorge Stat...

Here are a few photos of our rain soaked Bartram Trail backpacking trip. We had to cut it short after two days due to our underestimating  the trail difficulty for tough little 12 year old dude. It was a little too much for him, but he was a true trooper and didn't whimper or carry on as you might expect an overstressed  kid to do...or weak adult. P1090453 P1090456 P1090457 ...

I keep trying to lighten up my backpack. I have an ultra light pack, a super lightweight down sleeping bag, and a one person light weight tent. Even with all that lightweight gear, I still have a full backpack weight, without water, of 33.25 pounds. This includes 6 pounds of food for about 4 days and 2.5 pounds of clothing. I have to add a few extra items due to the potential cold. I spent a good hour reviewing all my gear to get rid of everything I figure is unneeded. It amazes me when I read of backpackers with 20 pound packs. I guess I could save some weight by not taking any extra clothing, getting an under 2 lb sleeping pad, trimming pack items and removing a few clips, but I  don't think I will do that. I will just have to deal with it. Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Do you love hot, fresh brewed coffee while on the trail? I certainly do. I have tried both instant coffee and the "tea" bag type and while they are ok, I still yearn for fresh brewed without toting a big coffee pot.  While shopping for an alternative method that will work for backpacking I spotted this product made by GSI Outdoors. They make a product called H2JO that is used to brew coffee by screwing it to a typical wide mouth bottle such as a 32 oz Nalgene . First I grind my fresh coffee beans to a medium grind at home and put in a zip lock bag. Out on the trail I then put the coffee in the H2JO, pour the hot water into the bottle, which is a 32 oz Nalgene, screw the unit on, then the bottle cap and shake. After the coffee steeps, the unit is removed and I enjoy fresh coffee. Afterwards, I screw the unit back on the bottle for storage. The bottle is still usable for any other beverage as the liquid will pour through the mesh. For under $15.00 this is a great ...