Archive for May, 2010

Eagle Creek Adventure

Sunday, May 30th, 2010
Paula at Lower Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek

Paula at Lower Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek

Paula and I headed North East to Eagle Creek (5/30/2010) to scout out the end of the trail for the Pacific Crest Trail backpacking trip in late July.  Dan, Brian and I plan to start at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood and backpack all the way down and around, ending at the Eagle Creek trailhead.  I wanted to show Paula where Eagle Creek was so she’d know where to pick us up, as well as take a quick hike up the trail to see what the terrain would be like.  So, off we went.

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Alcohol Stove Showdown: Supercat versus Unican

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Comparing two homemade alcohol stove designs: Unican (left) versus Supercat (right)

Comparing two homemade alcohol stove designs: Unican (left) versus Supercat (right)

To save weight for my End of July Pacific Crest Trail attempt, I am going to take a homemade alcohol stove instead of a heavier and expensive commercial unit.  The ‘best’ two models I found were the Supercat, which is made from a cat food can, and the Unican, which is made from a single soda or beer can. On a side note, Heineken is not my favorite beer, I just had a lot of those cans handy from previous alcohol stove experimentation.  Also, please be aware that playing with fire and flammable liquids is dangerous, so don’t go blaming me if you burn your patio down or set yourself on fire.

Read on to see who wins the Supercat versus Unican challenge:

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Posted in Gear Review, Hiking | 2 Comments »

2010 Return to Estacada Lake

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
Paulas Trout - 1/2 of First Double

Paula's Trout - 1/2 of First Double

Two weeks ago, we took the canoe out on a lackluster 2010 maiden voyage.  So we took it out to Estacada Lake for the first time this year, and the Rainbow Trout fishing was HOT!  We were making our very first pass and BOOM, both Paula and I had fish on!  Double!

Jeffs Trout - Other 1/2 of Double

Jeff's Trout - Other 1/2 of Double

After we boated our Rainbow Trout, we tossed our lines out again and resumed the troll, and within a few more minutes, we had another double!  Paula and I were tied at two fish each!  At this rate, we should be finished quickly… or would we?

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