Helix, Heelix, (H)elix1

Did a little shopping this weekend, with hopes of this snow going away. Looks like we actually did get 21+ inches after all. My little one has expressed interest in doing a bit of camping. Car camping... once my bride gave her a bit more information on the practicalities (the bathroom) in the BWCA, she decided that the state parks with full facilities might be more her style.

Fair enough. My old 2 room tent was near it's end of life. Getting 12 years out of a $100 Sears tent, roughly treated - I'd say it owes me nothing. When I was patching some of the newly discovered holes this fall, I figured it was time to replace the big tent. Found one this weekend. 15x12', screened in "patio". It is heavy - but for about the same $100, it will work out nicely if all I have to do is pull it out of the wagon.

Also shopping for a small 2 man tent. Intended on picking up one last year, but never did find anything that really caught my eye. Couple folks that I know are upgrading and looking to sell off their old equipment, so it may be time. It strikes me as really funny the amount of money folks will toss at equipment to shave off an extra two ounces. I know I could lose (or shift up as my bride would say) 20 pounds, so it seems a bit silly to obsess about a fraction of a pound. That said, I've updated and/or trimmed down my equipment and have my pack down to a reasonable weight. Shaving a couple pounds off the tent means more snacks for my bride or some extra clothing. Always a good thing.

One thing I'll be adding into my BWCA gear is some of that hand sanitizer (like purell). Very nice stuff. One of the guys packed some in on our labor day weekend trip, and it really was a handy way to clean up before meals. Worth the extra half ounce in my pack.

Might pack in some swimming goggles after the glacier lakes thaw out some. I have a strong suspicion one could pack out more fishing lures than they brought in if you were willing to deal with some cold water.

Time to book my holiday boundary waters gigs. You wait till it is nice out and you find yourself portaging through Swamp Lake (or not at all).