camping / backpacking thread...

[Road Guy]

yeah he is passed it - we stayed there off season with some scouts one year, that place has some cool stories.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walasi-Yi_Interpretive_Center

If anyone is ever in the area its worth stopping by - & the blood mountain hike is terrfic(ly horrible) 

http://www.mountaincrossings.com/

Thanks for the link - will defin check it out.. 

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

In case anyone wants some inspiration:

 

[Violator]

I want to clean out my camping boxes and check tents and organize for Spring and Summer camping but I am afraid I am going to jinx it.

 

[LyceeFruit PE]

I bought a 3P tent

 

[Road Guy]

I am ready for some jeep rides and some back country camping - I bought the wife a "poop tent" for her birthday in January -Cause thats what every girl wants right?

 

[Road Guy]

I never did buy the poop tent

I thought we had a fishing thread, but I guess not, will put this here.  My kid and I each caught one of these fish last week.  Well we used a spear, was pretty cool - anyone recognize these?

 

[Supe]

Are those lionfish?  Pretty cool looking.  Did you eat them?

 

[Road Guy]

I ended up letting these guys on our dive boat have them, they had come from Michigan to "kill lionfish" and they were not having much luck - I was having some beginners luck & didn't really know how to cook them - but it was pretty fun to spear them - to be an invasive fish they are pretty dumb, got the first one on like the 3rd shot -they dont move much.

One other lionfish I got a nurse shark literally took it off the end of my spear and ate it whole, it was probably one of the coolest thing I have ever seen. I didnt know but when the nurse sharks see you with a spear they follow you around..

But I have always gotten bored with reef dives but have found a new way to make them interesting - you dont need a license for lionfish, but next time I will get a 7 day fishing license cause I think that would be a much easier way to bring some grouper or snapper home..

 

[snickerd3]

come to IL and fish for asian carp...we need help.  Although they will knock you off your feet if you aren't careful.  They are stupid too, they will jump into the boat.  

 

[leggo PE]

I went camping this past weekend! It was wonderful.

I planned the meals and did quite a good job, if I do say so myself! The highlights were the marinated chicken with banana peppers, my homemade potato salad, and the mason jar pancakes.

 

[Road Guy]

Dutch Oven Cooking?

We are looking to make a trip at the end of the month & hit Mount Massive.

So they closed the REI near our house instead of opening it up, rumor is that their lease was up and existing landlord wouldn't renegotiate the lease,  but I just went by the main REI store in downtown Denver (3 stories) and it really had that going out of business feeling,  like nothing really left to buy, tons of stuff on clearance, abnormal to see ski gear out this time of year at REI - it looked like they had shifted over to garage sale mode. I wonder if they are converting back to a mail order / internet order company?

I have found a good alternative to REI here, local store called JAX, much prefer to give them my money to be honest, but I have a strange feeling that something is up with REI..

 

[csb]

Dutch Oven Cooking?

We are looking to make a trip at the end of the month & hit Mount Massive.

So they closed the REI near our house instead of opening it up, rumor is that their lease was up and existing landlord wouldn't renegotiate the lease,  but I just went by the main REI store in downtown Denver (3 stories) and it really had that going out of business feeling,  like nothing really left to buy, tons of stuff on clearance, abnormal to see ski gear out this time of year at REI - it looked like they had shifted over to garage sale mode. I wonder if they are converting back to a mail order / internet order company?

I have found a good alternative to REI here, local store called JAX, much prefer to give them my money to be honest, but I have a strange feeling that something is up with REI..

But the downtown REI store is so pretty! That's creepy to hear. 

JAX has been our go to, just because it's close and it's got that crazy surplus section. Well, the one in Fort Collins does anyway. 

 

[Road Guy]

Jax is great, they got me through the part of the pandemic where people were waiting in line for days at home depot - they dont have exactly the same inventory but pretty close to what we needed - plus there is something about a store that sells army / navy surplus / overpriced kuhl clothing, shotguns, bike gear, and chickens..

I think they opened one up in your neck of the woods?

 

[csb]

Jax is great, they got me through the part of the pandemic where people were waiting in line for days at home depot - they dont have exactly the same inventory but pretty close to what we needed - plus there is something about a store that sells army / navy surplus / overpriced kuhl clothing, shotguns, bike gear, and chickens..

I think they opened one up in your neck of the woods?

Yep! It's in the old Sears in the mall. I haven't done a full walkthrough yet. 

 

[Supe]

REI here still isn't open to the public, online order pickup only...

 

[leggo PE]

No dutch oven cooking! We exclusively used a two-sided cast iron flat skillet, which was awesome. The grill mark side was a bitch to clean afterwards though, but well worth it!

 

[Road Guy]

i figured with all your baking skills you would appreciate the dutch oven- you can make some amazing stuff with them!

We scored a last minute backpacking trip to go to Sky Pond in RMNP Saturday - just going to take hammocks and the bare mimimum & no kids!  last time we gave up and didnt make it to the glacier that is here, hoping to get to it this go around..

http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/sky-pond.htm

 

[FLBuff PE]

We camped at RMNP a few weekends ago. Prepare the wife for crowds at Bear Lake. We tried to get to the Bear Lake parking lot "early" so that we wouldn't have to use the shuttle, but it was full by 8 AM (apparently not early enough). The hike from Bear Lake to Emerald Lake had lots of people on it, with sporadic mask wearing. I have a feeling that the hike y'all will be on will not have as many people on it. Have a great time social distancing! We're heading to Steamboat Lake this weekend.

 

[Road Guy]

We are actually going to stay up in Estes at a hotel tonight and then leave at 0400 so we can park at Bear Lake and avoid the crowds.  

I know its usually a zoo but we have found that on the 5+ mile hikes the main crowds die off, but there will still be some locals out there at Sky Pond ( I really want to do this hike in the Winter one of these years too) the frozen sky pond pics are amazing!

 

[MA_PE]

Stay at the Stanley.  See if Stephen king’s room  is available.  I think it’s 217.