75, sunshine, light breeze, just about perfect, again.
Today started out well and got a lot better. It was cool this morning but not cold. After a couple of days of being trailer bound I was ready for some road time. A wild look around and remembering about my day pack, more later, I decided that a trip to San Antonio (SA) was in order even if it was 50 miles away. So grab the camera and be certain it has the battery pack this time, the cell phone, my purse, and the keys, make sure I am dressed and away I go. With the trailer I usually run 60 mph. Without the trailer I run 60 mph as long as it is a 4 lane so I do not hold folks up. Today some of the roads were 2 lane so I had to waste precious diesel driving 70 mph so I did not cause unsafe passing attempts.
The route was south on 87 then east on I-10 into SA. Now when I left Texas, SA stopped about the 1604 loop around town. Today starting about 10-12 miles north of the loop I hit housing subdivisions and massive traffic moving very fast. By the time I got to the loop to head east to 281 and the loop intersection, the traffic was a real experience. It has been a long time since I have been in that congested and fast moving traffic. At any rate things flowed smoothly and I arrived at my destination in good time and relatively calm. Here is the picture of the store.
Now that sign my look like it says SPORTSMANS WAREHOUSE but it doesn’t really. Back in Washington, I had a good friend named Ken. He was born in China and came to the US early in his life. Now Ken and I had a routine. We would about once a month go to the Granny’s Buffet after work, then walk off the over stuffing at the nearby Sportsman’s Warehouse. For some unknown reason money seemed to always jump out of our pockets and get left at the store. Then one night Ken realized that sportsman’s warehouse was Chinese for TOY STORE. Now everyone knows that the one who dies with the most toys wins. So the mystery of our money is solved.
My day pack is well over 10 years old. In fact I cannot remember how old, but I have pictures of my using it 10 years ago. It is in good shape. Generally speaking I am not hard on my gear. However tremendous improvements have been made in the years since I bought mine. Trying out a couple during my travels had convinced me that a newer model with the better padding and suspensions would do me good. My old one was first class at the time, a North Face Wasatch 2000 ci. It only took a couple of minutes of comparisons to know for certain a new pack was leaving with me. Also I wanted a larger model so I could take stuff to overnight on a trail. The department manager and I spent about 30 minutes digging through the packs and trying them on before I decided on a Kelty Redwing 3100.
This new one is over 50% bigger than the old one but very noticeably lighter. The cost of good equipment is not low. This was $90, but should last me the rest of my life. The padding and fit makes my old one feel like a wooden crate digging into my back. The new style of waist belt doesn’t dig in like the older one. WOW I wish I had changed out a couple of years ago.
Along with the new bag, I decided that my over 10 year old hiking socks could stand an upgrade. Sportsmen’s was having a sale on their socks so I grabbed 4 pair and one new liner set. As soon as I get everything changed over and sorted I will be ready for the main trail at Pedernales Falls State Park. It is named Wolf Mountain Trail and I have never walked the whole trail. My son and I have ridden it on mountains bikes in the past where we had some very good time together. It looks easy from the starting trail head as you can see in this picture.
It does not get really had like some of the monsters up in the Pacific Northwest, but it does its share of making you earn the trip.
On the way home I decided to stop at a restaurant called The Country Cupboard in Johnson City. I started eating there about 35 years ago when it was a great Bar B Q place. I am sorry to have to say than it has degraded to just another acceptable roadside diner. It was just fine but not any where close to what it was in the past.
Arrival back home was with a few minutes to spare to pick up my mail at the office and have some friendly conversation with a few folks. Then back home to fix supper, write up the blog and get my new toys ready to go out and have tooooo much fun. TheOFM
Kelty has was my choice for a pack. They are designed by someone who thinks like I do. Or hikes like I do.
ReplyDeleteYears ago my well traveled (10 year old) Kelty was stolen along with the truck. Got the truck back without the pack -- or anything else that was in the truck. Include in that list hiking shoes. That was the hardest to replace. Broken in hiking shoes are hard to replace.
After shopping for a replacement pack, I found that Kelty continued to make the best pack -- for me.
Enjoy that hike -- where ever it is.