Columbus Day Weekend

Four day weekends are always great. But when it is just Dad and the kids - that is still work. I would have wanted to go camping, but instead we ran random errands and tried to play around the house. The contractor is working on the new back deck. Hopefully in a day or two we'll even be able to (carefully) walk out the back door and down to the yard again. And hopefully I won't have to keep walking the dog around from the front so she can use the yard!



The new deck from the side.






The deck from the back. The top level will swing around the north side of the house and will give us views of the mountains. It will be big enough for a table and the bar-b-que. The stairs have tier and will be much stronger - no more swaying back and forth! The tier is supported by two steal beams which are sunk deep into the ground. It will be the best deck in the neighborhood.

Even though we didn't go camping like I had originally wanted to, I did get a new backpack! I have been wanting a new one for a while. My old Mountainsmith has been with me for over 15 years and is showing wear. It served me well on trips in the Rockies, the Cascades, two climbs up Rainier, camping in the Alps and in Alaska. For my new pack I was leaning towards the Gregory Palisade based off of features, price and recommendation. But even the guy at REI who recommended the Gregory had said if I could afford it, the Arc'Teryx or Osprey were the top of the line. The Arc'Teryx have water resistant, durable material and zippers, great padding, and many lashing points. Anyway, REI had the Bora 80 on sale for a price that made it cheaper than the Gregory. It is a bit smaller - 4700 cubic inches vs. 5100 for the Gregory, but I decided it was still big enough for both multi-day trips and for carrying extra gear for the kids when we go on a family backpacking trip. So, here it is, modeled by Megan! She carried it out up to the counter and then out to car and gives it thumbs up!










A future backpacker and her dog!