Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Running in the snow

Well, I have to be honest. This is my first run of the year. I'm not counting the vomit inducing run in NM that really turned into a long walk.
So coming back to Missouri, I also came back to highs in the 20's and snow. Currently there is about 8"-10" in my town. Being a longtime desert dweller my running gear consisted of some fivefingers, short, and a few t's that do double duty for backpacking. Well no more, I geared up for winter running. I have to say running through snow is hard work. I often welcome things that are new and different and tonight's experience did not disappoint. Mind you I only covered about a mile and a half, remember I haven't done much running really since October, but it was a fun and exhilarating mile and a half.
Ness, the dog, loved it. I was surprised to see a short haired pitbull frolic in the snow, but it just added to the feeling of excitement and fun. We'll see about the next time once the newness has worn off.
Winter running gear?
<ul>Ex-O briefs
Smartwool socks
NB MT101s
MH transition pants
Patagonia cap2 shirt
Salomon swift midlayer (very nice by the way )
Merino buff
OR fleece gloves
Sheesh- that a lot!</ul>
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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Eugene's trip report

Here's a link to Eugene's trip report from our trip over Christmas break. It's a good read.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=40999

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Snow for a desert rat

This is the first post of the new year and it has been awhile since the last one, but I thought the snow was a good source for a new post.
This is the first real snowstorm that we desert dwellers have encountered since being in Missouri. While I have been around a little snow and enjoy it, driving in the snow is another story. Especially when driving a nearly 3 ton vehicle which, unknown to me, was lacking a working four wheel drive. I thought it would be nice of me to let my lovely wife drive the behemoth that is our trusty old '89 Toyota Landcruiser.
So I went ahead and put it in 4WD for her just to be extra nice, and told her she was good to go. Poor girl, listening to me. Well, the next thing I heard from Megan was her slightly annoyed voice saying that she was stuck in a ditch, and why wouldn't this awesome 4x4 just drive right out?
I just happened to be at my friend Eric's house, who just happens to be quite a guru of all things FJ. So I asked him to help pull out my FJ62 and get everything sorted. Now what's funny is every male in the room jumped up to go on this adventure. Its a well known fact that men love to try to get vehicles unstuck, but how many could it possibly take. Oh well, round up the troops! We have a two man job.
We went to retrieve the ol' gal and Megan, who was surprisingly upbeat for having sat in a ditch alone for the past half an hour, and got both of them to safety.
So then I meekly climbed the hill to visit the guru of all things FJ who simply stated that the 4WD wasn't working and he suspected a hub. Well the thing about gurus is that they only speak when they are right. So we took apart the hub. (10mins in man time, 1 hour in real time) After a thorough cleaning and re-assembly, the beast was back in action! Bring on the snow, this old tank still has plenty of life left!
Thanks Eric!
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