There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
I'm guiding a group up Mount Shasta. It's a three-day trip, all on snow except for the first two miles. Temps will range from below freezing to high 70s. We start our summit bid at 2am, and we walk slowly, so I need warmer gear than if I was doing this trip by myself. I also need more safety gear as a guide. Not shown are my food and kitchen setup, which are provided by my guide company.
Here are a few of the key items: -Mountainsmith Mountainlite Specter LT pack (4500 cu in, 68 oz) -Massdrop Custom 20' Down Quilt (20 oz) -Massdrop x Klymit UL Insulated Static V Pad (16.9 oz) and pillow (1.7 oz) -Black Diamond HiLight (49 oz) -Modified Adventure Medical Kits UL/WT Pro -Rab clothing: Endurance Parka, Xenon Hoody, Meco Hoody, Sawtooth Pants
-Switching out my boots from Scarpa Summit to Scarpa ZeroG XCR -Buying a lighter BD helmet and harness -Buying a lighter, simpler mid-layer than the Rab Xenon, possibly hoodless and with fewer pockets
I got to use one of the first MLD Solomid XL after Ron released them. Pretty dang sweet shelter. Played around with different setup configurations of it. You can really open up that sucker to have some major air flow and livable space, if bad weather is not an issue and you are creative.
Here are photos from my first encounter with the Solomix XL (backyard, but it was still fun playing with a new shelter) https://www.facebook.com/HikeLighter/photos/?tab=album&album_id=231548753635622
The Trinity Alps are a little under 100 miles from my place. What a truly beautiful location, eh! If you ever think about going back up there, check out the Trinity High Route, designed by Sir Deems himself.