Friday, March 12, 2010

Shelter

During the Christmas season, I can remember many times when I would check out the gifts under the Christmas tree that had my name on it. Often, I would judge a gift merely on it's weight. If it was heavy, it must be good. Lightweight, it was questionable. Although not always the case, to this day, I still find heavier presents more exciting, more mysterious.

Today, my new shelter "The Spinn Twin" from Gossamer Gear arrived on my doorstep. When I lifted the box, my first instinctual reaction was, "This is it?" It was like picking up a box with nothing in it. Then it quickly occurred to me, "Yes, this IS it!!! Light as a feather!!!" It's made of "high thread count spinnaker cloth" and is unlike anything I've ever felt before. I hope to practice setting it up this weekend. In this case light is good, very good.

3 comments:

  1. WOW, Mark, cool site. What are you going to sleep on? Assume you will post photos of your new feather light Spinn Twin? Speaking of which, will you be posting while on the Trail?

    Your christmas story reminds me that, come adulthood, we get to rediscover some of our determinations of yore. Like, for me, stinky cheese and olives. What was once disappointment is now a delicacy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robin, I think this is just the start of a more gradual shift towards ultra-light backpacking. I'm still planning on sleeping on a plastic ground sheet and ridge rest under my sleeping bag. As much as I would like to, I don't think I will be posting much of anything while on the trail. Perhaps an update from time to time.

    ReplyDelete