I am not sure if it has been mentioned explicitly yet but our time in Europe is almost done. We are very happy to be headed back to the US. Travel and some experiences here have been great but a lot of everyday stuff is a hassle. Also the level of regulations, rules and such here does not mesh with my nature at all. We saw a lot of places and missed some good ones. Particularly we are bummed about not getting to Ireland but that is how things worked out. There is more travel here than we could have done even if time and money were not concerns. In any case it is about time to move on to the next chapter in our lives. We will be spending about a month catching up with folks in the PNW. After that we are headed to the Southwest. More on that later.
We have been walking a lot lately. The weather is good now and it is a solid way to get out of the house and doing something. I do not recommend walking as a form of exercise unless you are A) elderly, B) recovering from a serious injury/ illness, C) crippled or D) seriously overweight and or out of shape and working towards running a la couch to 5k or a similar program. However that does not mean walking is not without benefits. Most of the benefits are not really physical. Getting outside and spending time with your family in the area you live in is a good thing. If somebody told me they walk as a form of exercise who did not fit the above categories I would try to coach them towards a better path, potentially with some mocking involved. If somebody told me they walk regularly to get outside and for active recovery from more strenuous workouts like running or rucking or for some additional low impact/ intensity cardio I would say that was a great plan.
My get home bag setup needs some work. The primary issue is that I really like my Tactical Tailor bag and use it regularly. I like that bag for the task but it can't be in two places at once. This makes having it in the car with a variety of stuff loaded into it problematic. I have a couple of ideas. First a couple side pouches to hold 1 quart water bottles will help free up space in the main compartment for normal life stuff. (Regardless of what I do the bag needs this MOD anyway.) Second sooner or later I need to swap out that bag or get a replacement for normal everyday carry use. Something I have considered is putting most of the stuff that is in my GHB into something else like a wet weather bag or trash bag and then putting it into my TT pack if needed. Mostly this stuff is a full set of clothes with boots, socks, gloves and a hat. I keep this stuff in there because regularly I go on short trips in less than fully ideal clothing and the option to change into suitable clothes for walking is a good thing. I mulled this a lot but despite being an easy and ideal solution it came up short because while I carry the TT bag around a lot while using it as a normal bag it doesn't ALWAYS MAKE IT INTO THE CAR. Inevitably the day I needed it is the day it would be in the hall closet. So the question is what to do. The short term answer is pretty much covered. I ordered a used medium ALICE pack awhile back for $10. It will be a very inexpensive solution and such will likely fit for awhile. Not as nice or comfortable but for $10 instead of $150 that is to be expected. Still a rugged bomb proof pack. Down the road a nice high end bag like the TT or something from Hill People Gear would be great in this role but I will not be able to justify the expense for awhile. Likely I would use the TT for a GHB and something a bit smaller for typical every day type use. Since I don't see any traction on this for at least 6 months or more likely 12 there is some time to think about it.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
We have been walking a lot lately. The weather is good now and it is a solid way to get out of the house and doing something. I do not recommend walking as a form of exercise unless you are A) elderly, B) recovering from a serious injury/ illness, C) crippled or D) seriously overweight and or out of shape and working towards running a la couch to 5k or a similar program. However that does not mean walking is not without benefits. Most of the benefits are not really physical. Getting outside and spending time with your family in the area you live in is a good thing. If somebody told me they walk as a form of exercise who did not fit the above categories I would try to coach them towards a better path, potentially with some mocking involved. If somebody told me they walk regularly to get outside and for active recovery from more strenuous workouts like running or rucking or for some additional low impact/ intensity cardio I would say that was a great plan.
My get home bag setup needs some work. The primary issue is that I really like my Tactical Tailor bag and use it regularly. I like that bag for the task but it can't be in two places at once. This makes having it in the car with a variety of stuff loaded into it problematic. I have a couple of ideas. First a couple side pouches to hold 1 quart water bottles will help free up space in the main compartment for normal life stuff. (Regardless of what I do the bag needs this MOD anyway.) Second sooner or later I need to swap out that bag or get a replacement for normal everyday carry use. Something I have considered is putting most of the stuff that is in my GHB into something else like a wet weather bag or trash bag and then putting it into my TT pack if needed. Mostly this stuff is a full set of clothes with boots, socks, gloves and a hat. I keep this stuff in there because regularly I go on short trips in less than fully ideal clothing and the option to change into suitable clothes for walking is a good thing. I mulled this a lot but despite being an easy and ideal solution it came up short because while I carry the TT bag around a lot while using it as a normal bag it doesn't ALWAYS MAKE IT INTO THE CAR. Inevitably the day I needed it is the day it would be in the hall closet. So the question is what to do. The short term answer is pretty much covered. I ordered a used medium ALICE pack awhile back for $10. It will be a very inexpensive solution and such will likely fit for awhile. Not as nice or comfortable but for $10 instead of $150 that is to be expected. Still a rugged bomb proof pack. Down the road a nice high end bag like the TT or something from Hill People Gear would be great in this role but I will not be able to justify the expense for awhile. Likely I would use the TT for a GHB and something a bit smaller for typical every day type use. Since I don't see any traction on this for at least 6 months or more likely 12 there is some time to think about it.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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6 comments:
Hack again?!
You talk about moving to the SW. Interesting choice given water issues compared to the PNW. I suppose your grow season will be longer.
(Currently in Afghanistan)
Tyler, I am going there temperarily for my job
OK, I walk for exercise, go ahead and laugh at me. Three days a week I do about 9-10 miles, half of it uphill with about 1200 feet of elevation gain. I walk as fast as I can, nearly 4 mph. When possible I do a short loop of about 5 miles after work, again with about 800 feet of elevation.
I started out about 9 months ago trying to walk 1/2 mile because my arthritis was so bad and I kept pushing it as hard as I could until I got to where I am today.
In that 9 months I've lost 60 pounds and am nearly down to my ideal weight. My aerobic fitness is great, it's to the point where I guess I'm going to get a ruck and put 30 pounds of sandbags in it or something as I really can't take much more time out of the day to walk further.
I'm 56. I used to run but frankly as you get older the joints just won't take the pounding. A neighbor has been running for years and he's the same age as me, he just had both knee joints replaced with artificial joints due to the running. I've sure seen a lot of people with hip, knee and ankle problems from running over the years.
Frankly I think walking is the perfect exercise for someone trying to get into shape. You can walk as far as you want at the pace you can do, and as you get in better shape you can increase both. I'm lucky because I can go 1/2 mile from my house to a trailhead and take the whole walk on old logging roads that are closed to cars so I hardly ever see anyone. The dogs can run and chase deer, etc. and they're in great shape too.
Anyway, just had to respond to your dismissal of running. Don't forget us older folks. There's no way I could have started running but walking has been great for me.
Ryan,
I feel your pain on the go-bag issue, as I am in the middle of that myself. HH6 and I are on a trip, with the morale officer along, and could not find a hotel room in the nearest town last night. Period, end of story, state fair and college rush week were both going on. Not a single hotel room available. No problem of course, being the bad-ass SF guy I am, I decided we'd pull off the side of the road in the National Forest, toss the sleeping bags on the ground and rack the fuck out. TMO could sleep in her car seat, since she was already sleeping anyway.
Unfortunately, HH6 had changed the load contents of her go-bag, without informing me, and my go-bag only had basic survival gear in it, as part of my EDC loadout. Whoops. Made it happen, but HH6 slept in the truck with TMO. It got me thinking, which of course, means I'm working on a blog article on it, but I'd definitely say a separate "Oh shit, we're walking out of here" bag from your EDC go-bag is the way to go.
ND,
JM
@11:22, I think you arguably fall into 2-3 of the groups for whom I think walking as a primary exercise method makes sense.
For functional survivalist specific fitness adding a ruck is crucial. As to your situation the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies.
JM, Saw that article. Rather glad I saw the weakness of what I was doing before it bit me. More on this today.
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