Into the great wide open

Well, it's been an embarrassing while, hasn't it? Apologies; life has been busy. To be honest, we've been very, very, extraordinarily busy doing all sorts of stuff Raven-Scouts-applicable - we just haven't been documenting it. What a disaster. In this very-weird day and age, if you didn't document it, did it even happen?

Hell yeah it happened. 

(View at the top of Big Bald on the North Carolina Appalachian Trail)
(Mouse, Badger and Bobcat taking in the deep woods of Southern Appalachia)
(Mason Farm Biological Reserve on a fall evening)


(Badger in the first morning light at Eno River State Park)
(Mouse, Wolf, Gypsy and Badger on a Thanksgiving backpacking trip at Uwharrie National Forest)
(Badger and Wolf on a long snow hike during a southern blizzard)
(Learning how to backpack and build a fire in the freezing rain and ice in Uwharrie National Forest)
(Wolf on a very long, very early, very cold winter bike ride to meet Bobcat and Mouse)

(Birding with Mouse in Rocky Mountain National Park)
(Backpacking and postholing in Rocky Mountain National Park)
(Exploring a very wet Mason Farm Biological Reserve after major local flooding)
We've been kayaking, hiking, backpacking, rescuing animals (and subsequently helping a few of those animals cross the Rainbrow Bridge), traveling up a storm, drinking delicious beer, eating amazing food, and generally just living the dream of our lives every day. We've seen all sorts of new birds, experienced better ways to train and care for our remaining dogs Gypsy and Badger, learned new skills, picked up a hell of lot of new experience and knowledge, and realized we still have so much to learn and explore. Life's been pretty damn good - nah, pardon me, but it's been really fucking great.

So we're back, we're better, we're realizing where our gaps in knowledge and experience are. We are learning that we are nowhere near outdoor experts, but we are outdoor specialists. We are the jack of many trades realizing that it will be years before we are the master of any. We are constantly humbled, consistently grateful, and rarely not laughing. 

Except during the postholing in Rocky Mountain National Park. I cried a little because my stupid 70-year-old knee hurt, a whole lot. But we're mostly laughing.

So we are back, because we are heading to the 100 Mile Wilderness in a week. For those of you unfamiliar, that is the *almost* last 100 miles of the Applachian Trail in Maine. It is heaven on earth - if heaven includes some PUDs (pointless up-and-downs), mosquitos, bogs, lots of water, and some of the most beautiful wilderness I have yet to explore. We are going along with our dear friends Fred and Corie and will work to officially force them into the Raven Scouts crew. I am truthfully dreaming of this trip. We are going to have so much fun - and learn so much more.

I have never done a gear review. I don't know enough specs about gear to be considered a gearhead - I know what I like, and I know what I would like to have, and I know what I probably should not bring that I bring anyway. Like I said - I'll learn so much more. Like maybe, just maybe, a bag of tea for every day is not necessary.

Just kidding - I'll never leave my fucking tea at home.

Please enjoy the video. Please remember I like constructive feedback and tips, and I love love love discussion where we can learn from each other - and please also remember I like to run my gear into the ground and not waste things if possible. So while my sleeping bag is, yes, 10 or 12 years old, it's the perfect sleeping bag for moderate temperatures and trips. I'm using it until it falls apart, and it's nowhere close. And Badger loves it.

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