Podcast: Download (Duration: 32:17 — 30.5MB)
Show Notes: Episode 153
Today on the First 40 Miles, Is it OK to skip school and hit the trails? We think so! Josh and our two youngest will share some of the highlights of the week. Then we’ll review a clever way to get food from the plat to your mouth. And, a few nights on a deflated pad is the inspiration behind today’s Backpack Hack of the Week. Then we’ll wrap up the show with a little trail wisdom from Arnold Bennet.
Opening
- Trip prep
- Why Josh chose Trinity Alps Wilderness
Top 5 Things Josh and the Boys Loved About the Trinity Alps Trip
SUMMIT Gear Review™: humangear GoBites Duo
Structure
- Not a “spork”
- This is a spoon and a fork that slide together securely, so you have the option of using one or both
- the GoBites Duo is made of super durable nylon
- FDA food‐safe – 100% BPA‐, PC‐, and phthalate‐free
Utility
- Can be used separately and a spoon and a fork, or you can attach the ends of the fork and spoon together for a longer handle. The spoon acts as the forks handle and vice verse
- The spoon and fork slide together and click securely
Mass
- Weighs .8 ounce (24 grams)
- 9 inches when fully extended
- 6 inches when fork and spoon are stowed
Maintenance
- Top-rack dishwasher safe
Investment
- $7.50
- Lifetime warranty
Trial
- Great mouthfeel—the bowl of the spoon is the shape of your mouth
- Tines of the fork are functional, not merely decorative or suggestive of forkiness.
- The Duo has won design awards… humangear calls this a “civilized travel utensil”
- Come in gray, blue and red.
Backpack Hack of the Week™: Testing an Inflatable Pad for Leaks
- Had an issue with an inflatable pad on the trail.
- Brought it home to test for leaks—although this test method will work on the trail as long as you have a water source
- At home, filled the bathtub with 4 inches of water, put pad in it and pressed to watch for bubbles
- Once you find the bubbles, dry and patch hole (if there is a hole)
Trail Wisdom
It’s easier to go down a hill than up it, but the view is much better at the top. –Arnold Bennet, English writer, 1867—1931
P.S. This guy sounds fascinating. He also wrote a book called How to Live on 24 Hours a Day. A great quote: Which of us lives on twenty-four hours a day? And when I say “lives,” I do not mean exists, nor “muddles through.” Which of us is free from that uneasy feeling that the “great spending departments” of his daily life are not managed as they ought to be? […] Which of us is not saying to himself — which of us has not been saying to himself all his life: “I shall alter that when I have a little more time”? We never shall have any more time. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is.