Sunday, March 11, 2018
Monday, February 12, 2018
Tuesday, August 08, 2017
Gear Post: Long Distance Trail and Backpacking Gear Research.
Warning: Gear Post!
Summer 2017: Long Distance Trail and Backpacking Gear Research:
In my spare time I like to
research hiking and backpacking gear. (If that makes you yawn you should probably quit reading this post now.) I watch PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and CDT
(Continental Divide) through-hikes and gear review videos and I strive to find
the best mix of quality, cost and ultralight gear I can. I scour ultralight
gear reviews by Triple Crown Hikers (meaning they’ve hiked all three major long
distance trails: the AT (Appalachian Trail,) the CDT (incredible 38min overview through-hike video here) and the PCT.) I text gear
finds back and forth with my best friend Rachel, who has turned me toward some
amazing finds and hiker channels on YouTube. (Follow Dixie’s 2017-PCT throughhike here.) I scour eBay.com to find desirable equipment lightly used for a fraction of the
cost and I plan.
In case you also want to live vicariously through these long distance hikers, check them out!
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In case you also want to live vicariously through these long distance hikers, check them out!
Darwin On the Trail
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YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18exdGWh7piVWisrnDXiZg
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Homemade Wanderlust
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Dixie’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQhqmV26773qZhzqJz4VFcw
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RedBeard
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Will’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/wmwood2001
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Sintax77
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YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/sintax77
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Here’s my list of what I
would carry if I were to leave and hike the Appalachian Trail tomorrow:
My current pack:
Osprey Aura 65L; Cost:
about $200 now. 4lb, 2oz.
Outside review of pack.
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Dream pack: Zpacks Arc
Blast; 55L, $325. 21 ounces!
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My current sleep pad:
Klymit Inertia O-Zone. 12.2 ounces, cost: $45-80 online.
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Dream gear sitting pad for camp: Folding sit-pad by DutchGear; $7, 18 GRAMS! Another popular one: Therm-a-rest Z-Seat $15, 2oz |
My current sleeping
bag/quilt:
Custom EnLIGHTened Equipment Revelation 40 degree quilt. Cost: ~250.
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Dream Quilt: Custom EnLIGHTened Equipment Enigma 20 degree quilt. $355.00, 16.83 oz. (Takes 6 weeks to make custom quilt in USA and ship.)
![]() Alternative idea for a budget: Aegis Max down bag $73 on Amazon, 16oz. 35-40 degree bag comfort. |
My current Tent:
L.L.Bean Microlight
Solo, Weight: 1lb 14oz. Cost: $299, or less during their tent sale.
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Dream tent: ZPacks Solo or Duplex cuben fiber tent.
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Add titanium stakes to replace current ones for more weight savings.
See Dixie's demo of setting up the Duplex with trekking poles here. |
What I would take
instead:
Katadyn Be Free filter and .6L soft bag with wide scoop. Twice as fast as the Sawyer Squeeze. ($39.99) 2 oz. See demo here.
Also popular: the Sawyer Squeeze products. Made in Safety Harbor, FL!
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My current rain jacket: L.L.Bean Trail Model Rain Jacket. (16 oz) $80
Pants: Columbia rain
pants 9.6oz $50.
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Dream Rain Jacket:
Marmot Essence Rain Jacket (5 oz!) $100-140+
Pants: Same or Marmot
pants. 8.6 oz.
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Poles: Cascade Mountain cork handle quick-lock, 15 oz. $45/pair.
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Maybe aluminum cork
handled poles if I break more than a pair or two. (Sturdier and less prone to
break than the carbon fiber for a weight penalty.)
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Hiking Clothes needed:
Hiking: Tee-shirt,
hiking tights, bra/underwear. Down sweater. Hat. Gaiters. Trail running
shoes. Darn tough hiking socks. Seal Skinz socks for rainy days.
Sleeping: Thermal long
sleeve and pants. Wool socks. Backup pair of underwear.
Rain gear: Jacket,
pants, gloves, warm hat.
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Popular brands/types:
Socks: Darn Tough, Smart
Wool, Seal Skinz, sock liners, Injinji sport toe socks.
Shirts: Flash
dry/wicking. Merino wool.
Underwear: ExOfficio.
Clothing brands:
Patagonia, North Face, Marmot, L.L.Bean, Outdoor Research, Columbia, REI,
Eddie Bauer, Dirty Girl Gaiters.
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Cooking system:
Basic Titanium alcohol stove 1.83oz ($30)
and denatured alcohol ($2/12oz Heet (yellow
bottle) Methanol) plus lighter. Read about alcohol fuel stoves here.
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Ideally: Go stove-less.
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More Cooking gear:
None purchased.
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Recent gear purchases: While I did give up three weeks of my summer to
teach summer school and camp, I did vastly enjoy spending time with the kids,
and there was the added bonus of having extra funds to research and buy some
new gear! Here’s what I found on eBay:
Eddie Bauer First Ascent Women’s 800 fill down jacket/sweater:
Retail: $99+
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I paid (eBay) $68.64, shipping included.
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Saved: $30.36.
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Patagonia Capilene Women’s hiking tee-shirts:
Retail: $39.00;
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I bought three and paid: $8.99, $4.50, and $13.98,
plus shipping for two.
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Saved: $82.00.
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Patagonia Capilene Women’s long sleeve shirt:
Retail: $29.00
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I paid: $10.49 shipping included,
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Saved: $18.51.
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Patagonia Water Girl tee-shirt (non wicking):
Retail: ~$35.00
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I counter offered/accepted/paid: $8 with shipping
included.
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Saved: $27.00
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Patagonia Women’s
R1 Fleece jacket pullover:
Retail: $77 in this color. (More in others.)
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I paid: $23.29 including shipping.
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Saved: $53.71.
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Zella (Nordstrom
Athletic brand) wicking tee-shirt:
Retail: $45.00
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eBay: $16.95, Made a counter offer/accepted and I
paid: $12.95 (free shipping)
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Saved: $32.05
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Total savings for gear found on eBay:
$243.63.
Another great discount gear website is Massdrop: where they order mass amounts of an item and offer it at a steep discount.
Another great discount gear website is Massdrop: where they order mass amounts of an item and offer it at a steep discount.
Wednesday, August 02, 2017
Blog Feature: Mauro Morandi, Remote Island Caretaker living like Thoreau.
Aimee: Tweeting from his isolated island! (With tag.)
Mauro Morandi: Hello!
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Aimee: Good morning from Tampa, Florida, USA! I'm following your story: you're inspiring! Do you have any messages or wisdom for my young students on how best to live life? We'd like to hear from you, Mr. Morandi. Thank you for your time. -Aimee
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Friday, July 21, 2017
"New-Life Diet," by Aimee Nadow.
"New-Life Diet,"
by Aimee Nadow:
How educating myself and overhauling a modern diet changed my
energy, optimism, and weight loss goals.
(Disclaimer: The
following information is intended as educational and is not meant to be
followed without the advice and permission of your doctor and nutritionist. The
foods and videos below are chosen by myself and I did not receive compensation
for any of them.)
Stage 1: 2005-2012
'Eat
Right For Your Blood Type': In 2005 I was hospitalized because of a week of
Tropical Smoothies which lead to toxic leaching into my stomach, learned more
about my blood type, and then struggled to find all of the right vitamins and nutrients
after cutting out lots of processed foods, and you can read my story here.
Stage 2: 2012-2014
The
Asian diet: In 2012 I went
"gluten free" for two years and ate a mostly Asian diet while hosting
Chinese foreign exchange students. I struggled at first with gluten withdrawal, and then the
quick weight loss and energy boost eventually went away as I added gluten back
into my diet at the end of 2014.
Stage 3: 2015-mid 2017
Pregnancy
and Postpartum: I had the delightful
experience of Hyperemesis
gravidarum (morning sickness for duration of pregnancy,) gestational diabetes and preeclampsia: yay! I ate what I could.
Postpartum I nursed for ten months and ate what helped, and naturally my weight
dropped, then went back up again when I stopped nursing.
Stage 4: July 2017-present
"Go
Big or Go Home:" Everyone has
different dietary needs and restrictions. I've been dogging my own for years so
I decided to cut out everything that I think is causing my dietary challenges
or may be unhealthy for me in some way. I decided to stick with the following (Thyroid,
Adrenals, and Lymph-node healing) diet:
-No caffeine*
-No dairy
-No gluten
-No added sugar(s)
-Add apple cider vinegar for acetic acid 1-2x/week
-High protein/fiber oatmeal for breakfast everyday
-Add vitamin (whole food)
-Reishi tea detox (every few days)
-Daily calorie limit 1500-1700 plus any extra from exercise
-Exercise 30 min+ (3-4x/week)
-Add sleep/more REM
-MINIMAL processed foods (trying to eat foods with less than five natural ingredients)
-MINIMAL processed foods (trying to eat foods with less than five natural ingredients)
WEEK 3: 12.5 pounds lost total
UPDATE! Week 4: 13.4 pounds lost total
UPDATE! Week 4: 13.4 pounds lost total
*I know all of you coffee
lovers were cringing and considering ex-ing out of your browser as soon as you
read 'no caffeine.' If you're committed to consuming coffee/caffeine and you
want some great recommendations of my favorite blends from when I was a coffee addict check
out my coffee review. If you're a tea drinker and that thought
also makes you cringe you can check out my blog post: "The powers of tea! A review of my favorite
blends." or, my blog post: "The secrets of Chinese Green tea."
But if you're GENUINELY
interested in weight loss or nutrition or body health then I think you should
forge ahead and learn a little about your adrenals and why you have to heal
them (cutting sugar and caffeine) before you're going to get any results even
if you're a warrior in the gym.
Caffeine Detox duration: 6 days (only 3 bad days) of withdrawal
symptoms.
No caffeine day 1: random
feeling of alertness/wakefulness
No caffeine day 2: extra
energy; did two workouts!
No caffeine days 3-5: Tough
days. Uncharacteristically weepy emotions and general frustration. Luckily, still married.
No caffeine: days
6-current: No cravings for coffee, only any 'hot' beverage in the morning;
craving lasts for only about fifteen minutes (old habit) and then goes away.
(For "cheat" days during and post caffeine detox: Decaffinated almond milk or soy Starbucks latté with sugar-free vanilla and their Canadian bacon certified gluten free breakfast sandwich.)
(For "cheat" days during and post caffeine detox: Decaffinated almond milk or soy Starbucks latté with sugar-free vanilla and their Canadian bacon certified gluten free breakfast sandwich.)
Gluten Detox and Sugar Detox duration: 14+ days of symptoms.
My Gluten detox did not
coincide with my caffeine detox so that I could better monitor the overall
withdrawal symptoms. It was worse than the caffeine detox. Many days of a
zombie-like "brain fog." The thought of eating gluten by accident and
having to start that detox all over again is frightening.
- Additional note: My old list of "Top Ten Detox foods," can be found here.)
Now I would substitute the Bolthouse Green Machine type-drinks (so much
sugar) for the Suja Daily Greens.
- Alternative Organic Products
review: http://nadow.blogspot.com/2013/09/2013-organic-product-review-guide.html
So why did I go to these diet changing extremes? I learned that I had
completely worn out my adrenal glands from decades of caffeine intake and sugar
consumption and that my lymph nodes were chronically swollen and I wanted to
heal them. These issues are fairly common amongst Americans. To learn how to
test for adrenal fatigue watch the following video and the subsequent educational videos which is how I also educated myself about the topic.
Or, skip below the videos, to see some of the foods that I've been eating for that past month or so.
Adrenal and Lymph Node educational videos: (Content intended for adults.)
Now, here are some of the foods that I've added into my diet to replace old habits or to add newer, healthier choices in:
1. Bone broth by Bonafide.
2. Dairy-free probiotics: Due to the fruit, this has a higher natural sugar content then I would like, so I only consume about 4oz, every other day.
3. So Delicious Coconut "Cool-whip," as a dairy-free dessert replacement, just add frozen fruit for a delightfully refreshing dessert.
3. Daily oatmeal breakfast: High protein AND fiber. 190 cal/bowl. Two delicious flavors. No heavy gunky normal "oatmeal" flavor.
4. Citrus water for vitamin benefits; organic fruits (less) instead of traditional pesticide ones.
5. Almond milk and coconut/almond milk substitute. Delicious and high in calcium. Super low (40) calories/serving.
6. Ice cream replacement: So delicious Coconut Milk "ice cream" alternative. High in calories and guilt, delicious flavor.
7. Whole food multivitamin for better absorption. (Allegedly.)
8. Apple cider vinegar: the horror! The Horror! It's godawful. Mix with water. Take a chaser. 1-2x/week. Great before red meat to aid digestion. Great for getting rid of colds.
9. Husband-approved tea: Reishi detox mushroom blend, one bag for a medium kettle, add a tablespoon of organic local honey (read about the horrors of imported honey here if you care) and shred one of the organic ginger-fingers (skin on) over the kettle and let steep from boiling for ten minutes before drinking. I can feel my lymph nodes clearing after this one.
10. Dying-for-gluten snacks: these "hit the spot," for moments of preceived weakness: Glutino "pretzels," Vans GF cereals and cereal bars and crackers, and veggie chips.
11. But what do you eat for lunch? The salsas for my veggie chips.
12. But I just want a brownie/cupcake/treat! Try these coconut macaroon-style bites. Good god, so scrumptious!
13. I can't live without pizza/bread/fried chicken: No you shouldn't have to. Here are some good options!
Finally: Get a fitness/weight/nutrition/calorie App Tracker. I like: My Net Diary Pro. I've been using it for four years and I love the Lifetime weight and exercise tracking charts. ($3.99) This app also helps me track nutrients so that I can be sure I'm getting the right nutrition.
Final health plug: If you're interested in tracking cholesterol or your iron you can always give blood and find out for free! Plus, saving lives is a bonus!
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