What started off as a recap of a recent outdoor adventure quickly took on a life of it's own. So rather than posting a huge narrative here and the other forums, I ended up building a web page of it. Hope it is beneficial.

Gear check, self check

I won't critique too much other than to agree with the need to get in shape. The 120 bpm heartrate was nice. When I climb the logging roads at my other home my heartbeat easily hits 150, as it does when I workout on a stationary bike in the gym. Getting and staying in shape is a lifestyle thing along with nutrition. Fortunately I didn't run much early in life so my knees are fine. I'm 54 and still do squats, heavy leg presses and leg extensions/curls for leg exercises. Sciatica issues disappeared once I started lifting again. Some days my schedule revolves around working out and I resent work sometimes for interfering with that schedule.

Your knife though. . . do you have the fully serrated Spyderco Rescue or a plain edge? The link showed that Spyderco made the knife in a plain edge and I've never seen a plain edge Rescue. The only full serrated knife I have is a Rescue and it stays in my truck console. Hopefully I'll never need to use it. My EDC is a Ritter Griptilian, I highly recommend it.

I have the fully serrated Rescue.

I would encourage you to use your camelbag.
Since I have a Platypus bag, I use it on every hike; No need to stop to hydrate yourself.

I even use one in my car, for long distance driving. Easier to drink from such a water bag (strapped to the unoccupied front passenger seat), than from an ordinary bottle or canteen :
- no need to take your eyes from the road, to search for the bottle
- no need to unscrew a cap
- no need to screw it back on

I'm glad to see another person here enjoyed Monadnock. I climbed it a few years ago when I was in college, and we had a blast. My friend from Vermont was as sure-footed as a mountain goat and beat the rest of us up to the top.

Unfortunately this was before I really got into preparedness, though, so I foolishly carried next to nothing on me. On the descent I learned my lesson - my knee hurt so bad (family has a history of bad knees) but I had nothing to alleviate the pain except for using a long branch as a walking stick. Now I make sure I wear a knee brace whenever I go hiking in addition to my other gear, and I'll be investing in some kind of walking pole soon. For awhile I was using a piece of bamboo that grows in my parent's backyard.

Good job on the webpage!

Nice read. I didn't see any cordage mentioned in case you needed to make an emergency shelter, but maybe you have that stashed in your PSK?

You have talked me into both a Jetboil and the Wilderness Instructors Belt. $igh... <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Yes, I have about 50' of 550 cord in my PSK.