New Gear

2025-08-27
PA

It wasn't too late to shop for some gear for the trip. Amazon is pretty fast, and only one food item was dubious and even that made it before I left.

The first new item is the Garmin inReach mini 2. This is a satellite communications device that can be used to call for emergency help even in places with no cell coverage. This trip will have a few hikes off the grid, and while I endeavor to be safe this will reduce the risk even further. The device can do some stuff on its screen, and a bunch more by connecting to your cell phone which is pretty cool (assuming the latter has charge).

However, if you get one of these, don't wait until the last minute to set it up. It takes a bit of time and you want to do it in front of your computer if possible. It's not for people that want to communicate constantly or post pictures on the 'gram, but I can send a message when I'm in the tent for the night.

Next, I got a 16 quart cooler. I've never taken a cooler before because it takes a fair amount of space and ice isn't all that common. I think it will work for the first few days (future Me says that the half-liter water bottles I froze were all thawed at 36 hours...) so I put in some bagels and PBJ and so forth to eat on the way out. After that it may just take up space. A bigger ice block or more frozen bottles would have helped I think. Hotel ice can keep it going for a while.

Finally, I added a canopy for shade. Think like the 10 by 10 pop-ups you see everywhere, but much lighter and half the size when packed. With that it's also a lot harder to put up. Setting it up in the driveway left me unconvinced that I will be able to put it up again by myself in the field. But we have wanted shade at some of our campsites and this should fill that bill. It also has screen sides so it will be useful when bugs are the issue. All that assumes we have space for it when both of us are in the car.

Now, it's just what old gear I forgot in my last minute packing...