Jules and I picked up my mom and headed to Briones Regional Park for a quick hike to try out one of the new backpacks and the Garmin Rino GPS device. I wasn’t able to load the a topo map onto the Rino before we left so all we could see was a dotted line (our track) in a sea of tan, but it was interesting anyway. Here’s a short video I posted on youtube.
Browsing Posts in Nature
Recently Jules and I have acquired some new backpacking gear in preparation for some epic trips this summer.
Plotting the Course
First on the list is a fancy GPS device. Jules did some research and came up with the Garmin Rino 530HCx GPS/Two-Way Radio. After last year’s trip to Snow Mountain where we lost the trail a few times, we thought it would be a good idea to have a backup plan. We were never really lost while in the Snow Mountain area, but a few times we didn’t know how to proceed. When I say we lost the trail, we could still go back, just not forward. So with this handy device we can plan our route ahead of time and bring it out every so often to make sure we’re on the right track.
Garmin Rino 530HCx
Disclaimer: A GPS device should not take the place of a map, compass and planning. Always let someone know what your plans are.
Setting the Sails
Right around when I graduated from college I decided to get a framepack for all of the backpacking I was sure to do. Unfortunately I didn’t put any research into it and didn’t even test the fit. Despite all that I’ve been on many trips with it and it’s all worked out just fine except for a little chafing and perhaps a little more strain than was necessary. So Jules thought it was a good time for an update.
Osprey Aether 70
Enter the Osprey Aether 70. This 70L pack should get me through the long trips with comfort. I’m planning on taking it on my honeymoon. For those shorter weekend trips she got me something lighter and more agile.
Osprey Kestrel 48
Aren’t they pretty? I’m pretty excited to get out on the trails and start breaking these guys in. I’m tempted to take them in to work and just go on walks for lunch. Maybe I’ll try that this week
Just some pictures from a recent hike up Eagle Creek with Jules.
Renan Ozturk does dispatches from his expeditions. He describes them as “Episodic & on the fly creative content cut in the field and sent with satellite technology.” They’re pretty amazing. Here’s a series from a trip to Borneo.
Who’s that weirdo on the end???
Happy Snowshoers?
Oh yeah, that was me.
For some reason, I couldn’t get the rest of them to display much enthusiasm. Though my P.I. did raise his hand.
So I acquired a baby plantelet from Kalenchoe (Mother of Thousands) from one of my classmates several months ago. It’s a cool plant that they often use for tumor research. I used to have one in undergrad. It’s currently growing on the window sill right next to my desk in lab. It is now producing little plantelets along the leaf margins. Soon they will ring each leaf, with little dangling roots. These will soon drop off into the soil to sprout up into new Kalenchoe clones. Woot. It’s pretty nifty.
I miss visiting Portland with Jules. Maybe we should take a trip soon. 
Jules and I went on a hike up in the hills yesterday. I brought my video camera and shot random things during the trip. Here they are:
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve from Mike Horn on Vimeo.
Cho siblings at the entrance
Went with the Cho siblings today to Muir Woods and Stinson Beach. The redwoods were as grand as ever, except one which fell recently. It was a big one too. It fell over one of the trails near the entrance so I wonder what they’re going to do with it.
Jules in a redwood
We were pretty touristy and took lots of pictures of the hollowed out redwoods that you can stand in. After the redwoods we traveled north to the Hog Island Oyster Farm where we picked up 50 fresh oysters of various sizes. With seafood in tow we traveled back down to Stinson Beach and spent the rest of the afternoon scarfing down grilled oysters, corn, veggies, potatoes and cheesecake.
We made a mess
After the eats we bore witness to the most people I’ve ever seen on Stinson Beach. But… lame-o me didn’t take a picture of the masses. So this crazy Cho picture will have to suffice.
Crazy Chos
After all of that we drove back to Oakland, freshened up, and then went out to Mangia Bene out in Martinez for some delicious eats. Now I think it’s time for a nap.
Jules and I are in Oregon this week for a wedding. I just thought I’d drop a note and mention that it’s really pretty up here. Not too many flowers blooming right now, but the grasses are all very big and green (much to Jules’ dismay) and the weather has been pretty nice.
The other day we went for a local hike with Jules’ parents and family friends and once we we past the treeline it was like we were in another world. The trees and foliage were dense for most of the hikes, but some parts thinned out and you could see a hundred yards or so of foresty goodness.
Jules and I took the featured picture after the hike when we were waiting for everyone to catch up. More pictures soon perhaps! 
