BillyBadAss

The cheap-ish brand REI sells is Peppers. They're ok and come in polarized models. Another brand I like (not as cheap) are Natives. Also sold by REI and elsewhere.

..Speaking of Gossamer Gear - I didn't realize they are HQ'ed in Austin until the other day. I can't find any kind of store-front or anything though - anyone know if such a thing exists? I'd love to check out some of their packs in person.

If you can try it on first as they run kind of big. I wore that shirt 5 days in a row and loved it. I think it would be great for the desert - it's UPF 50, will cover your arms mostly, and vents/breathes really well. I see a lot of people are using umbrellas for desert hiking now, are you going to carry one? Fingerless sun gloves were something else I considered to protect my hands when using trekking poles.

And some pics..

Zion NP Trip Report - May 2019 - 6 days - ~56 miles covered. We did somewhat of a modified Trans-Zion Trek. The connection to the East Rim trail from the main canyon was closed, so we didn't do the full East Rim trail, but we lucked out and got Subway permits so I'll call that a win. We almost couldn't have gotten luckier with our permits and timing. We were able to spread the mileage out pretty evenly, and the weather stayed really nice during the days while we hiked. We were also coming in after one of the wettest winter/springs there in a while. Rangers told us there were flowers blooming they haven't seen in a decade, and all the seasonal water sources were flowing strong. I was surprised how much variation there as in the terrain and foliage. It seemed like over every hill it would change - Sandy creeks, grassy meadows, pine forests, scrub brush, and of course all sorts of rock formations. One thing I did not expect was how sandy many of the trails were. Several long sections felt like walking on the beach. Day 1 (~9 miles): Zion Subway (Bottom up approach) - This was an awesome, but fairly tough, hike. Tons of rock scrambling, back and forth creek crossings, climbing, etc. It took us almost 9 hours to do the 9 mile hike and we were pretty exhausted by the end. Totally worth it though. We rented water boots and neoprene socks from an outfitter (Zion Guru) for this one. The boots were great for this hike- highly recommended. Day 2 (9.9 miles) - Start of Trek: Parked our car at the Zion Visitors Center in the Zion Canyon and got a ride to Lee Pass Trailhead on the NW side. Hiked the La Verkin Creek trail to the Kolob Arch, then on to Hop Valley Horse Camp B campsite for the night. This whole section was nice. The area around Kolob Arch in particular was really pleasant. We were advised not to drink any water from the Hop Valley area (day 3) due to cattle grazing, so stocked up on 4L water at Beatty Spring at the end of La Verkon. The climb over the ridge that connects La Verkin to Hop Valley was brutal with the extra weight and after 2 hard days of hiking. Day 3 (10.6 miles): Continued on the Hop Valley Trail To the Connector Trail, then on to Wildcat Canyon where we camped for the night. The Connector Trail is written up as pretty blah and not a destination hike, but I really enjoyed it. It goes through a nice pine forest and then up into some cool rocky formations. One of my favorite sections actually. Day 4 (9.8 miles): Wildcat Canyon to West Rim Trail site 7. This was a great section. Awesome views almost the entire way. A storm kicked up right was we arrived at our camp, so were confined to shelter for the evening. Winds up to probably 30mph, and heavy rain on and off all evening/night. Temps dropped below freezing overnight. Tents held up well though and it warmed up quickly the next day. Day 5 (10.9 miles): West Rim trail to the Grotto by way of Angels Landing. Angels Landing was crowded and our legs were pretty spent, so we skipped on ascending it. Continued the descent into the Zion canyon and got back to our car. From there we stopped for a meal in Springdale, then drove around to the east side of the park. Parked at the Stave Spring Trailhead, and hiked a short way in to make camp for the night. The descent into Zion Canyon is pretty long and hard just because it's all downhill. My knees were feeling it. Day 6 (6.4 miles): Woke up with frost on the tent - temps est around 28. Hiked to the Cable Mountain overlook, then back out to car. Cable Mountain offers an awesome view of the main canyon and Angels landing. Totally worth it for a 7 mile round trip hike. This was a great experience all in all. It's just like nowhere else on Earth. And hiking it lets you really take in some areas few people get to see. The main canyon is extremely crowded, but we saw very few people outside of that area. ----------------- Gear Review: I had mostly all new gear for this one. I did quite a bit of research and everything worked pretty well. I found this site the most helpful for gear reviews : https://www.cleverhiker.com/ This was my loadout: https://lighterpack.com/r/a3i9r0 Comments: - Tartent Bowfin 1 - This tent worked, and was light at 2.3 lbs. It held up to strong wind and rain and did it's job. But if I had to do it again I'd go with something else. Probably something like the new REI Quarter Dome SL2 or a Big Agnes Tigerwall in order to get a bit more interior space a usable vestibules. The Bowfin vestibules would fit my shoes, but not much else. I was able to fit my pack inside with me (barely) the one night it rained. - Sleeping pad - Sea to Summit UL insulated - This pad is so freakin noisy. And sleeping on my side I woke up every few hours with sore shoulders and would have to switch sides - which is weird because I don't bottom out in it. Also, I think 30 degrees is probably about the lower comfort limit for this one. I'm at a loss for a better option here though. Most of the competitors in this weight class are also noisy, according to reviews. Perhaps worth it to add a bit of weight for something else to try for a better night sleep, or maybe it just is what it is. - Pack - Osprey Exos 58. I oscillated a lot on this decision. But ultimately the price (sale), back ventilation, and ability to try this one on won out. This pack carried very well for me, and after dialing it in I found good ways to pack it. NOTE: I have the new version without hip belt pockets. - Fanny pack - Gossamer Gear Hipster - lacking hipbelt pockets I picked up this small-ish fanny pack which is meant to be worn with a pack. It worked great and I didn't miss the hip belt pockets. It was nice that it stayed on too after taking off the pack, and works with a day pack just as well.. It held everything I wanted quick access to. Shoes - Altra Lone Peak 4.0 trail runners. These were great. Wide toe box, cushy, breathable, dried super fast. They are not great on technical, rocky sections that require a lot of scrambling - particularly downhill. They just aren't stiff enough laterally. But I'd absolutely use them again on anything that is not predominantly technical. - I used Dirty Girl gaiters and was glad I did given how much sand we hiked through. Good buy - and the Altras have velcro build in to the heel for them to hook onto. The mesh on the Altras did let some dirt/sand work in, but these kept it to a minimum. Shirt - Columbia Silver Ridge long sleeve button down- basic fishing shirt with rollable sleeves and back ventilation. This is the perfect hiking shirt. Breathes well, versatile, comfortable, good sun protection. Pants/Shorts - Prana Stretch Zion - Loved both the pants and shorts. Would probably not bother taking both next time. Depending on weather I'd take just the shorts, or the pants with lighter running shorts to save a few ounces. Trekking Poles - BD Trail Ergo Cork - I'm a convert. I'm not sure I would have finished the week without trekking poles. They take so much load off your legs when climbing, add a ton of balance, and save your knees going down. Seriously - this was the most important piece of gear I brought. Seat - Thermarest Zpad - This was a good pickup. At 2oz gives a comfy/dry place to sit anywhere. Cook System - Jetboil Minimo - this thing boils water in flash. Very convenient. Since I was only boiling water (cooking food in bags), and not actually cooking in the pot - I could have likely saved a few ounces with a different setup. That said, this thing is super efficient so fuel goes a long way. Water filter - MSR Trail Shot - this was great and convenient for filtering up to about 1L of water at a time. It was a pain if you needed more than that (slow and tiring). My hiking partner had a BeFree 3L gravity system that worked very well, and much easier for doing several liters at at time. It was bulkier, heavier, and slower to get set up though. -------------- Food notes: - instant oatmeal was a great breakfast option. I learned you can pour water directly into the oatmeal bags and eat out of them - no mess. Two instant oatmeal packets and a single pop tart packs about 520 calories for a convenient trail breakfast. Similarly, I ate Knor Pasta meals for dinners. I used the same method for these, adding some olive oil. I used about half the water, poured into the bag, folded it over and let it sit for ~15 minutes (in the insulated pot to retain heat). The pasta came out a bit al dente, but it beat washing the pot, and saved a lot of fuel over simmering for ~8 minutes. These pack about 600 calories and are cheap, light, and pretty tasty. Everything else I ate were snacks mostly. Trail mix, jerky, clif bars, banana chips, nuts, roasted sunflower/pumpkin etc. I tried for around 3k calories per day, and came in at about 1.7 pounds of food per day (117 calories per ounce). I could have probably dropped that by a few hundred calories and been ok for a trip this of this length.

Since you have electric I'd recommend bringing a fan for the tent - It's starting to get warm.. In some tents you can rig a box fan at the top with bungies like a ceiling fan. As mentioned a cheap tent will work just fine for your purposes, but pay attention to the ventilation for Texas camping. You want cross ventilation and preferably low to the ground for warm camping in Texas, IMO.

We're leaving our car at the visitor center, getting a ride to Lee's Pass and hiking back, then driving to the East Rim trailhead to hike in and back from that side. We have permits for Horse Camp in Hop Valley, Wildcat Canyon, West Rim, and East Rim. Heading out shortly.. Finished the Subway yesterday. Water has gone down quite a bit, it never hit my waste in any places. There were deeper spots but we picked our crossings carefully. The pools at the top are still covered up though.

From what I've read, a lot of people cut a Tyvek sheet to size for a footprint. It's tough, waterproof, and a fraction of the cost of most footprints.

I'm off to Zion for a 5 day Trek. Doing bottom up Subway then the West to East trans Zion hike. Any last minute advice on my load out? https://lighterpack.com/r/a3i9r0 Or advice in general? @Anton Chigurh

The new REI quarter done SL 2 looks pretty interesting at under 3 lbs for $320. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.rei.com/product/147863/rei-co-op-quarter-dome-sl-2-tent&ved=2ahUKEwixguyU9JXiAhVIbKwKHevyBHkQFjAAegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw1RgAza3mzq_iC0UmpktXo4&cshid=1557661571942

While I don't doubt that shit heads might use the term in this way, I also don't think "identity politics" is particularly helpful or constructive in most all instances. It tends to focus on differences and division when (I think) we should be focusing on what brings us together, what makes us all part of society and how we share in it. We all come from somewhere, we all have identity shaped by our experiences and environment. Cool. But how does focusing on that help us all progress towards common goals and a better society? TBH, when people start the conversation focusing on their identify, outside of some specific, related circumstances, it generally turns me off.

I did not provide. I should be able to get everything if required, depending on the form of documentation they need.

My taxes are pretty plain-jane, nothing "strange" in general. But I had large deductions under medical expenses this year which decreased my tax bill quite a bit. I filed through turbo tax with no supporting documentation for these deductions. I thought it likely the IRS would request additional info from me. I received my refund today. I realize you can be audited up to 3 years later (more in some instances), but does the issuance of the refund indicate that they were likely satisfied and will not be requiring anything more unless I get selected for random audit or something? Or is the refund issuance completely separate from any review process?

How is this different than offering economy plus, business class, first class options? I agree that regular economy sucks, but they already allow you to pay for more room. And they already allow you to buy booze. Good food, not so much, but there are a lot more constraints there.

Not sure about this. I flew BA on the new 787 "DreamLiner" to London and back in coach. Those seats were tight. Looks like they are the same 31" of pitch as most domestic coach seats.

Question on the TCAD site. My house under 'Improvement Building" shows this line: Type Description Class CD Exterior Wall Year Built SQFT 604 POOL RES CONC * - 5+ 0 1.0 I don't have a pool, and most of my neighbors without pools don't have this line. A neighbor with a pool has an identical line, but his has a year build filled in, whereas mine shows 0. Am I being appraised as if I have a pool?

Well, the discussion wasn't initially about gambling. It was about the potential impact of one player on the game. CDAK's point seems to be that the betting numbers and performance against those numbers are a good proxy to measure this. But I'll take your point that we've gotten off topic and drop it..

The relevant numbers here though would not be the point spread and how they performed against it. It would be what is the actual point differential (average) with KD in vs out. That would most closely measure his impact in this context. i.e. how many more baskets do they score/stop when he plays vs not. If he's only worth +4 over anyone else, it doesn't seem that it would make sense to pay super-stars. You'd be better off have having an overall solid team with depth than having a KD or Lebron. Caveat: I don't know what I'm talking about in any way here, but it just doesn't pass the smell test.

Something doesn't square up here. Durant's 2018-19 stats: PPG 26.1 Rebounds: 6.5 Assists: 5.9 Betting lines aside, you're telling me that if KD misses a game, the score is not affected by more than 4 points? I find that hard to believe.

And I'm always out looking for a female companion...

Shot Caller (on prime) was pretty good.