Bryan – Page 2 – Our Past Tents

March 16, 2020October 20, 2023

Trip Planning: GAP and C&O Canal Trails

Repository of maps, trip reports, and other planning information for a possible future 330-mile bikepacking trip from Pittsburgh to DC.

Maps and Planning

Bikepacking the GAP Trail and C&O Canal Trail

Bike About: GAP and C&O Trails

C&O Canal Trail / Great Allegheny Passage Trip Planner

5 Books To Read Before Bike Touring From Pittsburgh To Washington D.C

The C&O Canal Towpath History

Pittsburgh To DC: GAP And C&O Canal Trip Elevation Profile

PLAN YOUR RIDE

Bikepacking the Great Allegheny Passage / C & O Canal

Trip Reports

Solo on the GAP Trail: Forest Bathing, Stories, and Delights

The UncoveringPA Guide to Biking the Great Allegheny Passage: Pittsburgh to Connellsville

The UncoveringPA Guide to Biking the Great Allegheny Passage: Connellsville to Confluence

The UncoveringPA Guide to Biking the Great Allegheny Passage: Confluence to Cumberland, Maryland

Trail Conditions

February 14, 2020October 20, 2023

After last weekend, some of our party skipped out on Mondays day hike so a few of us got back together and knocked out the 7.7 miles they missed. This means our little group of hikers is close to completing Section 10. The toe socks worked well to eliminate the toe problems I encountered on last weeks hike. I think part of the problem may be boots that are too loose due to weight loss. More investigation is needed.

January 21, 2020October 20, 2023

OT2020: Section 10, MLK backpacking weekend

The forecast looked nice so six of us headed out to take advantage of the three-day holiday weekend. Section 10 of the Ouachita Trail was the target and, since this is an odd section with camping restrictions, a different approach was called for. Continue reading “OT2020: Section 10, MLK backpacking weekend”

January 16, 2020October 20, 2023

Construction of a steady rest

For the vase I recently completed, I needed to use a steady rest to support the end of the vase and keep it from vibrating. As you can see in the photo below, at this stage the vase is connected to the lathe by the 2″ diameter neck and I needed to finish turning the inside of this piece. So I made arrangements to go to a friends house to use his steady rest.

January 16, 2020October 20, 2023

The Little Vase That Was

It’s been a quiet six years on this blog! We’re quite alive although life, as it’s prone to do, got in the way of posting about our adventures. This post isn’t intended to catch the reader up on happenings but rather to test out our continued ability to post.

It’s finished! This was my first time turning an open segmented piece in two parts and then glueing them together. This made it easier to access the inside but it complicated the overall process and made it more like making two pieces simultaneously.

The finished piece consists of maple and walnut, 12 segments/row, approximately 15 inches tall by 8 inches wide (37cm x 21cm).

Continue reading “The Little Vase That Was”

May 10, 2014October 20, 2023

Cossatot First Timers Trip 2014

The Arkansas Canoe Club ran this years First Timers trip on the Cossatot River and here is a link to a gallery of photos I took… https://ourpasttents.com/galleries/2014-cossatot-first-timers-trip

This is a placeholder post… hopefully I’ll write more soon.

March 20, 2014October 20, 2023

2013: Truth in Numbers

We’re a little late to this 2013 paddle log thread but here are the digits for we three Sig’s. I think I counted everything correctly as the year went on.

2013 saw each of us paddling for over 32 days this year on 15-18 different streams streams for 113-170 miles. We continued to try out lots of boats this year which means some of us paddled 10 different boats. Some were open boats and I’ve since made the switch to paddling canoes. This, of course, upped all of our swim counts compared to the year before though Mandy still has the fewest (duh!).

Last year also saw us camping out 23-38 nights last year and hiking 40-108 miles. Hiking has taken a backseat to paddling but Mandy got her numbers up by spending three weeks rambling around the western US.

Even our dog Hayduke managed to hike 31 miles and camp out 11 nights which is more than many folks. He really is a luck dog.

All in all, it was another great year and a lot of that credit goes to the community of paddlers that makeup the Arkansas Canoe Club … those folks have taken us in to safely show us the ropes. SYOTR!

January 14, 2014October 20, 2023

How boats are made

Ever wonder how modern canoes and kayaks are made? We did, so we went in search of a few videos and figured we’d share them here.

It seems like most kayaks are made by rotomolding though one or two companies blowmold them… most canoes are made of Royalex and are made by vacuum forming but this material won’t be manufactured after spring 2014… SOME canoes (mainly the more modern/short whitewater canoes like those made by Blackfly and Esquif), are made by rotomolding… and Mohawk Canoes is working on a blowmolding process for their new whitewater canoe.

How to make a kayak – rotomolding (Liquidlogic)

How to make a kayak – rotomolding (Jackson)

How to make a kayak – blowmolding (Prijon)

February 1, 2013October 20, 2023

Laser Vision (Post-Op) (updated)

Post-Op

The drive home was fine except I was super tense and trying not to cry. I wasn’t upset at anything but the whole experience was very stressful. I’m not sure if I needed more Valium or needed to wait longer for it to kick in. The multiple attempts on my left eye weren’t confidence inspiring even though I knew we were losing suction before anything critical was taking place. Continue reading “Laser Vision (Post-Op) (updated)”

Author: Bryan