Month: May 2025

Pretty much every tent I’ve used for more than 1,500 trail miles has had zipper issues where at some point the zippers start falling open.

Invariably at some point the zippers start not closing or coming undone.

Online you get advice like zipper lubricant or repairing them with a pair of pliers. Zpacks used to offer a repair service.

Now, for a lot less, they sell you the parts to repair your tent.

And

The process is simple enough.

You take the tape off one end.

Slide existing zipper off.

Slide the new one on.

Replace the DCF (Dyneema) tape.

Being able to replace the sliders in the field allows you to stay protected and to stay on trail.

If your zippers are not sealing correctly the usual culprit is the metal on the sides of the sliders has worn down. The metal naturally wears down over time, especially in dusty trail conditions. Luckily they are easy to replace on trail:

1. Cut the ends of the zipper tape so the old sliders can slide off.
2. Push on the new sliders with your fingertip. The sliders have grooves in the sides which must match the orientation of the zipper tape. The bumpy side of the zipper tape needs to fit in the grooves on the sliders. If the zipper has two sliders (like a tent door), make sure they zip together evenly at the center.

The https://zpacks.com/products/double-pull-zipper-slider are fifty cents each.

I prefer to just pull the old tape off the end of the zipper rather than cut off any of the zipper.

This is how I do it:

DCF tape comes with your tent or you can buy more from multiple sources. https://zpacks.com/products/54-tape-strip —less than $5.00.

Durston discussion.

It is useful to know how to repair zippers.

It is a repair I now do after hiking season ends but before the new hike begins. So much better than crimping the zipper pull back together with a borrowed pair of pliers or using lubricant to get a couple-three more weeks of use.

There is no snow left other than minimal along the north wall and Chinese wall. I’ve already hiked the cdt from Maria’s to Roger’s. You’re golden.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CDT/s/pZUlkZq15r

Update today from Reddit.

Snotel is consistent.

• Black Diamond (BD) Ergo Cork handled. Aluminum poles. Several sets of them.

• REI aluminum rubber handles. Garage sale purchase. Also a rubber handle set of Black Diamond poles.
• Leki poles —when I lost an REI pole down a river, Leki were what was locally in stock.

• Black Diamond (BD) Carbon Cork. They were what the outfitter had.

• Costco Cascade Mountain Tech Carbon Cork. I bought them on a lark when they were on sale at Costco.

Other poles in the house:

• Foxelli (probably the best poles in the house right now).
• Women’s versions of poles.
• Misc.

Currently I use the Cascade poles and my wife the newer Foxelli.

As for the choice of what poles can be made of (shafts and handles), etc., I’ve some comments.

Aluminum: you can bend them back.

Manufacturers used to use lighter fixtures (the locks) and weight was comparable after the heavier carbon pole locks were factored in. That has changed.

Carbon: modern ones have newer fixtures and are lighter than aluminum now.

I very much prefer cork handles. The rubber and foam ones I just don’t like as well. I also prefer the grippy surface below the handles for adjusting my grip for some situations.

Finally, I prefer to have straps. Not using straps is how I lost a pole. I’ve never had straps cause an injury.

On the Appalachian Trail I would still choose aluminum, probably, but not enough buy a new set. I bent a lot of aluminum and bent it back through the years.

I might use the aluminum Leki poles again yet sone day if I’m back on the AT.

With the carbon alternative so far I’ve broken one carbon pole. It broke where aluminum would have bent. Given that, I’m happy enough with the current carbon poles that I use that I still use them.

The flip locks are easy to use and easy to adjust. No tools necessary. The BD were just a bit of a hassle to use and to adjust.

When I reflect, I can afford what I want. I’m happy enough I’m not looking to change. Guess that tells me what I’ve already decided.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16hFybB3Kj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It was great, other than it was my first time with a badly stubbed toe.

Socks

I discovered that socks that are great with one pair of shoes aren’t always great with other shoes.

I should have expected that. It is just that hadn’t happened before.

One more example of trying things out for yourself.

The Bob

According to Snotel the levels remain between average and the all time low.

I keep looking because I don’t want any surprises as we start to train to be ready for the trail

But we have time left for training.

Weather predictions for the Bob

Last year marked me. The late season snow and sudden problems finding a place to hike really was exhausting.

I did check Reddit and this is the current report:

I’m local and what we are currently seeing is a rapid melting on an average/below average snowpack. The bob currently is almost snow free the entire CDT route (I’ve hiked almost 60% already). Sorry the only first hand beta I have is on the bob, but it’s a good measure for the area.

If this holds then June in the Bob will be wonderful.

Local training conditions.

Local weather went from hot to windy and cold. Wintery mix expected tomorrow.

In two days I want to start our serious training (wanted to start sooner) so we will hit the Bob with some trail legs, though I had hoped to get started sooner.

The New Mexico stretch we did had us walking good distances but it was a little flat.

Here is hoping that after the wintery mix tomorrow things will improve.

On pants

On pants, I know PMags so I decided to try his recommendation on trail pants. They are here: https://pmags.com/gear-review-ubtech-travel-pants

As a baseline, I have the PRana pants I got on trail (the only ones that the outfitters in town had that fit me) and some other pants.

I really liked White Sierra but I haven’t been able to find them for sale for a couple years now. REI, Walmart, Amazon all show them as out of stock.

For comparison the REI Sahara pants have pockets that are hard to use (that will probably change next week. Sahara pants constantly change and evolve). If I were more technical I’d like the REI pockets more. Hard to use also = things don’t go in or fall out.

I also really like the way the Sahara zip offs work. But, away from the AT I’ve found myself not zipping off convertible pants.

I tend to just switch to shorts.

PRana are slightly heavier fabric and are cut a little tight through the calves. Instead of zip offs they use snaps. I’ve been unable to use that feature for river crossings and the like because the cut is too tight to roll up and snap to hold them in place.

In comparison, UBTech pants are loose enough that I can roll them up. They also have a better secured pocket.

The PRana secured pocket zips both horizontally — and vertically |and is just low enough that my wallet bangs my knee a little. I like the built in belt and the colors.

On the other hand the UBTech pocket zips horizontally and appears to not be deep enough to bang my knee.

Other pants out there include Wrangler (people criticize durability and pockets) and Kuhl;

I found the pants do not work well for any temps that are on the warmer side. The fact that the label prominently mentioned a “cell phone” pocket, and the type of photos on the Kuhl website, tell me what I need to know about the pants. They are “lifestyle” pants; marketed as outdoor gear but the consumer base tends to wear them in the trendier places in Boulder, Moab, or for your #liveauthentically photos perhaps

I might use some Nikwax water repellent or not. I still have not made up my mind how I felt about it with the Saharas (the feature comes and goes with REI’s pants).

I’m going to wear both and compare. I’ve got time.

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The button is attached better on the PRana using the newer loop vs stitching method.

Still a low snow year.

How heavy is the rain, how bad the mud? Well, they cancelled school in Cuba because too many students were on roads that aren’t passable.

We are headed from Cuba to Albuquerque (one transfer, all free). Then to Grants and our car at the hostel.

Then we are heading home. We had planned on the Gila but they have fire closures.

No rain there and none for the next ten days. So we aren’t doing that leg after all and the spare shoes & such in the car will stay there.

There was lightning, thunder, hail, sleet and rain all night. So much. It turned much of the trail to mud. https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-science-thunder

We were lucky when we started because the ground was cold enough the mud did not set up. But then it warmed a little.

At about 614.6 there is a cross road followed by another. The second road parallels the trail but it was just as muddy so we took the first road to US 550 and began the roadwalk in.

Some rain but it eventually cleared. Happy6 had set up reservations at Del Prado Hotel — a good thing since by the time we arrived they were sold out.

The rooms have great showers, hot water and come with access to laundry.

We ate at the McDonald’s where we catch the bus to Albuquerque tomorrow.

We are a day ahead of schedule but I am so glad—the weather has really taken a turn for the worst.

Beyond that, the middle river in the Gila is now on fire so we are going to have to finish that some other time.

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Learned something about my gear that shorter days would not have revealed.

I decided to try looser socks. I’ve found them really comfy but never hiked more than ten miles in them.

On this trip I discovered that over ten the looseness leads to friction and blisters. I can stop the blisters with duct tape on my feet but that is a daily thing.

I’m back to socks that work without the fiddle and the new socks will go to daily wear.

We had a fair amount of elevation.

That was the big change from yesterday to today. Climbed back onto a mesa from the flat.

With even one nice stretch of trees instead of sage and brush.

That change and some heavy hail, trail magic and cell service. Behind the trail magic you can see the “normal” conditions.

We would overlap with these two daily. They start around noon and hike late, ending up at water sources or trail magic. He is an RN and she is just graduating medical school.

And a rattlesnake.

There was even a bridge. It crossed this gap which was about 15-20 feet down with crumbling edges. I would not have been happy jumping it though five feet would have been enough.

The bridge was welcome.

This also shows the more normal trail conditions and desert we hiked through.

I should note that this part of the trail was well blazed with poles and cairns.

The local equine and trail clubs have really done great work with their trail maintenance.

The sunset last night was incredible. There were some notes about spectacular sunsets and we had one with a sky filled with fire.

We got up about 5:00 and on the trail by 5:40 to catch the sunrise as we hiked.

The trail covered the top of the mesa and then dropped about two thousand feet. It was steep, but not technical. My legs are still sore.

At the water there was also trail magic and I had a ginger ale and some potato chips. I also picked up three liters of water that I chemically treated.

Happy6 filtered water.

We also met Liminal and Double Zero. She is graduating medical school and he is an RN. They are just doing Grants to Cuba.

We hiked on and it became trail instead of dirt road and had some ups and downs.

We are doing well for not having trail legs yet. Happy6 even made dinner and it was good.

There was a little rain around 6:00 which made me glad to be in our tent. I did some stretches and slept. At 7:00 I woke up and typed up this entry then went back to sleep.

But we had some real desert today. A mysterious trail marker (a wooden post) promising water in 2.8 miles (there was none) and a promise of trail magic a few miles down the trail and more water in 4.6 miles.

Then water at 18.8 miles from here. That will be our goal tomorrow. (Spoiler. The next day we made it just past the water to 613.3).