Comments on: Gear pick of the year 2025 – Cider, rum, and chocolate https://pmags.com/gear-pick-of-the-year-2025-cider-rum-and-chocolate Practical advice and musings on the outdoors, hiking, backpacking, ski touring, and camping. Mon, 12 Jan 2026 21:31:41 +0000 hourly 1 By: Paul Mags https://pmags.com/gear-pick-of-the-year-2025-cider-rum-and-chocolate#comment-717397 Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:03:06 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=42719#comment-717397 In reply to Pete.

Glad you liked it! WE need to get to “The Big Ditch” for an extended trip as it is only 6 hrs away.

]]> By: Pete https://pmags.com/gear-pick-of-the-year-2025-cider-rum-and-chocolate#comment-717396 Mon, 05 Jan 2026 19:30:38 +0000 https://pmags.com/?p=42719#comment-717396 Thanks Paul. “it’s the quiet moments afterward that stay with you.” Indeed. I am a frequent Grand Canyon backpacker and have been for 40 years. While the South Rim is typically a zoo, it never ceases to amaze me how, 50 meters below the Rim trailhead on the less-used trails (e.g. New Hance), you are completely alone and it’s dead silent. Every bend in the trail brings a new view that requires “the quiet moments”. Hiking the Canyon backcountry sometimes requires carrying as much as 14 liters of water into the dry Threshold and Primitive areas which is why I’ve kept my heavy Dana Design pack from 2001 because my lightweight packs aren’t up to those loads. Just have to move a little slower and take more breaks LOL. I have been in the Canyon backcountry for 3-4 days at a time and not seen a single soul. I share your passion for the Plateau but unfortunately I find my life in California which means I am a 9-hour drive away, so I go there when I can. In the meantime I “make do” with weekend trips into the Sierra high country. Each trip is one more patch in the quilt of a lifetime of outdoors exploring, isn’t it. Thanks Paul!

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