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Home » Archive for  Musings

Category: Musings

My views on life, the universe, and everything.

Rock Images Gallery

Posted onJanuary 15, 2023January 15, 2023AuthorPaul Mags9 Comments

Over 100 images for your perusal. Mainly The Four Corners area, some from Nevada, the High Plains, and even a few from north of Banff. Updated Jan 2023 Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsArizona, Colorado, Colorado Plateau, High Plains, Nevada, New Mexico, Petroglyphs, pictographs, utah

An NPC in Moab Adventure Land

Posted onJanuary 1, 2023January 3, 2023AuthorPaul Mags14 Comments

For those who live in a tourist community, it sometimes feels like we fill the role of Non-Player Characters (NPCs). Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsMoab Adventure Land

A look back at 2022

Posted onDecember 31, 2022January 1, 2023AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

A look at 2022. Some sentiment, some snark, and lots of photos. Read More …

CategoriesMusings, PMags NewsTagsyear in review

A ritual of the American pasttime of baseball. From the "Made in China

Sunday night rituals

Posted onNovember 6, 2022November 6, 2022AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Our Sunday evening ritual means repeating a pattern week in and week out. But one we enjoy. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsgift of time

Influential Gear?

Posted onAugust 15, 2022August 16, 2022AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

What backpacking gear has become influential in the past few decades? Some thoughts. Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagsculture, electronics

The simple pleasure of bike errands

Posted onJune 29, 2022July 1, 2022AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Now that we live near downtown, we find we rarely drive during the week. The addition of a bike trailer made this task feasible. Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagsbiking

Times are a changin’ – Walking in time of weather extremes

Posted onJune 15, 2022August 24, 2022AuthorPaul Mags8 Comments

Call it climate change, weather events, cycles, or bad juju. But there are more fires, swings in snow levels, droughts, closures, etc. Some thoughts. Updated June 2022. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsclimate, climate change, favorite, weather, wildfires

Whaddabouda-ism

Posted onMarch 9, 2022March 14, 2022AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

If you try to prepare for every contingency you may find you end up ill-prepared for what you need to do. Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagsgear thoughts

An influential woman for March 8th

Posted onMarch 9, 2022March 9, 2022AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

Sr. Helene, a no-nonsense nun, is a woman I think of on March 8th every year. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsInternational Women's Day

2021 : The steady state

Posted onDecember 16, 2021December 16, 2021AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

The annual waxing of the poetic and looking at the past year. Or skip the prose and see the photos! Read More …

CategoriesMusings, PMags NewsTagsyear in review

Happy Holidays – Desert Style!

Posted onDecember 9, 2021December 9, 2021AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Happy Holidays from the desert! Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsMoab, utah

Bears Ears – The enemy is us

Posted onNovember 4, 2021November 4, 2021AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

Thoughts on Bears Ears and what the re-instated protection may actually mean. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsBears Ears, outdoor ethics, Wildness

The last journey

Posted onJuly 30, 2021July 17, 2022AuthorPaul Mags5 Comments

Polar explorers talk about the concept of last journeys. Maybe we are in the age of last, traditionally defined, other outdoor journeys as well? Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsclimate change, favorite

Bear spray canister copy/pasta

Posted onJuly 23, 2021October 4, 2021AuthorPaul Mags12 Comments

More people insist they need bear spray when venturing into black bear country because “it is better to have it and not need it.”—my boilerplate response. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, MusingsTagsbears

Ending campfire romanticism

Posted onJune 21, 2021November 4, 2021AuthorPaul Mags21 Comments

I’ve made a case that campfires belong in the past with other practices. And to make that change, we need to change the culture around campfires—some thoughts. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagscampfires, climate, favorite, LNT, Wilderness Ethics

To NOT build a fire

Posted onJune 10, 2021November 4, 2021AuthorPaul Mags17 Comments

Why backcountry campfires should no longer be a regular part of the backpacking experience. Updated with modified views. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagscampfires, climate, favorite, LNT, Wilderness Ethics

Lightweight backpacking concepts for couples

Posted onMay 4, 2021January 27, 2023AuthorPaul Mags2 Comments

A look at lightweight backpacking concepts for couples. More so than solo, lightweight backpacking as a couple means the overall system. Some thoughts. Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagscouples, partners, sharing gear

The scourge of Rec DOT gov

Posted onApril 12, 2021October 16, 2022AuthorPaul Mags33 Comments

Recreation DOT gov gets managed by the multi-billion dollar DC beltway firm of Booz-Allen-Hamilton. And here’s why I think it’s awful. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagspublic lands

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A morning project working with the local BLM offic A morning project working with the local BLM office and the Canyonland Field Institute putting up railings, closing social trails, and adding Carsonite posts. 
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This site gets more traffic in recent years and the work will protect the site a bit more.
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The BLM plans to put up interpretive signs and consult with the local indigenous people to give the site a more appropriate name,
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Photo 6 co Joan
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#moab #moabutah #utah #trailwork #pictographs #petroglyphs
A wintery weekend behind the rocks ... @ramblinghe A wintery weekend behind the rocks
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@ramblinghemlock and I kept it local this weekend as there is much snow in other places. Joan was not as keen to ski tour as I nor did we wish to drive down snowy roads.
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Instead, we went to a nearby wilderness study area and walked some ATV, jeep, and MTB track that gets little traffic this time of the year.
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What's a busy (!) place come spring makes a deserted, and stunning, place to view the winter sunset, the alpenglow on the La Sals, and that stunning mix of red rock and snow found on the Colorado Plateau during the winter months
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#hiking #backpacking #camping #Moab #Utah #moabutah
Ten miles from home. Not bad. Ten miles from home. Not bad.
A cold and overcast morning for some local high de A cold and overcast morning for some local high desert hiking. We took a quick pitstop with few people before taking a hike in a more obscure park corner. The unofficial kick-off for peak season will start in less than a month.
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 We'll now enjoy the local park with red rock, snow, winter light, and fewer people.
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#hiking #moab #utah #moabutah #archesnationalpark
Joan finished a project today and could not join m Joan finished a project today and could not join me for hiking. I decided to stay local, see what I could see with fewer people, all topped with snow, and enjoy the beauty of my "backyard." 
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Winter makes the perfect time to see the familiar in a different light.
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#hiking #moab #utah #moabutah #petroglyphs
Joan looks at the made-in-the-USA, ~6..5 oz and $6 Joan looks at the made-in-the-USA, ~6..5 oz and $65 @lightheart_gear  Base Layer Shirt, designed by a woman for women. This shirt comes in sizes up to 3XL as well. Over the late fall and into winter, Joan’s worn this every week on our hiking, camping, and backpacking trips. Joan noted there are no other reviews posted of this garment and thought she’d write about one of her now favorite pieces of clothing .
. 
👕 Link in profile 🥾

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#hiking #backpacking #camping
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      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
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