Skip to content
Menu

Primary Menu

  • Home
  • Ramblings
    • Musings
    • Books and Media
    • Videos
    • From The Web
    • Thru Hikes, Long Walks, or Routes
      • My Alphabet Soup summary
      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
      • A Walk Across New England
    • Other Outdoor Jaunts
      • Utah
      • Colorado
      • New Mexico
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Nebraska
      • New England
      • Nevada
      • North Carolina
      • Oregon
      • South Dakota
      • Texas
      • Wyoming
    • Photos
    • PMags News
    • Press
  • Nuts and Bolts
    • New to the outdoors? Start here!
    • Getting Started
    • Quick Tips
    • Trip Planning
    • Quick and Dirty Guides
    • Food
    • Gear
      • All Gear Posts
      • Gear Reviews
      • Gear Quivers
      • Gear Lists
      • Budget Gear
      • What I’m Wearing
      • Clothing and related
      • Footwear
      • Packs
      • Shelters and related
      • Sleeping bags, quilts, and pads
      • Stoves, cooking, and related
      • Tools
      • Water containers
    • Road trip and car camping – gear and techniques
    • Winter trip reports, gear overviews, tips, and techniques
  • Subscribe by email
  • Write Me
  • About PMags.com
    • Who is Paul Mags?
    • About Joan West
      • Joan’s articles
Header Toggle
Facebook Twitter Feed Pinterest YouTube Instagram Reddit
PMags.com
Facebook Twitter Feed Pinterest YouTube Instagram Reddit
Home » Archive for  Musings (Page 17)

Category: Musings

My views on life, the universe, and everything.

The Gift of Time – My dream adventure

Posted onNovember 14, 2013November 17, 2023AuthorPaul Mags6 Comments

Most of us (all?) have played the game: What if money and time was no object? What would I do?  Well among outdoor enthusiasts, the conversation invariably is: What is my dream adventure?  Well, here’s mine.   If I was gifted Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagstime bank

Gear as lifestyle – Why is gear discussion so popular?

Posted onNovember 7, 2013March 13, 2019AuthorPaul Mags12 Comments

Gear as lifestyle. Or why discussion of the minutiae of gear is so popular. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, gear, hiking, lifestyle, outdoors

Cowboy Camping – My blanket is the stars above

Posted onOctober 10, 2013November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags5 Comments

  There are many shelters to use when backpacking from simple tarps to hammocks to palatial 4-season tents big and stout enough to weather out a blizzard. But my favorite way of sleeping outside is the simplest: Under the stars, Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, MusingsTagsbackpacking, cowboy camping

Work-Life-Outdoors Balance

Posted onOctober 1, 2013November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags6 Comments

How to get outdoors as much as possible while balancing work, a marriage and other obligations? Read on!
Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, camping, hiking, organization, time bank

Website of the Week – Boulder Map Gallery

Posted onSeptember 6, 2013August 14, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Website of the Week: Boulder Map Gallery

CategoriesMusingsTagsWebsite of the week

Alcohol Stoves Reconsidered

Posted onAugust 22, 2013April 26, 2025AuthorPaul Mags20 Comments

Re-thinking my personal use of the alcohol stove.
Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagsalcohol stove, backpacking, burn bans, gear, stoves

Made In The USA gear

Posted onAugust 16, 2013April 22, 2020AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

Reconsidering the “Made in the USA” as a factor for buying outdoor goods.

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagsbackpacking, gear, Made in the USA

TrailGroove Magazine

Website of the Week – TrailGroove Magazine

Posted onAugust 6, 2013August 13, 2016AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Another favorite website of mine: TrailGroove magazine.Real world gear reviews, great photos and fantastic writing. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsTrail Groove, Website of the week

CDT Trail Register – Cuba, NM : May 1990 – May 2013

Posted onJune 30, 2013June 27, 2017AuthorPaul Mags10 Comments

A scan of a historic Continental Divide Trail Register from May 1990 to May 2013. Read More …

CategoriesLong Walks, MusingsTagsbackpacking, Continental Divide Trail, hiking, register

Website of The Week – The Hiking Life

Posted onJune 19, 2013July 26, 2017AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Website of the week: The Hiking Life.  A website about Cam “Swami” Honan’s many, many, many miles of backpacking!

CategoriesMusingsTagsCam Honan, Website of the week

Website of The Week – Semi-rad.com

Posted onJune 1, 2013December 3, 2013AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Website of the week: Semi-Rad.com. More than just gear or trip planning, it is a website about the outdoors as a lifestyle.

CategoriesMusingsTagsWebsite of the week

Website of the Week – SummitPost

Posted onMay 24, 2013January 5, 2021AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Website of the week: SummitPost.org. A great site for any initial trip planning.

CategoriesMusings, Trip PlanningTagsbackpacking, hiking, Website of the week

Web Site of The Week – ProTrails.com

Posted onMay 16, 2013December 3, 2013AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Looking for good day hike ideas esp in Colorado? Check out ProTrails.com

CategoriesMusings, Trip PlanningTagsColorado, hikes, hiking, Website of the week

The Peace of Wild Things

Posted onApril 15, 2013June 13, 2016AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Thoughts on “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry. Read More …

CategoriesMusings

PMags is not an ammo dealer! :)

Posted onJanuary 19, 2013January 6, 2021AuthorPaul Mags5 Comments

My domain name and nick name share a name with an ammo magazine. Lucky me! 🙂

CategoriesMusings, PMags News, PressTagsammo, favorite, humor, pmags

The Joys of Autumn

Posted onSeptember 6, 2012November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

Some thoughts on my favorite time of the year to be outside: Autumn
Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, camping, Colorado, Fall, favorite, hiking

Wilderness First Aid : A Minimalist View

Posted onApril 23, 2012November 19, 2019AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

Wilderness First Aid is a basic certification for the assessing, treating and stabilizing of a person’s injuries in the backcountry.  But how does the (sometimes) gear and equipment focused backcountry medicine co-exist with a more minimalist view? Here is my Read More …

CategoriesGetting Started, MusingsTagsgear, ultralite, wilderness firs aid

Hike My Hike – Damn It! (HMHDI)

Posted onNovember 9, 2011February 4, 2026AuthorPaul Mags29 Comments

Hike My Hike, Damn it! The one true, correct and absolute way to hike. My way. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagscamping, favorite, hiking, humor, lightweight backpacking, lightweight gear

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Virtual tip jar

A Quick Guide to Moab

The Squak – A readily available, $60, active-focused grid fleece hoodie from a Utah-based company. Read the review.

Women’s | Men’s | Children’s   

The Squak Camp Dress 

One of Joan’s favorites!

The Squak Alpha Fleece 

                                                                    

– 15% off coupon = PMAGS-SQUAK                                                                                                      

  • REI: Shop Deal of the Day at REI Garage!
  • REI: Outlet 50% off deals
  • REI: Official Coupons and Rebates page
  • REI: Used Gear Store

PMags Instagram

Our original plan had to be modified due to the weather. Putting in long miles on a dirt road with thunderstorms rolling through would not have made for a good weekend.
A couple of days meandering near Moab.
Moody day in Moab
@ramblinghemlock and I spent one last day in Wisconsin. We visited Aztalan State Park, where ancestral mound builders established an outlier connected to Cahokia further downriver. A few hundred people lived here, shaping a piece of history I did not learn about until well into my 20s.
Another day meandering through Wisconsin woods and prairie. We hiked along rivers, visited a natural landmark once used by voyageurs, and saw pictographs, petroglyphs, and mounds left by the ancestors of the Ho-Chunk people.
A rain and cold day means "section hiking" the Ice Age Trail where @ramblinghemlock 's folks live here in town.

PMags Popular Posts

  • Popular
  • Comments
  • Latest
  • Today Week Month All
  • The Colorado Trail “End to End” Guide The Colorado Trail “End to End" Guide
  • Backpacking Loops – Mags Favorites Backpacking Loops – Mags Favorites
  • The Frugal Backpacker – The $300 Gear Challenge The Frugal Backpacker - The $300 Gear Challenge
  • PCT trail marker A Quick and Dirty Guide to The Pacific Crest Trail
  • A Quick and Dirty CDT Guide A Quick and Dirty CDT Guide
  • Stove Comparison – Real World Use Stove Comparison – Real World Use
  • Talus vs. Scree – What is the difference? Talus vs. Scree - What is the difference?
  • Ground Cloths : A quick overview Ground Cloths : A quick overview
  • Build a gear sled the dirt bagger way Build a gear sled the dirt bagger way
  • From GIS Sleepings Pads - A grounded view
  • From Chameleon Memes Ultralight as an auto hobby
  • Off-Piste – Brother 2170w Printer (2009 vintage) Off-Piste – Brother 2170w Printer (2009 vintage)
  • Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit
  • Two days meandering near Moab Two days meandering near Moab
  • Gear Review – Hywell Merino Wool Boot Socks Gear Review – Hywell Merino Wool Boot Socks
  • Walking in Wisconsin Walking in Wisconsin
  • Among the Pueblitos Among the Pueblitos
  • Western Snap shirts vs. Sun Hoodies- Hot and Dry Weather Western Snap shirts vs. Sun Hoodies- Hot and Dry Weather
  • Higher up, a little early Higher up, a little early
  • More local hiking – Moab in March More local hiking – Moab in March
  • Today Week Month All
  • Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit Backpacking and Car camping - Two tools in the timebank kit
Ajax spinner

Archives

Recent Comments

  • Paul Mags on Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit
  • Rachel on Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit
  • Paul Mags on Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit
  • Dony Erwin on Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit
  • Paul Mags on Backpacking and Car camping – Two tools in the timebank kit

Disclosure: This website may be compensated for linking to other sites or for sales of products to which I link. These sites include Amazon, REI, Moose Jaw, Gaia GPS, Six Moon Designs, Squak Mountain Co, and ULA Equipment. There is no additional fee for purchasing items through these links.

 

© 2026 - PMags.com - All Rights Reserved -Privacy Policy
Scroll Up
  • Home
  • Ramblings
    • Musings
    • Books and Media
    • Videos
    • From The Web
    • Thru Hikes, Long Walks, or Routes
      • My Alphabet Soup summary
      • Vermont’s Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Pacific Crest Trail
      • Colorado Trail
      • Continental Divide Trail
      • Ring The Peak Trail (Pike’s Peak)
      • Benton Mackaye Trail
      • Tahoe Rim Trail
      • Uinta Highline Trail
      • Collegiate Loop
      • A Walk Across Southern Utah
      • Great Divide Trail (Canada)
      • The Northern New Mexico Loop
      • Grand – Moab Route
      • SEUG Circuit
      • A Walk Across New England
    • Other Outdoor Jaunts
      • Utah
      • Colorado
      • New Mexico
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Nebraska
      • New England
      • Nevada
      • North Carolina
      • Oregon
      • South Dakota
      • Texas
      • Wyoming
    • Photos
    • PMags News
    • Press
  • Nuts and Bolts
    • New to the outdoors? Start here!
    • Getting Started
    • Quick Tips
    • Trip Planning
    • Quick and Dirty Guides
    • Food
    • Gear
      • All Gear Posts
      • Gear Reviews
      • Gear Quivers
      • Gear Lists
      • Budget Gear
      • What I’m Wearing
      • Clothing and related
      • Footwear
      • Packs
      • Shelters and related
      • Sleeping bags, quilts, and pads
      • Stoves, cooking, and related
      • Tools
      • Water containers
    • Road trip and car camping – gear and techniques
    • Winter trip reports, gear overviews, tips, and techniques
  • Subscribe by email
  • Write Me
  • About PMags.com
    • Who is Paul Mags?
    • About Joan West
      • Joan’s articles

Subscribe to PMags.com

  • Receive an email notification of new posts direct to your inbox once a week.
  • Old school text email digest
  • It is easy!

ClickHereButton

×