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Home » Archive for  Musings (Page 17)

Category: Musings

My views on life, the universe, and everything.

Real World vs Chaos

Posted onFebruary 21, 2014February 4, 2026AuthorPaul Mags9 Comments

The Real World vs Chaos. Or free time vs work time.
Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, hiking, life, work life balance

Post-Trip Gear List

Posted onFebruary 13, 2014November 25, 2023AuthorPaul Mags7 Comments

A few luxury items for after the trip makes the drive home a little more pleasant. Makes a nice transition between the outdoors and home time, too. Read More …

CategoriesGear, Musings, Quick TipsTagsbackpacking, gear, gear list, hiking, quick tip

Backpacking weight mania!

Posted onJanuary 10, 2014February 4, 2026AuthorPaul Mags4 Comments

Lightweight backpacking is a good thing. Getting obsessed over the labels? Not so much.

Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, gear, hiking, lightweight

Don’t get stuck – Winter trailhead driving

Posted onJanuary 7, 2014November 2, 2021AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

More people seem to get stuck on the way to or from the winter trail head. Here’s some advice on how not to get stuck…or what to do if you do. Read More …

CategoriesGear, MusingsTagscar camping, driving, trail head, winter

A look back at 2013

Posted onJanuary 2, 2014December 29, 2014AuthorPaul Mags1 Comment

Highlights of 2013…and hopes for 2014

CategoriesMusings, PMags NewsTags2013, hiking, outdoors. trips, year in review

The Thermos – Best Winter Gear Ever?

Posted onDecember 11, 2013April 25, 2025AuthorPaul Mags3 Comments

A look at why I take a thermos on winter outings Read More …

CategoriesGear, Getting Started, MusingsTagsgear, thermos, winter

Website of the week – Winter Trekking

Posted onDecember 4, 2013November 17, 2023AuthorPaul MagsLeave a comment

With the cold weather hitting Colorado, my mind is turning to winter. Read More …

CategoriesMusingsTagsbackpacking, camping, skiing, Website of the week, winter

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, 2013September 15, 2026AuthorPaul 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

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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                                                                                                      

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PMags Instagram

@ramblinghemlock and I had some company in town this weekend, along with some very muddy roads. A quick trip to a place just off the pavement proved perfect for our needs. Plenty of water-filled potholes, great views from the canyon rim, and a memorable sunset.
Snow in our local mountains yesterday and today. And, of course, flooding in the desert. Much-needed precip, but the wet, heavy New England-style snow caused quite a few blowdowns. Gonna be interesting...
"The mayor of Willcox in southern Arizona is optimistic that Chiricahua National Monument will soon be the country’s 64th National Park.
A few days on the Colorado Plateau. We saw new sites, revisited old favorites, and enjoyed a solo hike while @ramblinghemlock took a class at the nearby @crow_canyon
Bearing witness in a changed, post-fire landscape. Fire and flood shape the environment; some history passes away, while other traces remain untouched. The land eventually recovers: Some of it recently, some of it long after my lifetime.
On a rare group trip, we heard rain overnight and woke to this raging torrent. After the Babylon Fire, flooding was inevitable. The water carried a lot of ash.

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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.

 

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  • Ramblings
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    • Videos
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    • 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
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      • New England
      • Nevada
      • North Carolina
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    • New to the outdoors? Start here!
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      • Clothing and related
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      • Packs
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      • Sleeping bags, quilts, and pads
      • Stoves, cooking, and related
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      • Water containers
    • Road trip and car camping – gear and techniques
    • Winter trip reports, gear overviews, tips, and techniques
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    • Who is Paul Mags?
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