My friend Christine sent me a link for 2 Dogs 2,000 miles. This is a hike by Luke and his two Great Pyrenees are taking from Austin, TX to Boston, MA to raise awareness for canine cancer research. Much of what we learn from animal cancer directly affects the treatment of human cancer. Finding a cure for our dogs helps with our own health and wellbeing. In addition, using new treatments on pets who already have cancer lowers the need for testing on labratory animals.

In June of 2007 Beau had a tumor removed from his torso and another from his neck. Luckily, neither was cancer, but it brought home the message of keeping an eye out for anything abnormal, on him and on me.

I usually carry a reusable bag when I go shopping, but many times the cashier forgets to put my purchases in the sack or, on occassion, I forget to bring the bag on my shopping trips. This leads me to collecting plastic shopping bags by the dozen-- I reuse them as trash bags and to pick up after Beau. I feel kind of weird buying a plastic bag holder (a bag to hold bags seems redundant), so I thought about a clean, handy storage container for them.

A few years ago I spotted someone at a dog show using an old vinegar bottle to hold scrunched up plastic bags. I didn't have a vinegar bottle, but I did have some empty 1-gallon (3.71 L) pet-stain-and-odor remover bottles. A milk jug would also work well, I think, but these are a little sturdier and don't have the sour milk smell to them after they've been sitting out for a while.*

I met a couple of guys today doing trail maintenance to qualify for the Western States Endurance Run (aka WS100). This is a 100 mile wilderness trail run through the California mountains (Squaw Valley to Auburn) to be completed in 30 hours or less. The two guys I talked to are attempting to complete the run in less than 24 hours. Wow. This is completely amazing to me since my best time for a trail (so far) is approximately 75 miles in about 4.5 days. Their pace definitely makes me look and feel like a turtle.

I got my REI dividend today and used it to purchase a bear canister (I got the Counter Assault Bear Keg). After the coupon and the divend they still owed me a little bit of money, so I also ordered a semi-rectangular synthetic bag that can be unzipped and used as a comforter. I have a good reason for needing this, but I'll post about that in a week or so.

I got the bear keg not because I'm in grizzly country, but because I regularly spend time in black bear habitat. On top of that, I have a lot of racoons and such that will get into food. I think my first test of the canister's abilities will be if Beau can get into it or not (he's always so proud when he can figure something like that out).

It's time again for me to send out the info for testing gear through BackpackGearTest.org.  They're always looking for new testers, and the new round of cool goodies is about to hit the streets! Right now I'm involved with several tests including: Montrail boots, Luna Sport food items, a really cool microfiber accessory (Mental Head Case), a Cloudveil pullover, and am monitoring a test for a Black Diamond headlamp. Stuff I've tested or monitored in the past has been: sleeping pads, backpacks, a stove, a jacket, an ice cream maker, a sleeping bag, and gloves. So many other things have been tested I don't have room for it all.

I should have put this up last week when I first heard about it, but it slipped my mind.

Author Jeff Alt is coming to Green Township, Ohio tomorrow night, January 15, 2008. He will be covering his Appalachian Trail thru-hike and book "A Walk for Sunshine."

I attended his talk about his John Muir Trail and Ireland hikes and not only is Jeff a great author and speaker, but he's a very friendly person. I encourage those in the area to make the trek in to see Jeff.

For more information, including dates and times of his upcoming talks, please see: www.JeffAlt.com

I'm sure by now most news hound hikers have heard about the death of Merideth Emerson, the 24-year-old hiker from Georgia.

I wasn't sure if I would—or for that matter, should—write something about the incident. On one hand, this is mostly a nuts-and-bolts kind of site, with some input from me on various topics. On the other, this is an incident isolated to one perpetrator* against a "traildogger" who is like many who visit this site.

This case hits home for me in a way that many other trail-related crimes haven't. Yes, I've heard of trailhead break-ins, trailside thefts, and so on. In my mind those are crimes that could affect anyone. This case, however, is so much closer to me. In this case the victim is very much like me—early-mid 20s, female, solo with a dog.

As is normal for me, I'm a little late with the breaking news.

I found an article about the passing of Frank Hall of Hall's Dog Sleds fame. He made the dog sled I owned during high school/college. He was a talented craftsman and left a legacy in the world of sled dog sports.

He was from my home state of Michigan and his original home town is not far from where I was born.

More information can be found here:

Frank Hall's Obituary at Sled Dog Central

I needed to get Beau a new jacket since the one I had for him was actually Lucy's and didn't fit him properly. I also have a hard time finding a commercial jacket that fits since he has a deep chest and skinny waist.

I found this pattern for Greyhounds--also deep chested and skinny waisted. I used two layers of anti-pill fleece. I also made the chest band two-pieces so I could adjust it as needed later. If I like how it performs (with regard to fit, anyway) I'll look into making another that has a water/wind resistant outer layer or see if I can get my hands on something like a 4-way stretch fleece with DWR finish.