Beachin'

Well, I pulled off another short beach hike yesterday. I was kind of irked when I got home, though. I thought I made incredibly good time for a 4-mi hike. That's when I realized I only did 3. I started at a new spot and used Google Maps on the Blackberry to calculate the turnaround point. However, when I got home and double-checked with Google Earth I realized I was off a mile. Oh well. Still got a workout in.

I've decided that it's time to invest the money in quality socks. I think I'll be picking up some SmartWool socks this afternoon. I wore generic athletic socks and my feet paid the price in the sand. I didn't get any blisters but could definitely tell that one was very close to cropping up right on the base of my left big toe. I figure my foot was sliding around as I was walking through the soft sand. I figure the thicker socks and wicking action should help out. I'm also going to pick up some liner socks.

I also finished off two more Mountain House entrees this weekend. So far they're the only ones that didn't need anything added to them to be palatable. I tried teriyaki chicken and the lasagna. The only thing I'd point out is that with the teriyaki you really need to stir it up good. I must've missed something in the corners because I ended up with a glob of teriyaki sauce that didn't break up too well after the fact.

I'm still digging the MacCat. I think it'll prove to be a great purchase. :-) On Saturday I just used the ridgeline I'd run for the Hennessy tarp. Yesterday I went ahead and dropped the ridgeline and used two separate tie-outs for the ends. I'm not sure which method is going to work better for me. I'm actually thinking of picking up some ring buckles and trying that route with some webbing. I just want to have a light support system that will let me get the tarp up in a hurry in case I'm having to setup in the rain.