Dan's Outside

Soft-shell hard-sell?

Soft-shell garments are supposed to combine insulation, wind resistance, and water repellancy (or even waterproofness). They are cool, but are they really better? The gear-lusting side of me wants to say yes, but the practical side keeps saying “hold on.”

Soft-shell jackets are not light. While my Arc-teryx Delta fleece jacket weighs about a pound and provides sufficient warmth for most uses, a similar soft-shell jacket may weigh close to twice as much. This is not good for backpacking.

On the other hand, a soft-shell jacket should let me dispense with a shell jacket that I carry for rain and wind protection. The combination of the Delta jacket and a light Goretex parka could well weigh the same as or more than the soft-shell. However, problems remain.

A soft-shell jacket is less versatile than the combination of fleece jacket and shell. In cold and dry conditions I don’t wear the shell if I’m moving and generating heat. If it is warm and rainy I may only want the shell without the extra warmth of the fleece jacket. I could not adapt to these circumstances with a single soft-shell jacket.

Product descriptions using terms like “water repellant” and “resists rain” feed another nagging worry, reinforced by product reviews that confirm that these jackets are not really waterproof in most cases. (The lack of a hood in most of these jackets is another tip-off that they are not designed to be serious rain gear.)

So, what are they good for? Ignoring the admitted collness factor, my hunch is that they are more abrasion resistant than light Goretex gear. They are likely pretty good for around-town use where you can get out of the weather quickly. They are probably also good for cold and damp weather when you are working hard enough to keep warm.

Bottom line? I’m going to resist the impulse to get a soft-shell jacket, at least until the prices come way down.

– Dan
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December 24, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Soft-shell hard-sell?

Solstice Hike

I went to Almaden Quicksilver for my (almost) annual solstice hike today. I like to search out signs of the coming spring at this time of the year, so I brought back a few pictures of flowers.

I took a slightly different route today. In the past when I have followed what I described as the “Randol Trail,” I believe I actually included a short leg of the Santa Isabel Trail that bypasses the mine on the actual Rando Trail. Today I took Randol and descended to the mine before dropping down to a creek and then ascending back up to join the main trail.
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December 22, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Solstice Hike

Autumn Sierra Grass

Dry autumn grass at Fletcher Lake. Yosemite National Park. October, 2003.

I found this photo while going through old photos to free-up hard drive space. I’ll keep this one.
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December 21, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Autumn Sierra Grass

More Almaden Quicksilver photos

On today’s morning hike at Almaden Quicksilver County Park I focused less on racking up miles, and more on photography and visiting areas I don’t often go to.

I took advantage of the winter die-back of the grass and other vegetation to travel off of the trail into some new areas. Off-trail travel is generally not easy at this park due to thick vegetation (especially poison oak!) and tall grass. However, in late fall and winter, as the old grass dies away and the new begins to sprout, it is possible to get to areas that would otherwise be too difficult. In fact, old trails and animal paths become more visible and provide interesting routes.

Building at English Camp. (English Camp was a small “town” within the boundaries of the current Almaden Quicksilver County Park, the site of extensive mercury mining operations until the middle of the 1900s.

Low-growing plants in Christmas colors
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December 19, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on More Almaden Quicksilver photos

American Geophysical Union on global warming

The 28-member council of the American Geophysical Union, representing 41,000 members, including some 10,000 experts on the planet’s atmosphere and changing climate, issued the following statement after the organization met in San Francisco last week: “Scientific evidence strongly indicates that natural influences cannot explain the rapid increase in global near-surface temperatures observed in the second half of the 20th century.” One council member described as a cautious supporter of the statement told a reporter: “It is scientifically inconceivable that after changing forests into cities, turning millions of acres into farmland, putting massive quantities of soot and dust into the atmosphere and sending quantities of greenhouse gases into the air, that the natural course of climate change hasn’t been increased in the past century.” [Seen at the Daily Scoop]

Another report from the AGU conference speaks about earlier relationships between human civilization and climate.
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December 18, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on American Geophysical Union on global warming

First ski trip of the season!

And a fine trip it was! I drove up to Royal Gorge today with my daughter to meet friends and spend the day cross-country skiing. I don’t think I’ve seen a more perfect December Sierra day. It was just below freezing. The snow was only about 24 hours old and I was able to use blue wax. (Californians will understand just how rare thatis.)

On the way home we saw an astounding sunset over the Central Valley and Sacramento that lasted nearly a full hour.
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December 15, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on First ski trip of the season!

Three yellow leaves in my yard

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December 6, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Three yellow leaves in my yard

Giant Seeds

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November 29, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Giant Seeds

Post-Thanksgiving hike

Lots of people were out hiking and biking at Almaden Quicksilver Park this morning – likely working off yesterday’s turkey dinner or getting ready for today’s leftovers.

I started out on one of my typical loops but decided, on the spur of the moment, to try a side trail that I’ve always walked past. It forks left from the main lower trail (Randol?) a bit after the Capehorn Pass junction and heads to the right, climbing and contouring and then climbing again to join the Mine Hill trail above the English Camp cutoff. From there I headed up to the top of the ridge.

After leaving the summit I headed back along Castillero and again left the main trail to go exploring, this time turning right just before the buildings near the summit to travel down the trail to the new parking lot on Hicks Road.

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November 28, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Post-Thanksgiving hike

Saturday hike

Took a nice early morning hike today at Almaden Quicksilver. It was cold – at least for coastal California. Today “California winter” was in evidence – which means that the signs of autumn (brown and yellow leaves) were found alongside signs of spring (new grass poking up after recent rains.) In a matter of weeks the hills will be emerald green.

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November 22, 2003 Posted by gdanmitchell | Commentary | Comments Off on Saturday hike