barefootwalk

 It is getting cooler. Mornings are chilly and crispy and it is fun walking. I finished my wool projects just in time. I even dyed them and they look good but even better the fabric feels amazing. If I have to do it again, I have a few improvements based on this first experiment.

 This is very nice weather and Twyla loves walking along Oconee River and sniffing every blade if grass in our way.

 It has been a long wait. After 9 months of trying to make everything work again, I decided to take a short break. The weather is getting nicer and there are so many opportunities around here. I also wanted to test some of the ideas I have been developing recently. A few worked great and a few of them failed. Twyla was super excited.

 A couple of recent projects: a 100% wool base layer pant and a single layer rectangular quilt for camping. I improved my sleeping bag last year by replacing 4 years old duck down with premium goos down (and turned the extracted duck down to a warm quilt for Twyla), now my sleeping bag is too warm for regular camping so this quilt is a great addition to the sleeping kit.

 Another change of seasons. Autumn is coming. Weather is getting cooler and it’s nice walking outside. It has been raining for the last two days and we are enjoying our daily walks.

 It will take a while until I settle in the new environment. I am hoping this is more sustainable and stable, nevertheless there so many unknowns, as usual. I started working on new projects and it seems they can easily keep me busy for a long time. I already finished the truck bed extension over summer and recently I finished a new %100 wool pants. I also have new wood stove, all tested and work great. I should post more info as soon as I have their field test results but I am already feeling confident about their performance.

 We walked on campus in a nice cool afternoon. It's hot summer but it rained this afternoon and everything was fresh and cool. This will be her last campus walk. I will still need to come on campus and teach my last course at UA and soon we both will be heading to start a new life.

 Yes, I finally had a chance to replace the upper ball joint. I didn't have the specific ball joint press so I had to use some ideas and use the general purpose press I had. I took a little long but finally I managed to do it nice and clean. I can definitely add this to my resume!

 Just spending more time with basics. I think there is an optimum point with gears. You need to have the minimum that gives you options and efficiency but not much that gears become your main hassle. This optimum point is much closer to minimum than many might think. And word of caution, minimalism is about gear not quality. Get the best quality gear but keep the number of items minimum.

This is part 6 of this trip. For other parts use these links: Part 1:  http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-1-al.html Part 2:  http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-2.html Part 3:  http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-3.html Part 4:  http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-4.html Part 5:  http://www.barefootwalk.net/2023/06/long-winter-journey-to-west-part-5.html ----------------  January 2023 Descending down to warmer desert at the next campsite was delightful. Valley Of Gods is a nice, quiet location for camping and hiking. Can you see me down there? Another couple of days here and it was time to move on. We started heading back east. Very cold but amazingly beautiful night at Angel Peak. When we arrived at the next campsite, there was a wind advisory and sure enough, for two days we couldn't stay outside for a long time because the ...