Winter hiking & Badger Sponsorship

Snowy hike

Yesterday I strapped on my pack and hiked 8 miles in the snow. 15 degrees when we started, 20 degrees when we finished. The big storm missed us, and the trails were packed so I didn’t need snowshoes or skis. I tried out some new gear – my homemade ultralight leash and a bungee system for attaching Boomer’s sleeping pad to his backpack. You can see both in the picture.

I took an old leash that my son’s puppy had destroyed. I sewed a new handle from the salvageable webbing. I tied some spectra (a super strong light rope sold by Lawson industries) to connect my handle to the hook saved from the leash. It worked fine, and can be hooked to my waist belt as a hands-free leash. It might not work for a dog that is bigger or that pulls hard on the leash.

I bungeed Boomer’s sleeping pad to his backpack. Lengthwise – it wouldn’t stay. Crosswise worked much better.

Badger Sponsorship

I’m a finalist! Yay! Be sure to vote, and if you like my video the best, thanks for your vote.

First Gear Sponsorship

Thank you, Dr. Edward Kantor, my dentist, for donating six months worth of sample size toothpaste tubes!

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Comments 1

  • Blaise Vitale : Jan 28th

    Good Luck Eva. I enjoyed this post. I am also a family physician (from northern Wisconsin) who is planning a flip-flop hike in 2018. I am also an avid geocacher (~2700 finds). Are you planning on geocaching on the trail? I also wonder if you will be making a post about saying goodbye to your patients. I’ve been mentioning my plans to some of my established patients (after nearly 25 years in a rural community). While I say I will be only taking a sabbatical and starting my glide-path to retirement shortly after my youngest child graduates, some of them already seemed hurt because I might be leaving them (more than two years from now!). There are also many who encourage me to do this while I am still physically able. I am wondering what responses you are getting as you are so much closer to this hike and probably won’t be in the office for their next six month checkup.

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