2010-03-03

We are well stocked on materials and kits for everything listed on our Order Form. We have loads of materials; and the insulation is factory-fresh.

Orders received by our cut-off time of 2:00pm AZ time, Monday to Friday, will ship the same day. Or by 10:00 am Saturday.

Otherwise, orders received after cut-off time will ship the following working day.

We can’t ship Saturday afternoon, all day Sunday, or national holidays because the Post Office is not open during those times.

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2010-02-12

I've been racking up the training miles as usual. Also in the past two weeks I've logged 45 hours of trail work. I combine hiking with trail work because they are both good and enjoyable exercise.

I followed these tracks for about two miles a few days ago. The cat was coming down the trail, about three hours before I came up. I see him every now and then, but never up close.

I've been staring at the photo "danger on the trail" and I can see it! Ahhh!!!! - James G

Hey guys. I've long thought about writing and finally merely decided to say "thanks". Simply - thanks. Thanks for always being there, for your forward thinking, for your inspiration, for proving it can be done, for being bulletproof to the non-believers, for never quitting, for doing it right, for doing it first, for doing it best. With great appreciation, respect, and sincerity - simply - thanks. - J.G.G., Central Virginia

2010-02-01

Today's training hike was 12 hours, including 2.5 hours of trail work, cutting back the brush, mostly. My high point today: Sunny slab, after much tromping though the snow. Up there, the snow has a hard, ice-like crust. So hiking through it is a real workout. Also, high on the mountain the wind was cold. Nonetheless, I drank seven liters of water throughout the day, but returned home severely dehydrated. Another reminder for me that while high mileage hiking, a person must drink a lot more water than what his or her mind thinks the body needs.

Yesterday, Sunday, a large group (or maybe a small army) of weekenders started from the top and hiked down, following the same trail as the one I use. I think that's cheating - no really I'm joking - I don't care. It would not suit me because my workout depends mostly on the hike up. But what caught my eye was the amount of trash they left, all down the mountain. It didn't bother me, but neither did I pick any of it up. One or two items I will pick up, but more than that and I would feel like someone's mother. :) But I will say that the trail was perfectly clean before yesterday, and that I have picked up the odd bit of trash where needed. But this today was a bit too much.

I won't attempt to delve into the mind of a hiker who litters. But I will say something important that I think all hikers should know. Maybe most do.

Orange peels are not biodegradable. The acids they contain taste awful to the kind of bacteria that would decompose them. Meaning that the orange peels will not rot, so will just sit there for some years - unless someone picks them up. To the squirrels, they might as well be tin cans. Have you ever seen orange peels at trail rest stops? Most of us have. They are somewhat common. And most hikers consider them an eyesore when left lying.

I'm sure that in a few days I will feel like carrying a couple of trash bags up there.

And two full rolls of tp? Squirrels would not eat them either. Neither would they eat left-behind sunglasses. This is starting to get funny. Imagine a squirrel wearing sunglasses and holding two rolls of tp on outstretched arms while sitting on a pile of orange peels, exclaiming "Look at what I found!"

Also on the funny side of things, picture me tripping on a log and taking a well-executed flying face-plant in the snow. That was funny! And to explain: an ordinary face-plant is when a hiker trips while going uphill. In this position the ground is not so far away. But a genuine flying face-plant is when the person trips while going down-slope. The body's forward momentum tends to launch him or her into the air. Now, the main difference between an ordinary face-plant and a flying one, is the amount of adrenalin imparted. Tripping while going down-hill is a rush!

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2010-01-30

Congratulations Jenny! Second place women's in the CatFoot Winter Trail series, race #2. Meanwhile, I'm still slogging away with my training: 10.5 hours today with 3 hours of trail work.

I’ve got most of the honey locust cleared away, a thankless job if ever there was one. Note: if you ever visit Arizona for a bit of hiking, make sure NOT to go screaming down the mountain and into the honey locust. You will come screaming back out, bleeding. It’s vicious. And it likes to grow on the trail.

Speaking of interesting animals, mentioned below, I saw two javelinas today. Neat! azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_javelina.shtml

Starting in two days I’m planning to go into “Ray Time,” for a month of concentrating on my NFT, the planning and preparing, and yes, training. During the month I will be out of touch, and won’t read the Guestbook. Jenny will be monitoring the Guestbook for any concerns about orders already placed. Tomorrow, the 31st, I will be glad to answer any questions about Ray-Way gear, or whatever. After that I will be concentrating on my own projects - designing, sewing, and so forth.

One would think I would have it all sorted out by now, since I’ve been adventuring for so many decades. But in fact I tend to reinvent myself each time, and that opens up a whole new world of possibility, and also a whole new world of work. Hence the month’s focus.

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2010-01-27

Today's training: 10h 20m, including 4 hours trail work cleaning up the mess left by the recent storm. I have the trail to the high ridge in hikeable condition again. Normally I would take a chainsaw up there, but this trail lies smack in the middle of a Bighorn Sheep preserve. So I have quietly cleared the way around the big windfalls.

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2010-01-26

Yesterday’s training: 10 hours on Mt. Lemmon, tromping though the snow (much postholing) and tying to figure out how to get through the blow-downs (about 100 on this trail). All in all, an enjoyable workout.

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2010-01-23

Due to severe flash flooding in the region, the access road to my favorite trail is closed. So I have been training on Pich’cho. This was my view this morning.

The end of this month I plan to go into hibernation mode, web wise, and spent the month of Feb preparing for my NFT. During that time I will not be available to answer questions or comments. Of course the same will hold true during my summer's NFT. Meanwhile, Jenny will be watching the GuestBook to answer any concerns with Ray-Way Orders.

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2010-01-20

We have designed a hip belt kit for our packpack kit. See our order form.

Important Note: if you order the hip belt option, your backpack kit will be shaped differently. We have two designs of backpack kit; one shaped for accommodating a hip belt, a one shaped for carrying without a hip belt.

Our hip belt is padded but very light-weight. It has a side-release buckle, and you can adjust the webbing in the usual style.

Furthermore, we have designed the hip belt to fit a specific individual. On our order form, in the backpack section, we have asked for your hip measurement. Our computer programming customizes your hip belt to fit you.

To take your hip measurement, wrap a tape measure around your body, just above the widest part of your hips. In other words, where you tend to wear your hip belt. If you don’t have a tape measure, use a string, then measure the distance on the string.

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2010-01-19

Today's training "hike" 11.5 hours.

I began today's hike in the dark, as usual. But it was raining, and the first half of the hike was blustery cold. I could have used another jacket. But then mid-day I climbed above the clouds, and I enjoyed a marvelous two hours of sunny warmth. I reached my highpoint at 1:30, about 1/4 mile past my previous best. Not much farther, but I knew that if I did not turn back by 1:30, I would be hiking in the dark. And this would be not such good thing on the lower part of this trail. I'm not jogging down this trail, as I did during last winter's training, but I do hike down rather fast. I have to, because of the short daylight hours of winter. Then on the way down the sky blackened again, and the wind piped up. So the weather turned cold once again.

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2010-01-17

We are now selling our BackPack Kit in a range of shoulder size options and pack volumes. Please see our order form.

The new range of volumes are: 2,200, 2,400, 2,600, 2,800, and 3,000 cubic inches. Please note that these are the baseline volumes, and do not include the volumes of the pockets or extension collar. These figures are just the internal cubes of the pack body's alone.

Our classic kit came in sizes S to 2XL. Our new kit adds one size on each end of the scale, from XS (say for 10-14 year olds) to 3XL for burly folks.

And of course our new kits have the same color options.

1) The kit now comes with a sternum strap. You can use the sternum strap or leave it off; it's up to you.

2) We are working on a hip belt. Should be ready in a few days. Will come included with the basic kit. But you can leave it off, if desired.

3) Personally, I use neither.

4) This new kit took us hundreds of hours to develop, but we are not raising the price.

5) The 3,000 cubes is giant. Beware!

6) We even made one 3,200 but that was so ridiculously giant that we are not offering it.

7) The new R-W Backpack looks about like the classic one. I doubt whether the casual observer could tell the difference. At least the 2,200 one. Of course the larger ones look larger.

8) The new sternum strap is not compatible with the classic backpack. The new shoulder straps are designed differently. However, one could surely make it work.

9) The new hip belt will be compatible with the classic backpack. You can add just that to your classic pack, if you want.

10) Our classic Ray-Way backpack is what I carried on my 2009 AT hike.

11) The new 2,200 backpack (our new smallest) is a bit larger that our classic (about +50 cubes).

12) Our classic Ray-Way backpack weighed 9.5 ounces. Our new 2,200 weighs just a fraction more.

Now for a bit of philosophy behind our new kit:

Our 2,200-cube Ray-Way Backpack is genuinely ultra-light. It will carry a heavy load in a pinch. But it is designed to carry light-weight gear and a minimum of it. Even so, 2,200 cubic inches is not what some would call a "minimalist" backpack. Far from it.

2,200 cubic inches is fairly good size, especially as we are not factoring in the volume of the three large pockets and the full-length extension collar.

Our classic Ray-Way backpack was the perfect size for me on my 2009-AT thru-hike, and I rarely used the extension collar - only when coming out of a store with a load of food. On Jenny's and my first AT thru-hike, we made backpacks of the same general size, weight and design; same with our third PCT thru-hike, and our IUA Hike & Bike trip.

But note that we were carrying a 2P two-layer alpine quilt with the Split-Zip. So each of us was carrying only half of a quilt.

Now, someone hiking solo, not on the AT in summer, but in more cold climes like the PCT, CDT, and so forth, might want a little larger backpack - one which is still ultra-lightweight.

Enter our new kits. They will have plenty of extra room, say for a 1P quilt of two layers of alpine insulation. Or more room, still, for an insulated jacket. Or whatever.

But here is the big caution. And we mean BIG.

Our larger backpack is not meant to carry the profusion of gear found in the usual backpacking store. If the person wants to carry all that, he or she should buy and carry the usual heavy-duty backpack found in the backpacking stores.

Our Ray-Way Backpack is not designed to give top-notch performance with an over-load of klutzy gear.

So please don't mix the two.

Carry either Ray-Way type gear in a Ray-Way backpack, OR heavy-duty gear in a heavy-duty backpack.

And even with the new Ray-Way backpack, we would caution a person not to buy the max size with the misconception that larger is better.

Larger is NOT better. Instead, larger is more klutzy.

So chose the correct size depending on what you need to carry. Make your backpack fit your gear, rather than the other way around.

My philosophy is that the gear should enable the most enjoyment from one's outing. And to me, because I tend to do a great deal of hiking, that means that for the most comfort on the trail, I carry the least amount of gear. But note that I am NOT a minimalist. I like to be comfortable, and never sacrifice comfort or safety. But I have eliminated the superfluous. To learn more, read "Trail Life."

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2010-01-16

Ray arrived back home well after dark last night, after eleven hours of training. He was obviously tired, but also full of la joie de vivre. I know the feeling; after a full day spent outside, hiking along a quiet, peaceful, and rigorous trail, you just feel great. And tired. A good kind of tired.

Mt. Lemmon is a pretty daunting mountain. When standing on the desert floor at it's base, you cannot see the summit. It is massive. So today I was amazed to see him going about his work with hardly any fatigue. Wow. He's ready to go back up again tomorrow, after only one rest day. "You're not tired? You're not sore?"

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2010-01-15

Today's training workout: 11 hours 15 min. Comments: I need more daylight :)

As usual, I began the hike in the dark. Also as usual, the air was frigid, as it flowed off the mountain in a katabatic wind. But within 20 minutes I warmed up metabolically, and soon was taking off my hat and buff. I wore gloves throughout the day because of the cold and wind, and also to protect my hands when working on the trail. I like to spend maybe 20 minutes, total, each time maintaining the trail - moving rocks (sometimes heavy) and sticks, and breaking offending dead branches of blowdowns as much as possible. I like to improve whatever trail I'm hiking on, to make it better for next time.

I have been training on this trail for two years now, and have come to know it well. It's my choice because it's the toughest trail around here, and also the most beautiful in my opinion. It passes through several life zones, and you can see saguaros at the bottom and firs at the top. And also because it's imminently hikable in winter. And that's when I do my training.

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2010-01-13

Today's training was 9.5 hours, up the same route and 3/4 mile farther. So pretty up there. I have been training in my old AT shoes, sent back from the trail. They are worn out. But today I wore new ones - Wow! what an improvement.

The picture is not meant to be photo-beautiful. But it does show what 9.5 hr hike looks like, from today's highpoint. The desert floor, from where I started, is a long ways down.