Traveling Light

The Brunton Solaris 26 foldable solar panel arrived while I was in Los Angeles this past week. I took it up on the roof today to try it out with the iPod power cable and my iPhone. Like magic, my phone started charging - which is amazing, given how hazy it is here. I didn't realize how hazy it was in Los Angeles (from my vantage point on the ground) until I was flying home and saw the city from above. Seriously gross.

The Brunton comes with a four-tip DC power adapter that fits precisely zero of the electronic gadgets we're bringing. For instance, there's the Globarstar GSP-1700 satellite phone that's going to allow me to call Aimee and do a little mountain-side blogging (don't forget to read whereiscurtis.blogspot.com). There is a DC (cigarette lighter) power adapter for it, but it costs $80 for something that should cost closer to $5.

Then there's my super-cool Icom IC-92AD, which comes with the largest AC adapter I've ever seen - which I have no interest in hauling up that mountain. I'm hoping instead that this DC plug multi-pack I just bought off Amazon will suffice.

Then there's Corey's digital SLR camera, Brett's camera, my Sony digital video camera, the Midland two-way radios, the Garmin gps (just going to bring spare AA's for it) and probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting about.

If we could resign ourselves to use the radios for emergency-only communication, neglect picture taking and videos, and forsake music and phone calls we could probably be 10 pounds lighter and a lot less bulky. On the other hand, during the middle of our third 72-hour storm, enduring our bleak, orange surroundings, watching the fly flap against the tent wall for days on end, I suspect I would conclude that we had made the wrong decision regarding our "entertainment stuff".