Gear Update & Old Scratch Amber Lager

A brief rundown of some of the fortunes of select items I brought on this adventure.

• REI microfiber towel MIA

Left in shower during a particularly harried morning; discovered missing upon my return.  It was a really nice towel, though perhaps bigger than I needed.  Not to fret; I have regular old army brown towels instead

• Maglite LED flashlight  MIA

I still have some hope for finding this one, since I don't remember ever using outside my barracks area and I don't think any of my roommate's visitors would walk off with it.  It has since been replaced with a much cheaper on from Amazon.

• PrincetonTec headlamp Recuperated

The red LED setting died first and then it did not turn on at all.  Fortunately this was just a dead-battery problem, but I'm surprised at how quickly they died compared to my previous PrincetonTec headlamp.  perhaps there is a reason so many 3-AAA style headlamps are popular.

• CKRT M-16ti knife MIA

This is probably the most saddening loss because I really liked it and chances are very slim that I'll recover it here.  The blade was beginning to get discolored and I had tighten the scales once, but it was otherwise a perfect knife to carry every day.  Since its disappearance, I have acquired two other folding knives.  One is a cheap little Chinese stainless pocket knife; too dull for any delicate work and too flimsy for tough work.  The other is the a nice Benchmade Griptilian with a chipped tip.  It's a very solid knife, but too thick and heavy to carry around clipped to my pocket as I'd been accustomed.

• Dell Inspiron E1505

She's old and prone to fits.  Bizarre behavior with the display and internet access have been patched/fixed as warranted with hard boots and free antivirus from Google.  My custom paint job has a habit of making the once-handy media control buttons stick, causing unexpected music to play or speakers to mute themselves.  The battery seems to have finally died after a long trend of diminishing battery life.  It's downright inconvenient restart whenever the plug to pops out

Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager

Amber lagers are pretty much my standard of what beer should be.  I think this may come from my beer education process in which Yuengling’s amber lager was golden contrasted with the harsh malt liquor and natural light options.  This in particular reminded me a lot of Saranac’s Adirondack Lager.  It was good, but not overwhelming or something to put on a pedestal in a fancy chalice.  The right balance of beer flavors and lightness to make it a beverage to go with any meal, game, or long afternoon.

Camping & Snake Dog IPA

I went back to the Peak Trail yesterday to do some camping up on the little peak.  I was looking forward to having a fire and actually being able to cook something instead of just heating things up in my motel microwave. I cooked some mild italian sausage, noodles and beans over the fire. and stacked on some cheese and trailmix as well.  Pretty solid meal, though the sausage would have to be replaced if I were taking a more lengthy excursion by foot.  Suitable firewood is way more bountiful here in contrast to places I've camped in Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario.  Lots of dead and dry pine just laying about and dry, fibrous bark that peals off and takes a spark easily.  Not many large limbs, though.

I was eager to try out my issued Military Sleep System with my hammock.  I left the goretex bivvy-sack behind, but the patrol and intermediate bags kept me pretty warm until 0430 or so.  You'll always be warmer sleeping on the ground, but that's one of the tradeoffs when choosing a hammock.

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

I got this as part of a Flying Dog Brewery sampler pack.  No revelations here; I still don't like IPA.  But I want to thank the Flying Dog Brewery for introducing me to International Bitterness Units by putting the IBU value of their brews on each bottle.  Snake Dog's 60 IBU is just way to high for my tastes.

Shoulders & Tire Bite Golden Ale

The Tattoo shoulder is healing up nicely.  Feels a bit like old, itchy sunburn.  I have been washing and Lubriderm-ing it twice a day since returning Saturday night.  It's a bit unnerving to have color and flakes come off while washing, but I've read that's normal and thus far the design is still strong and unmarred.

The other shoulder got Anthrax and Hepatitis A.  All part of our pre-deployment vaccination regimen that began early this morning.  I was unable to get my smallpox vaccine because of the aforementioned fresh tattoo, so that little joy still awaits me.

Today's beverage is Tire Bite Golden Ale from Flying Dog Brewery in Maryland. This is another instance of me disagreeing with the negative consensus reached on BeerAdvocate.com.  Maybe this just illustrates my inexperience with the Kölsch style of beer, but I found it to be full-bodied in spite of its light appearance with nice hops and cereal flavors you almost want to chew.  It’s not thick or bitter like a stout can be and I enjoyed it.  I think this would compliment many foods very well.