It didn't rain during the night. This was really nice. I should say though that Maine seems to be experiencing something of a drought. People have mentioned to me that last winter had much less snow than the winter before. The state really does need some rain. While it is uncomfortable and inconvenient for me, I genuinely want to see some serious showers hit the state soon, for nature's sake.
I know I will sound like an old fogey, but when I was a kid usually it would rain about a day and a half each summer week--really pour. April would be almost entirely rain, as would be November. The deep snowpack would release a huge amount of ground and river water into the environment. On this day I'd hoped the lush green trees, bushes, grass and crops would not turn golden before September. Having something like what is occurring in the West happen here would be devastating beyond belief to me personally. Perhaps others might agree?
I packed up quickly. I know this sounds extreme and I don't want to appear as being rougher than I really am, but lately I'd been occasionally not using my sleeping bag at all. It made for an easier pack up in the morning and lessened the risk that if it did rain the sleeping bag would get wet. I simply lay on the tent floor and used my tarp bag as a pillow. Not even having a pad or something to wrap myself in would have seemed unthinkable even six months ago. On this morning I was especially glad not to deal with the sleeping bag.
Though the sky still threatened rain, it just didn't fall. I went to McDonald's at the Mill Creek Plaza near Shaw's and worked until about noon. Then I headed into Portland to catch the Breez bus up to Freeport at the same Monument Square Jewel Case bus stop that I'd caught the bus to Sarborough. I rode with only one other party--a grandmother and two very squirmy and loud kids.
The grandmother patiently told them over and over again to settle down. But they taunted and disregarded her pleas. Resorting to threats, she said there would be no ice cream, then that she would tell their mother, then that she would tell their father... Nothing worked. She was such a nice woman. But they were running all over her kindness. They were even making me angry. I got the impression that they weren't even bad kids. It was more like past their nap time or something. And, they saw Grandma as a pushover.
It was a little boy about 6 and his younger sister. Though the ride was not overly long, it was long enough that they could really get out of control. When we stopped in Freeport, I wished the haggard and worn out woman luck. She rolled her eyes and thanked me kindly.
And here I was in the middle of Bean's Town...
Ahhh... Maine's capital of shopping for sport.
While I have made a big deal out of this phenomenon in this blog, I have to admit
that tourist money is a huge part of what the state relies on.
According to one report...
With about 30 million tourists per year, over $2 billion dollars in profit for Maine businesses, and nearly a $500 million in tax revenues just from tourism, I can accept what a great thing it is for our state.
This does not excuse the general tendency of Americans to essentially worship consumer goods and look at the act of shopping itself as entertainment, along with the fetishizing of things, while 1/7th of all humanity goes to bed with an empty stomach every night. But, frankly, taking money from out of staters really doesn't prick my conscience very heavily. As long as they don't buy up and develop all of our land, I'll have a smile for every tourist I see.
Since, like God exists at the center of Paradise, and Paradise exists at the center of infinity, so then doth L.L.Bean exist at the center of Freeport, Maine. Within 500 feet I stood mesmerized before its hallowed Bean boot...
The god of outdoorsmanship and retail business models.
With all light sarcasm and joking aside, I adore this place. It provided me, indirectly through Goodwill, with my precious Saggy the wonder pack; a backpack that was already 5 years old when I stuffed it full, and left Maine two years ago. It endured every possible kind of environment (maybe many times in each), protected my stuff, was able to be overpacked without giving way, and even when it's zippers and straps finally failed, was able to be repaired and keep going.
Now, with the second generation pack--lighter, smaller, and newer (also an L.L.Bean), I can continue my crazy life style. All the while, I am looking for another pack for a possible upcoming winter adventure, along with a new sleeping bag, tent, and other accessories.
It would only be in dream world, where little birds would dress me in the morning and grape vines would line every street, that I could fill my wishlist of equipment entirely with Bean's products. Still, there were plenty of reasons to window shop, take prices, and get ideas from the central hub of camping. And, man!, would I be able to do all of this, and then some! I walked to the gates of heaven and didn't even have to bribe St. Peter to let me pass...
Notice that there are no locks on the doors.
But, amazingly, there are not even latches on the doors!
This store literally never closes.
Right off the bat I located the backpacks. Fishing through so many styles was an exercise in comparison shopping. But, I knew what I liked and what I'd needed. This made the search easier...
Probably the most appropriate pack for me.
I don't want a hiker's pack (even though that would truly be ideal--I don't want to look like a hiker), but I also need something larger and tougher than a student's book bag. What I would prefer most of all is to give L.L.Bean the design I've come up with for an urban camping pack, and have them make a prototype that I can then test in the field. Have to wait on that part of the fantasy. I mentioned some ideas to a salesperson and he raised his eyebrows and let me know that I was on to something.
Stepping into the camping section I was met by Jim, a salesperson there. We hit it off right away, as is easy to do with this company's staff, and we went on a search for some other items. I explained that at some time I would need a new tent. Mine - as the regular readers of this blog know well - is a North Face Particle 13. Nothing has done more for my comfort in the last nine months than that tent. But it was showing its wear, with a few small holes and a rain fly that was now too easily saturated. He suggested the Ultralight UL 1, their best selling one person tent...
This was the baby. It weighed under two pounds (mine weighs 4 pounds), had shorter foldable poles, connected to the poles via hooks rather than sleeves--making assembly and disassembly faster and easier, had a super-impermeable rain fly, netting all the way around the tent itself--making summer camping much cooler, and even had a canopy! Best of all, the volume once packed in the bag was half that of my complete tent...
While being extraordinarily good, it had a few minor drawbacks. The color was a bright yellow--not conducive to stealth camping. The lightness of the screen-only design would not be very insulating in the winter time. Although the fly was tough, could be staked down hard and would break the wind, it did not have the heat retaining aspect of the Particle 13, something I appreciated when I was forced to sleep in snowy conditions a few months ago. The tub floor was about equal in thickness, though being smaller in square footage. One thing that worried me when reading the online reviews is that condensation seemed to be an issue. The Particle 13 solves this by having a sharply angled roof. Condensation can not drip into the tent, because gravity pulls it down the much steeper walls of the fly. Overall, the Particle 13 is a superior tent and worth the extra weight and pole length. By the way, it - when it was still being sold by North Face - was also $100 less. L.L.Bean can be worth its extra price, because they will replace faulty parts for free, for the life of the tent, even the tent itself. Ultimately, I am on the fence about this and will need to consider other options.
Next we checked out sleeping bags. My requirements for a winter bag would be that it be able to protect down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. That means more pack volume. Price was also a major factor, as Bean's prices could run up steeply for these kinds of extreme weather items. We had to compromise. Jim did his best, leading me to this bag...
This was a good bag, larger--which would be nice for sleeping, but packed up smaller in its compression bag than my Suisse mummy bag. Only rated to 35 degrees F though, whereas my current bag was rated to 18 degrees F. However, he suggested this item to add 25 degrees to the value...
It was a great idea. I didn't know such a thing actually existed. But with $190 for the bag and another $70 for the liner, I was not convinced. My sleeping bag cost $40. I then began to think that maybe I might be able to alter my own bag, fixing the broken zipper, and adding a liner of some kind. I thanked Jim and set off to explore other items...
I will need a pad of some kind to sleep on the snow, but at $60,
this probably would not be the answer.
I'd asked Jim about bivies and he seemed to suggest they didn't have any. But looking along the wall I found one...
This would be an interesting, light and rainproof alternative to a tent.
But, packed up, it actually took up more space that the tent, and costed nearly as much.
Well, this would be a battle to see!
This was a very neat pack. It was only a few ounces, had tons of
pockets, but could be rolled up to about the size of a one liter soda bottle.
Part of my design for a new urban camping pack includes a smaller
pack that can be removed and used to carry the tablet and just a few items around
town once a campsite is established, or when staying in a motel.
This was a very edifying day. I went to the McDonald's in town (which the town of Freeport very strictly controlled the appearance of). It is in an old classic house, with no giant golden arches out front, and with a classy dining room in which to eat. Definitely the most upscale McDonald's I'd ever been to. It even had an AC outlet, and fairly good Wi-Fi. There, I worked until about 8:00 pm, when I decided to call it a day. I found a sleep spot, right at the edge near the driveway to the parking lot.
Setup was quick using the simplest configuration. I was tired and had traveled through six towns to get here. I climbed in and quickly fell asleep...
Freeport Sleep Spot.
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