Hughesair (Inflection Point)

Retired physician and air taxi operator, science writer and part time assistant professor, these editorials cover a wide range of topics. Mostly non political, mostly true, I write more from a lifetime of experience and from research, more science than convention. Subjects cover medicine, Alaska aviation, economics, technology and an occasional book review. Globalization or Democracy documents the historical roots of Oligarchy, the road to colonialism and tyranny

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Location: Homer, Alaska, United States

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Friday, September 15, 2006

The Best Backpack



It is one of those clear still not too warm fall days that remind you why you live in Alaska. I am into an exercise mode and willingly suffer the Diamond Ridge construction zone to get to the Diamond Creek trail down to the water. The birds and the butterflies have much the same notion. Once way from the road noise, they --- and the Creek 200 feet below make the only sound. The fireweed has faded. The smell of wet vegetation is in the air.

I have been looking for a decent personal backpack for 20 years. The old military-issue rucksack, which served me so well, is giving way. The leather straps break off as I synch closed the top, and the canvas now has many holes. With nostalgia, I have emptied the old olive drab canvas and loaded the contents into the shiny new backpack. This is a trial run.

The pack sits comfortably on my back. The straps are comfortable on my shoulders, and the weight rests snugly on my hips. The waist straps and the chest straps close properly across my waist and my chest at just the right level. The pack rides securely in place, as I slog back and forth down the irregular trail, bouncing down steep places and jumping the muddy parts.

I am probably a pretty good judge of backpacks, I say to myself as I walked down the trail. I nod affirmatively to a pair of bald eagles out maneuvering one another with a shrill screech overhead. Ah, but then there must be lots of others who have trekked thousands of miles with a military pack. I use to figure a pair of boots would last me about 1000 miles.

Many have war stories, probably more challenging than mine. I was a survival instructor in the venerated old 3904th Training Squadron, a classified SAC, Strategic Air Command unit, based on the Camp Carson Army base in Colorado Springs. Our unit consisted of many remnants of the 10th Mountain division. Our mission was to train the B29 and the B36 bomber crews to escape and evade, live off the land and facilitate their own extraction from behind the lines. The goal was recovery from the Arctic and in particular from Siberia. We were the aircrew’s last stop before Japan. This was during the Korean War. I do not think the old 3904th any longer exists, at least as we know it. One of the fellows later briefed U2 pilots at Groom, Lake, and the pilots called him the professor. He was a close friend, a brilliant man, and 10th Mountain through Italy during WW II.

Survival packs were an issue during my serious air taxi flying days. For one thing, there was the issue of cold water in the event of a ditching in the Cook Inlet. An Immersion Suit was more of an issue than the backpacks. Alaska air regulations, however, require adequate survival gear for any occasion. FAR, AK1 Emergency Data/Alaska, chapter 6, requires food for two weeks, an ax, a first aid kit, a rifle, ammunition, gill nets, fishing kit, knife, two boxes of matches, mosquito netting for each occupant, one sleeping bag and blankets for each occupant. I shopped for brightly colored packs to contain these items. The packs for special use in an aircraft required little comfort or functionality. The important thing for that limited use was the foldaway straps, the quick grab handle and the label as "Survival Pack."

Therefore, my quest for a proper replacement for the old Army rucksack was delayed, but that was the not the only reason. The old metal frame rucksack was an excellent pack, and it was free. The available backpacks of a size for two weeks in the bush at a price from $300-$400 seemed outrageous. These were heavy products with limited flexibility. The name brands, the extensive use of external straps and the color, were emphasized at the expense of practicality. I would have settled for a pack that just equaled the utility of my old rucksack. Yet even with the outrageous prices of the high-end packs, none measured up. Each time I went through Anchorage, I made my obligatory stop at REI. I looked at the packs. I tried on packs. I looked at the price, and --- I bought two pairs of socks and left for home. My complaints were that these packs would not stand up when loaded, would not swing improperly, did not have a handle at the top, lacked a reasonable way to attach a sleeping pad to the outside top and or lacked access to pockets or the interior. The packs seemed a straight jacket to use.

So last week coming home from outside, I picked up my car at the Honda dealers where they serviced it and held it over. I drove to REI once again for my obligatory shopping tour, and there it was a pack beyond my dreams! Not even in the same league with the others, it was feather light, with strong rip stop materials, and for me the perfect layout of pockets, size and configuration. The REI UL 45, large gear capacity, 3,050-in.³ pack weighs just, 2 pounds 12 ounces. It is good for about 35 pounds, and has a usable capacity rivaling the bigger ones in the 4,000 cubic inch range. The pack listed for $99, and was on sale for $89 with half off on special! I could not believe it. I took the salesman to the front desk to make sure I was hearing right.

Now I am lock stepping back up the trail. 35 minutes down and 40 minutes back up, (reminiscent of the slog up Hacket or Metbarry Gulch in Colorado from the deep valley of the Plat River at the confluence of Tarryall Creek.) The pack feels lighter and more comfortable than the dear old rucksack. I am no longer sad, to see the old pack crumpled and broken on the basement floor. I finally found my backpack, and this trial run is a complete success.

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