OK. I haven't listened to this yet (but will later tonight). As soon as I saw my name mentioned, I felt a very special egocentric glow! Can't wait to listen.

I find solo hiking great but you must carry some type of communication devise. I originally hiked with nothing like James but for the loved ones you leave at home they need to know you are safe. So it is not about you but it is about letting your loved ones feel that you are safe on the trail. I will probable hike 500 miles this summer with a SAT phone. They work great and are not all that heavy.

You know every hike you take the more you learn about yourself and the more you will enjoy it. I stayed in the Mt. Rogers Virginia shelter with a young girl from Maine who had hiked that distance all by herself and she enjoyed it. She slept on the shelter floor with tyvek as a sleeping mat. It made my bones ache thinking about it. Keep hiking it will become addictive.

I'm in the market for gear for my oldest son and I've been checking out the options from Clark's. Please let us know about your experience with it.

I just finished listening to the last conversation with James and I heard him mention the Mont-Bell UL Down Inner Jacket. That just happened to be my Christmas gift that I bought myself for my Mother-in-Law to give to me. I went to the Mont-Bell Flagship store in Boulder, CO on one of my many trips up there and tried it on. He's right, it's extremely light, very warm and packs down to the size of a softball. I've been struggling for a while carrying a fleece and a waterproof shell. I love my shell and wouldn't give it up for the world, so I looked for alternatives to the fleece for a mid-layer. I found this down sweater to be the perfect thing. It weighs 7.3 oz but is ultra warm. I got to test it out around the house over Christmas when we had temps in the 20's and wind chills in the single digits. I could wear it by itself and was plenty warm. The shell added wind and water resistance when it was snowing. This is going to be one of my go-to pieces of gear from now on. Don't know if you've checked out the Mont-Bell gear, but they have some real innovative stuff and prices that can't be beat. I'm looking at picking up one of their Super Stretch Down 650 bags for my wife. They are cut like a mummy, but are flexible enough to allow you to thrash around inside without feeling locked in. Additionally, for shorter people, the footbox has a drawstring about 6-8 inches up from the bottom that allows you to stuff the excess in to the bottom and cinch it down so you don't have to warm up a bunch of air by your feet. Like I said, real innovative.