The Traveling Widower

Tag: rei

  • Keep On Keepin’ On

    “The only thing I knew how to do”
    “was to keep on keeping on”
    Tangled up in Blue, Bob Dylan

    May 10th, 2026

    This post started out as a personal whine about aging, and morphed into a composite of those strange thoughts that randomly bounce around in my head, along with some geeky hiking and photography stuff. Sorry, the blog is my replacement for having someone to talk to in the morning.

    Maybe I really should get a Golden Retriever. They are good listeners, as long as you have snacks in your hand. 

    A man sitting in a chair with a mug talking to a golden retriever in a living room, featuring comfortable furniture and a coffee table with books and candles.
    How did this guy and his dog get in my house?

    One of the problems with being ancient is that the damage from all the sports and dangerous activities we undertake through the years is cumulative. The human body was designed for hunting and gathering, and has not really evolved much beyond that in the last million or so years. Eventually, parts of our bodies wear out – knees can only take so much abuse from running, basketball, tennis and other fast movement sports. Shoulders are the same, especially for baseball and racket sports. How many tennis players do you know who have had one or two shoulder surgeries? I’ve had one, and I suck at the sport. Broken bones in various parts of your body  can lead to painful arthritis as you age. I’ve broken lots of bones, which complain most every morning, especially when the weather turns cold and damp. Hips wear out from a number of activities. Maybe sometime in the far distant future, there will be a sub-species or two – the current Homo Sapiens, sort of the generic person still limping along in their 70’s, a new and improved model,  Homo sapiens athleticus, and then maybe one at the other end of the spectrum, Homo sapiens couchpotato, sort of a cross between a human and golden retriever.

    The good news is that while our bodies may not have evolved, our big brains (for some of us at least) have come up with replacements for a lot of the parts that wear out – sort of like replacing worn out parts in your car – an Autozone for the over achievers in athletics. It seems like so many of the tennis and pickleball players out on the court have one or two replacement parts – knees, hips or shoulders. Heck, some people have replacement heart valves and are still motoring along. 

    I’ve done all kinds of damage to my body, but somehow or another, I have avoided having anything replaced so far. That’s not necessarily a good thing – I wish one of my knees was wrecked enough to replace. But with my usual bad luck, I’ve inherited a wonky nervous system from my mother, and have something that cannot be fixed with a replacement part. Nerves. 

    I was diagnosed some time ago with idiopathic peripheral neuropathy, a condition where the long nerves in the legs degenerate (and arms too), misfire, and eventually stop working. I already wrote about this condition in a previous post, so I won’t bore you with details, just that the neurologists have no clue what causes it, or how to cure it. Lucky me. I currently have issues with mobility and balance, which are not going to improve, and will continue to get worse over time.

    I have to be extremely careful hiking, and have opted out of more difficult hikes on the last few National Geographic trips. The night time photo shoots in Arches National Park were a bit frightening for me, since my balance was way off in the dark, especially when we had to hike to rocky, awkward setups for our gear. I wound up holding on to the tripod most of the time, to have a point of reference. 

    This year, I should be OK with the remaining trips – only two have significant hiking, all of which are in the daylight and on flat terrain. Running away from the Kodiak bears might be an issue though.

    Next year may be more problematic as a few of the trips have some moderately difficult hikes. I have yet to book any trips for 2028 – there are quite a few I’d like to schedule, but I have to think about what my physical limitations might be in a few years. Bummer. Switching to Viking river cruises is not the answer for me. I’ve had to give up drinking wine and martinis – I’m not giving up on travel. My bucket list does not seem to be getting any smaller since I keep finding new, interesting places to go to. 

    But, there is a non-surgical, potential solution to my problem – not replacement parts, but body augmentation! I give you…..

    …..The Robo-Traveling-Widower!!!!

    An elderly man wearing an exoskeleton and hiking gear walks along a rocky mountain path with a golden retriever dog, surrounded by a scenic landscape of mountains and trees.

    I’m serious about this. There are a couple of companies which are developing exoskeletons and one or two are already available. One in particular, the Hypershell from a company of the same name (https://hypershell.tech/en-us), might be something I look into as the wonkiness in my legs progresses. It’s sort of like an electric bike – it provides extra oomph to your legs when you need it. The top-end version is light weight (carbon fiber), with a small battery pack, that can handle up to a 30km hike, which is much further than I walk/hike on a given day. For $1800, it would be worth it to keep me on the trails. 

    For now, I’ll just rely on my latest REI purchase for hiking stability, collapsible carbon-fiber hiking sticks from Black Diamond. Yes, I now have four sets of sticks (one was my wife’s). I’ve been jamming a pair of heavier, aluminum poles in luggage on most of my trips, and I’m  desperately trying to lighten my load for the next trips. The new sticks are like tent-poles – they split into 3 connected segments, and take up much less room. New toys from REI.

    Adjustable trekking poles with blue accents, placed on a textured gray surface.

    And while I’m on the topic of reducing my luggage weight, I was depressed the other day, so flipped a coin as to where I should go shopping – REI or Mike’s Camera. That always cheers me up. Seriously, I had been considering buying yet another lens for some of my upcoming trips. I currently rely on two lenses – the new 25-200mm Tamron lens for most everything other than wildlife (all the rose garden photos were shot with that), and the big 150-500mm for wildlife. But, there are trips where I don’t really need the reach of the 500mm – the Natural Habitat lead for the Kodiak trip said you only need a big lens if you want to get a picture of a bear eye ball. I decided maybe I need something in-between, like a 100-400mm lens. As it turns out, Sony has that lens, and Tamron has a 50-400 for half the price. Off I went to my favorite camera store (only one in this area) to compare the two. Fortunately, this also happened to be the day Mike’s Camera has their annual sale, and had rep’s from all the major manufacturers in the store. They brought out both lenses for me – the Sony was over a pound heavier, and was older technology. Easy decision to make. My camera closet is getting crowded with gear. 

    But now I’ll be a bit faster with less to carry, when I have a Kodiak bear chasing after me.

    A man running along a beach, holding a camera, as a large grizzly bear charges toward him. The scene is set against a backdrop of mountains and a forested area.
    Run Forest, Run!!!

    I’m so excited about that trip.

    Peace (I hope)

  • How do you pack for Antarctica?

    A cheerful man stands on a dock, surrounded by a large pile of colorful luggage and multiple cameras, with a cruise ship in the background.

    I’m less than 3 weeks away from Penguin Day (November 16th), and I just completed my first test pack. I’m in big trouble. I’ve got too much stuff. Way too much for the suitcase I’ve used on every other trip so far. How come you might ask. Well, it’s complicated. First of all, I’ll be gone for almost 2 full weeks, so you need all the basics like underwear, shirts and socks (I plan on using the laundry service which helps a bit)

    And then there’s that weather thing. I’ll start out flying from Sacramento, to Los Angeles, and then on to Santiago where temperatures are similar to where I’m starting – high in the low 80’s. The next day, we fly to Ushuaia, Argentina where we spend the day cruising around the fjords before boarding the Resolution to head off to Antarctica. The weather in that port city can vary between 80 and 50 this time of year, and it will probably be nippy cruising around. I’ll probably want to wear a few layers, and heavier pants since we will be spending time out in the open, photographing the scenery and wildlife. 

    Then we board the ship and spend the next two days at sea navigating the infamous Darwin passage. It will be nice and cozy warm on board. There’s no dress code on National Geographic cruises, but I really don’t want to dress like a complete slob. Jan would be very unhappy if I go back to my old wardrobe habits (jeans, t-shirts, sweat shirts). And there will be times (many I hope) when we will be out in the viewing areas when there are photo opportunities of ocean beasties. Time to don windproof/waterproof layers. 

    Once we get to Antarctica, the fun begins. This is spring time in the land of ice and penguins, with temperatures averaging in the low 20’s (F). That’s really cold, but not that different from skiing in the Rockies. Activities will include kayaking on open inflatable kayaks, cruising in open Zodiac boats to view wildlife and scenery, and on shore “hiking” (snow shoes or cross-country skiing) to commune with the wildlife. Here’s where the packing challenges begin. This is sort of like packing for a ski vacation in, say, Canada, where you are flying to your destination, thus limiting what you can bring along. NatGeo provides the outer layer – a waterproof, hooded shell with a heavy fleece jacket. So you do not need to include that on the way there, but you get to take it home (if you want). Those will take up a lot of luggage space. Or I could just wear them on the plane. That could happen. Good thing I’m flying 1st class and will not have to battle for overhead luggage space.

    All the additional, required winter layers take up a lot of room in luggage. Insulated, waterproof pants are a must for most every activity. Those theoretically could be used for kayaking, but ski pants were not really designed for being immersed in water (which hopefully will not happen), so waterproof kayak pants are a better choice for that activity. And it would be nice to have something else to wear on board for evening gatherings. So that makes a minimum of three pairs of pants, other than what you wear for travel. I went a bit crazy shopping for this trip (hard to believe…it’s become a new hobby for me) – I bought North Face insulated pants, and a pair of fleece pants at the Colorado REI, and already had the kayak bottoms, and a pair of winter weight hiking pants that Jan bought me years ago. So that makes four for packing, although the fleece pants are also a thermal layer. And then I found a really nice pair of fleece lined pants, on sale, the other day. That would be overkill. Darn. I’ll save those for my January trip to Yosemite. 

    A selection of five pairs of pants laid out flat on a bed, showcasing various styles and colors including khaki, black, dark green, and navy.
    My pants dilemma – way too many!

    Thermal layers are thin, but still take up a lot of room in luggage unless you are a small size, which I’m not (tall, not wide!). You need more than one pair of each unless you want to do sink laundry, which is difficult in a small cabin, with a tiny bathroom. A couple of fleece sweaters for wearing on board take up a bit more space. And you need heavy, waterproof gloves, a hat, scarf/buff, and heavy boot socks – no flip flops on this trip. And, it would be nice to have another pair of lightweight, comfortable shoes for wandering around on the ship..sneakers would be a good choice since there is a nice gym on board. 

    And you still need room for all the odds and ends everyone carries on trips (meds, toiletries), and I’ll probably have some overflow from the camera bag. That’s almost worth another post, but I’ll spare you from another boring description of camera gear. Oh yeah, I also need to stuff a small pack in there somehow.

    This is why I always start packing a few weeks before the flight – I have plenty of time to reconsider what I really need for the trip, and can pare down to basics if need be. I do have one larger suitcase, and my next test will be to repack into that one, before I start eliminating items (except for the comfy lined pants….already out). We bought this particular piece of luggage for our one and only cruise so I know it will fit under the bed in my cabin. As long as the weight is under 50lbs, I’m good to go.

    My trips to warmer locals have been a lot easier to pack for, even with cramming snorkel gear into the suitcase. No gloves, heavy sweaters or thermal layers – just shorts, some shirts and a pair of beach shoes. The Alaska trip was relatively easy as well – just rain gear and the kayak stuff. I did bring my down sweater along, but never wore it. With the exception of the Churchill (Northern Lights) trip in 2027, all of my future adventures will be to relatively warm climates, so packing will be easier. Iceland will be in mid-summer – it may be wet, but not freezing cold. Patagonia will be a lot like the Alaska trip – possibly wet, but not freezing. Both the Baja Jones and the Run-from-the-bears Kodiak trips will be easy to pack for since there are limitations on luggage size and weight in the small single engine planes. I’ll be packing a duffel bag for clothing. 

    Since travel has become the focus of my life (Bromberg 2.0), I’m going to have a lot of opportunities to improve on my packing skills. My house will likely continue to develop into an REI outlet store as I find more specialized toys and clothing for the specialized requirements for each adventure. I’ve already got my eyes on a line of hard duffel bags for the Kodiak trip. I’m waiting for someone to invent spray on clothing. It could happen. 

    Shelf with various labeled containers, including insulated pants, thermal underwear, down jacket, and boot socks, against a brick wall.