Hi! I’m planning to hike the Washington portion of the PCT. My parents are thinking of meeting me at Lake Chelan and joining me for the section up to Rainy Pass through North Cascades National Park. But they did not make the permit lottery…
Anyone have thoughts on how possible it will be to still get a permit for camping along the Bridge Creek trail for early September? I’ve heard this route is less awe-inspiring than others in the NCNP but of course it is the PCT, so I’m wondering how competitive permits are. Thanks in advance!

Just getting into dehydrating meals! I see some recipes recommend dehydrating a fully cooked meal whereas others just dehydrate the individual components (which are mixed together on the trail). What are the pros/cons to either approach? How do the results differ? Would love to hear any opinions on this. Thanks!

Hi! I'm planning on hiking the Washington Section from early August to early September.

I'm interested in getting a lighter sleeping bag and leaning toward synthetic for ethical reasons (not trying to get into that necessarily). So I'm landing on the EE Apex Enigma quilt, especially since they have a sale right now, but can't decide on the temp rating.

I've read some reviews of EE's Apex stuff that they can actually be pretty true to the rating? I'd accept the bulk of a 20 degree bag but don't want to be uncomfortably warm. I'm sort of a cold and hot sleeper. I can get pretty cold before I fall asleep but then get super hot and have to shed layers...

Would love any advice!

Hi!

I know this is a topic that brings out some strong opinions but here goes...

Recently my 8-9 year old cat nearly died. He stopped eating for a couple days (the reason is still unknown) and he was at great risk of fatty liver disease -- which is just an awful thing I learned about through my three emergency vet visits. He started to turn yellow from jaundice right as he miraculously recovered. He is now back to normal. I'm so happy he's still with me!

But this experience has made me consider a lifestyle change for him. He's got quite a bit of weight on him, which is why he was at risk of that disease. I have two cats and an automatic feeder and he tends to eat more than his fair share. It's hard to reduce the amount because then the other cat will just get less. I know one solution to this is to feed them separately and I may consider this finally but it would take a lot of effort to make this change at this point in their lives.

I believe he largely eats out of boredom. He's not excited by any toys that aren't hair ties or plastic -- both of which are clearly not great for him. Instead, he's always been the one among the two cats that's more curious than athletic/a hunter. He's always been trying to get outside in the eight years I've had him. I never wanted to let him out for his safety -- I live Atlanta -- but now that he almost died from the conditions of his life indoors, I'm feeling like it's worth it for him.

I've since talked to friends with cats who went outside later in life and they adjusted fine. I realize that I do have a very large yard (third of an acre) that is connected to other very large yards. I'm about a 1/3-1/2 of a mile from a busy street. So it's not as dangerous as it could be. There are stray cats in the area, so that's another risk. I'm thinking I'll get an air tag and of course make sure he has all of his vaccinations. I've taken him out on a harness and he does all right but I feel like that just makes him want to go out more.

Anyway, interested in other people's experience with this and how you weigh the risks/benefits to the cat.

Thanks!