#tally crawlies

[hofstadt3r]

what if tally hall was bugs and instead of making music they did bug activities

omg yes,, tally crawlies

they'd kinda be like the beat bugs or smth like that idk

bugs when you lift up a rock:

rob is a cucumber beetle, zubes is a blue carpenter bee, joe is a ladybug (obvi), andrew is a green june beetle (hes the only one with multiple limbs too) and ross is a little drain fly

[hofstadt3r]

AAAAA OMG he's so adorablee tysm !!!! <333

gently holds ... 🥺🥺🤲🤲

@hofstadt3r i drew your ross crawly!!!

[thisisnotthenerd]

got a little too bored today and started tallying up d20 cast appearances for the intrepid heroes (and brennan). this is only off of the top of my head so if i forget something don't get on me about it.

Intrepid Heroes D20 Cast Appearances, including sidequests (and BLeeM), ranked from highest to lowest:

Brennan Lee Mulligan with a total of 17/19 seasons that he has appeared in; dm/gming for 14 of those seasons. 7 of those are main cast/intrepid heroes, so assume they each have a baseline of seven.

next up is mister Lou Wilson, with a total of 10 seasons; 3 sidequests, all with guest gms. the man is a combination of dnd knowledge and commit to the bit. great with any season, but has always sidequested with brennan.

tied at nine, we have zac oyama and ally beardsley; ally featured heavily in 2021 sidequests while zac has been more recent in '22 and '23.

tied at eight we have the lovely ladies emily axford and siobhan thompson! i'm so glad siobhan has joined the ranks of intrepid heroes in sidequests, it feels like they just have a lot of fun on the shorter runs.

and in last place, mr brian 'murph' murphy. i know he's busy with naddpod but only intrepid heroes seasons? 7/19? please come on a sidequest my guy. i promise it's fun.

halfway through this process i've decided that guests are also being included now.

Guest Cast D20 Appearances, ranked from highest to lowest:

at the top of the guest list, the effervescent aabria iyengar, with 5/12 sidequest seasons! 2 seasons of gming, 3 seasons as a player, all 3 of which are in established d20 worlds e.g. spyre and calorum. assuming we have an intrepid heroes season coming up at some point in the future, murph can get a bit of a lead, but if aabria's coming on to guest more there's a very real potential that she will outcompete him. i look forward to the day.

next up: erika ishii with 4 seasons. they came on in the first sidequest and have had a steady stream of appearances since. always some kind of mage--tends towards druids/nature magic. 2/3 of her dnd appearances have been druids with an eye for creepy crawlies and the darker side of nature. he's got an aesthetic that he sticks to, and i admire that. real commitment, and not just to the bit.

tied with three we have rekha shankar and matthew mercer. ooh four-syllable names. sorry i got distracted. anyway. very excited to see rekha in desiquest, though she's a fantastic player on d20. big swings, fun character choices, a good balance of support for narrative and spotlight. and then we have matt--one season gming, but for the seasons he's played? some truly cringefail guys who learn to believe in themselves and break out of their personal depression to deliver an asskicking in their finale episode. man likes his themes.

now for the team of two (not the 2 crew) in chronological order of first appearance: mike trapp, ify nwadiwe, lily du, carlos luna, danielle radford, and izzy roland. just enough to make an average d20 table! i'm getting my fill of trapp and danielle in the current season, but seeing a table of these players together? it has potential.

and for the full list of one time appearances on d20 in chronological order of first appearance (only full seasons, not including oneshots atm):

amy vorpahl

justin mcelroy

clint mcelroy

jessica ross

griffin mcelroy

travis mcelroy

marisha ray

krystina arielle

b. dave walters

katie marovitch

sam reich

raphael chestang

grant o'brien

becca scott

persephone valentine

gabe hicks (gm!)

dani fernandez

jasmine bhullar (gm!)

omar najam

oscar montoya

surena marie

anjali bhimani

monét x change

alaska thunderfuck

bob the drag queen

jujubee

alex song-xia

freddie wong

hank green

i've devoted entirely too much thought to this. and i still have more thoughts. too many thoughts and not enough time. can't wait to see who comes on in the future! don't know if i'll edit this or make a new one. probably just edit this.

[simgrump-main]

Day Fourteen - TALLY DAY!!

It’s that time of the week where we find out how our guests did. Here are the current points:

Points (day/total)

Lily Feng - 45/350

Diego Lobo - 50/390

Sergio Romeo - 0/285

Penny Pizzazz - 50/210  deceased

Eliza Pancakes - 40/360

Leo Harper - 55/375

Zoe Patel - 45/330

Our two lowest guests are...Sergio Romeo and Zoe Patel! That means they will be going home this week. Here are their reviews of the New Penelope Hotel. 

Sergio Romeo - 4 out of 5 stars

“This place needs a wicked exterminator to get rid of the creepy crawlies. Except the bats. The bats can stay. Met the love of my life here, though! And I’m not just talking about the new gym. Looking forward to the future and it’s all thanks to the New Penelope!”

Zoe Patel - 5 out of 5 stars

“The owner is the sweetest, kindest, most amazing old man you’ll ever meet in your life. He’s got a little spunk left in him, though, so watch out for his wicked pick up lines. The Hotel is amazing and I met my boyfriend here. I can tell we’re going to be together for a long time with memories like the ones we made here.”

----

As Sergio and Zoe leave, two more guests will be brought into the hotel to replace them. Now, let’s take a look at our finances. 

Payment for the Day: $1,175 Furnishing for the Gym: $3,290 Total Money: $2,842 Total Amenities Unlocked (1/7) Total Amenities Finished (1/7)

----

At the end of every tally day, we will be adding a layer of difficulty to the challenge. Our second full week had a lots of ups and downs. Can we withstand any further changes to the Hotel? 

Added: Grody

That’s it for our second week! See you all for another round of fun!!

[ineffable-kelpie]

Words have been written! Final tallies:

Post-S3 flower metaphors: 5 votes/10 sentences

Soulmate AU: 8 votes/16 sentences

You were an angel twice: 3 votes/6 sentences

Aziraphale Falls: 7 votes/14 sentences

Snippet from Soulmate AU below the cut:

“Oh, eugh.” Aziraphale made an exaggerated face, shook their head, and thrust the wine back at Crawly. “That doesn’t taste like grapes at all.” “You barely let it touch your tongue,” Crawly said impatiently, pushing the wine back towards the angel. “Give it a chance. It’ll grow on you.” “No, I think I’ve had enough. I tried it, like you asked.” Azra set the jug on the ground beside Crawly. “You can have the rest.” “Oh come on, I don’t wanna get drunk by myself.” “Aha, so you were trying to get me drunk!” Aziraphale pointed an accusing finger at him. Crawly scowled. She couldn’t exactly deny it. “Not drunk. Just a little tipsy. Thought it’d be fun.” Aziraphale sniffed. “Angels do not get tipsy. And certainly not for the amusement of a demon.” They shot Crowley a confused look. “And—and you certainly had no problem getting drunk by yourself in Job’s basement.” Crawly made a noise of protest. That was different. They were there in a professional capacity, as colleagues-temporarily-not-on-different-sides. But they’d agreed that they weren’t on the clock right now. This was…social. Which was odd, because that would suggest that she and Aziraphale were friends.

And a bonus snippet from Post-S3 flower metaphors for @eybefioro, because they asked very nicely in the tags, and that WIP is usually dead last in these polls so I'm happy to see it get some interest:

Crowley leans against the fence and looks at the apple tree. It’s still small, and hasn’t grown much in the few months since it was planted. Probably still figuring out its root system in its new home. Aziraphale still hasn’t asked what kind of tree it was, and if he recognizes it, he hasn’t said anything. Crowley grins, imagining the angel’s face if he stays long enough to see it produce fruit. If? Crowley blinks. When, he corrects himself. When the angel sees it produce fruit. It will take a few years, but surely they’ll both still be here to see it. Unless it gets struck by lightning. Or unless… He turns away from the apple tree and pulls off his gardening gloves. When he reaches the cottage, Aziraphale is waiting for him with a warm mug of cider that he got at the farmer’s market. Crowley miracles away the dirt and grime from gardening, smiles as he takes the mug, and lounges on the sofa beside Aziraphale to drink it. He tries not to think too hard about apples, but the smell wafting from the surface of his drink makes it difficult.

For each vote I'll write two sentences on that WIP, for the winning WIP I'll post a snippet

[ezatluba]

We have a new global tally of the insect apocalypse. It’s alarming.

When insects go extinct, other species follow.

Brian Resnick

Feb 18, 2019

Insects are the most abundant animals on planet Earth. If you were to put them all together into one creepy-crawly mass, they’d outweigh all humanity by a factor of 17.

Insects outweigh all the fish in the oceans and all the livestock munching grass on land. Their abundance, variety (there could be as many as 30 million species), and ubiquity mean insects play a foundational role in food webs and ecosystems: from the bees that pollinate the flowers of food crops like almonds to the termites that recycle dead trees in forests.

Insects are also superlative for another, disturbing reason: They’re vanishing at a very fast rate in some parts of the world.

“The pace of modern insect extinctions surpasses that of vertebrates by a large margin,” write the authors of an alarming new review in Biological Conservation of the scientific literature on insect population declines published in the past 40 years. The state of insect biodiversity, they write, is “dreadful.” And their biomass — the estimated weight of all insects on Earth combined — is dropping by an estimated 2.5 percent every year.

In all, the researchers conclude that as much as 40 percent of all insect species may be endangered over the next several decades. And around 41 percent of all insect species on record have seen population declines in the past decade. Most of the data was obtained from studies conducted in Europe and North America. However, of the world’s insect species live in the tropics, where new species are still being discovered. A true, global assessment might tell a different story. The authors note that there’s not enough data from tropical regions.

It turns out there’s another big caveat to the new data trove. As University of New England ecologist Manu Saunders pointed out in a blog post, though the intent of the authors of the Biological Conservation paper was to “compil[e] all long-term insect surveys conducted over the past 40 years that are available through global peer-reviewed literature databases,” in fact, they limited their search just to papers that included the terms “insect,” “declines,” and “survey.”

The trouble with this method is that it biases the analysis toward declines, and excludes gains or stable populations. “‘Survey,’” writes Saunders, “is just one term that could pick up long-term studies.” Which means the paper is not an absolute reckoning of insect declines.

“It is evident that we are witnessing the largest [insect] extinction event on Earth since the late Permian and Cretaceous periods,” the study authors write. Given their limited research methods, this might be a premature conclusion. But there are reasons to be worried about insects, particularly vulnerable orders, like butterflies. And human activity is hugely to blame.

Bees, butterflies, moths, dung beetles, and crickets are all declining

Butterflies and moths, known as the Lepidoptera order, are some of the hardest hit: 53 percent of Lepidoptera have seen declining population numbers, according to the new survey. This is especially concerning as butterflies, which are very sensitive to changes in landscape and food sources, are often a bellwether of environmental health.

Some 50 percent of Orthoptera species (grasshoppers and crickets, another important source of food for an enormous array of animals) are also in decline. Forty percent of bee species are listed as vulnerable for extinction, and most dung beetle species (named for — you guessed it — what they like to eat) are vulnerable or endangered.

This new study paints a picture of a problem that’s been recorded in individual ecosystems. A 2017 study in Germany noted a 75 percent decline in flying insects over three decades. “The widespread insect biomass decline is alarming,” the authors wrote, “ever more so as all traps were placed in protected areas that are meant to preserve ecosystem functions and biodiversity.”

What’s “most worrying,” the authors write, is that the losses seem to impact both “specialist” insects and “generalist” insects. A specialist is an organism that occupies a tiny niche in an ecosystem (like a moth that only feeds on one particular plant). A generalist, on the other hand, is more adaptable and can more easily change environments and food sources.

Both types of insects are facing major losses. “This suggests that the causes of insect declines are not tied to particular habitats, but instead affect common traits shared among all insects,” the study authors write.

What’s killing all the insects?

The state of insect biodiversity is “dreadful” because we know what happens when ecosystems lose insects: They lose other species as well.

In October, a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science documentedthat between 1976 and 2013, the number of invertebrates (like insects, spiders, and centipedes) in the Luquillo rainforest in Puerto Rico caught in survey nets plummeted by a factor of four or eight. When measured by the number caught in sticky traps, invertebrates declined by a factor of 60. And that loss of insects coincided with losses of birds, lizards, and frogs. “The food web appears to have been obliterated from the bottom,” the Washington Post’s Ben Guarino reported on the study.

So what’s happening?

The researchers in the new Biological Conservation paper outline four broad, global problems leading to insect loss. They won’t surprise you.

Habitat loss as a result of human development, deforestation, and the expansion of agriculture

Pollution, particularly via pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial wastes

Parasites and pathogens — like the viruses that attack honeybees — and invasive species

Climate change

In summary: Human activity is to blame.

“Habitat restoration, coupled with a drastic reduction in agro-chemical inputs and agricultural ‘redesign’, is probably the most effective way to stop further declines,” the researchers write, with “redesign” meaning making agricultural plots more hospitable to the native insects (for instance, maintaining flowering plants for pollinators to feast on). Pesticide use needs to decline drastically as well. “Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades,” the researchers write.

And if we don’t act, the researchers give a stark warning:

The repercussions this will have for the planet’s ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least, as insects are at the structural and functional base of many of the world’s ecosystems since their rise at the end of the Devonian period, almost 400 million years ago.

With so much devastating and widespread loss of insects — and other forms of life — it’s hard to say where we should focus our attention. In Science, Jonathan Baillie, the chief scientist at the National Geographic Society, and Ya-Ping Zhang, the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, argued that half of all land should be protected for wildlife by 2050, to give plants and animals a chance to thrive.

This is a lofty, perhaps unrealistic goal. But we’ve taken so much from wildlife. We need to think more about how to stop taking environments away from plants and animals. “Simply put,” Baillie and Zhang write in Science, “there is finite space and energy on the planet, and we must decide how much of it we’re willing to share.”

[faryuta524-blog]

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[meenasmoon]

Awesome an update on the fic! Can't wait for more. And for the prompt ash recruits the theater gang to get Meena and Johnny together but it keeps going wrong until someone just blurts out that they should go out to their face or their plan could work out and then they gloat about it forever

Wooo this one took some thinking but I decided that I would leave it on a cliffhanger and if there is a strong enough response to the idea I will make a couple more installments. I hope that you guys like this one and if you do I’ll make sure that I give it a proper ending.

The Grand Plot Part 1

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called you here today.” Ash spunaround in Moon’s office chair, a cup of StarBuck’s coffee clasped in one handwhile the other rested casually on the arm of the chair. Assembled before herwere her friends, everyone except the topic of the conversation, Meena and Johnny.Rosita, Eddie, Buster, and Gunter were standing on the other side of the desk,looking extremely confused.

Moon eyed her place in his precious chair but Ash just ignored him andtook a long draught of her coffee “We have a serious and super annoying problemon our hands.” she jumped down from the chair and walked over to the front ofthe desk. Everyone else remained silent, waiting to hear what exactly shehad to say.

“There are two idiots here that need a little push. You must havenoticed that Meena and Johnny are missing from this meeting. That’s becausethese two dorks have no idea that they are hopelessly in love with each other.Sooo we are going to help them figure it out.” She put down her coffee andleaned back against the desk, her arms crossed over her chest. “I’m open tosuggestions.”

Gunter immediately raised his hand did an excited little dance to gether attention. Ash sighed and gave everyone else a chance to put up their handbefore grudgingly gesturing for Gunter to share his idea.

Hunter immediately did a little celebration dance and then launched intohis plan. “Ok zo here is vat ve are koing todo. Ve lock zem in ein clozet for ein couble of hours and poom! Zey are inloffe foreffer! It iz genius no?”

For a second they all just looked atGunter in surprise, shocked that a good idea actually came from his rambling,eccentric mind. Gunter just stared back at them, a gigantic smile overtakinghis face.

Ash nodded slowly, a mischievous smilespreading across her face. “I can’t believe that I’m about to say thisbut… that idea is perfect.” She high-fived the energetic pig and anelaborate plot began forming in her mind.

“Except we put them in a practicebooth instead. That way we can see what’s going on.” Ash rubbed her handstogether and let out a little chuckle, “This is gonna be good.”

“Wait.” Buster stopped her inher tracks and she spun around to glare at him. Buster adjusted his tie andstood up as tall as he could, “Now I’m in support of this plan but it mustbe carried out after hours. I don’t want this to interfere with practice timeand show times.” He looked meaningfully at Ash who just rolled her eyesand shrugged.

“Fine. We won’t do it duringpractice.” She grumbled and Buster nodded, satisfied with her answer.

“So you’re in?” She asked andhe grinned at her, nodding his assent.

“Eddie.” She turned to thenervous looking sheep and he immediately froze under her scrutinizing gaze.

“Uhhhh.” He looked down atBuster who gave him an encouraging grin and a good-natured shove. Eddieshrugged and nodded to Ash who mentally tallied up her squad. She didn’t evenask Gunter considering that he gave her the plan on a silver platter, and he wasgenerally excited about anything. She turned to Rosita, her final recruit, whowas nervously fiddling with her bright yellow purse.

“What is it Rosita?” She askedand Rosita let out a small sigh.

“I’m just not sure that we should meddle in something likethis. I mean what happens if our plan backfires and they end up hatingeach other! We can’t destroy their friendship.” The panic rose in her voice andshe clutched her bag tighter to her chest. Ash hurried over to her and put acomforting hand on her back. She rubbed it gently to calm her down andlooked around awkwardly for help but everyone was just watching them withconcerned looks on her face. Ash could see that she was losing them to Rosita’sdoubts so she quickly tried to recover the situation.

“C’mon guys. This is Meena and Johnny we’re talking about.I’m pretty sure that Johnny doesn’t even have the ability to insult someone, oreven be impolite I’m pretty sure. Also do you really think that Meena couldever hate anyone? Especially Johnny.” The worried looks disappeared as shespoke and slowly she felt their confidence in the plan coming back. “Plusthis is an awesome mission. These two deserve each other and you know it.”

Rosita nodded confidently and stood up from the chair she hadbeen perched on and put her hand up in the air. “Let’s do this!”Everyone else quickly joined in one the pow wow except for Ash,who watched them with a grimace on her face and her arms crossed over herchest. Buster saw that she wasn’t joining them and frowned, gesturing for herto join them.

“C’mon moody teenager. This is your plan and if you want togo through with it you need to put your hand in the circle.” Ash groaned andreluctantly added her hand on top of the pile and everyone else threw theirhands up in the air and cheered.

“Woohoo.” Ash said sarcastically and moved as far away fromthem as she could. “Adults are such dorks.” she murmured to herself andthe banged her fist on the desk to get everyone’s attention once more.

“We don’t have much time to come up with a solid plan beforeMeena and Johnny get back from getting lunch so let’s get to work people. Iwant this thing completely hashed out before we try anything. Let’s get towork.” She clapped her hands and for the next couple of days they all met upand worked on the plan, going over it over and over again until everyone knewthe details by heart. Meanwhile, Meena and Johnny continued their obliviousdance, admiring each other from afar and generally driving anyone in on theplan crazy.

Finally, a couple days later they were ready. Everything wasin place, all of the variables had been thought of and everyone knew their rolein the plot. Rosita would ask them to meet her in the practice room, Gunterwould “accidentally” lock them in the room, and Buster and Eddie would rigthe lights and the sound in the practice room so that Ash could see everythingfrom command central. She had set up a command central in the rafters above theroom, where she could have the perfect view without Johnny and Meena being ableto see her.

She watched eagerly from above as Rosita pulled Meena asideand said something inaudible to her. The gentle elephant smiled and nodded inconfirmation before wandering away to help with the final cleanup of the stage.Not even a minute later, Rosita was talking to Johnny about himmeeting her in the aforementioned practice room. The gorilla nodded and thenwalked away to help Meena lift a particularly heavy piece of the set. Ashrolled her eyes as she watched their interactions. Meena was a blushing,stuttering mess, and Johnny was falling all over himself trying to be agentleman for her. 

A few minutes later Johnny walked into the practice roomand sat down on the stool in front of the mirrors. Ash watched him spin aroundon the stool like a child for a little bit before Meena walked into the room.As soon as Meena entered the practice room, Ash signaled Gunter who gave her adouble thumbs up before slipping on his noise cancelling headphones andgrabbing the keys from the wall hang nearby.

Ash turned the binoculars back towards the practice room andwatched as Johnny finally registered Meena’s presence and leapt off of thestool mid-spin, stumbling slightly. Ash rolled her eyes as she was forced towatch their awkward dance once more. She handed the binoculars over to Busterwho was waiting eagerly next to her.

“I can’t watch this crap anymore it’s gonna make me barf.”she said dramatically and Buster eagerly took them from her, whispering aplay-by-play to Eddie who was hanging on his every word like an old womanlistening to her soap opera.

Ash sighed and picked up her third StarBuck’s coffee ofthe day, drinking deeply from her precious paper cup. Suddenly Bustergasped and Eddie’s grip on his shoulder tightened. 

“They’re leaving!” he gasped and Ash ripped the binocularsaway from him so fast that he got whiplash. She growled when she saw Meena andJohnny picking up their stuff and talking as they walked to the door. Shescanned around the practice rooms, searching desperately for Gunter. She foundhim dancing a few feet away, paying no attention to his actual mission. Shealmost yelled in frustration, but that would break her cover, so she ground herteeth together instead. She quickly texted Rosita who was still on stagedistracting Mrs. Crawly. A few seconds later Rosita rushed in and as soon asshe caught sight of Gunter she tossed a couple of candies at him until she gothis attention. Ash watched her desperate motions towards the room where Meenaand Johnny were preparing to leave. Gunter’s eyes widened when he finallyunderstood the dire situation that they were in. He practically dove for thedoor and jammed the key in the lock, locking the door just as Johnny reachedfor the door and turned the knob. The knob refused to open and Johnny jiggledit in confusion as Gunter army crawled away from the door over to where Rositawas waiting. Once Gunter was up off the ground, Rosita dragged him out of sightand away from where Johnny or Meena would see them.

Ash almost cackled in delight as she watched Johnny pull atthe door and bang on the windows in confusion. Meena was trying her cell phonebut the signal inside of the practice rooms was terrible and she couldn’t seemto get a call through. Ash settled into her seat and prepared herself for thelong haul. I’m not leaving here until these two admit their feelings foreach other.

 Two hours later Ash was ready to give up. She was slumped inthe chair that she had set up and she was feeling severely caffeine-deprived.She gazed longingly at the empty paper cup that she had been cuddling since shehad finished it two hours ago. She tossed it and sat up, picking up thebinoculars that she had discarded. She glared at Buster who was snoring loudlyfrom where he was curled up next to a sleeping Eddie whose drool was coveringthe pillow he was sleeping on. She prayed that they weren’t still playing cardslike they had been for the past hour. She could only watch those two lovesickidiots play go fish so many times.

She gasped when she actually found them doing somethinginteresting. Meena was leaning on Johnny’s shoulder as he talked aboutsomething that he Ash couldn’t make out. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”she whispered to herself and adjusted the binoculars so that she was focused onher friends rather than the room around them.

Just when it looked like they were getting somewhere theyboth sat up and broke into huge grins. Confused, Ash zoomed out and lookedaround the room, trying to find the source of this sudden change. When shefinally found the source she sat there and gaped for what felt like years. Mrs.Crawly had waddled in unnoticed and unlocked the door. Their closed room ideahad failed because of one old lizard. She watched in despair as her friendsexited the room and went their separate ways, waving as they walked away. Aftera few minutes of looking at an empty room and wondering how such a perfectlywell thought out plan could fail so spectacularly. Finally she threwdown the binoculars in frustration, slid down in the chair, and let out afrustrated groan.

“Damn.” she whispered to herself and then shrugged and curledup in the chair to fall asleep.

There’s always another chance tomorrow.

[crayonghana37-blog]

High Altitude Ultralight Camping Test

Modern Hiker’s Corey Caffrey and Jonathan Legg hiked the 40 mile Capitol Peak Loop in Colorado’s Snowmass Wilderness to test out a new generation of lightweight gear from Hyperlite Mountain Gear, Six Moons Designs, Sierra Designs, Thermarest, Patagonia, Vargo and MSR.

JL: The start of a high mountain backpacking trip can be a system shock. Heading up the first ascent with a loaded pack, the body is in full protest and the mind full of self-doubt. The end of the trip is typically an achy knee descent. But … what if a chunk of weight was removed from the equation? What would ten fewer pounds do for the spirit and joints? A new wave of ultralight camping gear seeks to answer that question, moving past its fringe roots into the mainstream. Curiously, the less the equipment weighs, the heavier its price tag hangs. Should you pay more for something potentially less durable? Corey and I selected a rugged route with five high passes to give the latest ultralight designs a thorough test.

Our setup:

Jonathan – Pack: Six Moon Minimalist / Shelter: Six Moon Deschutes Tarp / Sleeping: Sierra Designs Nitro 800 (35˚)

Corey – Pack: Hyperlite Mountain Gear – Windrider / Shelter: Hyperlite Tarp w Echo Insert / Sleeping: Thermarest Corus Quilt + NeoAir Xlite

Bonus Gear: Vargo Outdoors BOT 700 & Dig Tool / MSR Pocket Rocket 2 / Patagonia Storm Racer

Ultralight Packs

JL: On my back was the 48L ç Minimalist , weighing just 36 oz (1020 g) with a thin stay configuration transferring weight directly to its hip belt. I’d selected the optional vest front with an array of pockets and attachment points.

The Minimalist‘s greatest asset is its imperceptibility. Once adjusted properly, the pack sat so snugly that I often forgot about it. The material felt ultra-durable and the side pockets held water bottles tightly. One of the side pockets is designed taller than the other to also fit an ultralight tent or hydration bladder.

The innovative vest lets you keep a lot of items within easy reach (sunblock, sunglasses, snacks, etc), however this seemed a bit extraneous with two deep hip containers built into the waist belt. The chest straps were a bit constrictive on my breath so I had them unclipped the majority of the hike. Perhaps with a lighter load the design would become useful when bombing downhill in a run.

Although the main compartment rolls shut like a dry bag, it was a mistake to assume this meant it was waterproof. After a harsh 30 minutes of rain and hail I found gear to be wet in all kinds of peculiar places throughout the pack. There is, however, one waterproof pocket on the top compartment ideal for protecting maps, permits, and electronics.

CC: I’d long been a fan of Hyperlite, but only from afar.  This was my first time wearing one for any length of time.  At just 32 oz, the Windrider is among the absolute lightest packs available.  

Coming fresh from the Outdoor Retailer show, I’d just seen the latest and greatest new suspension systems, articulating hips, shoulders and whatever other new tech was aimed at making your backpacking load easier to carry.  When I pulled the Windrider out of the box I couldn’t help but wonder if this super minimal, no-bells-and-whistles pack was somehow lacking in the construction required for a comfortable ride. I was wrong — the Hyperlite was one of the most comfortable packs I’ve worn for an extended period of time.  In 40 miles and 5 mountain passes it needed only minimal adjustments along the way. The pack really is “set it and forget it”.

As far as organization goes, it doesn’t get much simpler. 1 large main compartment with a dry bag style closure, 3 large exterior pockets made of netting, and 2 generous hip belt pockets. If you like a pocket for everything, this isn’t your pack, but I found it to be adequate, and in exchange for the weight savings the simplicity was a welcome feature. I really loved the netting on the exterior pockets. The netting let me see exactly where everything was and access it quickly. For example, when we came to a water source, refilling was as easy as spotting my filter in the exterior pocket and grabbing it. No digging around and unpacking.

Ultralight Pack Takeaways:

Six Moon’s new vest straps are very innovative.  Definitely going to be an issue of personal preference, but if you run or day hike with a vest style pack you will find this familiar and helpful in spreading out the load.

While both packs are really light, the Dyneema material in the Hyperlite felt much stronger.

The downside of using Dyneema is price, at $340 the Hyperlite is more than $100 more expensive than the Six Moon.

Both packs were very comfortable, we recommend trying both to see which fits you best.

Ultralight Shelters:

JL: At the bottom of my pack sat a Six Moon Deschutes Plus Tarp, adding just 16 oz (450 g) to the tally. The first time I fumbled with the setup was in the pitch dark, but even with a janky setup it kept me safe from morning sprinkles. The fabric is light as tissue paper, it dries incredibly fast, and has a thoughtful mesh skirt for allowing a breeze in while keeping the mozzies out.

CC: For my shelter, I used a modular system: the Hyperlite Tarp w Echo Insert. I personally don’t love just sleeping under the tarp, so I thought this setup could be perfect: Tarp for when conditions are ideal with the option of adding the Insert when I wanted a little more protection from the elements and anything creepy and/or crawly. On this trip, both performed wonderfully. I did 2.5 nights with the tarp + insert and 1.5 under just the tarp. Why the .5? Well that night I had 3 visits from a little pika who apparently wanted to cuddle. After my third wake up call I decided enough was enough and added the insert. One great feature is that the insert doesn’t require additional setup, simply grab it and clip it to the tarp. Within a few minutes I was back under the shelter, this time with a little extra security that provided a great night’s sleep.

Ultralight Shelter Takeaways:

Similar to the packs, the Dyneema Fabric felt stronger than the Silnylon in the Six Moon shelter.

Again, you get what you pay for. The Hyperlite sleep system retails for ~$700, while the Six Moon is a more reasonable $250.  

The Six Moon single pole design makes one person setup much easier than the Hyperlite.  

In rain the Hyperlite held up slightly better, but it’s important to note that neither of these shelters are billed as bomber, storm shelters. In rain they did the job as expected.

Ultralight Sleep Systems

JL:  In late August the weather in the Rockies is already coming over the cold bend. Wildflowers are mostly gone, leaves are beginning to turn, and at 10,000 feet I was mummied up like King Tut in the bag with all my clothes on. I always got over the hump, but there were moments that a degree lower would have sent me over to Corey’s tent ready to little-spoon. The 35 degree Sierra Designs Nitro 800 (35˚) barely did the job, though I marveled at its feather-light weight and enjoyed the ability to pop my feet out of a convenient ventilation slot. The zipper tracks are advertised as anti-snag, but we all know how mischievous bag zippers are, especially if there is any urgency to get out.  Overall the features and weight of the bag were awesome, I just underestimated the temperature at altitude.

CC:  I have heard rumblings about sleeping quilts for a while now in the ultralight community. Since most of the insulating power of a sleeping bag is lost when you lay on it, why not simply remove the bottom of the sleeping bag and sleep directly on the mat? Armed with the Thermarest Corus Quilt and NeoAir Xlite, I set out to see what all the hype is about. As someone who typically sleeps on my side, I loved the quilt. I finally had room to toss and turn unencumbered by zippers. The quilt came with velcro loops that I attached to my pad, avoiding that middle of the night wake up call triggered by sliding off my pad and ending up on the cold ground. Like Jonathan, I tested the lower limits of the comfort range on the quilt at 35 degrees. Anything colder and I would opt for a full bag, but for the bulk of 3 season camping I am a fully converted quilt sleeper.

Ultralight Sleeping Takeaways:

The reality is neither of us brought enough sleeping bag for the trip. Our gear was rated to 35 degrees and with the temperature dipping into the mid 30s or even colder, we both wish we had brought something warmer. It was a good reminder to keep an eye on temps and bring the right gear for the job.  

The 800 fill down for the Nitro made for a super light and super comfortable sleeping experience.

The Corus Quilt is an awesome alternative to the traditional bag. If you love to toss and turn or are simply looking to shave some weight, give a quilt a try.

Bonus Gear / Shoutouts:

I wanted to give a couple other shoutouts to stand-out pieces of gear. For cooking, I used a single pot / cup set up in the Vargo Outdoors BOT 700. This titanium cup sealed tight, allowing me to cold soak food as I walked, resulting in meals that were either ready to eat (cold) or quickly warmed up, already hydrated with minimal fuel usage. To round out my ultralight cook setup, I brought along the MSR Pocket Rocket 2. The stove worked like a dream, however the built in lighter on the latest version, didn’t work from the start. I highly recommend the stove, but would suggest opting for the version without the built in lighter. For a shell, Patagonia sent over a Storm Racer lightweight shell to try. On days 4 of our hike, a light rainstorm quickly turned into a downpour / hailstorm. The shell was perfect, totally breathable and with a light stretch I was able to soldier on, my temperature perfectly regulated and my body dry.

Are you an ultralight backpacker?  Curious to learn more? Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!  

Modern Hiker occasionally receives products or services from companies for free or at-cost for review purposes. Modern Hiker may receive a percentage of sales via affiliate links from these companies but does not accept compensation for editorial reviews. Companies being reviewed are not allowed to exercise creative or editorial control over these posts.

Source: https://modernhiker.com/high-altitude-ultralight-camping-test/

[ineffable-kelpie]

Sentences have been written! Final tallies:

mindwiped Aziraphale - Crowley edition - 4 sentences

soulmate AU - 5 sentences

You were an angel twice - 4 sentences

Thanks to everyone who voted for making me wrote words! Snippet from "soulmate AU" below the cut:

Crawly stood by the wall a little longer while Aziraphale dove back into the crowd to find their soulmate, and possibly Crawly’s. The angel didn’t need to waste their time, but since they insisted maybe it’d be better if they did find Crawly’s soulmate. They’d try their best to shove the two of them together, and Crawly would continue to not spontaneously fall in love, and Aziraphale would probably get so confused they exploded. Crawly kind of wanted to see that.

Or maybe, though the odds were slim, Crawly would find Aziraphale’s soulmate here. Then Aziraphale could throw themself into that relationship, and they’d have someone else they could bother here instead of Crawly. Aziraphale must have been awfully desperate, to come all the way over to this side of the room and talk to Crawly.

Aziraphale couldn’t have had many friends in Heaven, if they’d come over to talk to Crawly.

The idea made Crawly uncomfortable, for reasons ze couldn’t explain. Aziraphale was…well, they were an angel, but they weren’t so awful that even other angels wouldn’t be able to stand them. Their company on the ark had almost made the long isolation bearable. Heaven, their conversation just now had almost made this mandatory workplace event bearable.

For every vote I'll write at least a sentence on that WIP, for the winning WIP I'll post a snippet.

[simgrump-main]

Day 7 - TALLY DAY!!

It’s that time of the week where we find out how our guests did. Here are the current points: 

Lily Feng - 50/360

Diego Lobo - 55/380

Sergio Romeo - 45/375

Simon Scott - 25/350

Eliza Pancakes - 55/370

Bella Goth - 45/330

Zoe Patel - 50/385 

Our two lowest guests are... Bella Goth and Simon Scott! That means they will be going home this week. Here are their reviews of the New Penelope Hotel. 

Bella Goth - 1 out of 5 stars

“The hotel smelled, the toilet was always broken, and the owner had no class. He took us to a bar for our day out but then didn’t even pay for our drinks. The only reason I gave this place one star at all is because another guest has good taste in nightgowns.”

Simon Scott - 4 out of 5 stars

“I can’t wait to tell my friends about this hotel. The wallpaper itself is the whole reason I enjoyed it. And once you get past the idea that you could be eating fruit salad the rest of your life, it’s not half bad!” 

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As Bella and Simon leave, two more guests will be brought into the hotel to replace them. Now, let’s take a look at our finances. 

Payment for the Day: $1,625 

Dinner Fine: -$500

Total Payment: $1,125

Total Money: $3,091 Total Amenities Unlocked: (1/7) Amenities Finished (0/7)

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At the end of every tally day, we will be adding a layer of difficulty to the challenge. Our first full week went by smooth, aside from some broken appliances here and there. We need to amp it up by adding our first Lot Challenge!

Added: Creepy Crawlies

That’s it for our first week! See you all for another round of chaos!!