Steve McQueen and me

I agree with the late, great Steve McQueen who once said that he "... would rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth." I probably spend at least a month of each year sleeping outdoors, and given the chance, would choose my sleeping bag over a feather bed in the Ritz Carlton.

I'm heading out to Fisheating Creek, near Lake Okeechobee, and was given the chance to sleep on a foam pad in a bunk house or bring a tent. I chose the tent.

I always travel with what I call my "sleeping pod." It consists of a one-man tent, self-inflating mattress and lightweight sleeping bag that all fits snugly into a backpack or waterproof stuff sack. So it doesn't matter if spent the day freezing in a sea kayak or lumbering down a trail, I know I will always get a good night's sleep.

My tent, an MSR Hubba, weighs 2 pounds 12 ounces and costs $249.95. My Thermarest (you have to have a sleeping pad) weighs just 13 ounces and costs $74.95. I have two Mountain Hardware Lamina sleeping bags for our two seasons (cold and cool). One is good to 35 degrees, weighs 2 pounds 4 ounces and costs $125 and the other is good to 45 degrees, weighs 1 pound 12 ounces and costs $105.

So all together, my "sleeping pod" weighs in at just a little over 6 pounds, which means I can take it everywhere, sack out whenever I want, even in the middle of nowhere.      

Comments

[Jesse Turtle]

Terry,
Love the Steve McQueen reference! Have you jumped a motorcycle over a barbwired fence in your travels yet?

Jesse