Wickaninnish Aeronauts

[mfield]

I'm jealous of your glorious sewing machines!

Hi Sera.

Here's a pic of my living room picture window... . a pic of the opposite side of the living room would reveal that my lovely wife is a fiber artist. She gets the fireplace side of the living room for the So Cal winters when the temperature dips down below 65F.



Pair of Pfaff 138-6 German made cast iron machines. The one on the right is about 50 years old and looks like new.



.

[pretzelb]

You made those bags? Amazing. I have toyed with the idea that if I won the lottery and could find a machine that could handle the tougher fabrics it might be fun to tinker with making bags. But considering the odds of winning the lottery it probably isn't going to happen.

The pictures were amazing by the way. Good job.

[mfield]

Since I went to all the trouble of writing down what we packed for this trip... I thought I could share the lists... I was also feeling a little weirder than normal having posted pics of bags that I have sewn myself and pics of my sewing machines on another bag makers blog. So these packing lists will get us back on AERONAUT topic!!!


PHOTO: Aeronauts checked in at the Wickaninnish Inn

In my Steel Solar Aeronaut (I'm including country of origin in my list just for fun):

100-400 Canon "L" zoom lens (ridiculously heavy) (Japan)
17-40 Canon "L" zoom lens (Japan)
Battery & Battery charger for Cannon 5D Mark II
New Balance trail running shoes (USA)
2 nice long sleeve shirts (thrift store - USA)
1 dark silver blue synthetic travel blazer (thrift store USA)
2 nicer long sleeve hiking shirts (60%cotton 40%polyester) (thrift store, have to go look at the tags but not made in China)
Long sleeve synthetic T shirt (USA)
Lucky Jeans (thrift store USA)
Charcoal colored Columbia nylon hiking pants (Viet Nam)
Goretex jacket (Canada)
Nylon shorts/swimsuit
4 pairs of thin nylon socks (USA)
1 pair thin wool socks (USA)
4 synthetic Patagonia boxers (USA)
Silve-rish colored Tilley T3 hat (Canada)
2 liter Platypus collapsible water bottle (empty USA)
BC guide book (never used it)
Trail mix for airport stranding
Tiny toiletries bag

All organized in 9 various size and color silicon coated nylon stuff sacks.

In the Birthday Girl's Forest & Ultraviolet Aeronaut:

Italian dress shoes with kitten heels
Nice evening dress
Evening handbag
Cashmere sweater
Paisley magenta wind breaker
Nylon shell with thin polar fleece lining
New Balance shoes (USA)
2 work out pants for hiking
2 work out tops for hiking
Long sleeve nylon sun shirt
Thin hoody sun shirt
2 skinny jeans
floral skirt
Paisley maxi dress
Pink Rivendell thin wool beanie
Tilley hat
7 tank tops
Toiletries, socks & undies
Electrical charging devices

All packed and organized in 5 stuff sacks

I had tons of extra space in my Aeronaut and Stephanie's was at about 75% capacity. Day packs were less than half full for both of us.

We love packing for any trip and start way way early. Packing for this Vancouver trip was a little different for us. The Vancouver Island weather reports were all over the place. We ended up having sun for the first few days and the mostly rain & drizzle for the last days. Spending 4 nights at Canada's top hotel also puts a little pressure on you for a decent appearance when you track mud into the grand entry and then spend 3 hours eating dinner at the #1 table in their restaurant. We also went for some epic hikes in the rainforests in rain and walked for miles on the beaches. So we needed a wide range of outfits.

I'm a recovering Canadian citizen and my lovely wife is from Oregon & then Wisconsin but when you live in San Diego for a long time your thermometer tolerance favors the higher numbers. Crossing on the ferry, going out on deck felt like we were on that Deadliest Catch crab fishing show. The wind off the North Pacific can be cold and seems to blow right through any fabric and then the skin. I would have left the guidebook at home and added a Rivendell thin black wool sweater, thin Rivendell wool beanie. Stephanie would have packed another pair of warmer pants (I'd make her bring her Western Mountaineering micro down jacket).


--Michael





PS:
Warning - off topic unrelated photo:
Kitten yawning in front of a Christmas tree.

[reeder]

How did you carry both the daypack and Aeronaut?

[tCook]

When I carry my Aeronaut and Synapse, I put the Aeronaut on my back and attach the chest and waist straps, then put the backpack on my front, and pose like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. That last part isn't necessary.

[mfield]

Hello reeder,
Good question. tCook has got it - Teenage Mutant Turtle style.

When the Aeronauts are in backpack mode and you need to put on some miles, then the day packs go on the front. The Aeronaut goes on first and the shoulder straps are adjusted. You also have to re-tension the day pack shoulder straps to keep the front pack in place once you start walking. This double pack rig it takes about 3 minutes to get used to and then you won't think twice about it. We use this method for multi-night backpacking trips on smooth dirt roads. Works great - just not on rough terrain.

We also carried the day packs over one shoulder with a single shoulder strap loosened up. That way you can see your feet for stairs etc. The single shoulder strap also makes it faster to get into the day pack to grab your camera for some quick street shots!

If you have the Absolute strap you can comfortably carry the Aeronaut over your shoulder and wear your day pack on your back. We found this to be the best way to get around airports, stepping on to trains, buses, boats and navigating other crowded areas.

I also carried my lovely wife's day pack inside my Aeronaut and she carried her shoulder bag purse for the first 2 days of travel.

Lots of ways to carry the Aeronaut... all of them good.