<\/a>Readers of Shrinkrapped’s last post<\/a> may be wondering how I, or at least my marriage, fared on our recent trip to the Eastern Sierra. To recap, I am not a fan of camping. Or discomfort.\u00a0My husband, Jonathan, on the other hand,\u00a0has bookmarked “Lightweight Backpacking” on his desktop.<\/p>\n Since it was 105 degrees in Bishop, we lucked out with balmy nights 4,000 feet higher up. So I was able to use my sleeping bag as a quilt after all. I was so grateful, I\u00a0barely minded the cheek-to-flocked-vinyl sleeping experience afforded by Jonathan’s\u00a0ban on sheets (which, after all, add a couple of extra ounces to the weight of the two-ton\u00a0car).<\/p>\n True, hot weather meant hot hiking, but since the Sierra Club trip leaders, like time and tide, wait for no man (or woman), we were on the trails before 8:00 a.m. every day. It\u00a0was good to beat the heat, since all the hikes were 12+ miles long with\u00a02,300+ feet of elevation gain. With a group of 24 hyper-competitive hikers, it was a bit like the running of the bulls in Pamplona:\u00a0Stopping for a sip of water meant being trampled to death.<\/p>\n But\u00a0did I mention how beautiful it was? There’s a drought on, but the wildflowers were still\u00a0good, if a month earlier\u00a0and not as profuse as they would be in wet years. <\/a>The mosquitoes, however, seemed to think there was sufficient moisture.<\/p>\n So a good time was had by all, especially the mosquitoes. Also,\u00a0important research was conducted:<\/p>\n\n