My Review of Osprey Xenon 85 Pack - Women's

REI

Carrying on the Osprey legacy, the customizable Xenon 85 for multi-day backpacking offers impressive load transfer, saving your back and shoulders.

Osprey Xenon 85 Pack - Women's

Fantastic and Comfy

Rangerlicious Alta, Wyoming 4/29/2009

 

5 5

Gift: No

Pros: Easy To Load, Good Padding, Lightweight, Large Capacity, Highly Adjustable, Comfortable

Best Uses: Extended Hikes, Travel, Heavy Loads

Describe Yourself: Professional Guide

What Is Your Gear Style: Comfort Driven

I work as a Back country Wilderness Ranger, so my loads are easily around 60 lbs. This pack is highly adjustable while ON my body or OFF. The padding on the waist belt is great on bony hip bones that bruise easily from heavy loads. Once adjusted to fit your body, It doesn't rub or chafe shoulders, hips, or back. Truly a comfortable pack. The pack is NOT water proof, so be sure and treat it with a "spray on" proofer to help with rainy days, dewey mornings or high river crossings. It's best to just throw on a rain cover in these conditions. This pack has plenty of compartments for smaller gear. Even though it has a sleeve on the inside for your Camelback and hose-- it would be nice to have a nalgene/etc. sleeve on the outside.

()

Visiting home and then to the beach

I just made it back to Wyoming after a whirlwind trip to Tennessee and Orange Beach. The TN visit was wonderful and jam packed. It was too short! I didn't even make it to the Smokies, which I was really looking forward to hiking around my old stomping grounds. Spring in Tennessee is gorgeous when it isn't raining (which is rare, but we managed to get 2 lovely days of sunshine). The family is great, the food is good, and the traffic and road construction is still horrific! Each visit to TN, solidifies my decision to remain out West. I miss my friends and family like an appendage, but I can't remain living in a place that I don't thrive in.

Next stop was Orange Beach, Alabama for fun in the sun and outdoor live music every night! There were 6 of us in our group at the beach. The last night of the concert the weather had predicted, "heavy thunderstorms with a chance of hail." Now, for an outdoor concert, that would be rough. So the girls and I went to the store to load up on gear, and came back with what is posted in these pictures. Other concert goers loved us. It was hilarious. And the best part? It didn't even rain!

From the top!

Snowshoeing in the Big Hole Mtns

Snowboarding

The Disco Pose

Disco Party part 2

Disco Party

Livin'

In the last post, I'm in the blue jacket, for those of you who don't know which one is me! :D

Top of the mountain!

Yesterday was the first time I took the chair lift to the top of the mountain. I've been snowboarding on the beginner mountain since the beginning of the season. After many fall, spills and face plants--I finally went to the top of the mountain, with a vertical rise of 2000 ft, as opposed to the beginner slope that has a 405 ft vertical rise. It was amazing, and so beautiful. I even had my own support group!

Priscilla's Visit part duo

Priscilla's Winter visit to the Tetons!

First she had to learn out to cross country ski, the next plan was to ski into a hot spring in Yellowstone. It was a beautiful amazing day. The water temp was PERFECT! The bottom of the hot spring was silty and slimy. It was easy to get past that due to the hot bubbling water. What a great day!

More XC Ski pictures from yesterday

I still can't believe where I live. The outdoor possibilities are endless. People here are such extreme athletes. For example, I hear people talk about what it was like to SKI off the Grand Teton. Yes, the GRAND Teton, a very rocky, nearly vertical, 13,770 ft mountain. Unbelievable, and quite insane by my standards. This town is cram packed full of extreme back country skiers and snowboarders, distance runners, distance ski racers (skate skiing), rock and ice climbers, crazy mountain bikers, and road cyclists. My definition of extreme is by distance traveled, duration out, terrain, and by pushing ones body to the breaking point...

Not only is it expensive to live here, but it's going to get expensive if I start getting into new outdoor hobbies! Gear isn't cheap! But luckily, I don't mind looking like a junk show with all of my "hand me down" and mix/matched old gear. Obviously, I'm enjoying every minute of living here.

The coolest ladies in Teton Valley

Today was a great day!

a little more progress

Great snowboarding today!

Here's a picture of my season pass and me on the lift. Today was a great day!

Learning to snowboard!

This is my 6th time EVER on a snowboard--hence the slow speed.
It's and absolute blast!

Sorry about the bad cameraman!

SO MUCH SNOW!!!

The first picture is of my friend Christina and I. The second is where I live, and the third is of the cross country ski track just down the road from my house/apt. The snow here is amazing! It's so powdery and dry! We have had 282 inches of snow so far this season! I have NEVER seen so much snow in my life! I am in snow heaven! It's so beautiful! However, driving in it? Not so fun! I'm a transplant from Tennessee, getting thrown right into learning how to drive in snow/ice, ski, snowboard, WALK, and deal with the snow and extreme temperatures. It was negative 7 when I woke up this morning! I'm sure it was even colder than that last night! The coldest temp so far was negative 26 degrees! OUCH! But the best part of living in a ski town, is, no one lets the cold weather stop them from playing outside, wheather it's snow shoeing, skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding, etc. It's pretty awesome out here.

Snow living room and Campaigning on the Teton Pass

The snow living room posted this sign on Inauguration night, and weeks before these folks (not me--i had to work) were campaigning on the Teton Pass. BRRRRR! Brave souls...