Sweet gear at sweet prices

Just a few days ago, I discovered one of the finest things in life - the REI Garage Sale. Really it's just a used gear sale; REI stockpiles all of the returns (used or not) for several months just sell it at slashed prices on a single day. That day was April 12th. Zach and I left at 3:30am to get in line, expecting to be somewhere near the front, but that was not so... we actually were quite "late" and joined the end of the line which had already wrapped around to the back of the building. I guess that's what happens when there are awesome deals to be found by hard-core outdoor lovers who are happy to have any excuse they can get to sleep in their $300 tents and their $400 sleeping bags.

Even though we were "late" we snagged several key items that I've been wanting. I was in definite need of a few packs - a good pack for longer, overnight trips and also a lighter pack for day hikes. A few weeks ago Zach helped me try on countless packs to find the best fit; and the winners were the Women's REI Ridgline for the main pack and a super light-weight Osprey pack called the Aura 50 for shorter hikes. So glad we didn't make the move that day because we found BOTH packs at the sale for a FRACTION of the cost!! Amazing odds considering these were the only 2 women's packs I even saw there. Both were in new condition; used maybe once. Hence the reason for my huge smile. Sweet gear and sweet prices make me one HAPPY CHICA!




Even lil' Sammy got some sweet booties for hiking. She was galloping around like a pony when she had them on for the first time! It was the cutest & funniest thing I've ever seen! (notice all four legs are in the air.. seriously... she was galloping!)