Thomas Gonzalez (u/thomas815)

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My neighbor, a retired forest ranger, just convinced me to stop skipping the side trails.

We were talking over the fence yesterday and I was complaining about a trip I took on the Timberline Trail last fall. I told him I stuck to the main loop to make miles, and he just shook his head. He said, 'You're missing the whole point. The main trail is just the hallway. The side trails are the rooms.' He told me about a half-mile spur off the main path near Cloud Cap that leads to this tiny, unnamed lake he used to check on. Said he saw a black bear and two cubs there once, just drinking at dusk. It hit different because he wasn't just giving advice, he was describing a place he actually knew from decades of walking it. I've always been so focused on covering distance, I never just... wandered. So I'm planning a trip on the Three Sisters loop this summer and I'm going to build in a full extra day just for spurs. What's the best side trail you've ever taken that wasn't in the guidebook?

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c/electricians•

thomas815•3d ago

Showerthought: I used to think wire nuts were all the same until a job in Tacoma last fall.

I was redoing a kitchen light and kept having a flicker issue with the old red ones I always used. A guy on the crew handed me a tan Ideal wing nut and said, 'Try this for stranded to solid.' The flicker stopped immediately. Do you have a go-to connector for tricky splices like that?

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c/budget-travel-hacks•

thomas815•8d ago

My garage organization trick works for packing too

Sorting items by use, like I do with my tools, makes my suitcase more efficient. This way, I avoid checked bag fees and have everything I need handy.

3 comments

Posts

My neighbor, a retired forest ranger, just convinced me to stop skipping the side trails.

Showerthought: I used to think wire nuts were all the same until a job in Tacoma last fall.

My garage organization trick works for packing too

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