Gathering of the Gear Geeks 5

The 5th annual GGG has come and gone. This was the second one I attended and it seems to be becoming the tradition to hold it at Henry Coe State Park. There were around 60 people this year and it was great to see old friends, some of whom I have not seen since the last GGG.

Dead Live Oak

This is a great opportunity to geek out on the latest lightweight gear, there is always someone with the latest and greatest thing that you can touch and drool over. For many of us this is the only opportunity to see lightweight gear in person before purchasing. There are very few stores that sell this stuff, it is almost entirely driven by online sales.
Usually a couple of the lightweight cottage gear makers show up and this time was no exception. We had people from:

Six Moons Designs
Tarptent
Gossamer Gear
Trail Designs

There may have been one or two others that I didnt see.

The highlight for me was probably the annual wood burning stove burn off. Who can boil a liter of water the fastest?

Rick with homemade stove

Jack getting smoked

Checking out the Biolite

Burn baby Burn!

Winner was Marc with his set-up, sorry I cant remember the details. Some thought he cheated because he used a small battery powered air mattress inflator to help his fire heat up. But hey, there are no real rules and it is a multipurpose use item, so I give it a thumbs up for creativity!

I brought my camera but did not take too many photos, maybe next year. I did take a few flower shots, I love spring!