Caught with my zipper down at the Ice Lakes!

Okay, I got your attention with my headline-no, nothing like that! The zipper I am talking about is on my tent-and the down part is- as in down-not working-kaput! The culprit? Pumice dust! I just recently spent an am zing night camping at the Lower Ice Lake in the Entiat Mountains. Set up camp on a pumice flat above the lake-minimal impact on the fragile environment-but blowing gusts that evening had a big impact on my Northface tadpole tent. The fine pumice dust that blew into my tent-and all over my gear jammed and screwed up the zippers on my tent! Sigh-so now it is out of commission as I head to Image Lake this week-good thing I have another tent for this excursion-although it is much bigger tent-and while I wait to have my tadpole tent repaired-I am busy trying to dry my down sleeping bag-what a process drying those wet clumps of down-it is no wonder ducks and geese don't sink-I need them to preen my bag! Okay-back to writing about the Ice Lakes-a featured hike in my upcoming backpacking book!