Marupializing on Vacation

Back from a brief vacation among the Sequoias. Had a wonderful time with my family of 6 in a 600 square foot cabin. Reminded me that all of the accoutrements that I have are really not necessary in the day-to-day of life. My kids just played in the dirt (and couldn't have been happier) and my wife and I did a lot of reading (she sped through some 600 pages over the course of 3 days). We did a bit of hiking around the lake, my oldest daughter and I did some rock climbing (okay, maybe that's a stretch, but we did get to the top of a pretty big boulder), went rowing and swimming in the lake, and roasted marshmallows.

It was mainly shorts and t-shirt weather (and I had a Patagonia organic cotton t-shirt with me that I bought at Marshall's for $5), but the nights got a bit chilly and my trusty Patagonia Marsupial (circa 2001) came in very handy. Hiking in the Marsupial causes a bit of a heat-up but the Marsupial's deep zipper allows nice venting. The handwarmer pockets are great and the mesh inside increases the air flow. The Marsupial's Y-Joint sleeves offer excellent mobility too. The only thing that had me concerned was how close I could get to the campfire wearing that Synchilla Fleece. The tag says something about staying away from flames. I had this vision of going up in smoke while my children watched and just the stick and the marshmallow remaining behind. Luckily all was well and the S'Mores came out sans fried-daddy.

In the newest edition of the Patagonia catalog, it appears that Patagonia has updated the Marsupial some (updating the price in the process--up a few bucks) adding a wind flap by the zipper, lining the collar, and off-setting the shoulder seams so there's no friction when wearing it with a pack. It's a solid piece of cool weather gear and I would recommend it if you're in the market. My old lovable Marsup in its post-Sequoias glory: