Gear: Tent

Of course, the next largest piece of gear that I'll be using when backpacking is a tent.  The tent was more of a "huh" purchase than the backpack.  A year or so after we got the backpacks, we went back to REI to look for tents.  I may have had an excuse like my birthday or something like that, but I can't remember.  Needless to say, Gail came along and gave me one of those looks when I told her I wanted to buy a tent.  She went along with my lunacy, and I now have a tent that's been sitting in the garage for a couple of years without being used.

The tent is a Sierra Designs "Sirius" model.  It's nominally a 2 person tent (friendly people, that is) and has a host of features, including 2 doors, 2 poles, a 4' x 4' vestibule (for the dog or the pack) and is 39" high at the peak.  According to the tag, it has a trail weight of 4 lbs.  According to my Borg, it looks more like 5 lbs.  Needless to say, it's lightweight and small.  I erred on the smaller size for I figured if you're hiking around, the idea would be to be outside.

As part of the preparation, I'll have to learn how to set it up and the like.