We have [solar] power...

I met up with my friend O'Hagan today, who was holding on to this little gadget since he won it in a contest a few months back. The conversation came up before I decided to hike the trail, though this played a vital part in the planning. It's a beautiful thing: the Goal0 Nomad 7 portable solar charger.

 It is made up of three sections that fold into a small 'envelope.'Two of the sections house the Monocryataline solar panels (which are more ridgid than they appear) and the top holds the charging ports: a standard USB (female) and a jack for an external 'cigarette lighter' attachment that can be plugged into the port.There are also 8 braided rope 'hooks' on the sides and corners of the charger, to make it easily attachable to any backpack (or whatever else).

The bummer: as soon as I plugged in my iPhone, I got the error message that  'charging is not supported by this device.'
The relief: the 'mophie case' (see photo 2) does work with this charger. It's an external battery pack that can be charged separately or together with the iPhone. I am not a techy guy so for me this is new a kind of fun to figure out. None of these are necessities on the trail, but they can add to the experience in many ways...