Late in the afternoon, we hiked up into the hills behind Costanoa on Whitehouse Creek Trail, a steep, duff-soft path that eventually opened to a stunning vista. Far below us, fields of brown grass swept away to the Pacific, where great arcs of sandy beach absorbed the impact of lines of tiny white breakers, and birds wheeled in fall-away space.

It was a hushed Donner Pass snowfall and velvet black outback night, one of those exhilarating moments that snaps your senses to full attention and makes you giddy to be under spectacular sky.

That night, Kathy sleeping beside me, I raised myself up on a softly cushioned elbow and stared at the hills perched below the full moon.

It would be nice to sleep up there, I thought, but not tonight.


PACK LUXURIOUS, PACK SMART

Technology has raised the comfort level of camping to penthouse heights, and you could fill several Grand Canyons with today's state-of-the-art gear. Take a look at this brief assortment to add luxury and safety to your next camping trip.

DreamSack
A silk sleeping bag liner that's decadently comfortable and light. It also helps keep the inside of your sleeping bag clean. (Washing a sleeping bag does more to shorten its life than anything else.) $59. DreamSack; (800) 670-7661; www.dreamsack.com

SunnyRec Hexagrip Sleeping Pad with Pillow
Self-inflating sleeping pads revolutionized an outdoor night's sleep. This one has a comfortable 10-by-20-inch pillow that rises gently from your shoulders to your neck. Packs light at 2 pounds. $74. SunnyRec Corporation; (310) 638-4368

Montane's Mission Kitchen
Never lose the can opener or schlep your kitchen in unraveling paper bags again. This soft-sided cooking gear organizer is big enough - 3 cubic feet - to hold plates, utensils, and assorted kitchen paraphernalia, and it's filled with dividers and pouches to keep everything in its place. A nice touch, the hard top serves as a cutting board. $129.95.