Archive for September, 2007
For anyone in the Central Tennessee area this weekend, don’t forget the Jailbreak Triathlon. This event is sponsored by Outdoorzy and is a great off-road triathlon course. Inmates from the county jail help you put your boat in the water to start the race. Then you paddle your a$$ off when the gun goes off, because you don’t know where the shot came from 
Seriously though, great race to compete in, and a great race to watch. Come down to Columbia if you’re in the neighborhood to hang out with some Outdoorzies. Prizes will be given away, and the weather is shaping up to be perfect.
September 28th, 2007
Members of the Gibraltar Canoeing Association paddled, unassisted, from Portugal to Gibraltar in sea kayaks. The endurance paddle had a total distance of over 302 km, and took 6 days. The team did a 3 hour night paddle at one point on their trek in order to paddle past the Coto Doñana Nature Reserve.
Weather conditions were good for most of the expedition but the team encountered severe thunderstorms at the end of last week. Some strong adverse, easterly winds around the Barbate and Tarifa coasts as well.
September 28th, 2007
In celebration of National Public Lands Day, this Saturday September 29, the Sierra Club released a new report called America’s Wild Legacy that identifies 52 of our nation’s most important and most threatened public lands. The report outlines the Sierra Club’s plan for protecting one wild place in each state over the next 10 years.
Gas drilling, industry, runaway logging and global warming are eating away at these places. For example, Oregon’s Mt. Hood National Forest, with its unparalleled opportunities for climbing, hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing, faces increasing attempts to log its ancient trees, many of which are older than our nation.
Check the report out here. You can download and read the report. You can also view a threatened place up close on the Google Earth map.
September 27th, 2007
I try to be very health conscious, but it is hard to keep up with calories, fat content, and sugars when I eat out. Well that was until I found the awesome website called Thedailyplate.com. I used this website when I was training for the Jailbreak Triathlon last year and again this summer when I trained to hike the Salkantay trail in Peru.
To get started, I signed up as a member at The Daily plate Website and I instantly had access to tons of really useful options to help track my weight such as a food journal, calorie counter, and a fitness log.
Here is how I use the website: Once logged in, I use the food search to locate what I have eaten that day. If I’ve eaten out that day, I can type in name brands and most of the time instantly get all the nutritional information desired. It also has grocery food as well as hard to find calorie food like fruit.
Once I have my food diary from the day completed, I can select an activity from a list of exercises ranging from mountain biking to cleaning the house to sex. The software automatically calculates the intake and burning of calories to give me a the day’s total. I needed to lose five pounds quick to do the four day hike on the Salkantay trail this summer and The Daily Plate kept me honest and on target.
I’ve also used it to help control my 10 pm hunger pains:) I’ll type in a chocolate milkshake with brownie chunks, see what that would to to my hard fought calorie battle and decide to stay on the couch instead of venture into the kitchen.
There are tons more options I haven’t explored yet on The Daily Plate so if you check it out and find something else that works for you, post back and let us know.
September 26th, 2007
MSR Alpine Kitchen Set
The Stats:
- 3-ounce plastic bottles (2)
- 2-ounce plastic bottle (1)
- 0.75-ounce plastic bottles (4)
- 0.75-ounce squeeze bottle (1)
- 1-ounce squeeze bottle (1)
- Alpine Folding Utensils
- Scrub pad
- Plastic cutting board
- Salt and pepper shaker
- 3 Ziplock bags
- Nylon zippered pouch
- Plastic organizer bowl and lid
- Weight - 15 oz./425 g
- Retail price - $39.95
The Skinny:
When you say the words “Camp Kitchen” everyone has their own vision. Minimalists might say, who needs a kitchen, I have a bag of trail mix for dinner and granola bar for breakfast. Then you have your boilers, people who boil water or just warm something up on a camp stove. And then you have your camp chefs. Those are the people who bring a garlic press or a camp coffee maker on the trail. I find myself between a boiler and a chef. And those are the two groups this set caters to. More so the chefs than the boilers. The MSR Alpine Kitchen Set comes with a variety of bottles to organize your spices. The squeeze bottles are handy for taking small amounts of oil, cooking wine, or other liquids. It includes Ziplock bags, but of course that’s something you will replenish yourself and doesn’t really add value so much as just complete the set. There is a zipper pouch that old smaller things like salt and pepper shakers, scouring pad, etc.
The shining star in the kit are the Alpine Folding Utensils which are sturdy and fold down nicely. The whole thing fits into a plastic bowl with a lid. The bowl can be used as a sink and nests inside the MSR pan sets. If you get into camp cooking then this is a great way to get organized and toss that makeshift kit you’ve made yourself. If you’re a boiler then this might be something that accompanies you when you want to splurge, and stays home when you are going light. The ultralight peeps might think this is for sissies.
MSR also sells a stripped down version of the Alpine Kitchen Set called the Alpine Cupboard. It includes the folding utensils along with the plastic bottles. The Cupboard retails for $29.95.
September 25th, 2007
“Into the Wild” was released this past Friday in New York and Los Angeles. Unfortunately it won’t be released to the rest of the U.S. until October 5th. I wasn’t aware of the limited release until I started looking for the movie times. I posted here when the trailer was released and I’m pretty excited about this film since I read the book.
It is inevitable however that this film will stir some debate. (Spoiler ahead, if you don’t know what happens in this story, stop reading) In the book and I’m sure in the film as well, the main character Christopher McCandless strikes out on a journey across the US. He ends up roaming the US, Canada, and Mexico throughout his adventure. In the end McCandless dies, mainly due to ill preparation for living in the wilderness through an Alaskan winter.
McCandless is seen by many as an icon of that youthful desire to explore and to find oneself. To others, he is looked at as an example of just how deadly that unchecked wild spirit can be. Some will think that this story might inspire copycat attempts. People who will attempt to walk into the wild themselves and survive. Personally I feel like the story represents a young man looking for what many of us are or were looking for at that age, ourselves. McCandless’ story is more than just a story of an immature yet wide eyed young man. It’s the story of that person who has been in all of us at one time or another. I think he found himself on that journey. Unfortunately he just went about it the wrong way.
September 24th, 2007
Genre - Folk Rock/Acoustic Rock
Songs - 11
Recommended Use - Drive Home From Work
Rating - Good Stuff
“Lifeline” is one of those albums that you listen to the first time and you go… hmm okay, I guess that was pretty good. Then you give it a second listen and you’re like, wait, was that song on there the first time. The album was recorded in about a week in a recording studio in Paris, without the use of computers. Old School y’all. Track 1, “Fight Outta You,” starts you off with Ben doing this monotone voice thing, and if you can make it through the first verse without forwarding he gets into some of his trademark voice inflections. Track 3, “Lonesome Train,” has a great blues sound. Track 6, “Say You Will,” reminds me of some of his earlier stuff, fast paced and fun. Tracks 10 “Paris Sunrise #7,” and 11 “Lifeline,” are blended together to make a great acoustic ballad. Paris is all acoustic with quite a bit of Ben playing slide. The Innocent Criminals stand out once again and are one of the tightest bands I know. They form a great backdrop for Ben’s soft and sad voice to tell the story. I didn’t quite give it a “Sweet!” rating mainly because some of the tracks didn’t have enough kick or hook for me. But all in all it’s a good buy. You really can’t go wrong adding any of their albums to your collection.
As Ben was quoted as saying in the most recent edition of Outside Mag, “The outdoors was always just a huge part of my life. And, you know what, someone’s got to be the soundtrack to all of this. It may as well be me.” Well put…
September 21st, 2007
Ole Floyd was found guilty after all the hu-bub. He was found guilty by a 2 to 1 vote today and will be stripped of his Tour De France title. He will 
be the first person to ever have the title taken away in the 105 year history of the race. Landis was found guilty of using synthetic testosterone. After a long battle it is finally over. Hopefully cycling can move on. Now where’s the testosterone, lets get juiced!!!
A few quotes from todays drama:
“Today’s ruling is a victory for all clean athletes and everyone who values fair and honest competition,” U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said.
“This ruling is a blow to athletes and cyclists everywhere” Landis said. “For the Panel to find in favor of USADA when, with respect to so many issues, USADA did not manage to prove even the most basic parts of their case shows that this system is fundamentally flawed. I am innocent, and we proved I am innocent.”
September 20th, 2007
Oh Wade we love you about as much as we love the outdoorz. We hope you have a good one!
September 20th, 2007
I’m hearing that the Loveland Ski Area in Colorado has had its first snow of the season. It’s hard to believe the heat of Summer is behind us and shredding the slopes is in our near future. We also have our first set of skis up for sale in the classifieds section. So, the signs are all here, get your warm clothes out, get some ridiculously large goggles, and start working your legs at the gym. The time draws near for the craziness that is skiing/snowboarding season.
Photographer: Roland Zumbühl
September 20th, 2007
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