All this talk about the NKOTB reunion, and then they show the faces of those girls that were just losing their minds at the sight of these dudes… I used to make fun of them. Now, I understand these girls. I feel that way right now. It’s as if someone gave me tomorrow’s winning lottery numbers. Smooth talking and a semi-official Outdoorzy press credential have helped me get invited on a FREE heli trip! Here!
I haven’t been able to sleep so well the past few nights. I’m sure tonight I will be sleeples, eyes open, practically vibrating with excitement.
I will have wi-fi at night, so I will try and update the blog with our adventures every couple of days.
As far as the X games went, well sorry your on-the-spot reporter let you down. I finally recovered from my hangover yesterday. While I have no pictures of the weekend due to a camera malfunction, I have some pretty amazing stories. For future refrence, a guy on crutches, a “team manager” with an all access pass, and another with 2 trophies “won” at the Powder awards, makes for an awesome trio.
White pulled off a 1260 this year, which is pretty much not done, ever. He did it on his final run to seal the gold medal for himself at this year’s Winter X Games in Aspen, CO. This is his seventh medal.
We all have our favorites. And some of us might even not be willing to share that special trail for fear of overpopulating it. But National Geographic has asked it’s readers for America’s Best Trails. I read about this over on The Adventure Blog. It’s one of the best blogs out there. If you haven’t checked it out, do so now.
Nope, it’s not a new species discovered in the Amazon. It’s an adventure race in South Carolina. And Outdoorzy will be a sponsor this year. We’re very excited to be part of this race and can’t wait to get down to Charleston.
The 60 mile race will be held on March 8th in the Francis Marion National Forest, and is put on by Kando Adventures. It will include kayaking, mountain biking, trekking, and orienteering across land, water, and swamp. The “swamp” aspect should add some interesting features for people not used to those conditions.
Come by the race if you’re in the area, it should be a fun weekend. The race will be a USARA national qualifier. Check out their site here.
I wish I would have thought of this one myself. The Gear Junkie has posted the 10 Most Dangerous Mountains on his website. I think the list is pretty comprehensive. Although I’m sure that the Trango Towers might argue that they should be on there. But all in all, a great list.
I noticed that Mt Washington in New Hampshire made the list. I climbed Mt Washington several years ago in the summer. Now it is pretty dangerous in the winter, with extreme temps and the highest recorded wind speeds in the US. But in summer it’s just a hike and a scramble for anyone in good physical shape. Hit it up if you can. Then you can say you climbed one of the 10 most dangerous mountains in the world.
For years now, fly fisherman have been making “How To” & other technical type movies on casting, fly tying, fly fishing, trout streams, etc, and they are all usually pretty tame. The instructor/narrator is usually standing in field casting, sitting a tying table, or riding a long in a drift boat while a fishing guide floats them down a river. The basic point here is that there is a lot of comfort.
But what do you get when you have four young fly fishermen that have nothing better to do than fish? This is what they do. They form Angling Exploration Group (AEG) and travel to Patagonia (Argentina and Southern Chile) for five months; surviving off of beer and pasta, sleeping in dirt, and fishing their asses off. They filmed the entire adventure, added some music, and now have created FISH PORN!!
Trout Bum Diaries: Volume 1 Patagonia is pure fishing porn and has set the bar on what all outdoor movies should be like and is a must see for everyone; whether or not you are a fly fisherman, you will enjoy this movie for the story, scenery, mishaps, and BIG FISH!
Okay, so you know how we do it here at Outdoorzy. We like to give prizes away when we can. This most recent contest was sponsored by Sierra Summits. They make sunblock, bug repellent, and other great skin products for active people like us.
The contest was simple. Tell the worst sunburn story, and win a pack of skincare products from Sierra Summits. Let me tell you, this one was hard. All the stories submitted were great. It was alot of fun, and a bit distrubing reading them. So, without further adieu, the winner is laclimchick!
And here’s her story.
Mine would have to be spring break when I was 15 in St. Thomas. First day we went to the beach to get sun and windsurf. I guess when I sat down on the beach chair the sun screen wore off behind my knees and upper calves. That night I could not walk at all. My legs were huge, so I applied after sun care stuff to help. Two days later it was still bad and I was stuck inside. My dad took me to an “island” doctor. No English at all and they told me to take antibiotics. They said the name and it was the anthrax medicine so mom told me no. Next day really could not walk and apparently my legs were having this blue tint to them on the back. The only thing I could wear was skirts. So we went to this other doctor and he was American. First of all never put cream or anything like that on a burn, it just holds the heat in. I got put on Vicadin and prednisone and benedryll. No idea on spellings here. This is when we found out I was allergic go benedryll. I could not sit still, I kept laughing and shaking and rocking back and forth and I saw dolphins standing in front of me. Then I passed out.
So now my legs never really get that tan anymore because I freak out. It was so painful.
Dwell times (how long you wait)
Viruses, bacteria — 15 min.
Giardia — 30 min.
Cryptosporidium — 4 hrs.
Weight
Pen — 3.5 oz./99 g
Kit — 8 oz./227 g
Price
Retails for $139.95
I’ve had this water filter in my possession for several months but haven’t had the opportunity to test it. I’ve finally gotten around to taking a good look at it and here’s my assessment. The Miox wins the prize for being ultralight as far as purifiers and pumps go. It is light, just 3.5 ounces. It jams down into your pack nicely. You literally won’t know it’s there. It also provide some of the best protection you can get. It kills all viruses, bacteria, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium. The other great feature about the Miox is NO PUMPING! Now some of us love to pump water in a traditional filter pump. Oh yes, there’s nothing like spending 20 minutes hunkered by a stream until your knees seize up in that position and you can’t stand again. Then cleaning the filter when it gets clogged, and pumping some more. Okay, so we don’t love it… Well with the Miox you just put the salt in the cap along with some water, then press the button and zap it. After it’s been zapped you pour it back in your container and let it works its magic.
The downsides to the Miox are that it is dependent on batteries, and you have to wait for your water. From 15 minutes to 4 hours depending on what you’re trying to kill. And lastly, the price is quite high compared to your standard pumps.
My conclusion is that if you’re trying to kill some nasty stuff, hate pumping, trying to purify large amounts of water, or are buying for ultralight reasons, then this is your purifier.
No, The Hulk is not running for Prez in ‘08. For if he were, I wouldn’t be conflicted on who I stand behind.
Being “Green” is what all the cool kids are doing these days. And that’s great for the cause and great for our future here on planet Earth. But how green are they? There are way more things on peoples minds than the environment these days. But it may help to see where your candidate stands on the main environmental issues before voting in November.
Check out this site for a good overview that gives the basics on each candidates stance on environmental issues.
The contest was simple. Tell the worst sunburn story, and win a pack of skincare products from 
