Posts filed under 'Backpacking'
I received my very own Summit Stone in the mail the other day and so did Emile and Lynn. If you’re not familiar with these artistic little pebbles here’s what they are about. (from the Summit Stones & Adventure Musings blog)
“I call these “Summit Stones”….. After gathering these small rocks for many years, while out on adventures, I now splash a bit of paint on them and give them back… The musings here and in the “Adventure Muse”, reflect on the nature of adventure experiences… They too, are a means of passing forward…”
These little rocks are beautiful. The idea is to keep them as a memory of a trip, inspire you to dream up your next adventure, or to leave on a summit for someone else to find and enjoy. The concept is simple and a great reminder that adventure is more than a journey, but an inspiration of journeys to come.
Thanks DSD!
May 9th, 2008
Are you an Audiophile? Are you a bike commuter, mountain biker, or festival goer? If so, this could be the next big thing for you.
The Skullcandy Link Hydro Pack is a backpack that is completely wired, with speakers on the shoulder
straps, a built-in mic, internal laptop case, and a half-gallon hydration bladder. You can put your cell phone in a side pocket, plug it into the wire , do the same with your mp3 player, and take off. As you ride or roam you can answer the phone by pushing a button on the shoulder strap and just talk, no headset required. You can also jam to your favorite music with headphones or through the shoulder straps. Volume can be adjusted, and you can switch back and forth between phone and mp3 using the controls as well.
I used this on my commute last week and flatted out on my bike. I hopped off to change the tire and sat the pack on the ground. I turned the headphones off and turned the shoulder speakers on and listened to music while I changed my tire… or didn’t change it. I forgot my tire changing tool, so… I listened to music while I waited for my wife to come pick me up. It was sweet.
My only worry with this backpack is that I wouldn’t take it on a plane since as it goes through the xray
machine at the airport it might look slightly suspicious with all the wires inside. But, for any other use, this thing is amazing. Pretty soon all our electronics will be wired into our clothing and run through solar panels made into the material on the shoulders. I’m calling it, you heard it hear first folks… 
- Retails for $139.95
- Comes in Orange/Grey or Camouflage (you won’t be sneaking up on anybody while rocking Metallica though…
- AA battery powered amplifier
- 1/2 gallon hydration bladder
May 7th, 2008
I saw this video via The Adventure Blog.
It’s just an easy stroll in the mountains of Spain. The El Camino del Ray or “The King’s Pathway”…
May 1st, 2008
Coghlan’s is probably a familiar name to many of you who camp alot. They make quite an array of camping gear
that is sold in many fine outdoor retailers. Gear like; saws, whistles, lighters, air pumps, headlamps, lanterns, eating utensils, raingear, ropes, knives, biners, tent pegs, candles… you get the picture.
They sent me one of their latest products to test, a tiny LED lantern for your tent afixed to a small keychain clip. When I opened this tiny little thing up I thought, “Great another one of these cheap keychain lights that breaks after a month and doesn’t light up a birdhouse. ” But I was surprised. The little fella lit up a big area. I couldn’t wait to test it out, and as luck would have it I was invited to a bonfire this past weekend. I stashed it in my pocket and headed out the door. Once at the bonfire I realized I left my camera in the car. So I pushed the button and started walking. Someone said, “Dude, that light is bright as $**t.” And I knew the light was ready for the backcountry.
It isn’t intended to be a “flashlight” per say, and won’t shoot a beam. But it does a great job of creating ambient light that fills a small area, such as a tent or a car.
Here are the stats…
- Weighs less than 1 ounce
- 2 inches tall
- Lights 2 meters diameter
- Emergency strobe feature
- Will shine continuously for 25 hours
- Water Resistant
- $7.99 at most retailers
- Great for doing general tent chores at night
I’m hoping they send me their new clip-on headlamp next. It is one of their other new products for 2008, and I’m a cap wearer and have been thinking about picking one of these up.
April 25th, 2008
This is a question we should all be asking ourselves as we prepare for the upcoming warm weather and all the outdoor fun we’re going to be having. Fist Aid Kits are perhaps the most important piece of gear you’ll take with you into the wilderness.
So what do you need inside? This really all depends on which outdoor activities you’ll be partaking in. Different activities will have different sets of hazards. If you are fishing, you may need to bring along first-aid for cuts or pricks from those hooks. If you are camping you may want to be sure you have everything you need to treat burns since you’ll most likely have a fire and be cooking. Backpacking and hiking often see twisted ankles. And so on…
If you already have a First Aid Kit, now may be the time to pull it out and restock. You can replace bandages alcohol pads and ointments you depleted last year. You will also need to check the expiration dates on any medications.
Here are some excellent First Aid Kits, ranging from basic needs (lightweight) to more advanced kits.
Adventure Medical Kits - Solo Kit - $10.95 (regularly $17)
Adventure Medical Kits - Travelers First Aid - $21.95 (regularly $36.50)
Adventure Medical Kits - Marine 400 Kit - $77.95 (regularly $120)
No matter which kit you use, don’t leave home without it. It could save your life!
April 14th, 2008
I used to hate coffee. I loved the smell, but just couldn’t understand how people drank it like it was going out of style. Enter marriage. My wife absolutetly loves her java. So I began experimenting with foo-foo coffee at Charbucks and other coffee shops. Now I actually like coffee, and drink it most days. Granted, it is about 20% sugar and cream when I partake.
So I’m planning a solo backpacking trip for a week this summer and got to thinking, can I have coffee? Is there such a thing as ultralight coffee? After a little research I found that there are several methods for camp coffee. These include bringing a small percolator, using brewing bags, or making cowboy coffee. The percolator isn’t exactly ultralight. I read some bad reviews on the brewing bags, saying they were pretty crappy when it comes to taste. Then cowboy coffee is where you bring some water to a boil, drop your grounds in, wait til they settle, and try not to get a mouth full of sludge toward the end. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind.
So I went into my kitchen and started playing. The solution I came up with worked pretty well. I’m sure this has been done plenty of times before, but I didn’t find anything about this method, so I’ll just pretend like I’m the first person to think of this. 
Wade’s Ultralight Coffee
Equipment Needed
- Coffee Filter
- Coffee
- Nalgene or other heat resistant bottle
- Nalgene sipper
- Boiling Pot
- Camp Stove
Step 1 - Put your coffee grounds into a coffee filter.
Step 2 - Place the filter into the top of the bottle.
Step 3 - While holding the filter in place just inside the bottle, slip the sipper into the opening to secure the bag.
Step 4 - Slightly tilt the sipper so the drinking side is lower (causes a slide for the hot water to fall down)
Step 5 - Slowly pour your boiled water into the bottle. It will drip down over the grounds making the coffee.
Okay, so this isn’t rocket science. And BlowSnow will most likely point out that I’m nowhere as great as his hero Eli Whitney. But, this is an effective way to make coffee and the only extra items you probably wouldn’t have had with you in the first place are the filter and coffee. Weighing in at practically nothing.
Just be sure to put the sipper in snuggly. If it falls… you get cowboy coffee anyway.
April 8th, 2008
I have just recently been trained to teach level one yoga classes through Yogafit, so when I saw Andria Baldovin’s DVD and reference book collections, I jumped at the chance to explore them! She and her husband run the Yoga Ventures website and among other things, produce DVD’s and literature through their publishing company, Brushy Mountain Publishing, Inc. based out of North Carolina.
Baldovin has combined her love of yoga and the outdoors to create, Yoga for Hikers, Yoga for Cyclists and Yoga for Climbers. Each DVD has two 28 minute yoga sessions and comes with a metal spiral bound reference book for use while in the outdoors.
I plan on reviewing each DVD, starting with Yoga for Hikers. 
Yoga for Hikers
Baldovin wanted Yoga for Hikers to be approachable by a wide audience, so I started with this DVD. From the main menu, I could pick and choose workouts according how much time I had. Here is a brief review of each option.
The Intro
I found the Introduction very informative with lots of details for every pose. Baldovin explained that this DVD was more instructional based and not a replacement for a face-to-face yoga class nor was it designed as a typical workout session. These 28 minute segments were to be practiced and then taken out to the trail to be enjoyed outside.
Meditation Segment // Pranayama or Deep Breathing Segment
Baldovin’s meditation offers tips on how to calm mind chatter and stay in the present during a hike. She also teaches how to increase lung expansion through deep breathing exercises.
Session I
The first session is designed to warm up the body before starting on a hike. I thought it did a great job of stretching the calves and upper legs plus it really opened up the hips. My body was warm and ready to hit the trail.
Session II
The second session is designed for training before a long extended hike. If a hiker was preparing for the Appalachian trail or the Pacific coast trail (or any extended hiking trip) these yoga poses would help protect against injury by building strength and flexibility.
Overall Thoughts
Because of the detail and pace of the DVD, I found myself settling into each pose for a deeper, more intense and enjoyable stretch than I typically receive from my face-to-face classes. My only concern when comparing the DVD with a typical class was the time alloted to warming up before jumping into difficult poses. My personal preference would be to add several warm up poses like moonflowers or sunflowers before moving on.
Baldovin does a fantastic job of connecting each pose with a specific hiking need or issue, so I always understood the pose’s relevance and I think any avid hiker will appreciate that feature. The scenery included waterfalls, beautiful trails, and scenic bridges.
The reference book is meant to accompany a hiker on the trail and I think it is a wonderful idea. I know I couldn’t remember each pose without some help, and I love that the book is portable and convenient.
March 19th, 2008
Seeing what’s Behind the Iguaza Falls, Exlploring Patagonia, Mountain Biking in Salta, The lake District, Wine Tasting in Buenos Aires… and that’s just for starters.
I got the opportunity to spend some time trekking and exploring Peru last year. But I have to say the southern tip is my
next stop in South America.
ArgentinasTravel.com is a great resource for finding out more about a trip to Argentina. They update their content often and have quite a bit of detail on specific locations. Just don’t forget that the seasons are flipped in the southern hemi. Right now it’s Summer, and our Summer is their Winter. Don’t worry though if you want to take a Summer vacation, there are plenty of climates to choose from.
Other options include Rafting the Mendoza, Climbing Aconcagua, Whale Watching, and killer Fly Fishing.
March 14th, 2008
Okay, tell me this New Zealand Trip isn’t the coolest adventure ever.
There aren’t many of us out there who can’t say that a trip to New Zealand is not on our life list. I have to say, it’s definitely in my top 5 places I have to go before I croak. Why? Well, white sandy beaches, black sandy beaches, rugged mountains, glaciers, wineries, epic trekking, and people who say FEED EEKS when they want to send something Fed Ex. What more do you want in a vacation?
So we’re teaming up with 100% Pure New Zealand to get you dreaming…
If you want to win the Kelty Tahoma daypack and a Lonely Planet Travel Book, just tell us what you’d do if you could spend a week in New Zealand. If we pick your story, you get the prizes… it’s that simple.
So head on over to the Forum to enter yourself in the contest and let us know what you’d do if you had a week in NZ?
Check out NewZealand.com to get some ideas… and trust me there are plenty.
March 12th, 2008
The trail system at Mammoth Cave National Park will be changing. Trails will be re-routed, and mountain bikers may lose out in the deal. UNLESS people vote. I’ll be directing you to the voting at the end of this post, once I explain the voting options. You must vote by March 24th.
Mammoth Cave has traditionally been a hotbed of contention between hikers, bikers, and equestrians. The trails in the park are all open to hikers. Equestrians have access to all the other trails except one loop. It is the only dirt trail open to mountain bikers. There is a gravel trail now open to mountain bikers and hikers which runs from the park headquarters to Park City, Ky. Any trails open to horses normally have holes and ruts that can restrict hikers.
The trail proposal has five alternatives. I’ve been studying each one and I feel like option 4 is the best for all parties. In the end it’s very friendly to equestrians once again, and allows for a new mountain biking trail. Hikers would continue to have full access.
My comments in Italics.
Alternative #1: this is the No Action Alternative. It is required by National Environmental Policy Act to serve as a baseline for comparing other alternatives. In some cases the best solution to a problem is in taking no action, leaving a situation at the status quo. However, in this trail plan, the No Action Alternative is not acceptable.
Alternative #2: this alternative would allow bicyclists to use Sal Hollow, Buffalo, and a portion of Turnhole Bend (north) trails all year. All northside trails would be designated for hikers and horse users. This restricts hikers and bikers further. Not acceptable.
Alternative #3: this alternative would permit horse use on Sal Hollow from June through October (during the driest months of the year); except for this restriction, horses would be allowed on all other northside trails. Hikers are allowed on all trails. Bicyclists would be allowed on Sal Hollow, Buffalo, and a portion of Turnhole Bend (north) trails all year. This options allows horses on the only trail that mountain bikers and hikers own. This is not acceptable in my view.
Alternative #4: this alternative proposes a new six-mile, single-track loop trail which would be constructed east of the Green River Ferry Road-North for bicycle and hiker use only. All other northside trails would be designated for hikers and horse users. This option is acceptable. The mountain bikers would loose 2 miles of trail, but they would gain a trail designed for them. The only problem with this is that it doesn’t account for the transition. If you vote for this option please note that you want Sal Hollow restricted from horses while the new trail is being built.
Alternative #5, Preferred alternative of the NPS. This alternative would establish First Creek Trail for bicyclist and hiker use only. All other north side trails would be designated for hikers and horse users. This option could be an acceptable plan B in my opinion. It provides about the same amount of non-horse trail as Alternative #4, but the trail is not optimal for mountain bikes. The trailhead is more remote than the Alternative #4 also.
I strongly encourage anyone who has time, to drop by the Mammoth Cave site and vote (cough, cough… alternative 4). You’ll be helping keep the balance as fair as it can be for now, on these multi-use trails.
Go to this site and vote, the link to leave comments is in the upper right.
March 5th, 2008
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