Summer = Blisters and Sunburn
I just got back from this year’s inaugural summer backpacking trip. Myself and two buddies hoofed it to Wild Basin’s Ouzel Lake, in Rocky Mountain National Park. Our original plan was to camp at Thunder Lake but unfortunately it was still frozen and the surrounding areas were under nearly three feet of snow. Ouzel Lake itself, which is much less remote, was surrounded by a fair amount of snow and we had to traverse 6 or 7 deep snow banks on our way. The trip was relaxing and pretty darn easy as far as backpacking trips go–the weather was fine, the trail smooth (and short) and we had no significant gear malfunctions or animal encounters. My hope is that this trip was the first of many to be had this summer. The next one on schedule is...
Skiing 36 Hours Straight. Insanity at its Finest
Will you tune in? I’m going to be skiing for 36 Hours straight and live-blogging the whole damn thing. When? Starting Friday morning (Nov 30th) at 9am and me and an equally crazy group of 7 others will be risking our necks until Saturday night (Dec 1st) at 9pm, when we’ll finally kick our skis off and hit the bottle for some much needed relief. Why? Because I’m a sucker for big events, I’m all for promoting awareness for disability causes and I love to ski. Sounds like 3 entirely different things that would never come together, right? Not so! I received a copy of Ski Magazine about 3 weeks ago and as I skimmed through it I noticed a brief section on ‘Skiing for a Cause.’ Turns out there’s this really cool event that...
14ers Page Launched!
Check out the new page to the site–Colorado’s 14ers. On the new page I’ve given relevant details about each Mountain summitted along with a brief trip report. In addition, I’ve set up Flickr photo sets for each summit. Simply click on the relevant thumbnail to jump over to the photo set. All the pictures from the trips have been uploaded to Flickr. I plan to continue with this format as I gain more summits and more pictures. I’ll still be posting the best shots to the Photography section. Let me know what you think!
West
We’re leaving on vacation tonight; I hardly feel ready, things at work are speeding up just as I’m ready to head out–I’ll be glad to get away, but the last few hours before our departure aren’t feeling pleasant. We’re going to Colorado. I blogged about our plans a while ago: climbing lots of mountains and maybe some whitewater rafting to boot. But now that we’ve decided to MOVE to Colorado our vacation will entail less hiking and more apartment hunting. I hope we find something nice quickly so I can get out of the city and stop looking at floor plans and lease rates. Here’s to me seeing a bear (and it running away!). Cheers, and I hope you have a good week.
Digital Talus
I haven’t blogged forever; maybe there’s something about the summer that puts a cap on blogging—I for one would rather spend my free time outside, perhaps you would as well. I’ve been spending even more time than normal out of doors lately—and I count that as a very good thing. I’ve explored the gorges and vistas of Red River Gorge, KY; I’ve wandered along new-forest growth at Wildcat Hollow in southern Ohio and I’ve explored trickling waterfalls in Mohican State Park just north of Columbus. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on outfitting us with lighter, more technical gear, and I’ve spent hours scouring topographical maps and route descriptions. The big vacation of the year for Britt and I is approaching quickly, and we want to be ready. In...
Google Earth Navigates Backcountry
Tech savvy hikers rejoice! Google Earth has added GPS-based interactive hiking information. From the Google blog: Trimble Outdoors has partnered with Google to provide Google Earth viewers with GPS-based interactive hiking information. We’re very excited about being able to share all the great GPS content we’ve developed over the years and through partnerships with magazines including Backpacker, Bicycling and Mountain Bike. It’s an outstanding resource for outdoors enthusiasts, or really, anyone who wants to do a little research before setting out on a hike. You can access lots of multimedia info on fitness and outdoor adventures, including routes, points of interest, pictures, video segments and even audio clips. Essentially, anytime, anywhere...