CELEBRATE THE OUTDOORS
40 years outdoors experience, extensive info on Mt. Rainier’s Wonderland Trail, original music, equipment reviews, off trail videos, other peaks in Mt. Rainier NP
Well, the hiking season seemed to pass by almost unnoticed this year, partly because I spent so much of it on snow. Emails and calls especially concentrated on the conditions at Mt. Rainier and the Wonderland Trail in particular, and I posted a number of updates on the trail centered around the snow conditions. However, this post is about things I discovered, new gear and new techniques.
I've been to Mt. Adams in Washington a number of times, and I can tell you it's not to drive the lovely washboard pitted and twisty Route 23 or the South Climb 183 road. It's not to endure the dusty parking lot. It's not to contend with people coming and going at all hours when you're trying to get up at 4:30 AM. It's not to hike the rocky scree so typical of the volcanoes. But just like randonee skiers who "earn the turns" the trip to Mt. Adams can be one of the best glissades going, and when you're rocketing down the slopes you soon forget all the negatives and the hours of getting up there. The best time to climb and glissade Adams is usually late June early July when the snow is in good form, but this year (with the late lingering snowpack) even the middle of August provided some entertainment as I introduced my 16 year old daughter to this big mountain. But a video is worth a thousand blog entries......
playing with a 6 danI've been meaning to write an article on Kendo for some time, but the landscape is rich and varied, and it's hard to pin down a specific topic on such a broad category. However, a practice session a few weeks ago gave me my idea, which I owe to Marsten Sensei, Kyoshi nanadan (7th degree black belt).
the B4: room for enclosed bug free lunchI guess the story is the same...after so many years of fastpacking, there's some gear I'd really like to have to fill a need. But what does one do when your coveted gear is not available anywhere for the easiest route of simply purchasing it? Well, sometimes you have to suck it up and make it yourself. I finally buckled down, recruited my buddy's wife, and made my first piece of UL gear as it is nowhere to be seen on today's market.
inside the Blizzard Tube: room for 2We all have an idea, a vision about what backpacking is. Spread out your gear, choose what you need, cram all your stuff into your backpack. Now think about a day hike, where you make sure you have some extra clothing and a few essentials, but you're mostly concerned about the food for your lunch in the hinterlands. This is what hyperlight backpacking is for me, akin to John Muir grabbing some tea and hardtack and taking to the woods.
top of the Gondola, Green Valley, Crystal MountainToday my daughter and I went skiing at Crystal Mountain, which will probably be open well into June and perhaps even July this year. They just set a new record for snowfall, surpassing 600 inches for the year. Sure, in some places it was a little grabby, and the water content is high, but there is a lot of snow left on the mountain above 5000'. I couldn't help but think of this year's backpacking season and the amount of snow right now, and based on previous year's experience I think it's going to be a late season.
frozen toes on the trailThis winter I did some research on the barefoot running shoe (insert here: fad, craze, movement, etc) and decided that I would give it a try.
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| A Whorey Marmot |
Since I've recently been accused of writing sedate "intercity garden walk" reports, I thought I'd go out for a real adventure. With only my street clothes and a big knife, I hit the road as a hitchhiker to Mt. Rainier, intending to do some snowshoeing. Of course, I didn't have any snowshoes, cold weather gear, or sunscreen but I knew I could fix this problem on the way and have an adventure at the same time for a more interesting writeup.
(left; 1 lb tent, Gossamer Gear)
I've recently been testing some prototype equipment for Gossamer Gear, a small US based manufacturer of lightweight backpacking equipment. It seems there is a small revolution going on concerning materials and designs for the outdoor industry that is being embraced by cottage industry companies like Gossamer Gear but overlooked by the larger manufacturers...
frame grab from short film, "The Ups and Downs of Slammin' the Trail"
I just had an unusual reaction to a congratulatory email informing me I was a finalist in the Kendal Mountain Film Festival....I was disappointed.