The Joy of Car Camping – Base Camping for the active outdoors person

Posted in: Gear, Getting Started- May 15, 2012 10 Comments

Car Camping.

For many people who love being outdoors,  car camping is  their first introduction to the outdoor lifestyle. Eating a meal prepared on a Coleman stove, sitting around a campfire, eating smores, and hoping it does not rain so much that they are under a blue tarp the whole time.

As a person grows older, car camping is often pursued less and less.

Backpacking and getting deeper into the wilderness with less gear strikes their interest.  Multi-day climbs and bivvying along a sheer wall holds more allure.

Or 'done-in-a-day- activities' dominate.  Getting in a trail run, a ski, a mountain bike ride, a climb or a day hike seem more doable in an increasingly crowded schedule.

Which is too bad.   Car camping can be enjoyable, rewarding and still have a place in an active outdoor person's lifestyle. \

Updated May 2012. Read more »

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Replacement Insoles: A simple change with a big difference

Posted in: Gear, Getting Started- May 12, 2012 2 Comments

Replacing the factory insoles with something new is a trick many experienced backpackers know about. But not everyone does. Here's why it should be done.

 

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Gear Review: Champion C9 Clothing (Target)

Posted in: Gear- May 01, 2012 No Comments

Outdoor clothing can be expensive. When a brand of clothing is that is inexpensive, functional and durable it is rare and wonderful find. And for me, the brand of clothing that fits that criteria is the Champion C9 brand found at Target.

 

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Wilderness First Aid : An Ultralighter’s View

Posted in: Getting Started, Ramblings- Apr 23, 2012 No Comments

Wilderness First Aid is a basic certification for the assessing, treating and stabilizing of a person's injuries in the backcountry.  But how does the (sometimes) gear and equipment focused backcountry medicine co-exist with a more minimalist view? Here is my own take.

 

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Backpacking: A Beginners Primer

Posted in: Getting Started- Apr 16, 2012 No Comments

A primer  I wrote for people who are on the beginners backpacking trip that I organize. 

 

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