In today’s toxic environment, everything will kill you. Or so the popular thinking and local news segments go. Lucky for us, all we have to do to combat this lethal existence is hang a few spider plants around the home office.
A design spread in the aptly named Good Magazine shows off which plants will allegedly help filter out chemicals from household sources, thereby making your life a little nicer.
And yes, the hard science on this sort of stuff is a bit on the iffy side, but having some green around the house is almost guaranteed to make you feel a bit better — even if it’s just psychosomatic. I’m looking to do a little revamp of Modern Hiker’s home-base, and will probably incorporate a few of these suggestions into the mix. If I think they’re working, they’re working.
The iHike article I mentioned earlier had a lot of good things to say about the Flip Ultra — a lightweight USB camcorder that can record an hour of video at 640×480 resolution.
Now it looks like the gadget blogs have got their hands on scans of the line’s next product — the Minos. No one knows anything about it other than it costs 20 bucks more than the Ultra, looks a lot smaller and slimmer, and is due to hit store shelves on June 4th. Maybe.
If you’re looking to start taking cheap, easy video on your hikes, be sure to keep your eye out for these guys. Look for some decent upgrades, or otherwise check out the copycat-but-way-cheaper Creative Vado instead.
I’ve never been kayaking. Not that I’m opposed, but I just never had the opportunity or interested companions before.
But if I do go, I should probably snag one of these Maori Taonga necklaces beforehand. The different designs are based on ancient carvings that invoke peaceful seas and safe travels over water.
I wonder if that counts for river crossings. If so, I definitely could have used these earlier.
If you’re interested, feel good about buying one from Wanderer Imports — a homegrown operation by a young outdoorsman in North Carolina.
Hey, gotta support those who are trying to make a living doing what they love.
The latest issue of Backpacker arrived in my mailbox this morning. Instead of the usual scene of outdoorsy bliss, this month’s cover had a big ol’ Google Earth hiking route plastered across the front.
Immediately, I turned to the cover story — “iHike” — which offers “a complete guide to the digital revolution — and how to join it.”
Even though it doesn’t mention Modern Hiker anywhere, it’s still got a ton of surprising and useful information for us crunchy technophiles — like knowing that lithium batteries last twice as long as alkalines in GPS units, or that metal carabiners can interfere with satellite reception. It’s also got side-by-side comparisons of different mapping programs, online photo storage sites, and even tips on getting better photos and videos while on the trail.
It’s a really nice 8-page intro for anyone who’s looking to make more work for themselves after they get home from hiking — whether your audience is a bunch of blog readers or just the folks back home.
Personally, I’m not one for puzzles of any sort. If the solution doesn’t become apparent to me within a few minutes of starting, I end up just getting frustrated and angry. Maybe puzzles are supposed to teach me a life-lesson about dealing with that, but so far they’ve been unsuccessful.
However, I do have a lot of “puzzle people” in my life, and a puzzle that tests your knowledge of geography is ok in my book. Or, at least, as good as a puzzle is going to get.
I haven’t had my morning cup of joe yet, but I read this article on MSNBC and it did all the blood-boiling I need to get going on the rest of the day.
The Bush Administration, which loves the U.S. Park Service so much that it made one lame web video about it and pretended to be some horrible bizarro version of Teddy Roosevelt is at it again — this time, they want to show their love of nature by allowing more pollution in our National Parks.
The EPA wants to change the way pollution is measured around the parks, abandoning the same method that’s been used for three decades, and instead adopt an “annual average” method that would basically make it so that pollution spikes from increased power demand and other phenomena would never show up in the data. Mark Wenzler, of the National Parks Conservation Association, sums it up: “It’s like if you’re pulled over by a cop for going 75 miles per hour in a 55 miles-per-hour zone, and you say, ‘If you look at how I’ve driven all year, I’ve averaged 55 miles per hour. It allows you to vastly underestimate the impact of these emissions.”
The NPCA says this new rule change would allow 33 new coal plants to be built within 186 miles of 10 National Parks. This, at a time when Western Parks are experiencing their highest smog levels in ten years and it’s often unhealthy to breathe the air at Smoky Mountains National Park.
Mount Baldy Road remains closed today as the Big Horn Fire continues to blaze in the Angeles National Forest.
So far, the fire has burned 430 acres, and was only 25% contained as of this morning. And of course, the next few days are supposed to be hot and windy.
Keep your fingers crossed for the firefighters working hard to contain the latest entry in California’s new pre Fire Season Fire Season.
In a highly expected and not-at-all surprising announcement this week, Governor Schwarzenegger said he would NOT close 48 State Parks, shortfund schools, or release thousands of inmates from prison to balance the state’s budget.
Instead, he’s planning on borrowing money from investors that he hopes to pay back with future revenues from California’s lottery, which sounds like something you’d read in an email from the member of some royal Nigerian family.
Expect fees in some of the more popular parks to rise — but hey, at least you can still use them, right?
Another New England transplant wrote me this morning (how many of us are there here? You guys all want to get together to try to find good apple cider?) because she wants to take advantage of the the big REI Anniversary Sale before it’s over. Her target: New boots. She writes:
Wanted to see if you have any advice on good brands. I used to have high-top ones for ankle support, but I rarely hike with a big pack anymore and mostly just do day hikes, so I figure I maybe don’t need to buy big ol’ heavy ones.
I’m partial to the high-top boots myself, and recommended the Vasque Breeze, a lightweight, superbreatheable high-top that’s done me very well for over two years on short day hikes and 3-day backpacking trips. As luck would have it, both the
women’s and
men’s versions are on sale, too.
… but since I’ve already found my preferred boot, I’m not much help if she gets to the store and doesn’t dig the Vasques. So does anyone else have a favorite lightweight boot or low-top hiking shoe? Share! And hurry up, the sale’s almost over.
A pleasant loop through the low mountains and wide grasslands of northern Point Mugu State Park. This route features a seasonal waterfall, cabin ruins, and great spring wildflower blooms — and while I hiked just under 11 and a half miles, there are plenty of alternate, shorter routes.
In today’s toxic environment, everything will kill you. Or so the popular thinking and local news segments go. Lucky for us, all we have to do to combat this lethal existence is hang a few spider plants around the home office.
The 
— a lightweight USB camcorder that can record an hour of video at 640×480 resolution. 
I’ve never been kayaking. Not that I’m opposed, but I just never had the opportunity or interested companions before.
A pleasant loop through the low mountains and wide grasslands of northern Point Mugu State Park. This route features a seasonal waterfall, cabin ruins, and great spring wildflower blooms — and while I hiked just under 11 and a half miles, there are plenty of alternate, shorter routes.
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