From the category archives:

Geek Stuff

Map of L.A. in 1880

July 12, 2010

It is kind of insane to think about just how fast L.A. grew from a sleepy village surrounded by orchards into a world-class megalopolis, but L.A. is so good at paving over its history that it’s tough to get a good perspective on it. Recently, the excellent L.A. History tweeted out this link to an [...]

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Vintage National Park Window Stickers

June 22, 2010

Apparently, well before I was stomping around any hiking trails, the National Park Service had a little tradition of handing out window decals when you visited a park. Starting in 1918 (probably unofficially) as a way to tell which motorists had paid their entrance fees, the practice was eventually officially adopted by the Park Service, [...]

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Google Earth 5.2 Gets More GPS-Friendly

June 21, 2010

While I was running around at E3, Google released an update to their Google Earth software that made it an even more attractive program for hikers. In earlier versions of Earth, GPS connectivity was limited to those who paid a hefty annual fee to enable “advanced features.” Over time, Google has opened up more and [...]

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Updated Station Fire Closure Map

June 4, 2010

As was noted earlier, some of the original areas of the Station Fire Burn Area have been re-opened to the public. Unfortunately, the accompanying Forest Service map was low-resolution, so it wasn’t all that helpful to hikers looking to revisit their favorite peaks. Thankfully, John Tangenberg of the Sierra Club-Angeles Chapter’s Geographical Information Systems Committee [...]

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Giro Sunglasses 60% Off on The Clymb

May 17, 2010

In the market for a new pair of shades? Sunglasses are one of the Ten Essentials, protecting your eyes both from UV radiation and the occasional errant branch while bushwhacking. Giro is an Italian company known for their sports sunglasses. They’re marketed for primarily for cyclists, but some of their innovations – like the vented [...]

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Gregory Pack Clearance on LeftLane Sports

May 4, 2010

Everybody loves a good deal – especially on outdoor equipment that can take a pretty hefty chunk out of your monthly budget. Luckily, we’ve got a few good ways to get outdoor gear at slashed prices – clearance sales, REI Member Sales, and a new breed of online sales sites. I’ve already written about The [...]

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Review: Peaks 2.0 for the iPhone 3GS

April 30, 2010

I like to pride myself on having a pretty good sense of place and direction. Whether or not those senses are accurate is another story, though, so it always helps to have a bit of backup with you. Of course, a paper map is one of the Ten Essentials, and I never leave home without [...]

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Camelbak Sale on The Clymb

April 15, 2010

In the market for a new hydration pack for 2010? This week’s deal on the Clymb is an assortment of Camelbak hydration packs, ranging from 100oz. daypacks to slimline packs for runners and bikers, and even fanny packs and packs for kids. And most of these packs are priced 65% below retail! As always, if [...]

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Review: SGMPlants for the iPhone

April 14, 2010

After you’ve been hiking for a while, you might start to notice some of your other interests sneaking their way into your trail routines. As a history and geography nerd, I absolutely love poring over topo maps before I hit the trail and comparing my visualizations with the actual trail, and if I come across [...]

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Review: Trimble AllSport GPS for iPhone

January 29, 2010

When I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I met some representatives from Trimble Outdoors, who were kind enough to let me in on a review copy of their iPhone App, AllSport GPS. While I think it has a few shortcomings for hikers, its features really shine as a fitness app, which [...]

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