Commenter and global hiker-blogger Olivia was trolling the tubes for some new packs to write up, when she came upon this new take on the Bear Canister from Utah’s Wilderness-Solutions — the Palisade EST.
Like other bear canisters, it’s sturdy, keeps your food safe, and proven effective. Unlike other bear canisters, it shoots an electric pulse of 5000 volts every 1.2 seconds when something touches it.
The canister itself is soft and lightweight — a 900 cubic inch container only weighs in at 6.4 ounces. Even though a necessary controller will add to that weight with an extra 9.4 ounces, you’ll still weigh in at-or-below most of the hard plastic bear containers that most people use. Plus, you’ll get to shoot electricity at things, which is cool.
Not light on the wallet, though. These babies cost up to $265 bucks.
Via the wonderful Hiking Backpacks
So apparently I’m not the only giant nerd who also enjoys getting dirty outside. Boing Boing’s Gadget Editor Joel Johnson has just headed into the wild, uncontrolled wilderness of New York’s Harriman State Park with a bunch of gadgets and those solar panel chargers we read so much about, but will probably never, ever buy.
He’s attempting to blog, review and twitter (is that a verb now?) while camping and hiking — and making nerdy jokes that I very much appreciate.
For the less nerdy of you, his opening post details his list of gear and — as we all do — complains about his pack weight (almost 50 pounds for a 3-4 day! Damn!). My favorite gear item is a copy of Thoreau’s “Walden” on an Amazon Kindle.
Later, he panics when his solar panel appears to stop working, and manages to post a Flickr video via a 1xRTT wireless internet connection.
I’m sure that kind of cell-phone internet flies on the East Coast parks, but I wouldn’t bet on it out here. But still — I’d love to have a blogging office-view like Joel’s got:
Actually, I’d love to have a blogging office period.
Image by Joel Johnson
A 20-mile backpack in the Havasupai Reservation. This breathtaking journey takes you from the rim of one of the offshoots of the Grand Canyon down to the village of its only permanent inhabitants, alongside a tropical-turquoise river and two stunning waterfalls — Navajo and Havasu Falls. Havasu Falls has the distinction of being one of the most-photographed waterfalls in the world. A farther day-hike from the campsite deeper into Havasu Canyon gets you to two more postcard-perfect cascades — the 210 foot tall Mooney Falls and the staggered staircase of Beaver Falls. A truly memorable backpacking and hiking experience.
Continue reading ‘Backpacking Havasu Canyon’
I got off the bus back from Havasu late on Sunday night, and had to take a personal day on Monday to sleep and wash the twelve layers of canyon dust off of all my gear.
The trip was great, and I’ll be doing an in-depth write-up soon. It’s probably going to be a few days, though, as I’ve got some upcoming medical issues to take care of in the immediate future.
Until then, just know that Havasu Falls is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. None of the pictures I’ll post will do it justice.
I just found out I’ll be joining the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter Backpacking Section on a 3-day trip to Havasupai Canyon in mid-March.
With a potential 32 miles of hiking and swimming in 70 degree water in the Grand Canyon, I am very, very excited.
Can’t wait to give a report. Any tips from folks who’ve headed out before?
Photo by TeecNosPos
A 9 mile round-trip backpack along the Sespe Creek to a shaded riverside campground. Hot valley air, cold river water, and plenty of scenes of recent wildfires keep up the variety, and the relatively level elevation makes it easy on the knees. A great weekend getaway.
Continue reading ‘Backpacking Sespe Creek’
Even though it’s already been disseminated to our little hiking blogosphere via Tom, but for anyone who missed it, Backpacking Videos is definitely going to be a site to watch.
Jason has made it his mission to collect and create the best web videos about backpacking, camping, and hiking and store ‘em all in one place. He’s already got a great video on starting a campfire with a single match and a nice slideshow video from Canyonlands.
I’m looking forward to the videos this site dredges from the deep, dark depths of the Internet …
A beautiful, isolated, and rugged river canyon in the Los Padres National Forest. Lots of river crossings, swimming holes, fascinating geology, and opportunities for off-trail adventuring.
Continue reading ‘Backpacking Matilija Creek’
A backpacking trip down a rarely-used route to a popular mid-mountain campground — an alpine lake-side camp in view of Southern California’s tallest mountains. A great way to get deep into the heart of the San Bernardinos.
Continue reading ‘Dry Lake Backpacking - San Gorgonio Wilderness’
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