If you’re not hardcore enough to camp without a portable shelter, but still want to let everyone else in the campsite know you’re different, perhaps you’d be interested in sleeping inside of your own personal tepee.
Design Within Reach — the store that sells you IKEA fixtures at a 5000% markup — recently added an honest-to-goodness canvas tepee to their catalog. The tepee is water-resistant with a mesh-woven floor and 16′ pine poles. It also looks like it would take you an insane amount of time to set up.
Be the talk of the backcountry campsite for just $1870. And be thankful … it was $2200. I’ll never complain about tent prices again.
Via Uncrate.
As if it weren’t tough enough to snag a camping spot in Yosemite — now it’s going to get a bit more difficult.
Due to some recurring rockslides, the National Park Service has permanently closed about a third of the overnight camping spaces in popular Curry Village. The area had seen increasing slides over the past few years, inching closer and closer to the campground itself.
While the park is also planning on temporarily re-opening 36 tent and cabin sites in Curry Village, they estimated 160,000 guests each year will be denied a place to lay down to sleep inside the park — probably all of them on the one weekend in the summer you manage to make it up there, too.
via National Parks Traveler
Outstanding image of an October rockslide at Glacier Point by Wild Bear Photos
If you’re like me, once you get into a sleeping bag, you don’t ever want to get out of it. This can be a problem, like when you’re snuggled up in your tent, but you forgot your flask of winter warmer in your backpack outside. Now you don’t have to get out of your bag to be mobile.
The Chilean-designed Lippi Selk’bag are the outdoorsy equivalent of footie-pajamas, and allow full sleeping-bag level coverage with sleeves for your arms and legs.
The company has two models — a $149 bag
rated at 32 degrees, and a $229 model that rates at 14 degrees Fahrenheit. They’re stuffed with synthetic fiber (a boon for my fellow allergy-sufferers) and shielded with a nylon outer layer. They certainly look less restrictive than my mummy bag.
A 10.5 mile loop from the top of Mount Wilson to two trail camps along the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, then back up to the top of the mountain. This trail is entirely along the mountain’s cooler, more forested north face, and the route follows seasonal streams and rivers that can provide nice swimming holes. A few dangerous stretches of track and the down-then-up route make this a strenuous day hike, or a more moderate overnighter.
Continue reading ‘Hiking Mount Wilson - Devore Trail Camp Loop’
Over the next few weeks, SoCal outdoor outfitters Adventure 16 will host Allan Riedel — author of the guidebook 100 Classic Hikes in Southern California. Riedel will offer tips on his favorite local trails, hidden camping spots, and good family trips at all seven Southern California branches of A16:
- Tarzana Store: Thurs., Sept. 4, 7 p.m.
- West Los Angeles Store: Thurs., Sept. 11, 7 p.m.
- Torrance Store: Thurs., Sept. 18, 7 p.m.
- Costa Mesa Store: Thurs., Sept. 25, 7 p.m.
- Oceanside Store: Thurs., Oct. 2, 7 p.m.
- Solana Beach Store: Thurs., Oct. 9, 7 p.m.
- San Diego Store: Thurs., Oct. 16, 7 p.m.
No word on whether or not punch and pie will be served, but we can assume CLIF bars and iced tea are likely.
That whole “recession thing” may be taking a toll on the horrible pastime of ‘glamping‘ — the glamorous resort camping trend that was all the rage last year — but it looks like gadget manufacturers are still hard at work helping our car-camping friends have an easier time when they venture into the Great Outdoors … that’s a few feet off the asphalt of their campground’s parking lot.
The Gear Junkie just wrapped up a two-part round-up on luxury camping equipment. Ten Essentials they ain’t — we’re talking things like a ten-person tent with three electrical outlets and a blender that runs on a 4 cylinder Honda engine.
Check out the write-ups for a list of things you’ll probably never, ever buy. Except maybe that water heater. And maybe the solar charger. And those pink flamingo tent poles …
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
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’
REI started up one of its semi-regular clearance sales today, but aside from a few decent looking deals on winter boots, it doesn’t look like there’s all that much to get psyched about. Unless you want a pair of poorly-reviewed snowshoes or an in-tent electric fan (WTF?).
I’m still kicking myself for missing a great deal on a one-person ultralight tent on their last clearance, so now I check the web site IMMEDIATELY when I get REI’s email notice. I’m such a good little consumer, I am. But, after a few minutes of obsessive clicking, I stumbled upon what might be the single greatest outdoor item ever unleashed on an unwitting public: Gnome Tent Pegs.
Yes, they are exactly what they sound like — tent pegs made to look like David the Gnome after taking too much colloidal silver.
And yes, the gnomes ARE inflatable — so you can also use them as pillows or, as the web site recommends, companions on your next solo trip.
Of course, using these may be the reason why you’re taking so many solo trips in the first place.
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’
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