Archive

Even Cushier Camping

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 22, 2008
in Gadgets and Gear and camping
. 2 Comments

nullThat 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 …

Return to East Fork

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 22, 2008
in Angeles National Forest, The Great Outdoors and Video
. 0 Comments

Over the weekend, I led a small group hike down the East Fork of the San Gabriel River to the Bridge to Nowhere — one of my favorite hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Over the next few days, I’ll be updating my existing post with more detailed information, pictures, and a GPS track. You know, the stuff you’d expect.

But it may be a while, as I’m in the middle of moving the Modern Hiker offices back to the Miracle Mile. While you’re waiting, please enjoy this video of one of the many bungee jumpers we saw on Sunday.

You might see me up there later this year …

Monkey Canyon

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 18, 2008
in Angeles National Forest, climbing and hiking
. 1 Comment

Last week, I came across a post from a local blogger about a place in the Angeles National Forest called “Monkey Canyon.” Not on any maps and unofficially named, the area appears to be a popular swimming hole and rugged hike for those in-the-know. It has rough canyons, big drops, and cold streams.

It looks like it would be a lot of fun to get to — if the area wasn’t nearly covered over in graffiti.

null

Regardless, this is not a leisurely stroll-in-and-swim hike. This is some serious off-trail scrambling and climbing, wading through waist-deep water in flash flood zones, and maneuvering around steep drop-offs. It is not for anyone who doesn’t know exactly what they’re getting in to — a lesson two men learned today when they were rescued from the canyon and hospitalized.

They’d both fallen off the trail — one 50 feet onto land, the other wedged between boulders in the water.

State & Lake has a post with some great information on Monkey Canyon, including some directions to the ‘trailhead’-ish area and some more warnings. Also, there’s a story about Bigfoot hiding out among the cliff-divers.

Huh. I always figured him for more of a Pacific Northwest boutique-coffee kinda guy.

Image by em crack.

Garmin Oregon First Look

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 17, 2008
in GPS and Gadgets and Gear
. 0 Comments

nullIn other hey-that-expensive-gadget-I-just-bought-is-now-obsolete news, GPS Tracklog got their hands on the New Hotness that is the Garmin Oregon.

They only had time to take it on a quick bike ride with an older Garmin 60CSx to compare accuracy, as well as fool around with the touch screen for a little bit.

Preliminary impressions look good — although it appears to still have the screen brightness problems that bothered me about the Colorado. This new unit may be worth it for vastly improved text entry alone, though.

Read the first impressions at GPS Tracklog.

Handheld HD Video

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 16, 2008
in Gadgets and Gear and Video
. 1 Comment

nullForget everything you know about low-priced handheld digital camcorders for the trail — because Kodak is about to rock your on-the-trail video-recording world.

The new Kodak Zi6 costs below $200, records 720p HD video at 60 frames per second, stores video in an SD card slot expandable to 32GB, and runs on included rechargeable AA batteries. No zoom included — but these units typically don’t have them, anyway.

Hiking magazines have gone crazy for the Flip series of handheld camcorders, and I’ll bet this Kodak model will get their salivary glands when it hits stores this September. Check the Kodak press release for more details.

Via Uncrate.

Electric Bear Canisters

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 14, 2008
in Gadgets and Gear, backpacking and camping
. 1 Comment

nullCommenter 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

Words of Advice

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 11, 2008
in National Parks and Monuments and The Great Outdoors
. 0 Comments

nullIf the name of an animal has the word “monster” in it, it probably won’t take kindly to being hoisted up off the ground and wrapped around your shoulders. We can all learn a valuable lesson from this man in Saguaro National Park …

… a lesson most of us probably already knew.



Looking for the Meaning of Life? Climb!

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 10, 2008
in climbing, hiking and motivations
. 1 Comment

nullThe next time you find yourself in a bit of a philosophical rut, questioning why we’re here and what’s it all about, you may want to put down the Tao and pick up some rope — because a recent study from New Zealand concludes mountain climbers have “a good grasp on life.”

Lee Davidson, a senior lecturer at the University of Victoria’s museum and heritage studies program, spent some time interviewing and socializing with some Kiwi climbers to find out their outlook on life. She found that overwhelmingly, climbers had “a strong sense of identity,” and that this identity most often came from having “an opportunity to test yourself in an environment where making a mistake means you pay for it.”

Focus on a singular, achievable goal is also important:

“Many said the mountain became (the climbers’) point of reference, it gave them a solid grounding, a core to life where everything else revolved around it.”

The study was also sure to note that climbers aren’t necessarily adrenaline-fueled wild men, and that most were cautious outdoorspeople who took calculated risks and learned from their experiences.

While the study focused on mountain climbers, I’m certain these same qualities would apply to the vast majority of hikers out there, too. Seeing a peak from a trailhead and then working to get to that summit is one of the most rewarding things I do — and the problems of the workaday week and urban existence rarely enter my thoughts when I’m hiking.

Have any of you stumbled upon the Meaning of Life while scanning for rattlesnakes or doing tick checks? I haven’t yet, but I feel like I’m on the right path.

Until then, I’ll just defer to DSD.

via Backpacker

Image by argreen.

New Garmin Leaked?

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 10, 2008
in GPS, Gadgets and Gear and Technology
. 0 Comments

nullA few days ago, GPS Tracklog — my favorite site for keeping up on what’s new in the satellite-based locationing world — got some info and links to a buy.com page listing the as-of-then unheard of Garmin Oregon unit, the heir apparent to their Colorado Series.

No images of the theoretical unit, but according to the posted specs, it looks to be a smaller, lighter version of the Colorado, with the same-sized screen. Oh, and the screen is supposed to be a touch screen. iPhone, eat your heart out.

Personally, I don’t know how effective a touch screen is going to be on a unit that’s probably going to get banged up and knocked around pretty regularly, but whatever. Maybe it’ll drop the price on those Colorados to something those of us not in the top tax brackets can afford.

Full copy of the buy.com page follows:

GARMIN OREGON 400C Hand Held Receiver North America. Garmin International is pleased to announce Oregon; the newest member of the premium handheld line. This rugged unit with a high sensitivity GPS receiver offers innovative features such as a sunlight readable touchscreen for easy operation, as well as the ability to exchange waypoints, tracks, routes and geocaches wirelessly between units. In addition, you can customize your Oregon with five different user profiles: automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or geocache. The microSD card makes it simple to load optional maps for different types of adventures. The Oregons detailed mapping and high resolution color display enhance any outdoor adventure, whether on land or water.

Features
3.0 in Hand Held GPS Receiver with U.S. Costal Charts Coverage-High Sensitivity GPS Receiver for Improved Performance and Reception-Wireless Exchange of User Routes Tracks Waypoints Geocaches and Images-Electronic Compass Barometric Altimeter Temperature Sensor-MicroSD Card Slot for Optional Mapping and Data Storage-Built In 3D Basemap / 3D Elevation View

Tech Specs
GARMIN OREGON 400C Hand Held Receiver North America

Saltwater mariners will love the preloaded detailed BlueChart g2 coverage for the coastal U.S. and the Bahamas in the 400c. The chart detail includes shoreline, depth contours, navaids and port plans.

High sensitivity GPS receiver for improved performance and reception

Easy to use, touchscreen interface

microSD card slot for optional mapping and data storage

Electronic compass, barometric altimeter, temperature sensor

Built in 3D Basemap /Digital Elevation Model

3D elevation view

Wireless exchange of user routes, tracks, waypoints, geocaches and images

Unit dimensions: 4.5 in x 2.3 in x 1.4 in

Display size: 3 in color, touch screen

Pixels / H x W: 240 x 400

Waterproof standard: IEC 60529 IPX7

Battery type: two high capacity or lithium ion AA batteries

Weight: 6.8 oz with batteries

Part Number: 010-00697-03

New Stuff

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 9, 2008
in site news
. 0 Comments

Many thanks to Laura from Hiking LA and my buddy Luis for helping out with some pesky CSS. Now the site is pretty much in working visual order again.

While I was under the hood, I took the time to add a few new seen and unseen tweaks I’d been meaning to do for a while. The ABOUT page now has a nifty contact form instead of a regular ol’ email address, comments now have an option to check if you’d like to be notified via email when someone responds to you, and I’ve opened up the registration for the page to subscribers. Might be doing something more with that later, but I’ll keep you posted.

As always, enjoy — and let me know if something’s not workin’ right!