The 2009 Outdoor Retailer show is officially underway — which means all the outdoorsy gadget blogs are going to have tons of great post ideas in the next few days, as manufacturers stumble over each other to show us newer and more expensive ways to do the things we can already do for free with knives, logs, and bits of twine.
Backpacker.com set up shop on the show floor and quickly discovered a new Platypus bladder designed specifically for carrying wine, which I guess could come in handy if you were throwing yourself a little wilderness bacchanalia and didn’t want to lug those glass bottles in and out.
The Gear Junkie got his first round of reviews in, which include toed-socks, a blindingly bright LED lamp, and an in-camp coffee maker that’s about as close to a plug-in kitchen top model as you’ll ever see in the woods.
Be sure to stay tuned — they’ll be plenty more new shiny things to lust after in the next few days.
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 …
Bryan over at WildrLog posted a little inspirational pamphlet he picked up about how hiking and backpacking will basically take care of whatever problems you’ve got — from being overweight to back pain to colds and flu and even insomnia:
Do you suffer from insomnia? Try getting up at dawn, pack your pack, strike camp, cook breakfast, then head out on the trail. Carry a 45 pound backpack up and down the mountains for 8-10 hours. Then set up camp again, walk a half mile to get water and spend 20 minutes filtering the water. Walk another half mile each time you need to go to the outhouse. Then try ambling around at night trying to find a place 100 yards from camp to hang the bear bag. When you finally lie down to rest, think about doing it all again the next day. You’ll get a good night’s sleep.
Check out the full list of benefits over here. While I have still had trouble falling asleep on the trail, I blame that on a cheap sleeping pad.
WildrLog looks like a great site to explore, while you’re there. Not only does Bryan have some Google Earth GPS support, but he’s also got great taste in tv and books. The Modern Hiker is a big fan of both David McCullough and Teddy Roosevelt biographies, for the record.
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’
Treehugger has a follow-up on a story they posted last year, about a University of Pennsylvania researcher who figured out a way to harness the body’s movements while hiking to generate electricity - faster and more reliably than those solar chargers that have been on the market for a while.
New studies on the design now reveal the generating mechanism - while adding a slight amount of weight to the pack - reduce the vertical jarring force by an unbelievable 86%.
The researcher’s company wants to get commercial models available by this time next year. Here’s to hoping a). you don’t have to take out a loan to buy one and b). they find a way to reduce the size of that metal frame. Or at least add some notches so we can hang carabiners off of it.
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