Archive for the 'Outdoors' Category

• 10.23.08 Fair weather campers posted in Outdoors

  My friends Ed and Adam are both fair weather campers. This weekend’s camping trip (which I was not a part of because of house renovations) has been canceled due to 100% chance of rain on Saturday morning.

  My point of saying this isn’t to rattle the cage too much, it’s more to talk about the unknown (or known) and how challenges are sometimes the thing we remember and appreciate most in life. I won’t lie: The idea of a dreary Saturday searching for wood while I get poured on isn’t the most attractive idea ever. Yet, with the right outlook, it might end up being one of the most rewarding things you could end up doing. Out of all the adventures I’ve taken, it’s the ones with some kind of adversity that I remember best. It really makes you appreciate when everything is “just right.” It brings a little sense and modesty to an individual.

  Some of my trips have been relaxing and smooth. Others, not so much. That’s just the gamble you take. But regardless of what is given, I hope I can continue to appreciate and take the opportunities that are given.

  All that to say, once I’m done my home renovations and I plan a trip, you two aren’t getting off so lightly. Have fun this weekend, come help me with my house if you get bored, and definitely make sure to invite me along next trip.

• 08.26.08 The right way to spend an afternoon posted in Outdoors

  Emily’s been off work all this week, so this afternoon we went slalom skiing and wake boarding with Sommer, Dorry, and Cassie. Let me just say, I love water sports. I’ve tried water and slalom skiing 3 times before in Louisiana at Emily’s lake house and have had a great time — and today was no exception.

  My fourth time ever skiing (and having tried slalom skiing a couple times before), I felt comfortable enough to give up on the two ski thing and go slalom. I finally made it up out of the water on my first start (yeah!) but fell after just a few seconds. Second try, I got up and stayed up for a good long run. That was my first time ever doing so and quite exciting.

  Round two came along and I opted to wake board. Having never done it before, I wondered what it’d be like. It’s definitely easier than slalom skiing. I’m not sure if it was more fun or not. The idea of jumping off the wake is cool but I had a hard time keeping my balance enough to even move through the wake, much less try and jump. I did face-plant a few times. Sommer and the others laughed at me but as I told her, if I’m going to hurt, I might as well hurt and give everyone else a little entertainment.

  What fun! I can’t wait to go again.

• 02.08.08 Ice rain camping explained posted in Outdoors

  Our camping trip to Green Ridge State Park last weekend was a pretty interesting adventure. A total of nine guys showed up for a three day/two night trip. We left early Friday morning and came back Sunday afternoon.

  Friday hovered just above freezing, and of course we had lots of precipitation. We arrived, took note of the horrible conditions, and decided it would be best to have a raging fire. After putting on a bunch of my rain gear including one of my favorite pieces of gear I had for the trip, a REI taku rain hat, I set out looking for recently fallen trees and kindling for the fire. Ice rain led way to snow later in the evening, just after we ate dinner. The snow fell for a few hours and stopped around midnight. I was somewhat bummed the snow stopped because there wasn’t really any snow on the ground to begin with.

  We drank lots of beer and bourbon Friday night and Saturday morning I woke up last with a raging headache. As soon as I got up Adam gave me some hot coffee. Then, Adam and Ed prepared a breakfast full of sausage, scrapple, and eggs for Dom and I. I got to clean up after the meal — but hey, I won’t complain about that.

  It drizzled off and on Saturday morning but by the afternoon it was only cloudy. Precipitation aside, I decided it was time to take a long hike while most everyone else went to the gun range. Ed’s dog Rascal came along with me on the five or so mile hike. One of the most interesting things about the hike is that there is no trail, no man-made markers, nothing letting you know where you really are. You really have to pay attention down in the valley too because every twist or turn looks the same. I usually end up marking my way at a few points with very stick creations of some sort. Also useful though is the dog, sun, and the occasional semi-waterfall. The dog actually knows his way best I think. Each time I’ve gone hiking with dogs, they’ve been incredibly adept at finding their way back home.

  We had a very hard time keeping the fire going Saturday night. The wood was so wet from continual rain/ice rain/snow that it was just soaked right through. I think our biggest mistake was choosing to cut up a few trees that were slightly dry-rotted, which meant that they were all the more soaked. We did have a chainsaw with us so we’d take a truck and the chainsaw with a couple axes and bring back an entire bed of wood. I think we made five total runs with the truck during the entire trip.

  Saturday’s dinner was incredible. Never underestimate the beauty of good steak — filet mignon to be exact — – while you’re toughing the elements. We grilled those babies on kabobs along with peppers and onions right on top of the fire. Delicious!

  I think it may have been a bit too delicious though because a few hours later we heard a pack of coyotes stalking our campground and howling. Adam, Dom, and I packed up some weapons and joked we were coyote hunting and set out in the dark woods looking for some trouble. Nothing happened, we never found anything, but it was fun to joke around and hunt a little at night.

  We started packing up early Sunday morning and left. Nothing exciting to talk about there. Got home safe and learned a bunch about my gear which I’ll probably write about another time.

• 02.01.08 Ice rain camping posted in Outdoors

  We are on our way to western Maryland for a camping trip. The outlook for today isn’t all that great. It’s ice raining right now and will be for the rest of the day.

  We just drove up sidling hill and there was a ton of ice and slush on the road. Almost at my exit though so I gotta go! Lots of firewood to find and cut to keep us warm.

• 01.25.08 Becker Necker BK11 posted in Outdoors

  I received a new goodie in the mail today. Believe it or not, it was my first ever Ebay purchase! This is a Becker Necker BK11, made by a company no longer in business called Camillus Knives.

  I decided a little while ago I wanted to have a small collection of knives. “Small” so that I can easily choose a knife when I go on a trip instead of going through 30 knives and remembering why I like each. Because the idea is to have a collection of cool knives, this actually took some research. One of the most interesting knives to me was the Becker Necker BK11.

  This knife is very light and can be lashed to quite a few things with or without its sheath. I think the neck lanyard is a pretty neat idea but I’m not sure it would actually work well under clothing in a life-or-death situation simply because it’s hard to access. Even once you grab it from under your shirt, you have to consider that you have an open blade inside your clothing so you better be willing to shred something if you’re pulling it out quick. You probably wouldn’t shred your skin but I wouldn’t be surprised if you caught the bottom of your shirt. I’m sure there are some tips and theories out there on how to quickly access a neck knife without butchering yourself. I’m not all that worried though.

  Becker is well known for their survival knives. Unfortunately, except for the BK11 all of them are rather large so I’m not interested in anything else by them right now. I think this was the perfect purchase for me in their line and hopefully I’ll be able to test it out camping next weekend. Now I’m moving on to my next knife which will probably be a folding knife. Emerson and Benchmade are two brands I’d like to own.

• 10.09.07 Just what is the mesh underwear in guys shorts for? posted in Outdoors

  This is one of those quirky things that has been bothering the hell out of me. A lot of guys active shorts and swimwear have mesh underwear built in. Built in as in non-removable. Why? What does it do? It’s not comfortable. It doesn’t prevent spiders, scorpions, or other creepy crawlies from scurrying up into things where you’d rather not have a scorpion stick its tail. It’s not supportive (unless your 80 and your friends hang down at your knees). It is quick drying — but when is the last time you wore a mesh pair of underwear? I can tell you, I’ve NEVER worn mesh underwear. So what gives?I think the mesh still exists from an era where men didn’t wear boxers. Kind of like Quailman. If you think I’m joking, put on a swimsuit or a pair of shorts with that mesh while still wearing your boxers and you’ll know what I’m talking about.I don’t know about anyone else but I’ll continue being a proponent of cutting the mesh out of these types of clothing. Anyone enjoy or have valuable insight into the mesh underwear phenomenon?

• 09.20.07 Poison Ivy again and climbing in the Gunpowder posted in Climbing, Outdoors

  Chris and I went hiking last Sunday on the Gunpowder Central trails. I can’t help but go in the woods and get poison ivy. I don’t know why I’m so prone or how I manage to get it even when I’m careful to wash myself down after. This time I have it on my elbow. I figure I had the oil on something of mine (shoes maybe?) and scraped my arm with them.

  It was worth it though. I found some cool bouldering in a little cave just off the trail. The picture below was taken before I put my five fingers on and tried climbing in them. Unfortunately, I was a little high so I needed Chris to spot me which means no pictures of what I ended up putting together. My plan is to go back there on Saturday with a crash pad, real climbing shoes, and a brush or two to clean the rock. I forgot how annoying dirt was. I also forgot how sharp real rocks feel compared to rocks in the gym. Hope I don’t tear up my hands too bad!

  

• 02.15.07 Wicking layers posted in Outdoors

  I briefly mentioned the complications of layering clothing in my previous post, however it’s hard to explain why you should have wicking layers in the cold until you’ve experienced it. Primarily, the issue is that standard cotton clothing can’t dry out quickly, leaving you colder than you would have been if you had just left the shirt at home.

  I happened to come across a blog entry over at Trailspace that I thought I should share that talks about the importance of wicking layers. Without it results in the following:

  I now have a small, red, blistered patch of skin on the middle of my torso—mild frostbite. Next time it’s so cold I’ll leave the heart rate monitor at home.

  Continue reading “A Lesson on Wicking” »

• 02.12.07 Camping in the cold posted in Outdoors, Vacations

  Last weekend I did a guys camping trip over at Green Ridge State forest again. Quite cold, and quite fun.

  Camping in the cold is a pretty interesting experience. I’m glad to do it and would do it again, however there are a lot of things you have to consider. For example, how do you keep your water from freezing? What do you do if you run out of firewood? How to keep your toes warm once you get a little perspiration? How do you dry out your shoes and socks? And how many layers and sets of clothing do you need?

  The temperature varied between 15 and 25F night and day. I used a combination of a 10 degree down sleeping bag and inside of that a 20 degree down sleeping bag, along with two roll-up air pads from REI. I also got to use my one-person tent for the first time and boy was it small once you have a lot of sleeping bag area and padding! I think next time I’ll lug along my two-person tent for a similar endeavor.

  I’ll be a bit more prepared next time, but there were some great things learned this time. For one, I know that longer treks aren’t so good in as many layers as I had, because they really impeded on my ability to move properly. They did keep me warm though.

  Also, I learned a lot about how a dog is an awesome companion. The guys had some dogs with them and taking the dogs for a really long hike with me was incredibly fun and almost serves as reason enough to have a dog. Last thing I need right now is something like that taking up my time, but if anyone ever wants to lend me a dog to go camping with I’ll gladly take your dog temporarily. He just better listen and be big enough to scare away the bears.

• 01.30.07 Climbing and backpacking Monte Roraima posted in Climbing, Outdoors

  You might have missed the name Monte Roraima before, but now that you see a picture I bet you never will. Quite a sight. If I understand wikipedia correct, it is in both Venezuela and Brazil. It is the worlds highest tabletop mountain. Those large scaling cliffs sure look promising for a long, fun climb. I learned about Roramia in a recent ascent on Climbing.com’s hot flashes.

  The coolest thing about this mountain is that it is host to both climbing and backpacking, something I can easily relate and aspire to do. I think this might be in my new list of top 10 destinations to visit before I turn 30.

• 11.09.06 Camping again posted in Outdoors, Vacations

  It wasn’t known that the weather would be so nice (it’s 68 outside right now) when we began making plans to go camping this weekend, but with the peak of some awesome weather I’m really excited to be going to Green Ridge State Forest this weekend. Joining me will be Emily, of course, but also Adam and some other friends who I’ve never camped with, which should be a lot of fun. Hopefully we won’t get too lost — the campsites look huge! I’ll have my climbing shoes, hammock, food, and intend on having a great time unplugged from the rest of this incredibly hectic life I’ve had recently.

• 10.02.06 Camping and climbing at Big Meadows posted in Climbing, Outdoors

  Emily and I spent our weekend camping at Big Meadows in Shenandoah. Each day had a point where it rained, but overall the trip was relaxing, fun, and adventurous. The rain was good too because we didn’t know you had to/or could make reservations at Big Meadows, which meant we didn’t know where we were staying on Saturday night because they were booked full. Luckily, space opened once the rain started so we were able to stay at the campground.

  I was surprised at how cold it was. I know it’s fall now, but the weather was much more like winter. Each night lead to a low in the low 30’s, and each day was only about 50 or so. Very surprising, and something I’ll need to plan for next time.

  I was able to start a matchless fire on Sunday night, something that might sound hard to do on the face of it but little do you know I actually found a fire pit that someone had recently cooked on with charcoal. Placing my wood on top with some kindling soon started a great fire for cooking. Food always tastes better when you’re camping and this time was no exception.

  I packed my climbing shoes with the rest of our camping gear and scoped things out the first day, looking for some good climbs. There is a great 50 foot rock face about 1.25 miles (or a 35 minute normal paced hike) north of the Big Meadows Amphitheater going north along the Appalachian Trail. After seeing it the first day and snapping some pictures, Emily and I took some rope, my new hammock, and some other gear to spend the day on these new-found rocks. There are some great climbing routes there and I’m really hoping I can convince some climbing friends to come back there and backpack/camp there with me to check things out further.

• 08.25.06 Christopher M. posted in Outdoors

  Last weekend Chris flew in from Ottawa to spend some time here in Baltimore. I took him hiking at Old Rag and introduced him to the world of Maryland blue crabs. It was quite a bit of fun, mainly due to the nice change of pace for me to have a friend that wants to do something outdoors. All of my friends are slackers, and you know it.

  Ultimately, what I have to show from his being here is a couple of beat up ankles, due to my trail-hiking shoes which just didn’t want to cooperate with me. They are bloody and scabbed, and not very pretty. On top of that, I can’t get my climbing shoes (or any other shoes) comfortably on, so I’m stuck not being able to do much in the way of physical activity. What a drab!

• 06.22.06 Good day for a ride on my Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert posted in Outdoors

  I took my new bike out for its first ride this evening. A quick ~4mile round trip over at the gunpowder river. It’s always been a tough trail in a few areas because it’s not exactly well groomed, which makes for a fun and exciting ride. I had a good 2 hours to ride and I got back around 8:45 while it was still light out. What a wonderful way to spend the longest day of the year!

  I searched for a while before settling in on what bike to buy. The best part was that I decided I really wanted a Specialized bike and they went on sale just in time for me to pick one up for about 30% off the retail price. I really liked the brand name, read a lot of good reviews about their products, and felt their components were some of the best you could get without custom ordering a bike.

  I was torn between the hardtail version of a Stumpjumper and a full suspension for a while, but taking a look at how hard I am on my joints and how I always end up hurting myself in whatever sport I do, I decided a full suspension might be a worthwhile investment (in hopes it will ease my pain). After deciding on the full suspension, I was stuck between the Epic and Stumpjumper models. I settled on a Stumpjumper for its simplicity (compared to the Epic’s brain) and the fact that I hope I’ll eventually learn to ride a bit more aggressively. I settled on the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert, 2006 about two weeks ago and picked it up. Too bad it took me this long to ride it.

  The bad thing is I have so much to learn, including the idea of shoes that clip into my pedals, dampening of front and rear shocks, etc. Regardless, it feels great. Click the image of the bike for some pictures in my gallery.

• 04.28.06 Finally, shoes. posted in Outdoors

  I found a pair of shoes a few hours ago that I believe I’ll be happy hiking in this weekend. North Face Ultra 103 trail runners. Very comfortable and they almost feel broken in. I ran about half a mile over to the office and I just finished up some work, so now it’s time to go home and pack. Woohoo!

  I got the shoes at Hudson Trail Outfitters, and spent a couple minutes checking out their bike selection. They had both Rocky Mountain and Specialized bikes, both of which I’ve looked into. I was quite impressed with the selection of Specialized bikes, especially the Stumpjumper Disc, which was selling for quite a bit less than Specialized’s website suggests. I can’t tell you how much though, for fear that you might steal it!

  I just checked my gmail account and it turns out the Garmont Nasty’s I talked about in a previous entry are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Too bad I’ll be gone, I might have liked to have them! Probably not.

• 04.27.06 Oh, Mr. Weatherman: posted in Outdoors

  Please be right.
  

• 04.25.06 Shoe decisions posted in Outdoors

  I need a shoe for the trails. Started out with the mindset that I should get myself a pair of nice hiking boots and bought a pair of Vasque Sundowner Summit GTX’s, which I know would be awesome in icky weather, but I’m going back on that decision and getting myself something lightweight — considering that I don’t backpack all that often. If it’s something I start doing more and I start racking up a lot of miles, I can see doing something different, otherwise I’m hoping one of the following will do what I need:

  • Garmont Eclipse XCR
  • Garmont Nasty
  • Salomon GCS Pro
  • Asolo FSN 95 GTX

  The heaviest shoes listed are the Asolos, but they’re just over 2.75lbs and are totally made for light backpacking. That’s not too bad, considering the Eclipses are 2.5lbs. I ordered a pair of the Nasty’s from Zappos.com since they have such a good return policy. The Nasty’s are not even a pound! Can you believe that? If they really are up to the hiking challenge, I’ll be walking on air!

  I really can’t see lugging a boot over 3lbs around on day hikes — which is my usual adventure. What will I be taking backpacking this weekend? I honestly have no idea. Maybe just an old pair of tennis shoes? Maybe my Alaska boots? Maybe I’ll find something at REI tonight that is just too good to pass up. On that note, I better leave to go shop!

  That’s goal two. Actually, goal two has higher priority over goal one.

• 04.25.06 Bike problems posted in Outdoors

  The last time I got to ride my bike was almost 2 weeks ago when Emily and I went down to the gunpowder. That was Easter, I think. Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was Easter. Things keep bluring together. Anyway, the day after I rode over to Austin Grill for swing dancing and locked the bike up and didn’t take my seat. I know it was stupid, but my seat was beat to hell. I mean, the padding was literally like fuzzing out the side and it was torn and everything. Why would someone want my crappy seat? Who knows, for whatever reason someone stole it. What a pain in the ass.

  So, to make all of that worse, I busted up my rear rim doing something on the ride to AG or on the Easter bike ride in gunpowder. I’m thinking it was this huge hole I jumped into on my way back from AG and didn’t quite get my rear tire up to roll out and kind of slammed into the side. Woops

  Seat + seat post + new rear tire + already failing rear derailure + need of new chain = $185. Top that with the need for a serious tune-up — considering my Giant Boulder SE was about $250, it just isn’t worth the price of keeping.

  Now I’m trying to decide what in the world to get. I really liked my old Jamis Dakota, but they’re quite expensive and it’s hard to find a dealer around here. REI has this hardtail bike called the Novara Ponderosa HT, but the components aren’t exactly what I’m looking for (they’re close). I always thought of Haro as a BMX bike company, but the Haro Shift R5, which used to be known as the XLS R5, has a seriously sick set of components and is full suspension. In fact, I should write about the compenents further. It has the exact combination of components I’d use if I were building a bike from scratch. Well, almost. I don’t know anything about the rims they use but, well, whatever. Distributors for the MTB line are hard to find around here, but I found a bike shop in Fells Point that can get me one. I’m going to guess this would set me back about $1100 or $1200, which sucks because I’m seriously considering buying a house. But that is a whole additional entry…

  That’s goal one.

• 06.05.05 Hiking posted in Outdoors

  I spent the day hiking in the Catoctins. It’s the first time I’ve done some serious hiking since my knee was messed up. It’s a bit sore now, but I’m not sure if it’s a good kind of sore or a bad kind of sore. I took some Ibuprophen just in case.

  It was so hot. After this incredibly cold, rainly week it ended up being about 87 degrees or so with some nasty humidity of what felt like 85% at least. That might not seem like much but I’m really not used to it. I sure miss it though! I just have to remember not to wear jeans next time I go hiking. Shorts are the way to go even if I have to worry about poison ivy.