ShareREI offers a pair of shelters ideal for car camping looking to stay warm and dry during the spring ‘shoulder’ season Here in the heart of a soggy winter, summer camping looks mighty appealing. So much so, many of us will spring into camping well before summer. Getting out in the ‘shoulder seasons’ – spring [Continued...]
ShareThis fall brings the biggest leap forward in rain-jacket technology since the first introduction of Gore-Tex to the outdoor world in the late 1970s. Whether you’re traveling to the Olympic Peninsula or a Costa Rican cloud forest, here’s news you can use. W.L. Gore offers its lightest, most breathable membrane ever to the market this [Continued...]
ShareWe all have too much shit! With two or three perfectly functional rain jackets in the closet, we go out and buy the latest and great. When the newest fly fish rod comes out, promising to improve your cast by 10 yards, and your accuracy by 10 percent, we go buy it. If a new [Continued...]
ShareMany of us like to watch wildlife when we travel near or far. According to the most recent survey from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in Washington alone more than 2.3 million people participate in wildlife-watching activities each year, spending upward of $1.5 billion annually on that pastime. That’s a lot of people and [Continued...]
ShareAnglers use an odd array of craft to get on the water in pursuit of fish. From fancy inner tubes (fishermen with fins on their feet dangle through holes in these “float tubes”) to simple old-school crafts like canoes, if it floats someone fishes from it. Sit-on-top kayaks represent one of the latest trends in [Continued...]
Hiking with Dogs: The key is education not only for the dogs and the dog owners but also for the general hiking public who will surely, at some time or another, encounter dogs on trails. People with sentiments against dogs on trails will successfully push for dog bans if dog owners continue to let their canines run freely up the trails, chasing wildlife (which, depending on the species pursued, could be a state or federal offense, punishable by sizable fines and/or jail time for dog owners) and [Continued...]
ShareAt times, technology enhances the wilderness experience. Today’s smartphones, for instance, allow me to carry in my pack a wide range of nature guides so I can quickly identify birds, beasts, wildflowers and stars — with minimal weight. Readers seem to agree, with many e-mailing suggestions of apps for me to try, or asking for [Continued...]
ShareFirst there were flaming torches, then oil lanterns and candles. Incandescent flashlights came next and then LED lights. The new breakthrough in outdoor lighting comes from Petzl, the leader in headlamp technology. Petzl’s popular Tikka 2 series gets a refresh this year thanks to a new rechargeable — and programmable — battery pack. The Tikka XP2, with [Continued...]
ShareLose just 2 percent of your body’s water mass and you suffer the effects of dehydration. Lose 15 percent and you die. Water gives us life. Unfortunately in the backcountry, that life-giving water carries some nasty passengers that, once ingested by you, may make you want to die! Whether backpacking or traveling in areas without [Continued...]
ShareWilderness legend Daniel Boone once wrote, “I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.” Lots of hikers, hunters, skiers and snowshoers lose their way in the woods each year, but only a few are truly lost. There is a world of difference between being lost and simply not [Continued...]
