I'm kind of a slob. I don't have a complete disregard for order and cleanliness, but my life - both at home and work - does tend to accumulate a bit of clutter. It's a symptom of trying to have too many hobbies or too many things going on at the same time. Ideas and…Read more Better Camping Through Hyper-Organization
Skills
Navigating Unpredictable Weather on Hiking Trips
We focus on the challenges of elevation, distance, the unconquerable mountain peak - but weather can be an overlooked antagonist on backcountry trips.
Bird Language
Do you talk to the birds around your home? I would imagine probably not - the physical structure of the human larynx is not well suited to the trills and warbles that most songbirds can create with their dual syrinx setup. But even if we can't talk directly to them, most of us certainly appreciate…Read more Bird Language
The Routine Magic of Flight
I realize that my observations here are from the perspective of someone who has the privilege (and sometimes obligation) to spend a lot of time in airplanes... But I find modern commercial air travel to be disorienting. I'm not talking about the frustrating dance we do with buying tickets, picking seats, getting to and from…Read more The Routine Magic of Flight
What Type of Outdoor User Are You?
As I've delved more and more into the broader online community, I've been confronted with a bit of a crisis of identity. Like a teenager moving to a new town, I am unmistakably a part of the student body at my new school, and I'm pretty good at getting along with most everybody, but the…Read more What Type of Outdoor User Are You?
Risk Mitigation for Outdoor Adventure
Back in 2019, I had the opportunity to combine a work trip with an extra night out backpacking somewhere in the Front Range between Denver and Colorado Springs. A little research led me to the Pike National Forest, Lost Creek Wilderness area, and the Goose Creek Trailhead. Cutting to the finale, it turned out to…Read more Risk Mitigation for Outdoor Adventure
Outdoor Adventure: Celebrate the Small Stuff
This probably won't come as much of a surprise to most of you - I am not a badass outdoorsman. I think I'm pretty mediocre - a middle-aged dad, a weekend warrior. Enthusiastic, maybe, but I'm not out there doing Fastest-Known-Times, first ascents of remote Himalayan peaks, or the like. I sort of think the…Read more Outdoor Adventure: Celebrate the Small Stuff
New Mexico or Bust
We're almost ready. After numerous small trips (of escalating difficulty and complexity), skills work, planning sessions, gear shakedowns, shakedowns, and more shakedowns, we're on the homestretch. Within 72 hours, we'll all be headed for Colorado, and then New Mexico, for a two-week expedition. The training has paid off. We've managed to get a bunch of…Read more New Mexico or Bust
Teamwork on the Trail
The great thing about backpacking is that it's an individual sport. The only things to overcome are your own physical and mental limitations. The rewards include immersion in wilderness, a sense of accomplishment like no other, and satisfaction that comes from knowledge and confidence in one's self. Except... for all the focus on self-reliance and…Read more Teamwork on the Trail
To Build A Fire
One of the most often-repeated lessons I have with students learning how to build fire is: It takes patience. Too many times, we just want to pile up fuel and strike a match, and it never works that way. Fire is often compared to a living thing, and like so many things in life, it…Read more To Build A Fire
Sleeping Warm in Winter: Four Ways Nature is Out To Get You
Beating the cold is a lot easier if you understand the enemy...
Water-tight?
In my efforts to test myself, I sometimes get a little overconfident. I like to think I'm fairly level-headed and consider risks enough that I'm not doing anything downright STUPID, but I have certainly messed up enough to make me wonder just what the heck I thought was going to happen. Such was the case…Read more Water-tight?
“Hatikva” Sails Again!
I've had a sailboat sitting, for a long while, in a place not very well suited for a boat of any kind, much less one with a 25' mast. It's been sitting on a trailer in my garage, and it's been sad. I bought her from a co-worker. Spent a few months fixing things -…Read more “Hatikva” Sails Again!
Soyuz and Risk Management
It's old news at this point, but several weeks ago (October 11, 2018), the launch of Soyuz MS-10 suffered a failure of the second-stage booster, causing an automatic abort of the launch, and ejection of the crew capsule. Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and US astronaut Nick Hague did NOT make it to their intended destination,…Read more Soyuz and Risk Management
Mountain Biking, Minus The Mountain
Several years ago, I made a questionable choice. My wife and I were both shopping for new bicycles, and I quickly set my sights on a (now classic) Specialized Rockhopper. I loved the stance of a mountain bike, the (relatively) compact size, the go-anywhere attitude - and though I didn't have any plans to go…Read more Mountain Biking, Minus The Mountain
Flying Squirrel Outdoors 