I GO

One of the great things about working for a park district is that the people that work with you often know more than you. This comes in handy when you need some advice or have a question that needs answering. These knowledgeable folks-combined with a credo that reads Conservation, Education, Recreation-come in handy on occasion, most notably in the form of IGO or The Institute of the Great Outdoors. IGO is the park district's version of community education classes. Available for most any subject at some time or another, IGO gives folks who don't know a chance to learn from folks who do. Up until now I've only taken advantage of one IGO course (orienteering) but that will change soon. I just finished signing up for (alcohol) Stove Building, Basic Backpacking and, because my wife says I need to meet more people, a backpacking trip to Oil Creek State Park in Pennsylvania. After too many years of saying I wish I could, I'm taking the initiative to "just do it." And as an added bonus, taking the Oil Creek trip and taking the ADK trip in June will fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions, which was to camp at least twice this year. Now if I can only do the 'lose 50 lbs' one.

Thank Goodness for the REI Visa!

Much to the chagrin of my lovely wife, I've been in full gear acquisition mode. Thanks to lots of perusing the webz and reading a ton of gear reviews I've pretty much got everything I need; or at least I know what I would like to get. So far I've got the aforementioned Deuter Futura Zero 50, a REI Quarter Dome T1, a REI Travel Sack +55 and a Term-a-Rest Ridge Rest. I was also able to find a Bare Boxer (after I bought a Garcia and realized it's half as big as a two-year old) so I'm literally armed for bear, too. I've made a few impulse Wal-Mart buys when I've been out and about also, and I'm hoping to get some more test and review videos posted as soon as I remember to take my Flip with me on a day-hike. Until then you'll just have to eagerly await the updates or find me a babysitter so I can have some free time!

Pack Woes Over?

I mentioned in my previous post how, when I filled it with pillows, my Mountainsmith pack didn't allow me to move my head backward. Around the time that I made this unfortunate discovery I had also emailed M-S customer support for the specs on the two packs I own; one is the Approach and the other is the Ascent. I'm still waiting for a response from M-S, but I figured, while I'm waiting (and waiting and waiting...) that I would bust out of my M-S comfort zone and help myself. That (and the fact that I just wanted to buy stuff) had me perusing the interwebz for a new pack or two. I know some people believe in light-weight gear and supporting smaller, niche, gear makers but I think that, for the position I am in, I would best be served by going with a better known brand. Also, if you haven't checked recently I can tell you that UL gear is expensive. Because I am not adverse to buying "last years model" I found a couple of Deuter packs at the REI outlet. The first is the AC Lite 16 daypack. I didn't really need another daypack but I kinda got wrapped up in the whole air-suspension thing and decided "why not?" The second pack I got is the Futura Zero 50 (and apparently it was the last one REI had). So far I've had the ACL 16 out once and it feels kinda weird on my back. Not in a bad way, just different. The Futura Zero 50 has so far only been stuffed with pillows but the differences between it and my M-S pack are HUGE! If you have a pack you love you know what I mean when I say the Zero 50 just feels good. Of course you can expect some reviewing by me when I get a chance but until then you can check out Backpack Gear Test for the Zero 30 or YouTube for a review of the Futura 42. The Zero 50 is similar (albeit harder to find) to both of these models. Also, keep checking back for a test/review of an impulse buy that may have solved my (lack of) cookware issue.

On a non-gear note, be sure to click on the link to the Outdoor Bloggers Summit to the right. The site is chock full of goodness and has a directory of all types of outdoor blogs (camping, hunting, fishing, etc.) so you can be sure to find something that tickles your fancy.

To Quote Carl Lewis, "Uh-oh!"

Over to the right you can see a link to Mountainsmith; it's the "The only packs I've ever owned" one. Turns out that that statement is sorta misleading. When I say that Mountainsmith (M-S) packs are the only ones I've owned I don't mean I'll never use any other brand, I just mean I haven't partaken of any other brands yet (for some reason I don't count my Camelbak). Well, my link title may have to change as I've experienced another setback. My M-S pack, the larger of the two I own, may suck. I filled it with some pillows to get the suspension sorted out and ran into a problem. To be more precise: With stuff in the pack, I can't move my head backward. It's really not that odd of a problem. I've never camped and I originally bought the pack for travel because I don't own luggage. For that purpose it's been great but because that's what I use it for I never needed to adjust or tighten anything. You may be saying right about now "Just buy another pack." Unfortunately, my lack of funds is getting in the way of that. I've only been able to raise about five hundred dollars for gear (by selling a beautiful 2005 Highway One Strat that was customized to be a sixties model *sniff*) and a pack wasn't included in my factoring. I wouldn't mind another pack though. So far every time I look at REI's site I find another pack to consider so a trip to Pittsburgh might be in order to see them in person. So...yeah. I guess I'll figure it out because the camp must go on! Or something.

A Cautionary Tale

Here in Northeast Ohio there aren't too many options for you if you need a one stop shop for stuff. And by stuff I mean camping and hiking stuff. Close to me there is pretty much just Dick's Sporting Goods. And although the store at Legacy Village is nice (it used to be a different outfitter) you still pretty much get stuck with after school job kids; not really experts in anything. I was thinking about my lack of choices as I was driving around at work today. There was a store that I couldn't remember the name of, even though I spent A LOT of time and money there. And then, today at work, it just hit me: Newman Outfitters! And like many things that you can't really remember and then do, everything about the store came back in a flood. The rain box for testing a rain shell; the climbing wall; the huge indoor pool for testing kayaks. It almost made me cry thinking about what I had lost. Well, about what Northeast Ohio had lost. It also made me wish I knew something about running a business so I could open up a store just like it. Newman Outfitters was that kind of place. I used to think that the coolest thing about the store was that all of the employees looked like they had just gotten in from outdoors. They all wore fleece (even in the summer) and dirty hiking boots. I've been to two REI's (the Seattle store is unbelievable!) and Newman Outfitters made me feel the same way. My point, finally, is this: Enjoy your local store. Every bit of it. Go to the sales events, talk to the employees, buy stuff there even if it costs more. Otherwise you might end up without a Newman Outfitters of your own.