Hiking

Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody

I bought this jacket for the Manaslu Circuit Trek in Nepal and could not have been happier.  In fact, I have been using it for many other things once I returned home as this is easily one of the best purchases I have ever made. They boast “A piece of high-tech magic from Patagonia.” and I have to say that it definitely lives up to that statement.  It weighs about the weight of a chocolate bar but is probably one of the warmest jackets I own, aside from my Spyder Ski jacket.  How this works is way beyond me, but I can attest to it effectiveness.  Additionally, it can be packed and folded up into one of the jackets pockets for easy storage and packing. How light is it actually? I bought the Balkan Blue Medium jacket and it weighs a total of 289 grams, after using it for a while.  … Read more

Snowshoeing in Algonquin Park

Snowshoeing in Algonquin Park

I just finished a three day trip to Algonquin park and I cannot say enough about it.  It was absolutely fantastic!  The weather was awesome, the trails were great, and the company was absolutely fantastic. And, a definite big shout out to Bryan and Carol Foley for organizing this weekend.  Many thanks and you two rock! The snow was powder, deep, and plentiful.  This, of course, meant on the first day, we had a lot of trail breaking to do. Mizzy Lake Back Country Trail in Algonquin Park On the first day, we left at 9:30 AM and returned around 4:30 PM.  We were exhausted but exhilarated at the same time.  I can honestly say that if there had not been 14 of us to take turns at breaking the trail, it would have been a lot longer and we may not have been able to finish it.  We had … Read more

Extreme Cold Outdoors Gear Test

Extreme Cold Outdoors Gear Test

Hi All, Today I decided I would test my gear to see how it stood up in extreme cold temperatures.  When I left for my hike, it was -20 C, or -4 F.  When I returned, it was -24 C, or -11.2 F.  With the windchill it was -28C when I left and -32C when I returned, which equates to -18.4 F and -25.6 F.  So, as you can see, these were great temperatures to test the gear out. I hiked 8.2 km’s in 3 hours and the good news is that the gear worked pretty well.  I was exceptionally happy that my feet and hands were completely warm during the whole hike and perhaps the coldest part of me was my eyebrows/forehead and my arms.  Both of which can be easily fixed by utilizing googles and clothing. Additionally, there is currently about three feet of snow, so hiking was … Read more

Survival Frog Hand Warmer/USB Charger and my Snow Shoes

Survival Frog Hand Warmer/USB Charger

Hey everyone, hope you are having an awesome day.  My day has been jam packed thus far and this evening promises to be just as fun.  For those of you sitting inside because it is too cold, you may want to rethink that as there are many things you can do to stay warm and enjoy the outdoors when it is cold and snowy.  Today’s blog is about two of the pieces of equipment that will help you with exactly that. Survival Frog USB Charger and Hand Warmer Every once in a while, I come across multi-purpose devices.  Not devices that I use for multiple purposes but devices are actually designed for multiple purposes.  The Survival Frog is exactly one of those devices and I have fallen in love with this thing.  As you know, batteries lose charge quite fast in the cold and our hands are also quite susceptible … Read more

Canon EOS 6D and the Outdoors

Canon EOS 6D

The Canon EOS 6D is my favorite! Why do I say it is my favorite camera?  Well, that will take a while to answer but to give it a quick answer, it is one of the most powerful yet easy to use camera’s I have ever owned.  To say that Canon has it figured out is an understatement. The ease at which you can get professional photos using this camera is utterly astounding.  Yes, the price tag is a little higher than ones such as the T7i and lower end camera’s, but the capabilities and quality makes it more than worth the extra cost.  Add to this the fact that it is a full frame camera as opposed to a cropped, and you will see why this is my favorite. The Canon EOS 6D has a lot of features that other camera’s do not but as stated above, that comes … Read more

The Benefits of Icers and what are they?

Avventura Outdoors Icers for Back Country Hiking

Icers are perhaps one of the most overlooked, and unknown, pieces of equipment for hikers and just general winter time walking. Also known as snow traction cleats, they are a very simple concept, yet a totally awesome device that increases your safety when walking on ice.  The concept of icers is much the same as chains on tires.  They are simply claws of some sort that are strapped to your boots.  These claws dig into the ice as you walk upon it, giving you greater confidence and safety.  Never underestimate the amount of the safety increase you get from feeling more confident.  We often second guess ourselves and wind up making mistakes because of a lack of confidence. There are many kinds and they are not limited to just back country use.  Many people have adopted them for the cities as well as the country.  Many sidewalks ice up during … Read more

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