Adventure in Alaska

Mike MacFerrin is a doctoral student at the University of Colorado in Bolder, CO, studying geography.  He has discovered the secret to both enjoying the adventure and wanting to get out again.  He calls it "selective memory,"  the process of remembering the good things and either ignoring or forgetting the bad.

Bad weather, horrendous insects, and cold all make for misery.  These are the things to which any adventurer needs to forget, and really more accurately state, put aside.  The enjoyment of solitude; a place where cell phones, ipads, ipods, etc are not needed or desired, the desire to see what is over the next hill or around the next corner, and the thrill of seeing something new are what we get out for.   The old idea of conflict overcome will always add to the story of your adventure and it actually enhances your adventure.

Mike has discovered all of this and more, if you would like to read more about him you can go to The Republic website.  

10 Hiking Adventures

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Hiking is what gets me out the most during the summer, always looking for a new mountain top or lake.  This list I found on the Stuff.com website.  A list of ten hikes they consider the top.

1. Appalachian Trail - Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine, USA

2. Camino Frances (El Camino de Santiago) - St Jean Pied do Port, France to Compostela, Spain

3. Pembrokeshire Coast Path - Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Wales

4. Mount Kilimanjaro - Tanzania

5. Zion Narrows - Zion National Park, Utah, USA

6. Tongariro Alpine Crossing - Tongariro National Park, New Zealand

7. Paine Ciruit Trek - Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile

8. West Coast Trail - Pacific Rim National Park, British Columbia, Canada

9. Tiger Leaping Gorge - Yunnan, China

10. Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - Peru

All of these look exciting and if you get a chance try one of them out, might just be worth exploring.

How to Wash Dishes Outdoors

When I am outdoors the last thing I want to take is a lot of extra stuff, the idea is to make life as simple as possible so that I can spend more time letting out the inner explorer in me.  Washing dishes is one of those things that for most will require bringing a sponge and some soap.  But if you are experienced then you know there are easier ways that require only sand and water.  By the way this will also save you money in sponges and soap and these days every penny counts.  

What you will need is someplace with a little bit of sand and water, a stream or beach will almost always have both of these items.  First scoop some sand into your dish a little water also helps, then scrub until all the food particle are gone.  Follow this with a good rinse and check your dish.  If it is not clean then repeat until you have it clean.  Set aside to dry.  

If this bothers you a little bit then put a drop of biodegradable soap in after you have scrub and rinse,  nothing worse than having the trail trots because you forgot to rinse well after applying soap.

Kalispell Island Trail

Photo by jhildahl

For a nice short day hike, only about 40 minutes on hiking time, try Kalispell Island in the middle of Priest Lake. The trail is mostly flat and circumnavigates the Island.  At many locations along the trail are nice white beaches which can be used to rest, swim, or even eat lunch.  The most difficult hurdle to overcome is the access to the trail.  You will need a boat or some other form of water transport to reach the island.  

The best access point for this trail is by parking at the boat launch provided by the Forest Service, just east of Hills Resort.  

A Frightening Bike Ride

I found this video on youtube.  Every once in a while I just need to display something I would not be willing to do.  This is definitely one of them.  Walking up this trail would be challenge enough.  For your information, this is somewhere in Germany.

Riding on the Outside

This last weekend I went on a mountain bike ride up Tumwater Ridge along the edge of the Bavarian style town of Leavenworth, Washington.  I thought I would share a couple of lessons from the two hour ride up and down the hill.  

1) Always take your own bike if you think there is even a small chance you might go for a ride.  My brother in-law brought one of his old bikes,  he is a bit shorter than I and so the bike was not quite the right height even after I raised the seat as high as it would go.  Don't get me wrong I really appreciated the use of the bike, it was a real blessing.  On the uphill my legs never quite got a full extension causing them to work harder, on the downhill the handle bars were too low giving me a little less control.  

2) While riding uphill on a forest road, always ride around the outside of a hairpin corner.  The road grade is not quite as steep on the outside as it is on the inside.  If you want more of a workout then by all means ride around the inside, but most expert athletes know that conserving energy is as important as having enough fuel to complete your task.

Mountain biking is a great activity which requires some measure of stamina.  With a little knowledge you can increase the amount of time you have to bike and decrease the amount of energy needed to get up and down the hill.

Backpacking Cat

I found this video on youtube.  The man took his cat on a 9000 miles backpack trip from Miami to Argentina.  The trip would be exciting however, not so sure about packing a cat for that distance.  Cat's are not really as useful on a trip as a dog.