August 27th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Flim, Outdoor Living, Survival Skills
So what to do when, after seven weeks alone in the wild, you’re out of food, out of energy and out of clarity? You put your distress call signal to use, be glad for a quick rescue — and you realize it’s okay to call that a happy ending.
Adventurer/documentarian Ed Wardle has done just that.
As [...]
August 27th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Outdoor Living, Survival Skills
They say survival in the wild is 1/3 What to Do, and 99% What Not to Do. Or something like that.
Case in point: The Naturist, a new video series brought to us by Teva. Outdoor expert Gavin McInnes takes us into the backcountry where he finds unexpected water sources, dispels myths about bee stings, and [...]
August 20th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Flim, Outdoor Living, Voyageurs
2009 has been a notable year for our national parks: They’ve drawn big numbers with their ‘free’ weekends, gotten loads of PR from a vacationing President Obama, and now a documentary series produced by Ken Burns.
The National Parks: America’s Best Idea airs September 27th on PBS. Sounds like we can expect the same depth and [...]
August 18th, 2009 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, Wildlife
Felt hopeless about the mysteriously dwindling moose population in Minnesota? You can now finally do something about it.
U of M Duluth researchers have created a new site enlisting the help of the public to track the region’s moose. Using simple forms, users can report sightings of healthy, or sickly/dead moose. This betters the researchers’ [...]
August 17th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Camping, Gear, Gear Review, Hiking, Outdoor Living
A headlamp that’s made to go on your chest? Nope, I sure hadn’t tried that one before.
But when I first saw GoMotion’s Sternum 3-Watt Luxeon LED Kit, I was curious about the concept. Could it actually better a night-time wilderness experience? Would it avoid the drawbacks of traditional headlamps? And would this huge searchlight on [...]
August 14th, 2009 | by Arthur | published in Camping, Food, Gear
Craftzine is definitely not on our regular rotation of manly, testosterone-inducing sites (I hear that snickering,) but right now it has an interesting post on camping cook kits.
While the author prefers a kit that would take up most of a pack, she does advocate for bringing along as little packaging as possible. More importantly, it’s [...]
August 14th, 2009 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, Canada, Canoeing, Quetico
Happy to see, at last, some report of last weekend’s race.
Participant Chris Stromberg took the images and all in all, it sounds like a good race with only a few small injuries. Well done, everybody! Via Canoeing.com.
August 11th, 2009 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, Canada, Canoeing, Quetico
Race results are (finally) in from this weekend’s Cross Quetico Marathon Canoe Race. We have few details so far, but for a brief comment by USFS Recreation Planner John Pierce:
I’ve been around people when their tank is empty due to a long race or some other event, but my admiration seeing everyone in that canoe [...]
August 7th, 2009 | by Andy | published in BWCAW, History, North Shore, Resources
Fact: 200 years ago this week, voyageurs coming off the trail didn’t have the luxury of browsing the gift shop for birch bark picture frames and moose poop incense.
What they did have, was the Rendezvous: a merry mid-summer celebration with plenty of food, sport and dance. This weekend, you’re invited to join them.
Grand Portage National [...]
August 6th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Art, Canada, Wildlife
I’ve never been to Lake Superior’s Slate Islands; never seen caribou in the wild, either. But thanks to Layne Kennedy, I sure feel like I have now.
Backpacker just posted a slideshow of the Minnesota photographer’s work among Ontario’s largest herd. Seems fitting that creatures of such mythical, otherworldly beauty should live on islands formed by [...]
August 6th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Canada, Canoeing, Environment, Quetico
In just two days, the waters of Quetico will be astir with twenty-plus canoes in a fervid, knuckles-down race — but not one to claim available campsites.
As the date of the Cross-Quetico Marathon Canoe Race now approaches ramming speed, the teams are undoubtedly coveting the first prize of $5000 cash money. You always have to [...]
August 5th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Camping, Gear
This what they mean by, ‘mateable sleeping bags?’
Sexy Hotness is a sleeping bag meant to optimize the act of doin’ the wild thing, out in the wild. Boutique gearmakers Alite Design previewed (not demo’ed) the thing at OR. Judging from all the buzz, I guess a lot of people out there like to watch.
The [...]
August 4th, 2009 | by Andy | published in Gear
Recently, Salt Lake City hosted Outdoor Retailer, the show-and-tell convention of gear manufacturers everywhere. The bi-annual expo allows a sneak peek at next spring’s crop of outdoor apparel and equipment.
With the event itself sounding a bit like a circus, many of the previewed products we’ve read about seem fittingly like eye candy and novelty. So [...]