We recently hiked with a friend at Strawtown Koteewi Park. It’s a nice, nearby place to get a quick nature fix. We saw a bunch of lovely sights which I utterly failed to capture for posterity. But I did whip out the phone when we saw the baby snakes!
Category: Outdoors Page 2 of 6
Camping, hiking, backpacking, boating, fishing, snowshoeing, and whatever else we do outside for fun.
We’ve written a couple of posts about taking care of your camping and hiking gear (here, here and here). Today I thought I would talk about a fairly common part of gear and clothing that can cause issue. Drawstrings can be found on clothing, packs, stuff sacks and sleeping bags. It’s easy to have a drawstring pull out of the casing if you aren’t careful.
The 4th of July is a big holiday in the United States. It is celebrated by picnics, family gatherings, parades, festivals, and fireworks. I thought it might be a nice time for some reflection on some of the past celebrations.
When you’re backpacking in the wilderness, every piece of gear you carry needs to work properly. If critical gear fails, you may have to cut your trip short. So it makes sense to carry a repair kit of some sort to deal with common problems. But what do you put in the kit?
Part one of this series talked about the fabrics. Today we cover washing them. Using the proper settings to wash and dry your clothing and other gear will help it last longer, keep colors brighter and avoid damage. Some clothing has tags that tell you to wash in cold water and hang to dry while others might just have a series of symbols.
Of course, these are actual hieroglyphics, but unless you understand laundry care symbols, it’s not any different.
Taking care of your camping gear (and other items) means it will last longer and work better. It is more sustainable and will save you money. This is the first in a series about caring for your gear. Today, I am going to cover fabrics and insulators. Knowing what the material is will help you care for it properly.
We love to backpack, but it isn’t always an option. We are fortunate to have some really amazing parks not far from where we live. Eagle Creek Park is a city park in Indianapolis. We have hiked many of the trails in the park.
Walt and I love to backpack and hiking in the fall is so beautiful. The evenings can be a bit chilly, so a campfire and a warm drink make for a good way to relax before bed.
As some of you may know, I work at the local REI store, selling camping equipment. When you hire on at REI, they ask you to name your favorite outdoor place, and they have it engraved on your name tag, below your name. The other people in my hire group were naming off all the big-name, big-deal destinations. You had Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, The Smokies, and so on.
When it came my turn, I didn’t have a good answer. I’d never been to the places the other folks mentioned, though I wanted to see them all.
