Nearby Lodging We arrived in the Big Bend area late Monday afternoon and since we wouldn’t have time to kayak out to a campsite that day, we stayed at a motel in the nearby town of Alpine. We stayed at the Sunday House Inn which was average as far as motels go but had huge rooms…
Some observations I’ve made along the way, when you take your wife camping… “man, she sure does kick it up a notch, living the life out of a backpack!” …you get to eat real food for dinner! Before Jen, I would have filled my pack with granola bars, trail mix, jerky, and water before setting…
Did you know your body and circadian clock will sync with nature? Oh yes it will. We are animals still after all Our bodies increase melatonin levels in the few hours before heading off to bed, at least a healthy sleeper does. Melatonin is the “hormone of darkness,” it is our physiological response to cycles of daylight…
Every time we are backpacking in the woods I am more thankful than ever that I had lasik surgery. I don’t have to worry about breaking my glasses and being half blind in the woods. I don’t have to find a way to keep my contacts clean and taken care of. Instead, I wake each…
Sometimes life gets in the way and we have to go months without an excursion into the wilds. For us hardcore outdoor enthusiasts, this can make us feel like a robot in a rainstorm, ready to short-circuit. When we can’t get away we feel, on-edge, and not completely ourselves. So what can we do when…
Cheap gear is awesome! Except these… First of all, we love cheap gear. We have written before about the best gear to get for cheap and how to make your money go further when acquiring gear. There are some items for camping, hiking and backpacking that you should never cheap out on. Putting more money into…
Know the ten essentials, pack them, double check them, be prepared In 1974, Mountaineering Freedom of the Hills Mountaineers 3rd edition included the ten essentials for travel in back country. Since then, the ten essentials have become the standard for what hiking and scouting organizations recommend as the minimum gear to bring for any excursion into the…
Backpacking can become an expensive hobby here are some of the best items where you can go cheap. Stuff Sacks and Dry Bags Don’t forget to bring these sacks on any trip outdoors. At some point you will need them and because of their light weight, you won’t regret bringing them even if you don’t use them….
Do you know what the best part of camping is? The best part isn’t hiking, or chocolaty marshmallowy s’mores, or sitting lakeside hauling in a whole school of perch (Jen). It isn’t waking up to the sounds of squirrels fighting for nuts outside, or the music of coyote howls, as a monstrous pack of dogs parties next to…
Like the M2 only better! Aegismax, the company who gave us the M2 ultralight down sleeping bag, has made huge strides in design and comfort of their new M3 bag. We liked the M2 so much we had to try out the M3 and we weren’t disappointed. I ended up sending back my Teton Leaf…
