Posted: February 27th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: First Aid | No Comments »
I imagine that I am not the only person that hikes or backpacks with allergies, so I wrote up a little wiki article about dealing with allergies. I am definitely no doctor, so talk to a medical professional if you have any questions. The article is based on what I have gathered from my many sinus doctors thanks to 15 years of serious sinus problems (a few surgeries, several procedures, allergy shots, blah blah blah).
Maybe this will help someone avoid the sniffles. 
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Posted: February 21st, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: People, Photography | No Comments »
I spent about two hours outside playing with my dog and taking pics of the full lunar eclipse that happened tonight. Came inside, unloaded the pics to my PC and realized that I had been shooting in the shittiest jpg mode with no RAW. Oops.
There are a couple of halfway decent shots in there. I was outside shooting extended exposure shots in the dark, so of course I busted out some flashlights and took pics of the beams lighting up the neighborhood.
Meh, maybe I’ll do better in 2010.
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Posted: February 20th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Gear, Preparations | No Comments »
I have been taking whistles on trips with me for so long that I take for granted that not everyone does. A whistle weighs next to nothing and can be extremely useful in the wilderness in a normal situation, let alone in an emergency. It is nice to be a good way away from your friends on a hike and be able to give a short whistle blow to let them know you found something interesting.
Before you go on a hike, give everyone a whistle and have them attach it to a zipper pull or somewhere else where they are sure not to lose it and will always have it readily available. Work out a system of whistle blows with them, where 1 long blow means ‘come here,’ 1 short means ‘I’m over here,’ 3 short bursts means ‘emergency,’ etc. Keep it simple. You don’t need to invent the next Morse Code. The usefulness of a whistle is defeated if someone can’t remember what 3 long, 2 short, 1 long, 4 short means.
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Posted: February 18th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Gear, Preparations | No Comments »
My favorite jacket for years has been my REI Mistral. It has served me well, and still does, so I haven’t really bothered to look for a new one. Recently, I have been wanting a slightly more burly softshell for colder condition, so I went on the hunt. Everyone knows you need a jacket for every five degree temperature range from absolute zero to Sahara hot. I had a hole in my wardrobe that needed to be filled.
Thanks to my job, I have hands on access to pretty much every high-end outdoor brand known to man. None of the softshells have really impressed me, or they were out of my price range, even at discount [cough Arc'Teryx cough]. Enter the REI One Jacket. Thanks to the recent super clearance, I got it at a ridiculously low price. Now that I own one, I would gladly pay at least $5 more, maybe even $10.
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Posted: February 15th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Deals | No Comments »
I got an email from BC this morning saying that they have started their winter clearance. Hopefully your credit cards are not maxed out from REI’s sale, because there are some good deals in there, many along SAC or REI super clearance lines.
BC sale homepage
BC – At least 70% off
BC Outlet sale homepage
BC Outlet – At least 60% off
BC Outlet – At least 50% off
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Posted: February 13th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Insiders, People | No Comments »
If any of you happen to be in the Atlanta area, our store is running a clearance tomorrow through Saturday. Prices will be in the REI super clearance ball park since we want to get rid of stuff to make room for the tons of spring/summer gear and clothing we have waiting in the warehouse.
Some brands that we have on sale:
Marmot
Mountain Hardwear
Patagonia
Horny Toad
Mission Playground
The North Face
Montrail
Wigwam
Black Diamond
Timbuk2
Osprey
and quite a bit more. Most of the store is 20-50% off our regular prices, which are already 20-50% off retail.
TGR
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Posted: February 8th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Gear, Preparations | No Comments »
How long does it take you to pack a backpack or Camelbak for a hike? How about a overnight backpacking trip? How about just a simple business trip or overnight stay at a friend’s house? An hour? Two or more? How often do you forget an essential item that you have to go without in the woods or buy a replacement for in civilization?
Avoiding any unnecessary headaches with packing and organizing all your crap for a trip can be quite easy. Just pack all of it before you even know about your trip. There are definitely some items that will be adjusted to each situation, but the vast majority will always be there. You may need a stuffable down jacket in the winter, but that knife, flashlight, rain shell, etc. that you take on every trip can be put into a bag and left there. Stick that bag in your closet or car, and pull it out the next time you go on a hike. If you have enough duplicates (I know pretty much everyone here does), make a few bags for trips that you go on several times a year.
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Posted: February 7th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Deals | No Comments »
The REI Super Clearance started a day early, for those of you who have not seen it yet. I haven’t found a way to search only the items ending in .83, but the 50% off link on the home page seems to work pretty well.
REI Outlet
REI.com
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Posted: February 6th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Outdoors, Trips | No Comments »
I went to Tallulah Gorge up in NE GA a couple of weeks back when it was nice and freezing cold (30s, which is like Antarctica to me). I took the day off from work for the specific purpose of going on a hike, so weather be damned.
You have to get a permit to hike down into the gorge, so we went and got one from the “Interpretive Center” or whatever weirdo name they had for their visitors’ center. The ranger lady sketched out a good route for us on a park map. I thought it was odd that she marked a part on the map down in the gorge that did not have trails for a good mile or so.
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Posted: February 5th, 2008 | Author: storl | Filed under: Preparations, Sharps | No Comments »
I was at work today, typing away, looking at the various scars on my hands. The vast majority of them were from knife accidents, and only because I did not follow some basic knife safety guidelines. Using what I learned in the Boy Scouts, I wrote up a knife safety article for the wiki. Go take a look, read up, and keep your blood inside your body.
Of course, if you have any other good tips, feel free to create an account and edit the article.
