As a kid growing up, if there are trees around there is an innate need to climb them. But, kids are often thwarted . . . the first branch is too high, the trunk is too smooth or too broad to shinny up, upper body strength is lacking and so on. Still, as outdoor kids […]

If you are snowbound in the winter, it’s time to get out and go camping!  Today,  I’d like to share with you a couple videos that give a realistic view of what you can expect when snowshoeing and winter camping in the wilderness. Sioux Hustler Trail In these videos a character called Shug takes us along as […]

If you happen to live where it’s still cold enough, ice skating can be a great outdoor adventure.  As a kid,  my weak ankles didn’t help me as an ice skater, but with a hockey stick in my hands I  did alright.  Each year, a spot in the park behind our house would be flooded to […]

Last February I aimed you at Kerry “Cyndi Loppers” Stewart’s blog “Cat’s Don’t Camp“.  At that time she was planning to through-hike the Appalachian Trail.  If you have been following our weekly newsletter,  you saw a couple of updates on her hiking progress.  Well,  she successfully hiked the trail from Georgia to Maine (March 19 to […]

Natalie Pastor is an outdoor enthusiast, blogger and an adventurer.  She says: Although I have never met Pastor in person, our paths have crossed at the same places in different times.  Baraboo, Lake Wisconsin and Devil’s Lake in Wisconsin; Polebridge, Glacier National Park and the Flathead River in Montana and perhaps other places she hasn’t written […]

Frankly,  I enjoy cross country skiing (XC) more than snowshoeing.  It takes a little more skill, but getting through the countryside is much faster and requires significantly less energy per mile than snowshoes.  I began enjoying cross country skiing as a kid when my grandparents gave me a set of wooden skis with bamboo poles.  My […]

Snowshoeing is a great winter activity for families or anyone that wants to extend the hiking season through the winter.  It takes very little skill to use modern snowshoes.  They are designed to fit your feet and not interfere with your normal walking gait.  Further,  the cost of getting into snowshoeing is much lower than getting […]

When I was a kid I came across a book titled Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft by Thor Heyerdahl.  In the book, Heyerdahl tells the tale of his 1947 adventure setting off from South America with a small crew on a balsa raft headed toward Polynesia. The idea was to ride the Humbolt Current […]

On November 8, 2015 Peruvian President Ollanta Humala approved the creation of a 3.3 million-acre national park at Sierra del Divisor in Peru’s Amazon Basin on the border between Brazil and Peru.  This land, and more, had been designated as the Sierra del Divisor Reserved Zone in 2006 by decree of the Peruvian Government.  The process in moving […]

One of the major factors that cause explorers to miss out on winter adventures is the fear of driving in snowy and icy conditions.  Most of us need to drive somewhere to get to a new adventure, so it is critical to know how to drive in winter conditions. Advice from the American Automobile Association […]