Following the Ouray Ice Festival the crowds disappeared, though the bitter cold remained. This weather was beginning to feel more reminiscent of the screaming barfies inducing New Hampshire ice climbing scene. This 30+ degree F climbing and easy accessibility of the Ice Park had been making me soft! Well, at least I could finally use some more of my toe …
I officially departed on my Epic Dirtbag Adventure on Saturday, January 5th for the long drive down to Ouray, Colorado. I blasted through Washington State into the eastern corner of Oregon and on to Boise, Idaho on day one. I had my first Wal-Mart parking lot camping experience at the 24-hour store on the east side of the city. It …
I recently had the opportunity to chat with climbing guide Kel Rossiter of Adventure Spirit Rock+Ice+Alpine Experiences about the world of climbing, adventure, and what it can teach us about life in general. I’ve had the pleasure of climbing with Kel on a handful of occasions, a couple of times up in New Hampshire seeking out ice, and the last …
Well, another year is over so it’s time for my 2012 year in review! Thankfully the Mayan Apocalypse didn’t happen, or that would’ve really messed up my climbing plans for this year. On the surface 2012 was a year pretty much like the past few years, but behind the scenes it was a year where some major changes were transpiring. Chief among them being …
Over the past few weeks, my primary focus has been the process of downsizing, minimalism, and getting used to living with less. I need to practically get rid of everything in my life so I can shed the bulk and excess of five years of accumulating STUFF. This is necessitated because I will be flying back home to Seattle with …
I’ve been using the Icebreaker BodyFit 150 short sleeve shirt as my go-to baselayer pretty consistently for a little over the last two years. It has been my baselayer of choice for virtually all of my outdoors pursuits (climbing, backpacking, and mountaineering), irrespective of the season, and has even been my shirt of choice for the climbing gym, for running, …
Ah, Jersey… The butt of oh so many jokes, and the land of Tony Soprano, Snooki, Bruce Springsteen, and Jon Bon Jovi. But backpacking New Jersey, is there such a thing? Do they even have woods or anything resembling wilderness in the most densely populated state in the country? Turns out they do, as I learned when backpacking Delaware Water …
Virginia is often overlooked when it comes to the great outdoors, but there are some truly incredible hiking and backpacking opportunities in the state and the Virginia Triple Crown is among the best — check out my list of the top six hikes in Virginia, as well. The Triple Crown is a 37-mile backpacking loop that includes three of the …