Saturday, December 30, 2006

Winter Hiking

Winter Hiking

Hiking In The Pristine Paradise of Winter
By John Grimes

When the year turns to the winter months, many people pack up their outdoors gear and wait for the warmer weather of spring. If this is your tack, you are missing out on the joys of winter hiking.

Hiking In The Pristine Paradise of Winter

The winter presents some excellent opportunities to get outside and discover a second side to places you commonly frequent. Most people, however, never take advantage of the opportunity. When the mercury drops in the thermometer, they hole up for the winter. If you do so, you will be missing out on a winter wonderland that is often stunning.

It is amazing how much a place can change with the seasons. I can guarantee you that a favorite hike is much different in winter than it is in summer. The air is crisper. The surroundings are blanketed in an almost dream like quietness. In many places, it may be blanketed in snow. Alas, this presents you with the opportunity to experience a serene, beautiful winter paradise. Without the hubbub of summer, it will seem like an entirely new scene.

Going hiking in the winter is obviously different than in the warmer months. First off, you need to use a bit of common sense. If you are going to head out on a trail, make sure you check the weather first so you know if anything is coming. There are plenty of places on the internet now where you can get accurate forecasts and actually see a radar image of your area. Check them! You do not want to be a couple of hours into your hike and face a snow or rain storm.

The second tip also involves common sense. Dress warmly! It is true that you will start to generate lots of body heat while hiking, but you should still over dress. Remember, you can always take clothing off if you get hot. Unless you are carrying your closet with you, however, it is hard to add clothing in the middle of your hike.

There are a couple of other things you should do differently for winter hikes. First, make sure to tell someone where you are going in case something happens. Second, take water with you because you will still need hydration. Third, wear sun protection and lip balm because the sun doesn’t care if it is hot or cold when it is beating down on your exposed face, neck and lips. Fourth, take a camera so you can take pictures of the stunning scenes around you.

Hiking in winter is definitely something you should consider doing if at all possible. It presents you with an opportunity to see your favorite haunts in an entirely new light.


John Grimes is with All Terrain - makers of natural products for the outdoors.

For The Love Of The Outdoors

Robin and Val

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Winter Hiking

Monday, December 18, 2006

Cold Weather Camping

Cold Weather Camping

Cold Weather Camping Tips
By Tim Dales

A number of my friends take their kids to the desert in December to go dirt biking and they complain about the cold camping. Well, here are a number of tips that I’ve used when cold weather camping that will make your campout more enjoyable.

The obvious first tip is to bring warm clothes. So why am I mentioning this? So, you’ll bring the right clothes! Bring gloves, ski jackets, wool hats, wool socks, long underwear, turtleneck shirts, sweat pants, sweaters and lots of extra clothes that you can layer. Unlike summer camping where you can get away with a couple of t-shirts and a pair of shorts. Plan to over pack during cold weather. As the old adage goes, “It’s easier to put on clothes you have than clothes you don’t have!”

Shelter – Find a place to shelter your tent from winds. I know it may be hard to do this in a desert, but try to make camp on the edge of a dry lakebed, not in the middle. If the wind seems to be coming from a particular direction, park your vehicle to block the wind.

During the day you keep warm by being active - hiking, dirt biking, etc. At night when it gets colder and sleep beacons you is when you need to be prepared.

Bedding – Make sure you bring lots of warm bedding. I usually take a 0° F rated sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, an extra blanket and a summer rated sleeping bag. Make sure you have lots of padding between your sleeping bag and the ground of your tent. If you don’t, the cold ground will suck all the heat out of your body while you sleep! Burrrrr!

Sleeping – Before you go to bed, put on your long underwear, wool socks and a wool hat. Your body loses lots of heat through an exposed head. If you wake up cold, put the extra blanket or summer sleeping bag on top of you or another layer of clothes such as: sweat pants and a sweat shirt. If you get too warm, vent your sleeping bag by opening the zipper, or vent yourself by taking off your wool hat or a layer of clothing. The key is to keep warm, but not to sweat. Perspiration will make you wet and cold. If this happens, peel off your wet clothes and put some dry clothes on and start again. Now aren’t you glad you brought lots of clothes! :-)

Warmth – A couple of tricks I use are to build a fire at night so everyone can sit around, chat and get toasty before going to bed. But, also while the fire is burning, put a pot of water on the fire, bring it not quite to a boil, pour it into a canteen or heavy-duty water bottle and take it to bed with you to warm the sleeping bag! Additionally, it’s always good to have some hot beverage – cocoa or tea prior to bed to put something warm in your body. But, you better rid yourself of the fluids before you go to bed. Nothing is worse than waking up in the middle of a cold night to the “call of nature.” :-(

Hopefully you will find these tips useful and feel comfortable enough to camp when the weather is cold. Try it! It’s quite a sense of accomplishment.

Tim Dales, author of “Discover the Secrets of Family Camping Without Breaking the Bank!” reveals the tips and techniques that he has learned from over 25 years of camping and hiking as a Boy Scout, camping with his own family and as a Scoutmaster, leading Scouts on campouts. This book is chock full of camping secrets that will make any campout a success. For more information go to: http://www.thecampingguy.com
A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go the Boy Scouts of America.

For The Love Of The Outdoors

Robin and Val

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Cold Weather Camping

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized Sunglasses

The Pure Sporting Power of Polarized Sunglasses
By Angie Stocklin

Polarized sunglasses are taking the sporting world by storm! Although it may seem as though polarized sunglasses are new on the protective eyewear scene, they have actually been around for some time and used by fishermen and boaters alike.

The main benefit of wearing polarized lenses is to take the glare off of water, and other wet objects. Polarized lenses are great for anyone sitting on a lake, river, or ocean all day. Imagine looking out across a lake with a blinding glare. Polarized lenses actually make it possible for fishermen to see into the water, and allow them to see what they are catching. People who like to boat and fish always appreciate polarized lenses and their extra special protection from the sun and bright reflection.

It is just as easy to see why polarized lenses come in handy for folks who like to jog or ride a mountain bike. Polarized lenses cut the glare from the road so they can better see where they are going. Or take a golfer out on a bright morning in Florida, or a skier hitting the slopes on a crisp, clear afternoon at 10,000 feet. All of these sporting folks could use extra protection from the glare of the sun. Polarized lenses also help when driving by cutting the blinding reflection from other cars and shiny roads. Truck driver have also recently jumped on the polarized lens bandwagon and can appreciate their benefits everyday on the road.

Polarized lenses work by rather complex scientific principles that can be explained rather simply. (At least we’ll try to explain it rather simply!) As any physicist will tell you, light reflected off of water, snow, pavement, and other flat, smooth surfaces generally comes at your eyes at a horizontal polarization. However, polarized sunglass lenses are vertically polarized, meaning they block the horizontal light from coming through to your eyes.

Of course, nothing is perfect. World-class skiers sometimes say the polarized lenses don’t work as well in the snow as they do on the water. Skiers indicate polarized lenses make it harder for them to have good depth perception, which makes it hard for them to read the slope of the hill and the distance and size of moguls and other mounds of snow coming at them.

Although polarized lenses are great for reducing dangerous road glare, the may make it difficult for people to correctly read LCD displays for speed, mileage, radio broadcasting, and other dashboard devices. They are also less helpful when the sun is very high or very low in the sky.

So the next time you are spending a relaxing afternoon on the lake, or driving down the busy freeway during rush hour, grab a pair of polarized discount sunglasses to make your day a little more enjoyable.



For The Love Of The Outdoors

Robin and Val

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Polarized Sunglasses