No Parking
Published January 24, 2012 | 
Now here’s the real problem with outdoor recreation during the winter months… No parking. Oh sure, the roads get plowed. Even that crazy road that climbs the hill to nowhere gets plowed. The driveway at the dentist’s office gets plowed. I mean, who really wants to go there?? And you can bet that some dude in a 4×4 will be up at 3am plowing the drive-through lane at the fast food joint. Neither rain, nor snow, nor heat, nor hail (Not even the gloom of night!) will keep us from our daily Big Mac.. Continue reading
The Real 2012 Outdoor News From CES?
Published January 23, 2012 | The coolest news for paddlers and other outdoor enthusiasts may have come not from Outdoor Retailer’s 2012 Winter Market, but from the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show where new nano-technology was introduced that may soon bring us all waterproof smart phones and tablets. It’s hard to imagine another innovation that has such potential to actually change how we do what we do when it comes to exploring our wild outdoors.
Let’s face it, most of us are getting pretty tech savvy these days and our electronic gizmos are becoming an important part of our outdoor experience. Like it or not, we’ve followed the curve from paper maps, charts & compasses to GPS to smart phones and tablets without much of a hitch. We also know that when it comes to navigation, charts, weather and even photography these days, there’s gizmo and an app out there just perfect for our needs. The problem is that it’s pretty risky taking a smart phone or tablet out in inclement weather, let alone on our kayak! Experience has taught us that even electronics designed and advertised as “water proof” rarely are, no matter what they say on the box. Dry bags work, but are not a great solution either. They often just get in the way, either being too bulky or too thick for our sensitive touch screens to work properly. Well, things might be about to change.
At the recently held Consumer Electronics Show a company called HzO demonstrated its new “WaterBlock” system that basically covers every part of your electronic gadget in a thin, waterproof nano-coating. At the show they demonstrated how treated iPhones and Android devices will still function when under water. (See the video above) How cool is that? This may be the first step toward a world where we can bring our smart phones and tablets out into our watery world with out a second thought…. Well, that is until we realize we can’t get a signal… Keep your compass handy!
More:
Posted in More Gear Reviews, Outdoor Recreation, Paddle Gear, Paddling | 
electronics, HzO, waterproof | 
4 CommentsThe Season of Sticks
Published January 5, 2012 | 
The brown season is upon us here in central Wisconsin. Well, it’s nearly brown, mostly brown, primarily brown. Yes, there’s some snow, some ostracized bits of white clinging to the edges of the roads and hugging the walking trails. These miniature mountainous ranges of white are all that is left to remind us of this season’s occasional short snowfalls. Snow that had not been pushed or plowed into serpentine heaps has long since receded into the earth. Occasionally hidden in the shadows of the forest or tucked at the foot of the tall prairie grass, a small smattering of snow remains, just enough to make anyone who complains of having “no snow” a liar. Continue reading
Posted in Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation, Quixotica, Random Thoughts | autumn, hiking, winter | Leave a commentSomething In The Water
Published December 30, 2011 | 
Each year when the ice is beginning to form on inland lakes there is still time for the hearty paddler to get in a few good days on the water. You simply need to be more cautious. Not only should you be properly dressed for the occasion, but you also need to keep your eye out for nearly transparent floating obstacles. Paddling along at a good clip, floating ice can be nearly invisible. An awkward run up the side of one of these floating chucks or even a direct hit can quickly send an unprepared paddler right over. Most of us would call that a bad day at best. Continue reading
Frog Bay Tribal National Park
Published December 28, 2011 | 
The Red Cliff Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa are creating a nearly 90 acre Tribal National Park on the northern tip of Wisconsin with a quarter-mile beach looking out on to the Apostle Islands. Kayakers & hikers alike will of course be celebrating access to a new section of shoreline, of course they may need to wait a while. According to reports the park will not open to the public until August of 2012 at the very earliest. Still, good news all around.
More:
- Map
- Public National Park Is A Tribal First – Wisconsin State Journal
- State’s Red Cliff Chippewa to open park to public – Green Bay Press Gazette
GTS
Published December 21, 2011 | 
Hello. Welcome to the first “official” day of winter, and to everybody’s favorite game show, GLOVES THAT SUCK! (Cheers! Clapping!) Yes, Yes.. Alright, Thank you!! Yes, this is GLOVES THAT SUCK and today we’ll be introducing you to these grey beauties.. yes they’re thick, they’re restrictive, and what’s more, they will let your finger tips get nice and wet. Now we all know what happens when you restrict movement, restrict blood flow, and keep your fingers wet on a cold winter day don’t we!? That’s right.. Cold burning fingers!! Maybe even a bit of the ole’ frostbite!! You know what we say, when we get gloves that don’t keep our hands warm don’t we? Everybody now.. THESE GLOVES SUCK! Tune in next time when we talk to a nice pair of cotton mittens who make their home in Brixton, London, UK… They really, really SUC… Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
Posted in More Gear Reviews, Outdoor Recreation, Paddle Gear, Paddling | paddling gloves | 10 Comments
O.K. So let me be honest here. I’m dreaming of summer. I’ll admit it. I don’t know what ever came over our silly ancestors as the continued to move north way back in the day. Sure, it was probably summer as they traveled further and further north toward the top of the earth. At first, things probably seemed pretty sweet. What more could you ask for than open fertile land, lots of animals and air conditioning? Yeah, but come November they had to be thinking, “What the hell are we still doing here?” Next thing you know they were all huddled in caves around a dwindling fire and just hoping the meat would hold out. And they stayed?! Idiots! Continue reading →