Making a small difference

I heard an interesting report on the radio the other day and while not technically about outdoor adventure, I believe it does have a correlation. The report spoke of a growing trend in moving from plastic grocery bags to reusable bags. If you are interested you can listen to it here.

This site has some very interesting alternatives to plastic bags as well as items to replace other plastic products, such as water bottles.

The best pants ever!

I’m not a big clothes horse. In fact I rarely buy clothes at all unless I desperately need them. A few months ago though, I was taking a trip to the Grand Canyon and wanted to pick up a pair of pants that I felt were a little more appropriate than the board shorts I usually wear. I ended up picking some Mountain Khakis Original Mountain Pants.

These have turned out to be one of the nicest and most comfortable pants I have ever owned. They hold up well enough to kick it outdoors and also look good enough to wear to the office. My only two issues would be:

1. The price…$70 for a pair of pants is pretty steep for me. You can, however, sign up to get their email announcements and get discounts through their website, such as 30% off.
2. The sizes seem to be a little inconsistent. I tried on two of the exact same sizes and both fit differently.

Overall though they are an excellent pair of pants and I highly recommend them!

Footprints In The Snow

As my friend Sean has already mentioned, our whole concept here is to focus on outdoor adventure, whether it’s an epic trip, a short hike through the local woods, or the discovery of a new route you never knew existed. Whatever your chosen venue for outdoor adventure may be, no matter how routine, if it challenges or inspires you, then it deserves acknowledgment.

As I write this, I am staring out my window at 8 inches of fresh snow that have fallen in the past 7 hours. The remnants of my footprints from yesterday’s hike are barely discernable beneath the fresh powder. To me those tracks in the snow represent more than a routine excursion into the woods behind my house. They remind me that adventure is always waiting, and it’s only a step away.

I think Tolkien summed up the adventurers spirit very accurately when he said, “Not all those who wander are lost.”

Chris

8 weeks out…

It’s about that time again when I make an attempt at consistently training. Today is exactly eight weeks out from the Big D Marathon (or in my case the 5k). This was the first race I ever participated in and it turned out to be a lot of fun so I’m going to do it again this year. It’s a great feeling as you come to the end of the race and run through the gates of the Cotton Bowl. I highly recommend getting involved in, if not this race, some race rather than just running on a treadmill or around your neighborhood. It adds a little something to your average jog and you don’t even need to be competitive about it. There are plenty of people walking and just out enjoying the morning air.

If you do decide to run a race and need a little help, I have found this website to be extremely useful.

http://www.halhigdon.com/

It has training schedules and other great tips from “green” all the way to advanced.

Sean

The Adventure Begins

So my friend and I both like the outdoors. We also both have jobs that have nothing to do with the outdoors. I sit behind a computer screen all day long and generally day dream about climbing a mountain, blazing a trail or at the very least being out in the sunshine. However, when you live in a big city as I do, it can be tough to get the motivation to seek out these types of activities. After all it’s not like there is a mountain on my doorstep or within a day’s drive for that matter.  Knowing myself I would probably just get discouraged, make up an excuse and find my way back to a comfy chair.

Not this time though! After talking with said friend we asked ourselves a few questions. What would be a way to keep us continually involved in outdoor activities? How about a blog where we can write about what we have been up to or maybe some great new place that we have found? Who would read it? Who cares. It’s for us. But I’m not good at outdoor “stuff”. So what? That’s part of the adventure.

So no more excuses! This is now the chronical of two friends adventure into the outdoors!

Sean