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Outdoorzy – press release

Outdoorzy.com released a benefits package today to its members. …

… four key benefits for members. (Membership is free)

• Moosejaw.com is offering 15% off outdoor gear and clothing on their site and 5% off sale items for Outdoorzy members.

• Island Outpost offers Outdoorzy members a free night at Jake’s in Jamaica if they book four nights. Jake’s is a bohemian resort on the south coast of the island with plenty of outdoor activities. From mountain biking to yoga, they have it all.

• Wend Magazine is offering Outdoorzy member $3 off a subscription. Wend is a new outdoor sports and adventure travel magazine that is getting rave reviews in the outdoor community.

• ImOutdoorsHosting.com is offering their very robust web hosting plan for just $4.95/mo (normally $6.95). Whether a member needs a blog or an ecommerce store, they cater to the outdoor industry.

Outdoorzy will also be releasing more benefits in the weeks and months to come.

Social Network for Active Outdoor Lifestyle Announces Benefits to Members – press release

Outdoorzy – home page

Outdoorzy press information

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replace your Swiss Army Knife with an Atwood

Warren Long suggested this knife to lighten your pack yet some more:

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Joel sums up: “Atwood’s multitools, unlike the common flip-out models, tend to be made from just a single piece of metal with various nubs that enhance the functionality. For instance, the ‘Mini Son of PryThing‘ above has a prying tool, a blade, and a bottle opener, wrapped with a simple cord around the hilt that is easily replaceable.”

Boing Boing

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Sex in a Tent – Michelle Waitzman

wilderness1.JPGMichelle is everywhere these days. Look for a cover article on New Zealand Wilderness magazine.

Promoting her new book (which will certainly be a huge success) has Michelle on the book tour, both virtual and in the real world.

She was even interviewed by The Outdoor Station: listen to the audiocast.

Sex in a Tent: A Wild Couple’s Guide to Getting Naughty in Nature, Wilderness Press 2007

Sex in a Tent is a new book that tells you everything you need to know (but were too embarrassed to ask) about thoroughly enjoying the outdoors with a romantic partner.

Sex in a Tent is a mostly fun, sometimes serious guide to love, sex, and adventure in the great outdoors. In this penetrating look at what really goes on behind the tent flap, expert camper and outdoor love-maker Michelle Waitzman reveals everything you need to know to fulfill your wild fantasies. Showing you the best positions for campers (the tent tango), to recipes for a romantic meal in a Ziploc bag, to how to look and feel sexy when you’re wearing grimy zip-off hiking shorts and haven’t bathed in days (hint: zip ’em off and go skinny-dipping), she inspires you to leave behind the boring bed sheets and crawl into a tantalizing tent.

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About the author:

Michelle Waitzman was a late bloomer when it came to the great outdoors. Born in the urban wilds of Toronto, she didn’t fall in love with camping until her late twenties, when a trip around Australia and New Zealand introduced her to the pleasures of a starry sky and a cozy sleeping bag.

Now spending time in the wilderness is an integral part of Michelle’s life, and she shares her passion for the outdoors (and outdoor passions) with her partner Gerhard. They live in Wellington, New Zealand where a tramp in the bush is never far away. Michelle decided to write this book after a decidedly uncomfortable and unsatisfying night in the woods, trying to break in their new tent. While there were lots of books on the market about how to start camping, or take your kids camping, couples seemed sadly under-represented.

Michelle blogs about the outdoors at LoveInATent.blogspot.com .

It’s family friendly blog though you may see the odd photo like this:

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Hellooooo Dolly!

Sex in a Tent – get it on Amazon.com

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Eco – Eco, Eco, Eco, Eco, Eco … EEK

Oct 15 is Blog Action Day. Bloggers are asked to post something to do with the environment…

Bloggers Unite - Blog Action Day

GREEN is GOOD !!!

You see … I learned from TreeHugger.com that putting the word “Eco” in a blog post title brings in the readers. Don’t feel duped. Reading this post shows you care about the environment.

Remember, GREEN is GOOD.

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screenshot

This blog produced with 100% recycled pixels.

Yes, the ecology is a good cause. Hikers are great advocates for wilderness.

But this is one blogger who has ECO-fatigue.

My latest tirade against branding with the word ECO are the EcoTaxis in Mexico. They drive around, empty, harassing tourists that conspicuously do not want a cab at the moment. A mobile oxymoron.

The real Ecotaxis are in Rome.

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hiking Skyline Trail, Jasper in OCTOBER

So, the University of Alberta Outdoors Club in Edmonton decided to hike the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park in the Fall.

That’s crazy, man!

This — our favourite hike in the Canadian Rockies — is difficult enough in August.

Did they survive?

Check the trip report by Ewen on his Outdoor Video Magazine site:

… When I awoke in the morning, I discovered the rain had turned to 4 inches of snow over night, and everything was frozen solid. A temperature somewhere between -5C and -10C coupled with the rain the night before meant people had to resort to licking tent poles to get them to collapse, and I had to spend nearly 10m de-icing the bear hanger before we could get our food down.

…

Outdoor Video Magazine » Hiking the Skyline Trail- Jasper National Park

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We’ve linked to Ewen’s trip report from our Skyline Trail information page.

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the Ipsos-Reid Parks Canada $1000 prize muck-up

If you follow this blog, you know I have no confidence in Parks Canada.

Love the Parks, distrust management.

In fact, I recommend hikers go to the American National Parks instead if they want best value. (And I live next to the Canadian Rockies.)

Yet, I credit Parks Canada for at least making the appearance of listening to the taxpayers who pay their salaries. Ipsos-Reid was hired to do a survey.

angrygif.gifIt’s been a mess. I’ve been in the survey process for months, yet I have no idea when the thing will end. Is Ipsos-Reid simply milking Parks on this? What does this survey cost?

Worst of all, Ipsos-Reid managed to further disgruntle users of the Canadian National Parks when they decided to dangle a $1000 / month prize for those taking part in the survey.

Many who received an invitation to join the survey were confused when trying to log-in to the website.

I could go on-and-on … (Backtrack through earlier posts on this issue if you are interested.)

Finally today I got this email from Ipsos-Reid which clarifies some things. And leaves many other questions unanswered:

Dear Mr. McCharles,

Thank you again for bringing this issue to our attention. There are two separate links:
www.join.parkslistens.ca is the official website for individuals who have received an invitation card to join the Parks Listens panel

www.parkslistens.ca is the login webpage for individuals who have already registered with the Parks Listens panel.

In order to clarify eligibility to participate in the Parks Listens panel and the prize draw contest, we have added more information to both web pages.

If you receive any further communication from visitors who are having technical difficulties on the http://www.join.parkslistens.ca website, please direct them to our email address parkslistens-parcecoute@ipsos-reid.com and will assist them.

Sincerely,

The Parks Listens Panel Team

You cannot join the survey without an invitation. Those you can only get by visiting the Canadian Mountain National Parks and being randomly selected.

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another reason to love flickr … NOTES

Photo sharing site flickr popularized this feature called “NOTES”. And it is fantastic.

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(Left to Right) Paiju Peak (Trango II?), The Trango Monk, Trango Nameless Tower (6,239 m), and the mass of the Great Trango (6,286 m) on the northern lateral moraine of the Baltoro Glacier in the Baltoro Muztagh Range. …

K2 Basecamp Trek
Baltoro Glacier
Pakistan
Late July 2006

Rockclimbing Hell on Flickr

Ahmad A Karim has many wonderful photos on flickr, by the way. Here’s another:

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larger original

Sunrise from the top of Gondogoro La (5620m) on a very cloudy morning.
Between West-Vigne and Gondogoro Glaciers
Baltistan District, Northern Areas
Pakistan
3 August 2006
LAS Summer Trek 2006

And if NOTES does not impress you, Alex on the photopreneur blog posted 36 more Reasons Flickr is a Photographer’s Ultimate Tool.

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scrambling Woodson Mountain, California

Have you tried the sport of geocaching?

Here’s a good trip report:

San Diego rocks!

Indians called it “Mountain of the Moonlit Rocks”, while early settlers dubbed it “Cobbleback Peak”, both names appropriately describes the rugged, boulder strewn slopes of Woodson Mountain.

However, this mountain for the past 100 years appeared on maps simply as “Woodson Mountain”, in honor of Dr. Woodson who homesteaded some property nearby over 100 years ago. …

Hiking Woodson Mountain- The Mountain of the Moonlit Rocks « Our Beautiful World at the Backroads

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cantilevered “potato chip rock” near the summit of Woodson Mountain