Category — hiking gear

If you’re like me, you enjoy the great outdoors, but the idea of leaving behind your precious iPod or laptop may not be too tempting. True, there are inverters that are used to plug in your home items in your car, but what about after you begin hiking to your camp out spot?

Having a charger to keep your necessities (GPS and cell phone) and valuables fully charged is ideal for everyone. Since there aren’t any convenient spots to plug in your inverter or home devices, you can use a solar charger.

This is a 15-watt solar charger from Brunton, costing just under $150. You can easily use this charger in and outside your RV or car. It is weather proof and is used to charge up 12-volt batteries and other smaller devices.

This Solio Solar Charger is small enough to fit into your pocket, but it still offers enough juice to charge up handheld items like game players, digital cameras, iPods and PDAs. Costs under $70. Take this with you while you’re on the trail.

Hitting the outdoors is always a fun experience, but some of us need our modern everyday electronics, so consider one of these solar powered items to keep your trip super charged!

It seems like every year, we hear some news report about a Boy Scout wandering away from camp and getting lost in the woods. The WorldTracker GPRS is light, compact, and slips easily into a backpack or jacket pocket. Now, parents of young campers can rest a little easier by giving their youngsters the WorldTracker GPRS.

Pet parents can also outfit their furry little ones with a collar-based GPS unit. Safety for the whole family!

We headed up to Ventura County yesterday to scope out Echo Cliffs. Partner-in-Climb (PIC) wanted to see how Big Old Dog would handle the trail before committing to a full day of climbing, and frankly, I am not quite ready to shove my nail-less toe back into climbing shoes just yet. (Yes, I know, that is not very hard-core outdoor-sy of me, but whatever. Unless I’m in some kind of competition, I don’t engage in personal discomfort unless it is an absolute emergency. :P)

But I was really up for a hike, and we had the perfect day for it. We parked at the Mishe Mokwa trail head parking lot and headed up the connector trail, then down into the canyon. The view from the trail is amazing. There were a couple of climbing parties set up on along the large wall, and another party on Balance Rock. I found this close up of Balance Rock online:

You can see it above Echo Cliffs in the first picture, but this close up gives a better idea of the kind of precarious perch the rock balances on.

PIC has climbed at Echo Cliffs before, but usually turned down a side trail to head straight to the climbing spots. We attempted to take the side trail, but Big Old Dog was struggling to keep his footing, so we returned to the main trail and followed it down to Split Rock. The main trail is incredibly accessible and easy to hike. There were a few trail runners, and we encountered several groups of older hikers who were doing fine with just a little help from trekking poles. After some scrambling on Split Rock and a quick snack, we headed back to the car. Big Old Dog seemed to make it back with no problems and was moving around pretty well today, so I think we’ll be heading back to Echo Cliffs in the very near future.

I also found a couple of cool sites while I was looking for info on Echo Cliffs and the Mishe Mokwa Trail, which I will be adding to my blogroll, but you can check them out here in the meantime:

• Rockgrrl.com
• GetBeta.com
• The (Single) GeekHiker

Here’s an ingenious way to keep your beer cold and refreshing during a long hike: a backpack cooler! Check out the whole story at Gizmodo.

I am so in love with the Garmin Colorado 400t that I have decided to start a new page on the blog to serve as my Wish List, in case Santa or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy is reading and feeling particularly generous. This Garmin hand held GPS is the perfect inaugural item for my wish list because:

a) it’s a little pricey for my budget and therefore something I am unlikely to buy for myself within the next 2 months.*

b) it is DURABLE and WATERPROOF, which is great for someone as clumsy as I am.

c) it has a ton of pre-loaded 3D Elevation/Topo maps and wireless features that let users exchange routes instantly.

d) it has an electronic compass and a barometric altimeter for really accurate readings.

What I love most about the Garmin Colorado is that it jams so many useful features into such a tiny, lightweight body. Much nicer than unwieldy paper maps that need to unfolded and refolded over and over, and protected from moisture, etc. I will keep dreaming about the day when my Garmin wish comes true….

*Unless I find a REALLY good deal on a Garmin before then.