Flameless Heating

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 23, 2008
in Gadgets and Gear
. 0 Comments

nullWhile the field of ‘heating up water’ hasn’t been begging for significant scientific advances over the years, gadget makers have been happy to oblige.

Get Outdoors got the scoop on the Heatgear Firestick, a way to heat up a water bottle to near-boiling without having to light any fires. Based on military technology, the Firestick automatically adjusts its output for various elevation and fuel levels, and even shuts itself off once the water reaches 90 degrees Celsius.

Heating up water in a gas stove isn’t the hardest thing to do, but the idea of just sticking this tube into my Nalgene in the morning and catching a few more z’s while my tea water heats up is pretty appealing. Although, as this video demonstration shows, the canisters would take up a bit of room in the ol’ backpack:



How to operate the Heatstick from Heatgear from Lighthiker on Vimeo.

The product site appears to be in the early stages, so it may be a little while before this hits any store shelves near you. But it may be worth checking out if you’re looking for new and exciting ways to warm up some H2O.

Via Get Outdoors Blog.

Garmin 24k Map Update

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 23, 2008
in GPS, Gadgets and Gear, Technology and maps
. 0 Comments

nullReader Bruce was poking around a post I did on free Garmin-compatible map alternatives from a while back. In the post, I wrote that I hadn’t bought any MapSource maps for my GPS unit for three reasons: 1. You can’t transfer maps from a National Geographic Topo program onto the Garmin units and I HATE closed systems. 2. Hiker-friendly 24k resolution for Garmins was limited to National Parks and recreation areas, and 3. They’re expensive ways to get information that is essentially free to the public … given a reliable printer and some free time.

What can I say? I’m a New Englander. I hate spending money.

Bruce was similarly frustrated — and since the free options GPS Tracklog rounded up have made little progress in making more California based maps, it appears we’re up a certain scatalogically named creek without a paddle … or map.

Garmin has been working on solving one of those problems, and may have convinced me to drop 99 bucks on some maps — because they’ve finally started releasing regional 24k resolution map packs.

Right now, they have one pack for California and Nevada, and another for Washington and Oregon, available only on MicroSD cards. There are no announced planned release dates for further packs, but we can assume (and hope) they get here quickly.

Even Cushier Camping

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 22, 2008
in Gadgets and Gear and camping
. 2 Comments

nullThat whole “recession thing” may be taking a toll on the horrible pastime of ‘glamping‘ — the glamorous resort camping trend that was all the rage last year — but it looks like gadget manufacturers are still hard at work helping our car-camping friends have an easier time when they venture into the Great Outdoors … that’s a few feet off the asphalt of their campground’s parking lot.

The Gear Junkie just wrapped up a two-part round-up on luxury camping equipment. Ten Essentials they ain’t — we’re talking things like a ten-person tent with three electrical outlets and a blender that runs on a 4 cylinder Honda engine.

Check out the write-ups for a list of things you’ll probably never, ever buy. Except maybe that water heater. And maybe the solar charger. And those pink flamingo tent poles …

Return to East Fork

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 22, 2008
in Angeles National Forest, The Great Outdoors and Video
. 0 Comments

Over the weekend, I led a small group hike down the East Fork of the San Gabriel River to the Bridge to Nowhere — one of my favorite hikes in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Over the next few days, I’ll be updating my existing post with more detailed information, pictures, and a GPS track. You know, the stuff you’d expect.

But it may be a while, as I’m in the middle of moving the Modern Hiker offices back to the Miracle Mile. While you’re waiting, please enjoy this video of one of the many bungee jumpers we saw on Sunday.

You might see me up there later this year …

Monkey Canyon

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 18, 2008
in Angeles National Forest, climbing and hiking
. 1 Comment

Last week, I came across a post from a local blogger about a place in the Angeles National Forest called “Monkey Canyon.” Not on any maps and unofficially named, the area appears to be a popular swimming hole and rugged hike for those in-the-know. It has rough canyons, big drops, and cold streams.

It looks like it would be a lot of fun to get to — if the area wasn’t nearly covered over in graffiti.

null

Regardless, this is not a leisurely stroll-in-and-swim hike. This is some serious off-trail scrambling and climbing, wading through waist-deep water in flash flood zones, and maneuvering around steep drop-offs. It is not for anyone who doesn’t know exactly what they’re getting in to — a lesson two men learned today when they were rescued from the canyon and hospitalized.

They’d both fallen off the trail — one 50 feet onto land, the other wedged between boulders in the water.

State & Lake has a post with some great information on Monkey Canyon, including some directions to the ‘trailhead’-ish area and some more warnings. Also, there’s a story about Bigfoot hiding out among the cliff-divers.

Huh. I always figured him for more of a Pacific Northwest boutique-coffee kinda guy.

Image by em crack.

Garmin Oregon First Look

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 17, 2008
in GPS and Gadgets and Gear
. 0 Comments

nullIn other hey-that-expensive-gadget-I-just-bought-is-now-obsolete news, GPS Tracklog got their hands on the New Hotness that is the Garmin Oregon.

They only had time to take it on a quick bike ride with an older Garmin 60CSx to compare accuracy, as well as fool around with the touch screen for a little bit.

Preliminary impressions look good — although it appears to still have the screen brightness problems that bothered me about the Colorado. This new unit may be worth it for vastly improved text entry alone, though.

Read the first impressions at GPS Tracklog.

Handheld HD Video

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 16, 2008
in Gadgets and Gear and Video
. 1 Comment

nullForget everything you know about low-priced handheld digital camcorders for the trail — because Kodak is about to rock your on-the-trail video-recording world.

The new Kodak Zi6 costs below $200, records 720p HD video at 60 frames per second, stores video in an SD card slot expandable to 32GB, and runs on included rechargeable AA batteries. No zoom included — but these units typically don’t have them, anyway.

Hiking magazines have gone crazy for the Flip series of handheld camcorders, and I’ll bet this Kodak model will get their salivary glands when it hits stores this September. Check the Kodak press release for more details.

Via Uncrate.

Electric Bear Canisters

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 14, 2008
in Gadgets and Gear, backpacking and camping
. 1 Comment

nullCommenter and global hiker-blogger Olivia was trolling the tubes for some new packs to write up, when she came upon this new take on the Bear Canister from Utah’s Wilderness-Solutions — the Palisade EST.

Like other bear canisters, it’s sturdy, keeps your food safe, and proven effective. Unlike other bear canisters, it shoots an electric pulse of 5000 volts every 1.2 seconds when something touches it.

The canister itself is soft and lightweight — a 900 cubic inch container only weighs in at 6.4 ounces. Even though a necessary controller will add to that weight with an extra 9.4 ounces, you’ll still weigh in at-or-below most of the hard plastic bear containers that most people use. Plus, you’ll get to shoot electricity at things, which is cool.

Not light on the wallet, though. These babies cost up to $265 bucks.

Via the wonderful Hiking Backpacks

Words of Advice

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 11, 2008
in National Parks and Monuments and The Great Outdoors
. 0 Comments

nullIf the name of an animal has the word “monster” in it, it probably won’t take kindly to being hoisted up off the ground and wrapped around your shoulders. We can all learn a valuable lesson from this man in Saguaro National Park …

… a lesson most of us probably already knew.



Looking for the Meaning of Life? Climb!

Published
by
Modern Hiker
on July 10, 2008
in climbing, hiking and motivations
. 1 Comment

nullThe next time you find yourself in a bit of a philosophical rut, questioning why we’re here and what’s it all about, you may want to put down the Tao and pick up some rope — because a recent study from New Zealand concludes mountain climbers have “a good grasp on life.”

Lee Davidson, a senior lecturer at the University of Victoria’s museum and heritage studies program, spent some time interviewing and socializing with some Kiwi climbers to find out their outlook on life. She found that overwhelmingly, climbers had “a strong sense of identity,” and that this identity most often came from having “an opportunity to test yourself in an environment where making a mistake means you pay for it.”

Focus on a singular, achievable goal is also important:

“Many said the mountain became (the climbers’) point of reference, it gave them a solid grounding, a core to life where everything else revolved around it.”

The study was also sure to note that climbers aren’t necessarily adrenaline-fueled wild men, and that most were cautious outdoorspeople who took calculated risks and learned from their experiences.

While the study focused on mountain climbers, I’m certain these same qualities would apply to the vast majority of hikers out there, too. Seeing a peak from a trailhead and then working to get to that summit is one of the most rewarding things I do — and the problems of the workaday week and urban existence rarely enter my thoughts when I’m hiking.

Have any of you stumbled upon the Meaning of Life while scanning for rattlesnakes or doing tick checks? I haven’t yet, but I feel like I’m on the right path.

Until then, I’ll just defer to DSD.

via Backpacker

Image by argreen.