REI Lincoln Park Garage Sale - Chicago

REI Lincoln Park Garage Sale

When: July 26th 2009 at 9:00 AM

Where:

• 1466 North Halsted Street
• Chicago, IL 60642
• 
  

More Specifically:

• 41° 54.476' N
• 87° 38.891' W
• Cost: FREE but must be an REI member

Whats the deal?: It is time for the Lincoln Park REI to clean out their stockpile of returned items, imperfect gear and outdated stock. Typically available is all types of camping and hiking gear, as well as shoes and clothes and even sometimes kayaks and biking items. They advertise that prices for could be up to 60% off, although at a previous REI garage sale, I have seen items discounted more than that. Get there early, for a better chance of snagging the best items. Previously I have purchased a "REI Rentals" 3 man tent for $20 at the REI Oakbrook Terrace Garage Sale. I will be there this time, and I hope you are there too...but hopefully behind me in line.

REI Anniverary Sale

The time is upon us to stock up on adventuring gear. REI is currently in the midst of their anniversary sale. The sale includes 15% off of bikes, 20% off of some racks and boxes, and a good amount of items up for clearance. This sale ends May 10th. 

I am contemplating purchasing the GSI dualist lightweight cook system to go with my new single burner camp stove. Also, I may buy some Mountain House freeze dried food.

This is not a commercial for REI, but it happens to be my favorite store, and in a recession or not, it is always a good time to stock up on adventuring gear. 

Geocaching Success!

Okay, I did it, I went Geocaching to see what all the hype is about. First off I created a Geocaching alter ego---GatorCT. I then enlisted the help of my nephew and niece luring them with the prospect of pirate treasure. We biked to three separate cache locations. We had two unsuccessful attempts that may have been a result of human error, or muggles. At our third Cache location, we were able to discover the cache---a small black film canister. We signed our fake names, GatorCT and Bragonston. 

After one successful geocaching adventure, we are hooked, and have a healthy and exciting activity that will offer us another outdoor activity this summer. I think our next GPS induced outing will take place tomorrow. 

These caches are everywhere. Chances are there is probably one within a mile of where you are right now. Check it out at www.geocaching.com and participate in the hunt.

Watch out for muggles. 

Geocaching

Today, the University of Florida's student newspaper, the Independent Florida Alligator ran a story about a UF student that was involved in Geocaching as a hobby. Geocaching being searching for hidden objects, lists and treasures. Rather than using Pirate methods of looking for booty with crusty maps, modern Geocachers use hand help GPS systems to guide them on their journey. 

Why do these people do this? Not because it is pointless. They do it as an impetus for getting outside to explore new places.  To test their ability to navigate and to find hidden objects. Or as a challenge to see who can race to an object the fastest. 

Before reading this, I had heard of geocaching before, but had never given it a second thought. It certainly is not a flashy hobby, and chicks certainly will not dig it. But most girls have crappy hobbies anyway... scrap booking, cooking, cleaning, giving birth to children, etc. 

Anyway, I decided that Geocaching was an activity that I might want to try out. My brother-in-law owns a handheld GPS, and I am going to borrow it and explore this great earth one latitude at a time. In my research, I discovered http://www.geocaching.com/ which allows users to search for caches in their local area, or anywhere they may be going. I hope to have my inaugural attempt this weekend, and will keep everyone a-Breast of my explorations. 

Gear

What is it that every outdoor enthusiast dreams about when he closes his eyes? No, it is not a beautiful scantily clad female climbing partner, it is GEAR. Gear-hiking boots, sleeping bags, tents, carabiners, headlamps, knives, axes, and the list goes on infinitely. Whether it is window shopping at REI or gearing up for your next adventure with Campmor, outdoor adventurers may be just as obsessive about gear as their girlfriends are with coach purses and Manolo Blahnik shoes.

For any person with a passion for the outdoors, their cache of gear is never complete, and must evolve along with technological improvements, trip requirements, and selfish personal preferences.

Over the next few days, we are going to discuss Gear. The gear we have available to us, the gear we require, and will even outline the buying process for a few items we will buy.

 

Cheers to Gear!

Contributor Bio: Jeff Eckenhoff

• Name: Jeff Eckenhoff
• Home Base: San Francisco, CA
• Education: Graduated from University of Colorado-Boulder
• Industry: Commercial Real Estate
• Music: Bob Marley, Sublime, Classic Rock
• Adventuring Experience: Wilderness Survival, Hiking, Backpacking, Camping, Fishing, Skiing, Surfing, Rockclimbing, Mtn. Biking, Canoeing, Kayaking, Snow camping, Cliff Jumping, international travel, Eagle Scout
• Non-Adventure Hobbies: Sand between my toes or in my hair, sports gazing, lifting
• Countries Traveled: USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Australia, Thailand, England, Scotland, Ireland
• Noteworthy Adventures: Backpacking on the Kalalau Trail twice(Kauai, HI); Snowcamping (Lake Tahoe, CA); Camp Oljato (Fresno, CA); Middle Fork River Rafting Trip-5 nights (Idaho)
• Places I want to set up a tent and sleep in it: Bear Valley (CA), Pacific Coast, Mexico, Colorado Rockies, Half Dome (CA), Yosemite, Grand Tetons, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Alaska
• Where I want to travel: All over the world, definitely Germany for Oktoberfest, back to Australia, South America
• Best part about Adventuring and Travel: I love being prepared for what my travels could throw my way. Being prepared is all about having the right gear for the right situations. When I don't have the right gear, I enjoy the rush of adrenaline in surviving when I don't have what I need. It is all about getting out in the wilderness, away from electricity and tvs, and spending some time with the outdoors. Backpacking 11 miles on tough terrain to a white sand beach that can only be accessed by foot or helicopter is what I dream about...

Adventuring Blog

Adventuring Blog is a blog written by outdoor adventure and travel enthusiasts specifically for likeminded people. It is an outlet designed to create an open dialogue for the exchange of useful information. This information could include any of the following:

• Reviews of travel/camping/hiking destinations
• Upcoming, current or past experiences
• Itineraries and packing lists
• Self imposed or nature imposed survival stories or tactics
• Outdoor gear reviews
• Photos or video of locations or experiences
• Any type of outdoor or travel reccomendations
• Low impact travel or camping solutions
• Etc. 

There are currently three contributers to this project, all of which know eachother, and have had adventuring experience with eachother. We may continue recruiting a few more contributers, but for now, we will see how this set up works too start. The following is a general list of adventuring activities that the contributors have experience with. 

• Camping
• Hiking
• skiing/snowboarding
• survival
• surfing
• biking
• international travel
• trekking
• canoeing/kayaking
• white water rafting
• fishing
• snow shoeing
• trail running

Soon we will have Biographies available of the current contributors.