J. Benjamin Eckenhoff Memorial Bike Ride

This weekend, September 12th, will be the 15th Annual J. Benjamin Eckenhoff Memorial Bike Ride. Since my dad passed away in 1994 from Leukemia, we have been raising money towards research at Stanford Hospital. We have raised over $800,000 since the start of the ride, and we only hope to raise more money in search of a cure.

The reason we chose a bike ride in memory of my dad was because he was an avid road cyclist and rode through the hills of Portola Valley, near Palo Alto in Northern California during his lunch breaks at work and on the weekends. We decided to have three routes to choose from on the memorial bike ride. There is a 10, 20, and 35 mile ride. While I have completed all three of the rides, I tend to stick with the 20 or 35 mile ride for the challenge.

The point of this ride is to gather family, friends, and supporters of my dad as well as those who want to be apart of the search for a cure for leukemia. The registration fee for the bike ride is $25 (which is tax deductible) and with that includes a Ben Ride t-shirt and a lunch after the ride.

For more information please check out http://www.benride.org/

Euro Pack on the Way: North Face Terra 60

Before embarking on my trip to Europe, I needed to get my backpack situation locked down. Looking at my inventory of camping gear, I realized that between my K2 external frame pack and my overly large internal frame pack, the job was not going to get done. So the past few weeks, I have been doing research on what backpack I want to buy for my trip to Europe. I have solicited advice from well traveled friends. One of the recommendations that I gained from them was that the Eagle Creek Truist 55L was a great pack for Europe. I looked into this option, because it is specifically designed for international travel. Unfortunately, the price point was higher than I wanted to spend at a firm $200 everywhere.

I did more research and found that both REI and North Face had models that would get the job done and that would be suitable for trips abroad, as w

ell as trips into the wild. I decided that I wanted the North Face Terra 60.

On a walk from Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood to the Loop two weekends ago, I stopped at 2 Uncle Dan's outdoor stores, the Lincoln Park REI store and a Sports Authority.

Uncle's Dan's Southport: $125.00

REI Lincoln Park: $149.00

Uncle Dan's Lincoln Park: Did not see an available Terra 60

Sports Authority: $149.00

I followed up with some price checking, a few days later, I ran(by foot) a few miles to my neighborhood Moosejaw store, where the Terra 60 would have to be special ordered and where the sales woman tried to up sell me into more expensive packs I didn't want. When I convinced her that the only pack I was interested in was the Terra 60, she looked it up in their computer system. When she told me the price($149), I told her that it was cheaper at Uncle Dan's. She thought I was an idiot and said well that is because Moosejaw has access to different colors than them.

I said, "What Color do you have?"

She said, "...Well....well...what color were you looking for?"

I then told her that the backpack comes in green, greenish, blue, blueish, and black, and that they are identical, and that there should not be a pricing difference. At this point she realized that I had educated myself and that her sinister tactics would prove fruitless.

Yesterday, I ran(by foot) to my local Uncle Dan's on Southport, and ordered a Large Blueish North Face Terra 60, and it should arrive at the store either today or tomorrow. Their sales associate also mentioned that their store has a price match policy that applies to other stores, but not online sales.

The terra 60 will be mine soon enough.

10 days until aira non-ferma, 11 days until Italia terra firma.

Surfboard Repair

While Charlie gets to travel abroad, the most exciting thing I have on my "things-to-do" list is repair a couple of dings in my Al Merrick 6'4" and my O'Neill 7'4" surfboards. While I am not a professional ding repairman, the process is fairly simple and I take pride in doing things like this on my own.

The process begins with me collecting the necessary items I need. I use latex gloves and a protective mask to keep the repair materials off of my skin as well as outside of my respiratory system. The ding repair kit I have is made by "Ding All Surfboard Repair Products". The black bottle is the resin and it comes with a smaller clear bottle which is the hardener. Some kits come with fiberglass sheets in case a larger repair needs to be made (luckily I don't need to make those type of repairs right now).

I begin by using some fine sandpaper to remove all sharp fiberglass around the area where I will be making the repair. I then take the resin (black bottle) and pour about 2 ounces into a plastic cup. I then begin to add about 10 drops of the hardener (smaller clear bottle). I use a popsicle stick to stir the resin/hardener mix for about one minute. I then begin to slowly pour a little of the liquid mix onto the area of the ding, about the size of a quarter. As I smooth it out with the popsicle stick, I clean the drips if there are any. I also am generous with the resin to make sure I cover all necessary areas of the repair. Any excess resin can be sanded away.

The resin/hardener mix will harden over night. The following day, I'll take a piece of fine sandpaper and begin to smooth out any of the bump created by the resin. The goal is to smooth out the repair as if there was nothing there at all. This will help reduce any drag that a poor repair might create in the water. This is the process of repairing a ding in a fiberglass surfboard. I do not own an epoxy surfboard, but those repairs involve a different process.

Surfing for me is an escape. The way waves are created boggles my mind and I am so fascinated by this. The feeling of standing up on a wave and riding it is indescribable. I'll leave you with a quote from David Henry Thoreau, "Launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."

Italian Solo Itinerary

On September 11th, I will depart on a solo journey through Italy that will conclude with me meeting up with friends for Oktoberfest, a short trip to Austria, and a few days in Prague. Because I am trying to explore the world without going broke, I will be staying in hostels for this leg of the trip. I booked them online, after sifting through a multitude of reviews, and even after that, it is pretty much a crapshoot. I will be happy if I do not see any bedbugs on my trip. The itinerary for the Italian portion of the trip is as below, as for an activity itinerary, I don't like to plan that far in advance. The beauty of a solo trip is that I can do whatever I want, whenever I want to do it.

September 11th: Fly from Chicago to Rome through Philadelphia

September 12th: Arrive Rome approx 8:30 AM

: Train to Naples

September 13th: Stay in Naples

September 14th: Train back to Rome

September 15hth: Rome

September 16th: Rome

September 17th: Train to Florence

: Stay in Florence

September 18th: Train to Venice

:Explore Venice for the day

: Night Train to Munich

September 19th: Arrive in Munich 6:30 AM

Hostels: Naples: La Controra Flashpackers Hostel

Rome: The Yellow Hostel

Florence: Florence Youth Hostel

Before my departure, I have some gear that I am hoping to buy. Included in this list is a new backpack(50-60 L), sunglasses, a money pouch, maybe a new Camera, and possibly some form of ultra-lite summer sleeping bag. I will keep the Adventuring Blog a breast of these pre-planning activities.

Linda Mar Surfing

Destination: Pacifica Latitude: 37.59915 Longitude: -122.50

I have become a regular at Linda Mar, a surf spot located in the City of Pacifica, in Northern California. This spot offers quite a few amenities that are not typical at most surf spots: Showers, Bathrooms, and a Taco Bell that offers walk-up service for the waterlogged surfer. This Surf spot is somewhat protected from the wind and offers a pretty consistent wave for beginners and intermediate surfers, which makes the line-ups rather crowded. The beach is a mile long with dark sand and numerous rocks scattered around. The south end of the beach is littered with rocks on the ocean floor and can present quite an obstacle if you aren’t wearing booties. I find myself here more and more because of the convenience, there is ample parking, and I know that if I wait long enough a large enough wave will come through. I learned to surf almost 10 years ago on the smaller waves of the east coast of Florida, but stopped surfing when I moved to Chicago in 2002. Seven years later I am reviving my passion for the sport of Surfing. I am working on improving my surfing skills so that I can seek adventures at more remote and wild surf spots. I intend to put together some surf camping trips near-by and eventually spread out further up and down the coast and someday travel abroad to search for surfing adventures. The next step will be a Big Sur Camping Trip, Stay tuned for updated, and progress.

Coming Soon: A New Contributor

Lately I have been relatively adventureless. I have been focusing on trying to move into a new apartment in Chicago, and have been saving my resources for the Euro Adventuring I will be doing in a little under a month.

My other contributors Brian and Jeff have had no dry spell in the adventure department, but what they are lacking is the limited effort and time it takes to write a summary of their most recent activity.

In an effort to add to both the quality and quantity of posts, my friend Brandon will soon begin contributing to the Adventuring Blog.

He is currently high atop of Machu Pichu in Peru gathering up adventures that he can bestow upon the blog here.

In addition, I will begin posting as to the final preparation for my trip to Europe.

Inspirational Thoreau Quote

" Men come tamely home at night only from the next field or street, where there household echoes haunt, and their life pines because it breathes its own breath over again; their shadows, morning and evening, reach farther then their daily steps. We should come home from afar, from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day, with new experience and character. "

-Henry David Thoreau

Walden AKA Life in the Woods

page 196

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.

Holy Roaming Empire

Yesterday I made a very impulsive decision. I read an article that basically said that anyone thinking about planning a trip should buy airfare immediately to avoid paying more as gas prices rise. I had been thinking about going to Berlin for a trip, but then changed my mind. I decided that rather than spend more time in Germany, which is an absolutely amazing country, but one that I had been to before, I would go to Italy instead.

I did some research and discovered that for people under 26 years old, STA Travel had some affordable airfare to Europe. I found a deal and immediately booked a flight for myself from Chicago to Rome via Philadelphia. I fly September 11th arrive early on the 12th and will be solo in Italy until I meet up with my friends in Munich on the 18th.

This being my first solo international trip, I am a little nervous, but also I am excited. From what I have read, traveling alone is one of the best ways to see a country, and experience the culture. Being a very social person, I don't think I will have too much trouble finding fellow budget travelers to accompany me on day trips to Vesuvius, or Capri, or Pompeii.

My itinerary is still completely in the air, but I know I want to spend some time in Naples, Rome, and maybe Venice, if I have enough time, and depending how much I want to rush myself. I still need to make a tentative travel plan, find places to stay(most likely hostels), buy a eurail pass, and figure out other the more minor details. I will post more details as I discover them, and will post an itinerary if I make one.

International Travel Update

I am still working out the details of my trip to Europe. This much I know: my friends and I will be in Munich(Munchen) Germany for 4 days of Oktoberfest, followed by a few days in Austria, and I think 3 or 4 days in Prague, Czech Republic. Because I wanted to experience a little more, and be less rushed, I decided that I would extend my vacation a little bit earlier, and do a weeklong solo Eurotrip before meeting up with them in Munich. I was about to pull the trigger on some airfare to Berlin before I realized that I might like to see Naples Italy or Rome instead. So, now I am on the verge of another decision, and will probably seek out some advice from fellow travelers, and then pull the trigger on that sometime this week.

If anyone has any advice on what I should be doing on my solo international expedition, send me an email with your input. Adventuringblog@gmail.com

Domestic Travel Adventures

I am currently in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the rock formations and mountains are tempting me to hike them, but it is 108 degrees outside, and being well equipped for a business trip, I am ill equipped for a real adventure. Although Camelback is a quite accessible, and quite do-able, I don't know if I want to push it when it will still probably be over 100 when I get done with work. But we will see.

This coming 4th of july weekend, I am planning a slightly adventurous weekend of Walleye and Bass fishing and swimming in Winneconne, Wisconsin at a friend's lake house. This is a luxurious adventure by my standards, even though I will be but one FIB in a sea of cheeseheads.

Vermillion Rafting Update

Rafting the Vermillion River--- SAT June 20th.

After a two hour drive, we arrived at the Vermillion River Rafting Outfitters. From the gravel parking lot we could see that the best of the best in homegrown rafting talent had arrived to challenge the raging rapids of the Vermillion, and they came prepared--outfitted with copious amounts of Busch Light and jean shorts, as well as perfectly groomed(see ungroomed) mullets. I could see that I was over matched. My lack of jorts, and the prominence of my teeth cast me into a world of desolation, I was not invited to take part in any of their hillbilly games, which included a game called "hey, let's harass this wild snake."

The only hope for me was to prove that I was not a greenhorn on the rapids. Once on the "class II" rapids, I could tell that immediately that I had been lied to. These rapids were only slightly wavier than bathwater, it was obvious that this was going to be a long day. Throughout the anticlimactic four and a half hour journey, we came across only two or three real drops, one of which was called wildcat rapids, in which I was almost decapitated by I leaping Asian Carp.

The scenery on the river was peaceful, but the abundance of trash, rusted out cars and tires on the river bank prompted my nephew to ask if we could come back again so that next time we could pickup everyone elses trash and beer cans. Although it was sunny and very hot, we were hesitant to submerge ourselves in the filthy brown-water rapids.

Will I raft again? Yes

Will I raft here again? No. The Vermillion river is probably more suited as a booze cruise rather than a real rafting experience. Although, I can think of better Booze cruise locations as well.

Vermillion River lovers send your hate mail to Adventuringblog@gmail.com

River Rafting the Vermillion

Tomorrow, I am most likely going to go white water rafting on the Vermillion River in Illinois, with a few of my family members. I do not know many details about this trip other than its location (Ogelsby, IL, which is a few miles south of Starved Rock), that it takes 3-4 hours, and to not get my hope up about the rapids. According to what I have heard, it is suitable for beginners (class II), and they have yet to lose one cooler. Judging by this description, it may be lame, and it may actually be some sort of booze cruise.

Having previously rafted the Ocoee river in Tennessee, which features class IV rapids, this trip will probably not compare. But what can I expect, while staying within the confines of the state of Illinois. At least I have an excuse to get out in the sun for a few hours, and have a cold one with Mama Nature.

More updates to come afer the weekend.

Inspirational Quote

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

-Mark Twain

Fee Free National Park Weekends

Here is the bad news: The economy has tanked. Your 401K is worthless, and if you have a job most likely you will never be able to retire. Here is the good news: This summer, the U.S. National Park Service will be offering a few weekends where you can bask in the beauty of our country's natural sanctuaries, and spend less of the money that you don't have.

For these weekends, entrance fees, car entrance fees, and park run tour fees will be waived, although you will still have to pay for camp sites.

Fee Free Weekends:

June 20th-21st Happy Father's Day!

July 18th-19th

August 15th-16th

There are 100 national parks on the list of participating parks, including some of the greats: Yosemite, Sequoia, Saguaro, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, Grand Teton, and Zion.

Pack up the car, and get out there!

So living in Illinois, I have basically no local options for NPs to visit this summer. But recently, I have taken on a new role with the company I work for, and I am going to be traveling frequently to Scottsdale, AZ. These frequent business trips out west, will afford me more driving distance adventure and hiking options, and will put me within cheap flight range of a lot of great places.

I need to check out the Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park. I would also like to visit my cousin Andy in Salt Lake City, as well as my brother in the bay area. We will see. The adventures will be posted.

Cosley 10K Results!

The Cosley Run for the Animals in Wheaton was my first ever competitive long distance run,  and for me it was an awesome experience. I am now completely hooked on distance running. I started the run with my friend Gene, and my brother-in law. Due to the fact that there were about 1300 5k runners and 700 10k runners all starting on the same course it was a little crowded for the first mile or so. I took this time to have a discussion on movies with my hungover friend Jordan while jogging slowly. At the end of the 1st mile, my time was around 8:50. 

After this point I increased my pace a bit and kind of got in the zone. I was on cruise control into the end of the end of the 5k. At that point a man shouted to me that my time was around 24:30. I had expected to feel like "oh crap, I have to do that again?" but I felt good, and stayed the course. At around the beginning of the fifth mile, my right knee, which had been giving me trouble in the beginning of the week, locked up, along with my right calf. FML. I pushed on, albeit at a slower pace. At the beginning of the 6th mile a girl with an enormous ass passed me up, and I decided to go Kamikazee style. For the next 1.2 miles, I sprinted. I passed tons of people in this last stretch to the finish. 

Results: 49.37.2 which was 12.8 seconds better than my goal of 50 minutes

Overall pace: 8:00 minutes per mile

Overall Mens 10k: 140/348

Age bracket: 11/18

Based on my final sprint at the end, I think that I did not leave it all on the course. It may have been a crazy cocktail of raceday adrenaline, potassium, endorphines and good will, but at the end of my sprint across the finish line I was not even tired, and felt as if I could have run a few more miles. I think this could be an impetus for me to run faster next time to try to shave some time off of my 10k PR, or maybe motivate me to train for a half marathon. 

Following this race, we celebrated by watching the USA play Honduras in the World Cup soccer/football qualifying match at Soldier Field in Chicago. This was the first time that I had seen a professional soccer match in person, and it was very impressive. I guess it was a Saturday of firsts for me. The USA won 2-1. 

Cosley Run for the Animals

For the last few month I have been training to run my first ever 10K race. This Saturday,I will be racing in the Cosley Run for the Animals in Wheaton, Illinois with some friends and family, as well as a few thousand other people. I am not trying to win the race, and I will not even be close considering that my knee has been in some pain lately, but I will finish it. I will finish it because of the free drink ticket that will be validated when I finish the race. I will keep the world posted of my results. 

This 10K is not so much an adventure so much as it is a small test of my skill and an excuse to train my body for any other adventure that may arise. 

Devil's Lake Trip

This weekend myself and a small and select group of FIBs decided to jump the border to explore the beautifully evil landscape of Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin. For those of you that don't know, FIB stands for F---ing Illinois Bastards, and is a derogatory term Wisconsinites use to describe the Illinois residents that ignore their existence during the week only to invade their state on the weekends.

We drove up to Wisconsin Friday night after we all got out of work, and arrived at the Green Valley campground at about 9 PM. We quickly setup our tents and ignited a fire, around which we exchanged stories, memories and beers.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast we headed for the hills. We drove to the South Beach of Devil's Lake and began our ascent into the park's Eastern Bluffs. Once there, Curt expertly lead climbed a face, allowing the rest of us to safely top-rope the climb. After we broke down this line up the face, we set up another route on an adjacent face. As I was preparing to repel down the cliff, it began to rain really hard. Due to the fact that climbing is difficult, and that climbing wet granite is nearly impossible, we decided to quit climbing for the day. We hiked and bluff-cracked our way toward the lake. Once there, we followed some train tracks to a semi-secluded location which allowed us the luxury of cannon-balling into the frigid water from large boulders rather than having to slowly wade in from the beach. At this point, the rain had subsided, and the sun was blazing, and it was a great day for baptising in the cold water.

That night we grilled, had a camp fire, drank more beer, and told more stories.

On Sunday morning we awoke early, and again hiked the CCC(Civilian Conservation Corps) trail to the East Bluffs, and did more climbing. While we were finishing up climbing, an older gentleman that had been watching us climb asked if he could try out our rope. Adam belayed him while he made easy and efficient work of a climb that had really challenged us. Upon his safe return to Earth, Curt asked him how long he had been climbing, to which he replied 57 years. The man was 67 years old and was in better shape than any one of us, he was a climbing machine. He went on to tell us about the horrible gear he used when he started climbing and that he gave up mountaineering because most of his mountaineering friends were dead from mountaineering. This included his brother that had died 12 years earlier in Japan, when they were both buried in an avalanche. This man whose name was Ed said that he is currently working on a few climbing projects that include a 5.13 A climb, which is ridiculous. What an interesting old dude to talk to. You know when you see an old man with a shirt that says "Old Guys Rock!". Generally speaking they do not rock, and in fact they suck. Ed broke the stereotype, and really did rock.

When we finished talking with Ed, we hiked back to our swimming spot, and did a few dives. Afterward, we decided to do more hiking. We adventured to the Devil's door, and Balance Rock, then hiked back to our car to grill in the main park before hitting the open road back to our more civilized state.

This was a really good weekend, and was a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends, and to explore the magnificent Devil's Lake. We will definitely be back at some point this summer.

Memorial Day Weekend

It is Memorial Day weekend, and it is time to get together with family and friends to honor those brave men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and the freedoms that we enjoy. 

Besides attending my local Memorial Day parade on Monday, I will also be tagging along with a few friends to Devil's Lake, Wisconsin for a few days of hiking, camping, adventuring, and rock climbing. There may also be a chance for the more adventurous of the group to be dared into cannon-balling polar bear style into the frigid fiftyish degree water. It should also be a great weekend to take time to reflect upon those that we have lost in wars long ago, as well as in current wars. It will also be a good weekend to take mother nature on a date, and connect with some old friends. 

 

In other news, Jeff is going to be going to Bear Valley California to honor fallen heroes by drinking mass quantities of alcohol with his friends. Although he will be staying in a top of the line Cabin, the opportunity to rope swing into an iceberged lake may also present itself if anyone in his crew has what it takes. 

More updates to come. 

Survival Shelter Tune-up

It is getting nicer in the midwest, and my nephew and neice wanted to camp in their backyard. So, last Friday, I helped them setup their tent for the night, which is the tent  Ibought used at the REI Garage sale in Chicago. I then constructed a shelter for myself using two medium sized tarps, a little bit of rope, a few stakes a ski pole, and the bottom half of a Chicago Cubs "W" flag pole. 

According to the weather report that I had read several hours earlier, it was supposed to rain torrentially--this I was prepared for. I think my shelter was ideally suited for rain. 

After I made cobbler in a dutch oven on the campfire, we went to our seperate shelters. After a few minutes of lightning, my sister brought in her kids for safety. But even though there was lighting cthunder crashing around the neighborhood, I felt warm, dry and safe under the protecting arms of a few old maple trees(see. Dangerous sleeping habits)

After a few drops of rain, the storm was blown away. It was blown away by a weather system with wind gusts of 40+ miles per hour, and it seemed to be coming from both the north and south of my shelter. Unfortunately, I had not had time to test my shelter in a wind tunnel. It was not meant to endure these winds. My shelter was in a state of constant flap. I was essentially sleeping in a windsock. I barely slept. At one point I had to remove some supports and create what resembled a bivvy shelter or tarp cacoon(I am currently copywriting/patenting the tarp cacoon, so do not steal my idea.) 

Shortly after this, I began to hear the old maple trees above me begin to groan, creak, and crack. I began to worry a little about my safety. If a tree limb fell on me, what would they say at my funeral? "What an idiot!" 

What had I accomplished with my life? ......not much. 

What would the newspaper say? 

 "Pretend Survival Situation turns deadly"

 "Local Idiot crushed while sleeping in tarp cacoon"

This was unacceptable. At 4:30 AM, I brought my mummy bag and thermarest inside and slept on the couch. 

When I awoke, I went outside to take a picture of my shelter, and to gather the rest of my gear. The trees were still intact. But the tarp cocoon had been ravaged by the winds. It didn't survive the night, pictures would be too gruesome to show, just imaging what a yard sale looks like. 

I learned a few things about weather reports, and shelter placement, and that wind is the main enemy of bootleg survival shelters. 

REI Fresno Garage Sale

we got an email from an adventurer in Fresno wondering when their local Fresno REI was having its garage sale. Although it is easily googleable, I decided to post the answer for them. 

REI Fresno Garage Sale

When: 6/27/2009 9:00 AM

Where: REI Fresno

More specifically 36° 50.922' N 119° 47.406' W

The details: Members only sale. Will have great used and out of stock camping, hiking, and adventuring equipment items. Arrive early (a few hours early) for best (any) selection. 

The shot at acquiring excellent gear at rock bottom prices is definitely enticing. I highly recommend checking out this sale. 

Happy brawling!

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. 

Send us your Adventures!

Adventuring Blog has gone global. According to our records, Adventuring Blog has been visited by people from around the world. Included so far in the list of international visitors are Adventurers from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Germany,Ireland, Italy, India, Chile, Mexico, Greece, Canada, Hong Kong, the Netherlands and we are especially popular in South Korea.

With visitors from around the United States and from around the world, we wanted to make it possible for other people to share their ideas and opinions with us. If you have any tips, recommendations or stories, we would love to hear them. In addition, if you have experienced an epoch Adventuring trip, write it up and email it to us, and there is a good chance that we will publish it in the blog.

The Adventuring Blog has a new email address.

AdventuringBlog@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

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.