The video needs to load for a couple minutes before it will play, but it is obviously worth the wait. Props, Nike.
I’m pretty sure we are ripping off this idea for the upcoming Montrail sales meeting..
Author Archives: Pete Witucki
Super Natural Running
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Extra Special Shout Out
Special shout-out to the IT guy for braving the snow-covered roads and -12 degree weather to diagnose Brad’s computer problem. Turns out the screen wasn’t working because the computer was sleeping. We can’t really blame Brad, he’s a Mac-guy after all, but it is agreed that he can no longer claim the title of in-house IT support.
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Where’s Pemba?
All over this video.
Watch this clip of the Iditarod Trail Invitational from NY Times’ multimedia library, then post back here in the comments with your thoughts and an inventory of Pemba’s products. There might be a Sea to Summit eVENT Compression Dry Sack in it for the most complete list…
More on the Iditarod Trail Invitational at Alaska Ultra Sport.
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People’s Place in Parks
(originally posted on theCORgroup: Conscious Outdoor Recreation)
“A federal judge ruled Monday that the Bush administration’s plan to allow more than 500 snowmobiles a day into Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks was not in keeping with the National Park Service’s responsibility to protect the parks.”
The New York Times goes on to report that the judge contended “park planners had failed to reconcile their mission to protect the parks’ environment with the increase in air pollution, the disturbance to wildlife and the impact on visitors that the snowmobiles would bring.”
Environmentalist applauded this ruling, but I worry that the question of access is more nuanced, and we need to have a more serious discussion about what our parks and protected area mean to us ecologically, culturally, and recreationally, and what constitutes appropriate use.
Here is an example from a different perspective: American Whitewater is a paddler advocacy group that “restores rivers dewatered by hydropower dams, eliminates water degradation, improves public land management and protects public access to rivers for responsible recreational use.” They historically have been very successful in forging partnerships with other stakeholders to mutual benefit. However American Whitewater finds itself embroiled in a conflict over the Wild & Scenic Chattooga River. Many rivers with Wild & Scenic designation are open to paddlers; canoeists and kayakers are generally considered legitimate backcountry users, akin to hikers and fishers. In public comment on paddler access to the Upper Chattooga, creek boating was compared to mountain biking, adventure sports at odds with wilderness values, and ATV’s on hiking trails.
I agree that there are activities that are fundamentally incompatible with our wilderness values, and should be limited in parks and protected areas. The trouble with these debates is that our wilderness values remain undefined. ‘Wilderness values’ are interpreted by user groups to further political agendas and to exclude other users. Proponents of ‘silent sports’ are quick to fight the expansion of motorized transportation in protected areas, but without a comprehensive examination of our wilderness values – as enunciated by government agencies and the user groups – we risk more political maneuvering and inconsistent policy decisions.
The National Park Service has the mission to preserve “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” Balancing access and preservation is no easy task, but without examining what our ‘wilderness values’ really mean to us, it seems impossible.
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Wisconsin Ranked Second Most Bike Friendly State
Wisconsin continues to top the active lifestyle lists, this time a close second on the League of American Bicyclists first annual Bicycle Friendly States ranking:
Wisconsin’s second place ranking is a result of their high use of available federal funding for cycling related projects and programs, statewide counts of bicycle usage and model policies… With a thriving bicycle industry and growing advocacy movement Wisconsin looks to move to the top of the list.
We are fortunate to have such support for bicycling in the state. Madison tops the League of American Bicyclists’ Bike Friendly Communities list, and the mayor’s office is committed to improving our ranking. Statewide organizations such as the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin do fantastic work, and more than our share of manufactures call southern Wisconsin home. Planet Bike deserves special recognition, donating 25% of their profits to bicycle advocacy.
With autumn weather arriving, now is arguably the best time of the year for cycling in southern Wisconsin. See you on the bike path.
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so…sea kayaking doesn’t suck
Most of the paddling I’ve done has been whitewater canoeing and kayaking. I’ve certainly ventured out on the Madison lakes and the (mighty) Yahara River, but primarily to train for whitewater races. I’m not an adrenaline junkie, it’s just… well, maybe that has something to do with it. More to the point: I seek the pairing of ‘the outdoor experience’ with the technical and physical challenges of whitewater paddling. I find the aesthetic and spiritual qualities of ‘wilderness’ that many of us seek in our outdoor adventures are enhanced when coupled with overcoming physical and mental obstacles, and an element of risk.
That said, my work with theCORgroup – Conscious Outdoor Recreation has challenged me to consider local options for outdoor recreation. In the upper Midwest, this includes sea kayaking. Without debating if a six-hour drive to Lake Superior is a ‘local recreation area,’ I have discovered that not only does sea kayaking not suck – I could actually see myself getting into this.
For Labor Day, my partner and I joined two friends for a long weekend of paddling along Painted Rocks National Lakeshore. It was a last minute decision to join the trip, but fortunately Pemba has a warehouse brimming with camping equipment, so borrowing the essentials missing from my personal gear warehouse wasn’t a problem. It was also a chance to finally test some of the new gear whose merits I’ve been extolling during the last month of trade shows (they all met our high expectations, phew.. see appendix). Canoelover, does this make it a tax-deductible expedition?
My partner was a novice sea kayaker, but a quick study. Which is good, as we were racing daylight, a headwind, and choppy water to meet the group who had arrived a day earlier. We made it with the sunset to spare.
The sea cliffs were amazing. And the water crystal clear. Lake Superior is like the Caribbean plus conifers. Sunday we had more time to explore and poke around the arches and sea caves. The weather was perfect, and we practiced some rescues to cool down a bit.
As we broke camp and hit the water for the paddle back to the cars on Monday, I was getting some last photos of the group with the sea cliff backdrop. Lo and behold, they were joined by a cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus. (Interestingly, nesting Double-crested Cormorants disappeared from Lake Superior in the 1970′s due to toxic contaminants, but the populations have since resurged to historic highs). This fellow was heading my way, and after a couple of close-ups, opted for a more auspicious pose. ‘He’ – I need either an Audubon guidebook or a gender-neutral pronoun – hung around for a good five minutes, exploring the hatch of the Impex Force, agreed it was a lovely boat, then moved on. After a minute to collect myself, I decided definitively that sea kayaking does not suck, and started the paddle back.
Maybe Impex Kayaks will buy this picture. Alas, no logo.
Gratuitous Gear Review:
Jetboil HELIOS – Not surprisingly, it really does get the water boiling faster than any other stove I’ve used, but – to my delight – it simmers better too. Making couscous was a snap. The design raised some skeptical eyebrows when I set it up for Saturday evening, but requests for prodeals were quick to follow. For the record, I used exactly a 100gram fuel canister for 2 hot breakfasts and 2 hot dinners for four, including simmering and boiling unfiltered lake water.
Sea to Summit DRYBAGS – Not a new product, but the whole dry bag range from STS is solid. I used the ultralight ULTRA-SIL Dry Sacks, the LIGHTWEIGHT Dry Sacks, the rugged BIG RIVER Dry Bags, and of course the eVENT Compression Dry Sacks. To reiterate the company line, the Ultra-Sil bags are best for backpacking and canoeing applications (where they live inside a backpack or portage pack) – I didn’t have any problems, but for a little more weight and extra durability I’ll stick with the rest of the range for whitewater and sea kayaking trips.
Petzl MYO RXP – Petzl’s new programmable, regulated headlamp. Freakin’ bright (140 lumens). Getting the food bags up on the bear pole was simple with this floodlight. And you can program the different light levels, so I can set the first light level to the campfire-circle-friendly 8 lumens, and ramp it up from there. Looking forward to running and skiing with this lamp, but not on this adventure…
Mountain Hardwear VIPERINE 2 – This is Steve’s favorite tent in the line, and I was pleased with my decision to demo this one. Good usable space, a funky look, fantastic ventilation (especially on this 2009 model), and quick to set-up. I’m starting to get a hard time for bringing a different tent on every trip, but thus are the hazards of being a gear rep.
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