HANOVER, GERMANY – MARCH 02: A visitor tries out the HTC Desire HD Android mobile phone at the Vodafone stand at the CeBIT technology trade fair on March 2, 2011 in Hanover, Germany. CeBIT 2011 will be open to the public from March 1-5. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Picking the Best Browser for a Mobile Phone

These days most people use their mobile phones as a way to surf the internet. In this case they want a browser that is fast and reliable. With there being a large variety of browsers to choose from it can be confusing deciding which one to pick. Here are a few things to look for when selecting the best browser for a mobile phone.

Using Add-Ons

One thing to consider when selecting a browser for android phones is if you are planning on using add-ons. For those who like having the option of adding plenty of add-ons, consider a browser that supports it. There are some browsers that not only fully support various types of add-ons but also ones that allow users to add their own touches to the browser. These personal touches include having the ability to pick a customized skin as well as special features that help to correct common typos and other misspellings that may prevent a reliable browsing session.

How Fast of a Browser do you Want?

For those users who are looking for extreme speed, it is important to consider picking a browser that offers a mini-browser. This mini-browser first compresses the information of the website you are trying to look at and takes away all of the extras while allowing you to see all of the important information. By taking away all of the extras on the page, users are able to still view the bulk of the web page but in a lightning fast speed.

Those who do not mind a somewhat slower speed and those who prefer to see a webpage as it would look at home on a desktop computer should opt for a browser that sends the entire contents of the page so users are able to see it in its true form.

No Frills, No Fuss

Users who are looking for a basic browser and are not concerned over having any options will likely find the stock browsers on android phones to be more than enough. These browsers are the ones that are already installed on the mobile phones and do not require much upkeep other than the occasional updates. These browsers are fairly fast and offer users some special options and features. Users are able to clear out their own search history as well as see popular search results making their search easier.

Organizing a system on a computer is necessary in order to use it to its full capabilities. Computers that are overloaded and messy will run more slowly, and will not be useful. Email and instant messaging can be a great way to correspond with friends, family members, or business contacts quickly. These messages can be as long or short as desired, so they can serve any purpose. A fast internet connection will also be helpful, especially for those who are working from a home office. Having to wait for pages to load can be a waste of precious working hours.

When looking at applications, desktop widgets are useful for saving time. These are smaller versions of programs that are placed as a shortcut onto the desktop, so the full version of the software doesn’t have to be run every time it is being used. They can often be custom designed and altered to fit the theme of the desktop. These programs can also be used with web design software or on personal blogs.

Using these programs will help a website to be more customized to a person’s style and desires. Updates in technology can be overwhelming, but understanding their use will help a person to work more effectively.

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Some people love to camp. Families who like the camping experience try to take advantage of camping whenever they can. They plan for their trips and they map out their hiking routes.

Obviously a camping trip takes a little more planning than a hotel trip. You are actually taking your shelter with you, the traveling hotel room if you will. Making sure the tent or whatever structure you are going to be using is ready, clean and bug free is the very first step. Airing it out for a day or so before packing it up to leave is a good idea.

If your camping trip is taking you somewhere that food is not readily available, then you have to prepared for that as well, along with how you are going to cook the food you bring.  Will you be using an open fire? If not make sure you have enough propane for your portable cooking surface. Make a supply list and check it frequently.

The unpredictable weather always presents a challenge so make sure you are prepared for anything. Keep your clothes dry in plastic bags and make sure sleeping bags can be kept dry. Take enough extras with you for an unexpected storm, who knows when that will happen? Hot days can turn into cold nights, so make sure you have enough warm blankets packed.

Camping can be a great way to see the beauty of our land that we so often miss by just driving by. Take advantage of all mother nature has to offer, just don’t underestimate her.

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Hiking, backpacking and camping are among the top recreational activities for families for the weekend or even taking a mini vacation. Anyone that enjoys spending time outdoors will have a blast on a family hiking trip. You will need to plan ahead for a few circumstances that could arise, like bad weather, sunburn and fatigue from backpacking.

When you are taking the family on a hiking trip, go over all of the camping equipment that you will need to gather. Camping equipment like tents and backpacks should be purchased before your family trip in the outdoors. Using Canada 411 to find these things is an excellent option for convenience.

Backpacking requires some strength and stamina, so you should be sure that your entire family is in physically fit condition. Starting approximately four to six weeks before your trip you should incorporate some endurance training into the family time. Once a day, you should have an hour time slot for this important step before venturing out on a hiking trip. Begin your training sessions with stretching the muscles of both arms and legs before initiating a good cardio exercise regimen. The more exercising that your family can get in, the better for their stamina on the hiking trip.

Check the weather conditions before you head out on your hiking adventure. A day or two ahead of your trip scan the weather Doppler for any rain or other possible weather hazards that may hinder your family trip. If there will be a chance of rain, you will need to carry enough gear to protect yourself in the storm.

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The nicest thing about camping is that you’re out in the middle of nowhere. You can relax and have fun – no one is there to tell you that there’s another pile of papers for you to read over. You’re free from it all. Of course there are some very basic things you need to remember when you go camping in the wild – here are some of the most important.

Test your camping gear before you go camping. It doesn’t sound important now, but when you arrive at the campground after a eight hour drive with hungry kids and don’t have a clue how to set up your campsite – you’ll realize just how important test drives are. New campers should check online for camping advise and ideas on how to make your trip a pleasant one.

Your food and you’re food – something to think about. Never keep food in your tent with you – not even a candy bar. Baggies and backpacks are not air tight and animals will still be able to smell the tasty treats. Store your food either in your car or up a tree in bear bag. As long as it is now where near you, you’ll be fine. Also keep in mind that you should never feed animals that come close to camp – they will see it as an easy meal and come back in force.

Of course, there’s much more to camping – but getting setup and avoiding animal trouble are two of the most basic and most important things to remember. Last but not least – bring that bug spray.

Searching the right campground is very important. You should spend some time and effort locating a perfect campground. It should be a place where parking your bike should not be an issue and it should also be safe from the vagaries of weather such as heat, rain or frost. The best place to search for an ideal campground is the internet.
Once the site has been found out, it would be very useful if a trip is made to the campground to have a good idea about the place and its topography. Do not zip your way through the campground. Stop, wait, pause a little and only when you are satisfied go to the next place in the campground. When you are on a visit to the campground for an inspection, always make it a point to start early in the morning. Never visit a campground during dawn or dusk because poor light may mislead you and you end up choosing the wrong spot.

While going on camping in a motorcycle, carrying luggage should be carefully planned. There is no point lugging heavy materials. But at the same time, important items like food, water, medicines, etc should be adequately stocked up.

Each and every place in the world is different and has its own beauty. To appreciate and observe that beauty one has to go out and witness it. Early morning walk will help you inhale the fresh air which lacks during the other hours of day, due to heavy release of pollution from vehicles and industries. People who work indoors should ensure that they take a walk outdoors so that you absorb enough sunlight and. Mostly the sickness is caused nowadays due to lack of physical activity.

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Just because you are camping, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get your sweet tooth on!  Forget about pre prepared, unhealthy dessert options (sorry, no Twinkies), and here are some easy to follow recipes for an after dinner treat!

Treats on a Stick

There are many desserts that can be made on a stick.  First, the apple on a stick is really simple.  Place an apple on a stick and put over the fire.  When the skin begins to peel, dip it in a concoction of sugar and cinnamon.  Place over fire until a glaze is formed.  Then, eat off the glaze and some apple, dip in the sugar and cinnamon, and cook again.  Repeat until the apple is gone!

Smores are also a common dessert that involve a stick.  Place a marshmallow on a stick and cook over the fire until golden brown.  Place on a graham cracker and add a piece of chocolate.  Smoosh together using another graham cracker as a top.  Enjoy!

Banana Boat Recipe

• 1 banana for each person
• Small marshmallows
• Chocolate chips

This recipe is great for the kids.  Cut each banana in half, leaving on the skin.  Fill the banana with marshmellows and chocolate chips on top.  Place on the coals and allow to cook.  You can also use foil on the bottom of the boats to ensure they don’t burn too much.  Take off coals and allow to cool, eat when warm.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Pie Cups

• Crushed grahams
• Butter
• Instant pudding (chocolate)
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate, nuts, fruits

First, make your pudding, chill in your cooler.  Then, melt the butter, about 1/2 cup per cup of graham crumbs.  Put a layer of the grahams at the bottom of a cup (cup cake holder) and pack down.  After, add the pudding.  Then, you can let the kids add their favorite goodies on top.  Add the whipped cream and enjoy!

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Sick of being the lone vegetarian with no good recipes to cook while camping?  Look no further!  Here are a couple that are perfect for you!

Angel Hair Pasta and Veggies

• Angel hair pasta or another kind of pasta
• Olive oil (extra virgin)
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli or another vegetable
• Basil, herbs
• Shallots

This dish is very simple — you can cook enough pasta for the amount of people in your party.  Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente (not completely soft).  From there, you cook your vegetables by heating the olive oil in a pan and adding the minced garlic, and the the shallots.  Remove from the heat and toss the oil in the pasta, then adding the finely chopped basil, tomatoes and broccoli.  Very filling and simple.

Beans on Toast

• 1 can of baked beans
• Bread
• Butter
• Some brown sauce

This is a simple dish that is perfect for breakfast.  Basically you just toast the bread, cook the beans and smear the beans on the toast (which has been buttered).  Add some brown sauce and enjoy!  Filled with fiber and protein — great before a large hike, too!

Black Bean Burritos

• Torilla shells that are the size of soft taco shells
• Dried black beans
• Taco sauce packs
• Cheddar cheese
• Peppers

First you must cook the beans.  There are many different ways to cook beans, but we’ll do the quick cook for this recipe.  Boil the water in a pot and add beans.  Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.  Warm your shells and add the beans to them, adding cheese, peppers, some taco sauce and whatever else you can find.  Remember to not cook the beans, just let them sit, you don’t want them to stick all over your pan for a difficult clean up!  You can also make variations on this recipe by making quesadillas or using other kinds of beans.

• 2 cartons of egg substitute or egg whites
• 1 can evaporated milk in low fat or fat free
• Breakfast sausage, low fat, or bacon (or both)
• 6-8 bread slices
• 1.5 cups of shredded cheese (low fat)
• 1-2 tsp of dry mustard
• Your favorite vegetables that will be sauteed with sausage
• Salt and pepper
• Cayenne pepper, if you’d like

Spray a 9 by 13 pan with a non stick cooking spray or brush on melted butter to prevent sticking.  Certain pans that are made of teflon already have non stick surfaces, but you may want to use disposables.  Break up bread into small pieces and put it in the bottom of the pan.  Cook the sausage and vegetables (and bacon) and break it up and put it on top of the bread.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with the milk, spices and cheese.  Pour it over the bread and sausage and leave in a fridge for 24 hours to set.

This can be cooked in a camper over, camp stove or on a barbeque but be careful if you are using any plastic.  If using an oven, cook on 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  On barbeque or camp stove, you can just keep checking it until the eggs seem done, since the sausage is already cooked.  Cut up into squares, serve and enjoy!

This camp recipe can also be made at home and stored in the fridge and eaten on a daily basis for up to 3 days.  Great for families with lots of kids for a quick serve breakfast.  Use healthy bread, too, with whole grains, for an extra boost.

First things first, gather all the necessary supplies.  You will need, but are not limited to bringing, a tent, sleeping bag, cooking supplies, fire starting supplies, food, drinks, bug repellent, sun tan lotion SPF 15 or higher, first aid kid, and fun games and activities to do.

If it is your first time camping and you do not want to be in a tent, you can always get a cabin or something else like an RV to stay in so you don’t have to be so close to the ground.  Bring enough food for yourself and others on the trip so you don’t have to make any journeys to get some more if you run out.  Water is a must and make sure you have plenty if not too much water on your camping trip.  To cook, you will need all those supplies, such as a pan or pot.  Starting a fire doesn’t require too much skill if you have the proper equipment for fire starting — such as an insta-log, gasoline and a lighter.  Bug repellent and sun tan lotion are important for your health, along with the first aid kit to take care of any emergencies.  Remember some fun games and sports equipment to give you something to do to pass the time, such as a Frisbee and a deck of cards.

Remember to take it slow and not jump into any situations that you have never experienced before.  If you have never hiked before, take it easy, and do not expect to backpack for five days straight, unexperienced.  Enjoy yourself and have a good time with being in the outdoors, it is your time to experience nature.  You can even keep a journal to document your trip so next time you are prepared to step it up for another great experience!

Wolves, alligators, mountain lions, snakes, and other dangerous animals make their homes in the kinds of places where you’ll be exploring. You can have a can of mace, or even a gun, but there’s no guarantee that it will be enough. You can get injured, or even killed, and your family won’t have anyone to take care of them. Even if you can’t be there for them physically, you can be there for them financially with life and health insurance. Online insurance quotes are important, and they’re easy to get. That lets you compare policies, so you can get the right one for you and your unique situation.

Don’t assume that you don’t need insurance, or that your family won’t need the financial help if something happens to you. Most people don’t like to think about their own mortality, or even becoming seriously injured, but making sure you have good insurance coverage to protect you and your family is the responsible thing to do. It doesn’t take that long to get a policy, and you can shop online and get one right from home, so you’ll feel safe and protected the next time you go on an outdoor adventure – and so will your family.

Depending on your location, your sweat level may vary, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stay extremely hydrated.  For instance, if backpacking in the South West, the air is so dry that you may be sweating boat loads, but you do not physically feel it on your skin, for it evaporates almost instantly from leaving your pores.  If this is the case and you know that it is hot outside, although you’re not sweaty, please drink as much water as possible, up to two bottles an hour.

Keeping water on your person at all times is a must.  Remember to bring reusable water bottles, as they are better for the environment, and refill them as much as possible at every stop.  If you are not stopping for many hours or even days, you may have to prepare to carry a heavy supply of water.  There are ways you can even get water from the wild and there are boiling and pill methods that you can include in your water to make even water from rivers and streams drinkable.

Some trails have wells or drinking water fountains that you can use, if you are lucky, but remember to include your water-cleaning capsules to the water so you don’t get any kind of stomach ailments from the water.  Staying hydrated is one of the most important aspects to backpacking and remember this on your next adventure!  Happy trails!

First, remember to check weather conditions before you begin to camp — preferably do not even choose a time to camp when there might be a storm lurking in the near future or, if you camp in the winter, a potential snow storm.  If there is only a chance of rain, you might as well choose to camp because one night of rain is not too difficult to bare.

Secondly, have the supplies you need to protect yourself in poor weather conditions.  Let us first discuss the need to protect your supplies, which are of utmost importance and may even be damageable.  The camping gear that you have should be enclosed in a water proof package and then placed inside of a water proof backpack or duffel, or whatever you are using to carry you items.  Electronics and valuables should be double bagged, if not triple bagged, in the same way.  You should always be prepared with a plastic or re wearable poncho that is of water proof material and you may even be able to put your backpack on underneath it.

Third, your tent should be completely water proof.  Ensure that you have the enclosed top cover on the tent securely and tightly fascend.  When you enter and exit the tent, make sure that you zipper everything completely shut because you would be surprised how one little hole in the zipper can result in a flood while you sleep.  Some tents and made cheaply and the corners end up getting small holes which in turn result in water damage — so make sure you buy a tent of high quality first and foremost — but you can always repair a tent with tarp tape or glue.

If you remember these provisions while camping, you should have a amazing, and dry, time!

Camping is a great time to bond with your friends and family members and create lasting memories. While there will be tons of memories about hiking up hills and mountains and hiking through forests and trees, it is often the memories that are created from playing camp games that will stay with you the longest.

Camp games are an essential part of any camping trip. There will be times when you will need to entertain yourself and your friends. Pulling out a small camp gaming pack will provide hours of fun and excitement. A camp gaming pack is a small bag of goodies that any camper can use to play a number of different games while they are camping. These goodie packs usually contain one or two packs of cards, dice, items to use as poker chips and even a small pad of paper and pencils to keep track of the scores. With these camping game packs you will be able to enjoy a wide range of games from spades, pinochle, Texas Hold’em poker and even canasta. You can even bring one of your foldable poker tables, and set it up right on the camp grounds.

If you’re camping in the wilderness for an extended period of time, a deck of cards can also be a handy survival tool. Card games keep your mind sharp when the isolation starts to get to you, and if you are wandering unfamiliar trails, bring a few extra decks so you can mark your trail and easily find your way back.

While it might seem a bit odd to create camping memories with your small camping game pack, it really can be the high point of a camping trip. You will be sure to have your friends and family members bonding, laughing and sharing stories in no time when you pull out those packs of cards.

Dried fruits have the type of quick energy for hiking, along with the sustained energy that comes from the fiber contained within. Anything that is sugary and sweet, like M&Ms or other candy can give the hiker a feeling of lowered energy after the initial quick energy has worn away. The spike in your blood glucose is what gives the quick energy and foods that are longer in digestion give the sustained type of energy. Choosing the right ingredients for your trail mix recipe can be done according to your taste buds and inclusion of both types of energy.

Another tasty recipe for trail mix could consist of cashews, macadamia nuts and almonds. Combine all of the nuts with pretzel sticks, mixed dried fruit and some type of candy like peanut butter bites or reeces pieces. Some people like the taste of chocolate covered coffee beans, though they add caffeine to the finished mix, so you may want to leave them out if you think you can not tolerate it. Once again, personal taste will indicate the ingredients for your own tasty trail mix.

Although the majority of people go camping in the summer, spring may be the best time of the year to go camping. In most places, temperatures are similar to summer. Days are warm, but not hot like summer; nighttime tends to be cooler than in the summer. Since most people camp during the summer, camping is often less expensive during the spring. Campgrounds have more sites to choose from, and you will have more privacy.

During the summer, most sites at a campground are full, so you may be packed in with many other campers. You can save money, have more space to yourself, and plan more impromptu trips due to campsite availability.

Although it is often more difficult to plan around kids’ school schedules during the spring, it can make a camping trip all the more rewarding. Children may need a break from school during spring, and taking off a Friday or Monday at school can make them more motivated to tackle the rest of the school year.

Furthermore, camping in spring takes away one major camping problem. Mosquitoes are the bane of most campers’ existence, and the cooler night temperatures of spring make them less common. Just use a campfire to account for the colder temperatures.

As you plan your next camping trip, consider planning it during spring. An April or May camping trip is just as enjoyable and fun as a summer camping trip, and you can save money while you’re at it.

ContentThere are few things as rewarding as sharing a new experience with your children. Camping is an activity that becomes even more fun when you do it with your kids. However, it requires a bit of extra planning to take your child with you on your camping trip. Learn how to prepare yourself and your child for an exciting camping adventure.

First, ensure that your child is interested in camping with you. Some kids hate the outdoors, to the point that they aren’t even open to trying something like camping. If this is the case, you may want to work your way up to a camping trip. Start with a hike, a campfire, or spending the night in a tent in the backyard.

Be sure to choose a family-friendly campground for your camping trip with your children. Don’t choose a campground that allows open alcohol bottles, markets to party people, or serves alcohol at night. That’s the recipe for a disastrous trip with your child. Instead, choose a campground that has kids’ games, a shallow pool for kids, and different arts and crafts activities for children.

Plan a short camping trip as your first trip with your kids. A camping trip that lasts a full week can be too much for kids, especially if they decide early on that it’s not fun for them. Go for one night or for a weekend. Even better, plan your trip at a campground close to home. If they get homesick or uncomfortable, you can return home if it’s what will make them feel better.

You can create a fun family tradition of camping. It all starts with your first camping trip with your children. Plan a trip that’s short, close to home, and full of kid-friendly activities. They’re sure to look forward to the next trip!

There are various manufacturers that carry camping coffee makers. Coleman makes almost every camping product and they do make a stovetop coffee maker, as well. It sits right on top of the camp stove and brews ground coffee quickly so you won’t have to wait long. Once the coffee is brewed, however, it will not stay hot unless you put it directly into a thermos.

Another type of available coffee maker for outdoors sports activities is the French press. Simple to use and convenient because of the small size, you just add some course coffee grounds and hot water. Within about four minutes or so, just press the grounds all the way to the bottom and enjoy an excellent cup of coffee. There are options available with two cups that stack inside each other for sharing the morning coffee experience.

You can buy the Mugmate Coffee Filter and have coffee in any standard mug in minutes. The lightweight feature is a bonus when hiking and backpacking because it only weighs about an ounce. Whether you are on a camping or backpacking trip, it is so compact that it will not add much to the load. There is an espresso maker made for the stovetop while camping also. It is lightweight, durable and makes wonderful espresso in just a few minutes.

Tools that might come in handy for the unexpected include things that come in most small tool boxes. A hammer, wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers are important for being prepared. A socket set might be needed if something requires a certain size socket. Add a few various sizes of nails and a good pair of scissors for your tool supply to be ready for the trip.

A repair kit can consist of things like rope, bungee cords, wire, superglue, nylon twine and duct tape. Yes, duct tape is known for coming in handy for fixing most things, so don’t let your repair kit be without it. A small box should be able to hold all of the contents of the repair kit, possibly to even fit inside your tool box.

First aid might be the easiest one to assemble. Think of any possible medical issue that could arise and place the items together in your kit. Headaches, scratches, cuts, sprains and bee stings are common when camping, so start with acetaminophen or ibuprofen, antibacterial spray or lotion and calamine lotion. Add some tweezers, band-aids, gauze, ace bandages, thermometer, needles and adhesive tape. If you have them on hand, you can include medications such as Benadryl, diarrhea medication, laxatives, antacids, antibiotic cream, cortisone cream, eye drops and sunburn cream or aloe gel. It might also be helpful to carry some cold medicine in case someone gets sick while outdoors on your camping trip.

Anytime that the experience of hiking and outdoors adventures goes beyond our own knowledge and control, there are chances of mishaps. The best thing is to be self-reliant and self sufficient before you even plan your trip. Hikers and mountaineers should know how to prepare for the trip, recognize possible dangers and prevent the need for emergency assistance. Your map reading skills and survival intuition will be a couple of your best tools to take during your excursion. Electronics cannot be fully relied upon when it comes to safety in the outdoors. Many things can go wrong with devices like GPS and even cell phones, so it is best to be prepared before beginning your journey.

The unlimited battery life is another reason that the device could prove unreliable when you need it the most. If you were in the middle of an adventure through caves and caverns when your device lost battery, you would have to figure your way to your destination without it. It is recommended that you pack an extra amount of batteries, in case they start to lose their charge. Of course, this will depend on how much equipment that you have already packed because the batteries will add a bit of additional weight.

In other words, the two old sayings are correct; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a predicament, lost in the wilderness, wishing you had been smarter and safer so that you didn’t end up sorry.

Campfire songs can be an important part of the fun with kids. If singing isn’t their style, then it may be simply sitting around the campfire under the stars at night with the family. No matter the activity or none at all, spending family time around the fire will bring many memories that will last their lifetime.

Swimming in the lake or reservoir is something fun to do outdoors with the family. You can bring floatation devices for younger children and spend an entire day there. Inner tubes are always fun to relax in the water on a hot sunny day. Don’t forget the sunscreen though or the sunburns may put a damper on the outdoor fun.

Bike riding is another excellent thing to do with your kids while you are camping. Many trails are made just for cyclists to ride safely off the roads. Many of the campgrounds have bike rentals if you did not bring enough bikes for the whole family. Teach them bike safety before your day of bike riding and rent helmets for the younger ones, if you’d like. Leisurely bike rides can be perfect for family time during your camping trip.

Horseback riding can be another outing for the family in campgrounds that offer stables and horse rentals. You may not want to try this activity with small children, though teenagers seem to always love horses and riding.

Photography should be included throughout the overall trip. Taking pictures of all the activities during the camping adventure can give visual memories for their scrapbooks or family albums.

The panel loading type of daypack is fastened with a U-shaped zipper around the front of the pack. When it is unzipped the flap falls completely open for full access. The wider opening pack allows for more organization when you are loading your gear and when you are looking for specific contents. Many students use this kind of pack for their school books and supplies, as well as trip leaders and parents.

The top loader type has a simple opening at the top of the pack that is secured with a drawstring or sometimes a zipper. This kind of daypack can be great for hiking with extra gear because it can be stuffed to capacity with such things as shoes, ropes, helmet and rack. There are also a few that include both options of a top loader and panel loader all in one daypack.

Choose the right size daypack for your purpose. The bigger capacities of about 40 liters are good for the trip leader that may need to carry more gear than the others. Primarily, the 30 liter multi-sport daypack is sufficient for most hikers and campers.

Think about what your standard load of equipment will be and find packs with specialized features like daisy chains, crampon patches and ice axe loops. Depending upon what you will be carrying and the amount of time that you will spend hiking, you might want to consider the kind of daypack that carries a couple of fresh water bottles so you won’t get dehydrated on the hike.

It’s like being on an adventure with the bongo drums and xylophones in the background. You’re wearing that snazzy Hawaiian shirt with the colorful prints and your cool shades, and the truth is you feel like one of those happy secret agents or business playboys who love to live the high life. Let’s say, too, you appreciate nature and all the unique, exotic animals of the world. You appreciate lifein all its natural glory! You’re not about the concrete jungle; you’re about the wild frontier. Forget the concrete. Go with the grass.

That’s the heart of Long Beach, California, folks. If you like to hike, the rush of walking the Earth on your terms–not trying to hop on the number 17 bus to get to your office job cubicle in time–and being close to nature, you’ll find that numerous trails exist in this beautiful town. Witness the beauty of all the wildlife, like the seals and gulls. Long Beach has an abundance of nature. It’s basically one giant wildlife preserve, only there are no cages. Do you want to witness some of the most intense creations of nature? Check out the tidal pools. It’ll remind you of how human you are. Sometimes that’s a healthy thing to remember.

Consider Long Beach property management for details on renting a good quality condo at a decent price, because everyone and anyone would love a summer home here in Long Beach. Think of the ramifications if owning a pet, such as a dog–most hotels don’t allow that! So why subject yourself to disappointment? Consider an inexpensive alternative in luxury housing. It would be your place; there would be no “checking in.”

Are you ready for the hike? Do you want adventure? Then Long Beach is the journey for you. The sun, nature, and freedom awaits your arrival at this sunny destination.

1. Make sure your tent is big enough to accommodate all of your family. Bring sleeping bags, pillows, blankets and air mattresses for all.
2. Towels are sometimes forgotten. Bathing and swimming will require towels for drying yourself off, though many times it isn’t considered before you set off for the trip.
3. Hand soap or sanitizer for keeping the camping atmosphere from making you feel so unclean. You can buy wet wipes for quick freshening up.
4. Insect repellent or citronella candles for warding off any unwanted bug bites. Taking along some Benadryl in case you do get a bee sting or some mosquito bites might be a good idea too.
5. Handheld flashlights, plural. You can never seem to have enough flashlights when you are camping and it’s a good thing to have a stationary camping light on a picnic table, as well.
6. Fire starter of some sort. Dryer lint works wonders with starting a campfire, as does corn chips. Strange, but true, these have been known to help the best campers.
7. Waterproof matches, if you aren’t going to try starting the fire with sticks like in scouting.
8. Multi-purpose tools are great to have along. One that has several tool items attached will lighten the amount of tools to bring.
9. Zipper bags or sandwich bags are handy for packing trail mix and other snacks for the day’s events.
10. Shower shoes or flip flop sandals are an essential item that most people don’t think about. Not only are they quick to slip on, they are good protection from germs in the shower.

It is a fact in the news today that people actually take more chances with their lives when they feel that there will be a cell phone signal for rescue. It is easier to be careless or even take unnecessary risks when you think that you have the cell phone as a back up. The sad truth, however, is that there is no guarantee that the signal will reach to backcountry hiking or wilderness trails. You could be lost for days, smother from heat exhaustion or freeze to death in an avalanche if you were to rely on an unreliable signal for help.

Here’s some advice for using a cell phone for help, if it is necessary. Be sure that you know the location and name of the area in which you are hiking. Within the first minutes of the call, state this information clearly. The signal could fail at any minute, so this information is vital to be communicated as soon as you get an answer. It is also advised that you take the ten digit phone number to the park office or ranger station where you will be camping, in case of disconnection with the 911 dispatchers. Lastly, try to pay attention to the surroundings like things that you would have to describe to a rescue team to locate you quickly.

If you are camping or backpacking during the cooler months, you could opt for a hot cereal to start the day. Hot mush, grits or instant oatmeal are wonderful for a quick breakfast with nutrition. Dried fruits can be added to almost anything for better flavor. Raisins are great snacks by themselves and can add a perfect touch to snack mix, trail mix or your morning cereal for hiking nutrition. Dried fruits also give you an added bit of sustained energy for the day ahead. As long as you have the boiling water going, you could pack some instant coffee to have with your breakfast that morning too.

Certain types of bread will keep relatively well while backpacking and hiking, so adding butter to cinnamon raisin bread would be a good option for breakfast. Bagels or English muffins can be brought along as well. Truly, there are numerous options for having a good nutritious breakfast while you are camping and carrying a large container of milk isn’t necessarily a requirement.

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Thunderstorms and lightening can be very damaging and frightening when you are in the middle of enjoying some outdoor activities, like camping or hiking. Following some advice for taking precautions and learning things to do to protect yourself can save your life during a thunderstorm.

You should always bring some decent rain gear because there is commonly a chance of getting caught in rain while camping. The unexpected weather is where you will need to have a few pieces of information for your safety. If there is a tornado warning while you are camping, the park rangers will arrange for your safety inside a shelter house or basement of the management office. Thunderstorms and lightening are the worst conditions for being outside and not getting into shelter fast enough. It is advised, however, to get inside of buildings or a hard top car until the weather is better and lightening clears the area.

If you happen to be caught outside during lightening, it is important that you follow a few simple rules. First of all, most people think that crowding together would be advantageous. It is actually the worst thing you could do. On the contrary, spread out far away from each other so that it lessens the chance of being hit by the lightening strikes. Crouch down as close to the ground as possible without loosing balance and having to put your hands to the ground. Wrap your arms around your legs and lock them together. Keep a solid footing with both feet on the ground at the same time, otherwise you risk letting the electricity enter one foot and exit the other while passing into your entire body. Standing on your ropes or even grass can serve as insulation. You should never lie flat on the ground, so be sure that you are crouched properly.

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Electronic handheld games and iPods are primarily the choice for entertainment among young people these days. Though when backpacking, those things simply add extra weight to the packs. It is an unheard of idea in these times of technology that the imagination should be pulled out of hiding for actual brain use for entertainment, but the following suggestions can help you come up with some really fun backpacking games.

Other than a few natural items that will be necessary, you will only use your imagination and creativity. Several good games require nothing but some dirt or sand with a stick or two. Like tic-tac-toe, for example. All that is necessary is sticks for two players and the grid drawn into the sand. Draw the grid which looks like the number sign; two lines horizontal and two crossing ones going vertically. Each player takes turns making either an X or O in the squares until someone gets three in a row or a ‘tic-tac-toe’.

Another good camping game is one where you try to get five in a row. You will need to draw a ten by ten grid and each player takes turns writing his initial in one square per turn. The point is to maneuver your initial into five spaces in a row, while your opponent tries to do the same. Diagonals do not count in this game, so the first person to get five initials in a row will be the winner.

Mental games require absolutely no gathering of elements and can be played while hiking or sitting around the campfire. Some of these games can be guessing games like the bumble bee game. The phrase goes ‘bumble bee, bumble bee, I see something you don’t see, and it is blue’ or green or red; whatever color that describes what they want you to guess. The one that guesses correctly gets to be ‘it’ next.

To ensure that you and your partner have fun on your camping trip together, be willing to compromise. This is particularly important if one partner has been camping for years and the other partner is new to camping. Start with a short trip together to ensure that both people have fun. Another factor to compromise on is where you sleep. If it is the first camping trip for one of you, sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent might be too much of a shock. Instead, consider sleeping in a camper or a yurt. A yurt is a Mongolian-style hut that is a bit less rugged than a tent.

Find a campground that has couples-friendly activities. A campground located on the waterfront is perfect, since there’s plenty of space for romantic canoe trips and sunbathing. Additionally, a campground with camp sites that aren’t too close together is a preferable choice. If the camp sites are practically on top of each other, it’s hard to sit with your honey and have romantic fireside talks. Look at a campground’s marketing to determine if it’s a good place for couples. If there are lots of activities for children, keep looking. Rowdy kids aren’t conducive to a romantic camping trip, especially if you’re looking for a weekend away from the kids!

Most importantly, have fun with your partner. Eat s’mores, sleep in, and unplug yourselves from technology. A break from answering emails, texting, and taking phone calls is fun too. This can make for the perfect camping trip for you and your partner.

ContentWhat is it about trail mix that makes it such a great hiking snack? It’s all about what you choose to put in. The great thing about trail mix is that you can use your own favorite combination of ingredients, but always be sure to include the ingredients that provide exactly what your body needs to keep you moving on your hike.
Nuts are a great base to any trail mix because they are high in protein which fuels and repairs your muscles. One cup of peanuts provides about 55 grams of protein, while the same amount of cashews has about 20 grams. Almonds are also quite high with about 40 grams of protein in one cup. Use a variety of mixed nuts and you are likely to get 30 to 50 grams of protein in each cup.
There is a huge variety of dried fruit available and it is an excellent addition to your trail mix because of both the vitamins and the sugar that it provides. Raisins are a perfect fruit to add because they contain calcium, iron and Vitamin C. They also have a fairly high level of natural sugar and protein (about 5 grams in one cup). Other dried fruits, such as bananas, apricots and cranberries will also offer vitamins, natural sugars and are low in sodium.
Sunflower seeds are a common ingredient in trail mix and they provide many of the same nutrients as nuts. They are high in protein, with about 30 grams of protein in one cup. They also are packed full of important vitamins and minerals. Pumpkin seeds, as well as being vitamin filled, also provide important anti-oxidents.
To top off your trail mix, consider adding something sweet, such as chocolate chips or yogurt-covered raisins. Your body will use the sugar as fuel and they will keep you reaching in the trail mix bag for more!

ContentGrocery shopping for camp food should be exciting. After all, when else do you have an excuse to eat sugary, fun foods every day? Everyone has their own camp food favorites, but there are some essentials everyone should have.

First, you have to have graham crackers, chocolate candy bars, and big marshmallows. S’mores are such a big part of camping that leaving them out almost feels sacrilegious. Be sure to bring extra marshmallows; you never know how many you’ll accidentally burn!

Grilling is a standard camp activity, so take advantage of it by bringing good grilling foods. Hamburgers and hot dogs are musts, as well as the buns and condiments that go with them. However, you should also consider bringing corn on the cob. Cooking corn on a grill gives it a nice, smoky flavor that you just can’t get at home.

Corn can also be cooked in foil. Camp potatoes are also a perfect choice for foil cooking. Bring a potato for each person, cube the potatoes and add salt and pepper. Wrap tightly in foil and place foil packet over coals. You’ll soon be enjoying delicious, salty camp potatoes that go with breakfast or dinner.

Staying hydrated is important for campers. With how busy the days and nights get, dehydration is a way to end a camping trip early. Bring lots of bottled water. If your group doesn’t care for the taste of water, bring some individual stir-in packets of juice, lemonade, and Kool-Aid. If you have the space in your cooler, bring some soda as well. You may need the caffeine to get through your camping trip!

The food is one of the best parts of camping, so don’t short change it. Bring lots of food that’s easy and quick to prepare, as well as a large variety of snacks.

As early as possible, plan the days that you’ll be taking your camping trip. During busy season, campgrounds fill up very early and very quickly. The earlier you pick your dates, the better selection of campsites you can select from. Waiting too long can get you a bad campsite, or worse, no campsite at all.

Make packing lists early, especially if you are camping with children. Nothing ruins a camping trip faster than having to go home because you forgot a toothbrush, glasses, or tent poles. Even better, give each person their own individual packing list. As they pack each item on the list, cross it off.

Stock up on delicious camp food. Camping is a vacation, so feel free to splurge on foods that you usually can’t afford or don’t allow yourself to eat. Sugary sodas, candy, and s’mores are all camping staples. Ensure that you have enough food storage for whatever you bring; not having a cooler can leave you with warm sodas.

Shortly before leaving for your trip, check all of your camping gear. It is far too easy to leave out an essential tent part and have no place to sleep when you’re camping. Check your cell phone and ensure it has a full battery; if there’s an emergency, you don’t want to be more than a phone call away. Write down the address of the campground as well as your camp site number. Have everyone in your group carry it on them at all times; if there’s an emergency, they’ll need that information to get help quickly

Imagine how much extra time you would have if you were able to schedule all of your classes online and then take them there as well. No more worrying about what to wear, worrying about the weather or knowing you have another engagement to attend. With taking classes online, you can almost go to class whenever you wish. Most of the time you may have to complete an assignment or test by a certain date, but that’s it for the most part. No more hurrying to class so you won’t be late or notifying your instructor that you’re not feeling well and will have to miss class. That certainly takes the burden off of you.
Classes from home are also great for those that have disabilities because it’s done right from their computer. Just imagine the next time you’re getting ready to go to school, trying to find a parking space, making sure you’re there on time and carrying heavy books that you could be sitting at home in your pajamas in front of the computer and accomplishing the exact same thing. At home you can listen to whatever background music you want, take a break whenenever you please and let the pets in and out if you need to. Now wouldn’t that be the ideal situtation?

One of the incredible things about hiking is the wildlife that you might see along the way. Because you never know what you might see, it is an excellent idea to bring a good quality camera with you on every hike so you never miss a great shot.
There are many options for cameras that range from an inexpensive pocket camera to a professional camera with removable lenses. Choose a camera that suits your needs and your level of experience.
There is a large selection of digital cameras on the market that are portable and still take great shots. The advantage of a digital camera is that you can take many shots without worrying about using up your film. They also photograph quickly and will automatically adjust for light and distance. Get to know your digital camera before you take it on a hike. Know where the zoom is and how to change the light and zoom settings.
Many cameras offer a “macro” option that focuses on objects at close range. This is a great function to use when shooting flowers, insects or other objects extremely close up. Play around with the function and take shots with it on or off to see which you prefer.
There are also setting for shooting in low light on most cameras. This is a great function to use around dusk, but often it will only work well with the camera on a tripod. If you find yourself needing this function on a hike, try using a tree stump or balancing your camera on your backpack for a steady shot.
When hiking with your camera, always take the necessary accessories. Buy a good waterproof case for you camera that seals securely. This is an investment that will save you money in the long run. Also pack a spare memory card as a back up. This will allow you to catch every memorable moment on your hike.

To prepare for your skiing trip, show your child skiing videos on a video sharing site. Don’t show them videos of extreme skiing; this might scare them and overwhelm them. Show videos of beginning skiers doing moves that are manageable for your child. This can empower them and help them begin mentally preparing for skiing.

Research the ski options in your area. Some are geared for hardcore skiers, with little or no thought given to beginners’ ski hills. Look for a ski lodge with an abundance of instructors, a variety of bunny hills, and beginning hills that help new skiers learn the ropes. Having different bunny hills for adult students and child students can help kids not feel self-conscious when they are learning.

Make the whole day a fun trip for your child; instead of just going straight to the ski hill, wake up early and go out for breakfast. Listen to their favorite music in the car and then be patient with them when you arrive at the ski hill. Prepare yourself for a day of going up and down the beginners’ ski hill, and then spend as much time with your child as they need to feel comfortable and safe. Rushing them, acting impatient, or trying to push them to a more advanced hill are sure ways to kill their interest in skiing.

Developing a love for skiing in your child is an easy task if you work with them. Enjoy the learning process as much as the end result; they’ll appreciate your patience and look forward to skiing with you.

Exercising outdoors has several benefits for your mind. First, exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals that make you feel happy, relaxed, and less anxious. The release of endorphins can help clear your mind and make you more able to tackle anything that’s on your mind.

Being outdoors can alleviate depression symptoms. Seasonal affective disorder is a disorder that is caused by the lack of natural sunlight during winter. The effects of this disorder are mimicked in the minds of people who do not spend enough time outdoors in natural light. Spending more time outside leads to a generally better mood and overall lessened symptoms of depression.

A known factor that contributes to depression, anxiety disorders, and other mental health problems is an unhealthy thought pattern. These destructive thought patterns are exacerbated by a lack of vitamin D and a lack of endorphins. Getting outside solves both of these problems; furthermore, a change of scenery can often be enough to shake up unhealthy thought patterns.

A pleasant side effect of outdoors exercise is the effect it has on your body. It can make you look better, and as a result, make you feel better about yourself. Stronger self-esteem and self-confidence can make all the different in your mental health.

Clearly, there are many mental health benefits to going for a long hike or run. With the mental benefits and the physical benefits of outdoor exercise, there are many great reasons to choose an exercise and get to it.

One of the most important things to bring is water. You never know how far you’ll be from a safe source of drinking water, so bring as much water as you can comfortably carry. Inflatable water bottles are perfect for this; although they hold their shape like a regular bottle when full, they lie flat when empty. This saves space in your bags.

A hiking backpack is the perfect tool to sort all your hiking gear and carry extras of everything. Keep your gear as well as clothing within your bag. Pack enough clothing to be prepared for sudden weather changes; this is particularly important if the area you are in is susceptible to sudden heat waves or cold snaps. You should also have a pair of high-quality hiking boots to go with your hiking clothes.

Energizing foods are a hiking staple. Granola, granola bars, dried fruit, and trail mix are all healthy foods that are packed with nutrition. Don’t bring junk food or sugary, salty snacks; they’ll just drag you down and keep you from feeling your best. Bring enough to cover you if your hike happens to go longer than intended; it’s better to have food left over than to run out.

Being prepared for a hiking trip is incredibly important. It helps you stay safe, be prepared for any emergencies that come up, and have enough supplies for your fellow hikers. By bringing the right gear and supplies to your hike, you are doing everything you can to stay safe.

Despite its colorful name, Hell Hole reservoir is a beautiful and enjoyable place to camp. It was described by 1913 visitor and author George Wharton James as a “paradise”, filled with “delightful surprises”. The three and a half mile long artificial lake is maintained by the Upper Hell Hole Dam and divided into three distinct sections: Upper Hell Hole, the Narrows, and Lower Hell Hole.

There are two campgrounds; the first, Lower Hell Hole, is home to a ranger station and a paved boat launch area, which is the only point that has vehicle access. The second campground, Upper Hell Hole, can be reached in two different ways: by boat, or by hiking three and a half miles on a trail several hundred feet above the water level. The latter promises a spectacular view in the process, with the trail going across the breakwater of the dam.

Camping at Upper Hell Hole is free; there are 15 campsites and two pit toilets, but no trash service, so be sure to bring a secure container to hold your garbage during your stay. Streams and creeks are abundant near the campsites, particularly during snowmelt in the spring. The three-tier campgrounds have steps carved into the granite to navigate between them, and camping is allowed wherever the wild terrain will allow boat landings along the lake’s shoreline.

For a fun day on the lake, visitors can canoe, kayak and ride small motor-powered boats. The tendency toward high winds during the afternoons discourages visitors from outright sailing. Due to the small number of campsites, the lake is rarely crowded, even in the height of summer. There are numerous small granite “islands” to explore on the lake, as well; depending upon what time of year it is, they may appear larger or smaller. The peak month for high water levels in Hell Hole reservoir is May, after which levels start to gradually go down again.

Getting out into the wilderness is just great! It’s absolutely wonderful to wake up in a cozy sleeping bag and just breathe in the crisp mountain air. There’s just nothing like it! Here’s a few basic tips to make your camping trip eventful and fun.

Leave the Luxuries at Home

Whether it’s your Chopard diamond ring or your laptop, there are just certain things you don’t want to worry about when you are camping. If you have expensive jewelry on, you’re less likely to really get down and dirty in nature. Plus, what’s the point of being secluded in the mountains if you’re just going to watch movies on a laptop. Leave it all at home and just enjoy the trip.

Pick a Good Site

Just like in real estate, it’s all about location, location, location! You don’t want to be camped right by the bathrooms because people will be tramping through your camp all the time. Plus, the smells and sounds coming out of them are none too pleasant either. You also don’t want to be too far away from a bathroom, especially if you have little ones. You also need to look at the tree coverage for the sites. You want to be able to have some shade throughout the day, so make sure you’ve got some good sized trees around you as well.

Make Sure You Bring the Essentials

You are supposed to be roughing it, but there are a few things you cannot live without. Toilet paper is a big one. We take for granted that our bathrooms will be supplied with paper, but sometimes that’s not the case. Bug spray, sunscreen, and other toiletries are also a few must haves. Lastly, make sure to pack clothes for different temperatures. The days can get hot in the summer, but the temperature drops quickly after the sun goes down.

Classically cone-shaped, majestic Mount Shasta is not only nearly 10,000 feet tall, home to seven glaciers and numerous myths and legends. It’s also a dormant, yet active, volcano. Dormant because it has a history of only erupting once every 600 to 800 years; active because the fumaroles–small vents in the ground that let out steam and air from volcanic chambers beneath–on the mountain tell us that it’s still very much full of hot magma underneath.

Mount Shasta’s last eruption is speculated to have happened around 200 years ago; the speculation is based upon an account by French Navy explorer La Pérouse in his journal after observing the volcano erupting offshore of California from his ship in 1786. If this was indeed an eruption of Mount Shasta (for no other large volcanoes are anywhere near where La Pérouse observed the eruption), and if the pattern holds true, then the volcano will erupt again in around 400 years’ time. Not anything to cancel your vacation over!

Mount Shasta is notorious for having steep climbing trails; inexperienced climbers frequently must be rescued after taking on a climb more dangerous than they can handle, so if you are planning on attempting to reach the summit, be aware that it’s not a beginner-level kind of climb. Most popular (and involving over 6,000 feet of vertical gain) to climb is Avalanche Gulch, also known as the John Muir route. Obstacles in your path if you take this route include danger of rockfall (hence the name “Avalanche Gulch”), numerous snowfields and moraines, and a bergschrund.

To avoid the avalanches and other pitfalls of the John Muir route, Casaval Ridge and Sargents Ridge are your best options, especially during the winter months. There are hiking trails around the base of the mountain, too, if the summit isn’t your goal and you’d rather enjoy the atmosphere without as much of the risk. Thanks to its snowy, steep peaks, Mount Shasta is also a popular destination for back country skiing. Experienced skiers may choose the steep upper slopes, while the less-daring can still enjoy the mountain with less-angled slopes further down.

Mount Rainier is one of the largest mountains in the North American region. It stands at close to 14,400 ft above sea level and is located southeast of the Seattle area. Any mountain climber that has ever had a desire to climb one of the fiercest and most dangerous mountains should consider hiking somewhere on Mount Rainier.

Mount Rainier has over 300 miles of set trails all along the mountain that hikers can enjoy. Since the mountain is located in the northwest of the United States the majority of the hiking trails are open from late May to early September.

You’ll never know what to expect when hiking in this area. There is a wide range of weather and outdoor scenery that can be experienced when hiking along Mount Rainier trails. For example, if you are hiking along the trails in late May you are likely to get beautiful views of the glaciers and snow. If you head to the trails in September, you’re likely to encounter low areas of fog, rain and the beautiful leaves changing colors.

A special trail known as the Wonderland trail, allows hikers the unique opportunity to hike all around Mount Rainier. This hike takes anywhere from 10 to 14 days but allows hikers the unique opportunity to experience every part of Mount Rainier, as each side of this mountain has a different landscape, views and scenery.

Hiking along the designated trails on Mount Rainier does not require any special types of permits. However, if you are a hiker that enjoys going off the beaten path, then a permit is required from the National Parks Service. This is to prevent too many people from hiking in what is known as the back country of Mount Rainier and it allows the environmental impact of these hikers to be reduced.

If you’re looking for a challenge, consider taking a hike along one of the United State’s most dangerous mountains, Mount Rainier.

It’s common to bring pets on short hikes.  However, if you’re looking at a trip that will have you going higher or further than usual, you will need to be careful.  This doesn’t mean that you can’t take your pet—simply that you might need to make a few adjustments.

The most important thing you may have to do is allow your pet to adjust to the higher altitude, particularly if you will be climbing higher than you normally do or if you start out from an already high altitude. Pets can react to changes in altitude just like people can, so you need to take this into consideration. You may need to start out slowly, and increase your altitude gradually.

The next thing you will need to do is determine if there is the chance that weather extremes can occur. Even at a few thousand feet, it may be several degrees cooler than the lower elevations, so you may need to pack an extra blanket or other protection for your pet.

Is your pet going to be walking and climbing with you, or will you be carrying it? If it’s the first, make sure your pet’s paws are in good condition, especially if the terrain is rougher than what they are used to. If you will be climbing high enough to encounter snow, remember that pets’ paws can become frostbitten just like human extremities.

Don’t forget to carry plenty of water. The thin air at higher altitudes can sometimes lead to increased thirst.

Before you leave, make sure your pet insurance is up to date, or take some out if you haven’t already. This way, you will have coverage should your pet become injured while mountain climbing with you.

When it comes to hiking and climbing mountains most people have heard of the more traditional mountains. There’s Mt. Rainier, Mt. Fuji and even Mt. Everest. Those are some of the tallest and most well known mountains in the world. However, if you are just starting out and exploring this new outdoor sport you might not be up to trying out these well known mountains. That’s where these little known hiking mountain trips come into effect.

Some of the mountain ranges that are within the United States have varying difficulties when it comes to the type of hiking that is required. If you are just starting out with climbing mountains it is a good idea to start off with a relatively easy mountain range. In the northwest that mountain range would be the Cascade Mountains and the little known easy mountain climbing experience would be trekking to the top of the summit of Ruth Mountain.

Ruth Mountain is a pyramid shaped mountain peak located in the Cascade Mountains in the area of the Snoqualmie-Mt. Baker area. This peak of a mountain is located to the east of Mount Baker and is considered by those in the hiking world as an easy hike. It is best known for having the most beautiful view of Mt. Shuksan, the highly pictured mountain of the Snoqualmie-Mount Baker ski area. If you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of a bald eagle!

Ruth Mountain is an easy hike because it requires very little equipment. It is recommended that those who are hiking to the summit take an axe and crampons but they might not be needed to make it to the top.

Reaching the top of Ruth Mountain can be achieved in one day. From the trail head that leads to Ruth Mountain all the way to the summit of it is a round trip of 12 miles. Climbers will ascend to 4000′ above sea water with this hike.

Here are a few items that are essentials for mountain climbing.

1. Helmet

This is one of the most essential pieces, if not the most important. Head trauma is a real danger if the climber falls, and it is the most serious type of injury, with severe head trauma quickly leading to death if medical treatment is not readily available. The helmet should protect the entire head, and it should fasten – via a strap – under the chin.

2. Proper footwear

Don’t go mountain climbing thinking that your favorite pair of sneakers will be fine. You need to have shoes that will provide traction, ankle stability, and comfort. Thick socks should also be worn. The higher-quality boots will come with an inner boot that is removable.

For cliff climbing, sometimes rock shoes are used when scaling cliff walls, provided non-slip traction and air holes. Be sure to wear whichever type is suitable for your climb.

3. Proper clothing

Clothing should be layered so that it can be added or removed depending on the temperature and exertion level of the climber. There should be an underwear layer, fully covering the climber. Then a soft shell layer (pants, jacket, etc). After this, a shell layer, preferably with GORE-TEX. Finally, for climbs in very colds temperatures, an insulated layer, with an insulated jacket and a one-piece suit.

Having the proper equipment for mountain climbing is essential for enjoying a climb safely. Helmet, the proper footwear and the essential layers of clothing are a good start. Make sure you invest in the equipment you need so that your safety, comfort and piece of mind are insured.

Finding the best camping sites can be quite a feat. There are so many different places that offer a wide range of camp ground offerings, views, space and crowds that it can be hard to find just the right one for yourself and your family. So how do you find the best camping spots?

Here is a guide that will help you find those camping spots so that you can enjoy your next camping trip.

Internet. The internet is the first place that many campers go to when they look for great camping spots. There are many review sites, camping forums and other places that allows campers to share their experience and knowledge about various camping spots. This can help you make a decision to try out a spot or to pass it up in favor of a different one.

Call the Local Park Ranger. If you are considering camping in a national park or forest, a park ranger can help you with various camping sites that are allowed and have what you are looking for. Sometimes these sites might be directly inside the national park or forest while others might just be surrounding it. No one knows the area better then the park rangers and they can help direct you to where the hot spots in camping are.

Phonebook. It’s a bit old school but the phone book still provides a great resource when it comes to finding those camping spots that you are looking for. While there are no fancy reviews, first hand knowledge or help from a ranger looking through the yellow pages can help a person find various camping spots in the area of their choice.

Finding the best camping spots can be a bit tough. However, with the right amount of research and use of resources you’ll be able to find a perfect camping spot for you and your family.

You’re getting ready for your big mountain hiking event and you get your list of essential items. Some of the items seem as if they would be required such as walking stick, canteen, boots, long pants. Then you come to the item that stumps you: the sunscreen.

Why would you need sunscreen when you are going on a mountain hike? When you look at mountains they have snow, clouds and rain so why would sunscreen be an essential hiking tool.

Sunscreen is an essential item because of the amount of sun that is present on the mountain. Although you might not be able to see it, there are intense UV rays that are beating down on the body. The UV rays are actually more intense the higher up you go on a mountain because of the higher altitude.

To prevent any type of burning or sun related problems sunscreen is recommended. Simply put the sunscreen on as if you were going outside on a sunny day. This means putting the sunscreen on a good 30 minutes before you plan on going out. It also means that you should be reapplying the sunscreen every 2 to 4 hours as directed on the bottle of the sunscreen.

Should you not put sunscreen on before your mountain hike you could face a number of issues. The main problem with no sunscreen is that of sunburns. Sunburns can be very painful and often take days to heal. By just putting a bit of sunscreen on you can prevent this. Other more serious issues from not wearing sunscreen include that of skin cancer. Studies have shown that prolonged exposure to the UV rays could lead to skin cancer and other more serious issues.

Before you head out on that hiking trip consider packing extra sunscreen. You can prevent a lot of pain if you just lather up before hand.

For many people, participating in an Ironman competition is the ultimate test of endurance and fitness. Triathlon competitors are known for their superior athleticism and mental toughness. But what does it really take to compete in such a mentally and physically grueling event?

For those who do not know, a triathlon is a fitness and endurance competition composed of three events: swimming, cycling, and running. In recent years, people have also started to compete in reverse triathlons, where the event begins with running and ends in swimming. Regardless of which way the events are scheduled, each event is run in succession so the winner of one segment of the competition does not necessarily win the race should she fall behind in the other components of the event.

One of the most important aspects of a triathlon is to have the right training. Triathlon contestants are some of the fittest people in sports today. Their training routines include grueling runs through canyon terrain, cycling through mountain passes, and swimming in the open ocean or cold-water lakes. There are many triathlon websites on the web that offer free downloadable triathlon training plans according to fitness level.

The key to being a good triathlon competitor is consistency. If any one of your single event results is inferior to the others, then you may be relegated to the losing side of the podium. In addition, the proper equipment is also essential to running the perfect race. The only event in a triathlon that requires equipment is cycling, but the importance of proper triathlon bikes, perfectly proportioned and tailored to your style and body, cannot be underestimated.

With the proper amount of determination, consistency, and the right equipment, you can be well on your way to competing in your first triathlon.

Camelback Mountain is a huge red rock based mountain located in Phoenix, Arizona. This mountain is a major part of the Phoenix skyline and resembled one of the largest red rock mountain type of mountain.

The sheer rock surface, unique red rocks and wonderful surrounding area makes Camelback Mountain one of the most visited hiking trails in the area.

If you are thinking of hiking up Camelback Mountain here is a quick guide filled with many tips and sights that you can see if you were to hike up the mountain.

Hiking Trails. There are two distinctive hiking trails on Camelback Mountain. The first one ascends over 1,200 ft above sea level and goes up the side of the mountain. It is known as Echo Mountain Trail. The other trail is that of Cholla Mountain Trail and is very similar to the first trail.

Activity Level. Each trail is considered very strenuous when it comes to the type of activity that is required for the mountain hike. There are various boulders, rocks, climbing and unsteady land that make this trail a tough climb.

Time Involved. The time involved with each hike is about 1.5 hours to 4 hours round trip. Depending upon how long you want to look at the various views and wildlife that is around the area it could take you longer.

Rock Climbing. There are various areas located on Camelback Mountain that are perfect for rock climbing. The Praying Monk is the most popular rock climbing area on Camelback Mountain that allows people to climb the various rock surfaces. There are several areas to attack the ropes that rock climbers need.

Temperature. The temperature on Camelback Mountain can sometimes reach well over 100 degrees. It is best if you are going to go hiking on this mountain trail that you consider packing sunscreen, dress lightly and prepare with plenty of water.

Did you know the state of Arkansas has a mountain? If you didn’t then you could be missing out on one of the newest national parks and best views of the southern area.

Mount Magazine is the highest mountain in all of the state of Arkansas. It is located int he northwestern area of the state. Although it is the highest mountain in all of the state it is unique in a special way. This mountain is a flat top plateau area that is made of stone. There are two peaks to this mountain range one of which is called Signal Hill and the other is known as Mossback Ridge and reaches a height of 2,700 ft above sea level.

If you are interested in checking out this unique mountain in Arkansas then here is a quick guide for you.

Location. The location of Mount Magazine is in the northwest section of the state. It is located in the Ozark National Forest.

Views. Some of the best views of the Blue Mountain Lake can be seen from one of the routes up to the top of the mountain. It’s about a 10 mile stretch of road that provides some of the best sights that a hiker or even car rider could see.

Activities. There are hundreds of different activities that can be done on Mount Magazine. There are 18 campsites, picnic locations, hiking trains, mountain climbing, hang gliding, geotracking, fishing and even horseback riding trails that can all be enjoyed on this mountain.

Animals. There are dozens of wildlife creatures on Mount Magazine. However, the most well known animal there is the butterfly. In a given year there are 63 to 140 different types of butterflies that are on the mountain. There is even a National Butterfly Festival that is held right there on the mountain. Other animals that can be seen include coyotes, bears, bobcats and deer.

In almost any exercise that you engage in they tell you to make sure that you drink plenty of fluids. The risk to your health is to great to ignore this type of warning when you are exercising.

Mountain hiking is no different then any other type of exercise. It requires the replenishment of fluids when you are hiking. But there is also another reason for that. The elevation.

Most mountain hikes take a person above the regular elevation that they are used to. For example if you were to hike in the Rock Mountain National Park you would be going to levels from 7000 to 12000 feet above sea water which can really change the way that your body works.

Doctors recommend that if you are planning on hiking at these higher elevations that you consider drinking plenty of fluids to allow your body to adjust. By fluids the doctor means that you drink, water, sports drinks or other type of fluids. It is not recommended to drink alcoholic beverages or sugary sodas as those could actually hinder the body’s adjustment to the higher levels.

Another reason that water is recommended is because of the thinness of the air. The air level is very thin and while the water may help to keep your body adjusted to these different levels there is also another factor that is going on with your body. The thinner level of air is actually depleting the body of water. The water that exists in the lungs can quickly turn to water evaporation and cause altitude sickness. To avoid any such problems people are recommended to drink plenty of fluids so that this does not happen to them.

To avoid altitude sickness it is important that you pack plenty of water. Do not rely upon the park to have fresh water streams or other areas. Be prepared and you won’t get sick!

If you are looking for a great hiking range within the Colorodo area then the Rocky Mountain National Park is just the place to go to. It offers hikers the oppertunity to see many great mountain vies, wonderful woodland creatures and a chance to have one of the most memorable mountain hikes of your life.

Here are some of the great things that Rocky Mountain National Park offers mountain hikers.

Hiking Trails. There are over 355 miles of charted hiking trails available through the Rocky Mountain National Park. These trails can range from very easy straight paths through the woods to more vigorous hikes up mountain ranges and climbing over objects.

Altitude Problems. The Rocky Mountain National Park sits on an elivation that ranges from 7500 ft to 12000 feet above sea water. That means that if you are from a lower flatter area you might experience problems with the hike. Even experienced hikers who have done this multiple times have problems with the change in the elevation that they have to go through.

Winter Hikes. Some national parks do not allow hikes through the winter. However, with Rocky Mountain National Park there is the option to do winter hikes during the winter months. Occassionally the park may be closed but as long as you have the necessary supplies winter hikes are allowed in the park.

Consider Park Ranger Led Hikes. There are plenty of park ranger led hikes that will take visitors through the park and allow them to see the sites and sounds without having to do it alone. This is a great choice for those with young children or those just starting out. It’s also a great way to learn about the various objects and items surrounding you in Rocky Mountain National Park as park rangers will walk you through it and point out areas of interest as you are on the walk.

Here are some of the ways that you can protect yourself while you are out camping.

Food supply chests. Bears and other wildlife animals are attracted to the scent of human food. Food supply chests allow you to lock up the food so that they cannot smell it from a distance and come near the camping grounds. Even the smallest candy bar or apple could bring in a lot of bears or raccoons.

Bug Spray. Bug spray is the best way to protect yourself from the bites and stings of various animals. There are various forms of bug spray that you can purchase. Some allow you to use a lotion to rub into the skin and you’re protected, others are sprays that you spray on the person. Sometimes if you don’t want to spray or put lotion on you can burn candles or burn special products that will allow the bees and animals from not coming near you.

Noise Makers. Many animals are afraid of loud noises. Having an air horn or other loud noise maker would help scare the animals away when they come near you. Make sure that you brush up on what animals need to be scared and what ones don’t because you don’t’ want to scare the wrong one and have them start to attack.

Mountain climbing is a great sport for exercise and endurance. Homeschoolers in most states (check your local laws) can use this sport to help fulfill P.E. credits. The physical activity and multitude of learning opportunities make it a fun, exciting P.E. class.

However, this isn’t the only use for the sport. You can incorporate mountain climbing into nearly every subject. Here are some examples.

1. Social Studies. In combination with a climb, have students study about historical expeditions, such as the ones on Mount Everest. Have them locate various mountain ranges on the map and study them. Have them research the biographies and nationalities of various mountain climbers and local their home countries on a map.

2. Language Arts. Students can read about various expeditions and write reports covering the details. Details about both the climbers and the mountains they climbed can be researched and discussed.

Have each student keep a journal that details the climbs they have undertaken. Have them share details such as landmarks reached, improvement with each hike and lessons learned from the experience.

3. Math. How long did they walk? How how did they climb? Have them do detailed calculations on the scope of the climb(s).

4. Science. Rock formations, mountain formations, geographical features with the types of rock are all possibilities for studies. Nature observations are also a good idea, and many students will keep a nature journal to write and draw what they observe.

5. Art. A picture is worth a thousand words. Have students sketch what they see. Have them add in elements of depth and shading for realism.

Mountain climbing is more than just an exercise – it can be incorporated into an entire unit of study with some creativity and imagination. By reading biographies and other supplementary material, writing about what they have read and experienced and studying maps for a feel of the geography involved, mountain climbing can be a well-rounded study for any curriculum.

Mountain climbing can be a fun sport to do alone or with a buddy, but it is also a great family activity, as well. Mountain climbing activities have been known to build family bonds and even make a family stronger then ever!

Here are some tips if you want to get the whole family involved.

1. Invest in the proper equipment for each family member.

Don’t skimp on equipment. Make sure that every family member has the proper shoes, clothing and other gear. Also make certain that every family member has a helmet that fits properly and is also appropriate for mountain climbing. For children, periodically check to make sure that their helmets still fit properly. Don’t have a younger child use an older sibling’s hand-me-down helmet unless it is in good condition and it fits properly.

2. Stress safety

Before going on a climb, go over the safety rules and guidelines. Go over what to do in case of an emergency. If you are climbing with children, make certain that each child knows what to do in an emergency – including an emergency that means Mom or Dad is unconscious. Have older children and teens responsible for younger ones. Instill the importance of the younger children following the instructions of the adults.

3. Make it a positive experience for everyone in the family

When on a climb, involve all of the family members with duties and responsibilities, with plenty of praise for a job well done. Make sure that you notice any improvement in the efforts of the children and/or spouse and draw positive attention to it.

Mountain climbing is a wonderful outdoor activity, and it is a healthy one that can bring your family closer together. Fresh air, exercise, and a positive environment that encourages learning new skills and helping other family members will make this an enjoyable pastime for the entire family for many years.

One of the most inexpensive vacations you can take is to take your family camping. The children will have a lot of fun and it can be very relaxing for the parents. Before you go you, you will need to prepare for your upcoming trip.

The first step is to find a state park where you can camp and determining how far you want to drive. Once you decide on a destination make your camping reservation, you want to ensure you have a spot to camp when you get there.

You will need to purchase a tent. You can choose one the whole family could use or buy two, one for you and your spouse and one for the children. It is a good idea to put them together before the trip just as a trial run. Make sure that you have all the hardware and poles together in one place after you take them down.

Make a list of the things that you need to bring. You will need at least 2 coolers for your food and drinks. Decide what you will be eating and pack that at the last moment. You will also need a couple of fold up chairs, blankets, pillows and sleeping bags. Do not forget medications for the family members and a first aid kit.

To keep the children occupied bring outdoor toys to pass the time. Plan to go on several nature walks and let them collect interesting rocks and things. The state parks generally have a nice playground area for the children to play on as well as restrooms with showers close to the camping sites. Since you will be outdoors for the majority of the time, for safety sake make sure to bring plenty of fresh water and fruit juice to keep everyone hydrated.

After camping you will be better prepared next time. This is a great way to bond with your children and make everlasting memories.

One of the most inexpensive vacations you can take is take your family camping. The children will have a lot of fun and it can be very relaxing for the parents. Before you go you will need to prepare for your upcoming trip.

The first step is finding state parks where you can camp and determining how far you want to drive. Once you decide on a destination make your camping reservation, you want to ensure you have a spot to camp when you get there.

You will need to purchase a tent you may choose one for the whole family could or buy two, one for you and your spouse and one for the children. It is a good idea to put them together before the trip just for a trial run. Make sure that you have all the hardware and poles together in one place after you take them down.

Make a list of the things that you need to bring. You will need at least 2 coolers for you food and drinks. Decide what you will be eating and pack that at the last moment. You will need a couple of fold up chairs, blankets, pillows and sleeping bags. Do not forget medications for the family members and a first aid kit.

To keep the children occupied bring outdoor toys to pass the time. Plan to go on several nature walks and let them collect interesting rocks and things. The state parks generally have a nice playground area for the children to play on as well as restrooms with showers close to the camping sites. Since you will be outdoors for the majority of the time, for safety sake make sure to bring plenty of fresh water and fruit juice to keep everyone hydrated.

After camping you will be better prepared next time. This is a great way to bond with your children and make everlasting memories.

If you are interested in camping but you don’t know where to start a good place to begin would be to go down to your local book store and pick up some manuals on camping and safe camping sites in the country. Once you have this, you can identify a location where you would like to camp.

The next step of course is figuring your camping team. As a beginner it is advisable that you never camp alone. A four member team is a good size as it is not too big or too small. Choose a good location that is relatively easy to get to, is reasonably close to a town and where the terrain is not too challenging.

The next step is buying camping equipment. Buy a large all weather tent, one that four people can fit into if everyone is comfortable sleeping in one tent. Modern tents are light and can be set up very quickly. However, in most cases it takes at least two people to set up the tent so make sure that before you head out everyone familiarizes themselves with how to set up the tent.

Understand and acclimatize yourself with the environment where you will be camping at. Check with the local weather station to get a heads up on weather conditions. Speak to the park ranger so that he will know where you are camping and he can advise you what to watch out for. Most accidents and unpleasantness can be avoided by advice from the locals.     

Once you have covered these simple basics you are ready to have a fun filled time. If initial costs are preventing you from making a trip you can always avail title loans which can provide finance quickly.

Whether you are planning a one day hiking trip or a ten day excursion, taking the right supplies with you is essential. Always bring more than you think you need just to be on the safe side.

Any time that you go hiking the weather can change within minutes and you could find yourself in the middle of a rain storm. It is important to bring a rain coat or poncho along with a large backpack for all the supplies that you need to carry along.

Always pack food with you. You might choose to take a sandwich for your lunch along with dry snacks. Fresh fruit is easy to pack and carry along with granola bars, potato chips, trail mix and mixed nuts to keep you energized. You also need to keep your body hydrated so bring several bottles of water or fruit juices.

Wear comfortable clothing along with special hiking boots and a spare clothing in case you want or need to change your clothes. Pack things like a fully stocked first aid kit. Make sure you inventory the supplies that are in the kit and replace what you need.

It is nice to have a map of the hiking trails that you want to visit as well as a compass to follow in case you need it. If it starts to get dark have a flashlight on hand. You may have to purchase a hiking stick and knife, both of those items will come in handy on every hiking trip you take.

Some of the less obvious things you might need would be garbage bags, duct tape and string. Bring along some paper and pens so if you are in the mood to journal your trip you can. Perhaps a book or two is needed to read while you are resting. Do not forget and prescription medication that you take on a daily basis. All that is left to do is have a great trip.

Ever feel stressed, tired, frustrated or angry? If you’ve answered yes to that then you’re probably human. If you’re like most people you probably don’t handle these types of emotions very well. There is however a secret cure that anyone can partake in.

Fresh air.

Fresh air is known to help a number of people overcome a laundry list of emotions and feelings that they’re dealing with. When you get upset and angry, consider taking a walk around the block. You come back to your house or apartment and you instantly feel better. Surprisingly it’s the fresh air that does it.

Some of the freshest, crispest air can be found while hiking to the top of mountains. For centuries people have used mountain hiking and mountain air as a form of relaxation and stress relief. Some of the world’s heaviest problems have been solved after taking a stroll up a mountain path. Think of all the old stories that involve having children or adventurers hike to the highest mountain to see a wise old man. It wasn’t the wise person who gave advice it was the mountain air that helped them figure it out. This might be a slight exaggeration but these stories do showcase how mountain air can help ease stress and solve problems.

In today’s society people carry a number of more modern concerns such as growing debts due to addictions to sports betting sites, divorce and marriage problems, world peace and even unemployment. While climbing to the top of a mountain won’t give you the instant answer to these problems, it can help you relax and be at ease for a little bit. The best part of this great relaxation method is that it is free and open to anyone who might feel stressed, angry or anxious. Try it out for yourself and see what fresh air does for you!

Keeping children busy on the camping grounds is really easy if you have a little bit of creativity. Here are several ideas for parents to do with the kids on your next camping trip. Sometimes the parent needs to let lose and join in on the games and the kids will enjoy it as well.

Take the kids along the nature trail and do some bird watching. You might want to bring along a pair of binoculars so they can see what the birds look like high up in the tree tops. Have the children use indoor voices, meaning to be quite so the birds will come and not be scared by loud noises.

If there is a lake close by teach your child how to use a fishing pole. Show them how to hook the bait and be patient while waiting for the fish to bite. The first fish that the child catches by themselves will be the proudest moment in their life. The child will be so excited that they will be talking about that for months to come.

Before going on your camping trip make a stop at the local library and pick up a book of stories to tell around the campfire. You do not want it to scare the children so be conscience of that when choosing the book. Gather everyone around the camp fire, grab the marshmallows and skewers and read the stories out loud. The kids will be mesmerized by the fun story telling time.

Encourage each child to start a collection of natural things that they can find along the trails. Leaf and rock collecting is great for the younger children. Dry and place each leaf in a scrapbook. For the rock collectors give the child a special box for the rocks. Point out the different shapes and sizes of the rocks they keep, this is not only fun but educational as well.

Rock climbing is exciting, dynamic, and ever-changing. Every new route is a slightly new experience, and depending on the angle of the wall or rock face, entirely different muscles will be called on to get you to the top. If you do bouldering, competition may require you to climb and dyno (jump) between handholds at high speeds. Of course you want to do well in the competition, but remember that your safety should always come first. Whether you are a beginner or you scale hundred-foot walls for fun, here are some tips to make your rock climbing hobby safer so that you can stop worrying and have fun instead!

Know What You’re Doing

If you’re very new to rock climbing, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Practice climbing indoors, on a wall with safety gear such as a rope and harness before you even think of attempting something like bouldering (a fast-paced rock climbing style that often is performed with no rope or harness, and that asks you to dyno more often than other styles.) Practice and memorize a variety of rock climbing techniques and holds before you attempt climbing an actual rock face.

Plan Ahead

As you’re climbing, plot which hold you’re going to reach for next, and with which hand or foot. Always have a plan, and ideally you should have a plan of what to do if that handhold doesn’t work out. For example, if you’re climbing an actual rock face the hold might not be as stable as it appeared, and crumble–what will you grab instead to steady yourself? You’re a lot more likely to actually grab onto the backup hold in time if you know where you’re going to reach for ahead of time!

Keep Your Gear In Shape

No amount of careful route plotting and training will help you if you take a fall on a worn-out rope. Worn-down gear can’t do its job, which is to keep you safe and to make your climbing experience more fun. Always keep your gear in good shape and treat it well, and it will do the same for you.

Unless you’ve got very calloused hands, climbing around and hanging from rough rocks by your fingers all day is going to be tough on your skin. Rock climbing can also put significant strain on your individual digits, especially those holds that leave you with only enough space to hang from one or two fingers. Some of them even require you to wedge a single finger into a crack and twist it in order to lock it in–all of the weight hanging from that arm is being placed on that finger!

While the weight won’t change if you do, wearing tape or gloves can help protect your hands from rough rock surfaces, and tape in particular can reenforce the tiny muscles in your fingers, reducing your risk of injuring them due to strain. Taping is the most common method of protecting the hands in rock climbing. Most rock climbing stores that sell gear for the sport also sell climber’s tape, but pressure-sensitive medical tape is more commonly used. Medical tape, which is adhesive, is preferred for a variety of reasons: it is strong enough to reenforce muscles, is designed to let skin breathe through it, leaves little to no residue when removed, and has a rough exterior texture that makes it ideal for giving athletes more grip when they tape their hands. Medical tape is used by athletes of numerous types, rock climbing being just one of them.

Typically, the fingers and joints such as the wrists are taped most often. One technique is to create a glove out of tape by taping the entire hand, but the most popular method of taping is to create “figure-eight” of sorts around each joint. Taping your fingers when training during recovery from an injury reduces the strain on the muscles; however, do not use this as a crutch. If you don’t reduce the intensity of your routine to allow your muscles to heal, all you’ll be doing is progressively injuring yourself further, so use common sense and don’t think of tape as an instant cure for injuries that might slow down your routine.

Camping is a great way to spend time with the family, enjoy nature, breath in the fresh air, and see new places. No matter if you are camping at a local family campground or going on an adventure in another state, a little planning in advance will make sure you packed all the camping trip essentials. Here is a camping trip essentials check list:

Food:
• Granola bars, trail mix
• Bread
• Cereal
• Crackers
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Milk
• Hotdogs
• Hamburgers
• Bacon
• Sandwiches
• Fresh fruits and veggies like apples, bananas, carrots, celery
• Canned beans, soup
• Peanut butter
• Water
• A few chocolate bars

Cooking and eating supplies:
• Frying pan
• Boiling pan
• Spatula
• Knife
• Tongs
• Silverware
• Paper plates
• Paper cups
• Aluminum foil
• Can opener
• Plastic bags or containers
• Dish soap
• Paper towels
• Sponge

Camping equipment:
• Tent
• Ground tarp
• Rope
• Mallet or hammer to drive tent spikes into the ground
• Matches/lighter
• Trash bags
• Camping stove or small grill
• Fuel, charcoal, fire starter

Personal needs:
• Sleeping bags
• Pillow
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Clothes, such as True Religion jeans
• Swimwear
• Rain gear
• Towel
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Razor
• Toilet paper
• Medication

First Aid:
• Band-aids, bandages,
• Tape
• Antiseptic wipes
• Sunscreen
• Bug repellent
• Insect bite medication
• Burn ointment
• Aspirin, Ibuprofen

Miscellaneous:
• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Camp chairs
• Camera, charger
• Cell phone, charger
• Sunglasses
• Coins for showers and vending machines
• Playing cards

NOTE: Make sure at least one relative knows your itinerary, cell phone number, and your vehicle’s license plate.

Of course, these are just suggestions and your list may change depending on your camping needs.

For a demanding physical sport like rock climbing, safety is a big concern, especially since scaling rock faces hundreds of feet tall is not uncommon. Unless you’re into that adrenaline high that life or death situations provide so readily, you’re going to need safety gear. Also, climbing entirely unassisted is an impressive but difficult feat; most rock climbers utilize various climbing equipment such as belay and rappel devices to help them hold still and rest at various points during their ascent. “Gear” is what you wear, so pitons and other climbing tools aren’t listed here.

The most common rock climbing gear are as follows:

Rope: Climbing rope is essential for most rock climbing styles. Designed to catch you if you fall, a good rope is around 10mm thick and at least 50 meters long.

Webbing: Basically, flat rope. Great for tying gear to you and tying yourself to an anchor.

Carabiners: Little metal loops with spring-loaded openings at one point. Extremely useful for securing ropes, gear and you, these little guys can hold your weight despite their tiny sizes.

Quickdraws: Basically, two carabiners attached to either end of a short piece of webbing. Used to secure gear to you, your belt and anchors, and also great for reducing friction as rope slides between the attached pieces.

Climbing Harness: A typical rock climbing harness has belt-like loops that go around the waist and around each thigh. Has a lot of metal loops on it to secure you to your ropes, gear, anchors, and anything else you want to carry along without taking up your hands.

Chalk: Stored in a chalk bag that hangs on your belt, chalk comes in a variety of shapes, including powder and ball forms. As you climb, you dip your hands in to get them chalky, which helps you grip holds better.

Belay Devices: Various designs of device, all made to release your rope in controlled increments and at the speed you desire. Very helpful whether you’re using it or somebody else is using it to help you descend.

Protection: Helmets, padding, gloves, climbing tape and other gear designed to reduce injury should you fall.

In the past the choice between missing out on experiences and staying connected to the Internet or going out and enjoying oneself used to be the major reason people didn’t take part in mountain hiking or visiting ski resorts.

Due to the mountain location of some of the ski resorts and hiking trails, many of the ski lodges and camping sites did not have wifi connections or internet capabilities. This prevented many people who could not be unplugged from the Internet from enjoying these activities. If an emergency with work were to occur while a person was skiing or hiking, these people would not be able to connect to the Internet and solve the problem. So instead the choice was to stay home.

Ski resorts and camping grounds have started to take notice of the world’s dependency upon the Internet and developed a plan to incorporate internet connections into their lodges and camping ground. Many ski resorts have wifi hot sports or areas that one can connect to the Internet. So while the ability to connect instantly to the Internet is not there, there is still a way to send and receive email communications while going on a skiing vacation.

The ability to have internet connections at high altitudes such as ski resorts and camping ground is just another example of how dependent upon the world wide web humans have become.

The term ‘mountaineering’ refers to any sport that involves climbing mountains, and encompasses cross-country skiing, rock climbing, hiking and more. Because humans were climbing mountains long before any of them were interesting in recording history about that climbing, the origin of mountaineering really can’t be determined. With the human tendency to do something just to find out if you can, it is safe to assume that mountaineering originated simultaneously anywhere there were mountains to climb and people to attempt climbing them.

Reasons for climbing mountains have varied over the centuries, but the human spirit’s rise to a challenge is relatively unchanged; even today, many mountaineers climb a mountain simply to reach the summit, not because there is anything there (although there is often a spectacular view), but simply to prove to themselves that they could climb the mountain if they really tried to. Others don’t care about the destination, and only want to enjoy the climb. This second more leisurely group of mountaineers tend toward more easygoing forms of the sport–hiking and walking. The ones interested in proving to the world that they can scale a mountain singlehandedly, those tend to take a more difficult method such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or rock climbing to reach the absolute highest spot there is to be reached.

For those mountaineers who strive to prove how high they can climb, often their dream climb is one of the eight-thousanders. The eight-thousanders are all independently-standing mountains on earth that are over 8,000 meters tall at sea level. There are fourteen such mountains, and only a handful of people have successfully ascended them. The first person to successfully summit all fourteen only accomplished the impressive task recently; it was Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner, and he reached the last of the eight-thousanders’ summits in 1986.

Mountaineering is also known as Alpinism in many countries; this usage is rare in the United States; possibly due to the word’s similarity in sound and appearance to albinism. Alpinism was included in the Olympic Games during the 1920s, complete with prizes for the winners, but soon petered out after World War II.

For many, the word ‘camping’ is practically synonymous with adventure, wilderness and hiking. The desire to stretch their muscles, breathe fresh air, leave civilization behind and live off of the land is what drives people to go camping. A getaway, a retreat. That means that hiking and camping are supposed to be fun, right? To ensure that you spend your trip actually having fun instead of worrying about what might go wrong, take a look at these camping safety tips.

Pack What You’ll Need

What will you need? If you don’t know, you need to seriously think before you go one step further. Camping and hiking place you in the wilderness with nobody but your group of campers for sometimes hundreds of miles–you need to anticipate everything you might need during your trip and bring it along if you’re likely to use it. A first-aid kit, sealing plastic bags to scent-proof waste, sunscreen, changes of clothes, sleeping bags, tents, food, water, a map and compass and a pocket knife are some essentials to get you started.

What you don’t want to do is to overpack and take along every little thing in case you might need it. If you can live without it for a few days and it doesn’t help in an emergency, you should probably leave it behind.

Know Your Destination

Read up on your camping area before you arrive. Get a feel for what kind of climate, wildlife, terrain and temperatures you’ll be dealing with. Ensure that you aren’t camping during storm season in this place. Check your campsite for signs of bears, fallen rocks or flooding, and if any of them are present, camp somewhere else.

Don’t Take Risks

Play it safe–don’t sneak up on wildlife to get photos, climb trees for fun, wander off by yourself, or drink water directly from the river. Store food and other smelly things in a bear box or hoisted in a tree. Prevention is the best way to avoid trouble of all kinds in the wilderness, and if you think ahead now, you won’t have to think fast in an emergency later.

Believe it or not, wearing the wrong socks can make or break your whole hiking experience. During a hike, you stand and move on your feet for many hours and miles per day, over terrain of varying hardness, textures and angles. You work your feet harder than you would on any other average day, and you need them to carry you all the ay to your destination, because there’s no car around to just pick you up if you can’t walk any further.

For a situation where your feet are this important, you’ve got to pamper them to counter-act all of that work you’re putting them through. Even if you pick the right pair of hiking boots, you might still have to deal with excess moisture, overheating, bad shock absorption and more if you don’t wear the right socks. That’s a tall order, and regular old socks just won’t cut it–you need hiking socks.

Hiking socks are designed to protect and assist the feet during the grueling hours of hiking that you’ll be putting them through. A well-made hiking sock should be much more than just a foot-shaped piece of woven cotton; it should wick moisture away from your feet to the outside of the sock, keep your feet comfortably cool in hot weather but not let them get chilled in ice and snow, and be padded in the right spots to encourage good posture and to distribute pressure so that the impacts of your steps don’t hit your feet as hard.

A hiking sock must not be too loose or tight–it should promote good circulation in your legs, and should support your muscles enough to prevent shear from flexing them in different directions than your skin and causing blisters.

Material is important, too. All-cotton is the most popular variety for moisture wicking–if you’re going somewhere where you’ll be sweating a lot, or if you just sweat more than the average person, cotton is probably for you. If shear and circulation are larger concerns for you, terry weave and combination acrylic fiber hiking socks will serve your needs better.

One of the few essential pieces of gear necessary to hike is a good reliable pair of hiking boots. Most people have a general idea of what hiking boots are. The mental image springs to mind when you hear the two words in order…leather, brown or tan, lace-up with thick rubbery tread. But there’s more to a well-made hiking boot than looks! Hiking boots support your most important asset during a hike: your feet. With every step, you’ll be putting weight, stress, pressure and impact onto those feet, and your hiking boots and socks are all that separate them from whatever rough untamed terrain you may be hiking over.

Fit is extremely important. You need boots that fit well–not slightly loose or tight, but as close to a perfect fit as possible. A good hiking boot will feel solid and won’t let your foot slide around, but it will have a little space for your toes too. Tread is important, but don’t pick boots with such thick tread that you trip over it–the boot should feel like an extension of your foot to the ground.

Also essential for a perfect fit is good ankle support. Your hiking boots are made not just to cushion the bottom of your foot, but to soften the impact of each step on your ankle and to stay stiff enough that you are much less likely to twist your ankle by stepping through uneven terrain. The best hiking boots are lace-up and cover your ankles entirely. Whether they are taller or not depends upon your hiking style and how much support you need, but bear in mind that good support of your ankles and feet affects the posture of the rest of your body. Not enough support in your ankles can actually cause aches and pains in your back, neck and shoulders.

Leather is still the preferred material for hiking boots due to being waterproof, flexible and durable. Gore-Tex and rubber are also very good, particularly for insulating your foot in cold weather. Pick the best hiking boots for the climate you’ll be hiking in most.

Treat others as you want to be treated. You probably learned this advice from your parents; it’s true, particularly where camping is involved. Would you want some stranger walking into your camp and talking to you out of nowhere? Neither do the other campers, so generally even if you sight somebody else, you should leave them be unless they’re in some kind of trouble. Would you want strangers to cross through your campsite? Probably not! Make an effort to walk around other campers’ campsites instead of crossing through them.

The same rule applies for blaring loud music or laughing/shouting/singing loudly (particularly at night), using anything that flashes bright lights or burning a large bonfire at night that others might see from far away, playing games or using electronics that are noisy enough to hear from afar, leaving trash or even food scraps behind that others who come after you will know is not part of the wilderness, and dozens of other situations.

Use common sense and be considerate of how your wilderness neighbors will think of the situation rather than your side of things. The music is nice to you, but your neighbor is a captive audience to music they might not even like, and they’re in the middle of the wilderness so it’s probably the only sound for miles!

Finally, extend your courtesy to the wildlife as well, and do your best to avoid them so that they do the same for you. Remember, you’re a guest in their homes.

You start off by heading to the Badlands. The Badlands is one of the forgotten treasures in this country. People don’t take the time to appreciate this place. If you live in a state like Iowa or Illinois, you can make it to this part of South Dakota in fewer than 15 hours. It’s a great place to camp and enjoy the view. You can wake up in the morning and go for a nice little hike. Be careful if you try to go into the Badlands. A lot of it is softer rock so it isn’t really made for climbing. Nonetheless, you can have some great fun here.

From the Badlands, it’s time to head down to Rocky Mountain National Park. This is one of the all time great places to put up a tent. The camping area is very nice, and the scenery is as gorgeous as any you’ll see elsewhere in this part of the U.S. Get there and take a nice afternoon hike. You can walk up the mountain and stop at some of the breathtaking points along the way.

After you have your fill of Rocky Mountain National Park, take off for the Grand Canyon. It’s one of the greatest camping destinations. Get there early and get a good night’s rest. Wake up the next morning, go to the cafeteria, and get yourself something to eat. Stock up on supplies and head down into the canyon.

This itinerary lets you enjoy some outstanding camping in a short amount of time.

Cross-country skiing is a demanding full-body sport. It exercises numerous muscles all over the body, including the arms, legs, shoulders, thighs, abdomen and waist, and takes good balance and agility. You don’t have to be a body-builder or a pro athlete to enjoy cross-country skiing, but being in good shape and doing some fitness conditioning beforehand will greatly decrease the chances of your ski trip ending in huffing, puffing and sore muscles not long after it has begun.

Getting in shape to ski, as with any other kind of body conditioning, takes some time. If you plan to ski this winter, start your body conditioning during the summer so that you’ll have time to tone, strengthen and sculpt your body into a better skiing machine. Whatever you do, don’t read all about conditioning, plan to condition, and then try to start your conditioning two weeks before you leave for your trip.

Strength training and muscle toning are what you should emphasize in your conditioning routine. Health clubs and gyms often have exercise equipment made to emulate the same movements as skiing; ask the instructors which machines you should use. Such workout classics as sit-ups and crunches can also tone and strengthen your body’s trunk. Good posture is essential for skiing, and having a strong torso makes it much easier to maintain this posture.

Weight-lifting is one of the best ways to tone your arms, legs and shoulders. Lunges, overhead pulls, rowing, bicep curls and bench presses are all greatly beneficial to the muscles you’ll use while skiing. In tone rather than gain bulk, lift small weights at a fairly rapid pace. Slower lifts and heavier weights cause muscles to bulk up, which will work against your agility somewhat.

Remember, you don’t have to be in perfect condition to start skiing. Once you’re in shape enough not to get too worn out doing so, the act of skiing itself will work out all of the muscles your exercise routine does. If skiing strikes your fancy, you’ve got a lifetime of fun winter sports and total fitness ahead of you.

Cross-country skiing has a long and rich history. Originating in icy Fennoscandian countries such as Sweden, Finland and Latvia, this sport is often called “Nordic skiing”, even though several Nordic countries do not have much skiing history. Skiing has been a part of human culture for thousands of years, with drawings and actual skis found in Norway and Switzerland dating back as early as 5,000 BC.

Skiing did not start as a sport. Like snowshoes, the first skis were simply another way of traveling more easily over deep snow. Hunters utilized the increased speed and agility skiing provided to more effectively take down deer and elk. Centuries after they had become established as useful hunting travel gear, skis began to be used by soldiers as well. Cross-country skiing was a great help to Finnish soldiers during the Winter War, enabling small numbers of Fins to take on much larger groups of Russian soldiers who did not have such mobility because they had no skis. All Nordic countries with standing armies have trained ski infantry for cold-weather military operations.

Skiing hunters and troops have been armed with crossbows, ski poles with harpoon heads on the ends, guns and more over the years, and there is even a modern biathlon (a combination of two sports) involving skiing while shooting at targets with a rifle.

Skiing did not become a sport until around 1843, when the first known race on skis was held in Norway. The first officially-timed cross-country skiing competition in history, held in Sweden in 1884, required that skiers travel 220 kilometers in two stages. The winner’s finishing time was twenty-two hours and twenty-two minutes.

Cross-country skiing debuted in the Olympic Winter Games in 1924, with only three formats: 18 kilometers, 50 kilometers, and a combination race. In 1952, a 10-meter women’s race was added, and since then numerous other events and skiing methods have been introduced. As of 2010, cross-country skiing has the most events of any sport at the Olympic Winter Games, and is also one of the largest sources of medals there.

Cardio Training: If you are a climber that hasn’t climbed in a while, your lungs might not be prepared to make that huge climb. Even if you have been climbing for a while, it is a good idea to prepare your respiratory system for the event. Engaging in cardio training is one of the recommended ways to get your breathing and pacing up. After all, you can’t prepare for a very active climb by sitting around playing online casino games. Cardio training can consist of walking on the treadmill, running, jogging, or anything that gets the heart rate up. This type of exercise and training will allow your body to adapt to the type of conditions that you will experience on the mountain climb.

Mental Training: Mountain climbing is just as demanding mentally as it is physically. There will come times on the climb where you have to push yourself beyond your limits or you reach an obstacle that you don’t’ think you can overcome. If you are not in the right mental mindset, you will not be able to overcome these types of obstacles. Meditation, knowing the course you will take in and out, and preparing for the type of conditions that you will meet on the climb will allow you to be mentally set for the climb ahead.

To Wax Or Not To Wax?

It’s a question every skier faces from the moment they buy their first set of gear: should I used waxed skis or not? On one hand, waxed skis have superior speed, glide and performance, ad in the case of cross-country skiing they provide grip so that you can launch yourself forward with your feet as well as your ski poles, improving upon your efficiency. On the other hand, let’s face it: waxing is a lot of trouble. Not only does it take considerable effort to wax a set of skis, you have to pick grip or glide, then you have five or six different forms of wax to choose from, three to five temperature types to choose from for each form, and the consideration of where on your skis needs to be waxed in the first place.

How Much Does Waxing Improve Skiing Performance?

A good glide waxing will give superior glide, speed and performance over an unwaxed one…for a little while. After a relatively short distance, that thin little coating of wax you so painstakingly put onto your skis will get gritty with dirt, get lumpy from being smoothed over so much by the terrain you’re gliding across, and eventually will actually drag your skiing performance below what it would have been had you used unwaxed skis!

Waxless Vs. Waxed Skis

Waxless skis, on the market since 1970, are designed to never need waxing, so you can spend your time on the snow instead in the garage waxing your skis. There is a textured pattern in the grip zone of waxless skis, to emulate the grip of kick wax or klister, and the rest of their surfaces are smooth. A well-waxed ski inevitably outperforms even the best waxless ski, but a badly-waxed ski is much worse, so waxless skis are ideal for more casual participants in the sport, such as recreational skiers. Notably, waxless skis work on numerous different temperatures, something users of waxed skis must plan for in advance and often are unprepared for even then in rapidly-changing landscapes such as moving between sun and shade.

Ask anyone what skiing is and they’ll tell you: it’s a winter sport where you travel over snow by gliding along the top on long, thin pieces of footwear. There are numerous kinds of skiing–cross-country being one of the all-time favorites. Now ask what skijoring is, and be prepared for a quizzical look!

Never heard of it? It’s not a big surprise. Though it’s been around since at least 1901, skijoring was only once ever featured in the Winter Olympic Games, as a demonstration sport in 1928. Though it hasn’t featured in the Olympics since then, there have been other competitions. Notably, the city of Leadville, Colorado has held a skijoring competition annually since 1949.

So, what is it? Simply-put, skijoring is cross-country skiing…while being pulled behind something. What that “something” is depends on where and when you are; the first skijoring participants were towed behind horses and sled dogs, which are both the primary methods of locomotion even today. The Leadville competition uses horses, which pull skiers now only over the snow, but through obstacles and over jumps. Modern times have also brought with them a new variety of skijoring: motorized skijoring, in which the skier is pulled behind a snowmobile or even a motorcycles.

Despite being relatively unheard of, skijor races are held in numerous countries each year, often alongside sled dog racing since they have parallel requirements: snow and trained sled dogs. Unlike sled dog racing, skijoring does not have a breed limitation or requirement for the dogs that participate in it. Skijoring is considered a kind of mushing, the name for the family of sports involving being pulled by dogs.

In skijor races powered by horses, there may or may not be a rider on the horse at the same time it is pulling the skier behind it. Skijor races with jumps and other obstacles tend to have a rider to better guide the horse. In riderless races, and in races with dogs, the animal is controlled by signals from the skier.

The word ‘œskijoring’ comes from the Norwegian word ‘œskikjoring’, which means ‘ œski driving’

There’s more than one way to wax a ski. There are two schools of thought: grip, and glide. You’ll want to choose which one to use depending upon the kind of snow, kind of skiing, and even kind of ski you want.

Glide Wax

As the name suggests, glide wax is designed to make skis more slippery so that they will move easily over snow. The more slippery the ski, the closer to optimal thickness the thin layer of water between ski and snow will be during your downhill slide. Sliding works best when you have just the right amount of moisture to create wet and dry friction all at once. It requires the perfect balance–too much moisture and the ski will suction to the snow’s surface, too little and it will create too much dry friction and scrape.

Maintaining the optimum glide on a ski takes the right wax, in the right temperature and texture for the snow you will be skiing on, applied to the right spot. Glide wax is applied to the ‘glide zone’ of the skis; for cross-country skiing, this means the entire base for skating style and the tips and tails but not the ‘œkick zone’ (the area just beneath the foot) for classical style. Types of glide wax: solid, paste, liquid, rub-on and spray-on. The softer the wax, the warmer the conditions it is made to handle during skiing.

Grip Wax

Used only on cross-country skis, grip wax does exactly the opposite thing that glide wax does: it grips to the snow, allowing the skier to kick off of a spot and glide afterward. Grip wax is only applied to a certain part of the skis, the kick zone, so that the skier can press down and grip the snow with it, then let up the pressure and glide on the smoothly-waxed length of the skis. Well-made and applied grip wax releases its grip on the snow once the skier releases the downward pressure on the ski.

Types of grip wax: kick wax (tin-packaged hard wax, liquidy paste, or tape), and klister (very sticky wax, tube or spray-on)

Waxing your skis can be an imposing task. There are so many things to consider: what kind of wax should you use? How much? What temperature conditions will you be skiing in? Do you need grip, glide, both or neither? Many people buy waxless skis just to avoid the fuss of learning the “language” of ski waxing!

Waxes

Once you look past there consistencies, there are really only two types of ski wax: grip and glide. Grip wax to stick to snow, glide to smooth over it. Pick which you need based on your skiing type and style, and which form of each to use will halfway be determined by what tools you have on hand.

Waxing Tools

Ski wax can be applied many ways, and most of them are pretty straightforward. Waxes in paste and liquid forms need only be smeared on in a thin layer to the proper part of the ski using a large paint brush, dried and buffed smooth with a waxing cork. Rub-on and spray-on waxes are pretty self-explanatory: rub or spray them on, then follow the same steps as above about drying and buffing. If you don’t have any tools, such as buffing brushes or hot irons, you’ll want to use one of these methods.

Hot Waxing

Of special mention because it is one of the most troublesome ski waxes, “hot” waxes aren’t actually hot at all. Rather, they’re solid sticks of wax, like large crayons, that must be heated to melting in order to be used. Once you’ve dripped melted wax onto your skis, you must smooth and iron it out evenly with a heated iron as if you are ironing a garment. Don’t make the iron too hot or cool–the correct temperature necessary to melt it should be listed on the packaging.

After it cools, the wax is scraped smooth to remove the excess, then the ski must be brushed with rough metal-bristled brushes along its length. After that, yet more brushing is required, with softer bristles this time to create a smooth wax surface that, after all of that work, is nearly a work of art.

Ideally, your camping trip will go without a hitch, and nobody will get hurt. Even seeing wild animals is rare, as they tend to make themselves scarce when humans are around, and they can hear and smell you coming long before you know they’re there. Even if you do encounter a wild animal, the chances of being bitten are extremely remote so long as you don’t go out of your way to irritate them. When you’re about to embark on a trip into the wild though, the last thing you need is another thing to worry about. Therefore, in the unlikely event of the worst-case scenario coming true, here is what to do if you or someone in your group is bitten by a wild animal.

Assess the Injury

Did the bite break the skin? If it did, are the puncture marks deep or shallow? Is it bleeding, and if so how much? Look over the injury, and if it did not break the skin or is very shallow, treat it as a you would a minor scrape or cut: wash the wound with soap and water (don’t scrub, as this can injure the area further), apply antibiotic ointment and cover with a sterile bandage.

Apply Pressure

If the wound is deep or bleeding a lot, place a clean, dry cloth over the area and apply pressure to stop the bleeding. Deep puncture wounds and animal bites are both more prone to infection than other kinds of injuries, and if the bite is on a hand or other thin extremity, the chance of long-term damage is higher. It is better not to attempt cleaning serious bites like this yourself–instead, bandage the wound with enough pressure to control the bleeding and get to medical assistance as soon as you can. Camps and parks have park rangers you can call if you need assistance in getting out of the wilderness.

Be Aware

The biggest dangers of being bitten are contracting rabies or tetanus, so you should keep your shots up to date. Rabies is common in wild animals such as raccoons, bats, foxes and skunks.

There are many different styles of rock-climbing, each with its own set of rules and gear requirements. Here is a brief overview of several of the most common styles.

Aid Climbing

Scaling a wall or rock face by placing and securing gear in order to aid in ascent. Fairly safe due to being harnessed, and suitable for one or more people. For a group of two or more, the lead climber can set the gear for the others.

Traditional “Trad” Climbing

Scaling routes without permanent anchors, without using gear to aid in ascent. There are still harnesses and protective ropes, however, in case of a fall. Good for groups or solo.

Sport Climbing

Comparable to Trad Climbing, with the exception that permanent protective anchors attached to the walls are utilized.

Bouldering

Scaling low-to-the-ground routes without safety ropes or harnesses. May have a soft bouldering pad below the climbing area or a person to direct falls away from dangerous objects, but protection is not a requirement. Bouldering tends to have very high difficulty levels and to foster intensive competition.

Free Climbing

Scaling the wall or rock face entirely relying on your own physical strength. Harnesses and ropes are worn, but not used to assist in ascent at all. The lead climber often does this in order to establish anchor stations for following climbers who are performing an aid climb.

Free Soloing

Unlike free climbing, free soloing is just you and the obstacles. No harnesses, ropes or any other safety measure are used, and if you have a fall it just might kill you. Uses the same techniques as bouldering, but typically much higher up, this is rock-climbing for those who thrive on adrenaline.

Deep Water Soloing

A variant on free soloing, deep water soloing involves climbing over deep water so that if you fall, you will only become submerged so as to avoid injury or death.

Solo Aid

Climbing with free soloing-style methods, solo aid allows the use of a harness but forbids the use of any rope. The climber may attach a short cord to the route for safety during difficult handholds, which allows them to move a short distance before detaching again.

If you are a rock-climber, more likely than not you use a rope while practicing your sport. Though there are styles that put rope use to a minimum, many rock-climbers heavily rely on this useful age-old tool to help them ascend walls and rock faces, and to save them from potentially life-threatening falls should they lose their grip on the latest handhold.

Any time you place your life in the care of an inanimate object, it’s essential to ensure that that object is well-maintained and in excellent condition. Think about it–if you were going skydiving, you would take every care to ensure that your parachute was not only folded well, but also in flawless working condition, right? The rope that catches you when you fall off of a cliff should be no different!

Checking your rope’s condition is easy; uncoil it slowly, examining each section as you go. Look for visible signs of wear: frayed edges to the casing, worn-through casing spots that show the inner core (usually white), and places where the rope seems noticeably thinner than the rest.

Now recoil the rope, and this time feel each section with your hands as you go. Squish the rope; the center core should have a bit of give to it, but should definitely feel like a solid cord inside of the casing. Signs of wear that you can feel include thinning or breakage of the core beneath the casing, nicks in the casing that may eventually wear through to the core, and stiffness and dryness that might suggest the rope is becoming too brittle and thus more prone to breakage.

If any of these signs of wear are present enough to be noticeable, you should get a new rope. It might seem like a small nick or worn spot now, but with gear that protects your life, it’s better to replace it too early than too late. To prevent wearing your rope out too fast, keep it clean and dust-free, don’t step on it, and try not to let it snag on any sharp edges during climbing.

Rope is an essential part of a rock-climber’s gear. Thickness, length, weight and material are all factors that a climber must consider when purchasing a rope; also, as with gear for skiing and many other sports, you must known what kind of conditions you’ll be climbing in in order to get rope that is ideally suited for them. Some ropes are more durable in ice and snow than others, for example.

Thickness

The diameter of your rope is very important–it determines how much weight the rope can hold up, including you. Climbing ropes come in diameters of 7.5mm all the way up to 11mm. The safest ropes are the 10 and 11mm ones, because the thicker they are, the stronger and more durable they are as well. The only downside is that thicker ropes add more weight, which you have to carry during your climb. Any rope smaller than 9mm is unsuitable for holding you up on its own; these ropes are made to be doubled up and clipped to different parts of your gear to evenly distribute the weight between them. Do not use them one at a time!

Length

What rope length you’ll need depends on where you’re going, how thick it is, and what your climbing style is. The typical climber’s rope length is 50 meters, but many climbers are now using ropes as long as 70 meters because the additional length can be useful in rappelling down after your climb up.

Strength

In addition to thickness, a rope’s ability to hold you and your gear is determined by how much it stretches when a weight is hanging from it, and how much of the energy it absorbs when a weight falls and is suddenly suspended from it. The more stretch a rope has, and the less impact it puts on you instead of it during a fall, generally the better it is. Stretchy ropes let you fall further before you stop, though, increasing your risk of hitting a ledge or other obstacle on the way down.

Dryness

Icy or wet conditions require a waterproofed “dry” rope.

There are dozens of “moves” that can be used during rock-climbing to secure a handhold or brace yourself securely where you are to rest. In general, these techniques can be lumped into three categories: handholds, footwork, and combinations. Here are just a few from each category.

Handholds

Jug: A good, easily-held handhold that has space for most or all fingers. Good as a resting point; also known as a Bucket.

Crimper: Direct, downward pressure with the fingers to avoid slipping on a fairly flat surface. Frequently just large enough for the fingertips to grip.

Under Cling: Gripping upward and beneath a hold by facing the hand palm-up. Usually a steadying grip during a more secure grip with the other hand.

Gaston: A tough-to-perform sideways hold with the thumb pointing down and the pinky upward.

Finger Lock: A good strong hold with only a crack to steady you; works by sticking your fingers into the crack.

Footwork

Heel Hook: A hold that treats your foot as a if it were another hand; placing your heel onto a handhold and holding it there is done with body tension.

Step Through: A method of climbing with your feet by criss-crossing them over each other alternately. Good for scaling big flat rock faces.

Scissor Kick: No, not the martial arts move. In climbing, the scissor kick is a method of climbing a wide crack or vertical tunnel the right size to place your back on one wall, your feet on the other, and walk upwards.

Back Step: Maintaining a foot hold with the outside edge of your foot.

Smear: Gripping with the rubber of your shoe by first putting the front of the shoe to the rock face and then dropping your heel down to press the sole to the rock.

Combinations

Hand-Foot Match: Gripping a hold with one of your hands and one of your feet simultaneously.

Pendulum: Swinging on your rope to reach another handhold. Usually you’re hanging because you fell.

Lock-Off: Holding your body in one still position while performing some action (usually changing handholds.)

Dyno: Any technique requiring you to let go of all hand and foot holds and jump to the next point.

Rock climbing is a demanding, full-body sport. It not only requires you to use your arms, legs and torso to bend and reach in directions other sports might not require, but also asks that you carry your body weight and the weight of your gear. Some rock climbing moves even have you release all of your handholds and jump through the air to the next hold!

The good news is that taking on such a physically demanding sport as a hobby will keep you in great shape; the bad news is, if you aren’t in reasonable or better shape already, if you don’t take some time to improve yourself, any rock climbing beyond the easy beginners’ stuff is going to make for very sore muscles and possibly exhaustion. Since no hobby would be much fun if you got to look forward to aching badly for days after each session, you need a training routine to make your rock climbing experience enjoyable.

The ideal training methods to target the muscles you need to strengthen are weight training, cardio and full-body muscle toning. Muscle toning can be achieved with a method called circuit training; essentially, you set up a routine of moves that exercise one set of muscles, then another set that exercise a second set of muscles, and for your routine you alternate between the two sets of moves for thirty minutes.

For weight-training, lifting weights is a great way to get your arms and shoulders in shape to do the pulling and lifting that rock climbing will demand of you. Pull-ups in particular are great for you–after all, they require you to lift your entire body weight with your arms, something you’ll be doing a lot in rock climbing! Don’t forget to tone and strengthen your legs as well; the legs can actually lift and push your body weight much more easily than the arms, and using them in tough climbing spots will reduce your risk of injuring your arms by straining them. Lastly, cardio should achieve a target heart rate for at least 30 minutes to improve your endurance.

Currently, health professionals are emphasizing that we need to get our kids off the couch and up and doing exercise and activities. Parents are limiting their kids’ time in front of the television or playing video games. Here are some great ideas for children, young adults and families in general. These activities will get you all up and moving.While many families enjoy the Sierra Wilderness, they also need other things to inside. After you get a regular outdoor activity schedule, bring the family activities indoors as well. Discover family fun around game tables or even custom poker tables for more family bonding!

Swimming. Water sports, including swimming, and water safety skills are not only fun but also are an important skill to well being.

Shape Up. Mom and Dad will probably like this activity. There are family fitness groups that the whole family can enjoy and get their exercise. You can do relay races as a family or set up scavenger hunts and much more.

Martial Arts. The Karate Kid movie may have piqued your child’s interest in Kung Fu or some other martial arts. This sport is a great confidence and fitness builder. Some programs even offer family classes.

Hike and Bike. Both hiking and biking adventures are conducive to a family adventure. While hiking you can discover and view animals in their natural environments. You’ll get to explore and discover new areas, all while getting exercise.

Go Birding. Discover local birds that are found in your area, and then expand your area to find new birds. Having binoculars is a must!

Wacky Golf. Play golf using different clubs such as hockey sticks (Think Happy Gilmore!) and different types of balls such as baseballs or even beach balls. Set up put holes using buckets or cans and enjoy!

Play Frisbee. This old standard can be made new by playing Frisbee golf, Ultimate Frisbee, or Frisbee basketball.

Take these ideas and go out and play!

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Principle 1, Plan Ahead and Prepare, states that you must pre-plan your trip so that you have the supplies, equipment, goals and knowledge of the area you are staying in to be able to camp there without any emergencies of the inconvenient kind cropping up.

Principle 2, Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces, warns you to hike and set up camp on solid surfaces so that your feet, tents and the weight of your body while laying down to sleep don’t damage the ground beyond repair.

Principle 3, Dispose of Waste Properly, requires you to bury human waste at least six inches below the surface of the ground, preferably in a cathole.

Principle 4, Leave What You Find, forbids you from damaging the natural surroundings in any permanent fashion.

Principle 5, Minimize Campfire Impacts, asks that you use a fire pan or portable stove instead of building a campfire when possible. If you must build a campfire, disassemble it well enough afterward that no one who looks can tell a campfire was there.

Principle 6, Respect Wildlife states that you should not intentionally spook, chase, pick up, touch or feed animals you may encounter while camping. Report injured animals to the local game warden or Park Ranger.

Principle 7, Be Considerate of Other Visitors, asks that you not blare music or make excessive noise while camping, play pranks on other campers, hold sports games or other noisy, crowded events, wear bright and unnatural-looking colors like day-glow yellow, or intentionally spook other campers’ animals.

Domeland Wilderness may be named for its many dome-shaped bedrock formations, but it is also famous for having a wide variety of beautiful wildflowers. Dozens of colorful wildflower varieties bloom throughout Domeland’s 94,695 acres of wild, untamed land. Domeland follows the 7 principles of Leave No Trace, so picking the flowers isn’t allowed, but for wildflower photographers and sketch artists, this wilderness provides a fantastic opportunity to see many different colors and types of wildflower firsthand.

A visit to one of Domeland’s many gorgeous meadows is not to be missed. Manter Meadow, which is reachable via several of the hiking trails, is particularly famous. Another trait of Manter Meadow that makes it famous is that in the July of 2000, a raging wildfire started there and swept through the Domeland wilderness. The Manter wildfire, as it came to be known, took twenty days to put out, and during that time it scorched down over 74,000 acres of Domeland.

While this may sound like a bad thing, for lovers of wildflowers it’s quite the opposite; wildfires burn away dead plant material, essentially cleansing the area for new plants to grow in. This is exactly the case in Domeland, where the areas that the Manter wildfire affected produce explosions of spectacular wildflowers during the spring and summer. The Domeland wilderness is well-known for having scorching hot summers, so plan to visit some other time of the year; spring is ideal for witnessing the new growth of wildflowers that arrives with warmer weather.

Different flowers grow in different areas, but you can expect to find many of the following varieties during your visit: Shooting Stars, Purple Nightshade, Indian Paintbrush, Mustang Clover, Larkspur, Phlox, Prickly Poppy, Pride of the Mountains, Wallflower, Yarrow, Wild Onion, Pussy Paws, Wild Rose, Snowplant, Scarlet Gilia, Buttercup, Phacelia, Blue Dicks, Monkeyflower, Penstemon, Geranium, Creek Dogwood, Lupine, and Prickley Pear Cactus.

Motor vehicles are not allowed in the wilderness, nor are mountain bikes, so your travel options are to hike on foot or to ride a horse or burro. Pack your camera, sketchbook or both and enjoy a day in wildflower paradise. You can also stay overnight or plan an entire vacation around the area. There are several vacation rentals and hotels to chose from.

Despite its relatively small size for a wilderness, Desolation is a very popular spot to camp and hike. Made up of 63,690 acres of rugged sub-alpine landscape, Desolation’s close proximity to Lake Tahoe makes it easily accessible to hundreds of people per year. Motor vehicles and mountain bikes are not allowed, so travel options are walking or bringing a riding animal such as a horse or llama. Due to the barren sub-alpine climate, food for any animals must be packed and brought in with you. The Desolation wilderness has a quota for the number of daily visitors during the summer months.

With a varying elevation ranging from 6,500 to 10,000 feet, Desolation has slightly different conditions depending on the height of the location you are at. The resulting effect is a wide variety of trees, plants and environmental conditions for a single wilderness. There has many areas that afford a gorgeous view, including the well-known Pyramid Peak. Desolation also offers around 150 small lakes, many with streams connected to them, and numerous hiking trails that take you through the beautiful landscape on foot or by horseback. There are several waterfalls, including the breathtaking Horsetail Falls, which has its own trailhead.

Most of the ground is pure granite, making trees sparse except for in the occasional wet meadow, where soil has gathered over the top of the rock and plants have grown in it. The landscape only gets more barren the higher you climb, with most of the peaks having only a few plants clinging to the granite with exposed roots. With this few trees, the view from 10,000 feet is spectacular. Where they will grow, the native trees are a mixture of Red Fir and Lodgepole Pine, with sprinklings of other species such as Western White Pine and Huckleberry Oak.

Desolation is known to have great fishing spots for rainbow and brook trout, with brown and golden trout also there in smaller numbers. Wildlife includes Mule Deer, Black Bears, Porcupines, and even Wolverines on occasion. There are also many rodents, such as the Yellow-bellid Marmot, and numerous species of mountain birds.

For the modern trendy traveler, vacations have become an extension of self-expression. You focus on what you love doing and find a vacation package that will suit that travel fantasy. Many young , hip adventurers want vacations that will give the opportunity to explore new interests all while exploring new cultures and places. These travelers often overlook one of the most exciting, thrilling vacations of all—the luxury cruise. Why? Because many of these young people have an incorrect idea of what a luxury cruise is. They picture a luxury cruise as a place for senior citizens to meet and mingle or just spending all day by the pool, but the luxury cruise industry has changed this image.

Imagine as a young traveler feeling the ocean breeze as you scale  huge climbing wall whilst on your ocean cruise. Your hands covered in chalk dust, gripping the climbing rocks, repelling down the steep wall to receive your high fives of congratulations. Rock climbing walls are becoming super popular amenities on cruise ships so that the young cruise traveler can stay active on the cruise. Also, many ports of call have outdoor climbing areas as well as hiking trails, bike adventures, all sorts of active things to do. When you stay active on your cruise, your body benefits from the exercise, and you can keep up with your favorite sports activities. You may even make some new climbing buddies or hiking friends!

Now who ever said a cruise was boring? Not you! Your cruise vacation can include all sorts of activities that will keep you fit and focused. Whatever activity you enjoy—climbing, hiking, boating, or just relaxing—a cruise can offer these and so much more. Why not consider going on an active, fun adventure as you cruise around the world!

Bears do not seek out campers with intent to hurt anyone; any attacks by a bear are generally out of fear, as the bear tries to scare you by charging. As with all large animals, bears need a hefty amount of food, and because they are fairly intelligent creatures they have learned through experience that campers bring food with them. Bears have also learned to recognize anglers as a source of food; if you are fishing and sight a bear, stop fishing immediately until it leaves.

Make your presence known; when startled, bears often react defensively by charging. Try to sing, whistle or talk in a confident tone as you travel so that bears can hear you coming, and if you know a bear is around, walk upwind so that your scent will be known to it. Don’t head toward a bear once it sees you, even to scare it away, as it may take this as a sign of aggression. As a general rule, 50 yards (150 feet) is the minimum safe distance to be from a bear–preferably more than that. Double the distance if it’s a mother bear with cubs, as they are aggressive toward anything that might threaten their young.

Never corner interfere with a bear that is foraging for food. Keep your backpack and other valuable items on your person; if a bear walks up and you back away, the bear may rip the item apart in an effort to find out what is inside. If you are a photographer and want to get a picture of a bear, use a telephoto lense or settle for a long-distance shot–never get close to the animal in order to photograph it, as this is a leading cause of bear-related injuries and deaths.

Once you have the money available, you can get all kinds of sports equipment. If you’re into baseball, look for sales at your local sports stores. There are many different types of bats to choose from, and you’ll need baseballs to practice hitting. Softballs work well for practice, too, especially for someone who is new to learning to swing a bat. They’re a little bigger, so they’re easier to hit. If football is more your thing, you can use some extra money to get a new ball, some shoulder pads, or a copy of your favorite player’s jersey.

Many kids like sports, and you want to encourage them to participate in activities that keep them healthy and happy. Whatever sport they like, they’ll need the right equipment to play it. Both girls and boys have a lot of different sporting options today, including choices through their school and after-school options through the community. Because of that, they can pick and choose what really makes them happy. You can do the same thing as an adult with the sports you enjoy the most – and when you can afford the right equipment it makes things that much more enjoyable.

Sequoia National Park is home to the mountain lion, a tawny-colored big cat with an unsettling scream; those who have heard it compare it to the shriek of a terrified woman. Another name for this cat is cougar; it’s the largest carnivore in the redwood national parks, and can grow to 240 pounds. Though they are far more likely to avoid you than to attack you, when dealing with a predator on the top of the food chain it’s always good to take some precautions.

Most cougar attacks happen to people who are traveling alone. The cats prefer prey smaller than themselves; on the rare occasion that they attack humans, mountain lions have been known to snatch up small children and dogs. To avoid these dangers, always hike in groups, and keep children close at hand.

If you encounter a cougar, don’t try to hide from it–predators have keen senses, and it almost certainly knew you were there before you realized that it was. Don’t run, as this will only encourage the cat’s instincts to chase prey. Stand your ground, wave your arms and scream at the cat. Try to look as large as possible–don’t sit, crouch or bend over. If you are wearing a coat, grabbing the bottom corners with your hands and flipping it up behind your head will make your silhouette much larger; it may intimidate the cougar enough for it to retreat. Picking up a large stick and waving it is effective, too.

Usually this will be more than enough to make the mountain lion run away, especially if you are traveling in a group of three or more people. If, however, you have encountered one of the rarer aggressive cats, and it doesn’t leave from your former antics, throws stick and stones at it while shouting as loudly as you can and waving your arms around above your head. In the unlikely event that it attacks you, stay facing the cat and fight back. Cougars kill their prey by biting the neck, particularly at the back, so be aware of this and try to protect that area.

Burros, or wild donkeys, are hardy desert animals that are often the idea choice for trail riding and pack-carrying. They have short, thick fur that can be brown, gray or black, including a short and fluffy mane that often has blackened tips. Another distinct trait of the burro is the long, slender ears that many people recognize a donkey for. Burros are larger than most people imagine them; they can stand as high as 5 feet at the shoulder, and have an average body weight of 350 pounds.

The burro was originally native to Africa; it was introduced to the Southwest in the 1500s by Spaniards who brought it along into the deserts with them, and there it has since become a wild herd animal throughout all deserts in North America. Designed to withstand the heat of the landscape, the hardy burro can lose as much as 30 percent of its body weight in water and still recover if allowed to drink for 5 minutes. Just because it can handle such water loss doesn’t mean it enjoys it, of course–wild burros make it a point to live within 10 miles of a water source.

An average sized adult burro can hold around one quarter of its body weight. Sometimes burros grow large enough to carry a grown man, but generally they are too small. Weight-wise, women and children can usually ride them, and they make excellent pack animals as well. Beware their intelligence, though–it makes them more stubborn than any horse! As a positive side of that, though, they are a lot more difficult to startle by something on the trails. Burros have no natural predators, which makes them bold–to this day, shepherds often use a single burro to guard their flock of 100 or more sheep from predators!

With spunk, high intelligence and a lifespan of up to 25 years, burros can develop a relationship with their rider much like an owner does with a beloved pet dog. If you love the wilderness and exploring miles of trails, the sure-footed burro could be the ideal companion for years of adventures.

The horse is by far the most favored riding animal; people have been domesticating and riding these graceful creatures since around 4000 BCE. With a history of carrying humans through the pioneering of countries, cross-country through the wilderness, and even into war, the horse has proven its mettle as a truly excellent choice of riding and pack animal. Horses are built for speed and balance; their muscular bodies are streamlined to get maximum motion for their efforts. When paced properly, a single horse can travel 100 miles in 12 hours or less.

There are over 300 breeds of horse, most bred for specific jobs. Not all of them are ideal for exploring trails in the wilderness, or even for riding, so do your research before choosing one. The “warmblood” horse is generally considered the best for riding and for trails. Warmblood horses get their name from the combination of their lineage: they are the ideal blend of muscle, size and calm temperment from “coldblood” type horses such as draft horses, and the speed, agility and intelligence of “hotblood” breeds such as Thoroughbreds and race horses. All horses can see very well during the day and at night, and since they are prey animals, they are very attentive to their surroundings. They grow to 1,100 pounds on average, and can live up to 25 years.

A calm temperment is extremely important for a trail horse. The wilderness is an uncontrolled environment; a hotblooded horse can be skittish to any unfamiliar sounds or sudden movements, such as a bird flying across their path, and may bolt with you in the saddle. Because they are so popular for trail riding, many camping areas have places where you can rent trail horses nearby, so you don’t necessarily have to commit to owning one in order to enjoy a trail ride. Do be sure of your skills before hitting the trail, though, especially with an unfamiliar animal. Trail riding rental horses are well-trained for where you are taking them, of course, and are chosen for their calm temperments, but don’t go off riding alone unless you’re a seasoned rider.

Why Sports Are So Popular

When you are not outside exploring the Sierrra Wilderness, you may enjoy placing some bets on sports. Spectator sports are a huge attraction for many people, and participating in any format is both exciting and adventurous. Watching the team that you’re rooting for win is an awesome feeling, especially if you are hanging out with a group of friends who are also fans. Some people enjoy competition so much they like to join the fun by betting on the results of a game.

The Attraction of Online Sports

Avid fans can keep up to date on sports venues by using online resources. People can watch sports either from the comforts of their home or through wireless Internet connections on their laptops or Smartphones. Online sports participation has also attracted many online gamblers who are looking to profit with their sharp sports betting strategies, luck, skills, and chance.

Online sports often attract international interests too and make the rivalry even more fun for the spectators. Since online sports viewing is so popular, website have made the experience interactive. Viewers have the capability to interact with others, ask questions, give feedback, and express opinions about their favored team. They can either do this through live chat sessions or through public online forums that are easily shareable across the Internet.

The Excitement of Betting in Sports

Sports betting is exciting because, as with any form of betting, the outcome is unpredictable. Luck can go either way. But what sports gamblers will do to increase their chances of winning is to look at the team’s favored odds, their history of wins/losses, the players on the team, and their skills and abilities. Some even consider the team’s coach. All these factors go into sports betters determining who they think will win and why, making the guesses even more interesting. By using strategies, people who like to wager can improve their odds of winning a large purse.

The llama, a relative to the camel, is a long-necked, two-toed animal originally from North America. After a migration to Asia and South America around 3 million years ago, they became extinct in North America, so most people believe that llamas originally came from South American countries like Peru. Today, llamas make excellent pack animals for hiking, particularly mountain-climbing. Their two-toed feet are much better at navigating steep and bumpy terrain than a horse’s hooves, and they are not easily spooked.

Adult llamas can grow as large as 650 pounds, standing as tall as 6 feet at the top of the head. The average llama is around 300 pounds, and 5 and a half feet tall, though. Llamas are known to steadily carry around 75 pounds of equipment in packs on their backs. Most llama owners and llama rental places will advise against riding a llama, as the average adult is too heavy for them to carry. Cases have been documented of particularly large llamas being trained to haul heavier and heavier packs until they could carry a 170 pound person around, though, so it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.

Using a pack, llamas can carry up to 30 percent of their body weight. Their naturally gentle and calm disposition makes them safe for children to ride on the trail, as well. Contrary to popular belief, llamas don’t generally spit at people. They only spit at other llamas, and the ones that do spit at people are improperly socialized so that they think of you as a llama. They don’t kick, either, and if they did their feet wouldn’t be very dangerous, since they aren’t hard hooves like a horse’s. An agitated llama lays its ears back flat on its head.

Though they can’t carry you through the wilderness, llamas can carry your gear so that you last longer hiking than you would on your own. Their padded feet don’t rip up the ground like a horse’s, so they are particularly ideal for following the Leave No Trace principles. Many people riding horses bring llamas as well to carry their gear.

If you’re going to be camping out overnight, unless you’re okay with living on jerky and trail mix you’re going to need to cook in the wilderness. Most people get the general idea for how to build a campfire: make a circle of stones, light the fire inside, and make sure it doesn’t get out. What they may not know is that you are supposed to clear the ground down to soil inside of the campfire ring and as far as five feet around the outside as well.

Building a good, safe campfire isn’t just about how to build it, though—it’s also about where you build it. Campfires should always be at least five feet away from your tent, gear and firewood, and placed downwind so that it doesn’t blow toward them if the wind picks up. You should never build a campfire near dry, brittle or flammable things, even grass or other parts of the landscape. In fact, at the driest parts of the year it’s not advisable to start any campfires at all. Many campgrounds have their own built in fire rings, which you should use instead of building your own, if possible.

Do not try to burn any pieces of wood longer than the fire pit is wide. Never leave your campfire unattended, even for a moment. When it comes times to put out the campfire, always ensure that it is “dead out”–entirely out, including embers and even warm coals. The best way to do this is to not only pour water onto the fire to extinguish it, but to mix the soil, water and coals thoroughly.

If properly created and put out, campfires can conform to the principles of Leave No Trace. However, many wilderness areas and other places you may go to camp do not allow campfires at all; in these instances you’ll need to use a small stove instead. Stoves, because they are self-contained and have an enclosed top, don’t present the safety hazard of sparks jumping out into dry grass or the wind blowing licks of flame onto other dry items as a campfire does.

Snowshoeing is pretty straightforward in principal; walk on the snow. That can’t be that hard, right? There are a few differences between walking on snow (and in large, rounded shoes) than walking on the ground, though. Beginners to snowshoeing will have to relearn how they should stand if they have fallen down, turn around to face the other direction, and several other actions when they are walking on the white stuff.   First, of course, rent or buy a set of snowshoeing gear: snowshoes and walking poles. Ask the person recommending the gear to help you ensure that they are the right size; sizing is very important for snowshoes, as it is based on your weight. Basically the heavier you are, the wider the snowshoes need to be to distribute that weight over the surface of the snow. Be honest about your actual weight, and count in the weight of any gear you’ll be carrying, or you could find yourself sinking through the snow rather than walking on top of it!  Walking in snowshoes is called stride. Your stride will be similar to walking without snowshoes, but you’ll have to straddle–walk with your feet further apart than usual–in order to keep the wide snowshoes from hitting together. Breaking trail is the term for creating a trail in the snow where it hasn’t been stepped on with snowshoes before. Breaking trail involves techniques called stamping and edging, but ways of placing weight on the edge of a snowshoe before pressing down into the middle so that the snow will pack down enough to hold your weight.   To turn around, you can’t just rotate–your snowshoes will catch in the snow. Instead, step in a circle by placing one foot at a 90-degree angle from the other, then placing the other foot to face in the same direction. Repeat this twice and you will have turned around to face the exact opposite direction that you had been facing before. There are five techniques for climbing hills in snowshoes, each suited for a different kind of slope; practice in your backyard before hitting the trails.

When you ask people why they go to the wilderness, you will hear a wide variety of reasons: to get away from a rushed lifestyle for a few days. To live off the land, and sleep under the stars. To enjoy the beauty of nature. One reason you’ll likely never hear, though, is also something that every camper has to deal with: doing without a regular toilet. If you’re camping in a true wilderness setting, you’re on your own about how to improvise a toilet–and remember, in wilderness areas you must also Leave No Trace.

The most widely-used and accepted substitute for a toilet is the cathole. A cathole is a hole in the ground, typically 6 to 8 inches deep and 4 to 6 inches in diameter, in which human feces are buried. Catholes in arid and desert locations should be dug more shallowly (only 4 to 6 inches deep) so that the heat from the sun speeds up decomposition. Each member of your group must have their own cathole, and they should be widely spaced apart so that there isn’t a large concentration of waste in one area.

Choose a spot at least 200 feet away from your camp to dig your cathole. It should be downstream of any water sources to prevent runoff from contaminating the water, and ideally it will be in direct sunlight so that the heat speeds decomposition. Bearing all of this in mind, don’t forget that it needs to be as private as possible, too–pick a location away from trails or any landmarks that might attract other people’s attention.

Do not bury toilet paper in the cathole; bring along a ziplock baggy and pack out all used toilet paper in it. Put the baggy into a brown paper bag for appearances’ sake, if you like. Feminine sanitary items such as pads and tampons should be dealt with the same way. A scented towelette in the bag helps mask the smell of the contents. Strong scents attract animals, so store your toilet paper and feminine item bags in the secure place you store food overnight.

When you take a cruise, you have several to choose from. You may want a cruise that will take you near the Sierra Wilderness so you can hike, fish, and hunt. You love being the Sierra Wilderness and a cruise that will take you near that would be perfection. Many times, we want to go with the cheapest thing we can find. It uses to be very expensive to take a cruise, but not now. Cruises have become a popular way to tour of vacation and this has caused Cruise Lines to offer more for less. A cheap cruise has many cost benefits for groups and families. One major benefit is cruises all in one packages. Once you have paid your cruise fee, you have covered your eating, lodging, and a series of entertainment options. This prevents the hidden cost you normally are hit with one vacations.

The opportunity to travel to different countries on one trip is another cost effective benefit to cruises. What other vacation you go on here you can say you have visited several countries for the price of one vacation. In addition, the fact that everyone can truly relax because no one is responsible for the transportation this is a priceless benefit.

Entertainment for everyone keeps you from having to pay several different adventures to satisfy everyone. Cruises offer you the royal treatment at no extra cost including spas, reading, games etc. The people aboard the cruise offer activities that suit all the different age group of children. All activities on the ship are closely monitored so for families it’s almost like free babysitting. Other staff members are on duty at all times to ensure the safety of the passengers.

The next time your family is on a budget and looking to find a good vacation, just look up a cruise. They take you to exciting places and give you plenty of activities. No need for transportation cost, extra cost for food, lodging is covered, and you get extras like massages and other top of the line treatment. This makes cheap cruises priceless.

One of the most important skills to know for snowshoeing is how to climb a hill. Ascending, as it is called, in snowshoes takes practice and precision. There are several commonly-practiced techniques for ascending, four of which will be covered here. Depending on the steepness of the slope and how well the snow packs, you may choose from several of these techniques when sizing up a particular hill.
Herringbone Step
Herringbone stepping is the term for ascending by pointing your snowshoes outward as you step up the hill. To herringbone step, you must point your feet at forty-five degree angles from your body and lean your weight onto the outside edges of your snowshoes to press the snow down enough to hold you. Herringbone stepping may be familiar to you already if you have done any cross-country skiing.
Stepping Up
Stepping up is one of the most common ways for a snowshoer to ascend a hill. It involves facing the hill and stepping into it with the toes of your snowshoes in order to literally walk through the snow as if you were climbing a set of steps.
Scramble Step
The scramble step, also called simply scrambling, is basically a speedy way of stepping up. Make sure to keep your weight leaning onto the toes of your snowshoes! This may be more difficult to do when moving faster.
Side Step
To side step, stand so that the hill is at your side and ascend sideways. Before you place each snowshoe down fully, press down on the snow with only the outer side of the snowshoe to pack it down; this technique is called edging, and it’s a vital snowshoeing skill. Before you start side stepping, use edging to make a shelf with your first step, then step with the same foot up one step higher so that your other foot can be lifted to rest on the first shelf. As you take each new step, your other foot will end up on the last shelf that your leading foot occupied.
Always research and practice new techniques at home before you hit any mountain trails.

It’s never wise to drink water that you find in the wilderness without purifying it somehow first. People are used to drinking purified, filtered and treated water—our bodies aren’t as hardy as they likely were when our ancestors drank water from natural sources. Any water found on the ground is likely contaminated with one or more of the five basic water pollutants: toxic chemicals, turbidity, viruses, bacteria, and parasitic creatures.

Turbidity is the term used to describe how cloudy the water looks. The more cloudy it is, the more sediments and other contaminants are in it that you shouldn’t be drinking. Toxic chemicals are man-made substances like motor oil that can be deadly to ingest. You shouldn’t see this in a natural setting–if you do come across something like motor oil in a wilderness stream, report it to your park ranger immediately. Viruses and bacteria can cause disease, including a few that you may catch even if you were inoculated for them, such as typhoid.

Last, and arguably most unpleasant, are the parasites. Parasitic creatures commonly found in water include flukes—worms that infest your blood and cause diseases—and leeches. Most people have heard about leeches latching onto the skin and sucking blood. The less heard-of thing about these parasites is that if you swallow them, they can attach themselves to the inside of your throat and even the inside of your nose, sucking blood and leaving multiple bleeding sores. That possibly alone ought to make you attentive to purifying your water in the wilderness!

To avoid all of the above, always purify any water that you collect from the ground. Rainwater collected into a clean, sterilized container is safe to drink. There are several common and simple ways to sterilize water. The first method is to bring it to a rolling boil and continue boiling for 10 minutes and it ought to be safe to drink. Another method is to add 5 to 10 drops of iodine per canteen of water and let it stand for half an hour. Last, and simplest, is to use purification tablets as per their instructions.

When it is too cold to enjoy the Sierra Wilderness, many people watch sports on TV. It seems like there is a national holiday in America for the Super Bowl. It is not only a holiday for Americans, but for the rest of the world, as the Super Bowl has become the premiere global event in American sports. The NFL is happy to see this, since there is always the desire to attract more attention and revenue from other markets. However, this doesn’t mean that big ratings and international exposure is always a good thing. It could be that the desire to make money is hurting the game.

Casual and hardcore football fans alike will admit one thing universally: the Super Bowl is usually boring. Past the glitz and glam of the halftime show, and the endless hype over the commercials, the game itself is not always very interesting. As a matter of fact, the Super Bowl is often thought of as one of the worst big games of the entire season. So, how does media attention contribute to this problem?

The most obvious concern for the game is the two week break between the conference title games and the Super Bowl. This is done so that the international media, as well as local media, can have travel and prep time, and so sportsbooks have a time to readjust the betting line.  After all, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest gambling days of the year; not only is the game bet, but various prop bets are also drummed up.

This break in time causes some players to get a bit rusty. The practices they get during Super Week are usually not as good due to the intense fanfare. As long as the media continues to buy in, the Super Bowl will be full of hype; it just may not be full of action.

There are two methods of bathing in the wilderness: bathing without soap in a large body of water, or bathing by carrying water at least 200 feet away from the lake or stream where you got it and washing with only phospate-free, biodegradable soap. If you choose to bathe in the water, you can still get clean without soap. Pebbles, sand and gravel are useful to scrub with—think of them as natural loofahs. Bathing in the water is a handy time to wash your clothes, as well–swim in them and scrub them at the same time.

If bathing with soap, you must carry the water far away from the source. Bathe downhill from the source so that it won’t stream soap back into its original pool, and when you rinse your body and hair, try to spread the water out so that it doesn’t all land in one spot. The same goes for brushing your teeth–use salt or baking powder in place of toothpaste (which is a man-made substance), and try not to spit it out all in one spot.

Washing your hands, a vital part of everyday hygiene, is a bit trickier in the wilderness but still doable. You have the choices of either carrying water 200 feet away from the source and washing with soap, or using alcohol-based hand cleaner, which requires no rinsing to sterilize.

Deep in the wilderness, there is no such thing as a bridged river. Hiking on foot is grueling enough without having to cross through flowing water (although getting wet may help you deal with the heat if your trip takes place during the summer), and it presents a definite safety concern. If you have never forded a river, especially, take note of these tips before you set out on your hike.

Plan your hiking routes before you set out. This seems like common sense, but some people prefer to wander–and those are the people who tend to be caught by surprise when they run into a river they need to cross. Planning your route out ahead of time will make you aware of all obstacles in your path, including streams and rivers. If you must cross water to complete your route, try to make it a wide river rather than a narrow one. The more widely the water is distributed, the shallower it becomes, and the less likely it is to have a strong current.

Before crossing a river, toss a moderately-sized rock into it and listen for how the landing sounds. If it makes a light splash, the river is shallow. A deep-sounding “plunk” is a sign of deeper water. Moving water stirs up debris, including silt from glacial streams, so you may not be able to see obstacles on the bed of the stream before you reach them. Pay attention to the surface of the water: if there are large waves, the water is deep. If there are small, ripple-like waves, the water is shallow.

Before crossing a river, secure all items that you don’t want to get wet (electronics, dry clothes, sleeping bags, dehydrated food, etc.) in watertight plastic bags. Unfasten any buckles on your pack below the waist; in the event that you fall over, you an get the pack off easily this way before it gets too waterlogged and pulls you down. Keep your shoes on. Move slowly and carefully, keeping your eyes on the far shore, and use a long stick for support if possible.

When camping in the Sierra area, proper food storage is essential to a safe and enjoyable camping experience. Bears have learned to recognize camps and hikers’ packs as potential food sources, and if you leave your kids backpack unattended for even a moment, they will take the opportunity to forage in it!

Even if they don’t see you, bears can smell you. With a sense of smell 700 times better than a blood hound’s, these animals can catch a whiff of food right through your pack from over 20 miles away, and that isn’t even when you’re actively cooking it! Bearing this in mind, steer clear of cooking smelly foods like fish while in the wilderness–regular food may smell the same as other campers’ food and therefore blend in somewhat, but if your cooking has a stronger smell, the bear will likely come to find out what that particularly delicious-smelling food is.

Bears will investigate anything that has a strong odor, and have been known to shred backpacks containing laundry detergent, scented towelettes, bug spray, used diapers, toothpaste, water bottles and more. Canned food still has a scent. Clothes you wore while preparing food can smell enough to attract them. To avoid any bear troubles during your camping trip, use one of the two most common methods of concealing your food: bearbagging and packing.

Bearbagging is the casual name for the practice of packing up all odorous items–food, sunscreen, used feminine items, used toilet paper in bags, garbage, cosmetics and so on–in one pack and hanging it from a tree or pole overnight. Even easier is to hoist your whole pack, avoiding the trouble of repacking items into a separate bag to hang. Many campsites are equipped with a pole to hang items from, and using a tree is a simple process as well.

Packing simply means to conceal all odorous items in a bear-proof metal container. Some campsites provide these containers with your permit, but if you plan to use this method you may want to bring your own just in case. Hung or packed items should be located at least 100 yards from your camp.

One of the biggest complaints about camping in a tent is that you have the ground right beneath you. Not only is it uncomfortable for you if the terrain is lumpy or very hard, but it’s difficult to follow the Leave No Trace principles when your tent crushes a part of the landscape. If it rains, your tent may not be watertight on the bottom. You and your gear could end up spending the night wet–not exactly the kind of quality rest hikers need to keep their energy up!

Camping comfortably and leaving no trace might be easier if you traded the tent for a hammock. The word’hammock’ brings to mind a sling may of netting or cloth that hangs between palm trees in some tropical paradise, but camping hammocks are much more suited for the environments you’ll be hiking in. A camping hammock is hung from two trees by canvas straps called “tree-huggers” that are designed not to damage the trees’ bark in the process, which makes a hammock far better at leaving no trace than your typical landcape-flattening tent.

The standard camping hammock is made of heavy-duty nylon, and with mosquito netting covering the top and sewn to the sides, it’s more like a pod than a sling in shape. You enter the hammock from the bottom, where there is a slit in the bottom where your feet will end up. You open the slit, stand up half-inside the hammock, lean back and pull your feet up, and the opening closes tightly with velcro straps. Last but not least is the rain fly–a tent-like covering that is secured over the top of your hammock to easily shrug off even the heaviest downpour of rain.

Sleeping gently suspended is much better on the back than sleeping on the hard ground. Camping hammocks are excellent for 3-season camping, but are not recommended for winter because the bottom of the hammock doesn’t insulate very well. This can be remedied by adding a down quilt or comforter to your little pod-nest; several companies custom-make quilts just for camping hammocks.

The National parks and large mountain peaks that this country has to offer really are beautiful to behold. Don’t miss out on them or think that you can’t afford to experience their grandeur. Like many others before you, you can stand in awe of what they offer to the world, or climb them and see how your perspective of the world is forever changed. Something as simple as the size of your vehicle payment shouldn’t be the deciding factor as to whether you have these experiences or not.

When you make a decision to refinance your auto loan, consider what you want to do with the extra money and how much you’ll need each month. How soon do you want to reach your goal? How much are you already putting aside? What else can you do to save more money? Once you’ve answered those kinds of questions, you’ll know what kind of auto loan rate and payment you want to refinance into. Then you can start shopping around at banks and credit unions so you can get what you need and start climbing those mountains.

There’s something about a white, isolated mountaintop that inspires the imagination. Especially a 10,000 foot tall cone-shaped mountain that stands lonesome against a relatively flat landscape. Perhaps that’s why Mount Shasta has so many spiritual beliefs and unexplained myths surrounding it; something about the place just exudes mystery. For centuries, poets, writers and artists have tried to capture just what about Mount Shasta inspires such dramatic reactions in those who visit it, and the variety of explanations over the years is fascinating unto itself.

Mount Shasta is considered by many to be a spiritual place. The otherworldly feel is explained by the Native Americans with the story that the spirit chief Skell descended from heaven to the summit and now resides there. A group of McCloud River Native Americans still practice rituals on the mountain today.

Several cults and New Age groups believe that a race of humanoid beings called Lemurians reside there, or at the least visit there frequently. Lemurians are said to resemble very tall (seven feet and over) humans with long flowing hair, to wear white robes, and to be superior to humans physically and mentally. According to those who believe in them, Mount Shasta has an enormous city made of interconnecting tunnels beneath it, and that is the Lemurians’ home. Occasionally people will report sightings of white-robed figures being spotted on Mount Shasta.

In addition to the Lemurians and spirits, Mount Shasta is also home to a Zen Buddhist monastery. Shasta Abbey, which is nestled at the base of the mountain, welcomes visitors to come in and learn Buddhist ways from the monks. The abbey also publishes its own Buddhist books, including the writings of their founder, Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett.

Italian immigrants brought strong Catholic spiritualism to the Mount Shasta area in the early 1900s, and Catholicism is still strong there today. As if all of this wasn’t enough spiritualism for one place (or perhaps because of it all), some clairvoyants claim to see an enormous purple triangular aura around the mountain that extends out into space. Mount Shasta is also a noted area for Bigfoot sightings.

For one thing, silver is a good conductor of electricity. Its uses in the electronics industry are well regarded by the sort of technical people who do not get out very much. But everyone can benefit from silver’s antibacterial properties, when small amounts of it are put inside of stick on bandages, in order to keep wounds from getting infected. Truly, silver is a very functional metal, when it comes to things beyond jewelry and the simple, understated luster that it brings to all of the jewelry applications in which silver is used.

A lot of people who invest in Silver bullion do not realize the genuine value of the commodity that they are flipping from speculator to speculator. While it does look good, and it does trade easily, silver has a whole lot of uses to it beyond just “looking good.” And the real value of silver might be lost on people who only see it as a ticker symbol on a commodity exchange, or as something that might go up or down on any given day. While a market is an important thing, the intrinsic value of any commodity is the most important thing.

Before it was a national park, before it was given the name that we now know it by, Yosemite National Park was far from uninhabited. People have been living in the lush, rugged area for tens of thousands of years, starting with the Ahwahneechee tribe, who lived there for generations before Europeans arrived in 1851. From around 1855 to 1865, only 650 people managed to travel through the untamed terrain and reach what those that lived there were calling “The Incomparable Valley”.

Some people came for the beauty–artists, photographers, writers. Their work told the rest of the world about Yosemite’s splendor. Others were not so respectful of their new home, and began to exploit the landscape. After conservationists called out to stop this exploitation, in 1864 President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill that granted Yosemite Valley to the state of California, and it was declared a national park in 1890.

Today, Yosemite National Park is visited by three and a half million people per year. Despite Europeans’ attempts to rid Yosemite Valley of them, the Native Americans who first lived there have endured—today seven tribes count themselves as descendents of the original Yosemite Valley natives. Programs dedicated to preserving the rich cultural history of the valley include excavating settlement sites and displaying over four million artifact items in the Yosemite museum. The museum also boasts a library about Yosemite that contains over ten thousand books, many of which are becoming available in digital format in the National Park Association’s online library.

Throughout Yosemite’s years as a national park, the National Park Agency has been diligent in preserving the natural beauty of the area. The buildings are maintained the way that they were originally constructed, in the National Park Service Rustic Style, to uphold the philosophy that architecture should blend in with their natural surroundings. Unrestricted camping is now prohibited in the park in order to protect the environment; campers may use one of the dozens of campsites instead. Thanks to the continued efforts of the National Park Agency, Yosemite National Park will surely continue to delight visitors for many years to come.

Admittedly, this is part of why some people enjoy winter hiking. They get to eat high-calorie, high-sugar foods like chocolate bars throughout the day, knowing that they aren’t guilty pleasures–in fact, in this situation they’re good for you! Winter hikers must always be mindful of when they last ate–keeping their calorie counts high is essential for the body to have the energy to keep moving at a good pace over the difficult landscape, and since the body burns calories to maintain its temperature, if you slack off in your snacking you will quickly get cold.

Because you must eat so frequently, any food that takes a long time to prepare is inefficient for winter hiking. Stopping for half an hour to heat water and cook every time you needed to eat would leave you little time to hike! Because of the time constraint, dehydrated foods and anything that takes much cooking should be avoided. Also avoid most energy bars, as they can get rock-hard in low temperatures and become impossible to bite into. High-carb foods like pasta, polenta and rice make good dinners when you do make camp. During the day, snack constantly on easy-to-eat foods like chocolate bars, granola, energy gel, nut butters, cookies, crackers and jerky. If you are a smoker it advised to carry electric cigarettes along with you, as they are far better than normal cigs in many ways.

Be sure to sample each kind of food you plan to bring on a winter hike before you set out. If you pack something that ends up tasting bad, you won’t have the option of being picky–you must eat it. Bring along your favorite foods to be sure you’ll want to eat them!

Yosemite National Park has many historical events associated with it. It was a pioneering time when the park was founded in 1890, and pioneers led difficult, often dangerous lives. A lesser-known fact about Yosemite is that for a time, its security was entrusted to all African-American U.S. Soldiers. These black Americans were nicknamed “Buffalo Soldiers”, which may be Native American in origin and based upon how the soldiers’ curly hair resembled the pad of hair between a buffalo’s horns. Wherever the name came from, it stuck, and it became a term for all African-American soldiers at the time.

The Buffalo Soldiers had the exact same duties as white soldiers in the U.S. military did; they wore the same uniforms, and they were armed with the same weapons. Two out of the three 60-man Buffalo Soldier outfits were exclusively African-American, complete with a black commanding officer. This was very unusual for the time.

The only thing about the Buffalo Soldiers’ duties that was not identical to the white soldiers’ duties was that the former had to deal with racism while performing theirs. Because their duties often dealt with people, they had to perfect the fine balance between being diplomatic and being a firm authority figure. During their visits, they infused the economy with new money, and so they were often positively-received when they came to Yosemite each summer.

Despite the racial prejudice of the times, the Buffalo Soldiers were essentially the lawmen of Yosemite National Park during their stays; some of their duties included putting out forest fires, stopping illegal grazing of animals on national park land, building of trails (including the first trail to the top of Mount Whitney), and constructing the first museum in the National Park System–an arboretum with benches, paths and identified names of plants.

During their services to the United States as park rangers and otherwise, the Buffalo soldiers have been given many medals of honor, and there are monuments standing today in honor of them. In Sequoia National Park, Buffalo Soldier and first-ever African-American park superintendent Charles Young even has a Giant Sequoia named after him.

Municipal bonds are issued by government entities to raise money for their individual projects. Instead of borrowing the money, a government is actually asking you to make an investment in them by providing the funds they need. When enough people buy up a series of municipal bonds then the funds become available for the project. The key to most municipal bonds is that you’ll be paid back you initial investment plus dividends on the interest which you might have earned if you merely kept the money in a bank savings account. The one drawback is that you will be surrendering that initial investment for an extended period of time. Just like you shouldn’t gamble with money you don’t have, you shouldn’t buy a municipal bond if you can’t part with the capitol.

What a new bond holder gets in return for their investment are tax free pay outs. Whatever money you earn from the municipal bond interest becomes yours without any taxes taken out. Of course this all has to be worked out when you file your income tax return but it makes investing in municipal bonds a pretty safe bet.

Domeland, located 55 miles off of Bakersfield, California, is an enormous chunk of rugged, untamed landscape named for its numerous dome-shaped bedrock formations. Domeland Wilderness is known for an abundance of colorful wildflowers, as well as extreme heat during the summer months. Due to the latter, the wilderness is much less traveled during the summer. Elevations of the wilderness areas range from 3,000 to nearly 10,000 feet, and some parts are much more rugged than others. Over 74,000 acres of Domeland were burnt in the Manter wildfire during the July of 2000.

As per the laws of a wilderness, no motor vehicles are permitted within Domeland; this includes cars, trucks, trailers, and even mountain bikes. Visitors are allowed to bring up to 25 head of stock per group, and groups may be up to 15 people in size, making Domeland an ideal place for those who want to truly live off of the land and rely on pack animals to cover the nearly 100,000-acre landscape. Hunting and fishing are even allowed under State regulations.

Wildlife includes several large herds of deer, brown, rainbow and golden trout, mountain lions, bobcats, American black bears, and a high population of rattlesnakes. Visitors to Domeland place themselves into isolated, very wild surroundings; you should always check with the local Ranger Station for any current hazards or conditions of the landscape before heading into the wilderness. Domeland requires no permit to enter the wilderness as a guest, but you must have a campfire permit for stoves, gas lanterns and campfires, so you should see to those beforehand as well.

Activities in Domeland include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing (seasonal), day-hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, rock climbing and hunting.

Another question to consider is what the effective interest rates are at the time you consider refinancing. Since the recession, interest rates have been at their lowest in decades, proving that 2010 is a great time for securing very low interest rates that the US might not see again for several more decades to come. The caveat to this is that unless borrowers can qualify under today’s increasingly more difficult guidelines for obtaining a loan, then refinancing may not be an alternative. This potentially excludes many thousands of people with little money for a down payment, job history of less than two years, credit report scores less than perfect, and an income to debt ratio slightly higher than ideal. Banks have reduced substantially their exposure to bad mortgage risks and in turn left the market for home refinancing products quite bare.

It is advisable that prospective borrowers interested in refinancing their home should take the time to research all available options. Speak to your banker and read the fine print for whatever alternatives you are presented with. Ask questions and make sure to compare choices that are relevant comparisons, as well as be patient throughout the process to ensure that you don’t waste whatever limited opportunities exist in today’s market.