Warm Air Cold Water

Hey Everyone,

Some of you may remember Josh. Last fall I took him trout fishing for the first time and he finished the day with a slam. He just picked up a nice fly rod and was itching to get it on the water. We took off for a very commonly fished stream in hopes of finding a few stragglers. I turned out to be a great day on the water and josh hooked his first trout on a fly. We also caught some species that I wasn't expecting but they were pretty all the same. I personally cant wait for fall to get here so I can really put him on the fish. Its nice to get someone else excited about a sport that you are passionate about. Here are a few photos of our day.



I hope every one's summer is going well and that you have found time to get out.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Ebira

I spent my Friday in the backcountry, on a small trout stream, Tenkara fishing. I was also testing out a new product, the Ebira. All I can say is this thing is awsome! I consider it a must have for the backcountry Tenkara fly fisherman.



If you want to know more about the Ebira or Tenkara. Leave a comment below or chat with Jason, myself, and other like minded folks at backpackflyfishing.com

See you on the trail,
Lance

Its Raining Beer?

Hey Everyone,

I took the day off from work (honey do list) to go for a little stroll. I planned a nice eight mile hike using a combination of trails, and enjoyed hiking from one high point to the next. However, upon reaching my final summit, I heard the unmistakable sound of aluminium hitting a tree branch. Imagine my surprise when a nearly half full Miller Lite can landed with a thud at my feet! I was, for lack of a better term, pissed. I grabbed the can, emptied the remaining contents, and decided to hike it back to the top in hopes of returning it to its owner! Well, it was no surprise that upon reaching the top, and questioning about ten people, no one saw anything. I'm pretty sure I found the guy (who shied away from me as I inquired about the can), but with no proof or pointed finger, I couldn't justify handing it to him. I crushed the can and hiked it back to the parking lot. In all my years of hiking, I've been through all types of weather, but this was the first time it rained beer on me.

See you on the trail,
Lance

Tying One On

Hey Everyone,

I was recently invited to be the guest fly tier at the Greensboro location of the Great Outdoor Provision Company. I visit the store from time to time to see what I "need", and to talk a little trail and fly with the staff. I have come to know a few of the guys pretty well and occasionally they will ask my advise on a subject. I was really honored to be asked my Mike, the fly fishing manager, if I would mind coming in and tying some flies for their weekly get together. I don't consider myself to be an expert tier but accepted the invite. It was good to talk fly with a few folks, and I tied a few patterns that I have had great success with. I also introduced the world of Tenkara fly fishing to the guests and staff. I talked and tied so much that I didn't think to get my camera until I was packing up. I want to thank Mike and GOP for the invite, and I look forward to doing it again sometime. In fact, I'll have to get over there to see some patterns tied by other guest tiers.

See you on the trail,
Lance

p.s. If you are in the NC area you should stop in to one of the GOP locations. Here is a link to find the location nearest you.
greatoutdoorprovision

Shaving Pounds

Hey Everyone,

Well, I was going to write this great post about how we all count every ounce in our packs, and scrutinize every piece of gear for its weight, but never think about losing weight ourselves. However, upon doing the research for this post I have found that it is a lot more complicated than that. No wonder people have to have degrees in this field. The truth is that we are not all thru-hikers, and we don't spend every day on the trail. It is not so true that we all could easily lose weight to be lighter, thus feeling like we took twenty pounds off of our backs. Upon reading some articles about sports fitness, I have come to find that you can burn fat, but that doesn't mean you will be lighter. When you start to working out and burning fat, you also start to build lean muscle. So what does that mean? Well, when you step on that bathroom scale, after six months of training, you may not be lighter. The goal, I have found, is to have the correct body fat percentage. I'm pretty sure that, for most of us, getting to a correct body fat percentage will make us lose some weight. If your body fat percentage is good, then that means the weight you are carrying is all working for you instead of just sitting there. Ive looked at body fat percentages,for athletes, and have taken an average from triathletes, swimmers, and runners, to come up with what I think is a good number for hikers.

Males 9- 15%
Women 12 - 19%

I was measured in the military to have 6% body fat. When I did triathlons I was measured at 8%. So, from my experiance alone these percentages seem reasonable. Another thing I have found is you can't always count on you BMI (body mass index) score because it does not take muscle mass into account. For instance I am 5' 10" and weigh about 190 lbs and my BMI score is 27.3 which is technically overweight. According to this scale I would have to weigh no more than 170#. However, my doctor says that, with the muscle build I have, I could never get below 175 lbs and be healthy. So your BMI is good to use as a rough estimate, but don't let it discourage you. If you would like to read more on this topic, I have posted a couple of links to my resources at the bottom of this post. I hope you all have learned something... I know I sure have. I think I owe my scale an apology as well.

I have set a goal to get back to 10% body fat at 175-180 lbs. This should be, not only good for my health overall, but make me a more efficient hiker. We'll see how it goes. Let me know if you set a goal and how you plan to or did accomplish it.

See you on the trail,
Lance

P.S. I also have some cool health related stuff coming up- like video interview with a friend of mine, who has a degree in sports medicine. We're going to go over food choices for hiking and look at things like calories, sodium, and electrolytes.

UPDATE: After talking with my friend he recomended that I up my body fat percentage to account for any weight loss that might occur during a hike. You will also notice that I have changed the recomended percentage for men due to this discussion.

Resources :
sport-fitness-advisor
fitnessonline
mountainsurvival

The AT Goes Where?

Hey Everyone,

I recently heard some very interesting news about the AT (Appalachian Tail), well, the IAT (international Appalachian Trail). What do you think of hiking to Morocco? There is a plan in the works that will extend the Appalachian Trail into Europe. As it looks now, the IAT will run along the east coast of Greenland, and then on to Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The trail will then pickup on the mainland of Norway, and proceed south through France and Portugal, with a small run through western Spain, and finally ending in Morocco. Trails already exist along much of the conceptual route, so in many cases, participating countries can mark these trail segments with the IAT sign to make it part of the network. It seems that Greenland and Ireland are taking the idea seriously, and they are already plotting out the routs through their countries. This means, of course, that there will be some portions which involve a ferry or train ride, but that just adds to the adventure! With the small connector that links the AT to the Florida Trail, one could conceivably thru-hike from Big Cypress National Preserve all the way to Morocco. The logistics alone would be immense, and I'm sure it would cost a small fortune, but I bet you would never run out of stories for the camp fire!

See you on the trail,
Lance

UPDATE: I was asked to post a link to the article that I read this from. However, I am unable to locate it again. I have found this article pressherald which is almost word for word the same as the one I read. Also if you type "European Appalachian Trail Extension" into google you will see several more articles.

After the Hike.

Hey Everyone,

Sorry if you haven't seen me around for a few days. I just got back from a three day backpacking trip that my Venture boys put together. Other than the 90 degree heat, thunder storms, and relentless mosquito's it was a fun trip. I think that everyone learned a new trick on this hike, such as how to cook in a down pour! I've just finished up cleaning everything (a.k.a. my post hike ritual). I know that when I step in the door I'm dog tired, smell like, well like Ive been living in the woods, and the last thing I want to do is clean gear. However, after a nice hot shower, with lots of soap, I find the energy to pull everything out, dry what needs drying, wash what needs washing, and inspect all my gear. I'm lucky that Christi is a hiker as well, so she understands the need to take over the dinning room and hang rain flies up from the chairs, and cover the kitchen counter with drying cook sets and filters parts for a day or two. Not to mention, I moved her decorative cooking apron to hang up my hydration bladder.



What's your post hike ritual? Do you get right to it like myself, or do you prefer to kick back, relax, and do it the next day? Also, if you have a really cool way of cleaning a piece of gear let me know. I'm always interested in learning a new way to do something!

See you on the trail,
Lance