Outdoor Adventure by pintoo

Come summer, and it’s time to enjoy the authentic outdoors. Given below are our top three destinations for outdoor adventure this summer.

The Grand Canyon National Park: The world’s most famous, most visited, most-viewed ditch, the Grand Canyon is an iconic natural wonder. This summer, get away from your stereotyped tailgate picnic to the Canyon. Move away from the thronging crowds and explore the heart of this colossus. Take the Hermit Trail and enjoy a 25-kilometer round-trip just below the south rim. On the way, you’ll plunge into the Red Rock abyss and see the Canyon up close. Day hikes are stunning, though humid. Bring plenty of water, nutritious food and a winning attitude.

Yosemite National Park: For the ultimate viewing experience, the Yosemite Valley at the heart of Yosemite National Park is a must-see. No wonder the place is overrun with feisty tourists who make the campgrounds look more like a crowded street in New York rather than the great outdoors. But, you can still have the time of your life if you venture further inland for some breathtaking action. Climbing the sheer face of the “El Cap” is one such experience. Its 3,000+ face is considered to be one of the best big-wall climbing surfaces. There are some 80 routes to the summit. Scaling the largest chunk of exposed granite on the earth won’t be an easy task. Springtime is the best time to try it. In the summers, the rock is baking hot and in the winters, the days are short and chilly. Advanced reservation at a nearby camp site is recommended.

The Olympic National Park: Mammoth trees, amazing wildlife and spectacular vegetation make the Olympic National Park one of the best parks in America. People visit this Park for a number of reasons. Some like to delve into the little seen lollipop-shaped backpacking route that goes around the White Mountain. Others like to climb the first divide, from where they can catch the spectacular view of flowery meadows and white-capped mountain peaks. Adventure activities include fishing, camping, backpacking, climbing, hiking and beach combing.

While the above are our top picks, you don’t have to limit yourself to these destinations alone. Visit the Redwood National Park and enjoy camping, hiking or horseback riding surrounded by giant trees looming over you all the way up to the sky. The Channel Islands National Park and the Voyageurs Park are places to visit if you love water sports like swimming, kayaking, snorkeling and whale watching. The Channel Islands is just the place for a family vacation. Your little ones will be thrilled by opportunities for whale watching, beach combing and enjoying the live underwater video program. For family fun and adventure activities with bigger children, you can check out the Big Cypress National Park. Besides being delighted by the forest, kids can get their fill of live alligators, fishing, biking, bird watching and canoeing.

As you can see, the National Parks in America offer you and your family unparalleled adventure and fun. So, what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time you took to the great outdoors?

Welcome to the net’s most complete resource for outdoor travel & adventure in America’s National Parks and more â€" FREE insider’s info by adventurers for adventurers.

source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=971321

Travel Cheap - The Second Way by Steve Gillman

One basic way to travel cheap is to learn all the special tricks and techniques. There are days of the week when flights cost less, for example, and places where you can find the specials for cruises and hotel packages. I highly recommend learning a few of the insider secrets to getting the best deal. But there is another way to travel for less. It starts with a whole different approach to travel planning.

Most people begin with a decision about where they want to go, when they want to go there, and what they want to do. Then they start looking for the best package deal, or the cheapest flights. Sometimes this can work well, but it is also very limiting and can get very expensive. If you decide to go to a popular resort town at the height of the season it will likely cost a lot no matter how well you hunt down the deals.

The other way to travel cheap is to change how you approach traveling. What follows is meant for those who love the adventure of going new places and those who are open minded enough to look beyond their usual dream destinations. It is all about being an opportunistic traveler.

Travel Cheap By Being Open Minded

Take advantage of whatever opportunities are there. That is the basic way to cut your cost to travel. What does this mean in practice? Let's look at an example.

Explore a dozen possible destinations. You can gather all the information you need online now. Choose six that seem interesting to you. Now go to one of the flight search sites and look at the price of flights to each of them. Check on the costs of hotels at each place as well. With that information, pick the cheapest destination and start making plans.

This isn't about going to places you don't want to go. You already decided that all six destinations sounded interesting. Now you are choosing one of them because at the moment it costs less. The saving may mean you can afford to travel again to another destination even sooner than anticipated. Being opportunistic is the way to go if you want to travel more (unless you're lucky enough to have unlimited money for travel).

Similarly, you can check out the options on things to do when you get there. From kite-boarding on the ocean to mountain biking in the forests, there may be numerous things you would enjoy if you are open-minded. Why not let the cost decide the matter? If you have time for a couple activities, choose ten that sound fun and sign up for the two or three that are most affordable. The others may be cheaper at the next destination, and you'll have saved the money to pay for them.

Again, to travel cheap this way is not about sacrificing anything. In fact, when you pay less, you get to try more things and go more places. As long as you have a sense of adventure and don't get fixated on a place you "must" visit right now, or an activity you "must" do on this trip, you'll probably have a lot more fun with this approach.

Look for any opportunities to travel cheap. Maybe you can visit a friend who lives in a beautiful place. You might volunteer to chaperone a group of children who are going on a backpacking trip (I once went dog sledding in Canada for free in this way). Drop your ideas of how you "must" travel, open your mind, and you can have a great time for less money.

source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=971911

Mountain Hiking Tips, Mountain Trekking Gear & Equipment Hints

Mountain hiking demands great gear and more education than your typical trail hike. Why? Because as you ascend breathing becomes less efficient, passage grows rugged, and rescue becomes more challenging. So consider your mountain equipment to be your life support system.

Where in day hiking you may be able to get away with wearing light-weight boots or shoes, in remote mountain hiking it's a good idea to wear heavier supportive boots to protect your ankles and feet. Walking with a sprained ankle on a day hike is inconvenient compared to trying to limp out of the back-country mountains with the same problem and a heavy pack. Thinking ahead and being prepared with the right mountain gear, guides, and information can literally mean the difference between a minor mishap and at times death. Take your safety seriously.

As elevation increases the atmospheric pressure decreases (amount of oxygen doesn't actually drop until over 50,000 feet) which means there's less pressure to 'push' the air into and fill your lungs. Because there is less air going into your lungs you'll fatigue more quickly. How much does the pressure really change? According to an academiclibrary.com article (that can be applied to mountain hiking) the barometric pressure can drop by 40% between sea level (average 760 millimeters of mercury) and 12,000 feet (483 millimeters of mercury). Obviously having 40% less oxygen available to your body (because of the pressure drop) will impact you.

Now if you had a 40% decrease in your ability to deliver oxygen to your body during an average day wouldn't you be concerned? Add in the fact you're asking more of your body in terms of keeping you warm in a cooler/cold environment, you are constantly losing water from your system, your reactions are slowed, and your not around the corner from the nearest hospital. Your mountain hiking equipment becomes a more important consideration the higher the altitude and the more remote your location.

Depending on how cold the temperatures you might encounter are you'll probably want some good insulated hiking boots (depending on the altitude and temperature you may need mountaineering boots), hiking clothes, sleeping bags, camping tents, and other equipment used for hiking rated for lower temperature than what you think you'll actually experience. This will give you an extra margin of safety. Also keep in mind that mildly uncomfortable mountain hiking gear will become a bigger problem...

If you'd like more information about mountain hiking click here for the rest of the article. You may also want to take a look at a couple of related articles on how to pick the best hiking footwear.

Marc Wiltse learned how important good quality hiking equipment and camping gear were after his pup tent flooded with over 3 inches of water forcing him to sleep in the front seat of his 2-seat Honda CRX (translation: research is a good thing). His hiking equipment & camping gear guides & reviews save you time & money. Subscribe to his camping & hiking newsletter & get the most usable information FREE! © Marc Wiltse. Reprint permission if author, copyright, links & this notice are intact.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Marc_Wiltse

Life is a Mountain

I climbed Mt. Waddington last summer. The highest in British Columbia at 14, 500 ft. It was.... um, very tough. Technical, heart pounding, muscle stretching, stamina testing. Probably wouldn't have been as tough if I was 25 or 30. But in my mid 50's....

The parallel to my other life is clear to me. For thirty years I've run my own business. Developed clients and projects around the world, did them well, and got paid well. Other friends were doing the same. Seemed like there would be no end. But in our mid 50's, after rich and varied professional careers, it seems... um... different. The slope sometimes seems steeper.

Hanging safely on anchored ropes, we swung over and crossed wide crevasses. Exhilarating... and exhausting. I was motivated because I was carrying a crucifix to put on the summit for Cathy, the wife of a good friend who was being buried that day. But on this fourth day of climbing, it would be fourteen hours to the summit and six hours back down again. I felt not 55, but 105.

About 400 feet from the Summit we had to throw one foot out over a crevasse into a rope sling to get started, then climb our way up an almost vertical snow wall.

Standing there I nearly vomited. I was 'this far' from giving the crucifix to one of the others, asking them to place it.

I've had challenges in business, Disappointments. Self -doubts. I've wondered it I was really capable of doing what was in front of me.

Then I thought of waiting there for them as they climbed to the summit, planted my crucifix for Cathy... then came down to tell me they'd done my job.

I remember the moment: shaking, sweating like a prize fighter.... and ready to 'hurl' on the virgin snow. I threw my foot across the big, deep blue crevasse into the anchored rope sling, and started the climb. Crampon step, ice axe... crampon.... ice axe...

I got to the top and planted Cathy's crucifix. Nobody saw me cry when I wedged it into the rocks.

We then spent six hours climbing back down to camp. Totally exhausted, I fell asleep, smiling.

So now, at the top of our careers, at the top of our games, myself and a few good friends are asking: What do I do now? Do I continue what I've been doing? Do I break out with something new?

At times I have been frozen. And yes, probably with a fear of making the wrong move, that fear of failure.

It's real simple though... and I had to learn it, for the hundredth time, again, on this mountain. Commit, put my foot forward... and start climbing. Moving up, slowly, in any direction, is better than waiting for those who come down from their summit.

For pictures, go to http://theeyelearner.blogspot.com

Robb Lucy is a film producer, marketer and 'story-teller'. His career has spanned shark fishing in the Indian Ocean... to journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, to producing for corporations, governments and museums around the world. His present business is producing DVDs that teach children and adults skills to lead more active, fun & fulfilling lives. His volunteer time is spent as a Director of several charities. He plays a mean game of squash, dabbles in triathlons, golf handicap of 8 and has climbed two mountains so far (Kilimanjaro - Africa & Mt. Waddington - B.C.). He will rage into the dieing of the light.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robb_Lucy