Outdoor Recreation

Adventure Activism, Adventure Media Review, Africa, Cycling, Film Review, Interview, Outdoor Recreation / 04.10.2012

The latest documentary by adventure filmmaker Dominic Gill premiered this week on the NBC Sports Network. Once again peddling a tandem bicycle with an empty back seat the British born writer and bike advocate offered up his unique style of storytelling to provide television viewers with a road trip travel log that reveals the real life perspective of ordinary people willing put their apprehensions aside and go for a ride. Fresh off the highway from his previous project Take a Seat Sharing a Ride across America Gill ventures overseas...

Adventure Media Review, Book Review, Camping, Environmental Journalism, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation / 30.09.2012

Before They're Gone by Michael Lanza is cautionary journey that explores the likely outcomes in store for our National Parks should we ignore the growing threat of climate change. And typical of most modern problems, not unlike our current economic crisis, those to be most directly effected by our generations' failure to act won't be ourselves but our children. Taking his two young kids on a year-long odyssey to visit America's most iconic wild places, Lanza leads us all on an expedition through the world we stand to...

Adventure Activism, Climbing, Expedition Denali, Outdoor Recreation / 01.07.2012

Anchorage, Alaska 3:55 AM July 1, 2012 The Alaska Backpackers Inn I usually find it tough to sleep on days like this. Here where the sun just barely sets light seeps in through the thick curtains and it never truly gets dark. I'm up early to pack a bag that's not as heavy as it looks. The Alaska Backpackers Inn is a newly refurbished apartment complex in downtown Anchorage made to resemble a hotel poorly. The though clean, secure and a good value for the buck, the noxious smell of new paint and chemical antiseptics makes it tough to take a full breath. Traffic noise from the open window drones on through the night of the midnight sun. There's no air conditioning, so it's hot. And with all these distractions what lies in the days ahead has me juggling emotions mixed with both excitement and dread. Enough though my whole life has led up to this moment it seems that once again I've discovered my destiny on the road I took to avoid it.
Adventure Media Review, Bikes, Cycling, Film Review, Outdoor Recreation, Travel / 04.06.2012

A new cycling film currently on tour is an excellent example of how NOT to make an adventure movie. Reveal the Path is the latest in a long string of travel pics that despite its title and several statements to the contrary assumes the destination is more important than journey. With a presumably large budget for an international bicycle excursion bankrolled by Salsa Cycles this potentially awesome film should have offered viewers more than a 1-hour 11-minute vacation reel. Pedaling through some of the most exotic bike-packing destinations in...

5Point to MountainFilm Tour, Camping, Climbing, Destinations, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation, Park Visitor.com, Yosemite / 09.05.2012

[caption id="attachment_7286" align="alignleft" width="327" caption="Climbers Mark and Anders gear up for the Nose on El Capitan"][/caption] I rolled into Yosemite Valley late in the afternoon on a Monday in May. Three weeks before the Memorial Day Weekend rush the national park seemed almost vacant. Bluebird skies and warm temperatures made for great camping weather. And even though a friend offered me a bed for the night I headed over to Camp 4. Not far from the park exit Camp 4 is a uniquely Yosemite experience. Made popular through the 60s...

5Point, 5Point to MountainFilm Tour, Adventure Media Review, Breaking News, Film Festival, Mountain Film, National Parks, Outdoor Recreation / 23.04.2012

Tomorrow I’m heading west on a tour of adventure. Starting off at the 5Point Film Festival in Carbondale, Colorado I’ll make a big loop across the Rockies and over to Sierras. I’ll make stops in Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Los Angeles, Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, Moab and back to Colorado for the Mountain Film Festival in Telluride. Along the way I’ll connect with dozens of filmmakers, artists, athletes and activists to make a real-time survey of the adventure world today. The 5Point to Telluride Tour is the next leg...