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The Joy Trip Project

Magazines / 14.08.2010

Swirling high water on the New River in Fayetteville, West Virginia got me pumped for the summer paddling season. Though heavy concentrations of silt churned the rapids a shade of brown like chocolate milk, a daytrip on a dozen miles of fast whitewater was all it took and I was hooked. I just wanted to paddle! My own enthusiasm for the sport was mirrored by an up-tick in sales of paddling equipment and accessories at the local shop in town Ace Adventure Gear. “We’re up remarkably from last year,” said assistant manager Brad Scott. “Some of it might be the economic downturn coming around. People might just want to recreate at something that doesn’t cost so much. It might even be because of the oil spill and people don’t want to go to the coast. Mainly I think it’s people who want to come in to learn a new sport.”

Assignment Earth, Destinations, Environmental Journalism, Environmental Protection / 11.08.2010

Among the rolling mountains of Southern New Mexico lies Fort Stanton Snowy River National Conservation Area. Once home to Billy the Kid, occupied by both Union and Confederate Armies, the Buffalo Soldiers and the Apache Mescalero tribe, its history and culture are rich. Today it remains largely as it existed 150 years ago, offering new opportunities above and below ground. Directly beneath this postcard New Mexico Landscape is fort Stanton Cave, an obscure recreational caving site since the 1960s. But in 2001 spelunkers investigating signs of additional caves revealed Snowy River Passage, an endless series of tunnels whose floors are lined with white calcite deposits, the longest formation of its kind in the world.
Gear Whore Confessions / 10.08.2010

Moab Utah 9:20 AM MST The Red Rock Bakery I have all the gear I’ll need for a long time. Making breakfast this morning while camped along the Colorado river near Moab I had my choice of three different stoves, two Teflon coated cook kits and four variations on the spork to prepare a bowl of oatmeal. All the excellent gear I have I’ve received from manufacturers for my consideration in a prospective story or product review. That’s a common practice in my line of work. But as I begin to expand my career to include stories that will likely be sponsored in part by the very companies I report on I wonder if my integrity as a journalist might be called into question. A few days ago I ran into the very talented young photographer Becca Skinner at the MSR booth during the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City. There with her friend and my first mentor Ann Krcik Becca hoped to begin the process of building the critical industry relationships she’ll need to get a stove of her own. The folks at Mountain Safety Research have been very generous to me over the years and with Anne’s guidance I’m sure Becca will have no problems getting her first pro-deal. “It was like walking around with the Queen of England,” she said, “Anne knows everybody.”
Banff, Breaking News, Charitable Giving, Cycling, Outdoor Recreation, Outdoor Retailer, Summer, Travel / 07.08.2010

Salt Lake City, Utah 6:AM MST The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market ended yesterday, but the journey continues. And in some ways, perhaps it’s finally just getting started.

I'm hitting the road today making my way back across the plains and prairies to Wisconsin. I'm pretty psyched to get moving on several new projects that gained some serious traction over the last few days. So it's good to be heading home. But this morning I woke up to an exciting email that announced the post of a new video from my friend adventure filmmaker Dominic Gill. (Give a listen to my podcast interview with him recorded last year at the Banff Mountain Film Festival>> Take A Seat). He's making his way cross Wyoming and South Dakota on a tandem hybrid up-right recumbent bicycle on course for an incredible experience.  In his first documentary feature Take A Seat, Dom road a tandem bicycle from Alaska to Argentina. For two years on his 22,000-mile trek across two continents he invited total strangers to ride along on the back seat of his bicycle built for two. And as I write this he’s currently cycling across the United States traveling from California to New York on a similar expedition, but this time all of his riding partners are exclusively people with a disability.
Outdoor Retailer, Summer / 05.08.2010

I'm racing out the door for a breakfast meet so I have to make this quick. I'm in Salt Lake City this week for the Outdoor Retailer Show and I'm connecting with my extended family of passionate people who work hard at creating an active lifestyle for themselves and others through the creation of the finest outdoor recreation equipment clothing a footwear. At OR twice each year we all get together and here is where passion plays. Thanks again to KEEN Footwear whose original grant launched the Joy Trip...