Posts Tagged With: Minnesota

A Life Lived Assisted (Part One)

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Jayson

This isn’t going to be one of our typical posts.

I wanted to tell you a little bit about my story and why this blog is called The Bionic Chronicles. As a good storyteller should, I have to begin at the beginning so let me tell you about me.

I grew up in the flatland farm lands of northwest Ohio. My house had a soybean and corn field across from it and behind it. I was your typical Midwestern kid, played soccer, wrestled for a few years, nothing all that special. We were a small family (just four of us) and every summer we’d take a few trips to the local state parks to do some camping. We weren’t really hotel people, we liked the cheaper far from home living alternative. We started out in tents until my mother got sick of having to bail water all the time. Our tent wasn’t the best on the market so during rain storms the floor would collect standing water. The tent was only big enough for the four of us, the rain wasn’t welcome. My parents eventually bought a hard-sided camper so we could vacation in style, this made my mother much happier.

Photo credit: Discover the Hocking Hills [http://www.hockinghills.me]

Without fail every time we went to the state parks we hiked. Mind you these were rolling hill two milers, nothing epic in the least bit. We had one specific state park we always seemed to visit, it was a family favorite and no matter how many times we went we loved going to Hocking Hills State Park. The sandstone caves and rolling hills of the river valley were the closest thing I had to a mountain. We were able to climb and scramble around and explore and from these experiences as a youth my love for the outdoors was birthed.

I wouldn’t actually get to set foot on a real mountain until I was ten years old when my aunt and uncle invited me on a trip with them to The Adirondack mountains of New York. I couldn’t get enough of the elevation and I began to dream about going out west and summitting snow-capped peaks of the Colorado Rockies. That wouldn’t happen for another seven years.

Through a series of events I would end up moving to Colorado and living with this aunt whose love of the mountains, the trail, and a life outdoors dwarfed mine. They had moved to a Denver suburb, a dream of hers to live out west. I spent my senior year of high school out there and I began to flourish. I made new friends, got a new job, and had the opportunity to hike in an area I had only dreamed of. I summitted Grays and Torreys peaks, my first 14ers a monumental accomplishment for this boy from the lowlands of middle America. I would hike on a small glacier, walk the streets of Breckenridge, get the chance to picnic (and celebrate my graduation) in Rocky Mountain National Park. Could this boy on the cusp of manhood who desired to bag every peak in Colorado desire anything else? I felt invincible, as if I could tackle anything, hike any trail, and bag any peak. Oh how things would change.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Knowing that I was a less than average student who had the world’s worst studying habits I decided that the military would be a better choice then trying to make college a useful experience. I was stationed in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but by this time my focus had changed from getting outdoors to hanging out with friends. Hitting the trail and outdoor exploration quickly gave way to video games, partying, and hanging out with friends. I had a four-hour drive to Denver, I had Wyoming next door, and the Black Hills and Badlands National Park as my playground, but I passed on these opportunities. I did hike once or twice while in the military, a buddy and I tried hiking Pikes Peak, but we had to turn around because I kept tossing my cookies. I had washed out my hydration bladder the previous day, apparently rinsing it well was a task I had not done in excellence. So I was taken large swigs of soapy water; the silver lining was that my tossed cookies were rainbow-colored thanks to a 7-11 slushy.

This lack of outdoor love is a far cry from the man-boy who just a few years earlier was hiking solo at Herman’s Gulch and then scrambling and climbing the peaks surrounding the mountain lake. Unroped, no cell phone, and no one really knowing where I was and what I was doing. Blissfully hiking at a lightning pace; completely oblivious to whatever is going on outside of my vision.

Things would eventually change as I accompanied a few friends to an afternoon of skiing at the local hill. This choice would forever change my life and alter everything. A warm winter, a cool evening, a split trail, and a single tree would have a significant impact on my body and would have its ‘hand’ in making me bionic.

Check back later as I continue this four part series.

Categories: Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Family Vacation, Hiking, Insight, Outdoor Recreation, Skiing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Come and Gone

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Jayson

As I have woken up every morning to get to work I’ve noticed a significant change in the morning air temperatures. It had been consistently cooler, ranging for the mid 50′s to the mid 60′s around 7am as I made my way to my bus. A signal to me that the summer was coming to a close and that another half of a year is gone forever. A sobering thought to one who when he looked back at summer realized that it came and went without a significant memory made.

I missed out on a summer, and I cannot tell you where it went. We had some above average heat which caused me to not be able to hit the trail at all. I’ve noticed though that there were other things that fell by the wayside. The commitment to keeping The Bionic Chronicles up-to-date was simply not happening as often. My participation on Twitter slacked off. Also my climbing dropped to virtually nothing at all. So many of life’s responsibilities began to overwhelm me and my family. The house isn’t going to clean itself, the chores won’t get done on their own. Time slipped away and with it the hopes and dreams of accomplishments that I once fantasized about now had slipped through my fingers. I missed the community of commenters to this website. I missed my Twitter friends, and I missed out on many adventures that would have filled my ‘post hopper’ with stories of adventures by The Bionic Family.

Some of the favorite posts that we write here on The Bionic Chronicles are about our weekend family adventures. Those are easy to write and share and it’s unique content which is nice since we’re not trying to rehash what 20 other blogs have written. I created this blog, this special piece of the internet to share my life and the life of my family is how we cope, adapt, enjoy, and suffer through our time together. We’re a unique grouping; you’ve got a man whose desires are greater then his physical body can handle, a woman learning to adapt to a new type of lifestyle, and the child they drag along and try their best to share what they believe is an important aspect of life with. Combined these ingredients can make for a fantastic adventure.

We are most likely not going to reach our goal of 100 Miles in 2012, so many unforeseen circumstances stole away the most precious of outdoor resources, time. So the summer is gone and the autumn arrive with the promise of adventure around the corner. Things are looking up for fall as a change in schedules looks to bring forth more opportunities. Our son now is old enough to join the climbing team at the local gym, he’s going to be a Spider Monkey. I’m getting over a recent Sciatica issue and will be heading back to a local fitness center to help give my body the training it needs given the disability I live with. With the fall comes cooler temperatures which for me means easier hiking as the swelter and energy-draining heat gives way to cool breezes and the need for one of my favorite pieces of outdoor clothing, the fleece jacket/pullover.

For those faithful readers look for a change in voice as there is a change in the weather. We’re looking to offer on this site more of our stories and less tips, tricks, and advice. You can find that elsewhere, we know some people who do it quite well. We’re getting back to our roots, returning to our first love. Returning to a life spent in adventure, and the tales of days come and gone.

Until next time……Adventure On!!!

Categories: 100 miles in 2012, Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Family Vacation, Insight, Outdoor Recreation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

So Many Missed Opportunities

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Jayson

Venturing off trail at Devil’s Lake State Park (picture taken by my brother-in-law)

I just received a letter from my son’s school, they were informing parents of the open house that is happening at the end of August. Seeing a letter addressed to us from the school district caused me pause and to take a look at the calendar. Shocked I couldn’t believe that July was almost over, by the time you read this it will have passed.

The summer is nearly gone, and with it almost 75% of the calendar year. This provoked me to review some of the goals that I had made back at the beginning of the year, can you say disappointed? One goal stood out, our 100 Miles in 2012. There was/is no way we’re going to reach it, just too many missed opportunities.

One of the terrific challenges with being a disabled man is my ability to cope with adverse weather conditions, specifically extreme heat and cold. Living in Minnesota is a challenge nearly year-round. In the winter time the mercury drops and due to my neurological difficulties body temperature regulation ceases to exist. My knees to my toes become icicles and can at times be uncomfortable and sometimes painful to deal with. During the summer when the humidity is so high and the air so thick I am exposed to a higher risk of heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and dehydration. So when the sun is high and the temperature up I have to avoid the trail or even being outside at all less I drench myself in sweat and collapse three miles in.

I’ve spent most of the summer inside my air-conditioned home. As the days grew longer my outdoor time grew shorter. My weekends were spent doing chores and not logging miles. I did take a 1.5 mile hike with my family (immediate and extended) a few weekends ago. We covered 500′ vertical feet in .3 miles, needless to say I was soaked, and you would have wondered if I were intoxicated because I couldn’t walk a straight line. Such is the pattern of behavior I have lived over the last 12 years.

When the temps exceed 80/85, I become a mole and burrow for cooler areas. However, this means I miss out on three of the most beautiful months of the year. Add the extreme cold in January and February and I’m a seven months out-of-the-year fella. I don’t know about you but that’s too many missed opportunities for me.

So now we have to make peace with coming up short of 100 miles. It was great for us in that it caused us to get out on purpose. We’ve enjoyed many of our hikes, and discovered how tough our son is and how he can log the miles….. and it turns out that I’m the weak-link and when we set a goal next year we might have to convert from miles to the metric system.

Until next time…..Adventure On!

Categories: 100 miles in 2012, Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Geocaching, Hiking, Outdoor Recreation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

First Ascents

Posted on April 5, 2012 by jessicacardwell

It’s been over a month since our last post.  We’ve been busy living rather than blogging, and my husband has some non-outdoor projects he’s been focused on.  We also realized that we could be slipping into the dangerous area of focusing on creating content rather than enjoying life and what we love, a concept that Jon Acuff recently blogged about.  So while our posts may be more infrequent for a time, rest assured, we’ll be back at some point or another.

A few weeks ago, we spent a gorgeous spring day exploring a local climbing area, Interstate Park.  Unfortunately there was no climbing for the adults since we were both healing from shoulder issues.

The first few moves of Banana Cookie (with intensive spotting from me!)

And the minor detail of not yet owning a rope and anchors.  That’s right, no free soloing for us. We were relegated to hiking and trying not to drool while watching others climb.  This didn’t prevent our son from topping out on a first ascent of a boulder problem he named “Banana Cookie”.  We are tentatively calling it a VK (for kindergartner) and for locals who dare to try it’s located off the Echo Canyon trail on the Wisconsin side of the park.

As we don’t yet own crash pads, the endeavor was accomplished with an intensive two spotter method.  When I realized he was actually going to make it to the top and my arms couldn’t reach that high, my husband jumped in to spot from the bottom, and I climbed up the back of the boulder to be ready to reach down from the top if needed.

One move before the mantle finish of Banana Cookie.

So now my son, at 5 years old, is the first in the Cardwell household to climb (for real) on real rock and top out a boulder.

100 miles update

We are now down to 81.6 miles to go for the remainder of 2012.   We’ve found out that we can actually do longer hikes now that all 3 of us have trekking poles.  It’s a psychological advantage that we are milking for all its worth.  Even though the little guy still really doesn’t know how to use them, he believes he can hike farther now. :)

Banana Cookie Boulder Problem

Categories: 100 miles in 2012, Climbing, Hiking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Can’t Stand the Cold? Plan for the Heat!

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Jayson

I like winter…..sometimes. It tends to wreak havoc on my legs because I can’t control my body heat below my knees but it also offers some of the most breath-taking (both figurative and literal) moments the whole year round. However it does mean shorter days and weather that can, at times, make it dangerous to venture out beyond the fireplace, your favorite fleece blankets, a warm pair of slippers, a thick hoodie, and a warm beverage.

Of course sharing that with a very special someone (wink:wink) or someone’s (spouse and children….control where your mind goes people!) help to keep one inside in front of a good book(s) or movie.

So what do you do when time, weather, or even the lack of sunlight threaten to keep you home locked? Do what I do…..plan for the heat baby!

Thanks to my friends at Google (okay I don’t have friends at Google, but I’d like to!) they make my trip planning so easy. I like to use Google Docs and Google maps to get me started. I use spreadsheets because of my familiarity from work to play with numbers and it is always easy for calculating costs. Thank you SUM and AVG function!

The other beauty I find is the ability to share with others. I can share the document with my wife and we can change it anytime and anywhere we’d like. Plus it has multiple tabs so I can create multiple versions of the same vacation or keep all my plans in the same document. I don’t know how many plans I’ve created over the years, most of them I’ve never been on but it’s fun to dream!

Another function I like is the ability to change variables and see the end cost which sometimes is the driving factor behind whether the trip gets booked or not. You can create multiple versions of that one vacation changing the days you leave, time your gone, etc and see how it affects overall costs.

Week long trips, day trips, month long expeditions it doesn’t matter. I find that planning in the winter helps me to prepare for the other three seasons. I know how much it’s going to cost and how much I will need to save to make it happen. What gear do I need to get, when do I need to get the car serviced, and most importantly when do I need to submit my vacation days. If you’re anything like me, last minute planning does not yield the best results and can at times yield no results.

Not sure where you want to go? Do what I do. Check out the states travel and tourism website and order a free guide. Sometimes you’ll get other guides sent from other companies, resorts, etc as well so be aware. I also grab every travel and guide brochure and magazine every place I go and keep it all on its own shelf. This way I always have reference materials at hand. I find that ordering travel packets and guides makes the boring trip to the mail box an exciting adventure…..even with a handful of bills.

So when the snow, sleet, and bitter cold winds are keeping you off the slopes, or out of the backcountry don’t let it damper your outdoor spirit. Get cozy, get warm, and get planning! The heat isn’t too far away and you don’t want to be caught unaware!

Until next time…..Adventure On!

Categories: Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Family Vacation, Hiking, Outdoor Recreation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

They Call Me Flapper John or I Can’t Read!

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Jayson

So I think I’m going to adopt a new nickname. I’m also thinking of changing my Twitter handle from @TheBionicHiker to @FlapperJohn.

I went climbing at the St. Paul Vertical Endeavors on Saturday night. Took the whole family but since my little guy was on the tail end of fighting influenza he just sat playing his Leapfrog Leapster and was the most well-behaved he’s ever been in a situation like that.

Side note: My son told me that he doesn’t like rock climbing which is why he doesn’t climb too high. Turns out he’s not a fan of roped climbing but he’s was nearly begging us to boulder. I feel the same way at times.

Back to my story . . .  so we had a great family time. We’re not sure about whether we want to get a membership there or keep the fitness membership we already have. We’re doing Pro’s & Con’s; can’t tell you whose leading right now.

To make a long story less long I tore my hands apart. I had a ton of ‘flappers’. If you don’t know what they are, it is when skin is torn from your hand and just flaps in the wind. I tore off calluses and other skin from various parts of my hand. See the picture showing you the ouch zones.

Can You Find the Seven Hidden Flappers in this Picture?

That wasn’t the only problem I had……I really sucked it up tonight. I finished one climb….the whole night. I managed to pull off a 5.7 on an auto-belay and I think I may have only used one foothold that wasn’t marked in the routes color. I was happy because it’s the first route I have ever finished. I tried another and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how it went. So after getting frustrating with not being able to get more then 10′ off the deck I decided to head upstairs to the easy bouldering cave. I say easy because it’s not super overhanging and I needed a confidence boost. I should have looked elsewhere.

I found a nice V0 (easiest problem in bouldering) and I decided to give it a go. I fell, and I fell hard. I hit the back of my head, knocking off my hat, nearly knocked off my glasses, and almost bit through my tongue. So like any sane climber…..I tried it again, and again, and again. I didn’t finish the problem, but I did improve my falling!

My right hand took the worst of it, 4 flappers to 3.

So a climber came over, having felt so much pity on me and showed me how to climb the problem. I got to the part that kept alluding me, but with this new beta I knew I’d finish, until my shoulder began acting up. Yep, it was a one arm hang from a horn with the feet spread out and then a pull up to a 3-finger pocket. My left foot popped and my right shoulder couldn’t take the stress and off I came. I had tried swinging and mini-dynos all night long and coming within 1 finger of sticking the hold. I would leave not being able to finish it.

I tried twice downstairs on a 5.8+ and a 5.6 and couldn’t pull either off. I was gassed, my body was tired and mentally I was shot. My confidence was crushed even though I know it shouldn’t be. I try really hard and I know my technique leaves MUCH to be desired. It’s difficult when you have a bum shoulder, your calves don’t work, you don’t trust your legs, and your knee begins acting up. I know this is only the sixth time I’ve ever climbed and my stamina is really improving, but I hate excuses I hate blaming failure on a disability or being a novice. I really wanted to stick that problem.

I was really struggling to even see how a route/problem went. I’d get going and wonder “Um . . . ok what the heck am I supposed to do now?” I tried my best to stay on the marked tapes to really see where I was at ability wise. Sometimes I just looked at where the movements were supposed to go and I saw nothing. I hope my climbing eyes develop over time.

I did get one great takeaway from this and it was a list of things to improve upon. I think that no matter what failure shouldn’t go by and be left as simply failure. I would encourage everyone to look at everything you face and pull something out of nothing. Never let a hardship, failure, success, or struggle go by without learning something about yourself. Here is what I learned.

1. Be Patient

I kept trying to fly up the routes. I would half jump to holds and leave myself dangling, especially when I know the problem. Going slow saves energy and allows one time to think.

2. Be Even More Patient

I gotta be patient with my progress and allow myself time to develop and to understand that I’ve got some disadvantages that need to be worked through.

3. Understand Why You’re Doing This

Climbing was a form of exercise and a chance to spend time with the family doing something other than watching movies. I’m not a pro and I shouldn’t try to push myself to prove myself either. I need to stop thinking about what other think of how I climb and just enjoy that I can.

4. Use Your Legs More By Trusting in Them More

I don’t trust my legs to hold me or propel me up a problem or route. I don’t use them as much as I should and I need to. They’re not going to get better if I don’t use them and begin to put some trust in them. Even if that means I don’t get up too high I need to develop as a well-rounded climber, and that means using all my body.

Categories: Climbing, Insight | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What the…… 2012 is Almost Here!

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Jayson

‘What the?’ says my son, the Jr. Adventurer, far too often then I’d like. It’s his classic response to just about everything that confuses him or catches him off guard.

I had that same reaction when it dawned on me that we are just days from Thanksgiving, which means only weeks from Christmas which means the end of the year is almost here. In case you didn’t know I was voted ‘Most Aware of the Time and His Surroundings’ when I was in high school. Many years down the road I feel they made the right decision and couldn’t have chosen a better candidate.

After I realized that the year is nearing a close and that I can’t remember what happened to the last ten months I was met with a cold hard slap in the face.

‘DUDE!’ because I speak to myself in third person. I mean who doesn’t am I right? Is anyone going to back me up on this? Can you honestly say you’ve never had a conversation with yourself or referred to yourself in the third person? If you haven’t then my friend I am sorry to say this, but you haven’t lived.

‘The year is almost over, you didn’t accomplish any goals last year because you didn’t set any, man what a boneheaded move! Don’t do the same this year, get thy tail in gear’

Just to note, I tend to get a little harsh and Shakespearean on myself from time-to-time, it keeps me on my toes.

So I’ve been thinking long and hard about what goals, trips, gear, skills, things of a various outdoor related nature that I would like to see happen, do, buy, experience, avoid, create, imagine, etc in 2012 in addition to the goals I’ve already set for the family for other various interests. Here’s the brainstorm list I’ve come up with so far.

The list isn’t too deep and not too terribly adventuresome (yet). I didn’t say the brainstorm was a class five hurricane; I would say more of a sun shower that could yield a double rainbow in the right light. (warm happy feelings are flowing through me now!)

The Bionic Hiker’s Mondo-Epic-Phenomenal-Magnanimous-Outrageous Adventure List 2012

1. Not die (A great start to any list!)

2. Control gear buying addiction so that I do not have to sell my child to pay for the order I just put in to Backcountry.com, REI.com, and Moosejaw.com all at the same time. (No Self Control!)

3. Come to the resolve that just because some website/company is having a random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes for free outdoor swag doesn’t mean you have to rush to enter everything and then send the link to your wife so she can do the same. (Teamwork!)

4. Stop acting like your five-year old son when you don’t win any of the random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes and you think the system is rigged against you and ‘you never win anything, ever’. (Fail!)

5. Shake off that quitter mentality and enter every random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes you can possibly find because dog-gone-it you’re a winner! (I’m a winner!)

6. Get your five-year old child a Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail address so he can enter the random drawing/giveaway/sweepstakes too because more entries means better chances. That’s just good statistics people! (Math!)

7. Have more children so you can re-create #6 and further improve your chances! (BEST IDEA EVER!)

8. Realize that this list is going nowhere and you’re just stalling because you lack anything of meaning or substance to say.

Truth be told I really only have one goal established for the next year. I want to take my family to both Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Badlands National Park as well as the Black Hills of South Dakota. A year-and-a-half ago we cruised through Badlands in the waning hours of the day just to say we went. We didn’t get a chance to hike a trail. The photos we took were horrible because of the failing light and I want to show them to have a better experience next time.

My wife and I are going to have another child, we’re trying right now. Well I mean not right now now, because that would be like seven kinds of wrong and I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate my writing this while trying to conceive.

We’re not sure when we’ll get pregnant and how that will affect the plans for future plans. I don’t want to drag my wife to the Dakotas in the summer time (can you say sweltering heat?) so major expeditions will have to wait for 2013.

A few ideas that are floating around in my head have to do with climbing. I haven’t been able to even get on the plastic for the last two months. I’m itching and I want to find out what’s going to work for me on real rock. I know that I may very well have limitations to what I can do, but I’m not sure what they are.

I also want to add a few more hiking trips, some geocaching, and camping trips here at a few Minnesota State Parks (especially Great River Bluffs). Of course there is the new project that I’m working on putting together that I am very excited about (cliffhanger!).

I don’t have an official list but it will come to me. It’s important to have one written down not just for outdoor adventures, but for every area of your life. Goals and plans are how we measure our progress. It’s how we keep ourselves accountable to each other and to who we are and what we want out of life. In the absence of a destination one will never know if they will have ever arrived (Quote!).

So what’s on your list? What is on the horizon for 2012? What are you looking to accomplish, overcome, and/or achieve? Let’s us know, we’d love to hear from you!

Until next time…..Adventure On!

Categories: Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Family Vacation, Gear, Geocaching, Hiking, Insight, Outdoor Recreation | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Whole New World: The Wonderful Mix of The Outdoors and Technology

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Jayson

I never thought a marriage between electronic technology and the great outdoors could happen, but I was wrong. Very very wrong.

One of things I love about going camping, hiking, climbing, or any other outdoor activity is the ability to leave behind technology (with the exception of GPS for geocaching). No computer, no TV, and hopefully (when it’s safe) no cell phone reception. I have found that there is a way to bring them both together for the bettering of all mankind. It’s called Social Media and it helps bring it all together.

In media outlets like Twitter and blogs I’ve found a host of cyberspace friends that I never knew existed. They come from all walks of life, different cultures, ethnicity (Outdoor Afro), geographic regions, and interests. They open their lives and share their adventures, advice, tips, trips, and even gear reviews (@thegearjunkie, @geargals) with anyone who wants to listen. Some are just starting out while others are established. Some even give away stuff for free from their sponsors, how cool is that?

For those outdoor lovers with families (Bring The Kids, Family Wilds, Adventure Tykes, Cragmama, Tales of a Mountain Mama) we get the opportunity to swap stories and see their children grow up before our eyes via our favorite RSS feed readers. Through Twitter I met a guy who is traveling the country on The Most Epic Trip ever climbing here and there. Turns out we’re both from Ohio, from towns just 3hrs apart and that we both love to frequent the same amusement park.

I get to read trip reports of hikers, campers, skiers, and climbers who live both in Minnesota (Eliz Climbs) and in places where I’d love to live (Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained) and wouldn’t mind if I never live there (The Inspired Climb) but they are still great people. My wife and I don’t have many friends who undertake such adventures as the ones we’ve found via these internet outreaches so it is nice to connect with others and share our adventures and outdoor lives together through such an innovative medium.

There are so many more friends and blogs that I can connect with who share the same passions I do. We have different view points and perspectives but we can always agree on one thing, our love for the outdoors and the sports we can play out there. Curious about who I follow and might be reading? Check out my follow list here. If you have anyone to suggest to me blog or tweeter drop me a line and let me know!

It has certainly been a wonderful discovery and I hope that as time goes on maybe the opportunity will present itself to connect with a few or many of the terrific outdoor minded people and families I’ve found throughout this country. Who knows what other friends and connections can be made and shared with just a click of the mouse.

Until next time…..adventure on!

Categories: Backpacking, Camping, Climbing, Gear, Geocaching, Hiking, Insight, Outdoor Recreation, Skiing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Authentic Car Camping – A Lesson in Poor Planning

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Jayson

“Oh this weekend went off without a hitch.” I said in the most sarcastic voice I could muster.

The family and I headed out for one last weekend of camping before the cold touch of winter violently slapped us in the face and the cold became to unbearable. Here is the Twin Cities it’s not uncommon for the snow to follow by Halloween, or in the case of 1991 a blizzard which dropped around 28″ in a 24hr period.

We decided that to beat the cold we’d head south by about 2-3 hours which would surely yield somewhat warmer conditions because we are THAT much closer to the Equator and by extension it will be warmer. So we decided on Beaver Creek Valley State Park near the south-east corner of the state.

The Welcome Sign

A few days prior to the trip our son developed a wet cough and had been hacking up some seriously disgusting mucimus (his words, not mine I know how to spell mucus…see!). I’ll spare you pictures, because I decided that it was so nasty even I didn’t want proof of it.

We were unsure of how the weather would affect him and we weren’t sure if it would be torture to drag him along with us. See, despite what other say we are considerate parents!

We woke up Friday morning still unsure of what we were doing to do. (Mistake #1) We had not prepped the meals the night before since this was a more relaxing camping trip we decided against totally going with freeze-dried meals. This also led to us not buying the food we needed before the trip (Mistakes #2 & #3). After hurrying up and throwing the gear in the car, quickly buying the food, prepping the food and me going bananas because nothing was done beforehand we finally left without a gear checklist (#4) and in a furious/hurried mood (#5).

Little Man getting his exploration on. It was hard to keep up with him, dude wanted to keep going safety be darned.

We finally calmed down and were able to enjoy the trip down and eventually settled in to our site. It was located in a valley (hence the name) which meant that the sun would be restricted from hitting the site at either sunrise or sunset. Being in a depression, such as a valley or bowl, would mean cooler air would remain and the nights would be colder (mistakes #6 & #7). I also failed to determine which side of the road would be best for the sun hitting the site and also failed to read that the weekend prior the water would be shut off. (#8 & #9) Totally awesome to get the water you need out of the faucet and needing to fill the campsite water jug with a coffee mug 30-40 times!

I hastily decided to set up the tent without a ground cover (#10) even though my wife suggested it to me (failure to listen to the wife usually accounts for at least 5-20 mistake in-and-of-itself). In our haste I had forgotten to pack two of the most important items of camping equipment for fall camping…… sleeping pads! (EPIC FAIL!)

With temps reaching 32-35 degrees at night and having been doing so for the last week, I failed to bring the piece of equipment that provides comfort and protection from the hard ground and the cold. It was a monumental disaster that had to be remedied, and the only way we knew for sure it would happen is if we set the family up in the car. Yes, we camped from our car!

The new hard-sided tent.....makes for cozy sleeping.

We had slept in that kind of cold before a few months back when we went up the North Shore, but we had sleeping pads to provide cushion and insulation. A stiff back, sore hips, and a freezing body does not make a night enjoyable. So we put the little one in the back, then we each reclined in the front seats. Oh and did I mention we drive a mid-sized sedan? Not a full-sized SUV or bigger, nope a 4dr car. We also changed into our camping pj’s in the car too which was an act of flexibility and movement that would make yoga instructors jealous!

I had to deal with the steering wheel and pedals preventing a comfortable night’s rest waking every morning to my knees being sore. I also realized after we packed up that I didn’t move my seat back as far as it could go which would have eliminated those issues (#11). While packing up we didn’t realize that at least 1 car door was open the whole time draining the battery to the point where there wasn’t enough juice to crank the engine over (#12), and we were the last campers in the entire park with the only other cars being hikers off on the trails (#13).

Gear equals comfort right? Now where are those tent pads?

The morning before we were to break camp it rained, leaving the tent wet and the night before I had left some gear out (chairs, bags, etc) which meant getting up at 5am and running around in the dark in my polypropylene long underwear and boots hurriedly securing my gear. Prior to that at 3am my son woke up needing to potty, him in his  polypropylene long underwear too, and dealing with a coughing fit. So that night we didn’t sleep much which meant we slept in thanks to the cloud cover and the hill behind the site. We got out of the car around 10am (#14). Oh did I mention that my son somehow had soaked his pants with urine? Not sure how that happened since I took him to pee at 3am. He soaked it so much that it went through the sleeping bag and into the car cushions. Good times.

View from Great River Bluff State Park of the Mississippi River Valley

Because of the position of the camp site and the cloud cover the sun didn’t hit the tent until closer to noon giving me a hand with drying it off. Luckily we always carry a few chamois pads. A park worker did give us a jump (THANK YOU!) and the drive home was nice. We stopped at 2 other parks and found a great place to camp next fall. We also did a quick hike to a sport climbing crag40 min south of our home.

No signage from the bottom of the trail.....not our fault

Lovely Wife rocking the bandanna and trying some bouldering-lite from off the trail.

The weekend wasn’t all bad. We had a great hike and I watched my wife and son doing some ‘baby bouldering’ and do some traverses on some rock outcroppings off the trails. hard to do in hiking boots without chalk but they did there best and got to experience some real rock. I couldn’t participate but of my shoulder still bothering me, but as you can see in the pics they sure did enjoy themselves.

We learned some valuable lessons over this trip as we do on many of our adventures that we use to make every trip better, the first being also check your gear as a climber would. Lay it all out  and check it all off. The second is just in case you forget to do the first be sure your car is big enough to accommodate the entire family!

Yea....this might be big enough. We still might be a bit cozy.

Adventure On!

Categories: Camping, Family Vacation, Hiking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lots of Water & Frozen Booties: My Weekend Up North

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Jayson

What an awesome weekend!

In true family fashion though I think we overdid it a bit. We were an active bunch and by the time we return home last night we were all exhausted.  But I think that means we had a great getaway.

Over this Labor Day weekend we headed north of our home to the beautiful and crowded North Shore of Lake Superior.

The days were beautiful, mostly sunny there was one day where we experienced a bit of rain which happened when we were in the shower with certain important items left out which got wet the night before the temps dropped to the coldest they had been all weekend. (38 degrees we heard). Awesome.

The last day of the trip I woke up to the cold slap of crisp winter air right in the face and then buried myself in my bag confessing that I wasn’t getting out of that bag until I saw that the sun was out and the chance for heat was possible. Not but 20 min later the sun rose over the trees on the east side of the lake and illuminated the inside of the tent. This caused my to pen a letter to the sun.

Dear Sun,

I hate you for waking me up and for getting me out of a warm sleeping bag and into the cold morning air. Thank for nothing.

Screw You,

The Bionic Hiker

I have yet to recieve a delivery confirmation let alone a reply. Balls in the sun’s court.

All-in-all the weekend was terrific. We got out on two hikes. Both next to water features which lead me to write this post. I live in Minnesota which is known as the land of 10,000 lakes. We actually have more lakes then that but to publicly admit that every time borders on being outright arrogant and no state wants to be called arrogant (hint hint Texas).

We have so many water features here in lakes, ponds, streams and rivers (Mississippi and the St. Croix just to names a few of the larger ones) yet with all of this water we still find ourselves fascinated by Lake Superior. Granted it is the world’s largest freshwater lake. It’s like a poor man’s ocean for the land locked Midwest, but still with all the lakes we still find it fascinating.

The water is as cold as it gets. A sign I read said 40-50 degrees. Yet we’ll fish it, boat it, swim it, and kayak it (The last one I’m very eager to try) and yet it still never ceases to amaze when we’re up there.

The weekend though was not without incident. There was the hard rain that showed up all-of-a-sudden when we were in the shower for 15min. Soaked our gear.

There was my wife who kept threatening our son with death if he didn’t mind and behave on the trail.

“If you get too close to this edge you could fall over and die”

“This river could sweep you away and you could die”

“You could fall off this rock if you don’t pay attention and you could die”

“If you chase that squirrel one more time he’s going to get his squirrel family to snatch you out of your bag in the middle of the night and take you away to their squirrel hideout and sacrifice you to their squirrel god Squiggles…..and then you’ll be dead.”

She’s a was licensed social worker ladies and gents….. go figure. My wife everyday becoming more and more like me, scary. Given the rate of death’s at Yosemite National Park we’ll be avoiding that place for awhile.

Later she admitted she was trying to be a a good mom and she might have went a bit over board. We did though have to go home and burn the squirrel bed sheets and comforter he had on his bed.

I was surprised that my body handled all the stress since I didn’t bring all of my adaptive gear and I was my family’s pack mule for most of the hikes. Luckily my son can hike about 4 miles a day before his little legs say “forget this mess” and quit on him so that was my saving grace.

We did though hit a few waterfalls that required about 100 steep stairs down to the falls and of course you had to climb those back up. My knees stopped, looked at me and said “This is a real sick joke man!” They haven’t talked to me since.

Luckily though with a bot of scrambling and seeing my son climbing on the rocks (AND NOT DYING! IT’S A MIRACLE!) my wife is now open to the idea of trying rock climbing. This and getting to see some climbers on Palisade Head has sparked her interest. I of course will plow head first into this and get her on The Pinnacle at REI or the Climbing Cave at Midwest Mountaineering as soon as I can. Must strike while the iron is hot.

I must give my wife credit. She saved me from a miserable night’s rest. I’m going to review them, but for the sake of the story try to follow along. I bought us Big Agnes Sand Mountain sleeping pads to replace the giant air mattress we used to have and to double as backpacking gear. Given my SCI (spinal cord injury) sleeping is a big issue for me since I toss and turn often because of the pressure points. The first night I slept on the pad I rolled myself off about four times and managed to flip the bag 180 degrees so the top was underneath me and the hood was covering my face. It didn’t help that the pad was mummy shaped to shave size and weight.

Yea……that sucked.

I woke up several times on the cold ground flipped in my bag with little insulation and no cushioning. This did not bode well for me. Luckily the second night I had a little better luck but still managed to make my way off the pad. The Solution? Via my wife I put the pad inside the bag and slept on it.

BRILLIANT!

Not only did I have cushioning all night but it kept my bag from flipping on me and allowed me the best night’s sleep the whole time. Come to find out that Big Agnes sleeping bags have a sleeve to put their pads in…….I’m getting those SOON!

In the end it was a great time which I’ll be writing about for awhile. Gear reviews to come from the perspective of a disabled person. My viewpoints on the parks I visited and vacation and hiking tips and tricks for taking along the little ones that’ll help keep you from pushing them over the edge on the gorge or toss them into the lake. Which of course if that happens……THEY WILL DIE. I’m sure no one wants that…….your pause in response speaks volumes.

Until next time, keep on hiking.

Categories: Camping, Family Vacation, Hiking | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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