Six From The Heart

I spent this weekend in the woods – submerged in the ether.

Fall is always a special time for me to get out in the out there, but this year came on extra strong and having the ability to get away for two days right when the leaves were hitting their stride was nothing short of magical.

Here are six pictures that exemplify and encompass what it was to be out there, as I would need to be standing in front of you with animated enthusiasm to get my point across otherwise.

Picture 1: Bear Hill Road, Middletown CT
Picture 2: Stoic Statements, Chester CT
Picture 3: Cockaponset State Forest, Haddam CT
Picture 4: Ragged Mountain, Berlin CT
Picture 5: Hubbard Brook Preserve, Middletown CT
Picture 6: Cockponset State Forest, Chester CT

Something in the way, Yeah…

Song lyrics are one of the most intoxicating ways to get words out.

If you’re trying to get a message across or tell a story, having music accompany it has the potential to raise your intentions to new heights. They’re also memorable because they flow with a melody that causes the listener to retain it – either for the words, the music, or both.

I use lyrics all the time to support a social media post, or to say something I don’t want to outright say myself – it’s coy, it’s what I do. Even as a writer, I find that someone may have already written what I needed to get out into the ether, so – heck, why not?

It’s been said that these lyrics are the most appealing lyrics of all time:

“Well, I’m standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona – and such a fine sight to see; it’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowin’ down to take a look at me.”

The Eagles “Take It Easy”

There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re recognizable – and awesome – but those lyrics don’t check off all of the boxes for me – and I really like the Eagles, too. It’s not a knock on them – not at all.

The lyric that appeals to me the most – for all sorts of reasons – is:

“There’s been a hoot owl howling outside my window now. ‘Bout six nights in a row..”

Michael Martin Murphey “Wildfire”

Now, this isn’t the only bit of lyrics that I cling to – that causes a reaction in me – but whenever I hear a lyric that I like, this is the bit that always comes up in unison.

The way “hoot owl” and “howling” and “outside” and “now” all roll together to form the statement is some of the most delicious word stew I’ve ever seen and heard. It doesn’t hurt that the song is one of the best songs out there, in my opinion, either. But you can’t argue the alliterative excellence of that phrase.

It’s pleasing – it pleases me – as does the whole story of Wildfire. In fact, Murphey has a great catalog of music and I hope to see him one day. He’s out there doing these cowboy jamborees in places like Tulsa and Wichita – Grand Junction and Grand Prairie – and I hear his Christmas shows are a whole other level.

Anyway. What lyrics sing to you? What do you remember out of the blue from a song?

Recipe: Baked Apples

I don’t write down recipes because I generally just figure out what the kids and I like and remember to make it again – as they are creatures of habit (all kids are). But when I find something that inspires me to take a day trip to Vermont, well then I figure that warrants not only writing it down, but sharing it.

Ingredients:
Apples
Oatmeal
Sugar & Cinnamon
Apple Cider
Pancake Mix
Maple Syrup
Butter
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The Process (Apples):
Take your apple or apples and core it, making sure not to go all the way through the bottom. Then widen the hole – making a cup for your oatmeal mixture.

The Process (Oatmeal Mix):
Melt 1/4 stick of butter in a pan. Once it melts, add in:
1 Cup of Oatmeal
1 Cup of Pancake Mix
1 Cup of Apple Cider

Mix that all together then add in the Sugar & Cinnamon and Maple Syrup – mix that together. Remove from heat.

The Build-Out:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 deg.

2. Pack the oatmeal mix into your apple(s) and place them in an an oven-safe pot or pan.

3. When the oven comes up to temp, put the pan in the oven and cook for 35-40 minutes.

Devour:
Place your apple in a bowl that can accommodate it and a couple of scoops of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. This would also be a good time to drizzle some caramel over the top, or some chopped nuts – have fun with it.

The backstory here is that I randomly came across this recipe while going through Instagram one morning. It’s a take on dutch oven baked apples which are a staple on a fall or winter camping trip.

The idea of doing this prompted me to plan out a great day up in Vermont with the girls – where we took it easy on the backroads until we found the best place to get apples. We were in the middle of the middle of nowhere and it was amazing.

The apple in the picture is called a “Twenty Ounce” and it can be found at Scott Farm Orchards in Dummerston, VT.

Eden’s Shore

Most people see Spring and Summer as the ideal time to have an adventure in the great outdoors.

Spring? YES!
Summer? Not so much…

This morning I woke up and it was 45 degrees before the sun crawled over the mountain. It’s only 48 now with the sun in my eyes – and all I want to do is put on my hiking boots and get out there in it.

I don’t feel this way when I wake up and it’s 85 – with equal humidity – and the haze is so thick that you could comb your hair with it.

Summer is appealing because the days are long – kids are out of school – and everything seems a little more relaxed. It’s perfect for hanging around a pool or a pond.

A pond is much better for me.

But its not great for hiking around – save for catching frogs with your kids; scrambling up a riverbed that will soon be a river once again.

In the fall, everything cools off – the temps, the mosquitos – everything seems to come into perspective, and then the leaves start to change… Then the sunsets become biblical… You need to pack an extra layer, but you can still rock your Crocs if you’re so inclined.

Truth be told – I spend the whole year in the outdoors. New England offers me that kind of setting where I can glean inspiration from all twelve of the months. But I really soak it in from September to the leading edge of June.

Sure, I’ll go camping in the middle of August and sweat my ass off morning, noon, and night – let the walls of the tent stick to me as I roll over constantly.. But I would rather parlay that until late September when I can wake up and flick the dew off the mesh windows of that same tent, head out into the sunrise, and – if I’m careful – listen to the season change.

There’s Always Airplane Mode…

Last week Elon Musk announced that he was going to launch more of his Starlink satellites into space so that some of the most remote locations on the planet would have cell service.

Outlets like Outside and Gear Junkie picked up on the story, and – in accessing these articles on their respective social pages – there was no questioning that there is a heavy divide between who’s for this and who’s against it.

The people who are against it are the purists who believe that the outdoors is a sacred place that should not be interrupted by modern amenities. Their fear is that the TikTokers will infect the woods with their twerking videos and/or this will just be another place for people to walk around with their faces glued to their phones – taking away from the whole meaning of being out there in the first place.

The people that are for this are the “better to have, and not need, than to need, and not have” crowd, who believe that if you can improve your situation in an emergency in a remote area – then you should. They’re not interested in making videos or having conversations on their phones when they’re out there in it – instead, they’re looking at this as another way to be prepared in a place where a lot of folks generally aren’t.

So – as someone who spends the majority of their time in the outdoors, in remote places, a lot of times without cell service – where do I stand on the matter?

Well, I love the escape the outdoors provides me, but I’m all for being prepared and being as self-sufficient as I can be out there. I’m also a dad and I like to be as available as I can be for my kids because you never know what kind of jam they’re going to get into.

Adding to that – big picture – we live in a society where everyone is a text or phone call away. It’s as common as breathing these days, so people expect to be able to get a hold of you. But, if you set parameters – like “hey, I’m going hiking this afternoon, so I might not get back to you right away.” people get that, because they get you.

And, if I’m being blunt – you can always turn your phone off or turn on Airplane Mode if you don’t want to be bothered.

So, all due to respect to the die-hards who oppose this improvement, but this isn’t the fight you want to fall on your sword for. You can save that enthusiasm for the jerks who play their bluetooth speakers in the woods talk. Besides, this isn’t going to be the type of cell service where you can stream yourself lip-syncing in a bear cave, this is going to be a very slow, necessity-driven form of service that will allow a text or call to be sent or received.

Not a lot of bandwidth, but a nice to have, just in case.

In the end, this is all a sign of the times. There are already multiple ways to communicate in the outdoors in places that don’t have cell service – most of which charge an extra fee to use. And, as awesome as they are, if you can save a few bucks and not have to carry an extra gizmo or gadget, that’s a win-win.

Especially if you’re one of those people who drill holes in their toothbrush to cut down on weight.

Needful Things: 210DX

It goes without saying that I’ve spent a little time on the mountain – but at one point it was a whole weekly to-do where The Wolf and I would get all sorts of food and drink, head out to where the woods twist and turn, have ourselves a fire, and get a good shine on before meandering our way back down and out.

It was on one of those excursions that he pulled one of these saws out of his pack and spun me a yarn about where it came from and how it got to be his.

We were standing out by the old Bronco on the Blue and Orange trail and there it was – with its unique locking mechanism and bi-directional tooth pattern. He let me take it for a rip and it cleaned through dry and wet wood with ease.

I had my very own a week later.

What a lot of folks may not realize is that the Japanese are master arborists. They come at it from all angles – and take a lot of pride in their work, which leans to why they have such a vast selection of saw’s, whose brands originate there.

This pruning saw is over ten years old and has been everywhere with me – and it looks, feels, and performs like it’s brand new. And sure, I’ve got bigger saws for bigger jobs, but for any given day out in the outdoors – this mighty might has proven its worth and then some.

I’m happy to put it back in my pack while I pray for autumn rains so we can get a few fires in again.

ARS 210DX
“210DX Turbocut” | ARS Corporation, Japan

Overall Length: 13½ inches
Folded Length: 8 inches
Weight: 4¾ oz.

Blade Locking Mechanism: Swing lock

Blade Steel: High Carbon (marquench hardened)
Blade Plating: Chrome plated
Blade Tooth Design: Turbocut
Replaceable Blade: Yes

Gone Are The Days

The internet is really what struck the first tone of the death knell for brick and mortar retail experience; forcing retailers to decide if they wanted to focus on in-store sales or internet sales – or find the balance between both. Then, after years of finding what worked for their business model, Covid hit and forced a lot of these stores either to the internet or out of business.

I’m sure this can be found in a lot of retail sectors, but the one place it’s hitting home for me is with outdoor gear shops that once got down to a granular level of gear and now find themselves greeting their customers with a smile on their face, only to refer them back to the internet to get the bits and pieces they’re looking for.

There’s a culture there that’s being squashed – unless you’re lucky enough to live in proximity to a place that pulled through the pandemic with its brick-and-mortar ethos still intact. But their far and few between and, up until the middle of last week, I was struggling with it.

Seriously.

My first job in high school, which I kept through college, was working in a local camping store. I started off sweeping the sidewalk and emptying the trash and eventually found myself outfitting people for their next adventure. I knew a little bit of everything and was eager to fill in the blanks on what I didn’t know.

Mickey Finn’s, in my hometown of Berlin, Connecticut used to be a collection of three stores: The Clothing Store, where we all went to get clothes for school. The Honda Shop sold motorcycles, lawnmowers, and parts, and housed a lot of backstock for the three stores. And the Camping Store, where I worked, that was a mix of workwear, work boots, hiking boots, canoes, kayaks, and everything else you needed for working, playing, and living in the outdoors.

It’s still around, and it’s still fantastic, but the Honda Shop closed down way before the pandemic, and the camping eliminated the camping section around that time too. This means all of the crazy backstock of bits and pieces went with it all:

Old tents, and last year’s model sleeping bags.
Repair kits for damn near anything.
All the parts you needed to rebuild your grandfather’s Coleman lamp.
Those cool Levi’s jean jackets with the wool collar (miss you, Tommy)..
It’s all gone, except for up in my head where the memories remain.

How many people did I get ready to hike the AT? How about the long trail? How many folks came in for their first kayak and left with their first full-blown roof rack, installed by yours truly?

I made friends there – the people I worked with and people I saw out on the trail, randomly. It was a lifestyle – it wasn’t working retail to me. And all of us were in the same nest of thought in that store. It was our own cultural mecca, and it always smelled like nubuck. And now I miss working with Billy every day.

Anyway.

After Finn’s, I did a spell at Eastern Mountain Sports – smack dab in the middle of its peak performance, before moving on to Thule – where I had the chance to not only design new and improved versions of those racks I sold and installed, but also got the chance to visit all sorts of brick and mortar stores all over the country, to fill my soul coffers of that vibe.

And now a lot of that is gone. Sure, there are places peppered all across this country that I can stop into when I’m out there and catch a whiff of the vibe, but – well. Deep sigh.

Right around this time of year, every year, I start to pivot and get excited about camping on the cold ground/waking up covered in dew in a field full of fog. I yearn for long hikes where I can catch the sunset and still have the whole night ahead of me. Fall is not only my favorite season to be outdoors, but it’s during the switch over from warm weather gear to cold weather gear that I start to look at areas of improvement.

I start to plan out overnight trips up to Vermont, maybe a few camping trips with the girls sprinkled throughout the state – buy a new flannel or a pair of pants. Really wrap my head around it.

Anyway, I wanted to try something new – take a different approach to how I was going to carry my gear on lighter hikes. I spent a few days going down one path, only to find that I was already thinking about how I would need to modify what I was getting so it would suit my needs. I wanted to take a certain hip pack and make it my everyday carry, but I found myself thinking about how I would cut this out and sew that part. It was a mess. And then, after a few days of toiling and exploring on the internet (what the internet is really good for), an errant keystroke led me to the hip pack I wanted, with zero modifications need.

It was everything. I was elated. And then I found out that the pack was discontinued two years ago, and replaced with something that I would need to modify to get it back to its predecessor, and ultimately – what I wanted out of it.

The one thing I know for certain about hanging out in backrooms of mom-and-pop camping stores, and even some of the bigger – national brand ones – is that they always have something old sitting on their shelves somewhere. Last year’s model of this, or a returned bit of that. It’s just part of that vibe – that way of being. There’s always something someone wants on one of those shelves.

Knowing this, I start hunting and pecking. I google and I search and I make a list of the places I’m going to call to see if they have my holy grail of the moment tucked out back by the microwave – that old relic that they pass by on their break, on their way out to toke a rope and might stack their keys and water bottle against but would never consider putting it back on the shelf.

This idea – this hope – is what keeps my blood flowing during the downfall of the retail experience. It’s also what led to me to call a random bike shop (which is basically a camping store with bikes) in Albuquerque where one of its employees took the time to listen to what I had to say, and spent three hours – in his backroom of treasures – looking for this discontinued hip pack for me.

Not only did he find it – returned with tags still on it – and tucked on a shelf, near the microwave – but he took 20% off the top and offered to ship it to me for free.

So, not only am I stoked that this void is being filled – to the point where I went and reassessed all the rest of my gear to see if I could get lightning to strike twice – but I my hope in this culture hanging on for the next big challenge – has been restored.

So yes, gone are the days when things like this happen all the time. But the people working in these shops are the last stronghold – the last chance to keep the vibe alive, and man – Nate, in Alburqurque, I owe you a beer. I think a lot of people owe you a beer, and I am happy to know that peppered throughout the country there’s a little something left, for a little while longer, where some outdoorsy type of person in this situation has the opportunity to tie the strings together, if only for a little while longer.

Bob Dylan once said “What’s lost is lost, we can’t regain what went down in the flood”. But that doesn’t mean that things won’t keep bobbing to the surface from time to time.

Have hope, friends and freaks. The era of the brick-and-mortar retail experience has passed, but it doesn’t mean it’s gone.

The Reconnect

There was a time in my life where I was connected to the outdoor world through the people and gear. That connection enhanced everything I did outside, and – taking it step further – pushed to be more and do more when I was on one of my crazy adventures.

I was in the middle of a great career at Thule, when I was approached to write knife and tool reviews for The Gear Institute. Both of those, in communion, connected me with other people who were splitting their time between the 9-5 grind and the outdoors.

All of us knew enough to influence one another about this thing or that – use this tent, try that knife, eat this food – and it was something that added to all of our lives.

Covid changed all of that.

In a time where more of these thoughts and ideas should have been shared and applied, we were all forced to retreat – refocus and reset while the world figured out what was wrong and what the impact the pandemic really had on us was.

But that doesn’t mean we stopped thinking about this stuff or stopped living that life.

The hardcore dirtbags in the mix found new veins to expose while sleeping through starry nights on platforms held in place with cams and carabiners.

The writers found new things to write about while they tried to hang on and put food on the table in a place in time where they couldn’t go out and find more things to write about.

I tucked myself into a new job; writing and building brands, raising my daughters, teaching them how to plant trees and tend to gardens, and making knives.

I enjoyed the pandemic. I liked the scary stuff and the idea that shit could go sideways at the flip of a coin. But that’s because I was prepared. I know life without modern amenities. I have everything at the ready if we have to get up and go. I could survive in that situation – struggle and all.

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss the connections and opportunities of hitting up a tradeshow or throwing back a beer with someone I only knew through email; going to an industry party or getting wild things sent to me in the mail to toil over and write about.

Now, here we are – adjusted to whatever this is now. Not the “new normal” but just life as we’re living it – and I have had the great opportunity to reconnect: to talk shop again. To share my thoughts in the air and on paper about this tent, that knife, or what food to eat.

But this time around, I am not only enjoying it from the inside – but I’m living inside of it. Foraging berries. Growing gardens. Finding new trails. Making new trails. Sipping my morning coffee while I nod at the solar panels on the roof of my 1300-square-foot cottage on a plot of property owned by my ancestors.

Full circle. All of it – and all the while I’ve been writing. Honing the skill that got me everywhere I’ve ever been, professionally.

So as the world opens back up and opportunities to reconnect with all of the other outdoorsians begin to blossom, I get a little emotional. I get a little deep. I start focusing on the details – and I realize that all of this is natural. That I have – just like my peer around me – a wealth of knowledge that is an extension of the person I am. Information that I can share – and expound on – without Google or any form of reference outside of what I’ve stored in my mind.

Take a deep breath.