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Bear Creek Provincial Park BC

Bear Creek Provincial Park has many things to offer and is a great place for families with kids.

8 Photos

Black Knight Mountain

Black Knight Mountain Hike

15 Photos

Enderby Cliffs Hike

The Enderby Cliffs tower high above the city offering breathtaking views of the Shuswap and the North Okanagan.

49 Photos

Okanagan Lake

14 Photos

Kelowna City Park

45 Photos

Kaloya Regional Park

29 Photos

Kettle Valley Railroad

26 Photos

Mission Creek Regional Park

17 Photos

Mill Creek Regional Park

16 Photos

Hardy Falls Regional Park

Hardy Falls Regional Park is a easy, peaceful and cool place to visit on a hot Okanagan summer day.

2 Photos

Last weekend a couple of friends were ice climbing in Vermont’s Smuggler’s Notch near Mt. Mansfield and they were benighted. When they returned to their car their window had been smashed, and one of the climbers wallet had been stolen from the glove compartment. Any way you slice it, getting your wallet stolen sucks. But there are steps you can take pre-theft to protect yourself and make the process of dealing with it easier.

Whether your wallet is lifted from you pack, your car or your pocket…here’s what to do before and after to lessen the impact:

2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, only put the last four numbers of your account in the “for” line. The credit card company will know the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check won’t have access to the number.

3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you don’t have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your  social security number printed on your checks. You can write it in if necessary.

4. Photocopy the backs and fronts of all the cards you carry in your wallet, including credit cards, insurance cards, AAA card, license, etc. That way, you’ll know what you had in your wallet and you’ll have the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel cards or alert agencies. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.

5.  Call the police where your wallet was stolen and file a police report immediately. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is the first step toward an investigation.

7. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.

The numbers:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

3.) Trans Union: 1-800-680 7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Don’t leave your wallet in a vulnerable place. Only take what you need to the trailhead–a credit card, insurance card, license and some cash, and leave the rest home in a safe place to minimize your risk. And, if you’ve brought those items along, zip them into a safe pocket in a piece of clothing you won’t peel during the day so they are always with you as ID and to keep them safe from sticky fingers.

-Berne Broudy

The original article is here:
Stolen Wallet?

Most Appalachian Trail thru-hikers rely on the view to sustain them through the hardest pasts of the trail, but Mike Hanson doesn’t even have that. This week, the 44-year-old Minnesota man will begin hiking the Appalachian Trail blind.

Hanson hopes to show that visually impaired people are as capable and independent as anyone. He hopes to use just his walking stick and the turn-by-turn voice commands on his GPS phone as a guide. He’ll be accompanied by a documentary filmmaker who has promised not to interfere with navigation.

“It gives me everything I would need to know about the trail but the view,” Hanson said. “I will be able to hear and smell what is going on.”

Surprisingly, Hanson won’t be the first person to hike the Appalachian Trail blind, but he will be the first to do it unassisted if he’s successful. Right now, Hanson’s raised about $9,000 to cover expenses, but he hopes to reach $25,000. You can follow his progress on his Facebook page.

—Ted Alvarez

Originally posted here:
Blind Hiker Tackles Appalachian Trail

Hidy-ho, campers: For most of the country, winter’s warming up a little, and we’re halfway to spring (sorry, East Coasters). But with a bigger weekend-warrior crowds comes dangerous situations caused by variable conditions. Let’s take a look at some recent wilderness dust-ups and see what we can’t learn.

Stranded river trippers rescued in Grand Canyon. A private river trip got their 18-foot boat stuck on rocks in Crystal Rapid, 11 miles from the infamous Phantom Ranch. Three passengers were unable to dislodge their boat or get to try land, so national park helicopters airlifted the passengers to shore just before weather conditions deteriorated. They waited until the next day to launch a zodiac and dislodge the boat. By 4:30 p.m. that day, the crew was back on the river.
Lunchbox’s lesson: Tackling the Grand Canyon by raft is a premier life-list experience, but it requires expert skills in river safety. Make sure you’ve brushed up before planning your epic river run.

Hiker’s body recovered from Buffalo National River. A 54-year-old hiker visited the Buffalo National River, seemingly to photograph Magnolia Falls in the Upper Buffalo Wilderness. When his wife reported him missing, SAR crews eventually found the man face down in a pool at the base of a 70-foot cliff surrounded by three waterfalls. The steep canyon walls were covered in ice.
Lunchbox’s lesson: Hiking solo never gets safer, especially in icy, cliffy terrain. A second person brings extra caution to the table, and iced-over conditions should remind anyone to keep away from any steep or slippery terrain. No photo is worth it. (Ice makes everything more complicated, but here’s a little help for getting yourself out of a slippery situation.)

Dog survives 40 days in freezing Santa Cruz mountains. An old black lab named Buck got separated from his owners in the wilderness near his home on Jan. 6. After weeks of searching, his owners gave up, assuming he’d either been swept away by a snowmelt-swollen river or scooped up by another family. Wrong: 40 days after he disappeared a hiking neighbor heard whimpering and found an emaciated Buck stuck in a hole in a creek with his head barely above water. Bugs and rodents had chewed up parts of his face and he’d lost 50 pounds, but he was alive. The neighbor waded across the creek, retrieved Buck and brought him to safety. He’s in good spirits and expected to recover.
Lunchbox’s lesson: You think you humans are tough? Try and survive 40 days without food in an icy river and get back to me. That said, we always appreciate a helping hand from humans—we are best friends, after all.

—Lunchbox

Read the original post:
Lunchbox’s Disaster Roundup, 03-01

Q: After the Olympics in Vancouver, my buddy told me he thought he remembered someone on TV saying they found a white spirit bear. Is this true, or is he smoking too much peyote?—Gerald Nutinya, via email

A: I’m happy to report that your pal isn’t just making up stories after getting hazed and infused with post-Olympics joy.

There is a rare subspecies of black bear, called a Kermode bear, that often exhibits white pigmentation. These bears aren’t albino or blonde like some other black and brown bears; instead, they possess a recessive gene that expresses itself in 1/10 of the population as a white or cream-colored coat. They’re usually found on the coast of British Columbia, but sightings have been reported in Minnesota, too.

In fact, some folks in BC recently stumbled upon a hibernating Kermode bear when they fell into its den. They’ve set up a webcam to watch the bear (which they named Apollo) while he sleeps. Watch:

Read more from the original source:
Ask A Bear: Are White Spirit Bears Real?

One of the biggest challenges to being a real trail photographer/videographer is how to carry your gear at the ready, and minimize camera deployment and tripod hassles, while still getting sharp shots and steady footage. Even if you’re a nature photog who concentrates on landscapes and wildlife, cumbersome photo equipment (virtually all of it designed for street and studio shooters) can make you miss fast-changing light and brief wildlife encounters. It’s an unfortunate truth that most great images are taken in spite of the gear, not because of it.

And then there’s video, a  medium that’s never been more appropriate for backcountry image capture. Video can bring a whole new hassle level, especially when shooting telephoto sequences that are impossible to handhold. Setting up a video tripod  level enough for flat, smooth pans on uneven terrain makes the most exacting still photography seem streamlined. And if you get a video tripod with a “leveling ball” for the head, it’ll weigh5 to 6 lbs minimum. Ugh.

Fortunately, photo and video gear is just now beginning to catch up to the fast-changing language of action imagery, with cameras and camcorders that can (finally, thank gawd) shoot in low light, capture time lapses, combine stills and video, and handle a modicum of bad weather. The last gear frontier is camera steadying systems. Let’s face it, tripods do the job well, but they all suck.

Enter the BodyLink Telephoto Pack, by photo equipment newcomer ClikElite (the same people who started Ultimate Direction running packs). This camera/camcorder daypack has a well-tailored harness that carries securely in backpack style, takes accessory pouches on the waistbelt, and holds a monster SLR with bulky telephoto (think 70-200mm f2.8 zoom) or multiple smaller lenses.

The big difference is that the BodyLink switches to become a chest holster with an integrated camera holding frame. Just mount your own small tripod head, adjust the frame to position your camera at eye level, and you can handhold that dusk mule deer shot while still following Bambi, or get steady video pans, or do unique point-of-view action sequences. That, my fellow freaks, is a friggin’ revelation. Hallelujah!

At 13.5″ x 8.5″ x 8″, the BodyLink is a bit ungainly to use as a dedicated chest holster in combination with a multi-day backpack, and there’s no room for dayhike gear unless you’re using it to carry small cameras. But bulk aside, it still rules. The gusseted clamshell-style zipper opening lays out in front of you like a work table, making lens changes drop-free. The gusset also seals most of the zipper against blowing dust. The frame is removable if you don’t need the steadying effect and want to save weight. Adjustable interior dividers let you configure it for a variety of lenses and accessories, and it’ll even fit an SLR with separate camcorder.

ClikElite has applied this combo frame/tripod concept to several larger backpacks as well. Bottom line: An awesome tool for serious, on-the-move shooters. $200; 3 lbs.; Clikelite.com.

Read the original post:
Photo School: The ClikElite Bodylink Telephoto Pack

Canadian man and survivalist fan found dead of hypothermia

Yesterday, Canadian police recovered the body of Richard Code, a 41-year-old Ontario man who likely succumbed to hypothermia in the boreal forest wilderness of that province. He was found with little gear, and family members say most of this survival enthusiast’s skills were gleaned from books and shows like Survivorman.

Code was found in a marshy, snowed-in area with a multi-tool, axe, matches, lighter, an emergency blanket, fishing gear, compass, survival book, maps, and money, but no formal tents or shelter. He left a note with his landlord detailing his return time and GPS coordinates. On Monday, when he missed his return time, his landlady contacted the police.

He had attempted many ’survival trips’ in the past, but none successfully in the winter, and family members often worried about his lack of training and warned him of the dangers. Survivorman host Les Stroud, whose show often stresses the discomfort and dangers of real wilderness survival, sought to reinforce that idea.

“You need that time in the bush and there is no replacement,” Stroud said, speaking to the Star before Code’s body was located. “I wouldn’t attempt to solo until I’d done at least half a dozen or 10 courses . . . in the bush with people that knew what they were doing.”

—Ted Alvarez

Go here to read the rest:
‘Survivorman’ Fan Dies in Canadian Wilderness

You took a beautiful photo of a beautiful place, but something isn’t quite right. You may need to tweak the white balance if there’s an orange or blue tint to the image. If the colors aren’t popping, try adjusting the contrast or saturation sliders. If there are some ugly branches cluttering the side of the image, learn how to crop or clone them out.

Making these adjustments isn’t difficult and taking the time for post production will improve your photos. Get started by watching this slideshow and then choosing which photo software you’d like to use to develop your photos. The office favorite, and the professionals’ choice, is Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Read more tips from pro-photographers here.

—Genny Fullerton

Read the original here:
Backpacker Photo School: How to edit your photos

We’re at that mid-spring time when both warming temperatures and fantastic snow get people outside, and closer to getting themselves in trouble. We don’t have time to waste—let’s take a look at some recent outdoor predicaments.

Lost backcountry skiers hike 26 miles the wrong way. Two skiers who left Crystal Mountain resort for backcountry skiing got lost, eventually finding their way to a highway. Once there, they encountered a driver, who told them they could hike five miles back to the resort and their car, but they turned the wrong direction down the road, and hiked for 26 miles in ski boots until they arrived at a Mt. Rainier ranger station. Too late: Girlfriends reported the missing pair, and a search had already been launched.
Lunchbox’s lesson: Mt. Rainier officials noted that most signs on the remote highway had been removed to spare them from snow damage. But if the backcountry skiers had simply brought a map and compass, they could’ve saved themselves and rescue personnel a lot of trouble.

Mountain lion enters Colorado home, fights five tiny dogs. A malnourished mountain lion in Chaffee County, Colorado followed a small dog into its house on Sunday, where it encountered an unwelcome surprise: four shi tzus and a Jack Russel terrier. A mother and two children were trapped inside while the dogs fought it out with the cougar, until wildlife officers showed up to tranquilize the lion. All the dogs suffered severe injuries, and one later died. The underweight mountain lion was deemed a future attack risk and euthanized.
Lunchbox’s lesson: In mountain lion country, unattended pets and small children are fair game. Keep an eye on them, and keep them close, or you could end up staring down a mean cat in your living room.

96-year-old man survives rabid otter mauling. Straight from the bizarro files, a 96-year-old Florida man out for his usual predawn walk was startled when a dark shape came out of the bushes and approached him. What the man thought was a pet turned out to be a rabid otter, which attacked his leg, pulled him to the ground, and began savaging his hands and face. Two passersby stopped to help the man, and sustained injuries themselves in the process. They thought they’d stopped the otter after beating it with a shovel, but it leapt up again, and only stopped when shot dead by a policeman. All humans survived with multiple stitches, and they’ll need a series of shots to prevent rabies infection. Listen to the panicked 911 call here.
Lunchbox’s lesson: Don’t cross a rabid otter after dark?

—Lunchbox

Here is the original:
Lunchbox Disaster Roundup: 3-08

At BACKPACKER, we consider ourselves to be navigation freaks: maps, compasses, GPSs—we can geek out to them all day. But we’ve been outdone by this Instructables crew, who’ve figured out a way to make an entire table out of compasses.

Just watch what happens when you use magnetic coasters:

See more here:
Building A Compass Table