North Carolina Outward Bound, Here I Come! Hiking at Its' Best - Teamwork at Its' Best!

!: North Carolina Outward Bound, Here I Come! Hiking at Its' Best - Teamwork at Its' Best!

Of all the education and courses that I have ever taken, both in real life and in online courses and correspondence courses, one of the most valuable packets of information that I have ever received came when I attended, participated in and stayed for the North Carolina Outward Bound wilderness survival course. No matter what happens to me for the rest of my natural life, I will always remember almost every single moment of that very cool, very creative, exceptionally joyful, and strenous trip.

Just for the record, the trip that I speak of is an actual course and the place that I applied for is an actual school. There is no better school around than Outward Bound when it comes to teaching teamwork, self-esteem, strength, faith, unity, loyalty and wilderness survival. Seems that every moment was a lesson learned, to the basic lessons of survival to some of the silliest leave no trace lessons where someone had to volunteer to drink tuna juice. Yikes! Have you ever had the water from a can of tuna? For me, that was unacceptable even though someone had to drink it. Someone else volunteered and actually seemed to enjoy it. After all, it was water that did not come from the puddle we just passed! Still, the thought of tuna-flavored water did not interest me in the least. Leave the juice to the others, I still played my part and did my share of teamwork. I was one of the two who actually had brought along the swiss survival knife, and one of the two who knew how to use it to open cans. (It is no easy feat for a beginner. But since I had been practicing and opening cans for a few weeks ahead of time, there was no tuna can left unopened while I was there with my trusty pocket knife).

So we learned lessons of teamwork, like let the slowest person lead the trail. Then no one is left behind and we all take a good pace through the forest. We learned over lessons that were not planned. Ahh, remembering the full-face huge spider web that attacked me just because I was not looking straight ahead as I passed through the trail. What would you do if you were walking along, pack on back, through the forest trail and all of a sudden out of nowhere your face was covered in iccky spider web --one huge web. Just take a second and wonder where is the spider for this humongous web? What would you do? If anyone asked me I probably would have said that this just won't happen to me because I am always on the look out. Well, guess again. It happened to me and I was not prepared for it. I reacted in a most unusual way. (No, not sharing that here).

We teamed up to hike through the rest of the woods, we stopped to rest and some of us stopped to put some moleskin in our boots. Another stopped for a mild asthma attack that went almost unnoticed. We all checked out the trail in front of us and then finally we came to this dead end--a huge mountain. (Okay , I called it a mountainm and they called it a rock). But to me, anything over seven or eight stories high is a MOUNTAIN!!! (Now that is coming from someone who had never been hiking before). We all took turns hiking up this rock --rock-scaling they called it. I still call it mountain-climbing. On-belay, on-belay!! At least we knew that meant that somewhere down there someone had us covered and if we did fall, someone would pull the reigns in on our safety gear and hopefully no one would break a hip or a head. Turns out we had a fabulous day and that was just one of the days we spent viewing the forest, eating, sleeping and making dinner, breakfast and lunch right there on the forest floor.

One lesson I learned or rather re-learned is that when you are worried or concerned about looking funny or wierd, you later will learn that you should have just been yourself and done what was most comfortable for YOU. Never worry about what anyone else thinks. When it comes to important things, heck, be YOURSELF! .. Here is my mini-lesson in that as I learned by living in the forest with eleven women and no tents for about seven days. Before packing on the trip, I had wanted to include my hiking stick for comfort in hiking, and I wanted to bring my frisbee --for my plate for food and my chopsticks. But, I left all of these home because I was meeting my fellow campers for the first time and I did not want to make a bad impression. After all who wants to be seen as silly when meeting friends for the first time?

So, left all the goodies at home. And then, POW! There is was like a ton of bricks. My instructor walks out of her tarp-tent one day with her frisbee and chopsticks in her hand. And the other instructor has her hiking sticks. Wow, talk about packing mistakes. It was right then that I wished I had just been myself and packed my own chopsticks, frisbee and hiking sticks. Usually , for me , throughout my life, that lesson sticks with me. Heck, just be me and let everyone else worry about themselves. Anyone ready to make fun of me or think that I am silly , well , they will just have to live with themselves while I am comfortably living with ME!

These are just a few, a microscopic few lessons learned that week. Overall the experience was one of the best in my life and I would love to go back to the forest with some Outward Bound Alumni. Anyone here reading from NCOBS or COBS? Write to me at my email box and lets share stories.

North Carolina Outward Bound, Here I Come! Hiking at Its' Best - Teamwork at Its' Best!

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La Sportiva N.A. Men's Nepal Evo GTX Mountaineering Boot (Yellow) - 45.5

!: Saved La Sportiva N.A. Men's Nepal Evo GTX Mountaineering Boot (Yellow) - 45.5 quickly

Brand : La Sportiva
Rate :
Price : $474.95
Post Date : Nov 20, 2011 02:15:38
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Considered the best single leather mountaineering boot on the market, this year's evolution of the La Sportiva Men's Nepal Evo GTX Mountaineering Boot takes hardcore climbing boots to another level. From the first step, a new GORE-TEX Duratherm lining makes the boot completely waterproof and warmer for high altitudes and extreme cold. A new breathable tongue and intergrated anatomical elastic snow gaiter keeps the foot drier, managing perspiration and big water droplets. With the addition of the patented 3-D Flex ankle hinge system, and sticky rubber rand the Men's La Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX Mountaineering Boot climbs better than ever. The sole has a new tapered HP3 midsole with shock absorbing polyurethane ("PU") inserts under the heel and the ball of the foot for support. A new IBS (Impact Brake System), designed exclusively with Vibram, softens impact on hard ground and improve traction by 20%.

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Rock Climbing in Kentucky

!: Rock Climbing in Kentucky

At first glance, rock climbing in Kentucky may seem like a far fetched idea. Au contraire! Red River Gorge provides great rock climbing areas in KY.

Rock Climbing In Kentucky

Located in the Daniel Boone National Forest, the greater Red River Gorge area is over 26,000 acres. The Red River runs for approximately 20 miles through the area. The area around the river is rife with rock climbing opportunities with multi-pitch walls, boulders and climbing roofs to try out your over vertical technique. The Red River Gorge can be reached by car in about an hour from Lexington, Ky. Trails and camping are plentiful in the area, so you can make a weekend of your trip.

Rock climbing is permitted through most of the gorge, but a few areas are off limits. You can ask the forest rangers for a list, but you generally are barred from climbing or descending on any of the arches. Also, all routes are pre-set and rock climbers are forbidden to start new routes without getting permission first from the rangers. Sorry for the downer, but you don't want to get arrested.

When rock climbing in Red River Gorge, there are a few areas getting universal thumbs up. For traditional climbing, the following areas get thumbs up:

1. Pebble Beach

2. Sky Bridge Ridge

3. Fortress

4. Long Wall

These areas all have epic climbing routes with ratings all well above five.

Sport climbing presents an entirely different challenge and the Red River Gorge area meets it. Top areas include:

1. Global Village with multiple climbs

2. Military Wall

3. Roadside Crag

4. Pebble Beach

5. Sky Bridge Ridge

If you are new to the area, the best two spots to hit are Pebble Beach and Sky Bridge Ridge. Each offers a variety of climbs, which gives you the best opportunity to try out your technique and take on a few challenges.

There are other areas in Kentucky that offer solid rock climbing. The Red River Gorge, however, is the king of the mountain when it comes to rock climbing areas in KY.

Rock Climbing in Kentucky

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"Mountain climbing" Tomsontravels's photos about Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (climbing kk mountain)

!: "Mountain climbing" Tomsontravels's photos about Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (climbing kk mountain)

Preview of Tomsontravels'sblog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: www.travelpod.com This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia Entry Title: "Mountain climbing!!!" Entry: "With only 11 days in Sarawak, North Borneo, we thought we wouldn't have enough time to do everything. Seeing turtles being released and diving made us love this part of Borneo enough to come back for more, especially the diving. Somehow we had a few days left to kill and I perked up "lets climb the mountain!" which got a few funny looks from Son, mainly the 'are you mad' look. At 4095m above sea level and the highest mountain in south east asia it and with no training it did seem a little daunting but as it was in the top two most visited tourist sites in Sarawak behind seeing the Orang utans it can't be that hard... we thought! Getting there proved as difficult as the climb itself as we found ourselves dropped at a junction in the middle of nowhere, told that we could flag down buses going to the bottom of the mountain. The thing was that there were no buses, and the buses that did arrive were full, it being a public holiday. It was the middle of the day and there was no shelter and it was hot. Fortunately (or unfortunately for me) a man offered to take us to the mountain for a ridiculously overpriced rate (my pet hate are taxi drivers who always overcharge in what seems every part of the world) so we had to take it ...

"Mountain climbing" Tomsontravels's photos about Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (climbing kk mountain)

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SCARPA Men's Liskamm GTX Mountaineering Boot,Forest,44 EU (US Men's 10 1/2 M)

!: Where To Buy SCARPA Men's Liskamm GTX Mountaineering Boot,Forest,44 EU (US Men's 10 1/2 M) best

Brand : Scarpa | Rate : | Price : $369.00
Post Date : Oct 30, 2011 08:27:04 | Usually ships in 24 hours

SCARPA Men's Liskamm GTX Mountaineering Boot,Forest,44 EU (US Men's 10 1/2 M)

DECENT FEATURES of the Scarpa Men's Liskamm GTX Mountaineering Boot Gore-Tex for confidence in wet conditions Double tongue for excellent fit Rubber rand for extra protection Vibram M4 sole has aggressive tread and excellent cushioning Automatic, and semi-automatic crampon-compatible Tall cuff for extra support Ankle flex zone for added comfort The SPECS Upper: Crosta Pro HS12 Lining: Gore-Tex - Performance Comfort Insole: Pro-Flex XT Midsole: EVA Sole: Vibram M4 Tech Last: DL Weight: 1070 g / 2 lbs 6 oz (1/2 pair size 42)

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Mount Lafayette

!: Mount Lafayette

I did my best to put some clips together of our hiking trip on Mount Lafayette. It's hard to make climbing an mountain worth watching so I hope you enjoy. Songs: Strobe - Deadmau5 Pumped Up Kicks (Remix) - YONAS

Mount Lafayette

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Mountaineering Boots

!: Mountaineering Boots

Wearing the correct mountaineering boots is essential when you go mountain climbing, ice climbing and rock climbing. These tough conditions on rough terrains can cause devastating injuries if you fall or trip whilst climbing. The mountaineering boots are designed and manufactured to help climbers and they are an important part of the climbing equipment. When purchasing these boots, finding the proper fit and features that are essential to your particular mountain climbing conditions should be the important things on your mind.

Some of the features that you should look for in these boots are crampon compatibility and tread and sole construction. Mountaineering boots are stiffer and higher than hiking boots. This stiffness helps the crampons to be attached more precisely and assists the climber to climb rougher and steeper slopes. It is important that you bring your crampons with you to the store when you purchase your boots to ensure your crampons are easy to remove and attach. You do not want to find out whilst you are well on your climb that your crampons do not function properly! Wearing the socks you usually wear for these activities is another crucial point to make. This ensures proper fit for your feet.

As with other outdoor boots, ensure that you break in your boots prior to climbing. This will guarantee that you do not develop too many blisters or sore spots on your climb. If you are climbing during the colder months, look for features in the boots that will keep your feet warm. You can find single boots that usually has insulation that is integrated into the boots. Another type of boots is the double boots that has a removable lining. This is a great advantage because if your boots do get wet inside, you can remove the liner and dry it separately from the boots.

This dries the liner faster than if it was integrated into the boots. Again, different boots are for different types of climbs and different weather conditions. Do not be tempted to buy one pair of boots for extreme types of climbs. Some sports and hobbies require specific attire to make it safer. You do not want accidents to happen because of the wrong footwear. These boots are also popular footwear for cable-car operators, drivers of snow racers, rescue personnel in ski resorts, etc. They are extremely durable and adaptable to weather which makes them ideal for people who work on rough and harsh terrains.

Mountaineering boots are specifically designed for climbing and remember that there are different types of boots for different types of climbing. Rock and ice climbing require special boos that cater to the terrain and the climate. Keep in mind these factors when you look for a pair of boots to purchase. If you need to buy more than one pair for different climbs, make sure you have separate requirements and look around in the stores. You can also go online and browse the web to look for one before actually going to a store and trying them out. This helps narrow down your choices and it makes it a bit easier to choose. Whichever pair of boots you choose pick one that is perfect for you and you will enjoy a safer climb.

Mountaineering Boots

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