Solar Backpack

by Neil Woodburn on

Any time I find a cool new solar product I like to share it with our Gadling readers so that we can all benefit from the gifts of Apollo.

The latest nifty gadget is a Voltaic Backpack. Simple enough. The solar panels are on the backside of the pack so when you walk around outdoors, it powers up as the sun shines on your back.

The device generates 4 watts of power which should be enough to charge up all your hand-held devices but is unfortunately not enough for a laptop. It also includes the necessary adapters and cables so that you can plug your ipod or cell phone directly into the pack and power away.

Sure, it’s a little pricy at $249, but wouldn’t it make the perfect gift for a student? They carry backpacks anyway; why not help out the environment by giving your favorite student a solar one? Unless, of course, they happen to be attending Washington State.

Is Anyone Visiting America’s National Parks?

by Neil Woodburn on

There is perhaps nowhere in the world that has both the quantity and quality of National Parks as those which grace the backcountry of America.

That is why I found it so depressing to recently learn that attendance in these National Parks is dropping at alarming rates.

According to an article by Julie Cart in The Los Angeles Times, America’s National Parks have seen a 20% decrease in overnight visitors in the last ten years and a 24% decrease in those camping in the backcountry. Even Yosemite, the most famous of the National Parks has seen a 9% decrease.

This is simply horrendous!

The amazing natural resources in our own backyards should not be neglected and ignored. They cost very little to visit and offer a wealth of beauty, respite, and solace in return.

So why the decrease?

If you ask me, I could go on a long diatribe about modern laziness, expectation of immediate gratification, pre-packaged Disney adventures, a dying sense of adventure, and an obsession with safety.

The National Park Service has a few ideas of their own. A basic premise is that family vacationers are still seeking out “soft” adventure but would rather retire to a nice hotel afterwards and are therefore vacationing elsewhere.

Another theory, based upon a recent Nature Conservancy study, hardly comes as a surprise to me. Apparently there is a “correlation between the drop in national park visits and the increasing popularity of at-home entertainment, including video games and the Internet.”

One surprising answer uncovered in the article is the lack of appeal the parks have in the minority community. Come to think of it, I almost never see minorities when visiting National Parks–just campervans full of toe-headed kids and their lily-white parents. I’m not sure why, but the National Park demographic is something right out of the O.C.

So, it seems that a variety of factors are affecting attendance and none of them are good. I suppose, however, that if there is a silver lining, it is the fact that the parks will be less crowded in the future and therefore more enjoyable.

Wend Magazine

by Erik Olsen on

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of outdoors/travel/adventure mags comes and go. At one point, when I was living in Seattle, two different friends tried to start outdoors magazines…and each failed. That said, it’s great to see new magazines try their hand at the genre, because there are a million great stories waiting to be told and a select few glossies (while strong) have long dominated the outdoor mag landscape. The fact is, when these new magazines are good, it behooves us to support them, because good writing/photography/adventure is hard to find.

And so let me now introduce you to a killer new magazine out of Portland, Oregon called Wend. I am reminded a bit of that salsa commercial when the true salsacionoados (inevitably dressed as cowboys) hear that the salsa they are about to be served comes from (add dripping disdain here) New York CITY?!. No, as we all know, the best salsa comes from the Southwest. Similarly, one can surmise that some of the best outdoors writing/shooting should come from the West, or the Northwest, in this case.

Wend is a wonderful new magazine that is now into its second issue. While the Web site is a bit sparse at the moment, the issue I have is filled with great stories and sumptuous photographs. A few of the stories available include Powder Lines in Pakistan, about two men who survive the first descent on skis on Pakistan’s Mt. Laila. And a story on Surfing Africa’s Zambezi River. Great stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree. We’ll be checking back with them in the future, so keep an eye out.

All-In-One Wrist Gadget

by Neil Woodburn on

Convergence is the hot buzzword these days. Just check out the new iPhone and how it so perfectly combines a phone, PDA, MP3 player, and so many other goodies.

Convergence is your friend in the travel world as well. It means less gear to trek around with. Take for example, the Suunto X9i. It looks like a watch, but the Suunto webpage only refers to it as a wristop computer or a tool.

It does indeed tell time, but it also has an altimeter, barometer, compass, and a GPS system. That’s five functions in one! In addition, it was some pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve as well. After returning from a hiking trip, for example, you can download your “tracks” into a Google Earth program and it will automatically plot your journey using satellite imagery so all you friends can check out where you’ve been.

Price $500

Everest Trash as Art

by Erik Olsen on

A buddy of mine who has climbed Everest a few times started a program years ago to bring trash down from the top of Everest. The South Col and other camps at the top of the highest mountain in the world had become virtual trash heaps, places where climbers for decades had left behind the solid detritus of their expeditions. My buddy said that at one point, when you reached the South Col, there were so many discarded oxygen bottles that you had to step around them to get where you were going…namely, the top. And so the program he helped form used Sherpas and funding by climbers to start hauling that stuff down. Little did they know that the trash they carried might someday be considered works of art.

Enter Jeff Clapp, who says he became drawn by the trash climbers leave behind. Clapp says he was inspired by a documentary about Everest’s trash heap (a documentary in which my friend starred), and so he traveled to Nepal and brought a load of discarded oxygen bottles back to turn them into art. He turns them into bowls and bells, after buffing them down to a shiny silver sheen. Prices range from $1,600 to $3,000 for bells, and $500 to $1,500 for the bowls. Come on, isn’t this great? You have to admire guys like this that see opportunity where others see garbage.