Hollywood Hikes

by Erik Olsen on

Since I am actually in Hollywood…in fact I’ve been here all week working like a dog…I thought it would be nice to post about a dandy little feature on hikes in the area. Now, of course it is true that when you think about Hollywood, hiking is low on the list of things that come to mind. Movie stars, traffic, endless sunniness, OJ hacking his wife up, those are the things we think about. But as someone who grew up here, I have to report that, as this article in the Washington Post shows, there are some rather sweet hikes to be done.

Many of the places they mention here are in the Hollywood Hills, which is a nice place to go…in fact I was just there myself on a little equestrian adventure about which I cannot divulge nary a fact, but they calso call out the Angeles National Forest, my old stomping grounds, and the place I did many a hike…in addition to consuming many a malt beverage. Good stuff…hiking and malt beverages.

So take a gander and whether you’re a bona-fide Los Angeleno or just a visitor looking for a little exertion, the list here might help you remove yourself, albeit breifly, from the honk and thrum of the city.

The Trail Days Festival, Damascus, Virginia

by Karen Walrond on

Several years ago, when I was living in Houston, I met the very close friend of my very close friend, Everett.  Everett’s friend Kimberly was in town for some last-minute purchases before heading to the Appalachian trail.  I was shocked to learn that she was intending to walk the entire 2,159 mile trail all by herself.

“All by yourself?” I repeated, incredulously.

“Yup,” she calmly responded.  “A lot of people do it.  Although, there will probably be times when I won’t see a soul for days.”

Well, she did manage to do the whole thing, and ended up meeting the man she eventually married on the trip, to boot.  So when I read this article in the New York Times about the Trail Days Festival in Damascas, Virginia, I couldn’t help but wonder if she met her husband here, in what’s touted as “the friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail.”

The festival, it turns out, occurs on May 19th – 21st, and has become “the largest single gathering of hikers anywhere.”  Last year, an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 showed up to what has become “a backpacker’s Mardi Gras,” and a reunion for anyone who has ever trekked the long  Trail.

Sound like a lot of fun.  Of course, it’s unlikely that I’ll ever hike that trail.  Have any of you done it?  Did you make it to the festival?

Cabela’s – Wheeling, West Virginia

by Adrienne Wilson on

For the longest R.E.I. was the only outfitter that came to mind when pondering where to go to stock up on outdoor goods, but that has since changed. After breezing through West Virginia for a bite to eat at Cracker Barrel and visit to Cabela’s, I now know of another equally exciting place to gear up on gear. As me and my partners were pulling up into the lot, one of them was schooling us on how world famous Cabela’s was and low and behold there were a few visitors to the area snapping photo after photo. I thought I should snap a few too.

If I had to compare the interior to anything it would be a jungle, a tangled jungle of clothing, fishing equipment, hunting gear and almost anything and everything imaginable for the outdoor enthusiast. Cabela’s is more than just a store. One good walk around the showroom will reveal several small animal displays located throughout the store, but better than anything else is the area called Whitetail country. I’m not a huge fan of hunting, but it was interesting seeing this large display of deer in a realistic re-creation of their natural habitat. The buck doesn’t stop at animal displays though – swing in May 27-28, 2006 for French fries with Cabela’s seasonings.

Cabela’s in Wheeling is located at One Cabela Drive, Triadelphia, WV 26059. For a full listing of stores nationwide click here.

The Ultimate Guide to Free Travel

by Karen Walrond on

When I used to travel a lot for my
job, I had friends who used to tell me how lucky I was to travel as much as I did.  "I wish I could
travel," they’d say wistfully.  "It’s just so expensive."

So, I wish that at the time I
had this article being featured on CNN.com, describing how you can score travel — for free. 
In a nutshell, the article encourages the reader to explore options like housesitting, or houseswapping, or even
driveaways — that is, driving an owner’s car from one location to another, because the owner either can’t or doesn’t
want to drive the car herself.

The article also provides sources to consult if any of the options appeal to
you.  Perhaps I’ll e-mail the link to my friends.

Or, since I don’t travel nearly as much as I used to,
keep these tips to myself.

New GPS Unit

by Erik Olsen on


Just bought myself a GPS unit. Yes I did. I was out paddling again on the Hudson this weekend and turned that baby on
and got trip distance (a wee 5 miles), trip time, and all the other data-rific stuff you get out of one of these units.
Well, not all. I haven’t installed a bunch of maps yet, just ordered them off Amazon, but it is still really cool to
finally have my own GPS. Gonna have to do me some geocaching.

Speaking of which, as I did some searching
around for geocaching sites, I came upon this explainer that you can click on to help you understand what the heck geocaching is in the first place.
I’m just getting up to speed myself, might give it a try once I get a better grasp of how my unit works. By the way, I
got a Garmin eTrex Legend Cx. Anyone who has this unit or a
similar one, would love to hear what you think about it, and any advice or comments you may have about it.