MSR Whisperlite Internationale Stove

by Erik Olsen on

I’ve been wanting to write about
this stove for a while because I love Whisperlite products
and because it’s one of the first to be very small, yet burn different fuels.

The WhisperLite Internationale stove was designed to
keep up with hard-core mountain and camping types who want to carry as little as possible when they are out (and
doesn’t this pretty much apply to everyone?), but who still like a good hot meal. To meet this demand, MSR
devised this solid multi-fuel burning version of the WhisperLite Shaker Jet Stove. This is a great
multi-purpose stove that gets the job done, and packs very tightly into a bag about the size of a fist.

You can use MSR White Gas, kerosene, jet fuel or even auto gas…not bad.  Thankfully, MSR added a
larger-diameter fuel line just in case you are4 forced to use poor quality fuel. And MSR’s Shaker Jet technology
ensures that the stove jet can be cleaned by simply shaking the apparatus.  Still not sold? You can check other
reviews of the
stove
here.

Volunteer Vacations for Hikers

by Erik Olsen on


It’s summer and you’re trying to come up with something cool to do for a week or perhaps a
long weekend. You love to be in the mountains, you love to hike, but you also want to give something back, contribute a
little bit to the places you enjoy.

The American Hiking Society

offers opportunities for you to volunteer and help build and improve trails, clear brush, build trail bridges,
and do all sorts of maintenance to make hiking opportunities better for everybody. The opportunities range widely, but
nearly every state has something.

New Yorkers might check out Camp Deer Run’s offerings,

while in Idaho, they need some help in the Sawtooth Wilderness. With so many great resources available in this
country to get out and experience nature, it is sometimes a good idea to give a little back, since many of these places
are made great by volunteers.

Andrew Skurka: The Big Walk

by Erik Olsen on

When Andrew Skurka reaches Cape Alava, Washington in August, he will have completed an impressive journey. He will
become the first person to walk the 7,700-mile transcontinental
Sea-to-Sea Route (C2C), a major achievement.

He’s been averaging about 36 miles per day, since he started on August 6, 2004 at Cape Gaspe, Quebec. He has since
traversed a network of hard-core long-distance trails that almost continuously span the continent between the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans. The only breaks are a 700-mile gap in North Dakota and Montana along the Missouri River and a
30-mile gap in Vermont.

Totally cool.

Oh, and Tacoma, Too

by Erik Olsen on

And since we did a little post on Seattle this morning, I guess it is behooves us to post a bit about Tacoma as
well. Although Tacoma is not nearly as great a city as Seattle, it is still a cool place to visit if you are traveling
in Washington State. Or even if you live there.

In this
Globe and
Mail piece Sam Bufalini takes a fresh look at his hometown, and discovers that the place has cleaned up real good.
Tacoma used to be known as the city where you’d hold your nose as you drove through…which was hard because you needed
to have both hands on the wheel because you were driving as fast as you could to get past the city. But the city has
done a great job cleaning up the air and adding culture to make Tacoma a viable destination, something most
Washingtonians would have said was unlikely a decade ago.

Among the new things to do is the Museum of Glass, which
celebrates the work of Dale Chihuly and other artists who work in this breakable medium. Tacoma is also the gateway to
Mount Rainier, which is about an hour or two outside the city and worth every mile.

Head to Tahiti

by Adrienne Wilson on

Before I really knew anything about Tahiti hearing the name of the country always reminded me
of the vacation grand prize you could win on a game show, but I always
wondered did anyone really go there? Whether or not anyone really flew the friendly skies then or now, it
sure is calling my name. With the weather not so bueno in the Caribbean these days the Pacific seems
perfect. There is tons of deep blue to dive, lush green to hike, and hot sand to fall out on. You get the
picture.

There are also numerous culture and outdoor events happening year-round as found on the
Tahiti Tourisme web site.  For the coming months visitors
can attend the Polynesian Artists Festival happening in August, Raid Painapo, a mountain team race through the Oponohu
Valley on September 24 and The 3rd edition of surf competition at the Taapuna Pro also taking place in September.
Sounds like a good mix of everything.