Trailspace Blog November 2009

Thanks to a phenomenon known as “anticipatory thermogenises,” Lewis Gordon Pugh, an arctic swimmer who holds world records for the longest swims in the coldest waters, can call himself the hottest man around.

According to a study published in January's ScienceDirect - Journal of Thermal Biology, Pugh can raise his core body temperature to 101 degrees—without any physical exertion—before diving into 32°F water in nothing but swimming trunks. If you or I tried this, we’d likely start to hyperventilate uncontrollably and drown in a few minutes. He also can keep himself from shivering, typically an involuntary response, while swimming.

New Scientist magazine has an interesting article, “Superhuman: The secrets of the ice man,” describing Pugh’s intense physical and mental training for his cold-water feats, like a 1 kilometer swim at the geographic North Pole in 2007, where the water was 29ºF to 32ºF (minus 1.7ºC to 0ºC). The swim took 18 minutes and 50 seconds.

Oh, and in case you missed the picture above, Pugh swims according to the rules of the Channel Swimming Association, which only permit a swimming costume, a cap, and a pair of goggles.

For more info see www.lewispugh.com or check out the YouTube video below:

Via Outside

Your old backpack is good enough, right? Wrong! Now there’s the Archwood Flextrek 37 Trillion ZXYVR/M-Series Magnum Package.

This YouTube video is for anyone who's tried to make sense of backpack marketing copy and wants a chuckle. It's been making the rounds. I first saw it on The Piton and since then it's shown up on GoBlog and The Adventure Blog.

(Credit: Lindblad Expeditions)

Feeling bad for Brad, Angelina, Mickey, and the other Oscar losers? Well, a $55K gift bag might help ease their post-Oscar pain.

Seems the “non-winning” Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director nominees receive sponsored “Everybody Wins at the Oscars!" gift bags the day after.

This year’s swag includes a 10-day Galápagos Islands expedition aboard the National Geographic Islander or the National Geographic Endeavour, courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions. Host Hugh Jackman gets to go too.

Presumably the recipients can redeem the trips whenever they want. Otherwise, can you imagine fitting all those stars into one or two Zodiacs? And who'd get first dibs on the kayaks and snorkels?

Personally, I'd love to visit the Galápagos Islands—and on someone else's dime would be even better—but I worry about too many people (including myself) rushing to visit those special places before they're "ruined."

If you're a Facebookaholic (or, like me, just someone who inadvertently got sucked into the insidious social network by friends) you can now become a fan of Trailspace on Facebook and share all our outdoor geary goodness with your friends. Here it is:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Trailspace/29435372837

Check it out, become a fan, share with your friends, poke, prod, etc. And if you're one of those people who can't get through your day without Facebook, leave a comment here or write on our wall there and let us know what we can do to make our Facebook page more useful and cool.

Mountain Soles in Portland, Ore., has been resoling and repairing hiking boots and other outdoor footwear since 1979. The shop now offer resoles and repairs on Patagonia Footwear’s Vibram Idrogrip sticky rubber outsoles, Vibram EcoStep multi-sport outsoles, EcoStep hiking outsoles, and Skywalk natural latex honeycomb outsoles.

“There is no need to go out and purchase a new pair of shoes if you’ve spent the time outdoors, molding them for the perfect fit,” said Whitney Conner, brand manager at Patagonia Footwear. “There are alternatives to material purchases and we’re working to increase the lifespan of our products by partnering with solid organizations that share a similar philosophy to Patagonia.”

Patagonia resole prices range from $50-$80 depending on style of sole and construction. Since the cost can approach the cost of a new pair of shoes, resoling may not seem like an obvious choice. However, if your shoes are already broken in and in otherwise good condition, the natural resources saved and landfill space avoided are worth considering.

In addition to its newest partnership with Patagonia, Mountain Soles offers a wide selection of factory and Vibram replacement soles for mountaineering, hiking, backpacking, climbing, nordic, and fishing footwear. They can also repair broken hardware and stitch up loose seams on your favorite boots, and they offer fabric repair on tents, bags, packs, and clothing, and gear cleaning.

For more information and prices visit www.mtnsoles.com.

My father died from cancer this month. It goes without saying that this is a grievous event in my life. However, death is also an event each of us will come to eventually, a realization that naturally brings forth thoughts of how one is living his or her life.

While my father became sicker and sicker this winter, and while preparing for his recent memorial service, I thought a lot about the legacies he left his family and friends. It’s a lengthy and full list, the mark of a good life, but the first trait that came to mind, perhaps one of the most important ones he passed on to me, is the ability to be independent and self sufficient.

As a kid in the late seventies and eighties, I walked to school by myself as early as kindergarten. In grade school I wandered and explored the woods and fields surrounding our second place at the end of a dirt road in New Hampshire. I climbed on the prominent boulders, built forts with my brother, and looked for frogs in puddles, the papery remnants of snakeskins, and shiny rocks.

At home in small town Connecticut I climbed trees, rode my bike to friends’ houses, returning hours later, and was regularly left loose in a local state park to explore its brook and woods while my dad hit golf balls in the nearby field. At the age of 6 my parents sent me to overnight camp.

In hindsight my parents gave me a remarkable amount of freedom. It was more like the norm then though. Both of my parents were present for me and my older brother, involved with us and our activities—as a teen I’d have said they were too present—but, they never coddled. We were encouraged to go outside and play.

When I think back on those childhood explorations, I recall feeling in control of my environment and myself, and gaining a natural sense of independence I still carry.

Independence. That’s a darn good legacy.

Open up the door and pass it on to some kids you know.