I hear it every year. And have already heard it a handful of times in the last week. There are only two seasons around here, Summer and Winter. Fall only lasts a week or so. I hate to be the contrarian, but I respectfully disagree. So why does it always feel like Fall comes and…

Not all outdoor sports require a ton of skill and gear in order to get out and do them! And that is what keeps us from pursuing certain activities as parents, isn’t it? Cost. Time. Cost. Danger. Cost. But certain outdoor sports are not only easy to get “into” but flow with their natural inclinations….

I think I found a pant designed for the iPhone 5. But that is just one of the many things I love about the Rockin’ Pant. More on that later. 🙂 I am hard to please when it comes to pants. I’d say I have a hard body to fit – round hips, short legs….

Hi Tec has graciously allowed us to do an extended test of the Timaru Down jacket for women. We received this jacket last spring and while I enjoyed getting to use it in the snow and cold, I was also significantly interested in how it would perform on our many high alpine backpacking trips this…

As we walked through preparing for our first family backpacking trip I noticed something: there are a ton of articles on backpacking with kids in their teens. Even a few with middle schoolers. But I found only a couple posts on backpacking with young kids… seeing as our kids are ages six, five, and three, I just…

From Lake Tahoe we jumped down I-80 towards San Francisco and stayed just north of Bodega Bay. THE DRIVE WAS BEAUTIFUL! But when we arrived we were all a little shocked by how cold it was. Man, what a temperature difference! Doran Park Cost:$30-$32/ night. Day use fee of $7 per car if you aren’t…

It took five days. FIVE days to get my”chill” on. For good or bad, I would define my family as weekend warriors. What is a weekend warrior? Well, as a family we don’t want to squander or miss a moment of time we can be playing. Our weekends keep us recharged for the sometimes long…

As I type this, my kids are urgently digging for treasures in the sand around camp. Sea lions are ‘barking’ off a nearby island. Life is good. The blog has been quiet for awhile and will continue to be for the next few weeks as we wind our way up the coast. If you’d like…

I do some “risky” things. Climbing. Backpacking. Some might even say skiing. But not that risky. I am that person who sits down after a fun multi-pitch 5.7/5.8 trad climb (for you non-climbers, 5.7 is easy) to read Climbing Magazine or Backpacker Magazine. I like absorbing other people treacherous tales and the lessons they’ve learned…

Today, I want to introduce you to Dave from 14ers4kids. In case you don’t know, a 14ers is commonly know amongst mountaineers as a peak topping out at 14,000 feet above sea level. And Dave’s story inspired me because he took something he loves, summiting mountains, and is using it to help orphaned children. Last…

Duration: A total of 5 nights and 7 days on the trail so far. Location: Testing in the Wasatch and Uinta Ranges Best Uses: Backpacking, Multi-day trips for those looking to go “light weight” or even climbing day trips where a larger pack would be needed. Yays! Size is great. I could easily fit a…

After an inspiring all-women’s backpacking trip in Colorado last year, I was motivated to plan my first trip out here in Utah. After much debating on location, I settled on The Notch Trail, High Uintas because it was super scenic and pretty tame in terms of trail difficulty. We had a few “first -timers” and…

The emergence of the barefoot movement has been met with a lot of hesitance from people like…well, me. I am straight up old-fashioned. And have had years honed in athletics with the gooshy-supportive-shoe stuff thrown at me. Then last year, as I spent more and more time rock climbing (ie. minimal shoe) and doing yoga, I noticed…

Every once and awhile I have some romantic, glorious idea…albeit ambitious. And last winter, when the snow swirled deep, I was dreaming of sunshine and wild flowers and high mountain lakes. I got it in my head to try taking my kid’s backpacking…not a long distance, but far enough to feel like we were getting…

This last week we embarked on our first backpacking trip as a family, and our first trip into Willow Heights Lake in the Wasatch. Really it could not have been more perfect and our trip report is coming soon. But for now I wanted to share a glimpse into our time on the trails through…

The #1 gear item on our list for this summer’s Backpacking Project 2013 was kid’s backpacks. Now I don’t expect them to carry much…but I NEED them to carry something!  But in my opinion kid’s packs are tricky. Most are designed for school, for obvious reasons. But we needed and wanted something with a little…

This last weekend we were side-lined by a small running injury so we decided to kick around close to home. Which led to a whole host of new adventures up near Rockport Reservoir and the High Uintas. But we also frequented one of our favorite Salt Lake hikes perfect for kids, Bell Canyon Reservoir. Not…

Footwear for kids is tricky… Do you go with a stiff sole or soft? How about traction? And if I finally settle on a pair of shoes, will I have to buy new ones in three months because they’ve already grown out of them?! We’ve put most of the major outdoor brands through the paces…

Two weeks ago our family had a mind-boggling line-up of outdoor activities that only one canyon I know of could supply at the same time: Little Cottonwood Canyon. We hit the trail Saturday morning in our snowshoes and hiked a 1/2 a mile up White Pine trail where lots of snow castle building, tractoring, and general mischief…

Good morning everyone! I am sitting her, sipping away at my coffee, and typing away at the keyboard. To be honest I feel sort of frenzied this morning. But I am going to try to SLOW DOWN. I am joining outdoor bloggers from across North America today and sharing our favorite campgrounds. We all know…