Base Camp

I purchased the Samsung Chromebook 3 recently on Black Friday. I bought it for use as my computer in high school and college. So far I have used it for about 5 days. I have used it to edit google docs, listen to music on spotify, read the news, and study for quizzes on various topics. It has performed very well even when I am multitasking. The keys are a nice size and are good to type on. The Samsung Chromebook 3 has an 11.6 inch screen and 2gb of ram. The Chromebook also turns on very fast even when it has been fully shut down. The Chromebook also does not have a wide variety of apps and so far can only download applications from the chrome web store. However, the Chromebook is ideal for use in schools and colleges because most of the work that is done currently is done online in Google applications. I recommend the chromebook to people that need a computer that is secure and people that do most of their work online. I would not recommend the chromebook to people that need a lot of do

Misconceptions: 1. Hiking is hard. ---Hiking is like many other activities in that you can choose your level of difficulty. If you want a hike to be easy, then hike on an easier trail. 2. You have to be very fit/active/healthy to be good at hiking. You don't have to be any of these things to be good at hiking. In fact, hiking can help you become fit, active, and healthy. 3. You need specialized gear/shoes/equipment to go hiking. You can go hiking with regular sneakers. By the way, a few of the longest hikes I have been on I was using sneakers and I was fine. 4. You can easily get hurt hiking. If you use common sense and be careful, you will be fine. However, it is always a good idea to do a tick check after you go hiking or stay outside for a while. 5. You should have socks like smart wool socks to cushion your feet. These are mostly useful in the winter and are not at all necessary during the summer. Tips: 1. Bring more water than necessary. I always bring at least 2 liter

I got the iPhone 6 around Christmas last year. Since then it has replaced my old camera, old iPod touch 4, old iPod, and my old phone, a Samsung Dart. I have also used my iPhone to take the majority of the pictures on this blog (For this reason I will not have a picture for this post). I have also played a lot of games on my iPhone. I have never had a game lag while playing on my iPhone. The iPhone is very fast and has a very good (high definition) camera. The iPhone also has a lot of different apps available for it. Despite the price, I would reccomend the iPhone 6 to anyone who wants a multi-purpose phone that can do a lot of jobs.  I rate the iPhone 6 4.8 stars out of 5 stars. The only reason I don't rate it 5 stars is the fact that a few apps are not available for ios, how you can't put widgets on the home screen, and a few other software quirks.

I bought this a few weeks ago for $80 at Best Buy. I have used it for about 1-3 hours since I purchased the 2DS. The 2DS is very comfortable to hold and has fairly large screens. The buttons, analog pad (The circle control on the left), and touch screen are very responsive. I have played Mario Kart 7 and Kirby: Planet Robobot  on this device and have found that both of the games loaded quickly and played without any lag. For reference: my version of Mario Kart  was a digital download and my version of Kirby: Planet Robobot  was a cartridge game. My only complaint with this product is that you have to push the sides of the top triggers in order for the button to register correctly. This means that you have to push the button on the side, not the top, for the 2DS to respond to your click. I would recommend this to anyone who wants an inexpensive handheld gaming system that is easy and fun to use. Since purchasing this product I noticed that Best Buy appears to no longer sell this product

Image from EMS.com I bought this water bottle at the beginning of the fall and have used it on a few hikes and campouts. The Nalgene silo is a great water bottle because it can hold a lot of water. This water bottle never leaks. I have used many cheaper alternatives in the past but at one time or another every one of those bottles has leaked. Not this bottle. The bottle also does not dent as far as I can see but does scratch fairly easily. This is not a problem because the bottle is so thick that the scratches really don't do anything other than improve the appearance of the bottle. I highly recommend this water bottle to anyone in need of a high capacity water bottle.

These are tasty fig and nut bars that are easy to bring hiking or eat at home. Ingredients: 2 cups dried figs 1 cup rolled oats 2/3 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas) 2/3 cup shelled sunflower seeds Tools: Spoon or spatula for mixing Measuring cup(s) food processor First, line a 25×20 cm (8×10 inch) baking dish with parchment paper or kitchen plastic wrap. Then pulse figs in a food processor until you get a sticky paste. Next transfer the fig paste into a large bowl. Add oats, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Stir until well combined. Press the fig and oat mixture into prepared baking dish. Next, refrigerate 1–2 hours until firm. Finally, remove the slab from the baking dish and cut it into 16 bars. Store bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month, until you are ready eat them.

The Kindle Paperwhite is an e-reader that is made by Amazon. I bought the kindle last year. I read a lot and have used the Kindle for a good portion of my reading since I bought it. The backlight makes it easier to read in the dark and in low light situations. The backlight is adjustable so that you can have your kindle screen perfectly lighted wherever you are. The amazon page for the kindle boasts a screen without glare but in my experience the screen does glare when in areas with a lot of light. The screen does take away some of the glare but an annoyingly large amount of light reflects off of the screen. When you are reading a book there are options to show page number, location, time remaining in book, etc. However, I rarely use these options to keep the screen distraction free. One wish I have for the kindle is that amazon would make it possible to display the clock when you are reading a book. This feature would be useful so that you don't have to bring up the tool bar on sc

1. Tuckerman Ravine. I hiked the Tuckerman Ravine trail this summer. The hike was moderately hard and had some great views of the surrounding mountains. The trail was fairly large and was well marked. 2. Mt.Blue. I hiked this mountain last year. The trail was well groomed and well marked. Hiking all of the way to the summit was rewarding, despite the extra distance. There was a lake at the top of the mountain that was beautiful. There were also many fish in the lake. This was a great hike. 3. Pleasant Mountain. I hiked this trail 2 years ago. The hike was nice and the view from the summit was pleasant. I also remember that there were a lot of mosquitos when I hiked the trail. 4. Douglas Mountain. I also hiked this trail this summer. The hike was fairly easy and there was a cool stone tower at the top which has a cool view of the surrounding mountains. I also visited a few of the geocaches located just off of the trail. 5. Bradbury Mountain. This mountain is fairly small but is

Energy bites are like mini granola bars that are good at home as well as when hiking. This recipe for energy bites is chocolate chip flavored. If you want other flavors, eatthis  has a bunch of different recipes for different flavored energy bites. Ingredients: 1 cup (dry) oats or oatmeal (plain) 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes (optional) 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup ground flax seed 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or alternative) 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Kitchen tools required: Measuring cup Spatula Large bowl Measuring Spoons 1. Stir all ingredients together in the large bowl until thoroughly mixed and until there are no more dry oats. Cover bowl and let chill for 30 ish minutes. 2. Once it has chilled, shape the mix into balls, bars, or whatever shape you want. Makes 20-25 balls with about 1 inch diameter. 3. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to one week.

The Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 is a rugged computer that is built to be used in the outdoors by people with jobs that require a rugged computer such as contractor, police officer, construction worker, etc. The toughbook is encased in a magnesium alloy case and comes protected with sealed port covers and a shock resistant enclosure around the hard drive. These features make the toughbook water and dust resistant as well as shock resistant. The toughbook that I own comes with a touch screen and stylus. However, the touch screen requires you to press rather hard and works much better with the included stylus. I have my toughbook running Windows 10 and it runs mostly smooth, except encounters a few problems when streaming video or music over Wi-Fi. These problems are usually minor and most of the time these problems consist of buffering. However, if you plug the laptop into an ethernet cord or use a PLC (Power Line Communication) box, streaming works fine. The monitor of the laptop is anti-

Camping is fun activity that is actually easier than most people think. Many people don't go camping because they think camping is hard and is not enjoyable because you are living without many of the luxuries of everyday life. In fact, camping is the opposite. It is an escape from the luxuries of society and a really great way to relieve stress. I recommend camping to anyone and everyone. For beginners, car camping is the way to go because you are able to bring anything and everything you want. If you are more experienced in camping and are capable of hiking while carrying a fairly heavy load, you might enjoy backpacking. Even if you don't think you would like camping, I highly recommend going camping at least once during the summer. I wrote 'during the summer' because even if you bring the wrong gear or leave important items at home, you can still have a good time camping in the summer. Going camping for the first time in the winter is not a good idea because of the p

There are right and wrong ways to pack for backpacking. I have had some experiences in the past where I have packed incorrectly and have had to carry an unbalanced pack or have had to rifle through my whole pack to find one item I need. Luckily all of these misfortunes have happened on trips where packing properly was not essential but I learned from these experiences nonetheless. Step 1 : Find a pack In order to fit all of your gear for hiking and backpacking you have to have a fairly large pack. For most circumstances a regular, everyday backpack won't cut it. I recommend at least a 50 liter pack. For a pack I use the Deuter ACT Zero 50+15. The 50 liters is the main compartment while the 15 liters is a detachable summit pack. Packs are made in sizes all the way up to 85 liters. There are a few packs larger but I recommend staying in the 50-75 liter range. Make sure the pack has a good hip belt and sternum strap unless you are planning to carry a very light load. The hip belt h

Cairn: A camping/hiking themed subscription box-- http://www.getcairn.com/pages/how-it-works Every Day Carry: A website based on gear that is useful for everyday purposes and is great for getting ideas--  http://everydaycarry.com / Knife Box: A subscription box service where they send you a new knife for camping/hiking porposes every month--  http://www.knifebox.net/ REI: A great online store where you can get a lot of different gear for different interests-- https://www.rei.com/ Cabelas: A great website for a great store where you can find all kinds of different gear for activities like camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, and more: --  http://www.cabelas.com/ L.L. Bean: A store/website that has some awesome gear that is also a little expensive but most all of the gear is good quality. --  www. llbean .com/  Trails.com: A website for finding trails near you: --  https://www.trails.com/trails.aspx National Park Servie Trail Finder:  https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm

I was given this pack 2 years ago for christmas and have used it on countless trips since. This pack has a lot of room for gear but the pack it self weighs very little. The top part of the pack can be removed and turned into a small summit pack. I use that feature when I want to bring a daypack but don't want to have to bring a whole new pack. This pack is also compatible with most hydration reservoirs. This is a very high quality pack and my only complaint is the lack of sleeping pad/tent straps (This feature is added in the newer version of the pack.) Some pics I took of the pack: The front of the pack without the top on  The back of the pack without the top on The top of the pack converted to the summit pack The back of the pack with the top on

I bought this product on Friday and used it Friday night. The temperature went down to 49º Friday night. The Thermal Bivy kept me very warm and as far as I could tell no condensation got into the bivy. I would rate it 4/5 because the bivy would be better if it had a drawstring instead of velcro to close the top of the bivy when you are in it. The bivy comes in a nice little stuff sack. I used the stuff sack to hold my rain jacket when I went hiking and left the bivy itself at camp. Some pics I took of the bivy: The bivy spread out on the grass with the stuff  sack on the bottom left of the picture The bivy with the foot vent open Close up of the foot vent. The foot vent is made of a tough mesh surrounded by velcro. The velcro is used to close the foot vent The bivy with the top portion partially opened. The opening on the bivy goes from one top corner to the other and down to the orange tag The bivy in its stuff sack An other view of the bivy in i

I spent last weekend on Cow Island taking part in the Ripple Effect programs with my friends. The programs were awesome. The activities we participated in include zip lining, kayaking, raft building, and more. All of these activities were very awesome and all of the staff were very nice. After the activities our schedule left us time to explore the island. There were beautiful views all over the island and I was able to watch one of the sunsets while on the beach. The other sunset I couldn't see because of heavy clouds. For a great view of the sunset I went to the northernmost point of the public use area and watched the sunset from the rocks. The beaches were very rocky but that just added to their awesomeness. From our campsite we could see the ocean and walk right out onto the beach. There is an unobstructed view of the stars from the beach in the public use area. We went for a swim  but the water was very cold and so we got out of the water pretty quickly. My weekend was super

I bought this water bottle at the end of the summer and have used it on a few hikes and constantly when not hiking. Its performance has more than met my standard for a water bottle. The Nalgene narrow mouth is in my opinion better than the wide mouth versions because you don't end up spilling water all over yourself every time you want a drink. This water bottle NEVER leaks. I have used many cheaper alternatives in the past but at one time or another every one of those bottles has leaked. Not this bottle. The bottle also does not dent as far as I can see but does scratch fairly easily. This is not a problem because the bottle is so thick that the scratches really don't do anything other than improve the appearance of the bottle. The only con to this water bottle is that it is harder to fill with a trailside water pump, water jug, or stream than any of the wide mouth alternatives. Keep in mind that it can be filled just fine with a faucet and is also great for indoor uses as w