CamelBak Baby

So this wasn't an outdoor adventure, but my purchase at Out-N-Back a few weeks ago definitely made this little experience possible.

I have an older CamelBak (before the days when you could actually fit your hand through the opening) - and while the reservoir was fine, the tube had turned a very nasty brown color. I finally went into Out-N-Back a couple of weeks ago and purchased an extender tube because it was the same length as the regular replacement tube. The very helpful sales associate (can't remember his name, sorry) told me that I could take off the white extender attachment and then put it on the bladder like a regular tube. I did it when I got home and it has been great to use it!

About a week after I got the tube replacement, my 5 month son got a cold and wasn't nursing or taking a bottle very much. I had a crazy idea to get my CamelBak out and just see if he would suck on that so I could get some liquid in him. That crazy idea worked! My 5 month old baby would drink more water from my CamelBak then he would from a bottle! Of course my husband had to hold it up to let gravity help him pull it down when he sucked it, but it worked! I think he liked chewing on the mouthpiece and getting a drink of water when he did.

I guess we'll have to get him his own CamelBak now.

Yvonne Russel- Proud Mom of a CamelBak user

Point Reyes

Backpacking in Point Reyes National Seashore has always been one of our favorite activities when visiting northern California. This was our youngest sons (1yo) first backpacking trip ever! With this in mind we chose the shortest option of the back country campsites in Point Reyes.

Here we are at the trail head ready to hike the two miles out to Coast Camp.



Two miles is nothing for the Ken-Dawg, so he carried a small cooler and skimboard.


Our 1 year old hiked almost half way while our four year old carried all of his own gear except his sleeping bag.


The best thing about Point Reyes is that all the campgrounds are Backpack in only. So if you pack out on a weekday you get your own private beach.






We spent the evening enjoying the sunset and watching what we assumed was a Grey Whale spouting just of the shore. Unfortunately the photos did not turn out too well.







This was our fourth trip out to Point Reyes this Trip Report and more from the area can be found here.

Mountain Biking Ghost Canyon

The scenery was amazing! In Draper up Ghost Canyon there is a small water fall at the end of a sweet little bike ride. This is okay for a beginner who has a little courage. At first the singletrack winds up and down the inside of the canyon meandering through trees and brush. After a quick downhill and a short but steep uphill the single track widens into double. Try not to stop because the loose dirt can be difficult to get started especially if it is steep.

Trails break off every now and then, so you need to know where you're going....I didn't! When the trail becomes super steep and rocky beginners beware! The rest of the way to falls is not only steep but very narrow, so narrow it is difficult to even walk your bike down. This is super beautiful and so close!

ONB Adventure Expert Angela

Dr Dale finds an eagle's nest

While Camping out in the west desert, I came across this old Eagle nest. Just
had to rappel down and have a closer look. The nest has been there for a very
long time and is inactive because there is no "white wash" from the birds. The
nest is about 7-8 feet tall.

Do not attempt this with an active nest or you will pay the price of an angry
mother eagle!!!

Dale Heath

Arches National Park

Early this year we made a trip out to Arches National Park to get in a bit of hiking and enjoy the solitude of the park during the off season. We started our trip off at the Courthouse Wash trail head and hiked up stream towards the The Tunnel.
After an hour or so of hiking at a four year olds pace up the wash we reached The tunnel. Our Kids had great time, our four year old just loved hiking into the Tunnel with his headlamp.



After the Tunnel we hiked Double Arch and The Windows.

Snow at 8,500 ft

This past weekend we went down to Pine Valley Wilderness west of Cedar City.
The hike started at a little over 6900 feet and went all the up to around
9400 feet. It was amazing. We hit snow around 8500 feet. The first night
we went to bed in 3" of snow and woke up to about 5" of fresh snow. I have
a nice pic of the tent after I cleaned it off twice. The snow did not stop
coming down. It was a nice long weekend trip. I would recommend this trip
for anyone. Don't forget the gaiters if you plan to go before the middle of
June.

Scott Taylor- ONB Adventure Expert

Tibble Fork Exhiliration

As the experiential staff of Cirque Lodge, we went to enjoy a day in the new snow up by Tibble Fork, We spent the day snowshoeing and this is how it ended. Talk about instant Brain Freeze! Most Equipment provided by ONB, we love the snowshoes. You guys ROCK!

ONB Adventure Guy- Jared Passey

Another dandy from.... Dandy

David has privileged us with another of his adventures... enjoy.

Epic Mt St Helens Adventure

This climb has been planned and organized since February by an
experienced Oregon local mountaineer (leader). However, the situation
this year is not clear from the very beginning due to the snow
condition and bad weathers. Originally we had 8 in the group. Due to
excessive snow this season, the National Forest Service has not been
able to keep the road to Marble Mountain Snow Park open. This would add
another 10 miles (round trip) to the climb. Now, one day hike became
a 2-day climb. Three people in the group dropped due to this reason.
The weather forecast has been very nasty for May 3rd and 4th weekend.
We were not optimistic at all and detail backup plans have been made
in case of the bad weather.

By Thursday night, the forecast is getting better with slight chance
of flurries on Saturday and sunny on Sunday. Low in upper 20's
Saturday night and high in lower 50's Sunday. So the plan is on. We
are now a little concerned about avalanches.

I flew from SLC to Portland Friday afternoon and luckily Southwest
left my luggage behind (all my climbing gears are in that checked-in
bag). When the time was after 7:00pm and I became desperate and had
to decide whether to rent all the gears, I got the phone call from
Southwest that my bag is ready to be picked up at airport.

Saturday morning, the climbing leader and I left home at 6:00AM.
Around 7:00AM, we met the other half of the climbing party from
Seattle at a McDonalds. After a brief breakfast, we arrived at the
trailhead (elevation 2100ft) around 9:30AM after picking up climbing
permits. To our surprise, the road was ploughed another 2 miles
further than the situation last weekend which was checked by our
climbing leader (which means 4 miles less with 30lb + pack). We
regrouped the gears and packs and hit the trailhead on snowshoes
around 10:00AM. The skies are covered with a thick layer of
clouds.(figure 01) We arrived at Marble Mountain Sno Park (2700ft)
where the usual winter climbing route begins at around 12:00AM and had
a brief lunch in the shelter (figure 02). We hit the trail again in 20
minutes and followed the winter climbing Worm Flows route.

Around 2:30PM, we arrived almost at the top of the timberline and
picked a spot for our camp. The elevation now is around 3500ft. The
clouds begin to clear up now, but the top of the mountain can still
not be seen. After setting up the tents and digging our kitchen
(figure 03), we walked up a slope next to our camp and the leader and
other two experienced mountaineer started to taught two newbie (for
sure including me) some basic snow travel skills and self arrest.



With the clouds clearing up, avalanches become our primary concern.
Looking at the topo map, there are a few spots where the slope is
within the avy angle (30-45 degrees). We must pass these spots when
the snow is still stable and try to stay on the ridge and close to the
rocks. We decided to get up around 4:30AM and take off before 5:30AM.
In reality, we took off around 6:00AM and traveled on snowshoes for a
little and found the snow is too hard to benefit. Then we took them
off. The view is breath taking (figure 04). Another group apparently
had already taken off before us and left perfect steps for us. That
saved us a lot of energy in our following climbing. We ascended to
about 6000 feet and decided to put on crampons. It wasn't that
necessary to have crampons at that point but it wouldn't make it more
difficult anyway. We were at a steady pace of 1000 vertical feet per
hour (figure 05). The sun is rising quickly heating up the snow.
Fortunately, there is a big cloud hovering above the summit. Mt Adams
can be partially seen. Mt Hood was hardly visible all the time. We met
that climbing group about 400 feet under the summit and thanked them
for kicking steps for us.

Around 11:10AM, we come close to the crater rim. We can not go too far
on the rim due to the cornices. The clouds are now all gone on the
north side. We had a clear view of Mt Rainier. We could also see
smoke coming out of the crater dome, which is at least one thousand
feet down from where we were standing.(figure 06).

Glissading is fun and save quite a lot energy going downhill. By
2:50PM, we are back at camp site and 7:30PM returned to trailhead.
Now the 30lb pack is kind of too heavy for me and can not keep up with
the group speed. Anyway, I survived. Hooray!!!

All in all, it is a wonderful experience for me: My first backpacking
trip, first snow camping and first snow climbing trip in one. From my
heart, I owe many thanks to our team leader and other team members for
their guidance, encouragement and help.



Post submitted by ONB Adventure Guy- Yi

For Those About to Rock - Climb

Two weekends ago my brother, my dad and I went up Rock Canyon to climb the AC/DC Wall. The weather was great and we had a blast. We climbed “Send for the Man”, “Shot Down in Flames” and “Back in Black”. If you want to check out the routes, you can find all of the info at mountainproject.com, complete with approach details and route topos. We had a blast, and I would definitely recommend Back in Black to anyone. It is a fun route with some really cool moves. Very clean for this part of the canyon as well. Here are some photos of our adventure:


-Michael Rose