Meet the Good - The Muir Project

During Christmas, my two sons express a lot of joy when I give them a handful of change to put in the Salvation Army kettle.  They can easily find the good.  Funny enough, I can easily find the good in them. 

The good is simple, it just is.  The good can’t help itself.   The good is unblemished by the foolishness, morally defunct and politically perverted nature of our society.  The good isn’t complex and it is free to everyone.  The good can’t help but radiate and grow.  Defining the good doesn’t require an education, an explanation or even a reason.  The good speaks every language and is relevant to every generation.  When the good is in our face – no one needs to point it out.  The good couldn’t hide itself even if it wanted to.

I think the good explains the wilds to us, that which otherwise wasn’t explainable in the first place.

Want to know where to find the good?  The Muir Project.

A group of multi-media artists, musicians, painters, teachers and others captured the 211 miles of the John Muir Trail in 25 days of footage with the singular purpose of bringing you the good.

The videos are inspiring and will transport you to the good.  Watch them.

Support the good at Kickstarter.  Consider giving $1.  Then, give more instead.

Getting "Out" From the Comforts of My Own Home

I've been extraordinarily busy for the last several weeks and my outdoor time whether hiking or merely seeing the light of day has been dwindling. Whether it is the strains of working for a new boss who recently hired one of his former employees who strangely enough does exactly what I do (dusting off the resume and hoping for the best) or the fact that I'm pretty sure I tore my MCL, I feel like I'm missing summer. Course, the few times I've braved the day, I was met with triple digit temperatures which singularly made me dream about fall and winter as I camped out in my refrigerator.

When I can't get out, I try to at least keep my spirit alive by checking in on some backpacking or outdoor programming to include many of the blogs listed on the right -------- >. Consequently, I've also watched a few DVD's.

Many of you know about Richard "Dick" Proenneke who quite literally lived in a homemade Alaskan cabin for nearly 30 years. His life during this adventure is documented in a video called "Alone in the Wilderness" by Bob Swerer Productions. His story is really great and he is a product of the World War II generation for which I have a tremendous amount of respect, admiration, and gratitude. For anyone that watched his documentary, they likely learned that he nearly lost his eye in an accident which contributed towards his need to seek refuge in the beautiful wilderness. Likely the thing that stood out most was both his self-sufficiency and his amazing ability to build just about anything, and build it well, with merely an axe, saw, a couple chisels, and some glue. Dick passed away in 2003 and his cabin is now under control of the U.S. Park Service.

Fortunately for those of us that couldn't get enough of Proenneke's escapades, Bob Swerer Productions came out with a sequel (Part II) of Alone in the Wilderness. It can be purchased at http://www.dickproenneke.com/ for $21.95. It has additional footage, shows Proenneke a little later in his life and a little more hardened from the environment. He reminded me of a trapper the more I watched his very experienced and mechanical actions, very much the mentality of a lightweight backpacker in the sense that he had only what he needed and was quite resourceful with that.

I also picked up "Alaska - Silence and Solitude" which covered a couple weeks in Alaska with Bob Swerer Sr. and Jr. which was interesting watching their child-like enthusiasm for the wild and their firsthand experiences which attempted to echo that of Proenneke.

I also picked up two backpacking DVD's which focused on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I personally have no desire to thru-hike the PCT principally because of the desert areas, but I do like the scenery of the central and northern parts in addition to watching the exchanges between hikers, gear choices, and just experiencing the trail vicariously.

The first was Wizards of the PCT (http://www.wizardsofthepct.com/) which was narrated and was directed by a backpacker named Jester. The DVD was $20. This was one of those purchases which was a donation to the backpacking community. In my opinion, the footage was shaky and showed the less polished side of backpackers. It was pretty underwhelming in comparison to other backpacking videos I've seen and came with a heavy dose of snarky attitude which I assume has something to do with how Jester got his trail name. Nonetheless, it serves as a nice documentation of his personal experience and surely will entice some.

The second was a series of four DVD's called "Walk", "Still Walking", "Even More Walking", and "Walked" (http://www.walkpct.com/). Although I wasn't thrilled to pay for four DVD's ($45 total) for something that could have been better paired down to just one DVD, the reality is that it is understandable because the narrator and director, a backpacker named Squatch only intended on making a single video. It was his goal to merely bounce around the PCT, talk to backpackers, and get a general idea of the lore of the path so close to his own home. After the first video, it was clear he got the backpacking bug and hiked a 150 mile section as he continued to bounce around and shoot more footage. By the third and following videos it was clear he became a backpacker and continued his trek along the PCT until he finished it. His fourth DVD "Walked" was the best production and quality by far and it served as a who's-who of the backpacker community with appearances from Jester, Joe Valesko (Samurai) from Z-Packs, Disco and Princess of Darkness from the great PCT documentary "The Walkumentry", and even The Onion (one of the first people to yo-yo the CDT along with Francis Tapon (Mr. Magoo) in the same year. I also noticed that ULA-Equipment packs were the most common, followed by Gossamer Gear in a close second, with some people carrying Osprey packs. The production and video quality improved towards the later DVD's and his personality was child-like initially and always inquisitive. I think it represented the "common man's" video of backpacking and serves as a good learning tool. If you decide you want to purchase one, go for the fourth installment (Walked).

I'd also like to take a moment to thank everyone to contributed to the Ultralight A-Z video series mentioned in my last blog. This project was fully funded and you and I can look forward to what will hopefully be a mainstay in lightweight backpacking DVD's.

Ray Jardine DVD - 2010 A.T. Gear

Probably undeservedly, I like to think of myself as a backpacking purest. No, I really don't know what that means either and I'm sure it carries a certain undesirable but anticipated snobbish connotation. I suppose in a nutshell it means that I backpack to get in touch with nature, myself, friends, and priorities, and all while doing my best to respect it all. This means I don't carry headphones but I do carry a lightweight shovel to responsibly answer the call of nature. I don't leave trash behind and I don't dirty water sources or make loud noises. In the end, I try to keep things as I found them and appreciate the big and the small.

To this end, over time I've taken the position of supporting others who I admire or who I otherwise think are doing things (meaning backpacking and wilderness activities) the "right way". As a result I often spend my money on cottage industry manufacturers. It also means that I spend money on certain things nearly entirely....just to spend money without any real expectation of personal gain. My hope is that my contribution will help a backpacker pressing towards a particularly impressive endeavor. (Disclaimer - No need to ask if I'll be contributing to your endeavor. If I'm interested, I'll find you.).

It is not uncommon for me to buy DVD's, books, gear, art, collectables, or audio recordings to this end. These may be available for free in any number of sources or even undesirable as a whole, but I purchase them merely to help out the owner and fund perhaps a small fraction of their journey. These "contributions" are made not for the quality or desire of anything I may receive but is sufficient justification for both parties to feel they are doing something more than panhandling.

Recently I noticed famed long-distance hiker and general lightweight backpacking Godfather Ray Jardine put out a video. To me, despite Jardine's endless marketing of himself and all of his self-perpetuated ideas of original thought, I think he has contributed a tremendous amount to the lightweight backpacking industry. Some criticize him citing arrogance, narcissism, or just general dislike. Personally, I feel neutral about Jardine. Some things I agree with, some I don't. This is really no different than my view towards most people and most things.

What I do find intriguing is the fact that Jardine gave up a promising career built on a strong foundation of education to simply - explore. His simplicity of thought is admirable and his outward expressions of love for his wife are commendable. As a guy entering the twilight of his life, he has and continues to achieve remarkable achievements which most of us could only dream of and quite frankly few could likely physically achieve. I remember listening to an interview about Jardine from a former coworker who worked with him during some of his days as a wilderness guide many decades ago. The coworker described Jardine as one giant muscle with legs and a chest twice the size of anyone he knew. Jardine lived how he wanted and found a way to do it - simply. For that, to me anyway, he's worth paying attention to.

That leads me to the point of this whole entry. Jardine recently put out a DVD called 2010 A.T. Gear which you can purchase from http://www.rayjardine.com/ or http://www.antigravitygear.com/ for about $16 plus shipping. In it, you'll see Jardine in his standard hiking outfit toting many of his homemade products. He'll explain in detail how to set up a tarp and net tent in a highly trafficked campsite as well as a "stealth" campsite. The whole video is 93 minutes and by the time you're done you may either learn something or scratch your head and wonder what you just saw. My review of it in the context of a legitimate review is unimpressed, yet I'd have no problem buying it again or suggesting that you do too...whether for Ray Jardine, or the many Ray Jardine disciples of the world just trying to find their own bit of happiness. After all, is the content of your purchase your entire reason for purchasing it?