Nothing but Adventures

     This summer has been packed with almost more outdoor activities than I could have imagined. The great this is that it wasn't planned that way. I've spent countless hours fishing, kayaking, hiking, and camping. It hasn't been perfect however, much of my running was put on hold due to a particularly nasty infected cyst. It's finally gone and I'm back to running and cycling, but it took a full on surgery, lots of pain, and a second hit of the infection weeks after surgery before it seems it has finally gone away.

    I was very grateful to be able to spend a week at the beautiful Cultus Lake of the Oregon Cascade Lakes at the beginning of August. My wife got to spend two weeks there, and I will remain jealous of her for sometime. One of my favorite parts of Cultus this year was large amount of time I spent snorkeling. Cultus is clear, and the variety of things in the water and on the bottom of the lake are staggaring. I particularly enjoyed the underwater rock arrangements at what my wife's family calls the "hot rocks".

     My daughter absolutely loved her time at the lake, and her joy brings much more satisfaction to my own adventures. I loved being able to play with her in the water, seeing her experience things for the first time that I have in the past taken for granted.

While my wife and daughter spent two weeks in Oregon before I arrived I was in New Jersey with the Marine Reserves exploring new country side. Being with the Marines I was of course not able to explore it properly but I got a good feel for it and it was different. I would like to some day return with my family on our own but I had mixed feelings about it. Tics were a new problem for me, they aren't really something we deal with in the west, but I fell in love immediately with the fireflies and was baffled by the size of the ground hogs.

     The Jeep took us on a few adventures closer to home. Most notably we were able to find a beautiful hiking trail into a canyon with an amazing secluded river. That's a full blog post on it's own, as is my first trip to Havasupai in the Grand Canyon. I think it will take several blog posts to catch up my thoughts for this year actually and I look forward to recounting them.

     The nearly full month straight of being away from home has made me a bit tired of travel for this year but I have several exciting adventures still planned locally including what I am hoping will become and annual run of Mount Baldy. We started it last year and I hope to continue the adventure. Look forward to more posts soon and enjoy the video of Mount Baldy Run 2012 below.

I finally got my first kayak a few weeks ago and have been absolutely loving it so far. I know it's the middle of winter but I've had a blast paddling in the elements. I've found that unlike other outdoor activities, there is a high level of fun and adventure while paddling adverse conditions.

Many of the lakes around Show Low have become completely frozen this winter and my favorite forest lakes are closed for the season. As a result I've been going to Show Low lake, just down the road from the local Wal-Mart which is big enough to remain mostly fluid. The first time I went out on the lake I encountered a fair bit of ice but it was thin enough to push through. A major freeze last week however left it quite frozen as well so I'll have to wait for a few good warm days before I can get back on it.

I've been trying to go paddling at least once a week but at the beginning of this week I was down with a heavy case of the flu. This morning I woke up chipper and ready for action. The snow was falling heavily outside and the temp was well below freezing. I scouted out a good little pond not far from my house and got in the water. It was actually a really good experience as it was the first chance I had to test out my waterproof neoprene paddling gloves. The gloves certainly kept my hands warm and dry but in temps that low I might consider adding a thin synthetic running glove or something similar inside the paddling gloves. The wind was very high and the temp was low so I don't think my hands would get cold at all in other situations.

After paddling a few times this winter in different conditions I can definitely recommend a good pair of gloves. Mine cost just $13 at Wal Mart and while they go up from there, mine are perfectly adequate and fully waterproof.

I'll say much more about the specific kayak I purchased after I have gained more experience and put more time in it but right now I am very pleased. Previously I had only paddled in a name brand 10 or 12 foot recreational kayak. I was very pleased with those kayaks but right now I simply couldn't afford a name brand boat. I got a Waterquest Aruba 10' by Sundolphin KL Industries. It's pictured above and for just $250 was a great buy. I don't feel like it's any slower than the kayaks I have paddled before though I will be replacing the cheapo paddle it came with, that being said most new kayaks do not come with paddles so this is a great deal to get you out on the water. In the future I want to save up for an affordable sea/touring kayak and this kayak will be for the family. It feels like a really solid craft though so I probably won't be upgrading anytime soon.

If anyone has any advice for me or any questions about my kayaking adventures please leave them in comments.

This One Is For Me

For the past year or so I have been running a website that deals specifically with trail running and other running topics. I started it for a college project my time with which to work on it has diminished and it has grown into more of a company than I really have time for. While I am still updating the site I am interested by so many more outdoor avenues than just running.

I have been an outdoor enthusiasts for as long as I can remember, and it has only escalated since moving to the mountains of North Eastern, Arizona in 2000. This blog may eventually be followed by an outdoor adventure business but for now this one is for me. There is no business plan, no posting schedule. Sure I'd like to have a decent following but this will never be a generalized description of all things out doors. This will simply be a narrative of my adventures, with as much useful information that I feel is necessary to slip in.

The fact is I love the outdoors. Backpacking, hiking, running, cycling, mountain biking, camping, 4x4 ing (if that's a term), kayaking, swimming, I love it all and I'll be posting about all the adventures I am having.  I hope to provide something of value to my readers but I want to do that in a way that this writing can add value to me as well. I look forward to blogging about my favorite subjects. I hope you'll enjoy as well.

- Chris Babb

The photo below is one of my favorites, from Cultus Lake 2010. If you can't see through the shadows I am on your left, my wonderful wife Celisse, is on your right.