Myths & Legends at Haven Hill
A team of researchers from Exploration Guides today found proof that a widely held belief about Haven Hill is, in fact, wrong, and that two local legends, while they do each contain a grain of truth, don’t contain much more than that.
As “Rediscovering Edsel Ford’s Haven Hill” nears completion of filming, all the pieces are coming together for what is sure to be the most in-depth work on Edsel’s lost estate.
Store Update – Wearable Cameras
By popular demand, I’ve just finished adding the wearable camera section to our Amazon Store. GoPro is certainly the leader in this field, so they feature prominently .
Remember, our store doesn’t just list products, it doesn’t just give recommendations, it also ranks them and tells you why one is ranked good, one better, and one best.
We’ve been spending a lot of time trying to document our EGMaps API, but if there’s some gear you’re looking to buy soon, and want our recommendations, let us know and we’ll get it added, along with our recommendations.
Our First Book
I’m happy to announce that, as of last night, my first book, Dayhiking, is available for purchase internationally at Amazon.com. It is available only in eBook format at this time, so the Amazon version requires the free Kindle reader, which you can download from them for Android, iPhone, Mac, PC, or just about anything else. You can Get Dayhiking at http://www.amazon.com/Dayhiking-Exploration-Guides-Hiking-ebook/dp/B00CQOP7K6
$4 Compass vs $400 GPS
I went out yesterday to get some pictures and compass shots to finish up our first-ever Exploration Guides book on dayhiking. Anyone who doubts that even a cheap compass can give you good information needs to take a look at this. On the first reading with the compass, to each of three locations, the vectors all met perfectly on the lakeshore. Even my high-end GPS couldn’t come up with any better data.
Compass vs GPS
One More Week of Winter
Last weekend, the groundhog promised us only two more weeks of winter. Spring, and some of the best hiking of the year, is coming in just 6 more days! Please ignore the record snowfall the last few days in much of North America.
Actually, you can hike in the winter. You can’t hike as far as you can in the summer, since hiking in snow, much like hiking in sand, is hard work. For about 6″ of snow, I figure it’s about a 2-1 ratio — every mile you hike can feel like two, especially when there’s plenty of hills present. A few things to make your winter hiking easier, though…
1) Drink far more water than you think you need. You won’t feel as thirsty, but you’ll still be losing water through perspiration and respiration. At a minimum, 1/2 liter per hour.
2) Take turns in the lead. The more packed down the trail gets, the easier it is to walk. The front person is breaking trail for those behind. By the time a dozen people have walked the trail, it’s nearly as solid as a well-packed dirt trail, although likely slipperier. If you get tired, drop toward the back to take advantage of the easier trail conditions.
3) Bring more food. I mentioned hiking is snow is hard work, right?
4) Take plenty of breaks, but keep them short. More than a couple minutes and some people will start to get cold. More than 5-10, everyone will start to get cold.
5) Keep an eye on the others in your group. A lot of people aren’t comfortable saying they’re struggling, so they won’t. If someone seems to be struggling, breathing especially hard, making odd noises, etc, take the lead and slow down, which will slow the whole group. Take some extra breaks, too. The person in the lead generally sets the pace and the break schedule. If there’s stuff just off-trail, don’t hesitate to go exploring, either. It’ll give you an excuse for a slightly longer break.
6) If you’re struggling, speak up! If you’re not comfortable speaking up, you can try taking the lead and slowing the group, exploring something just off-trail, or say you need to step behind that cluster of bushes to “water a tree.” You can also always break out the camera and take a few shots until you catch your breath.
7)Â If you’re not wearing it, you should have a waterproof, windproof jacket (at least) in your pack, in case the weather turns worse.
Oh, and just keep telling yourself, “The groundhog promised us that we’ve only got a few more days!”
Video Explorations?
Went out Saturday scouting a location for a video exploration with a friend. Not sure exactly what form it’ll take, if it’ll be Exploration Guides, or something else, but it should be good. Probably look for it in the summer.