I cannot tell you how many times I have looked through outdoor magazines and felt the draw to escape to some of those exotic places and get my adventure fix. It seems like there is always some one out there having the greatest adventure in the world. Experiencing once in a life time events.

As a result sometimes I feel trapped in my life, in my situation, in my town. I do not feel that I am not fortunate but you know the grass is always greener…right?

Not a chance! Come on, seriously. We are all fortunate to live on this great planet and can find awesome adventures around every local corner. I grew up in the south east and felt the draw to the hills from a very young age, although I had countless national and state parks all around me, I wanted more. I wanted to get out west. Eventually I did, I moved to Flagstaff, Arizona and I actually felt a rebirth.

I was surrounded by new and unique plants and animals. For the first time this city dwelling, beach bum was free in the desert southwest. What a shocker! For the next few years I had my old surfboard on the wall and sea shells around the house I was living like a beach bum at 6000 feet! It has now been 12 years since I lived at the beach and I actually still have the board!

As I became more familiar with my new surroundings, I felt more free than I had ever been. I began reading about the region and was able to explore through the writings of  one of my favorite authors, Edward Abbey. With Ed leading the way through his witty words and eco-terrorist leanings I became a desert rat with no holds barred.

The beach was so distant that I stopped hearing the ocean’s call and now I really don’t see myself ever living coast side again. Eventually I ended up in the Colorado mountains and although the desert pulls hard on my soul still, I know that this is now my home. And I need to stop wanting the past and learn about my own backyard.

I will never stop dreaming of far away lands. I will continue to travel when ever I get the chance. However I know that I am lucky to have the opportunity to look around eyes wide and explore this place.

So where ever you live take a step back find a local guide book, or look for a park (city, state, or national) and get out there. Change your perspective by looking at the intricacies of a leaf or the liquid landscape provided by the clouds. You do not need Banff, or the Mongolian Steppe, Iceland or Machu Picchu. Every where any of you live there are adventures to be had. Think about it. The key is to explore your own back yard, learn about the flora and fauna, the geology, the history. Get outside and live free!!!

Do not mistake this rant as one saying give up your dreams to travel. I encourage you all to travel and see more, what I am saying is often we miss the beauty of what is closest to us with visions of far away lands.

Sleeping bags have always been a point of contention for me. Primarily due to the fact that I am pretty rough on equipment. This is one of the few areas that the military served me well, in the Army you get a layered sleep system consisting of a very, very light summer bag, that snaps into a heavy, heavy winter bag that can snap into a Gore-Tex bivy. Pack all of that into stuff sack that at most will compress down to the size of a volkswagen and weighs almost as much!!! However as with anything the military uses it is built for abuse and to the powers that be that equals heeeaaaavvvy!

One outstanding feature is that you have all you need regardless of weather conditions, and since it is issued to you there is no money out of pocket! I actually held on to a few and use them occasionally.

Now for the general population choosing the right bag is essential to enjoyment of your camping experience. Remember no two people are alike, meaning everything about you is unique to you.

Factors to consider are:

• The area you do most of your camping, is it desert, mountain, jungle, humid, dry, cold, warm etc…?
• Do you generally sleep warm, or cold, do you move around a lot, do you sleep on your side, which side (it matters for zipper placement!)?
• Do you always sleep in a tent, or under a tarp or improvised shelter?
• Are you allergic to certain feathers that might be used in down?
• Size bag you want to carry (will it fit in your pack)?
• Do you prefer ultra light for greater distances, or cushy luxury?

(more…)

Sunday UTM and I brought team UpaDowna into the big time!! That’s right folks we won!!!!!

Not the race, however we won a pair of shoes from Merrell! And we each got 2 free beers, actually we got more because we kept going in and out of the beer area and ever time we entered we got tickets for two more.

Over all I think team UpaDowna had a blast. For those that are not familiar with the race here is a quick run down.

Two teammates, one starts on a bike one starts running. When the biker reaches the first muddy obstacle they ditch the bike and complete the obstacle then takes off running, the runner arrives completes the obstacle grabs the bike and is off!! From what I remember the obstacles went like this. 1st was a climbing wall, second a 4×4 a-frame to which you must go over then under than over, weaving your way up it then down it, then a water crossing (I lost one of my shoes..but quickly found it!!). Next was a balance beam, then a cargo net climb and slide down one of those giant inflatable castle things, and finally the giant mud pit, to which you must cross with your partner.

I think we made it in 55 minutes or right around there, the results have not been posted but trust me we were not in the running for the championship, there were some animals out there.

The mud was thick and sticky, which made it interesting for riding a bike or running. Our deralliurs were quickly so mucked up they were useless, single speed next year for sure!!

Word to the wise, do not let UTM convince you to eat breakfast burritos the moring of the race…bad things happen!

If you are looking for a good fun day of play raceing and beer drinking this race is one you should consider.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the importance of volunteering. Well the time has come so Juice Box and I gave up a Saturday to help our fellow citizens out, selflessly giving of not only our time but also our expertise. Namely B.S. and beer pouring!!! Here are some shots of us in action in case any of you doubt our dedication to volunteering.

I just want to make it perfectly clear that I am greeting the public, pouring beer after delicious beer, never wavering in my duties. All the while Juice Box is, well, lets see, 1st pic standing looking drunk, 2nd pic hands in pocket and not one but two half consumed beers in front of him, 3rd pic yeah that is correct folks Juice Box filling his gullet!!

Now I guess I should let you guys know Juice Box might have poured a few beers while on duty but I never saw it!! Hell if you were to put those three pictures together and play them over and over for an hour that pretty much sums up Juice Box and his idea of volunteering!!!

I do want to let you guys know that we chose this brewery for quite selfish reasons. Flying Dog Brewery has an absolute kick ass, send you to the moon pale ale, they call their 11.5%, aggressively hopped wonder the Double Dog. And with a whopping 85 IBU’s this is a fantastic beer!!! The beauty of pouring it was one for them, two for me!!! I am going so far as to say this is an official UpaDowna recommended beer!! The Double Dog is not for the faint of heart, with the high alcohol content and violently pleasing bitterness you must like bitter beers, for those of you that have not delved into the realm of the pale ales, this beer should be your first!!

I guess it is true. Unfortunately this time as many times in the past the one that let go was an icon in one of our great National Parks, Wall Arch in Arches N.P..

Through out my many times exploring in the park I can remember days of looking up through this majestic arch and knowing that one day it would be gone. But I took time and nature for granted and now the arch is no more.

While this is a common occurrence it should illustrate to all of us how valuable our time is. This arch created from millions of years of geologic occurrences and weathering has fallen prey to the elements that created it. Wall Arch was the 12th largest in the park spanning 71 feet wide and 33.5 feet high.

According to the National Park Service the last such collape of a major arch was back in 1991 with the collapse of Landscape Arch.

For those of you that dream of sandstone beauty and amazing geologic formations go now and see them for yourself for all arches will one day follow in both Wall and Landscape arches steps!!

Recently Juice Box and I were sitting around talking of this site and what exactly we like and dislike, primarily dealing with content. We have decided that we have gotten away from our original purpose of aiding the outdoor adventurer/beer drinker in finding new experiences through knowledge and will power.

Upadowna has regained its focus on our primary enjoyments and will start offering more informative articles with the purpose of not only introducing our readers to the outdoors but also helping develop outdoor skills through some skills focused posts. Now I know some of you are thinking that you will have to wade through the information you already have a grasp on as a means to get ot the “new to you” information.

Well I guess in a way you might. Then again there may be some valuable information that you have forgotten or perhaps a new slant that could aid in perfecting you skills.

I am always eager to help out if there are particular questions you have, so feel free to ask. If I don’t know I will research and find the appropriate answer. The least we can do here is help bring more interest to the wilds we love and the time tested skills we have learned.

I am thinking of making a few videos of some of the skills as a means to connect to the visual learners, so look for those in the future.

That covers the “Upa” part now for the “Downa” part, Juice Box and I are working on some great new brew recipes as well as reviewing some great new beers!!

For those faithful readers: Thanks! All to often hot air is lost, fortunately you folks have grabbed on and read the info hopefully it helps out or at least entertains!!

Look for good things to come and feel free to suggest things you would like us to check out. Oh I know some of you want more gear reviews, and I will hit up some more but as you all know gear is not cheap and I have to balance between beer and gear. I will start giving more reviews although some will be from other reputable sources such as Backpacker. Because lets face it, as much as I would like to grab all the new gear and give it a try, it is just do damn expensive.

Look for more good things to come!

Cheers and Beers to all,

Yeti