Space Blankets

I was an adventure racer for many years and raced all over the eastern side of the country.

There were always many obstacles we faced and had to overcome during every race. 

Some of them were anticipated, but the nature of AR meant that many challenges we faced were completely unexpected.

Every racer I ever knew was a compulsive planner, a compulsive trainer and (the week of the race) a compulsive weather watcher.

 Sometimes the forecast held, but many times it didn't.

In April of 2006 I was doing a race in the Smoky Mountains.

The race was scheduled to begin at 10pm and even during that day leading up to the race start, the forecast had promised temperatures in the 40's.

The race began with a road ride to the canoe put-in, and by the time we hit the water it was windy with freezing rain.

An hour into the paddle one of my team-mates made the observation that he hoped we didn't capsize, because we would all be in big trouble.

The water was very choppy, it was windy and the freezing rain continued, but even in those conditions I thought that my team-mate was overstating his case.

Within a few hours I learned to have the same concern that he had.

Throughout the night (as we continued to pick up checkpoints on the water) the weather continued to deteriorate, and by the time we made it back to the race start at 6am the next morning we were all hypothermic.

A couple of hours later we had warmed up, rested, consumed hot food and drink, and had changed into dry and warm clothes.

Clicking into already frozen pedals on our bikes, we headed on gravel roads up into the mountains.

Freezing rain turned to light snow turned to heavy snow, as we continued to climb through the morning and into the afternoon.

I was still using brake pads on my bike at that time (as opposed to the disc brakes I eventually upgraded to) and the combination of snow, mud, ice and gravel had eaten away at them over the rough hours of climbing in horrendous conditions.  I had front brakes but no back brakes.  One of my team-mates had back brakes but no front.  My other team-mate had no brakes at all.

We were looking for a checkpoint using very old and outdated topo maps, and began to realize that we had likely missed it and blown right by it in the snow.

Eventually we came to a steep downhill, and I had to concentrate very hard to keep my bike upright with failing brakes.

I got down to the bottom of the hill, realized that I had used up the last of my braking ability, and slid into the snow covered road before being able to put my feet down to stop.

I turned to look at my team-mates (who I had skidded right by) and said "that's it - my brakes are totally gone", and then I looked around me to see where we were.

Heavy snow was blowing in sideways and the world was entirely and absolutely white.

The road wasn't on the map.  We had obviously blown by the checkpoint.  There was no form of shelter anywhere around us.  Our brakes had failed or were failing.  We were in windy and total white out conditions in the mountains.

Reluctantly we broke open our emergency radios.  Our race was done.

While we waited for race volunteers to come pick us up, we reached into our packs and dug out our space blankets.

A space blanket was always part of the mandatory gear racers had to carry with them throughout every race, and I was carrying the cheapest one I could find.

It was cheap.  It was lightweight.  It was compact.  I had no idea whether or not it was actually a useful item.  All I knew was that race rules required a space blanket, and the cheap one from Wal-mart was accepted by those inspecting my gear. 

I never actually thought that such a cheap piece of tinfoil would work.

Fighting against the strong winds in the mountains, I broke open the blanket package and wrapped it around me.  My team-mates did the same thing.

We had to wait for quite a while before race volunteers showed up, and that stupid piece of "tinfoil" we were all carrying, saved our bacon.

It was the first time I had ever used a space blanket, and on that day I became a believer.

Over the years I have used space blankets during races more times than I could count, in many cold and wet races, and for its weight it is one of those pieces of gear that I do not ever leave home without.

Here in Cody Wyoming the weather last week was sunny with temperatures around 60 degrees.  For the last couple of days we have had snow, cold and wind.  By the end of this week it is supposed to be warm and sunny again.

There are compelling reasons why everybody who heads out into the hills or mountains around this area should carry a space blanket with them:

1.  The mountains (to quote that great movie) "makes its own weather".   No matter what time of year it is, and no matter how warm and sunny it is when you head out, the weather can change on a dime and unexpectedly become very cold with yes.......even snow in summer.

2.  You never know what you will run into in the mountains - a river you fall into, an injury that unexpectedly keeps you up in the mountains overnight, misjudging how far you travel on a day hike which causes you to get off trail after the sun goes down, getting hopelessly lost for a couple of days before rescue arrives.  You just never know.

Sometimes the distance between "Life is good.  Who's got the next joke?" and a potentially catastrophic emergency in the mountains can be very short., and with space blankets being so compact, lightweight and cheap, there is just no good reason not to carry one with you at all times.

I begrudgingly carried one every race until that first time I needed one. 

Now I would never think of heading out in the wilds without one.

A Youtube video on different uses for a blanket:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOAD5nr4IgM

A couple of REI space blanket options:

http://www.rei.com/product/407106/space-all-weather-blanket

But even the Wal-mart variety will do the trick.  Toss it down into your pack and just leave it there for the time when you'll need it.  If you spend enough time in the woods or in the mountains you WILL need it eventually:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Original-Space-Brand-Emergency-Blanket-Silver/15935551

EPILOGUE:  After we called in on our emergency radios and were picked up, we heard team after team over the radio calling in to race Head Quarters, asking to be pulled out of the mountains.

A couple of hours after we were picked up, the race was called off.

It took all night for race volunteers, race staff, and emergency services personnel from five surrounding counties to find all the racers who were stranded in the mountains................

Pictures snapped the other day of some of the great gear we currently have at OAR:

Please No More!

PLEASE NO MORE!

When a lady brought in a roof mount ski rack and two pairs of cross country skis last week, we did the paperwork on them, she walked out the door and I thought "What am I doing?"

It's mid-April and effective as of now, OAR will no longer be accepting any more winter sports equipment (including skis, boots, helmets, boards, poles etc.).

It's time to move on.

We took the old downhill skis off the floor this week (and they'll make an AWESOME bench when we cut 'em down this summer), but still have some gear left out, for those folks looking forward to the 2013/2014 season (which is only six or seven months away).

People are totally beginning to look for warm weather gear - camping, hiking, biking, boating, hunting, and (especially) fishing stuff.

Aside from the obvious gear, people have asked for things I would never have thought of (and it continues to be a learning experience owning an outdoor store in a place like Cody Wyoming).

People are looking for good, technical, name brand day and multi-day packs, but there is also a market for old-school beater packs (so guys can haul meat out of the mountains and not worry about messing up a good pack).

They're looking for lightweight and tiny back-country stoves, but they're also looking for cast iron cookware so that they can car camp.

They're looking for good, high quality fishing rods for themselves, but they're also looking for lightweight and cheap rods for their kids.

And soccer cleats!!!!!

TWO THINGS:

1.  If you have a good, high quality, name brand road or mountain bike, or a boat (canoe or kayak), we'll find room for it at our little store. 

At OAR we still have high hopes to be able to expand back, take up the entire garage bay we are currently renting and effectively double our space by the end of the summer.

We need your help to be able to do that.  The more great stuff we have at OAR, the more people will come by to see what we have.

The more great stuff we have at OAR, the more fun it is to dig through and check out what's new!

2.  If you're not sure we can use it, just give us a call.  You'd be surprised what people are looking for and what they'll buy.

We've been surprised many times over the past few months!

We have the awesome-est pair of boots in the store right now! They are a pair of vintage GALIBIER RICHARD PONTVERT hiking mountaineer boots. They were made in France, likely from the 1970's, in great shape for their age, weigh a ton and are virtually indestructible.

The sole looks brand new and is screwed to the upper (not glued like the newer, lighter, high tec boots). I LOVE these things! They're small - we couldn't find a size on them but I tried them on and would guess they're a ladies Size 10 (maybe a man's 8 1/2?). Totally old school and totally bomb proof.

Looked them up and found reviews on these boots: http://www.trailspace.com/gear/galibier/super-guide/

The boots came in with a pair of vintage Carman Super Gator lined gaitors. VERY COOL!

Area Public School And College Students Receive 10% Off All Their Purchases Everyday

We have a group of Outdoor Recreation students from Northwest College who drop by here regularly, and we say THANK YOU for your support of OAR!

YOU GUYS ROCK!!

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Outdoor-Adventures-Revived-OAR/295312997264285?fref=ts

Facebook Hates Me

Facebook hates me.

I've been trying to post pictures and text on the OAR Facebook page for a couple of days now and it won't let me.

Maybe this tech-nerd changed a setting on the site without meaning to.

Or maybe Facebook really DOES hate me.

Either way, we'll get it figured out and post again as soon as we can.

At the store we have some great gear that needs to find a new home.

A lady brought this beautiful little Rossignol youth snowboard/ski helmet in a while back.

It's in brand new condition, has ample padding to protect a little athlete's head, and is filled with all the hearts and flowers and pinkness that a little girl would love.

Oxygen Element 580 snowboard (size 152) - without bindings, has a few scratches but no major dings, and the graphics on both sides are still in great shape. 

This little MSR Pocket Rocket (yes, that's the actual name of this baby) is a tiny camping stove.

It comes complete with plastic carrying case, and is sturdy but lightweight enough to throw down in the bottom of your pack when you head out to camp or go into the back country.

Quite a few people have looked at this thing, then looked at me bemused and said "What IS that?"

It's a wind resistance bike trainer.  Designed for those who want to ride their bike indoors when the weather outside is too nasty for outdoor riding.

It's in excellent condition, simple to install and use, and breaks down easily when you want to store it away.

Burton Ranger snowboard boots that are in very good shape and a pair of Vision youth snowboard boots that are in excellent (barely used) shape

This is a Graber trunk mount bike rack, designed to hold 3-4 bicycles.

If you need to transport bikes and don't have the room to haul them in your vehicle, this tight little bike rack will do the trick.

If you have any of the following and want to consign them, we would LOVE to have them to sell at OAR, because folks are beginning to head back outside again:

packs - headlamps - trekking poles - camp stoves - hiking boots - trail shoes - paddles and life jackets - wet suits - wind and rain proof jackets - gaitors - tents - camp chairs - anything to do with hunting

The Power Of Duct Tape

When I was adventure racing, one of the items that was always on the list of mandatory gear we were required to carry with us at all times, was duct tape.

Early on in my adventure racing career I resented having to carry six feet of duct with me.  It wasn't heavy to carry but it was only one of many pieces of mandatory gear they nailed us with, and the totality of all that stuff was a heavy pack.  Sometimes our packs were only fairly heavy, but for other races (depending on the length of the race, how many transition areas we had out on the course, the time of year we were racing) some of our packs were crazy heavy. 

I resented carrying it until the first time I needed it, and then I was sold.  There's an expression in adventure racing related to duct tape.  Pardon my French (and we spoke a lot of French out in the field) "If you can't duck it, f*ck it".  Meaning of course, that if you couldn't fix it with duct tape, it couldn't be fixed.  I saw a whole lot of McGyver-ing over the many years that I raced.  And I did some of my own.  Just a couple of examples:

1. 12 hour race in North Carolina - my team was up in the mountains outside of Asheville after dark.  I had a headlamp mounted on my bike helmet, but had foolishly not put new batteries into my handlebar mounted bike lights before heading out.  Yes........the batteries died only a couple of hours before the end of the race, I didn't have replacements and ended up duct taping my tiny back up headlamp to the handlebars, so we could book out of the mountains and complete the race.

2.  6 day race in West Virginia - leading up to the race we had been told that we could either use our own paddles or the race-provided paddles, but if we brought our own we would have to carry them with us for an unspecified amount of time during the race.  Stupidly we elected to use the race-provided paddles.  They were single blade, very heavy, we were the ONLY team who was not using kayak paddles and within the first couple of hours of the race we were already at the back of the pack.  We had to paddle in one direction to pick up a checkpoint.  We then had to paddle back the way we had come, pass by the race start and head further down first lake and then river.  As we passed by the race start we saw more canoe paddles laying in the sand.  My team-mate suggested that we duct tape canoe paddles together to make make-shift kayak paddles.  As I held paddles and as he taped the ends together, I doubted that they would hold for the duration of this first paddle section.  They did.  They lasted all 15 hours.

3.  Same race in West Virginia - during the first freezing cold bike leg, my rain pants got caught up in the chain ring and they got badly ripped.  Funny - when you're in the middle of a race it never even occurs to you to get upset that a $80 pair of rain pants are now trashed.  All you're thinking about at that point is that they're ripped and it's freezing cold and you need to keep all of your layers of clothing functioning.  I wore the same layer upon layer of clothing for almost six days straight, and my duct taped rain pants held together for the entire race.

4.  24 hour race in North Georgia - the sole of my trail shoe got caught on a rock and tore away from the rest of my shoe.  I looked down at my beloved Salomon shoes sadly knowing that they were gonna be trashed at the end of the race.  In the meantime I reached into my pack, grabbed the duct tape and wrapped layer after layer of the stuff around my entire foot so that the shoe would hold together for as long as I needed it.

I've seen duct tape used to cover blisters, used as a compression bandage, used to slow down leaks in canoes and rafts and bicycle tubes, to repair a ripped rain jacket, to repair a ripped pack, to repair a cracked water bottle and a leaking water bladder.  The uses are endless and that sticky stuff is priceless anytime you are away from civilization.  I would never head out into the woods or up into the mountains or out on the water without duct tape.

There is no need to carry an entire roll of the stuff (and most people don't need to carry around 100 feet of it anyway).  While I was racing it was second nature to wrap tape in one spot around trekking poles, to wrap it around the base of a water bottle (yes........the bottle will still fit down in a bike cage), to wrap it around a small piece of cardboard or a stick.  

So there you go.  The Power of Duct Tape.  Don't leave home without it.

One of the things we have really enjoyed about opening OAR is the people that we have met along the way and one of those people is a really nice guy who drops by the store about once a week just to chat.  This man is one of my favorite store visitors and the other day he brought this gun case into the store.  It is an older 4-handgun hard-shell carry case, and comes with one slide-out shelf and one static shelf.  Stop by OAR soon to check it out, and don't forget that we have a March Madness Winter Gear Sale going on now - most winter gear is 30% off!

All Kinds Of Gear

I guess I've been living under a rock somewhere but I had never seen a candle lantern before one walked in the door about a week ago.

It comes complete with brass candle lantern, replacement candles, instruction booklet and mesh carry case.

A link to some information about this very cool thing:

http://www.shopping.com/Rei-REI-Original-Candle-Lantern-Brass/info

Just a reminder that our March Madness Winter Gear Sale begins tomorrow.  All winter jackets, skis, ski boots, fleece vests, hats, gloves, ear and neck warmers etc. are 30% off our already low OAR-prices.

Included in our sale are these two great pairs of snowboard boots.  The larger pair are Burton Rangers and the other pair are youth Vision boots.

This very compact and lightweight MSR Pocket Rocket Stove is also for sale. 

More information here:

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/41374?productId=685075&subrnd=0&qs=3016887_pmd_google_pla

OK.........we admit that the Arctic Comet snow boots are not what we would call high fallutin' top name outdoor gear.  But I bought two pairs of them really cheap a while back, because I know that there are people out there who just want warm feet and don't have a whole lot of money to spend to get them.

These boots are in great shape and have liners, and if you just want to spend a little bit of money, we may have an option for you!

Two pairs of climbing gloves. 

We've got a climbing helmet, a couple of pairs of climbing gloves, some webbing, a few harnesses and a few pairs of climbing shoes for sale at OAR

One of the groups that we would like to be able to serve better at OAR are the children and youth of the community.

They outgrow their sports gear in the blink of an eye.

Which means kids are always needing new stuff and parents are always paying for new stuff.

It gets EXPENSIVE!

We have these youth Fox Racing Pants in the store right now and they are in great shape.

We also have a children's bike trailer, a couple of pairs of little (very little) roller blades, a couple of youth ski/snowboard helmets and a couple of pairs of youth skis, bike helmets and a random variety of winter clothing (jackets, vests, boots, gloves, hats, scarfs etc.).

All youth winter gear is also 30% off through the month of March.

If you have young-people gear and clothing that YOUR kids have outgrown, consider consigning it with OAR and giving them new life for another youngster in our community!

A cool postcard that a lady we know in Montana sent to us over the holidays.

She is an avid fisherman and hunter, and caught this on the Bitterroot River.

Great picture!

Bike Endos And Upcoming Sales

This is me and my sweet girl Jamie.

This picture was taken in the mountains of North Georgia a few years ago, after a long day in the woods.

We camped overnight with a group of adventure racers and then while I spent the entire next day trekking and mountain biking throughout the area (while doing some navigation training with a team-mate), my husband and dog kept a huge camp fire burning.

It was mid-December, very cold and very damp, and the fire was a hit with both stay-behind family members and freezing cold racers once they came back out of the woods.

I taco'd the front wheel of my mountain bike during that training, when I hit a log that was completely buried in fallen leaves.

I saw the end of the log too late and unsuccessfully tried to maneuver around it at the last second.

I hit the log hard, and my bike came to a screeching halt on the rock and leaf covered downhill section of rutted out trail.

I did a slow endo over my handlebars, went airborne and landed softly in another bed of fallen leaves on the back side of the log.

After picking myself up and standing my bike up again, I looked down at it and my first thought was that I had a flat tire.  It took me a second to realize that my entire front wheel was now in the shape of a taco.

It was close to the end of the day and I told my team-mate to go on and pick up the last checkpoint we were headed for, and I'd meet him back at the campsite.

Good times. 

OAR has been open for three months already.

It's been an interesting, exciting, and sometimes even frustrating time, but we are loving the great outdoor gear and clothing that has come through the door, and are really enjoying meeting great outdoor people!

Our operating hours will remain the same through the month of March (Wed-Sat 9am-5pm).

The week of April 1 we will extend our operating days and OAR will be open

Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm.

Check back with this blog later in the week for information on upcoming sales!

Thunder and Lightning

Sometime during my first year of adventure racing, me and two other women signed up for a 12 hour race at a state park west of of Nashville, Tennessee.

It was in the spring, the race started early in the morning and it started in cool but very sunny conditions.

Throughout the morning the sky began to get increasingly cloudy and by early afternoon it looked downright ominous.

We heard it first mid-afternoon and it did not take any of us by surprise - a very loud thunder boomer.

The sky had turned black.

We were not in the middle of the North Carolina or West Virginian mountains as we had been in other races but we were too far from civilization when the hard rain started.

The thunder began and then so did the lightning.

We were on mountain bikes at the time, on a trail surrounded by woods on both sides, and there was no shelter from the storm anywhere.

We did the only prudent thing we could do, which was to ditch our bikes, ditch our packs, move away from each other and make ourselves the smallest targets we could possibly make ourselves.

Squatting in a field with violent thunder and lightning all around us, was the scariest race experience I had had to that point.

As we were in the middle of it I looked across the small open field in one direction and then in another direction and saw the faces of my team-mates and knew that they were also feeling the same dread that I was feeling.

Thankfully the violent storm was short lived and thankfully we came through it none the worse for wear.

Once it had passed we retrieved all of our gear, nervously laughed off the experience, and continued on with our race................

Great pieces of gear that we have had in the store for a while, and stuff that we would LOVE to find a new home for!

Oxygen Element 580 snowboard (size 152) - without bindings, has a few scratches but no major dings, and graphics on both sides are still in great shape.  There's still a ton more snowboarding left to do before the end of the season!

This super cute girls Rossignol snowboard/ski helmet is filled with all kinds of flowers, hearts and serious pinkness.  It is in brand new condition.

Burton Ranger snowboard boots that are in very good shape and a pair of Vision youth snowboard boots that are in excellent (barely used) shape.

Sleeping bags in brand new (never used) condition, tent and camp chair both in great condition.  We've also got a couple of camp stoves.

We've got winter hats, gloves, ear warmers, neck warmers and scarves - fleece sweaters - winter jackets with labels that include Columbia, Mountain Hard Ware, LL Bean, Cabelas, Winchester, Patagonia and more - climbing gear including shoes, harnesses, gloves.

To name only a few items in the increasing stock of used outdoor gear and clothing that OAR is happily beginning to accumulate.

What would we LOVE to see more of at this time of year?

Day packs (we sold a Salomon pack and a Go-lite pack within days of putting them out on the floor) and they can be used for just about EVERY outdoor activity.

Hiking boots.  Trekking poles.  Local topo maps.  Gaiters.  Wind resistant jackets.  Wool and Smart Wool socks.  Compasses.  Head lamps.  Fishing rods and reels.

Soon we would love to see mountain bikes and road bikes (please no BSO's - bicycle shaped objects!). 

Attachments To Gear

We put this awesome picture up on the wall behind the counter at the store a couple of days ago.

I bought it (frame, mat and picture) for 50 cents at a yard sale in Tennessee at least 10 years ago and at the time thought that it was a print (maybe even an over sized photo copy).

I worked for a Parks and Recreation Department at that time and was supervising a community center one day when an artist came into the building.

The guy was working on a mural and while we were talking he commented on my picture.

I told him what I knew about it (which wasn't much), he walked over to it, looked at it closely and told me that it was an original pencil drawing.

It's huge and awesome and slightly anatomically incorrect.  I love it.

We've had a lot of really great consignment gear come into the store over the past week, including a set 
of Red Ball waders and three sets of Hodgman chest waders (including one neoprene set).  It doesn't feel like it right now but fishing season is just around the corner!

We have a very large size pair of desert combat boots for sale.

This MSR back country stove is an AWESOME piece of gear that was brought in by a Northwest College student.  A link to more info on this thing:  http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/rapid-cooking/pocketrocket/product

We've had these camo insulated bib overalls for a long time and finally got around to getting the broken buckles replaced on them.  They're good-to-go now, in great shape and out on the floor waiting for a new owner.

I snapped this picture about a year ago while mountain biking on a combination of gravel roads and technical single track in middle Tennessee.  Gary Fisher bike, Shimano spd's and VERY worn out Cannondale mtn bike shoes.  Did I ever tell you that I get very attached to my gear and hate to part with anything.  I had two other pairs of Cannondales at the house - one girly blue pair (that I never wore because they were girly blue) and another brand new black pair exactly like these (only they were totally black, and had no holes in them, and had no broken laces tied in knots).  When these shoes were finally more hole than shoe I had to toss 'em.  But I loved those shoes.

Stop by OAR soon and check out the great gear that we have.  The "Island of Misfit Gear" is increasing every day!

A Storm Blowing Through The Store

I picked up this picture the other day, stuck a price tag on it, banged a nail into the wall, and hung it up and over the front door.

Most people won't notice it when they first walk into the store, but they will definitely notice it on the way out. 

A colorful, awesome picture.

 I went to a really nice ladys' home yesterday to pick up some gear she wanted to consign.

Her gear included an eclectic bunch of stuff (a skateboard, some fold-out camping or fishing stools, an electric dog water bowl, a youth street hockey stick, a pair of awesome fishing waders and this bike trailer).

The colors on the trailer are faded and the front plastic storm flap has a couple of small holes, but otherwise it is in great shape.  Tires are good, the frame and plastic side windows are in great shape, and so is the seat and safety straps.

If you have little ones and want to take them with you when you ride, check out this trailer.

People are finding us which is great (yeah.....the bigger signs are helping!) and consignments are rolling in, which is even greater!

A storm blew through our store late this afternoon.

At about 4pm on what had been a quiet Saturday, the front door of the store suddenly burst open and a rowdy bunch of young people noisily wandered in.

They had to be...........yeah..............Northwest College Outdoor Rec students.

After spending the day rappelling out the Southfork, the kids stopped at OAR on the way back to Powell.

This smiling, laughing, friendly, energetic group of young people spent the next 45 minutes checking out every single item of gear currently in the store.

I knew what they were doing.

'Cause I've spent years doing exactly the same thing.

It's called "gear fondling".

By the time the storm noisily wandered out the front door again they had bought pants and fleeces and gaiters and water bottles and ski goggles and ski poles and climbing webbing and greeting cards.

What a way-fun group!  Awesome kids.

They had a great time wandering around our quirky little store.

And I had a great time watching them and talking gear with them.

A different generation, but gear heads all talk the same language.

Thanks for dropping in guys!!

A kite.

A big ol' kite.

A big ol' kite hanging from the ceiling.

I'm liking this consignment-store-thing.  You NEVER know what people are going to bring through the door.

EDITED TO ADD:

For those who are interested, you can sign up to receive the OAR blog when posts are added (look to the right side of the page to sign up).

We've signed up to our own email list just to make certain that email updates go through on schedule, but:

1.  The formatting of the emails looks kinda funky so please accept our apologies for that.

2.  Not all of the text from this particular blog post went through in the email yesterday.   This is the first time that has happend and we hope that it is a temporary issue.