7 Ways to give adventure

Posted by: Hello Kammok • Wednesday, November 30 2016

The year is 2050, you’re decorating the tree with your future grand kids, and they ask about the best present you’ve ever received. After a quick shuffle through your memory rolodex, your story begins with the morning you...

got two sticks of chapstick in your stocking
were gifted a new iPhone 7 to replace your cracked iPhone 7
were surprised with an unexpected trip into the unknown.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’d love a new phone, but we carry experiences with us much longer than material goods. They’ll form the words that will fill your journals and campfire stories. Experiences teach you the lessons of life and shape your path.

A few ideas for your back pocket this season: to give adventure, or in this case, experiences.

1 | Give a scavenger hunt

Draw out a treasure map or list of coordinates to a series of places you’d like to visit. Through the house, the neighborhood, the city. To the taco truck, the peak, the chairlift.

2 | Give to the birds

Collect pine cones and make ornaments to give loved ones for the holidays, or roll them in peanut butter and add some seeds for the birds.

3 | Give a cooking class

Sign up for a cooking class, learn a new recipe, and step up your food game next time you go camping.

4 | Give a secret trip

Reserve a weekend with a friend or two, and plan a road trip, trip to disneyland, or weekend in the woods.

5 | Give some dice and roll away

Adventure by fate and roll the die. 1 means north, 2 east, 3 south, 4 west, 5 go to the nearest border, 6 stay put. Inspired by a dirtbag diaries post.

6 | Give your time

Set your weekend aside for someone. Ask what they’d like to do and how you can support. Try to do more listening than talking (there’s always something to learn and everyone is an expert at something).

7 | Give back

Instead of passing around gifts, have everyone pick a philanthropic cause to donate to.

Words and illustrations by Adam Kingman

Back to The Outpost

Don’t let your hammock collect dust all winter. Here are five tips for staying warm and elevated all winter long: 1. Get out of the wind. One of the biggest favors you can do for yourself when hammock camping in cold weather is to find a campsite with natural wind protection. For example: Instead of camping on the edge of a tree line, walk twenty paces in or so to allow denser foliage to act as a natural wind barrier. The addition of a rainfly hung snug over the top of your hammock can also work wonders on extra gusty evenings, plus a proper rainfly will trap in some of your body heat as it rises to escape. If you’re looking for a complete setup, the Mantis all-in-one hammock tent offers a hammock body, bug net, and rainfly in a convenient, packable stuff sack. 2. Pack an Underquilt Sleeping bags are a must when camping in cold weather, but the pro move for hammock camping is to attach an underquilt beneath your hammock. Since insulated materials need loft to work properly, using a sleeping bag in your hammock makes for less effective insulation because your body is compressing the underside of the bag. Instead, opt for an underquilt that hangs snug to your hammock with maximum loft and effectiveness. Depending on where you camp and the temps you usually experience, we offer three trail quilts with varying temperature ratings. 3. Consider a Sleeping Pad We designed our Insulated Pongo Pad to fit perfectly in your camping hammock and shield you from the bitter cold. Our sleeping pad does double duty, acting both as an insulator and the deliverer of ultimate hammock comfort. Cloud nine, here we come! The Insulated Pongo Pad works great in any season, but you’ll definitely never want to leave home without it when the weather turns south. 4. Add Warmth With a Top Quilt Now that you have a wind-free spot, a cozy underquilt, and the comfiest sleeping pad in the woods, it’s time to lie down for a toasty snooze under the stars. But what about your top quilt? Both our Mountain and Field Blankets make great basecamp options, each offering snaps along the edge that allow complete integration with your Roo hammock. For packing light and heading into the backcountry, our lighter and more packable trail quilts offer a huge advantage. However, depending on the weather, your underquilt might be cozy enough of a cocoon that all you need are your base layers to stay warm. 5. Final Tips Here’s a sneaky tip that lots of cold weather campers know well: Boil water over your stove before bed, fill up a Nalgene, and slip it in your hammock to warm the top quilt and underquilt. If you have an extra sock or two, slip them over your water bottle and leave it at your feet. This way you stay warm, but the bottle doesn’t burn your skin. If you’re not wearing your jacket to sleep, keep it at your feet as well so it’s warm when you’re ready to wear it in the morning. Lastly, test your setup before setting off in extreme conditions and know your limits. Everyone has different sleep preferences, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to hammock camping in cold weather. The better you know your gear and your sleeping preferences, the more you’ll be prepared when those ultra-cold temps hit. And of course, if you ever feel uncertain with extreme temperatures in the forecast, be safe and maybe plan for a night indoors.

June Taco Tri Recap

By Luisa Vargas The weather in Austin has been less than ideal (by Texan standards). We’ve seen more rain these past few weeks than we do all year, and Thursday was the hundredth consecutive day of thunderstorms. Or at least if felt that way! The result of constant rainfall at the Barton Creek Greenbelt trail in Austin, TX. Wednesday night, our team decided to hold off on doing Taco Tri as the thunderstorms were getting pretty bad. It turns out all it did was rain that day. But the fun part about a virtual Taco Tri is that even though we didn’t get to participate in Austin, people all over the world did. Photo of Seth Tullar (right) in Australia. This month was particularly exciting because our friends in Australia participated! This is one the furthest away someone has been whose taken part in Taco Tri. Thank you, Seth, for tri-ing with us! We hope the weather was better “down under." Abelardo was runner up in the competition taking part in the tri in Alaska! We hope next month we’ll be able to Taco Tri again in Austin and can’t wait to see what other exciting places people will participate on July 1st!