If you've spent any time in Germany, you may have learned that, aside from passion for beer, Germans also have a passion for the outdoors and hiking in particular. In fact, they're so passionate about it that they even have a different type of hiking called a Volksmarch. Spend enough time there and you'll be surprised at how many amazing scenic places you will see in the course of a year of attending weekend volksmarches.
A volksmarch is basically an organized hike. Associations sponsor them and they range from 10-20K marches. The routes are preset by the organizers and you pay an entry fee at the start of the march. Routes often travel through beautiful countryside, amazing forests, mountains, quaint towns and villages and beautiful farm trails running by orchards. It's an amazing way to get outdoors and experience the wilderness while enjoying the company of others.
Unlike hiking here in the US where getting away from it all and seeking an escape from others is often the motivator, Volksmarches are social events in which friends and families cater both to their wanderlust but do so socially. The midpoints of the longer hikes often have a hiking rest facility where a temporary station might serve up beer, soda, brats and fries. The end of the event is often the beginning of further festivities including more beers and brats. If there's no facility to provide it, fellow volksmarchers are likely to plan a reconvene at a nearby bar or restaurant to continue getting to know eachother better.
There aren't many organizations popularizing this form of hiking in the US, but there's no reason why you and your family can't plan your own volksmarch. The most enjoyable element of hiking like this is that it doesn't require you traveling to the nearest national park. In fact, it's a great way to get to know your own neighborhood and surroundings. Just pack a light pack with some snacks and drinks and start wandering. The outdoors await and if you don't have time for a camping trip, this is just the thing to appeal to your need to be outside despite a shoestring budget and little time to spare.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Made in America Camping Products - Tektite Lights
In sticking with the theme of my original post in which I lambaste Americans for our disloyalty to our country in our constant quest for cheap (in all senses of the word) products cheaply made elsewhere, I'd like to introduce you to one company that still does it the old fashioned way… at home. Tektite is a US company which manufactures rugged LED flashlights, dive lights, tactical lights and markers. Their products are made here at home. I'm not only an advocate, I'm a customer.
My first Tektite product was a dive marker which, years later, still occupies a loving space on my dive vest. It has experienced rough treatment and weathered it well. My next Tektite product was a dive light which has also outlasted the majority of my dive equipment. This light is so dependable that I take it with me on camping trips. I never worry that it will get water-logged and have not only dropped it in water on camping trips, I even used it to hunt out a set of lost car keys in 3 feet of water at night!
As you hunt for camping equipment that is made in the USA, you may find yourself frustrated by the limited availability out there. Folks, I promise that if you buy more made in America products, they'll make more made in America products. One begets the other. By supporting the home team, you encourage home growth. It's something we need as a nation.
So before you set out on your next camping trip, check that old Made in China lamp you've been lugging around. Is it cracked or worn? Does it look like it's been through hell and back? Well then UPGRADE to a product that not only promotes America but with which you're sure to be happy. Tektite isn't just a patriotic company, they are also the makers of some of the best LED lighting solutions you're likely to find. Quality and Country. What more could you ask for?
My first Tektite product was a dive marker which, years later, still occupies a loving space on my dive vest. It has experienced rough treatment and weathered it well. My next Tektite product was a dive light which has also outlasted the majority of my dive equipment. This light is so dependable that I take it with me on camping trips. I never worry that it will get water-logged and have not only dropped it in water on camping trips, I even used it to hunt out a set of lost car keys in 3 feet of water at night!
As you hunt for camping equipment that is made in the USA, you may find yourself frustrated by the limited availability out there. Folks, I promise that if you buy more made in America products, they'll make more made in America products. One begets the other. By supporting the home team, you encourage home growth. It's something we need as a nation.
So before you set out on your next camping trip, check that old Made in China lamp you've been lugging around. Is it cracked or worn? Does it look like it's been through hell and back? Well then UPGRADE to a product that not only promotes America but with which you're sure to be happy. Tektite isn't just a patriotic company, they are also the makers of some of the best LED lighting solutions you're likely to find. Quality and Country. What more could you ask for?
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
What's Wrong with America?!
What the hell is wrong with this country? The egos. That's what's driving me insane. America, our economy is in shambles, the majority of the world is pissed at us, we are incapable of manufacturing just about anything ourselves and we're so bad with money that we can't survive unless there are people (and countries) out there willing to lend us money. Oh, and we might as well add Property of the People's Republic of China to the Declaration of Independence.
Is this where we wanted it to go? Is this what our forefathers envisioned for us? Is this the freedom they envisioned when they fought and died to drag us out from under the boot of tyranny... that we'd just sell our souls to new debtors in a different foreign land? We're a bit like teenagers. No, strike that, we're exactly like teenagers. We're a nation of pimply-faced whiners who are bad with money, can't manage our debt, are dependent on others for just about everything we own and yet still run around with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement and undeserved pride.
About the only things we as a nation have left to be proud of are our freedoms, our nation's natural beauty and the men and women willing to fight and die for us. And, folks, that's not enough! Why? Because our freedoms mean nothing if we're handing them away to foreign debtors. Our nation's natural beauty exists whether we're here or not, not to mention the fact that we're rapidly destroying what little of that beauty we have left. And the men and women of our armed services should NEVER be asked to sacrifice their lives if we're not willing to be responsible custodians of the very things they're fighting and dying for.
Now, maybe this isn't an appropriate post for this blog. After all, I'm a camping freak and that's what I intended to write about here, but I've come to realize that I spend more and more of my time outdoors not to casually get away from it all but to REALLY get away from it all. Away from the shame of what Americans are doing to this, the greatest nation to ever occupy space on a map. Away from the corporate world from which I hungrily lap up a paycheck twice a month doing a job for a company that doesn't produce any tangible product at the end of the day.
So, again, what's this post doing here in a site about camping? Because here, at least, is an area where we can do the right thing and that's to BUY AMERICAN! I know finding American made products in this day and age is a little like stumbling across aliens (the kind from space, not the kind our nation welcomes in abundance). But there are still a few hold-outs out there. There are still people and companys manufacturing products right here in the good ol' US of A. So before you even consider venturing out into the wild in a pair of boots made by somebody in Taiwan or sleeping in a bag sewn together in China, please, for the love of all of us, see if you can find some camping equipment made by some redneck (God bless all of them) somewhere on our home turf. Our economy will thank you and so will all of those who have died on foreign soil trying to keep us great.
If you want to support a country other than America, that's fine too. Just do it with your tourism dollars. Let's get back to what we once had a talent for - manufacturing hideous but utterly indestructable and exceedingly high quality goods that only Americans were able to afford in the first place. See the connection? One begets the other. Manufacturing here means the prosperity to afford our own product!
Is this where we wanted it to go? Is this what our forefathers envisioned for us? Is this the freedom they envisioned when they fought and died to drag us out from under the boot of tyranny... that we'd just sell our souls to new debtors in a different foreign land? We're a bit like teenagers. No, strike that, we're exactly like teenagers. We're a nation of pimply-faced whiners who are bad with money, can't manage our debt, are dependent on others for just about everything we own and yet still run around with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement and undeserved pride.
About the only things we as a nation have left to be proud of are our freedoms, our nation's natural beauty and the men and women willing to fight and die for us. And, folks, that's not enough! Why? Because our freedoms mean nothing if we're handing them away to foreign debtors. Our nation's natural beauty exists whether we're here or not, not to mention the fact that we're rapidly destroying what little of that beauty we have left. And the men and women of our armed services should NEVER be asked to sacrifice their lives if we're not willing to be responsible custodians of the very things they're fighting and dying for.
Now, maybe this isn't an appropriate post for this blog. After all, I'm a camping freak and that's what I intended to write about here, but I've come to realize that I spend more and more of my time outdoors not to casually get away from it all but to REALLY get away from it all. Away from the shame of what Americans are doing to this, the greatest nation to ever occupy space on a map. Away from the corporate world from which I hungrily lap up a paycheck twice a month doing a job for a company that doesn't produce any tangible product at the end of the day.
So, again, what's this post doing here in a site about camping? Because here, at least, is an area where we can do the right thing and that's to BUY AMERICAN! I know finding American made products in this day and age is a little like stumbling across aliens (the kind from space, not the kind our nation welcomes in abundance). But there are still a few hold-outs out there. There are still people and companys manufacturing products right here in the good ol' US of A. So before you even consider venturing out into the wild in a pair of boots made by somebody in Taiwan or sleeping in a bag sewn together in China, please, for the love of all of us, see if you can find some camping equipment made by some redneck (God bless all of them) somewhere on our home turf. Our economy will thank you and so will all of those who have died on foreign soil trying to keep us great.
If you want to support a country other than America, that's fine too. Just do it with your tourism dollars. Let's get back to what we once had a talent for - manufacturing hideous but utterly indestructable and exceedingly high quality goods that only Americans were able to afford in the first place. See the connection? One begets the other. Manufacturing here means the prosperity to afford our own product!
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