A study released last week all but proves what we have been hearing for years now… that hard plastic bottles containing BPA (bisphenol A) are leaching the chemical into the liquids they contain. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people who drank for a week from the clear plastic polycarbonate bottles increased concentrations of bisphenol A – or BPA – in their urine...

Got a laugh out of this one this morning. Heated Itch Relief’s heating element will supposedly “neutralize the insect injected proteins that cause itching and swelling.” I can’t imagine anyone seriously carrying this around while hiking, kayaking, or the like.  But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it makes its way into gear bags at family campgrounds.  Whether it works or not. Sort...

The Salt Lake Tribune is running a 2009 Summer Fun Guide with entertainment and activity suggestions for the season. Included in the guide are the following two lists: Five great campgrounds to visit: Devil’s Garden, Arches National Park Kodachrome Basin State Park Dixie Red Cliffs Tanner’s Flat Cherry Hill Five suggested hikes: Classic – Five lakes loop at Brighton, Big Cottonwood Canyon. Family-friendly...

Old Mountain Road, an abandoned road running between North Elba (Lake Placid area) and Keene, has been reopened by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The issue was forced after the president of a snowmobile club, James McCulley, intentionally drove his truck on the road, inducing a ticket. An administrative judge then ruled that the road had not been properly closed (it apparently...

The newly opened NYC-soho Eastern Mountain Sports store will be hosting professional climbers Tommy Caldwell and Joe Kinder this Friday and Saturday.  The two will be hanging out to share stories, sign photos or shoot the breeze with anyone who stops by. Tommy has long been considered one of the best all around climbers in the world and is well known his impossibly hard sport climbs (including the 5.15a Flex...

Colorado just moved up my list of ‘places I need to visit sooner rather than later.’ In addition to the stunning scenery, laid back lifestyle, and abundance of 14ers, Colorado is now home to a state-of-the-art mountaineering museum. Now, that’s cool. The Bradford Washburn American Mountaineering Museum (BWAMM) opened its doors in February 2008 in Golden, Colorado. The BWAMM offers a 135-square-foot...

I’m a stressed, edgy, fearful flyer… but I love adventure and travel.  Quite the dilemma. I wasn’t always this way.  In fact, when I first started flying I enjoyed the entire process.  From airport shops to in-flight drinks to destination and back.  It all seemed so social, and active, and fun.  But about 3 years ago, much to the chagrin of my wife (and anyone else who flies with me),...

The Post-Standard newspaper in Syracuse is running an Upstate New York (Central NY and Adirondacks) wildlife photo contest. The top three photographs will be published on Father’s Day in the sports section of the newspaper, along with selected photos from all entries.  Winners will be judged by newspaper staff at The Post-Standard. In addition to being published in The Post-Standard, the 3 winners will...

Is this what you had in mind when you said you wanted to live in a log cabin? Probably not.  But the Flake House is being called a transportable log cabin nonetheless.  Created by French architects OLGAA, this nomadic wooden shelter seems to be part lean-to, part backyard fort, and I guess… sort of… part cabin. This contemporary take on the log cabin will be exhibited at several locations before...

If so, now might be the best chance you will ever have. Fort Montgomery, and 300 acres around it, are listed on Ebay with a starting bid of 5 million dollars.  The listing claims that, “There are no restrictions on the fort, meaning the new owners can develop it as they see fit. One possible use for the land would be the creation of a marina and luxury condominiums with dramatic views…” Fort...