Adventure 16 Blog » Random

(Photos by Stephen Matera)

I’m starting to notice more and more backpackers carrying camera equipment into the backcountry. I can’t blame them. Sometimes it’s hard to describe some of the beautiful places you’ve been. It’s also nice to be able to look back at the many adventures you’ll go on in a lifetime.

Taking a good photo is easy. Taking an amazing photo can be tough. To help you take a better photo the next time you’re in the backcountry, I got some tips from Stephen Matera, a professional landscape photographer who works with companies including Sierra Designs, MSR, Mountainsmith and Cloudveil.

Matera, 38, of Seattle, is an avid hiker and backpacker who spends most of his time shooting in the Northwest, Alaska and occasionally in the Southwest. Matera spoke to us on the phone in between winter photo shoots to give us these quick tips on taking a good landscape photo.
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Some of the best trail runners in North America plan on hitting the trails of the Marin Headlands near San Francisco for The North Face Endurance Challenge Dec. 1. The North Face Endurance Challenge encourages runners to push their personal limits. The race features a 5K, half-marathon, 50K and 50-mile courses. The men’s and women’s 50-mile winner will each take home $10,000 in prize money.

In response to the terrible oil leak into the San Francisco Bay area and the nearby waters, a portion of every race entry will be donated to Save the Bay to protect and restore the damaged San Fran Bay area.

The event is hosted by Dean Karnazes, the renowned ultra-marathoner who ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.

For more info on the race, go here.

Adventure 16 San Diego was named one of the best “Sporting Goods” stores in San Diego in the KGTV Channel 10 News A-list. Adventure 16 San Diego tied for fourth place in the category.

KGTV Channel 10’s A-list is a local poll of the best in San Diego. Locals were encouraged to log-in and vote for their favorite stores and restaurants over an 8-week period. At the end of the voting, Adventure 16 ended up at the top of the list.

Congratulations to the Adventure 16 San Diego staff and thanks to the people of San Diego!

A friend of mine recently camped near the summit of Mt. Baldy. He said the ground was so hard and rocky that he couldn’t even stake down his tent.

Staking a tent on hard ground can be a challenge. I once watched a friend of mine work up a sweat while pounding his stakes so hard into a rocky ground. His stakes started to bend and he was on the verge of yelling at the top of his lungs.

There’s an easy solution to this problem – and it doesn’t even involve jackhammers or drill bits.

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National parks are home to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. One of the small negatives with NPs is they attract millions of people a year and sometimes that takes away from the sense of escape.

A small handful of casual park visitors don’t truly appreciate the park. Some litter. Some let their kids play handheld video games. Many of these people are unprepared. On a recent trip to Zion NP in Utah, I encountered dozens of these unprepared hikers.

Many of the heavily trafficked trails in Zion are paved to make uphill hikes easier – a blessing ascending, but pure torture on the way down. Descending the popular Angel’s Landing trail, a 5-mile round trip to an unbelievable lookout point in the canyon, I saw people walking backwards down the hill.

They were complaining about their toes jamming up against the front of their shoes and boots. The good Samaritan I am, I gave them a quick little tip on how to keep their foot securely in their shoe so their toes wouldn’t look like tenderized prunes at the bottom of the hill.

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North Face Fleece Jackets are some of the most popular items in outdoor clothing. Here’s an article about them and their technical features.