We hosted our first yoga at Backwoods session.  Bryce from the Ashtanga Studio on campus corner was our instructor. He said the class was at a lower level than  a beginner class, but I’ve been doing yoga for quite some time and found parts of it to be a challenge. 

We had good attendance for our first class - both staff and customers.  One customer said she had stopped by the studio several times to pick up a schedule but had not been to a class and she enjoyed trying the class in a familiar setting and plans to try some of their upcoming sessions. 

Our plan is to invite different instructors into the store to lead a class so our customers…and staff too…can experience various yoga instructors and styles.  Many customers have expressed an interest in trying yoga or other activities, but don’t know where to get started.  So, we wanted to help with the first step.

~ Blossom Crews

Operations Manager, Norman, OK

Experience two of the world’s most famous hikes with adventure guides Joe Koehly & Steve Tickle at the Backwoods Adventures 2010 Spring Travel Show

Featuring: Trekking in Nepal & The Mont Blanc Circuit

Join Backwoods Adventures guides Joe Koehly & Steve Tickle to discover the beauty and culture of two of the world’s most famous and best hikes to two of the world’s most famous mountain ranges, Trekking in Nepal and the Mont Blanc Circuit.

We will highlight these two BWA gems with amazing photos, interesting travel details and an informative question and answer session with our BWA guides.

Show begins at 7pm. No reservations needed.

Austin, TX – Monday, February 22
Fort Worth, TX – Tuesday, February 23
Oklahoma City, OK – Wednesday, February 24
Norman, OK – Thursday, February 25
Tulsa, OK – Friday, February 26
Wichita, KS – Monday, March 1
St. Louis, MO – Tuesday, March 2
Omaha, NE – Wednesday, March 3
Overland Park, KS – Thursday, March 4

I was invited recently to the Tulsa Fly Tying Extravaganza. The Tulsa Fly Fishers put together this event to expose more folks to fly tying. Most are fly fishers and some are just attracted to the beauty of what you can produce. Robert Mohrmann, a sales associate in the Oklahoma City store and I went to join the festivities.

After the short dive we stopped by to say “howdy” to gang in the Tulsa Backwoods. We arrived to the event early to get set up and found there were already some tying and a few early birds. We thought that 30 minutes early would give us plenty of time to get set up. We had folks very interested in what we were going to tie and demostrate before we could open the tying kits.

Robert took on the Meat Whitsle fly. A pattern that can be used for cold or warm water species of fish. He was tying the white Meat whistle for the  threadfin shad that is eaten by many of the fish in our area. I took on the Ice nymph that was developed by Larry Kingrey. He uses it for the Arkansas River in Colorado. Since our Backwoods Adventures run trips in the Spring and Fall to this area, I was very interested in tying and using it. This fly is great as a dropper off the back of a dry fly. The group was very interested in somthing new and different.

I had printed 30 fly recipes for a handout and they were gone almost imediatley. The crowd was over a hundred and there were 20 other tyers demonstrating. All types of flies were collected from the tyers for a fundrasing event in the future.

I was very glad to have been invited. The folks that were coming through and observing were asking many questions bout the flies and how we tied them. All in all a great event. I am sure that we convinced some folks to join the fun in tying your own flies.

I think that this was the second year for the event. I have already had several call me to get more information on the flies we tied and where to fish them.

We do have a regular monthly meeting at the Oklahoma City store for anyone interested in fly tying. I have plenty of equipment to loan if you don’t have your own. Long winter day’s are the best time to fill your fly boxes and dream about that next fishing trip.

- Tom Adams

General Manager, Oklahoma City, OK

Pam on Elk Mountain

The Norman Backwoods Hiking Club seems to bring sunshine wherever they go! On January 16th, Ira Ralston (Sales Associate) and Pam Cherek (Sales Manager) led a group of 33 eager hikers to the Wichita Mountains of Southwest Oklahoma. Our goal – to break free of the cabin fever that dominates the dead of winter, stretch our legs, breath the fresh air and have FUN!

The Dragoo Family

The day began gray and gloomy. The large turnout was surprising, since the skies looked as though they could open up at any moment. But these are not fair-weather hikers, my friends.  As we gathered at the trailhead and began our climb toward the top of Elk Mountain, the clouds began to part, the sun began to shine, and big smiles began to appear on people’s faces.

At the top, we relaxed, gazed upon the vast horizon, ate lunch, and took some time to explore the large boulder fields that dominate the landscape. New friends were made, pictures were taken (some a little goofier than others), and we played with Sailor, the lovable Labrador retriever. Eventually, it was time to head down.

Wow, what a group!

People join these hikes for many reasons. Jim was training to hike the Grand Canyon. Bill and Susan include these hikes as part of their ever-active lifestyle. Some people join us because of the “safety in numbers” aspect. No matter what the motivation is, I think we can all agree that something special happens each month in Oklahoma, and we’re happy to be part of it. It’s great to work for a company that encourages active lifestyles and supports local communities!

Harvard Study: Barefoot Running Better
SportsOneSource Media     Posted: 1/27/2010

According to a study from Harvard researchers, runners who eschew shoes may be less likely to do serious injury to their feet because they hold their feet differently. Writing in the journal Nature, Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and colleagues found that runners who wear shoes tend to hit the ground with their heels first, whereas barefoot runners put the balls of the feet down first.

“People who don’t wear shoes when they run have an astonishingly different strike,” Lieberman said in a statement. “By landing on the middle or front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision, much less than most shod runners generate when they heel-strike.”

“Most people today think barefoot running is dangerous and hurts, but actually you can run barefoot on the world’s hardest surfaces without the slightest discomfort and pain. All you need is a few calluses to avoid roughing up the skin of the foot.”

Lieberman and his colleagues at Harvard, the University of Glasgow, and Kenya’s Moi University studied runners who had always run barefoot, those who had always worn shoes and runners who had abandoned shoes. Barefoot runners had a springier step overall, and used their calf and foot muscles more efficiently, they found.

People used to running in shoes should not start barefoot trotting right away, Lieberman cautioned. “If you’ve been a heel-striker all your life, you have to transition slowly to build strength in your calf and foot muscles,” he said.

But he noted that evolution is on his side.

“Humans have engaged in endurance running for millions of years, but the modern running shoe was not invented until the 1970s,” Lieberman said.

Congratulations to Nichole Upshaw – a Fort Worth Backwoods customer!!

Nichole is the winner of our December Jackson Hole Trip Giveaway contest.  This contest was sponsored by Marmot and we had nine runner-ups from each store that each won a Marmot Superhero jacket.

Make sure you are on our email list, so you can stay current with the events and promotions going on at your local Backwoods.

Today the Backwoods Buyers are boarding a plane and heading to Salt Lake City, Utah for Outdoor Retailer (OR)…four days of non-stop action.  If you haven’t heard of OR, here is the lowdown straight from their website at www.outdoorretailer.com.

The Outdoor Group shows of Nielsen Business Media draw the buying power of the 26 Billion dollar industry of the active outdoor industry, including hiking, climbing, lifestyle apparel, skiing, adventure travel, endurance sports, footwear, paddlesports and much much more.  The industry is the fastest growing “lifestyle” category in the marketplace, with apparel and footwear driving the business in mountain, coastal and urban centers around the world.  Over 40,000 attendees come each year to both the Outdoor Summer and Winter Market tradeshows, to exhibit, attend and interact over 4 days in Salt Lake City, Utah, home of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and one of North America’s epicenters for the active outdoor lifestyle. 

The buyers will have the opportunity to see the latest and greatest products for the Outdoor Industry.  We look forward to hearing all about it when they return and to hear about the annoucement of Outdoor Nation that will be taking place this summer in New York.

OK, let me start by apologizing for the delay in getting the follow up to my trip posted. My wife and I had a baby girl since I posted last and it has kept us pretty busy.

So, when last I reported in I was on my way to a day of trout fishing on the Guadalupe with local guide Dan Cone.

We did a full day float trip covering the stretch of river from the 4th crossing to just below the 3rd crossing. The morning was pretty slow and Dan and I spent a lot of the time talking about the spots to fish along the river, and what to look for when reading the water.

At about 11:00 I hooked into my first fish. It was a nice sized rainbow that I fought for about 2 minutes before it jumped out of the water and broke off my line. Once the adrenaline subsided I asked Dan what I did wrong to loose the only hit I’d had. With no hesitation he said that I didn’t keep my rod tip up, or at least bent, and that it caused all the shock absorbtion to go out of the line, resulting in a broken off fish.

Needless to say, the shame was unbearable, but at least I had learned a lesson I would not soon forget.

We floated along for about another 2 hours before I had a chance to redeem myself. At about 1:00 we were fishing a series of deep cuts in the rock that makes up the river bottom. I was at the very end of my drift and as I picked my line up I felt a subtle take that turned into a swift run. This time I kept the bend in my rod and was rewarded with a very respectable fish.

There is a certain unease I feel on any fishing trip that is omnipresent before I land my first fish. I guess you could call it a dread of getting skunked for the day and having to go home and answer the inevitable “did you catch anything” question with a negative response.

Anyway, once that first fish is in the net, the rest of the day is gravy!

A little further down the river we stopped to fish a spot that Dan said had been pretty productive for him, and within a couple of cast I had a fish hit my flie like it was a great white slamming into a seal. It broke off the line before I had a chance to even react. Again I looked at Dan to instruct me on what i did wrong. This time he just smiled and said it must have been a BIG fish. No worries, as I was already riding the gravy train.

A little later in the afternoon I caught my final fish of the day. It was another good sized rainbow that fought beautifully.

What little of the day that remained was spent watching the Ospreys soar above the river looking for pockets of fish, enjoying the last of the sunlight as it filtered down through the trees on the bank, and reflecting on all the information Dan had relayed during our float together. I had learned a lot about where to fish, what to fish, and how to fish on the Guadalupe, plus I had a couple of really nice fish to talk about when I got home. Not a bad day at all.

I also had a chance to put my new gear to the test. We spent most of the day nymphing from a raft, so I really didn’t have the need to cast long distances very often.  I did noticed a dramatic improvement in the accuracy of my casts, and found that getting the line out to 20-30 feet was effortless with my new Flight series rod from Sage. I also felt like the upgrade of the line to the Rio Gold line I had put on made my casting easier. My Able TR-2 reel was the perfect fit for the kind of fishing I do on the Guadalupe. It’s simplicity is what I liked best. You don’t need a fancy drag system when you are fishing for rainbows and palming the reel when a fish is making a run just feels right. All in all, I couldn’t be more pleased!

If you would like to get a little more info on what I fished and some of the technique pointers that Dan gave me you can go to the Backwooders website and follow the discussion in the Texas Fly Fishing Group.

http://backwooders.com/group/texasflyfishing

-Rob Morales

Backwoods Gear Buyer

I started fly fishing about 5 years ago. I had been working for Backwoods for a year or so and was ready to try something new. It was not something that I took to right away. Off and on I would go fish here and there around where I was living. With so much involved in fly fishing I was tentative to jump in with both feet. So many techniques, styles, locations, materials, gear needs, different weights of rods and lines, etc, etc.
It was about this time I really started to lean on my resources to learn more about all the aspects of fly fishing. Eric Schmidt, Tom Adams, Ron Meyer, Tom Dolphin, Stephen Woodcock were all in my line of fire. No one was safe from the countless questions that I would rattle off at machine gun speed. And trust me, there were (and to be honest still are) some doosies… However, regardless of the trivial material I seemed to wonder about, all of these fellows were more than happy to speak to me about how to improve, learn, and apply this knowledge to wherever I might be fishing. Most of the time this pestering occurred during our trips to the Arkansas River in Colorado during our Backwoods Adventures fly fishing trips. It was a great place to ponder, ask, learn, and then try to see if I could improve by hitting the water for hours on end….
About a week ago I made the hour long drive from my home in Durango to the famed San Juan River in Northern New Mexico to see if I could fool a large Rainbow into taking the offered “meal” on the end of my line. It was a nice winter day, little breeze to speak of, the sun was high and the temps were in the mid 30’s. There were just enough rays of warmth to keep the thoughts of cold fingers and toes at bay, and keep my mind on the river. After spending some time studying my chosen bend I decided to fish a small seam off a nearly submerged boulder near the far bank. I entered the river carefully and waded my way closer to my desired casting point. I had fixed a size 22 BWO on the end of my monofilament tippet and cast my fears and trepidation aside, and my fly toward the seam…..

The result, no doubt, was due to the headaches I had caused those who I had pestered and pestered and pestered (and will continue to) over the years.
For those of you out there who may be interested in fly fishing and are either overwhelmed or not even sure how to get started there are some great resources in your neighborhoods or cities. Stop by your local Backwoods with a fly fishing department and speak with one of the aforementioned gentleman about how to get started. Please don’t worry about giving them any headaches… you can blame it on me, as I have been the cause plenty of times before;-)

Thanks fellas, next time we meet the cold beers are on me….

Joe Koehly
Backwoods Adventures Director & Guide
316.200.5780

This past weekend Kennedy Pena, Rob Morales and I ran the Bandera 25K trail run in Bandera, Texas. It was a balmy 16 degrees at the start for the 235 runners of the 25K. This course is typical Texas Hill Country fare. Lots of short steep up & down with no switchbacks, seasoned with scrub and cactus that tend to bite, scratch, and sting.  From my perspective it was an oustanding run that continues to amaze me by how only 15 miles can humble a person.  Rob stated “The course was challenging, the venue was beautiful, the participants and volunteers were all super nice. I’m already looking forward to next year!” and Kennedy said “The Bandera Trail Run was just as rugged, hilly, and rocky as promised – along with the 16° start temperature,  ever-present horse patties, and cactus, this 15-miler really puts you to the test. Would I do it again, heck yes!”  So for those of you who were there congratulations on a great run, for those who weren’t, see you there next year!

- Brad Jerome

VP of Operations