As head of operations for Backwoods I frequently hear great compliments on our customer service and the knowledge of our staff. One such customer wrote the following card about Lauren Smith from the Tulsa, Oklahoma store.
As you may have seen by a previous posting, I recently completed Grandmother’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. What that posting didn’t tell you was that I was wearing a pair of socks from Feeture made from bamboo. I had trained in the very same pair twice before making the decision to run with them on race day. Great decision on my part! The socks are thick enough to provide additional cushion without taking too much space in your shoes. There was absolutely no rubbing or chafing and the wicking properties worked extremely well considering the temperatures and the fact that I was a fire hydrant of sweat most of the way. I would highly recommend these socks to anyone thinking of a long distance run.
The marathon was brutal. Temps were in the 80’s the whole time with little to no breeze. Over 500 people dropped out or were medically removed from the race. I finished in 4:39 (my worst race ever) but at about mile 16 I realized just finishing was going to be enough. My friend who ran with me started walking at mile 10 and then dropped out at mile 16. I had people next to me get physically sick. After I finished I heard that they were strongly considering closing the race due to the heat. Loads of fun!
-Brad Jerome
All the way to Uhuru!
Many people probably don’t get the chance to start the hike of a lifetime at midnight, but when the goal is to watch the sunrise over an entire continent it is a necessary evil. Such was the case with the Backwoods Adventures team on Sunday June 21st. Departing from Barafu camp in the cold night 8 climbers began the long journey up the steep trail to the summit of Kilimanjaro! I have to say that this team definitely exceeded my expectations as all 8 made it to Uhuru peak 19,340 ft above sea level!
This trip up the mountain lined up just perfectly, the weather, the team’s health, the comraderie, the strength of a unit working together all helped in everyone accomplishing their goal! The descent from Uhuru to Barafu to Mweka makes for a very very long day after a tough hike, but sipping cold Kili beer and listening to the songs of our local guides and porters no one was feeling any pain!!!!
We are now on our way to three national parks for our photo safari. Lake Mayara, Ngorongoro crater, and Terengerie. A fantastic reward for walking up the highest peak in Africa and the world’s tallest free standing mountain…..
A great day in Kili! Wow, I am thrilled to report that our entire group reached the “Top of Africa”! With a typical success rate of 50% – our 100% feat is a tremendous accomplishment. We summited about 7:30am after a night of climbing the 4000ft+ from our high camp. Everyone was feeling good and strong. And of course, a big celebration is planned for tomorrow evening! More later from our hotel tomorrow but I wanted to get the word out to friends and family that we’re all happy, healthy – and yes, a bit exhausted tonite!
My wife and I were camping with our two young boys in Smoky Mountain National Park, which is the most visited National Park in the U.S. Our first morning in the park we decided to knock out Cades Cove, which is the most visited attraction in the most visited National Park; pretty busy place. Cades Cove is an 11 mile loop of one-way traffic, along which you can stop to see log cabins, churches, a grist mill and other buildings, all part of a community that existed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Bears were on the radar from the start. The first stop we made was for a quarter-mile hike up to an old log cabin. Half way up the trail we hear a scream. A young girl ahead of us encountered a mama bear and her cub in the brush just off the trail. They were no where to be seen by the time we arrived. With two young boys in tow, that was just fine with me.
All the guide books said to expect heavy, slow moving traffic when visiting Cades Cove. We were about half way around the loop and traffic hadn’t been a problem, when all of a sudden it just stops, dead. We wait about 5 minutes before I decide to get out and have a look, and I see people out of their cars taking pictures at something in the road up ahead. Then I notice others with their cameras pointed back in the direction of the first group of people. It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen! There were at least 20 people milling around a young bear as casually as if he had been a cocker spaniel. No one seemed to wonder where mama was. Fortunately a Park Ranger quickly arrived to shoo away the tourists and the bear, who was in no particular hurry to leave.
Continuing around the loop we saw a total of three more bears, this time at a distance. They looked like they were grazing out in the meadows. There were two Park Rangers on hand to direct traffic, inviting people to stop and take pictures, as long as they were able to get all four tires off the road so as not to impede traffic flow.
First day out and we’ve seen five bears. Not bad! Going into this I thought we would be lucky to see one. Little did I know that the best was yet to come.
Day two, we decide to take the 1.5 mile round-trip hike up to Laurel Falls. Again, this is one of the most visited attractions in the park. It’s easy to get to, just off the main road, and the trail is paved the entire way, so we’re thinking this would be an easy, safe hike for the kids. Trouble. There is a “Danger” sign posted right at the trail head, cautioning to keep children under control, because there have been occurrences of death from children falling; as the trail winds up the mountain, there is a steep drop-off to one side the entire length of the trail. We venture forth.
Right away we meet people coming down the trail, warning us to turn around; there is a mama bear and two cubs up ahead, running back and forth across the trail. Apparently one or more had been in a tree, the tree broke, and the bears came crashing down causing them to be a little dazed and confused. We consider the warning, but decide to continue on. They entire way we meet people who either have seen the bears, or talked to someone who had. We reach the top to find a beautiful waterfall, but no bears. I’m not disappointed. Concern about keeping our boys from falling off the mountain was enough. I’m very happy not to have seen a bear on this hike.
After taking our photos, we head back down the trail. We meet hikers coming up, but this time no one is talking about bears, so we figure we’re in the clear, but remain alert just in case. Almost to the trailhead, I can see the road and parking lot through the trees, so I remove my three-year old son, Jordan, from my shoulders thinking he’s been riding long enough and can walk the rest of the way. We come around the last bend in the trail, and there’s mama and her two cubs, waiting for us at the trail head approximately 60 feet ahead.
My first concern is for Jordan, so I put him back on my shoulders, also thinking that this may help me appear a little larger to the bears. As we stand our ground and watch in awe, mama bear takes notice, and it’s pretty clear to all concerned who’s in charge. As if she knows the drill, she crosses the trail in front of us, and makes here way into the brush up the mountain side. Shortly thereafter the first cub follows. The second cub takes his time as he decides to stretch up on the “Danger” sign I mentioned earlier. I hear something moving in the brush, and turn to see that mama bear has worked her way around to our left, cutting the distance between us in half. We are slowly being surrounded! As the second cub works his way into the brush, I start working my family down the remainder of the trail and to the safety of our car.
This is one of those experiences that you ponder on many times afterwards. Did we make the right decisions? Should we have made our way back up the trail immediately upon seeing the bears? Was it a good idea to put Jordan back on my shoulders? Just how much danger were we truly in? I keep thinking about how fast mama bear could have closed the distance between us, especially after she had claimed the higher ground. The meeting between my family and a family of bears, alone in the woods, is definitely an experience I will always treasure, and hope will be a memory my boys will share with their children someday. However, once is enough!
– Rick Bodenhamer
Operations Manager
Wichita, KS
Another sunny day on Mt. Kilimanjaro 
. Today we conquered the Barranco wall as we travelled from Barranco camp to Karanga camp gaining about 1200 ft. in total altitude. The seven day Machame route is a great way to acclimatize and see the full beauty of Kili. By tomorrow night we will have almost trekked the entire Southern circumfrence of the mountain, seen 5 different ecosystems, and climbed close to 9000 ft to the high camp of Barafu.
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Bird chirps and blue skies greeted the group this Thursday morning. Everyone was happy to see the sunshine and rainless skies after two days of overcast and drizzle. The group all felt strong today on our longest day so far, Shira camp to Barranco camp. We climbed about 2200 ft to Lava tower, surpassing 15000ft, before descending about 1900 ft to camp. Although we only gained 300 total ft over last night, today was tough and I couldn’t be more proud of the everyone! The team did a great job…
As we sat this evening looking up at the Barranco wall and pondering tomorrows hike silence reigned. We had an amazing dinner and tired, satisfied hikers sat around the table thinking of down warmth, sweet dreams, and the beauty that awaits us in the Kili morning!!!
~Joe Koehly
Director of Creative Strategy & Outreach
Need to brag about my MSR Reactor stove. We just returned from Smoky Mountain National Park on our first family vacation with the kids. I chose the Reactor for this trip because of its speed; the ability to boil water in 3 minutes flat. I didn’t want to give the boys the opportunity to get into trouble while waiting for mom and dad to boil water to cook dinner, and boil more water to wash the dishes, and more for dad’s coffee (Java Juice), etc. No waiting required with this puppy. It performed as promised (I timed it). No kidding, boiling water can actually be fun!
Rick Bodenhamer
Backwoods Operations Manager
Wichita, Kansas
We are happy and healthy at Shira Camp. We walked in the mist and rain all day which actually proved to be great – cooler and kept everyone from overheating or getting sunburns. Everyone is well and feeling great this evening. It was a terrific sunset as we sat down to dinner as the clouds cleared! We had a beautiful view of the mountain and surrounding area. Everyone is excited and ready to head up the mountain further. More in the next day or two. Check out the awesome pic, after the jump… (more…)