Can you tell me what this is?

I have a little contest for you today. Below is a picture that I took from near the top of Dorr Mtn. Can you tell me the correct name of the rock structure?

Bonus points will be awarded if you give a little history bit about them as well! Good luck!

Hey don't forget to follow us on twitter: randomstreamoc

If you would like to contribute to RSOC please contact us at: randomstreamoc@gmail.com

It gets dark early in the shadow of giants: The summary you have been waiting for!

Faithful readers/ followers/ family and friends,

I am terribly sorry that I have not posted this thing yet, I am in agreement with you that it is far overdue. The following is a mid-length recap of my trip to the East Coast.

In early September, I was approached by Tim with an interesting opportunity, to redo a trip that he took at my age. It sounded awesome; New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and finally Maine. We agreed on a few small details; date, vehicle, tents, bikes and such.

We left the first saturday in October around 9 in the a.m. with little to no destination in mind for that day. The journey through Ohio and the small portion of Pennsylvania was very vanilla as it was expected. However upon arriving in New York state we were treated to a rolling landscape that is very much like that of Northern Michigan, more specifically the wine country, TC and Leelanau. Once we got into NY we decided on our first stop; Niagra.

The trip there was slow and at times tedious due to the roads and the state's love of the 45 MPH speed limit.

Upon arrival I felt like I was in the intro to a national lampoon film with all of the tourist trap signs one could handle! Despite the blatant commercialism, on both sides of the falls, it was a wonder to see; the sound, the mist, the volume and the height--> spectacular!

The lighting was not optimal so my shot does not really do it justice, but you get the gist.

The first night we left the falls at dusk and were faced with the challenge of finding a campsite rather quickly. We settled on Fourmile State Park, a clean, open park on the Southern shore of Lake Ontario. The gales of the night just about flattened the two man Eureka tent to the ground! 

In the morning we quickly packed up our gear and started off again. This day however, we had a moderate destination; the Adirondacks. Again the trip was long and slow, but at least now the terrain was becoming very interesting as the roadsides were lined with straight faced boulders, cliffs and ravines.

Our plan was to spend the night in the heart of the Adirondacks, but on the way we got sidetracked by a small roadside sign signaling a mountaintop lookout, complete with a fire tower. I was not going to pass this opportunity up at all. We parked the truck and started the hike.

The trip to the top was moderately quick and painless and offered many awesome views of the beautiful landscape:

Once at the top we waited, anxiously, as a family descended the rickety steps of the fire tower. Climbing to the top of the fire tower was a very cool experience, I would love to have had a job like that:

I would sit up here all day with a sweet view, warm coffee, mountaintop breeze and a good book.

After descending from the tower we traveled a short way to our sleeping spot for the night: Lake Durant State Park.

Lake Durant was unlike any other place on the trip, it was very serene. The lake itself was so flat and clear that it was almost to the point of being eerie. Our site was right on the lake which gave us the ability to launch the kayak.

Flat and clean, such is Lake Durant.

Blue Mountain, bummer we did not get to climb that bad boy.

What best accompanies a trip 'round a NY lake? How 'bout some NY state beer!

We ate like kings that night with all of the comforts of a five star establishment and I slept like one too, well that is if a king enjoyed sleeping on the ground, but like a king nonetheless.

Our plan for the next day was to explore all that Vermont had to offer, sadly we were not too impressed with its offerings so we kept on trucking East!

We settled in New Hampshire, at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain. The view of the giant from our site was obscured intermittently by branches so pictures were not worth a dime. I could not fully enjoy the view anyway due to the constant reminders of bears:

Well this looks safe.... right, haha

I ate little, cleaned up the juices like a fiend and oddly enough slept like a log! My dreams were wretched, but I slept so well that it did not really matter.

In the morning before packing up Tim and I took a hike down the ravine behind our site to an awesome mountain river complete with boulders and small waterfalls. If we were going to see a bear, this would have been the most awesome place for it to happen!

Packing up this camp site was pure bliss fore this afternoon we hoped to be on Mount Desert Island, virtually bear free and eating some fresh Maine Lobster!

Snapped a quick pic of this awesome sky!

Spent the day on the road battling NH drivers and their I will get there when I get there mindset, but the trip was worth it!

Snagged some lobsta fresh from the dock, we even bought some clams from a real salty dog.

After getting the grub we found a cool little campground near Bass Harbor. We set up camp like seasoned pros and began foraging for fuel for the fire; twigs, sticks, bark, logs, anything really. It was in this search that I stumbled upon this little guy;

This is Tim's best friend from the trip.

The first night on Mount Desert Island (MDI) was filled with snacks, drink and seafood:

Boil 'em and smash 'em with a rock, eat it up!

Day two on MDI began with a quick bike ride to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse:

This quaint beacon guides fishermen into Bass Harbor, a real life fishing town!

The area surrounding the lighthouse offers a quiet area that is perfect to take in the scenery, rest and ponder:

.... and as always: a place to play:

After moving camp to Blackwoods Federal Park on the East side of MDI Tim and I set off to see what Bar Harbor had to offer, but as was the case for most of the trip, we got sidetracked by climbing a mountain!

Mount Dorr stands 1,270 ft tall at the summit and offers an awesome view of a large portion of MDI:

We ascended the Ladder trail which features, you guess it; ladders on the very difficult sections. The hike up took 45 minutes or so, time really does not matter when you are on vacation I learned, however long it took it was most definitely worth it!

A guy could really do some thinking up here.

The top did not disappoint either:

After coming down we headed into Bar Harbor, a quaint tourist town with few of the usual traps!

As you can see it rained, a light rain at first and then pounding sheets fell to the ground, however the trip to town was a great success as I found the Puffin that I was set on finding! GREAT SUCCESS!!! 

When we got to our campsite there was enough light left for a rain hike to the coast, glad I did too 'cause I snapped these super cool shots!

On the hike I was also able to get a further understanding of how well the First Ascent Front Point works!

I left Tim to wander the coast and start one of his famous "night hikes" while I headed to the campground bathhouse to charge the electronics and jot some memories down on the ole blogster!

The rain did not let up and we had a mini feast in the tent thanks to jet-boil and campbell's soup!

Determined to continue the feast Tim fired up the jet-boil!

Again I slept well as the pelting rain and winds played a melody so perfect that only nature could have made it.

The rest of a trip was a real blur, we headed west to the mitten with blazing speed. We camped on Monadnock mountain in New Hampshire where we were the only people in the campground, we were also prowled upon by a late night visit from ranger rick, and nearly killed by raccoons in our sleep!

Get the full story!

The last day of the trip we racked up over 700 miles from New Hampshire to Michigan. What a haul that was!

I did learn one very important thing about camping in the mountains: it gets dark early in the shadow of giants.

The trip was awesome. I had a lot of fun and cannot wait to do something like that again in the future!

Until then it will be reviews, athlete profiles, event promotions and day hikes in this AWESOME state! MI all the way.

hope you all enjoyed this, don't stop following now; I have only just begun!

-J

ps: have you heard that the Pure Michigan campaign has been reinstated? Freakin WooHoo!

Tomorrow is the day

Faithful readers,

tomorrow I will be departing on the path to Maine. We have no itinerary, this should be a good time.

The cooler is full, the bikes are packed, kayak stuffed to the max. Items tied down, excitement level is very high.

Gone will be the familiarity of our beautiful mitten for adventure and exploring. We will be scaling walls, kayaking in the ocean, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, partying and finding treasures!

More to come later tonight. I have pics and an explanation of packing!

-J

So, packing packing packing, where to begin. I made a list a few weeks ago which was promptly lost. I made a valiant attempt to recreate that list, however I feel that that list was lacking, so I just began making piles of stuff and packing it into the bag.

I am pretty sure that I have everything packed. Watching a little Star Trek, enjoying some Leinie's Oktoberfest, and spending some quality time with C. Bromley before embarking tomorrow.

I fit all of those piles in my trekking bag.

Packed to the brim with all of the goodies that one could need for a multi-day trip.

Ready to go!

I will be using this trip to test out some of my newer jackets:

I am bringing a number of brands and weights, all with their own special features and claims. Hopefully they will provide favorable results.

Tim has allotted me space for my trekking bag, sleeping bag and a day bag.

For the day bag I selected the REI Traverse due to its ruggedness, waterproofing and capacity.

Since I am bringing the laptop and some camera equipment I plan on using my new Outdoor Products media backpack:

It will really help to keep things in order and safe from any unintentional impacts which will surely happen. So far this bag has been a good purchase, it holds everything in its own which is nice when you are traveling.

Well, it is time for bed, I leave you until probably Sunday morning. I hope you enjoy the weekend.

I leave you with a few pictures from my birthday trip home. Enjoy:

Taking some shots on the west fourty

This gnarled stump is a natural work of art.

A little grilled chicken at the Hart Motel, always a good time.

Chelsea picks out her first pumpkin at our new place, happy as ever.

I will talk to you all soon,

-J

(an early morning, scatterbrain post ) Random Stream of Consciousness Has a Birthday!

Dear followers,

today is birthday, day. A day to celebrate everything! A day of presents, love, pats on the back and recognition for one who has outplayed death one more time. However if you are RSOC, it is a day to go buy GEAR!!!! woo hooo!

Birthdays also mean money from people who would like you to get something that you really want. What do I really want you ask; stuff sacks, possibly a machete, sleeping bag stuff sack and a few other campy/outdoors-sy things.

So it is my birthday, I have the day off, and I will be taking myself shopping this morning.

This is ms. pepper, she is a new addition to the family.

Oh right right right, there was one other thing that I might buy; a book on wild edibles. I would like to start harvesting wild mushrooms when I can and a book would really help me out there.

I am impressed by a few things with the new Stylus Tough, but none really as much as the LED supermacro feature.

It appears to give you close-ups like with a light that makes it look like you really had to work hard to get it. I am going to try it out on bugs in poorly lit areas.

We went home this weekend. Did not catch any fish, but had a good time.

Mom taught the lovely C. Bromley how to make applesauce. Cool pics of a farm coming soon to her website, check em out!

Still really liking this thing, and its under-layer. It will definitely be making the trip to Maine with me.

23 years.... hmm, does a quarter life crisis exist? 

I recently got a really cool first ascent decal and stuck it on a powder blue Klean Kanteet, it looks really good. pics coming soon.

Pepper is breathing really heavy. It is almost like a purr-snore, how cute.

I think I may mini-adventure today, or maybe urban adventure!

I hope you all have a splendid day. (higher quality posts coming soon, like when I am really awake, or when I actually get out and do something!)

-J

One week and counting, plus a cool tidbit!

Dear followers,

the time is coming when I will be shoving off for about 10 days to pursue adventures of New England and I am very excited.

Mostly I am excited for Acadia:

I took out my new Stylus Tough 8010 today in some pretty harsh conditions: temp 55f, winds 20mph+, Lake Michigan Spray: 5-6' above pier.

As is the case most of the fall, the lake offers a beautiful, moody backdrop to any shot.

It was very cool.

That pic above was taken after I was drenched by a large wave. All it took was a quick wipe down of the lens cover and the Stylus was ready to continue shooting. I have not gotten much use out of it yet, but I can already see this becoming a go to piece of gear for me! It also came with some cool "ib" software program that I am excited to learn how to use.

In other news it is nearly my birthday. The best present that you all could give to me is to continue reading my blog, commenting, following it and telling your friends. Whenever you see something interesting or fun or informative just link it to your Facebook or Twitter. Every little bit helps. Thank you all very much.

While out east I will have very limited connectivity, however The Timster and I will be making daily stops at coffee shops and McDonald's in order to post news of our travels!

Cool Tidbit: Random Stream was recently featured on http://www.facebook.com/FirstAscent?ref=ts for our review of their shell! I would like to thank them for recognizing RSOC, and encourage them to keep up the good work. Glad to see them pairing up with Moosejaw too!

You will be seeing this flag all over the place in New England representin like what what!

Well well well, the time has come to fuel the beast inside with some of Gram's Ham! Family Birthday dinner is nearing. Take care. Fishing in the morning. Hopefully tomorrow night I will have some shots of steelies and salmon for you, as pier fishing was too blustery today to amount to much.

-J

FrontPoint By Eddie Bauer

Looking for a great lightweight shell to see you through the coming cool, wet, weather of the fall, Winter and possibly Spring?

Might I suggest the FrontPoint Jacket by Eddie Bauer.

I purchased this bright orange edition (the bright orange is no longer available, so I am one of the lucky ones) a few weeks ago when the weather was hot and humid thinking that I would not be able to wear it for a month or two. However over the past weekend i decided to bust it out on our short trip out to Old Baldy.

The winds were quite harsh at 30 mph, straight off the lake, and the temps were dropping. Needless to say I was very happy to have this shell to stave off the unseasonable chilly winds.

Even with a backpack on the pockets were very accessible. I especially like the interior chest pocket with its soft lining, perfect for a cell phone or handheld GPS unit. Another major point that I like about the pockets on this jacket is that the side pockets open by pulling down, a more natural motion when attempting to open them with cold, wet or gloved hands.

Hopping to it to see how durable the FrontPoint really is.

(It stuck the landing!)

The shoulders and arms of the FrontPoint are made of a very thin, high wear, waterproof material with reinforced seams everywhere, not just in wear zones. One really cool thing about the construction of this jacket is that the chest and back are made of stretchy, breathable material that is supposedly highly water resistant. This allows you to move around freely without getting the "tent effect" that most shells give by not allowing airflow.

The stretchable material helps you get into any position with comfort.

Overall after my first short trip out I am pretty happy with my purchase. I also purchased a Point Success midlayer jacket with this shell. I will be reviewing that shortly.

This shot is a little blurry, but it conveys that this jacket can really stand up to the elements.

Taking on "gale force" winds of Lake Michigan

Bottom line: so far, I would buy this jacket again.

If you would like to know some of the guidelines to selecting your own shell check out:
http://factoidz.com/how-to-select-an-all-weather-shell-jacket/

It will be worth your time!



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In other news,

• the trip to Maine is still green-lighted. Pretty excited.
• Mom called and confirmed that the new camera (ie, bday present to myself) is at my house.
• Chelsea Marie is still as hot as ever.
• work is going well.
• received new danvise fly-tying rotary vise from Timster as bday gift. 
• Life is good.
• Leinenkugel's fall sampler is out, time to sample.
• fall is approaching.

***All photos contained in this individual blog entry were taken/ edited by C. Bromley check her stuff out***

Just bought this bag for school. Gonna give it the once over and then let you know about it. You know, like I do!