Adventure Weekend Ideas

Rafting in The Shadows of Mt. Hood

2007-09-27T11:18:27-04:00

To Read more about trips like this or book your own trip, visit Hitz Adventures

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Into The Wild

The Book of the month is Jon Krakauer's, "Into Thin Air." Out this month is the movie based on another Krakauer book featured in an earlier newsletter, "Into The Wild."

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If you are unfamiliar, it documents the life of Chris McCandless, a young men who goes off into the Alaskan wilderness to experience his own version of Thoreau's "Walden."

It made for a cool book, and hope the move will do it justice. If you get the chance, I suggest you check out this story of a restless youth. Below is a often quoted statement from McCandless...enjoy:

So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different Sun."

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Rafting in The Shadows of Mt. Hood

This month's feature is a recent trip to Oregon for rafting on the Deschutes river with some guys from Washington, California and Chicago.

I was eager to make the trip out West as it had been a while since my last visit. I read somewhere a quote, "Once you live West of the Mississippi, you will never go back East." I think that should be adjusted a little further west to the Eastern border of Colorado, but I definitely agree. Which is why I live in Detroit...?

The trip started in Portland, a very cool city tucked between the mountains. Portland is a pretty liberal city, not as fashionably alternative as Seattle, more raw and natural. Mt. Hood makes an incredible backdrop for the skyline.

The guys started streaming in Friday afternoon. After checking into Hotel Monaco we made our way over to a bar at the top of Portland's tallest building. It made for a great sunset view and atmosphere for the guys to catch up on each other's recent exploits. After drinks we polished off some meat and a nearby steakhouse. Portland's bars are all crammed within a 2 block radius, which is ideal for bar hopping. Portland is famous for their beer and music, and the group sampled both.

Morning came way too early as we had a 2 hour drive East to Maupin, Oregon for the rafting. I rallied the troops and loaded them in the van. After a quick stop at McDonalds we rounded the foothills of Mt Hood and arrived at base camp. The setup was pretty cool, as the rafting company had invested some serious coin to build a first class lodging and event center to surround their river operations. A far cry from a barn with some rafts and a couple showers in the woods.

We got them on the water right away. We were the only ones on the river and that made it a pretty cool experience as many times you are herded down the river like cattle. The water was freezing. I am usually ok in cold water, but this was above my threshold. We swam one rapid and that was enough of the macho stuff for me.

After rafting everyone picked a room at the lodge, each with a different theme (fishing, trains, etc). Guys walked up the road for dinner and drinks before coming back to the fire. I grabbed my sleeping bag and found a spot along the river under a bridge, for a night under the stars.

I woke up early and took a swim in the river...stronger than any Starbucks blend. After breakfast we took the shuttle back to town along the Gorge...another picturesque view. I dropped the guys off at the airport and boarded my flight back to Michigan.

The majority of the crew were lawyers, but don't hold that against them as they were good people and good friends who appreciated a weekend of outdoor adventure

[Watch the Video]

Until Next time.

Darren Hitz
Hitz Adventures
p:248.910.8152
f :480.393.4077
darren@hitzadventures.com
www.hitzadventures.com

Olympic River Rafting in Tennessee

2007-07-05T15:03:31-04:00

To Read more about trips like this or book your own trip, visit Hitz Adventures

http://www.hitzadventures.com/

It's Only When We Lose Everything That We Can Do Anything.

The above paraphrased quote is from "Fight Club", but it is also mentioned in this month's book of the month.

"Between A Rock and A Hard Place" is a story I am sure many are familiar with; boy goes climbing, boy gets arm trapped, and boy cuts off arm to escape.

What I wanted to talk briefly about is not the extreme spirit and determination this person possessed allowing him to overcome the life or death task in front of him, but the decisions he made before that day.

Our hero loved to climb and be outside. He was an educated man, with a great job at Intel, but gave it all up to live simply in Aspen, climbing, skiing and working at a mountaineering store. Even after losing his arm, he still climbs and lives an incredibly happy life.

Now, I am not standing on a soapbox telling everyone to quit their job and have fun all day or else I will have no more customers. Rather, remember, you are only here for a short while, and you can't take anything with you, so make sure you do something cool every once and a while. Whether that be climbing mountains, camping in the woods, traveling to Italy, or volunteering in your community.

This leads me to the quote I started this section with. As we separate ourselves from the cell phones, bluetooth, itunes, cars, mortgages...even for a weekend, getting as raw as possible, we see what is important and what we are truly capable of both physically and mentally.

And if we don't, the, "the things you own, will end up owning you." -Tyler Durden

All the best

Darren

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Olympic River Rafting in Tennessee

This trip was a small group of 5, all of whom went to school together at LSU back in the day.

I decided to go in on Thursday to Chattanooga TN to check out some of the natural scenery. I drove up Lookout Mt, which is a famous Civil War landmark. After walking through gaps in boulders about 2 feet wide at the top of this mountain, I came to an open area with a spectacular view of the surrounding area. Reading a plaque along the railing, I came to find that you were actually able to see 7 states from this ledge. I had to take there word for it as none of the states were color-coded like they are on the map. (That was a joke)

Anyway, when I got back to town, I was hoping the minor league baseball team would be playing that weekend as the stadium was awesome, but it was not to be. Long gone are the days of plywood centerfield walls with outfielders running through them to catch a fly ball.

The guys got in Friday and we got some dinner and hit some bars. Chattanooga is by no means a bustling metropolis, but as I like say, it has enough spots to get into trouble for a weekend, but after that you probably will get a little bored. We hit all the clubs and bars and toasted the group before it was back to the hotel for an early rise for rafting.

No problems getting everyone in the shuttle and out to Benton TN for rafting on the Ocoee (pronounced O-KO-E). The views were great along the river and afforded plenty of opportunities to jump out and float the river. This river is actually the river that the Atlanta Olympic Games held the Kayaking events. Many of the world-class kayakers train here...but these guys were not ready for any Eskimo Rolls on this trip.

After finishing the trip we hung out, grabbed some pictures and headed back to town. Although camping was an option, I think these guys had a deep appreciation for a warm bed and indoor plumbing, which was not a problem.

The group was really mellow and instantly made me feel as one of the gang. I enjoyed the weekend and hope to be back soon.

Until Next time.

[Watch the Video]

Darren Hitz
Hitz Adventures
p:248.910.8152
f :480.393.4077
darren@hitzadventures.com
www.hitzadventures.com

Weekend Adventure - Baja Mexico ATV

2007-04-30T10:29:48-04:00

To Read more about trips like this or book your own trip, visit Hitz Adventures

http://www.hitzadventures.com/

This trip starts in San Diego (I will resist the urge to tell you what Will Farrell thinks that name means in the movie Anchorman). Everyone flew in on a Friday afternoon, checked in the St. James in GasLamp and did a little tour of Old Town.

Old Town is a small neighborhood near Downtown San Diego that is as authentic Mexico as a US tourist trap can get. I thought I would get the guys ready for the real thing with a transitional area where they could practice 5th grade Spanish without the risk of insulting the locals and ending up in an Mexican prison.

After dinner we hit GasLamp and took in the sights and the sounds of the bars and clubs. It was an early night for me as I had to make sure we made the shuttle to Mexico in the AM.

There was no checkpoints going down to Mexico, and I thought that was strange until I realized...why would anyone need to sneak anything into Mexico?

We hit the Baja beach and spent the next few hours learning the art of high performance off-road ATV. I went off course for a bit and found myself riding in the surf (see image on left). I also found a way to flip the vehicle a couple times causing some serious bruising that would not show up until the following week. Those guys on TV that launch these things airborne and do some sort of Superman move...they make it look easy...don't try it...it hurts.

After we became masters in our own minds, we hit the highway (very scary) and went to an authentic Taco stand, a bit better than "Toxic Hell" (Taco Bell to the layperson). Following lunch we hit the mountains, where the trails were rocky and the views were incredible. One of the guys said that he was out of control and close to death about 30% of the time...I figured that was about right. I tried to blaze through a puddle and hydroplaned about 5 feet and promptly fell off and was soaking wet (I was slowly losing respect as the "Adventure Guy" with every minute).

We survived an incredible day and checked into the resort before meeting up with our guide, Marcus, for lobsters on the beach at Villa Ortega. The view was incredible and staying down here forever, leaving all our corporate troubles behind, did not seem so bad. We asked Marcus what he did when not riding. His response: "sleep"...and we all just nodded. It was one of those moments where you wanted to ask him, how he bought things and why he did not work more and he might answer with a simple, "Why?" And you would realize Marcus was smarter than you originally thought.

That night we were all pretty tired and just sat in the hot tub all night drinking Mexican beer and reliving our day (no one drinks Coronas).

Truly one of those unforgettable trips. One where you come home and try and tell someone about it and you get frustrated because you just can't convey the experience in words or pictures.

Watch the Video

Until Next Time,

Darren

Add It To THe List - Appalachian Trail

2007-02-25T10:25:28-05:00

Add it to the List.

This month's column is about one of those trips you must make before you die...hiking the Appalachian Trail.

I became inspired by this trip after reading the book mentioned on the right "A Walk in the Woods." Now I am not going to sit here and say I have immersed myself in this entire trip....yet, but I have bitten off a couple chunks, enough to further whet my appetite and share the experience with you.

A brief background. The Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a 2,174-mile hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. Along the way, the trail also passes through the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. The trail was originally conceived by Benton MacKaye, a forester who wrote his original plan shortly after the death of his wife in 1921. MacKaye's Utopian idea detailed a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work/study camps for city-dwellers.

A continuous trail that extends over 2,000 miles is pretty cool, but what is even better is that the path is maintained by thirty trail clubs from various states, working together to keep the path clear and the lodges up to code. It is kinda like the adopt-a-mile signs along the freeway. How it works is that you enter the trail somewhere along the 2,000 mile stretch, like jumping on a freeway. Then you hike 10 miles each day (give or take based on your goals). Each night you aim to make it to a shelter and swap stories with the other hikers. These shelters are not quite as luxurious as the Ritz, but it gets the job done.

Along the way you will run into these people that are attempting to hike the entire trail. The crazy part about this, besides the distance, is the timing. You need to start in Georgia as soon as the Spring hits in order to make it to Maine before the temperatures drop in the Fall! What is even crazier is that there are people that have accomplished this multiple times.

Like I said, I have not done the whole trail, and am not suggesting you try it straight out of the gate, but rather make it a great weekend adventure with the friends or family. If you ever want to do the whole trail, shoot me an email, I am open to the challenge. I can only imagine what a feeling of accomplishment accompanies this achievement.

In my attempt to give you a glimpse into the mind of one these incredible adventurers, I have provided a link to a Journal from a man that made the entire trip from April to September. He wrote in his journal every night and posted it on the Internet. Scan through, read a couple days and maybe it will inspire you to hit the trail.

All the best.

AT Trail Journal

Darren Hitz
Hitz Adventures
p:248.910.8152
f :480.393.4077
darren@hitzadventures.com
www.hitzadventures.com