Considering a multi day excursion out to Death Valley in January. What are some killer day hikes to do in Death Valley? Are there any easy to moderate backpacking trails that you would recommend? Probably not gonna backpack when I’m there due to the water situation, but still want to here what options I’d have should I change my mind, Are there also any sights accessible by road that I should check out while there? I also heard that dispersed camping is allowed 1 mile from most roads in the park – I assume this means I’d have to backpack my gear out from the car and leave my car on the side of the road – correct?
Is there anything else I should know about/prepare for in DV before going? I’m a formerly seasoned camper/backpacker returning from a 2year hiatus on this trip.
Happy Thanksgiving, America! Despite our nation’s problems and the ongoing degradation of our liberty, we still have a lot to be thankful for! — On November 28th, 1520, Magellan finally reached the Pacific Ocean after navigating the dangerous straits on the southern tip of South America that now bear his name. He became the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic. Next year will be the 500th anniversary of this event. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for …
Bullies are weaklings who pretend to be tough. Snowflakes are weaklings who prefer to be weak. They both represent extremes of dysfunctional and maladaptive behavior. They can also be viewed as a circular rather than linear model.
Snowflakes do plenty of bullying by their incessant whining and reporting their outrage to sympathetic third parties They use their victim stance to gain power and force their will on others. Bullies use a cruel and counterfeit model of strength to force their will on others. Neither does well under stress.
The short version: I don’t want the company of either. I would rather be by myself. However, you may not have that choice. In the workplace, you will have to deal with bullies and snowflakes.
You may have them for neighbors. You may have them in your family. Alternatively, you may find yourself in the company of both if things go sideways and land shit-side up.
Bullies
Bullies are cruel, angry, and sadistic. They are among the most despicable human beings. They may have antisocial or narcissistic personality disorder. They are miserable people who can only feel good when they are hurting others.
They have a compulsion to dominate others, physically, or intellectually, or socially. They delight when their victim cringes, submits, is outraged, or simmers with suppressed rage, or acquiesces to their demands.
The only momentary relief they get from the psychological pain they hold inside themselves is when they make someone else hurt. Most bullies pick and choose their targets with care; weak men, women, children or animals. In addition, they are well represented among domestic abusers.
I have noticed that domestic abusers don’t do very well when their victims fathers, brothers, uncles and male friends intervene. They tend to fold up and suddenly become very humble and apologetic.
They are epidemic in elementary school, middle school, high school; they dominate the weak in venues from factories and offices, to correctional facilities.
They want to be in charge, but they have no leadership skills, and no concern or consideration for the good of the group. They tend to lack fortitude, character, and honor. They project a counterfeit strength to compensate for their weakness.
Some Reflections on the Complexity of Human Psychology
What does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche, in Die Götzen-Dämmerung (Twilight of the Idols), [1895 ]
Now for a reflection on the complexity of human psychology. Some suggest that bullies serve to fortify and strengthen weaker people through their abuse.
If you have never experienced hardship, adversity, and challenges, if you have grown up sheltered and spoiled, how will you cope when life inevitably does not go your way?
The outcome of being bullied, like almost all experiences, will mostly depend on how we perceive it. It will wear you down and make you crumple, or train you and make you tougher and stronger. How we look at our experiences, how we perceive them will determine the degree of distress we experience.
This idea is rooted in Stoicism, the Greek philosophy which is the basis of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT involves identification of maladaptive and dysfunction thinking.
Once these cognitive errors are identified, their validity can be rationally challenged. They can be discarded and replaced with more realistic and useful thoughts. In this way, we build mental fortitude and toughness.
Option A
Bullying can make one cringe from hardship and adversity and avoid challenges. A Bully’s cruel insults can be internalized by their victims, and they will see themselves as weak, ugly, stupid, a loser, or whatever else they are labeled as.
Bullying can make you submissive, always trying to please others and not make anyone angry so you don’t experience their wrath. Bullying can make you an emotional wreck, fragile and quick to yell in rage or burst into tears or shake with fear at the slightest threat. You may lose all sense of value, and spiral downwards, becoming even more submissive, and allowing others to dominate you even further.
Option B
Bullying can also be an opportunity to learn how to withstand hardship, and how to develop a deeper sense of self-worth when you are subjected to abuse that you do not internalize.
It can teach you how to be assertive, how to manage your emotions, and how to value yourself. You can gain self confidence when faced with later hardships, telling yourself that you have endured worse situations. You can decide with a deep determination that nobody will ever dominate you again.
Snowflakes
Snowflakes are sensitive, frail, fragile, and delicate. They tend to be physically weak, and have emotional breakdowns when challenged, and feel unsafe in response to words or ideas. Yet they can wield tremendous power in their victim role.
People tiptoe around them, try not to upset them, lest they have a dramatic meltdown, cause a public scene, and make everyone uncomfortable and embarrassed. Managers in the workplace indulge their complaints.
They have to have things their way or they have a breakdown and become hysterical. While Snowflakes make very attractive targets for bullies, as observed in the Introduction, they are ironically bullies themselves.
Building a Team
It can be hard to of any pros for either bullies of snowflakes. The cons are numerous, and mostly described above. However, a crisis situation can bring out the best as well as the worst in people. What to do if you are stuck with them?
First, anyone who wants to go out on their own, let them go. You may be better off on your own, or with a core group that intuitively realizes that in a crisis situation, mutual survival is dependent largely on teamwork.
Whoever sticks around, work to bring people together to function as a team. Small group dynamics will be acted out in pretty predictable ways whenever you get a small number of people together. There will be leaders and followers.
Someone will have to step up and get the group united and working together. One way to do this is the path of least resistance, and letting people default to the familiar. What do people in the group know best? Where is there familiarity and comfort zone?
Find Everyone’s Gifts
What I have discussed thus far is mostly about personality. From a different perspective, identify what people bring to the table in terms of abilities.
Give everyone a job to carry out. The anxious snowflake may be the equivalent of a wound up five-pound yappy dog that throws a fit over the littlest noise. Make them a lookout.
The tough guy bully? Now is his chance to step up and show he has real courage. Can someone cook or bake? Or sew? Is someone strong enough to carry a heavy load? Does anyone have any medical training? Find out and be the glue that binds the group together.
Conclusion
Which are you?
Are you a bully? Do you get off on dominating and abusing others? Great way to hide and overcompensate for what a pathetic scared loser you are isn’t it.
Find a good counselor. Stop mistreating other people. Do you know what is going to happen to you if you don’t stop? You will wind up alone, and even more bitter, angry and resentful toward others and the world, and become even more filled with contempt and hatred for yourself.
Are you a snowflake? Why are you deliberately embracing weakness? You are just asking to be victimized, led, or dominated. I know there is a lot of power in being a victim. The need for power is a fundamental human need.
There are much better sources of power. Find one. Examine your irrational thoughts and understand you can’t always have things your way. Stop being so easily led by the leftist rhetoric you are bombarded with, and take the Red Pill.
Security overload leads to apathy. How often do you hear a car alarm go off and roll your eyes hoping the owner would disable the blasted thing before the incoming headache comes a knocking? The primary objection I have to such systems is they work too well. Every week I hear an alarm being triggered […]
We’ve mined the web for the best home security system reviews in 2015 and piled all of the nuggets here for easy pickings. You won’t find any desktop reviews or …
Several months ago, we were contacted by the American company Wama which specializes in hemp underwear. They asked us to test some of their products and since we love to test base layers, we of course agreed. Now, hemp is not the most well-known material and before we got in touch with Wama, we didn’t really know much about it. According to online sources hemp garments are usually breathable, strong, UV resistant and odor-resistant (antimicrobial). Nevertheless, there is very little information available online on hemp as a performance fabric. Therefore, we were curious to test the Wama underwear on hiking trails and see how it performs.
I received a pair of Wama Boxer Briefs and a pair of Wama Trunks. I thoroughly tested both garments on various hikes here in Denmark and I also wore them for running, gym training and other activities. Below is what I learned about Wama underwear.
Wama underwear is suitable for:
Everyday use
Hiking in warm and dry weather
Material
Wama Boxer Briefs and Wama Trunks are made of hemp, but they feature organic cotton and spandex fibers as well. Hemp is in general mostly mixed with other fibers for garments because it’s not very soft to the touch on its own. Nevertheless, it is supposed to get softer with every wash. The Wama underwear thus contains the following blend of fibers; 53% hemp, 44% organic cotton and 3% spandex. The cotton fibers make the garment softer and spandex fibers add stretch and recovery performance.
Both the Wama Boxer Briefs and Trunks are made of the same material and when I unwrapped them, I was surprised how strong the fabric is. It’s much more robust than polyester or Merino wool and thus I assume that this underwear will also have a longer lifespan. Both products are also very pleasant to the touch and feel nice against the skin. However, I did notice that the fabric is a bit thicker than the fabric of my other performance underwear. Nevertheless, it’s surprisingly porous for its thickness, which is good in terms of breathability.
While I was testing the Wama underwear I focused on breathability, moisture-wicking properties, drying time and odor-resistance. These are in my opinion the most important qualities when it comes to performance underwear. I wore the Wama Boxer Briefs for the first time on a long hike here in Denmark and I was impressed over the comfort at first. I noticed that despite the relatively thick fabric, the boxers provide good breathability. Many of my much thinner polyester boxers are not as breathable as the Wama boxers. To confirm this, I conducted a simple experiment of blowing air through the various fabrics of my performance underwear and observing the “resistance”. The Wama underwear is indeed some of the most breathable underwear I have.
However, when the intensity on the hike increased, and I started sweating I was less impressed with Wama underwear. While the boxers nicely pulled the moisture from my skin, they also absorbed most of it. Therefore, they dried slowly, and I got cold during every pause on the hike. I’m quite sure that the culprit is the high percentage of cotton fibers in the fabric and I’m indeed very curious how the hemp underwear would perform if it had been blended with Merino wool or polyester fibers instead of cotton. For more information about the various materials do check my guide to base layer materials.
After the hike I didn’t wash the underwear immediately in order to see how odor resistant it is. I can confirm that it does provide a certain level of odor resistance and doesn’t become as smelly as for example polyester underwear. However, it’s not as odor resistant as Merino wool underwear which you can basically wear for weeks and it won’t become smelly. The lower level of odor resistance is probably due to the high percentage of cotton as hemp is fairly odor resistant on its own according to many sources.
Comfort, fit, sizing and functionality
The Wama Boxer Briefs and the Wama Trunks fit tightly to the body and I found them so comfortable, I started wearing them for everyday use. The fabric feels nice against the skin and because it’s very stretchy it provides good freedom of movement. I also haven’t encountered any chafing or rubbing so far. The Wama Boxer Briefs are with the inseam length of 6 inches slightly longer than the Wama Trunks which have the inseam length of around 2 inches. I prefer the Wama Boxer Briefs but that’s purely a matter of personal taste.
Both pairs of underwear feature comfortable flatlock seams and a printed label to prevent chafing. The waist band is soft and provides good stretch. The Wama Boxer Briefs also have a fly. I got both garments in size XL and they fit me perfectly (my waist circumference is 94 cm / 37 in.). As most of my other performance boxers are in size L, I think that Wama underwear runs small. So, if in doubt, size up.
Washing and drying
Wama underwear can be machine washed at 30º C, but you should steer clear of softeners and bleach. The underwear also shouldn’t be tumble-dried. As the material is very robust, I don’t think that washing the garment regularly will reduce its lifespan.
Verdict
The Wama Boxer Briefs and Wama Trunks have become my underwear of choice for everyday use because they are breathable, durable and very comfortable. Furthermore, both garments are made of natural materials and provide great fit and support. However, for hiking and sports there are better options out there. The Wama underwear simply absorbs too much moisture and dries too slowly to be efficiently used for activities that make you sweat. I won’t go into details why sports require quick-drying clothes here but if you are interested in the topic check out my article Why should you wear quick drying clothes. That being said, I do think that Wama makes great everyday apparel which is not only functional but also environment friendly. Hemp doesn’t require pesticides or enormous amounts of water to grow like cotton, and is naturally biodegradable. So, it might very well be that hemp clothing has a bright future.
If you have any questions about this product, drop me a line in the comments below.
Outdoor enthusiast with experience in all types of hiking and mountaineering. Hiked in the Alps, Iceland and other countries. In love with via ferrata trails and snow-covered slopes. Check out my hikes.
On November 21, 1916, Britannic, the sister ship to the Titanic, sinks in the Aegean Sea, killing 30 people. In the wake of the Titanic disaster, the White Star line had made significant modifications to the design of the ship, but on its way to pick up wounded soldiers near the Gulf of Athens, it was rocked by an explosion causing even more damage than that which had sunk the Titanic. Many of the dead were from some of the crew who attempted to launch life boats while the Captain tried to run the ship aground. The life boats were …
I couldn’t believe what a student told me in Science class a few years back!
“You grow meat in the ground.”
What!?
I fought back the urge to laugh. He was dead serious. Clearly, “No Child Left Behind” wasn’t working, or was it. We’re all ignorant on certain subjects, but growing meat in the ground?
This was not a joke or prank like asking a plumbing apprentice to fetch the pipe stretcher off the truck.
His alienation from the real world was all too evident, alarmingly so, as he truly believed what he believed. I dug deeper. He said, as if this was common knowledge, “They (rancher-farmer) buy meat, like rib eye, unwrap the plastic, and bury the steak in the ground like garden seeds. It grows and farmers pick it, re-wrap it in plastic and people buy it in the grocery store.”
Yup, this conversation happened. It felt like the scene from Neverland in the movie Hook. I was in the middle of a rainbow-colored food fight with the Lost Boys screaming BANGARANG!!
My ‘Lost Boy’ had never been to a farm. Ever. He’s not alone. The complete lack of hands-on experience with the real world, not the electronic variety, is at epic levels.
Students stitching bark baskets.
Our children have lost a vital, primal connection with nature, the real world. They suffer from a condition called Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD).
The term coined by Richard Louv in his book Last Child in the Woods, is a result of our plugged-in culture which keeps kids and adults indoors. On average, kids spend 1,200 hours per year staring at electronic screens. The disconnect from nature goes against what human brains are hard-wired to experience… the Great Outdoors!
Research shows that children who learn and play outdoors are enriched personally and academically in many ways:
Improved attention spans
Enhanced creativity
Increased academic success
Improved reading comprehension
Higher levels of self-discipline, language and social skills
The cure for NDD is simple. Get outside.
“It is one of the blessings of wilderness life that it shows us how few things we need in order to be perfectly happy.” – HORACE KEPHART, Camping and Woodcraft, 1917
From personal experience with my oldest grandson, introducing him to woodcraft skills created a hunger to get outside. After his first hike to my fixed camp in the woods, he was noticeably anxious. Within 15 minutes of settling in, he turned to me and said, “Ya know Pops, I don’t feel so scared now.”
Professionally, I’ve witnessed transformations in students diagnosed with all sorts of three and four-letter ailments. This study reinforces my observations. Students who struggle to function inside the four-walled school-house seem to thrive outdoors. I’d argue that all students, especially those who willingly conform to the box-mentality, need to go wild.
The Hand-Brain Connection
Instead of swiping a finger over a pad, children need to touch dirt, clay, wood, leather, fibers, animals, hand tools, and day-old campfire charcoal. Using fingers and hands to manipulate tools to create useful things from nature’s resources builds the relationship with the real world. Hands-on learning with reflection on the act of doing the stuff gives a depth of experience no book or screen can offer. Experience is the rocket fuel for learning.
Cutting rounds for “burn and scrape” spoons and bowls.
Junior high shop class supplemented the hands-on education I caught from helping my daddy in his plumbing and welding business. I use the term “caught” since that’s how Daddy passed on his trade skills. Mr. Johnson, our shop teacher, taught us how to use all the cool power tools in that dusty cinderblock classroom. And we made stuff, some of which I still have to this day. No bloody fingers were left on the table of that monstrous radial arm saw either. Helicopter parenting was not a thing during the Nixon Administration.
The tree stump in front of our single-wide trailer must have had a coffee can of nails sunk into it. I’d sit there and smash steel, and my thumb occasionally, into wood grain like it was my job. I was 8 or 9 at the time and content to “waste” nails. The repetitions served me well on a few tree houses in my youth, and the subfloor in our new house Daddy built in 1975.
There are still Lost Boys out there shouting BANGARANG!, out of touch with the real world. There was, and I still have hope that there can be, a generation of boys and girls who fixed their own flat bike tires, carried pocket knives to the woods, picked rows of butter beans, and were content to be swallowed up by nature.
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
In the summer, we were contacted by the British start-up company Apex International which specializes in water bottles for outdoor sports. The company currently only offers one insulated water bottle (500 ml) in two different colors, but after checking technical specifications and product description we were excited to test the water bottle. Thus we got a sample in return for an unbiased review.
We received the Apex International water bottle at the end of the summer which was perfect because we were then able to test it in both warm and cold conditions. For the last couple of months, we’ve been using the Apex insulated water bottle on hikes, for everyday use and while travelling. We used it not only for water but also for tea, coffee, soup and other beverages. Below is what we learned about the Apex International insulated water bottle.
The Apex International water bottle is suitable for:
Hiking
Mountaineering
Backpacking
Travelling
Everyday use
Materials
The Apex International water bottle is a so-called vacuum bottle (also called vacuum flask) which means that it consists of two bottles – one is placed within the other. The air in the gap between these two bottles is then extracted which creates vacuum. This minimizes heat transfer as vacuum is the world’s best insulator and if a vacuum bottle is constructed well (i.e. very little contact between the two bottles), it can keep beverages hot or cold for many hours.
When I unwrapped the package, I immediately noticed that the bottle is robust and made of high-quality materials. It performed well keeping cold drinks chilled in warm weather but I was really curious to see how it would work in colder weather. So, one evening when the temperature had dropped below 10° C, I poured boiling water into the bottle and left the bottle outside for 12 hours. The night temperatures were between 5° and 8° C and 12 hours later the water in the bottle was still very hot – actually the perfect temperature for drinking without burning your tongue. So, the bottle also passed being tested in colder weather.
I have used the water bottle on hiking trails, and I am satisfied with it in general. The bottle provides good insulation and it always kept my drinks hot/cold. Since it’s made of stainless steel, it doesn’t absorb flavor, so you can easily use it for coffee, soup and other beverages without re-tasting them the next time you use the bottle for a different beverage. Stainless steel bottles can be inconvenient for sports because they are slippery, especially when your hands are sweaty. However, the Apex International bottle features a rubber coating on the outside which provides good grip. I was very satisfied with this little detail as it makes handling the bottle much easier and safer.
The bottle cap is not attached to the bottle which I found a bit disappointing. On trails it’s easy to lose such a small item and if you lose it, you have no option but to buy a new bottle. Otherwise, the bottle cap is well-made, and I haven’t encountered any leaks during the testing period. In case I do in the future, I will of course update this article accordingly. I also missed the cap functioning as an integrated cup. Some insulated bottles come with a cup which is very convenient because you obviously can’t drink boiling hot beverages directly from the bottle. Nevertheless, you can simply put a recyclable cup into your backpack to solve this problem.
Functionality
The Apex International water bottle has a capacity of 500 milliliters, which I find perfect. The bottle is not too big for the side pocket of my Osprey Talon 22 daypack and it holds enough liquid to get a cup of warm tea during each pause on longer hikes. It weighs 290 grams which is very similar to the weight of competitive products of the same volume. Now, I’m into lightweight hiking and thus I typically use insulated water bottles only in very cold conditions. In warm and moderate conditions, I prefer to use my hydration bladder not only because it’s lighter, but also because it allows me to drink on the go.
Care
I was a bit disappointed when I read the instructions and noticed that the bottle should not go in the dishwasher. The bottle has a very narrow opening and thus it’s really hard to clean it on the inside – there is no way you’ll get a sponge in there. I did a bit of research and many competitive products are dishwasher safe which is a great advantage. I believe that the problem is in the rubber coating which would probably get damaged if exposed to high temperatures. Nevertheless, if that’s the case the opening should be wider for easier cleaning.
Verdict
So, let’s start with the good things. I was very satisfied with the quality of the bottle. During the testing period I haven’t noticed any leaks or other defects. The bottle provides good insulation and keeps drinks hot/cold for very long time. I was also very happy with the rubber coating which provides a good grip even if your hands are sweaty – nobody wants to drop their drinking bottle while standing on a steep mountain side. The biggest downside is that the bottle is very hard to clean. According to the instructions, you shouldn’t put it in the dishwasher and the opening is so narrow that you can’t reach more than a couple of centimeters into the bottle. Hence, cleaning is limited to pouring hot soapy water into the bottle, rinsing it and hoping you get everything out. Besides that I really liked the bottle and I will continue using it for hiking as well as everyday use.
If you have any questions about this product, drop me a line in the comments below.
Apex International Water Bottle – The capacity of 500 milliliters is perfect in terms of size and weight
Apex International Water Bottle – Rubber coating provides good grip
Apex International Water Bottle – Stainless steel does not absorb flavor
Apex International Water Bottle – The bottom of the bottle
Apex International Water Bottle – The bottle cap is not attached to the bottle and thus it’s easy to lose it
Apex International Water Bottle – The opening is too narrow for efficient cleaning
Outdoor enthusiast with experience in all types of hiking and mountaineering. Hiked in the Alps, Iceland and other countries. In love with via ferrata trails and snow-covered slopes. Check out my hikes.
