Built Tour

What to do if it is hot...

The summer is upon us and so is the sun.  Some of us live in hotter climates than others and I assure you that there are hotter climates than others.
Phoenix.

 

The number that you see in the middle of the screen reading 134 is the outside temperature. However, all is not for lost.  If you are in Phoenix and it is this hot, head down to the Salt River for a cool, wet, 5 hour-long fun filled float trip. We did and we weren't the only ones with the same idea.

 

For 14 dollars, they give you a tube; they drive you to the put-in point and they pick you up at the take-out.  It is painless.

 

 

The only thing you have to do is have fun. Basically if you get too hot, all you have to do is fall in. But on the other hand, it is easy to give things to the river that you don't want to give to the river. Someone lost a set of keys and Jordan lost his sunglasses (last known photo of the shades below).

It may be presumptuous but this is definitely one of the best ways to spend a hot day in Phoenix. The scenery is killer.

And if you are into it, there is cliff jumping towards the end.

We were into it.

Tandem jump by the Built Tour members.

Gourmet Cooking Built Tour Style...

Bike to Work

The guys over at Wicked Outdoorsy posted an interested note about the supposed National Bike to Work Day.  Apparently they, just like myself, saw very little participation in said event.  Sadly, however, the reason may not stem from overall disinterest in actually getting outside to ride your bike, but rather from the overall lack of safety available to those of us who don't dodge traffic everyday on a bicycle.  Food for thought.

On paper, Bike to Work Day is a no-brainer. We market the event, we draw new bicycle commuters into the population, global warming shall bow down before us, and we toast our energy independence with a hearty slap on the back.

The reality is much less kind.
                                        - Excerpt from Wicked Outdoorsy

Shot from the road

Sittin' Shotgun on the way to the Grand Canyon.

Climbin' Kyle McFarland

MK Ambassador Kyle McFarland has been mopping the floor with the competition at his past few events.  Most recently, he's finished 2nd overall and 1st in speed for the Regional Championships in Boulder, CO.  Not only that, but young Kyle has also been getting some local press in the town paper.  Well done, Kyle, keep it up.  His recent performance has earned him an invite to the Division Champs here in a few weeks.

Well done Team Crested Butte

MK Ambassador Jari Kirkland has been busy kicking butt.  Her adventure racing team, Team Salomon/ Crested Butte, recently won the second of the Adventure Xtreme Series in Buena Vista, CO.  That'll sit well alongside the big win they had at the first race too (that's right, two for two).

Their next race is the Adventure Racing World Championships in Scotland May 26 - June 1.  Best of luck to Jari and the team.

Save the world for $10

Story by Treehugger.com

If you fancy a journey...

...check out Eureka, California.  It is not easy to get there; you must be committed but the payoff is well worth it.

For us it was the Highway 36 cut off from Interstate 5, 120 miles of 20 mile-per-hour twists and turns through the forests of Northern California, that took us there.  We had no idea what we were getting into when we saw the milage sign read "Eureka 120" and we soon found out how long it takes to drive 120 miles at 20 miles-per-hour.  But the slower speeds really help display the plush beauty of the massive forests in Northern Califonia so it works out.

We actually pulled over and slept on the side of the road because the longest and windiest road in the state tends to wear on you after four and a half hours into the night.  Plus it gave us a chance to actually see what we were driving through when we finished up the leg to Eureka in the morning.

It was a nice pay off when we arrived at Northern Mountain Supply and visited with some genuinely nice people at the store.  Well, minus the fact that they tagged our Land Rover with stickers but I guess "all is fair in love and war" or something like that.

If you ever have any outdoor needs and you are in the Northern California area check out Northern Mountain Supply in Eureka. If you want to avoid getting your car tagged with stickers you can also order directly from their website in the comfort of your own home. Either way you are dealing with friendly people and who knows you might be able to score a killer deal.

Northern Mountain Supply Staff & the Built Tour.

Thanks again for the T-shirts; we wear them with pride.

Torres del Paine

But someone was here before us...

Deep in the deathly depths of Death Valley there lies a deserted castle once built by a deranged man dubbed Scotty. Wait, we actually can't deduct that the dude was deranged or that Scotty was even directly involved in the digging of the dirt, but we do know...that deep in the deathly depths of Death Valley there lies a deserted castle.  How did we discern this data? We drove there.

 

It was comforting when we found out that we were not the first Mountain Khakis travelers to grace this rarely touched land.

We would like to note that we do not endorse the placement of our stickers onto street signs but we have to admit it is a cool feeling to know that someone has thought to put our sticker here.

 

Attention folks in the SouthEast

BOONE, NC — Mast General Store is partnering with Appalachian State University and Georgia Southern University in a mountain-to-mountain initiative to collect used hiking gear to help the Garhwali people near the Tibetan border.

Bring your used hiking gear — boots, trekking poles, packs, fleeces, and more — to any Mast General Store location now through Sunday to help the mountain shepherds, who act as guides on treks into the Himalayas. For details, call Lynn Willis at 963-6511.

Online Video Mag

One of the coolest ways to post an online news mag. Momentum Video Magazine
Be patient, let it take a second to load.  A well-edited/composed online media report on the best in recent climbing comps, sends, and solos from around the US.  Currently three issues online with more to come.  Check out the ABS National report in issue #2 and notice the setters and judges rockin' their MKs!

Definition of Hick-up...

For those of you who are avid readers of the Builttour blog you might have noticed that there was a typo in the last entry. Unfortunately phonetic spelling does not work in all areas. Instead of using the incorrect spelling I would like to revise and use the correct: h.i.c.c.u.p.
Hiccup, meaning a sharp contraction of ones diaphragm, is what I meant to say. Needless to say I was not trying to use the literal meaning but trying to convey a symbolic one.  In this case hick-up or more accurately hiccup would be referring to getting two flat tires, being deserted in the desert, left alone for the vultures, dehydrated, plagued with scurvy...
Wait it was never that bad but in any event sorry for any confusion. Here are some more pics.                                       

Note that the tires on the roof are supposed to be on the ground.

Meet Lorin Paley

After reading Lorin's resume, the last thing in the world you'd expect her to be is 14-yrs-old high school freshman.  In addition to being a competitive Telemark and Alpine skier, she's proven herself as a self-motivated event coordinator, philanthropist, marksman, and  outdoor recreation evangelist.  For her accomplishments on the slopes and efforts in the run of life, she was recognized as an Outdoor Idol by the Outdoor Industries Association, who honored the top young athletes at this past OR winter market.  A huge honor by anyone's standards.  Congrats to Lorin for her recent success, we're happy to have her on-board as an official MK Ambassador and are excited to see how her career develops.

For more on Lorin, read the following article.  Download LorinPaley.pdf

 

Land Rover Rendezvous-Death Valley, CA

Rule 1:If you have a toaster and never use it to make toast,
then it would be considered a waste of a good toaster.
Therefore, if you have a Land Rover and never drive it off road,
it must be considered a waste of a good Land Rover.

Rule 2: Newton's III Law of Motion-For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Well thanks our friends at Southern California Land Rover, Land Rover Lifestyle Magazine, and Off Roving.com the Built Tour was able to get the tires of our Land Rover off the pavement and onto some terrain in which our LR3 could feel more at home.

This Land Rover Rendezvous took place in Death Valley and was a two day adventure exploring the hidden secrets of the Panamint Mountains. There were over 100 Rovers in attendance and they could choose from any of the 10 trails ranging from beginner to extreme.  The trail-rides departed at 8am in the morning from the campsites in Panamint Springs Resort and were led by an experienced trail leader who was familiar with the individual trails.

Day One was a warm up with Cottonwood Canyon, which starts in Stovepipe Wells and follows an 18-mile trail up the magnificent rocky canyon that is lined with Cottonwood trees. It took about five hours and was completed with no hick-ups. We followed Adam from Off Roving and Roger from Hot Bodies Racing. Thanks for the walkie-talkie Roger; it really turned out to be a good thing.

Day Two came and went with some amazing views and two minor hick-ups that put the weekend in its proper perspective. 

Pleasant Canyon trail follows a 50 mile loop through some deserted mining towns, over Rogers Pass (about 6500ft) and back down through South Park Canyon.  At the top you can look over into Death Valley  and really come to grasps with the "deathliness" of the valley.  It was an awesome day but it meant "side-walling" two tires and a 5hr tow truck ride to a Land Rover dealership in Pasadena. For those of you who dont know the definition of a side wall "it is the most vulnerable part of your Land Rover" according to Adam from Off Roving. True story.  Other then being stranded in Death Valley with no cell phone service and having to get towed 250-plus miles, it was an amazing weekend.

Thanks Roger and Eunice, Adam, Doug, and everyone else who helped us and let us be apart of such a fun weekend. Hope to see you all again soon. We have a ton of pictures; check out our photo site to see more.

Sportychic Fashletics - the new movement in clothing

Sabrina Hirsch of Hood River, OR owns and operates her own version of women's boutique retail.  She calls her lines 'fashletics' that is, fashionable clothing built for movement and athletics.  These pieces aren't your typical adidas/nike running/yoga gear - but rather hip, designer-apparel (check out her storefront).  The coolest part about her operations is her love of knitting.  Some of the clothing in her shop are pieces she's created herself.  In her own words, she's 'obsessed' with knitting... and it shows.  Definitely a talented gal with a sense of style and entrepreneurship (note: see finshed project at right, and the same piece half-completed in-hand at top left).
You can find her shop - So Much Fun, sporty chic - online HERE and physically, it's located within the confines of our good friends at the Ruddy Duck.  And her knitting blog HERE (apparently, there is a HUGE blogging knitting community out there).

May 1st, Sabrina and So Much Fun celebrated their 1-yr anniversary.  Here's to many more.

Room for Two...

Either A) the sharing of a tandem bike between two dudes is an ambiguously suggestive situation, perhaps tending to lend itself - from an outsider's point of view - towards the tough manly odd side of the spectrum.
OR B) it's totally normal for two people to share the experience of a tandem bike despite the participant's gender, especially given the unique nature of the presented situation and particularly pleasant spring weather.
You decide...