Watching the weather and the calendar we attempted to time paddling amongst the Fall colours just right. A fools errand to try to predict the weather and nature at the same time but every so often you hit it just right.  For about a week and a half the messages had been trading on our group chat.  "What was the weather doing?  "How are the leaves on the trees looking?  "When ar...

When I first saw the now famous U2 Joshua Tree album cover I have wanted to see the terrain with my own eyes. It seemed so foreign to me as a forest-living Canadian. Almost alien looking. After many years of visiting and exploring around the Palm Desert area we finally packed our hiking gear, a picnic and prepped the kids for a day in Joshua Tree National Park. Our first visit to Joshua Tree Natio...

 It all started when my old knife broke... Before ordering the Roark Cassius Knife, I had never heard of the brand. I figured if Valhalla Pure Outfitters stocks it then it must be a reliable piece of equipment. That is the beauty of shopping with a place like VPO - their staff use the gear they stock and are as enthusiastic about such things as I am. When I am looking for something to suit my...

Like all of you we have been constantly watching the webcams, weather updates, storm predictions all in anticipation of opening day. We got the call to go up and see how things are shaping up for the 2021/22 season so we dusted off our gear and headed up. Although the base is a little less than we would like, the snow is skiing amazing. And the crews were out everywhere working so hard to get the ...

Twas the night before ski season and all through the hillNot a skier was stirring except some liftie named BillThe skis were waxed and hung in the rack with careDreams that tomorrow no lift lines would be thereThe children nestled all warm in their bedsWhile visions of pow shots danced in their headsAnd momma in her toque and me in my capCan barely sleep we're all in a flapWhen all of the sudden t...

You can never really know how a new product will hold up until you can put it through the paces. That means getting out and testing it where it will be used. What I mean is, often times we buy a product for what it can do but use it for much less that that. Take the RUX 70L storage system that I had the opportunity to test on a recent trip. The RUX system is designed to be rugged yet convenient an...

When I started mountain biking, there were no hydration packs. It was the 90's, we barely had suspension let alone luxurious things like Strava! When it came to water we used to strap as many plastic water bottles to our bikes as we could, stuffing them full of ice in hopes of a cool mid-ride drink. I grew up riding mountain bikes in the South Okanagan region of British Columbia and have settle in...

Ahhhhh, Spring Break is upon us here in the Okanagan. Take a long, deep breath of that fresh BC air and think about all the fun things to do in your backyard. If you live here, you know that there is plenty to do, especially outside. If anything, this last year of "new normal" has taught us it is that there are so many places and activities we hadn't discovered...until we couldn't hangout in side ...

Like many of you, we have been venturing into the backcountry more and more. After a few years of dipping off the backside of local resorts we have now got the backcountry bug and are finding ourselves being drawn towards quite walks up mountains with the promise of awe-inspiring vistas, fresh tracks and less people. But the question has always been: What gear should we use? Specifically which bin...

Have you ever had one of those days where you look back and think, "Did that really happen or was it a dream?" I recently had one of those days in the Valhalla range with my friends at Snowwater Heli. The Valhalla's are a magical place. I have had some of my best days ever up there. One this particular day we expected it to be good. Maybe 5-10cms. When we landed we heard Patric call over the radio...