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Inside Alex Honnold’s Tricked-Out New Adventure Van

Back in 2014, pro climber Alex Honnold gave us a tour of the 2002 Ford Econoline E150 he used as his mobile base camp. That van served him...

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Friday, October 25, 2019

5 Ways to Use Your Flannel Shirt as a Halloween Costume

Photo Gallery: 5 Ways to Use Your Flannel Shirt as a Halloween Costume



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An Off-Road Review of the Subaru Forester Touring

I’m strapped into the rear seat of a 2019 Subaru Forester Touring, an all-wheel-drive SUV, anxiously awaiting the start of the 2019 Oregon Trail Rally recce day.

Recce, otherwise known as reconnaissance, is a pre-rally driving activity that allows teams to run each stage’s course to scout the roads and write their own pace notes, an integral part of rallying; it’s created to help drivers understand changes in the road and surrounding areas, so when the three-day rally begins, they’re intimately familiar with the route. It’s also the perfect way to find out what the Forester is capable of off pavement.

I’m riding with Michelle Miller, a seasoned codriver, Oregon Trail Rally competitor, and one of DirtFish Rally School’s driving instructors, and her husband, Chris Miller, who’s behind the wheel. Michelle will manage the GoPros, Monit rally computer, and pace notes. While many Subarus are actually used for rally racing (namely WRXs and older Imprezas, for their speed and precise handling), Foresters, which are slower and taller, are great recce rigs. They’re nimble, responsive, and sure-footed at the lower speeds required to create sound pace notes. Our Forester is equipped with a 182-horsepower, 2.5-liter, four-cylinder boxer engine mated to a continuously variable transmission (CVT), which shifts seamlessly through a continuous range of effective gear ratios.

After two passes through three stages, Michelle notes that the Forester is a very well-balanced and comfortable ride. Over the course of the day and a few dozen on- and off-road miles, she’s able to write neatly over rough terrain and not get carsick. Our speed varies from crawling over washed-out, rocky areas to spirited driving through long tarmac sweeps. 

Michelle described the Forester as “very roomy and open,” with an engine that has “good and consistent power delivery, along with very good brakes.” She thought it rode well over rough gravel and rutted roads. “It was super comfortable,” she says. Chris added that the Forester felt solid and quiet, especially given the gravel and dirt-filled miles traversed. “The power delivery is also impressive—it felt torquey all the way up,” he says. “It’s linear and smooth, which made it easy to drive off pavement.”

Scene in the car
(Photo: Mercedes Lilienthal)

The Forester’s active AWD system can vary power distribution to the wheels to suit whatever terrain you’re tackling. This system adjusts speed to each wheel individually to keep you on track. This helps prevent sliding around a corner when you’re headed up a snowy mountain pass or slipping on asphalt when it’s rainy, and it aids in recovery if you start to lose control. I spent over four hours piloting the Forester over dirt and gravel and on highways. It felt planted when attacking tight, hard-packed dirt corners, and it eased over bumps and washed-out areas—the vehicle’s capabilities really go far beyond rally prep.

The fifth-generation model was completely redesigned for 2019, with a stiffer platform, quieter and larger interior cabin, and improved safety. The new Subaru Global Platform uses hot-pressed, ultrahigh tensile steel in key areas of the structure. This design offers significant increases in safety, stability, rigidity, ride comfort, and noise reduction, all of which we experienced while running recce. Subaru’s choice to use this type of steel also means less metal framework and more space, resulting in greater visibility, wider openings for the rear doors and gate, as well as more passenger and cargo space.

In addition, the Forester Touring offers tons of active and passive safety technology. EyeSight driver-assist technology uses two cameras to spot and alert you to hazards, such as pedestrians, or when you stray from your lane. It also features the DriverFocus distraction-mitigation system, a monitoring process that uses infrared sensors and facial recognition to pinpoint driver distraction and warn you when you’re not paying attention. And along with the tech upgrades, it sports seven airbags (two frontal ones, two side-pelvis and torso airbags, two side-curtain airbags, and one at the driver’s knees).

The Forester is great for one person and their gear or small families with their stuff, so you’ll have no trouble driving your mountain bikes to the trailhead or kayaks to the sea. If you still need more space, check out the Subaru Outback or Subaru’s new Ascent—a three-row SUV with seating for up to eight people. These models have Subaru’s famous AWD, new steel platform, and many of the same safety features. Ultimately, for those looking to tackle dirt, sand, snow, and highways with one adventuremobile, the Forester is a solid pick for solo explorers and families alike.



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New Rules Will Help the PCT Combat Overcrowding

On October 1, the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) announced a new permitting system that will affect all of the trail’s prospective thru-hikers starting in the 2020 season. Stricter regulations have been added to both north- and southbound hikes to more evenly distrubute crowds in both directions. The changes are intended to combat the significant increase in long-distance trail use over the past five years.

Perhaps the most surprising change for the incoming class of PCT hikers is the addition of a required southbound hiking permit. Previously, only northbound hikers needed one, but now, so will those who wish to hike 500 or more continuous miles starting anywhere from Canadian border through Stehekin, Washington. Every day, 15 permits will be available for thru-hikers for start dates between June 15 and July 31. After that, an additional 15 long-distance permits will be available for horseback riders and section hikers heading south between August 1 and September 15. The lottery for these permits will open at 10:30 A.M. PST on January 14, 2020.

Southbound travelers aren’t the only ones affected by the PCT’s new rules. A minor tweak to the northbound permitting season has also been made: in addition to the 50-hikers-per-day quota that was first implemented in 2013, all thru-hikers starting at or near the Mexican border between March 1 and May 31 will need a designated permit.

At 10:30 A.M. PST on October 29, the lottery will open for the first 35 daily permits to head north in March. There’s also a more last-minute-rush lottery for hikers who don’t nab a permit this October: the remaining 15 permits per day will be issued alongside the southbound permits on the morning of January 14.

The PCTA also implemented stricter rules in central Oregon for upcoming seasons. In the Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington, and Three Sisters Wilderness areas, long-distance thru-hikers will be required to camp inside the PCT corridor (a half-mile on either side of the trail) and will be prohibited from camping in the Obsidian, North and South Matthieu Lakes, Coyote and Shale Lakes, and Jefferson Park areas. These rules will go into effect in 2020 or 2021.

But hands down, the biggest change to hit the PCT next year will be the requirement that all hikers travel the 250-plus miles between California’s Kennedy Meadows South and Sonora Pass in one continuous trip. In other words, hikers can no longer skip the Sierra Nevada due to high snow or bad weather, fly north to hike in Oregon or Washington, and then zip back down south to finish the Sierra in late summer, when conditions are more favorable. 

“The John Muir Trail is incredibly popular during the peak hiking season with day hikers, weekend backpackers, section hikers, JMT hikers, and PCT long-distance hikers,” says Mark Larabee, associate director of communications for the PCTA. Those who choose to flip-flop segments to avoid the snow put undue pressure on this already-impacted ecosystem, which affects the sustainability of the PCT itself. The PCTA now expects that thru-hikers will proceed in a more continuous motion through the Sierra, protecting this iconic mountain range for future adventurers.

Of course, trekkers will still be allowed to exit the Sierra and travel to nearby towns for a quick resupply in Lone Pine, California, or a much needed zero day in Mammoth Lakes, for example, but any gap of more than seven days on a hiker’s itinerary will effectively void their permit. “If people want to skip a section of the southern Sierra and return when conditions are more favorable, they’re welcome to do it, but they will need a local-agency permit,” says Larabee.

The U.S. Forest Service has instituted this change to prevent overcrowding in one of the most popular wilderness areas in the country. In 2014, 2,655 long-distance hiking permits were issued by the PCTA. That number has since skyrocketed to 7,313 permits issued in 2018, and the southern Sierra is one of the hardest hit places in terms of foot traffic.

Across the board, the new, expanded permits aren’t intended to persecute already overwhelmed hikers but rather help protect the sensitive wilderness areas surrounding the PCT. According to figures on the PCTA website, last year the trail had 160 southbound hikers beginning their trek on July 1, while only 13 people signed up to start hiking on June 29. When 160 people traverse a delicate, alpine landscape en masse, it can have a serious negative impact on the campsites and waterways those same thru-hikers will come to depend on. Larabee sees the new regulations as necessary to ensure that human impacts on the landscape do not become irreversible. “Reducing crowding by distributing people more evenly over time will protect the fragile environments the trail passes through and will enhance the user experience for all,” he says.



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DEC: Remaining deer management permits available to hunters beginning Nov. 1 https://ift.tt/2BKgrd2

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that remaining deer management permits (DMPs) in several wildlife management units (WMUs) will be available to hunters beginning Nov. 1.

DMPs, which allow hunters to harvest antlerless deer, are issued for specific WMUs to control deer populations. In some WMUs, all applicants received permits during the initial application process, and the DMP target has not been reached. In these units, DEC will re-open the DMP application process on a first-come, first-served basis. Hunters may apply for up to two additional DMPs in these WMUs at any DEC license sales outlet beginning Nov. 1.

Leftover DMPs are not available by phone, mail, or internet. Applications must be made at license issuing outlets. Applicants who previously paid the $10 DMP application fee during the initial application period, or are exempt from the application fee, will not be charged for this additional application. Hunters who did not previously apply for a deer management permit are required to pay the $10 application fee.

Applications for leftover DMPs will be accepted for the following WMUs: 1C, 3M, 3R, 3S (bowhunting-only), 4J (bowhunting-only), 6P, 7F, 7H, 7J, 7R, 8A, 8C (bowhunting-only), 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J, 8N, 8R, 9A, 9F, and 9G.

Additionally, Bonus DMPs are available for hunters who successfully take an antlerless deer in WMUs 1C, 3S, 4J, or 8C.

For WMU locations, refer to the 2019-20 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide or visit DEC’s website.

During this extended application period, DEC will issue DMPs for an individual WMU until the target issuance quota is achieved. The status of permits will be reviewed each night, and as individual units are filled they will be removed from the list of those available effective the following day. A list of units with available leftover DMPswill routinely be updated on DEC’s website or via the DMP Hotline at 1-866-472-4332.

In units with leftover DMPs, DEC encourages hunters to prioritize antlerless harvest, choosing to take a doe or two, while letting young bucks go. Hunters can share extra venison with friends and neighbors or donate the meat to needy families through the Venison Donation Coalition.

— New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

Categories: Hunting News, Whitetail Deer

The post DEC: Remaining deer management permits available to hunters beginning Nov. 1 appeared first on Outdoornews.



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Your Daily Minnesota Outdoor News Update – Oct. 25, 2019 https://ift.tt/2MNWI2D

Not fishing muskies right now? You’re missing out.

Categories: From The Pages Of ODN

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