From the Blogs

Gambolin Man, host of the upcoming Groundhog Day Invitational, describes a day at Briones Regional Park and Reservoir. He saw a mountain lion once, a few years back: “The big cat paces, sniffs some more, appears to spray, and then, without warning, pounces away down the hillside and out of sight in two leaps, leaving me rubbing my eyes at the mirage of a 6 ft. long, 120 lb. beast staring me down at the fifty yard line.”

The Gear Junkie profiles three ultra-lightweight tents, including that one with inflatable tubes instead of poles. The usual drawbacks: few features, fragility, high prices. But way cool for those who crave lightest-available bragging rights.

Trailcraft talks about taking a dog backpacking in the wilds of Idaho. The price he pays: now everybody in the family has to have a pooch of one’s own.

Smoky Mountain Hiking Blog says a popular place for jumping into a river has been closed because, get this, jumpers are trying to land on river floaters below.

In the papers

A couple’s nine-month trek from Seattle to the Aleutians is profiled in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. “They will carry 50-pound packs, average 17 miles a day and follow the edge of the Pacific across some of the wettest, highest and most bear-infested mountain ranges of North America. “It’s going to be a blast,” McKittrick said.” The couple’s blog is here.

Geocaching has been discovered by the Bonita Springs, Fla., Daily News. “There are more than 430 caches listed within a 50-mile radius of Bonita Springs, and new caches are added almost daily.” Well, now you have your excuse for a winter vacation in Florida.

California’s Outdoors Hall of Fame inductees attract Tom Stienstra’s attention. One is Bob Coomber, America’s No. 1 wheelchair hiker. Way to go, Bob!