Back To Duthie Hill Mountain Bike Park

Wow !  It's been almost 2 years since my last visit to Duthie Hill Mountain Bike Park. I almost forgot how much fun it was riding at the park.

Still being a complete beginner, the only trail that I could safely enjoy was a 1.5 mile XC ( cross country ) Boot Camp trail. Relatively flat with no significant climbs, and just a couple tight climbing turns, the trail is ideal for novice riders.

But after a few runs I got bored, and tried to challenge myself on an intermediate trail called Moving On. That's when I realized that even my new K2 Base Sport full suspension bike  was not going to compensate my lack of confidence and skills  to tackle terrain beyond green runs.

In the center clearing at Duthie, I scanned the news board for beginner classes. As I mentioned before, Evergreen Mountain Biking Alliance offers classes for riders of all levels, from beginners to more advanced.

Introduction To Freeride teaches you all about  the freeriding basics. You'll learn to maintain good body position while conquering wheel lifts, obstacles, step-downs and drops.

To learn more about Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and what they do to help make Washington State an amazing place to mountain bike, check out the video below:

Surfing Freighter Waves In Seattle

I love surfing. But sometimes, 2.5- 3 hour drive from Seattle to the coast makes it hard ( if not impossible ) to catch a wave.  Even if you make it to the coast, there is no guarantee you'll have a stoked surf session. Like any surf, the Olympic Peninsula  can be flat, blown out or too big which is a bummer after a long drive. When ocean waves are a distant dream, some surfers will go to great lengths to improvise worthy rides.

I've already posted about tanker surfing in Texas.

Here in Washington, a small but dedicated group of die-hard surfers/paddlers started surfing freighter and tug waves on stand up paddleboards ( SUP ) on the Salish Sea in the Shilshole Bay.

The Salish Sea is an overlay which includes and unites the established and familiar names of the various water and land bodies (the Strait of Georgia, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands, etc.). The Salish Sea is connected to the Pacific Ocean primarily via the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The shorelines along both the Canadian and US side of the Strait have been popular surfing spots for years. But not many surfers know that you can catch  decent size waves right here in  Seattle !

Unlike regular surfing or SUP surfing, freighter wave surfing requires a lot of planning, and extensive knowledge of local beaches, wind, tides, and marine charts to determine where the main flow of shipping is.

Waves can be created by everything from small power craft, yachts, the occasional tugboat and even container ships.  But it's the tugboats and freighters that put out primo waves. They ride deep in the water, and have massive twin engines that each put out 2,500 horsepower. All of that combines to make nice, big waves of about 4 or 6 feet.

With the right combination of a proper tide, weather conditions, and certain fast moving boats freighter/tug surfing on Puget Sound makes it all worthwhile. The waves are just as clean and well formed as the best coastal surfing spots, and freighters can, at low tides, offer up to 6' faces and very long rides !

Catching freighter/tug boat waves is a pretty good alternative to a long trek to the ocean.  If you're tired of those long day trips to Westport or Neah Bay, give paddle-surfing a try !

If you are interested in trying out freighter/tug surfing, subscribe to our email or join our Facebook page for upcoming classes !

ExtraHyperActive At The Monster Energy AMA Supercross 2014

 

The Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, returned to Seattle’s CenturyLink Field last Saturday night.

HyperActiveX had a great pleasure to be invited by Toyota to attend that event, and to meet the team's riders Phillip Nicoletti and Vince Friese at the Pit Party.

Toyota has served as an official partner of Monster Energy Supercross for nine seasons. The platform provided by Monster Energy Supercross with its on-track branding and one-of-a-kind Pit Party provides an ideal avenue for Toyota to reach its consumers and potential buyers. As the Official Vehicle of Monster Energy Supercross, the Tundra has been a focal point for Toyota at the races, providing interactive demos for attendees inside the Pit Party and offering fun, competitive contests on the stadium floor for select lucky fans both in advance and during each race.

I got to talk to Phil and Vince about their hopes and expectations, as well as the distractions and nerves that come with racing in a big stadium. I also learned about how they got started riding, and got a few tips on how to get my son involved in motorcycle racing.

That was first time attending a motocross racing event, and I had no idea how popular MX was in Washington ! It might not be the most popular sport, but it sure is the most exciting !

Biking And Sightseeing Along The Burke-Gilman Trail In Seattle.

I don't consider myself to be a "cyclist".  I don't owe a team jersey, shave my legs, or ride a 5K bike. I am, what they call, a "bike enthusiast ", a " recreational cyclist ".  For me, biking is not about getting a great work out, being eco-conscious or saving a bunch of money on gas ( well, all that too ). For me biking is a new , great , inexpensive way of traveling , sightseeing and a chance to experience the area I'm visiting at a leisure pace.

As of 2013, for the sixth year in a row, Washington is considered to be the most bike-friendly state in US ( by the League of American Bicyclists ). And why not ? With its numerous bike paths, and designated bike trails, Washington is a great place to explore by bike.

Take , for an example, Burke-Gilman Trail. Almost every WA state tourist's guide book, local biking/outdoors book and magazine has mentioned this bike trail. But not many of those publications mentioned what that trail really represented.

Called "a major transportation corridor ",  the trail is also a major sightseeing route that gives an opportunity to see some of Seattle most iconic sights.

The trail begins in Ballard and follows along the Lake Washington Ship Canal and north along Lake Washington. Along the way it passes numerous points of interest, neighborhoods , local landmarks and offers a variety of other outdoors activities along the way.

Start your trip at The Hiram Chittenden Locks ( Ballard Locks ), where you can roam around Botanical Garden, then cross over the locks and spillway dam to the fish ladder and viewing windows, and before you go home, you can stop by the visitor center and browse through the gift shop. Biking around the historic Scandinavian community of Ballard transports you to another time.

Then head east to Fremont. Sometimes referred to as "The People's Republic of Fremont," "The Center of the Universe" and at one time a "center of the counterculture", Fremont is famous for such cultural landmarks as Statue of Lenin, the Fremont Troll, the outdoor sculpture "Waiting for the Interurban " and an old rocket fuselage. A growing number of technology companies have a presence in Fremont, including Adobe Systems, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Getty Images, Google, and others. Fremont for cyclist ( especially naked cyclists ) is home to Fremont Solstice Parade.

Next stop -Gas Works Park. The strangest park in Seattle, and may rank among the strangest in the world, the old gasification plant has been reconditioned, painted, and incorporated into a children "play barn" structure. The park offers a panoramic view of the Seattle skyline, Lake Union and snowcapped mountains. It also a very popular put in spot for kayakers. Gas Works Park has been a setting for films, such as "Singles" and " 10 Things I Hate About You" and also on the travel-based television reality show "The Amazing Race".

 Don't just bike by the University of Washington campus. The bridge connecting the BGT with the Husky Stadium, gives you a great chance to padle around the stadium on the campus of the University of Washington. Located directly behind Husky Stadium on Union Bay and the Montlake Cut , The Center for Water Sports offers canoe and rowboat rentals for general public.

Further along the BGT passes a few local beaches -Matthews Beach , Cedar Park, Lake Forest Park.

In one of my posts, I've already wrote about the Magnuson Park, the Mountaineers' new headquarters and a place to learn climbing, backpacking, sailing, and kayaking.

Jump off your bike and straight into seaplane cockpit in Kenmore Air Harbor. Whether your destination is Sun Juan Islands, Olympic Peninsula or just a flight-seeing excursion over Seattle, it will be an experience you'll treasure for a lifetime.

At Blyth Park in Bothell the trail becomes the Sammamish River Trail and continues for 10 miles (16 km) to Marymoor Park, Redmond, on Lake Sammamish. But I'll cover that in my upcoming posts.

Simple Fly Fishing With Tenkara Rod

Simple Fly Fishing: Techniques for Tenkara and Rod and Reel

Remember those good ol' days when you were a child ? Life was simple. Our needs were simple. If we wanted to go fishing, we'd whittle a tree branch, attach some line, dig up a worm, and catch some dinner!

Modern-day fly fishing, like much in life, has become exceedingly complex, with high-tech gear, a confusing array of flies and terminal tackle, accompanied by high-priced fishing guides.

Yvon Chouinard, a noted fly fisherman, climber, surfer, environmentalist, and the founder of Patagonia teamed up with Craig Mathews and Craig Mathews to spread the word of the minimalist tenkara setup — telescoping rod, fixed line, no reel — and its message of simplicity that resonates to other sports, too.

Recently, I had a great opportunity to attend a fly fishing clinic organized by Patagonia Seattle and Emerald Water Anglers to learn more about the book and the Tenkara rod.

It's been awhile since I got to try fly fishing last summer in CleElum, WA. Even though I learned the basics, got hands on experience in fly casting, and even (almost) caught a fish (!), I still left puzzled with a  lot of questions about this new (to me) outdoor activity.

Before attending the clinic, I really hoped it would make it easier for me to break into this captivating sport. Instead, I realized that simplicity was not always ... simple.

Not a surprise that it was my first time learning about tenkara rod. From what I was told, just (about) five years ago virtually no one had heard the word tenkara. Now, 5 years after the method was introduced outside of Japan it has become a part of the fly-fishing vocabulary.

Tenkara is the simple Japanese method of fly-fishing where only a rod, line and fly are used. The main difference of tenkara rod is that it doesn't have a reel. Originally the rod was simply a bamboo/cane rod, which was cut and treated. Because of its light weight, Japanese anglers were able to use very long bamboo rods and reach as far as needed without the need to develop reels for the short rods developed in the west.

During clinic, we a had a chance to use and compare both tenkara rods, and traditional western ones. Since this blog is not about fly fishing, I won't focus on the details, differences, advantages/disadvantages of western rods vs. tenkara rods. Before the clinic I thought I'd just learn about a new fly fishing rod, instead I learned about a whole new fishing method ! From what I see,

the biggest thing tenkara brings to the table is a different mindset, a different way of thinking about fly-fishing.

As they say : "Like anything simple, it can be easy to do, yet challenging to master". I would like to believe that fishing with tenkara is as simple as I was told, but there is much more to the sport of fly fishing than just the gear. The best way of learning something is by doing it.

Hope I will have more opportunities to get out and learn about fly fishing so I can make it even simpler for folks who are still confused and intimidated by the complexity, elitism, and expense of the sport.

Cross Country Skiing And Snowshoeing MTTA ( Mt Tahoma Trails Association )

Below is the most detailed, first hand, personally provided information on xc ( cross country ) skiing and snowshoeing MTTA in South District to High Hut, Yurt and Bruni's Snow Bowl Hut.

Hut-to-hut skiing is extremely popular in Europe. The most spectacular of hut-to-hut trails, the Haute Route through the French and Swiss Alps, is also spectacularly crowded: Cross-country pilgrims share the circuit with about 200 other skiers each day, then bunk with them at night in huge dorms festooned with sopping garments.

North America has built its own portfolio of equally impressive hut-to-huts in the years since WWII, when at least one veteran who had served as a special ski trooper in Europe returned home and later re-created the famous Alps circuits in his own backyard.

Hut-to-hut backcountry skiing has been on my Bucket List since I found out you don't need to go to Europe to have this unique experience.

A series of snow huts south of Mount Rainier near Ashford offer this amazing adventure. The Mount Tahoma trail and hut system has about 50 miles of trail (20 of it groomed), three huts and a yurt.

My plan was to spend a night at High Hut, and to wake up the next morning to have my breakfast with the view of Mt Rainier ! But unfortunately, due to its popularity, the huts were booked quickly that weekend , so instead, I had one of my epic mini/day adventures.

Here are a few tips I wish I knew before going to MTTA:

• Do stop at the MTTA office in Ashford to get the latest info on road conditions, and directions to the Snow Park.

Look for 29815 Washington 706, Ashford, WA 98304  The address is for Ashford Fire Station, and MTTA office is located BEHIND it ( there was no sign, and was confusing to find ).

• MOST IPORTANT -  don't forget to bring BOTH - Discover Pass AND Snow Park permit ( you can also buy both at nearby Whittaker Mountaineering store ( $22 for a day/$42 for annual Snow Park permit ). The MTTA patrollers are Nazis when it comes to writing out tickets for not having either one of the permits.

Directions to the Snow park :

• Chances are, at MTTA office you'll be given a crappy, confusing map to the snow park. Here is an easier way : when you turn right on Kernahan Road, look for Paradise Estate on your right, stop, and look closely for the sign to the snow park (SF 85). If you continue on HWY 52/Skate Creek Rd, you'll end up on a snowmobile/snowshoeing one way trail ( me and another idiot actually drove our cars on that trail until we realized we were lost ).

The drive to the Snow Park :

• Honestly, unless you drive 4x4 or you have faith in your vehicle, I wouldn't drive there in winter.

The road is a narrow, two way dirt road that is dotted with potholes. The few days before my visit the area had experienced a heavy snow storm which turned the road to the snow park into a one way, poorly plowed, rails-free death track. Even if you have 4x4, make sure you carry chains at all times as the weather at Mt Rainier is very unpredictable.

All three huts (High Hut, Yurt and Bruni's Snow Bowl Hut) are located in South District, and share the same Snow Park/trail (to certain extent).

The Trail:

• The first ~1.5 mile the trail is gradually climbing up to the junction. This is the portion of the trail that is wide, groomed and well packed. 
• This portion of the trail is so packed, that, honestly, you wouldn't even need skis or snowshoes. You can just hike ! It will keep you light and fast ! ( as you can see from the picture on top ).

Also, this portion of the trail is groom and very hard packed, but... there are NO broken tracks for xc (cross country) skiers ( which makes it hard to ski), and because it's hard pack, it really doesn't make sense to use your snowshoes.

The Junction:

• Here the trail breaks into two directions : to High Hut (on your right), and to Yurt and Bruni's on your left.

From Junction To High Hut:

• This portion of the trail is "poorly groomed". The tracks for snowshoers are narrow and barely broken. Once again, no tracks for skiers. I ended up hiking this part of the trail also.

The Hut:

• Honestly I imagined it to be a bit ... roomier. Depending on occupancy, the hut can get pretty crowded. There are a couple of bunk beds on the "first floor", and more floor space on the "second level".

 Snowshoeing/Skiing With Dogs ?

• Dogs are allowed on MTTA trails, BUT... NOT in the huts.... Also, if you're traveling with your dog(s), PLEASE KEEP THEM ON THE LEASH !

The Atmosphere:

• Are you a social butterfly ? Do you like spending your nights in the company of complete strangers ? How about listening to their boring pathetic life stories ? Personally, I lasted about 15 minutes before getting the hell out of there, and I was glad I didn't reserve the night in the hut.

But if you're an introvert like me, and do decide to spend a night at the hut, and have your morning breakfast with the killer view of Mt Rainier, consider brining some booze, ear plugs, and your favorite book to survive the night.

Want to get into cross country skiing ?

Buy affordable gear on Amazon !

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Testing Ahnu Hiking/Backpacking Boots On Mt Si

Mount Si, the monolith looming over Interstate 90 at North Bend, is Northwest icon, Washington state's most popular hiking trail, and the proven training ground for anybody getting ready to summit Mt Rainier.

But whether you dream of summiting Rainier, skiing Mt Adams, trad climbing Mt Shuksan, or hiking/backpacking the Wonderland Trail, Mt Si is the place to test yourself and your gear.

As I mentioned in my previous post, choosing a pair of good hiking boots can be the difference between a memorable experience and a miserable misadventure.

Recently, on a typical PNW winter day, I put my pair of Ahnu's Coburn hiking boots to a grueling test through dirt, mud, puddles and snow of Mt Si's 4-mile hike with about 3500 ft elevation gain.

Having summited both Rainier and Shuksan, and thru-hiked the 18 miles  Enchantments Traverse (aka the Death March), I knew exactly what I was looking for in hiking/backpacking boots.

Without getting too technical, I'll just focus on a few specs that were especially important to me :

Whether you are a hard core thru-hiker or a casual weekend warrior ( like me ), the Ahnu's Coburn hiking boots are light, breathable, waterproof, and will work great in all weather conditions and on any terrain.

My feet get easily cold. Keeping them dry and warm ( but not overheated ) is extremely important to me. After hiking for 3 hours in mud, puddles, and snow, at the end, my feet remained warm and (relatively) dry.

Leather boots tend to be on a heavy side. Same goes for synthetic ones once they get wet, adding weight and slowing you down. And we all know that a pound on the feet is like eight on your back. Even on the way back, the Coburn boots were as light as at the beginning of the hike.

Whether you are going on a leisure hike on a relatively flat trail, or  scrambling over piles of rock, the taller ankle height is a welcome feature for hikers who are looking for greater ankle support without having to upgrade to much bigger, stiffer, heavier boots.

Non-marking, slip resistant lugs provide the ultimate grip and traction. I was especially blown away by this feature ! In winter, the upper part of Mt Si's trail is (almost always) covered with snow requiring hikers to use either spikes or snowshoes. The boots' aggressive tread was amazing at gripping both wet rocks and snow. One of my knees is messed up, and I'm always concerned about slipping/sliding on the way down, even with extra effort (on my part) it was hard for me to make these boots slide.

All in all, the boots answered all the questions asked  when it comes to choosing a great pair of hiking/backpacking boots.

Now, the last question left unanswered - " How long will they last ? "

Snowscooting - Winter Fun For Kids And Adults !

IGGI BLUE WINTER SNOW SCOOTER

Being a (extra) hyperactive father to an even more hyperactive son means coming up with more fun as much as possible as often as possible. Skiing, snowboarding, snowskating, snowshoeing, sledding, tubing... are not enough for my kid. We are always on a lookout for more thrills, fun and adventures !

Browsing Craigslist for more gear, I came across a pretty interesting find - a snowscooter ! My son has already been having fun riding his push and electric scooters, and I thought the snowscooter would be a great addition to his own outdoor gear collection.

We took the snow scooter to our favorite ski area in Washington - Alpental. Its steep slopes were ideal for this fun little snow toy. Light, maneuverable, and durable the scooter worked great for both of us !

NOTE: During ski season sledding of any type is not allowed around the area. Just like our training snowboard, the snowscooter doesn't have metal edges and a leash, the safety feature required for (any) snow gear to be used on the slopes. 

That's why, you can only use it during off hours/season or away from crowds in specifically designated areas ( like sledding slopes ).

2014 Polar Bear Plunge At Point Defiance In Tacoma

How do you celebrate New Year day ? Do you have any traditions/rituals to mark the beginning of a new year ?

Every January 1st, thousands of people around the world ring in the new year with a polar bear plunge, to shake off their hangover, and cleanse the body to enter the new year rejuvenated and energized .

The dips, thought to have originated in northern Europe, are now a global phenomenon, with countless thousands taking the plunge each year, typically in large groups. The biggest is in the Netherlands, where more than 30,000 people join in the “neiujhaarsduik” (New Year’s Dive). Dating back to 1960 in the town of Zandvoort, it has spread nationwide, with a record 37,000 participants in 2013.

In South Queensferry, Scotland, more than a thousand people gather annually for the Loony Dook. Participants dress up for the occasion and parade through the town acting like “loonies” before the impending “dook.” According to local media reports, and the BBC, most participants are still inebriated from New Year’s Eve celebrations and/or have lost a bet.

Here in the U.S., local Polar Bear Clubs organize annual events from Bar Harbor, Maine to Washington State.

While many organizations and groups use Polar Bear Plunge as a fund raising event, more people jump into icy cold waters to celebrate New Year in a fun and memorable way.

Polar Bear Plunges have grown in popularity in Washington state. This (2014) year, hundreds of people from Seattle to Tacoma participated in this invigorating event.

XHyperActive crew decided to join them by jumping into the new year with gusto !
It's also a good way to flush out any negativity and start fresh. What better way to begin the new year than by feeling completely alive....and in a little pain.