I spent this past weekend at the Wente Scout Reservation.  The reservation is located in Mendocino County.  Just outside of Willits, California.  Over 250 Scouts from the Venturing program came together from several different counties for a Venturing Rendezvous.  A Venturing Rendezvous is an annual gathering of Venture Crews  and Sea Scouts during the last weekend in September for the purpose of having fun with other Venture Scouts doing Venturing activities.  There were Sea Scouts present and Venture Crews that came from all parts of the Bay area including the Central...

Today two of my kids and I went hiking at Lake Chabot. Last time you will remember, my wife and I had a few issues with our hiking journey. This time, I was a little more prepared. I wore better socks. I had the moleskin, but I didn’t have to use it this time. I brought a time source and a camera. One interesting note about bringing my camera, while I was watching one of my favorite shows rocketboom.com there was a video clip about what’s in your tech bag there was a reference to putting your camera in a sock. I thought this was a great idea, so I protected my camera this trip...

I recently looked at our local newspaper and saw an add that had the heading “Get up and play.  An hour a day.”  It showed several atheletes on the picture of the ad.  They provide a link to www.smallstep.gov This website has all kinds of links to outdoor activities and diet suggestions as well as an activity tracker. As I viewed this add I thought, this is really good.  I am already pretty active physically and plan to increase my fitness level. I thought about yesterday’s article “I’m the go to guy.”  It discusses a person’s reputation, their...

When I was a kid my grandfather taught me how to fly a single line kite.  The type of kite I learned to fly was the typical diamond shape with a long tail.  I grew up in an area close to the beach so we always had a decent breeze for flying kites.  As I grew older, my love for flying kites continued.  I would fly different shaped kites and see how high they would fly. It wasn’t until I went to the San Ramon Art and Wind festival that I saw some amazing two-line stunt kite flying.  I was so impressed that I decided to buy a small one and started learning how to fly it. ...

Last weekend I went on a little hiking trip with my spouse. We visited Lake Chabot Regional Park. Most of the hike was on relatively flat ground. The scenery was spectacular. The weather was a little mild. It was a great day to do get outside and enjoy the fresh air. The plan was to hike from the Marina along the East Shore Trail, then along the Honker Bay Trail and have lunch at the Family campground then hike back to the Marina.  The hardest part of the hike was the last half mile to the Family campground.  The trail ascended 300 feet. I am a pretty experienced hiker & camper,...