Solo 14er Hike/ Snowboard/ B-day Trip

In June I decided to go on a solo camping/snowboarding trip into the backcountry of CO. With all the extra snow that the Rockies received this year I figured that it would make for a great trip and celebration of my 31st Birthday. My goal was to camp just below Grays and Torryes Peaks (two 14,000ft peaks) and then the next day hike up to the top of Torreys Peak and snowboard down.

The hike in to where I had planned to camp was about 3miles switching back and forth from snow to dirt trail. This made it interesting taking my snowshoes on and off with a 60-70lbs pack on my back.

I found a nice place out in the open tunda field to set up camp at an elevation of about 12,300ft. As I set up my North Face Roadrunner 23 tent I could see the last few people of the day hiking down the trail back to their car. It was about 7 o'clock and the sun was starting to set behind Torreys Peak. So I made some dinner and was off to bed by 10pm.

I had planned on getting an early start and watching the sun come up in the morning. I set my alarm for 5 but was up by 4:30 which gave me a great early morning view of the moon and the approching sunrise.

At around 5am the sun had started to come out and I made breakfast and tore down my tent and got packed up for the hike to the top of Torreys.

I took my time getting to the top and all my snowshoes did was slow me down since the air from the night before was cold enough higher up to refreeze the melted snow from the day before. So I left my snowshoes behind and continued up to the top of Torreys Peak.

Once I was to the top of Torreys Peak I hung out there for 20-30min to enjoy the view and then headed back down.

I decided to drop back in on my snowboard between Grays and Torryes peak feeling that it would be safer since I was riding solo. I made some fast high speed turns back down towards where I had left my snowshoes from earlier. As I approached a blind right turn that had a roller on the back side I had to take quick evasive action to aviod a marmot that was walking out in the snowfield. But we mananaged to aviod each other even though I was coming in hot!

After picking up my snowshoes I hiked back down and grabed the rest of my overnight gear and repacked everything in to my larger pack. From there I hike a little bit further down to a sign on the trail and got my board strapped on for the ride back to the car.

By this time most all the snow was in the process of melting and was having trouble getting my board to slide since I had an extra 50lbs or so of gear on. But once I got going it was a smooth ride back down to my car... kinda of. While riding down on the edge of the strip of snow I noticed that some huge holes had opened up to the river that was about 10ft below. I managed to find two places that looked safe enough to cross the over the river on the snowpack. Fourtunatly for me niether of those two places colapsed as I rode over them. I had reached the end off the snow strip and it was a short walk down to my car about 1/4 of a mile away.

Once in the parking lot I celebrated my hiking/snowboarding/birthday adventure with a victory dance, went home and passed out.

80's Campout!

80’s Campout!

The Eighties may have lasted 10 years, but they seem to live on even stronger today. Bright colored clothes, music videos, Nintendo and so much more captivated us! The TNF Raleigh crew thought it would be a totally rad idea if we could get a large group together to go camping for National Camping Month (June). People have asked us why we made it an 80’s theme? We ask, why would you not make it an 80’s themed event?!?

(Oh…Just hit you with a slap bracelet!)

This epic event was spear headed by Melinda “Did Not Start The Fire” Freeman and Chris “Loves It When A Plan Comes Together” Rief. They jumped into the DeLorean and searched for a campsite that would allow us to Go Back (To The Future) in time for an awesome night of camping! No worries at all, this duo found a campsite just outside Raleigh at Falls Lake (Rolling View).

With a campsite found and a date on the books, Melinda and Chris were looking for fellow co-workers to embark on a journey more epic than Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. There was no shortage of excitement, as our group quickly filled up. We had Carol “Flashdance” Cashen, Brad “Inspector GoGo Gadget” Muszalski, Kara “Members Only” Buhr, Makana “Rubik’s Cube” Dumlao and Allie “Rock You Like A Hurricane” Lebenson.

We couldn’t forget to bring man’s best friend with us! Chris brought his pup, Parker “Who’s The Boss” Rief on her first camping trip. Kara brought Cole aka Pac Man. Makana brought Amelia aka Footloose and Allie brought Bella aka Straight Up.

The crew arrived at camp with their flashy shirts, bright colors, and enough camping gear to outfit a city. The team pitched up 3 tents, one being the Minibus 23. It was said to be very easy to pitch and the look fit in right with our 80’s themed camping.

After pitching the tent and setting up camp, the crew took the time to take some photos that have become a classic of their own. The photo session involved craziness and showed what a strong team we have. The pups added more humor to our silliness.

We followed our photo session with dinner that included hot dogs, pasta salad and some more classic childhood sides. After dinner the group headed to Falls Lake for an early evening swim. After the swim, we set up a camp fire. We topped it off with some old school s’mores. The fire was a good cap to a fun night. We all were pretty exhausted and headed to bed early. With this hot Carolina night, we all ended up sleeping on top of our sleeping bags (Re Meow).

It was a great time for our 80’s Campout! We will definitely do it again, but when it is cooler. The Minibus, Angstrom and Re Meow’s worked out great in our adventure. We had a great time and hope you enjoy our crazy event! We recommend it to all!

TNF Raleigh

Chris Rief

Melinda Freeman

Carol Cashen

Brad Muszalski

Kara Buhr

Makana Dumlao

Allie Lebenson

Never Stop Exploring

Turtleback Falls

Turtleback Falls

July 4^th weekend, four friends and I went to Turtleback Falls in Western North Carolina near the Gorges State Park. It is a really cool spot about 4 and a half hours west of Raleigh. We drove out that Saturday morning along with 4 dogs, the ReMeow, the Minibus, and a lot of donuts. One of the dogs is old so his owner carried him the whole way. Needless to say, we got some funny looks from that.

We began by hiking 2-3 miles, where we then set up camp. We got really lucky that there was a site open next to the river. It was a very relaxing environment. After setting up camp, we hiked up the river and explored the surrounding areas. We came across a small swimming hole, where we also encountered a couple of snakes. The next day we set out again, and hiked up about 2 miles to Turtleback Falls. Along the way we also passed some other gorgeous waterfalls. Turtleback Falls is a swimming hole where you can slide down a waterfall that then drops you about 8 feet into a big pool of water.

Unfortunately, while we were there it rained multiple times. The minibus did a great job keeping everything inside the tent nice and dry! There was also plenty of room, and I never felt squished. I took the ReMeow to compare it to the Cats’ Meow that I have at home. It was a nice sleeping bag, and I mostly slept on top of it because of the heat, but my Cat’s Meow is a bit more comfortable so I will bring that one next time.

We spent two nights there, both of which I was exhausted and passed out before dark. It was a great place to camp and spend a summer weekend. It is a fairly easy hike, so a great beginners backpacking trip. The dogs also seemed to have a great time and were exhausted.

Melinda Freeman

TNF Raleigh

Never Stop Exploring

Location: Paradise

Latitude: -15.6383 S
Longitude: -71.6011 W


Alright, so Paradise may not have been all it was cracked up to be. 13,728 ft. at the bottom of one of the world’s deepest canyons, we slept on a lumpy mattress with little more than a thatched roof keeping out the near freezing temperatures after a knee-crimping all-day descent. This might not be everyone’s idea of Shangri-La but we were in heaven at the Paradise Oasis Lodge in Colca Canyon, Peru. Off the grid, out of range and public transportation limited to our own two feet, Paradise was the perfect place to test our limits and our TNF packs.

Loaded into our Altea and Alteo 35 liter packs was, most importantly, lots of water and sunscreen. With varying altitudes in the 16,000 feet range of the Colca Valley region, the dry air and thin atmosphere were not to be ignored. The deep pockets on the outside of the pack were great for fitting our oversized bottles and the mid-pack front pouch made accessing frequently used necessities easy. While temperatures at night and on the ridge were chilly, the heat of the day was a different story. The body of the pack was big enough to accommodate all of our layers as we stripped down during the day. A wide wind-tunnel between the pack and our bodies kept us from sweating which was much appreciated as the cold set in. Good division of storage space was critical as we rolled into camp and tried to find our gear in the dark. A divided center compartment as well as the big fold-over pocket on top meant that finding things where we packed them didn’t require digging into the abyss.

We arrived in this region of Peru, known for its rugged terrain, endangered condors and high mountain villages after a bumpy middle of the night ride from Arequipa in the very back of a passenger van. After stopping in the village of Chivay for a wood-fired breakfast of corn and ham pancakes and coca tea we headed down the trail. As the day-hikers retreated back to the top, we sank lower into the canyon. We crossed rope bridges, passed through abandoned villages with old Jesuit churches, and occasionally stopped for a snack of cactus fruit and a minute to take in the trail we had left behind up the mountain. Legs a bit shaky but happy to have made it, we spent the night at the bottom of the canyon and started the ascent when we woke at 4am.

Colca Canyon was just the start of the journey for the packs, and us! Over the next two-weeks we traveled from this arid outpost to rainy Cuzco, where we loaded our packs with hand-woven blankets, alpaca hats and custom boots. Wandering the streets with our rain-covers tightly attached, all of our shopping treasures stayed dry. From the rain to the mist, we descended into Machu Picchu, hip belts holding our gear tightly to our bodies as we climbed, sometimes hand-over foot backwards in time over the ancient ruins. The cool moisture of the Andes was a far cry from the rainforest we explored as we landed in Puerto Maldanado for our final stop in our Peru adventure. Three hours away from the nearest town by boat, foot and canoe we spent two nights on the oxbow lake, Sandoval. Home to endangered river otters, 21-foot long caiman and monkeys of all shapes and sizes we wandered through the jungle peering into the canopy for critters and spent evenings on a flat-bottom paddle boat gazing into the water at the reflective eyes that met our flashlights.

Peru is a mysterious place of many faces, terrains and climates. From tank-tops to fleeces our wardrobes and our gear had to be ready for anything. Aboard planes and trains, on mountain trails and through jungle terrain the Altea and Alteo packs let us explore without the fear that we would be unprepared for the surprises that awaited us at each new stop on our Peruvian path.

Mark Hamilton

TNF Georgetown

Cozy and Dry at an Oregon Music Festival

I am going to be honest from the beginning, I didn't go on any extreme backpacking trip for 5 days, deep in the Pacific North West, I went to a music festival about an hour outside the Portland city limits. I wasn't sure we'd have the foul weather necessary to provide for a good demo of the "Minibus 2," but I was mistaken. The weather had its ups and downs, and when I woke up the morning of our second day I was comfortable and dry, unlike the fields and campsites that were just outside the "Minibus 2" door.
Before opening the door to sieze the day, I assumed the outdoors were just as dry and welcoming as the interior of my little tent. Apparently it had been raining all night and still showering slightly for the next few hours. My experience with the Minibus was that it kept me dry, comfortable, and protected from the sporadic Oregon elements, allowing me to confidently sell one to a customer the very next week.
The opportunity to demo this piece of equipment, experiencing its talents first hand has been very beneficial to my selling strategies. I now have a story to share with customers interested in this piece of equipment and/or related pieces.

Sami Christensen
Portland, Oregon