I came across this story of one man’s encounter with a massive wild boar in the forests of South Carolina. It’s about personal protection in the backcountry and puts forth some interesting notions in the realm of self-defense. It’s a first person account that I pass along with a minimum of judgment, but rather a suggestion that this guy makes some wild assumptions. Also, read the comment by the guy who by coincidence ‘watched the movie Predator yesterday for the umpteenth time.’

You have one job. Just make sure I don’t drop by climbing partner while I’m belaying and trying to eat a turkey sandwich at the same time. And Petzl GriGri 2, you’ve failed at even this modest task. While no belay device is a substitute for caution, knowledge and a working belay device, the GriGri was always close. Now the new iteration of their popular GriGri device is being recalled due to issues that could cause a failure of the braking system. So far seven incidents have been reported but no one’s died or been injured. Here’s the notice on the recall from Petzl.

via Adventure Journal

According to a study by 27 scientists released to the United Nations, the world’s oceans are on the verge of a dinosaur-style extinction. Over the last 600 million years there have been 5 major extinctions, the last one being 65 million years ago when an asteroid struck Earth and abruptly ended the reign of dinosaurs. The scientists say a combination of over fishing and lack of oxygen in the water will strangle out the remaining sea life. But this won’t affect my Hawaiian vacation, right?

A friend sent me this video months ago but I only got around to watching it recently. Sorry for the delay on this fantastic short video about surfing and filming Irish surfers. It takes a few moments to get used to the accents on the Dark Side of the Lens, but at least there’s plenty of great photography to admire even if you never catch on to what he’s saying.

The heat’s not as bad and crowds are nonexistent, but the scenery isn’t quite the same. Writer James Vlahos has become something of an addict to night hiking, falling in love with the romance of the darkened woods. Or so he says, my guess is he just finished reading Twilight. He embarked on the popular John Muir hike, 211 miles, planning on tackling the entire thing under the cover of night. His poetic 3-week journey is online at National Geographic Traveler.

Backcountry.com Athlete Cedar Wright put together this profile on Alex Honnold who’s recently graced the cover of National Geographic in a Jimmy Chin photo and is reportedly the centerpiece of an upcoming 60 Minutes feature. This video is about living in a van as a means for living the dream.

Despite the bleak economic outlook of last year the piles of snow helped create one of the most financially successful ski seasons of all time. Not only were ski resorts selling more lift tickets than they ever have, but shops were stacking skis like cordwood into the backs of family minivans. The more skiers the better. The more people interested in outdoor sports in general the better - it means that many more advocates for protecting wilderness. One of the biggest areas of growth continues to be backcountry skiing, with more people trading the lift lines and mid-mountain lodges for solitude and powder.

Residents of East Missoula were without power for a few hours while NorthWestern Energy fixed a downed power line. Meanwhile a woman who sees eagles in the neighborhood all the time was out shooting photos of one that had perched in a tree above her house. She waved down the power crew to ask what the problem was, and they pointed out the rare, flying dead baby deer that had perched on the power lines near her house.

A 21-year-old kid was hanging out at Mount Tabor Park in Portland and knocking back a few beers. The urge to pee struck him so he thought he’d used the open air sewage treatment facility he was standing right next to. Unfortunately it wasn’t a sewage treatment; it was a drinking water reservoir. It holds about 7.8 million gallons of drinking water for the town, and since a security camera caught the kid on tape they’ve decided to drain the entire thing. Also, on an unrelated note, don’t forget to turn off the tap when you’re brushing your teeth - it’s a great way to avoid wasting water.