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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1530229191398{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]What do you usually think of when you think about traveling through Ohio? If you’re anything like me, you would probably think of flat, farmland, and boring landscape. I typically think of Ohio as one of those fly-over states that Jason Aldean sings about, only in my case it’s one of those […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529378748722{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Ahhh, Father’s Day. Dad’s Day. A day for us guys, that have kids of our own; to remember what it truly means to be a father. A day to remember why we chose to be dads in the first place. A day to enjoy being a dad, spending precious time with our […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1527730096825{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]In preparation for my youngest daughter’s first camping trip, I began thinking about what types of pesky critters we may encounter up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula during the hottest part of the summer. As I began to think about it, a few came to mind that I would like to discuss and […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1525521556169{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]I know that it has been a little while since I’ve written, but I have good reason. Part is due to fulfilling my duties as Best Man for my brother’s upcoming wedding in a couple of weeks, including planning and executing the bachelor party. I have to say that it turned out […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9475″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1523144581156{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]What is with the world today? Media is everything. Media is everywhere. Media is king. Nature and true friendships have been thrown to the wayside. The word “friend” doesn’t have the same meaning as it once did. What does the word “friend” mean to you? I can say that […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1521986517290{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]After the long, cold winter we just made it out of, it feels like I had almost forgotten how amazing it feels being able to get out on the trails, away from society, away from all the stress. Tax season at work has been tolling on my body and mind, working 10 […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1521032038799{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]This past weekend, I had a little bit of time to kill when I got out of work on Saturday, before my wife and daughters got back to my mother-in-law’s house after spending the day at the bounce house with all the kids. By “all the kids” I mean 7 of them. […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1520081491756{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Let’s begin with a lesson. A word that is most likely new to all of you, as Google has proven to me that no one has used it before. Trailsick. What is that? What does it mean? Where did it come from? I would like to propose the addition of this word […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1518579224398{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Wow! Holy snow, Batman! We just got dumped on with the powdery, cold white stuff over the past seventy two hours, and it ended with just a touch of freezing rain here in good ol’ southeastern Michigan. I believe that we got close to 16 total inches of snow in these past […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1517544083373{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Living in southeastern Michigan during the winter is a roller-coaster of different weather patterns, which makes it arduous to plan anything as an outdoor soul. We have seen all four seasons within a week during the usual winter months. I say the word “usual” in a scrupulous manner, as there really is […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1516676700870{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]I am despondent, doleful, woebegone, heartbroken even. I consider myself a teller of tales, a dream or fantasy anecdotalist, an artist of fiction. I thoroughly revel in relaxing in my recliner and allowing my thoughts to wander and take on a life of their own. Writing and telling a story fulfills an […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1516071449016{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Sometimes I forget about the entirety of the world around me. My personal issues become monstrous, like behemoth mountains that I cannot scale or fathom a way to overcome, even though they may be but mere speed bumps on the road of life. Sometimes I feel like the world owes me an […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1515386243312{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Saturday, January 6, 2018. Average temperature was only about 5 degrees. Wind chill at about negative 10 degrees. No snow falling, but a good 6-8 inches in depth on the ground. Sounds like northern Canadian weather? Nope. We’re in Southeastern Michigan, Metro Detroit. Yeah, I’d have to say it’s been a little […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1515160690888{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]What a year it has been! Full of all kinds of surprises, adventures, obstacles, changes, and excitement. I can honestly say that I have grown and wised up a bit over the past year. A lot of things happened that I am deeply thankful for. Since my second daughter was born just […]

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_single_image image=”9144″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][ultimate_heading main_heading=”Twas the Night Before Christmas Outdoors” main_heading_color=”#008c2e” main_heading_font_family=”font_family:Mountains of Christmas|font_call:Mountains+of+Christmas” main_heading_style=”text-decoration:underline;,font-style:italic;,font-weight:bold;” main_heading_font_size=”desktop:40px;” main_heading_margin=”margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:50px;”][/ultimate_heading][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the woods, All the creatures were stirring, just because they could; The bear bag was hung by the high branch with care, In hopes that no bears […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1513833937939{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Nature-Deficit Disorder? Is this for real? Actually, as a father in today’s day and age, I can understand and relate to this wholeheartedly. We are living in a world where media and technology permeate almost every single moment of our waking existence. Smart phones, tablets, computers, television, streaming media. It’s everywhere. It’s […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1513312765889{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]I am extremely proud to say that I am a supporting member of the NCTA (North Country Trail Association).  I have taken it upon myself to take on the NCTA Hike 100 Challenge for 2018. If you aren’t familiar with this, you can read more about it here, on the NCTA website. […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1513012436796{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]It seems so long ago. This is delightfully surprising to me, especially because everything up until this point has seemed the complete opposite for me lately. You know that feeling that time seems to fly by quicker and quicker as you get older? Well, that was happening to me, until one day […]

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1512449422623{margin-top: 15px !important;margin-bottom: 15px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]You just aren’t doing it right if you don’t have at least one amazing campfire dessert recipe to make while you’re sitting around the campfire after a long day of outdoor activities. Whether it be hiking, backpacking, swimming, kayaking, climbing, or whatever…you must treat yourself, at least one night. With […]

[vc_row][vc_column][ultimate_spacer height=”20″][vc_column_text]Are you stuck trying to decide on what to get the camping or hiking enthusiast in your family for Christmas this year?  I put together a Camping Hiking Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide in attempts to offer my suggestions and ideas about what you should get for them. Yep, you guessed it. It’s that time […]

If you are anything at all like me, you may not always have the available time to regularly go out hiking overnight, for a weekend, or longer, though we may wish that we had the freedom to do so.  Most of us have responsibilities of a job, family, and a multitude of other things that […]

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1512565065838{margin-top: 35px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]A few months back, my wife and I had elected to take part in a pub crawl in our little city of Clawson, Michigan as part of a fundraiser for our daughter’s elementary school. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…a pub crawl for an elementary school fundraiser? I know it sounds unorthodox, […]

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1511664117768{margin-top: 35px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]As the title states, I really want to live in the mountains.  I’ve dreamed of it for many years.  I can even think back to the moment that started the gears running, driving my aspiration for living in the mountains. Let me take you back to February, 2003. I had just started […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1512565684297{margin-top: 35px !important;}”] A Nature Hike Posted on November 3, 2017 It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in our home. Birthday parties, construction, work, costumes, hay bales, candy, dogs, kids, Stranger Things. I needed some Vitamin N. After work, I sent a text to my wife since she was out and about with the kids. […]

The Outdoor Soul would like to wish you a safe and Happy Halloween!  Trick or treat!!

I was brainstorming on what to write for my next article, and decided to take a short break. I was intrigued by an article I read in my Backpacker Magazine about hiking etiquette. I began by googling hiking etiquette, and starting to take notes about what I came across. However, I wanted to get some […]

There has been a lot of craziness in our house lately with renovations, hosting a large family party for my daughter’s first birthday party, getting all of the Halloween decorations together, and of course the usual craziness that goes on in our family.  I just have to close my eyes keep telling myself “Remember, as […]

Being an Outdoor Michigander, a true Midwesterninian, a Lord of The Great Lakes State (or whatever you want to call it), I truly dread this time of year.  It’s always a sad moment for me, almost to the point of tears, when I usually spend a weekend slowly, regretfully, and painfully putting away my outdoor […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1512572799803{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]Please don’t be mad at me if I don’t post a blog entry every day. I would absolutely love to, but I have a crazy life right now and a family that I love dearly. I’m not just a blogger. I have a full time job in the finance industry. I […]

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1512576494507{margin-top: 35px !important;}”]I never knew what an adventure we would encounter on the first weekend in October this year. If you would have asked me before the trip, I would have told you that I was just going to get some awesome photos of the colors changing. I never would have contemplated needing to […]

This is the big one.  The big bad mama jama.  The tsunami of all questions for us outdoor type folk.  What do I need to bring with me when camping for just a weekend? I am leaving early tomorrow morning for a two day kayaking adventure on the Pine River in Manistee National Forest, and […]

I have come across a daunting dilemma lately.  I have been torn between two things that are important, and both must be accomplished.  Ladies and gentlemen…people of all ages and backgrounds…tonight’s matchup is a going to be a grueling battle…welcome to the main event.  In the red corner, from the vivid imagination, I give you […]