The Outsiders - Outdoor Guide Services

05/28/2024

Start your summer with the tools necessary to have a fun and safe adventure with a Basic Hiking Course offered at the Rochester Public Library this Saturday, June 1st at 2pm.

Registration link here:

04/01/2024

Governor Hochul announced that beginning on Monday, April 1, 2024, New York State veterans and Gold Star Families will have free access to New York State parks, campgrounds, day use areas, historic sites, and recreation areas through the expansion of the Lifetime Liberty Pass Program.

02/23/2024

Ed from refining his winter mountaineering skills in the Baker Mountain Wilderness, North Cascades, WA.

02/14/2024

The FDA approves new drug for frostbite. Iloprost is a vasodilator, encouraging bloodflow.

https://www.pharmacypracticenews.com/a/phwBAA/f

11/22/2023

More happy customers getting into some monster Brown Trout in the Lake Ontario Tribs.

02/02/2023

Outdoor adventure doesn’t stop in the winter - it gets cooler! Contact one of the guides at The Outsiders to schedule your winter fun.

12/20/2022

11/20/2022

Essential skill.

Fire is one of the ten essentials – By regulation, NO campfires are allowed in the Eastern Zone of the High Peaks. However, in an emergency would you be prepared to make a fire? Would you be prepared to do so on a windy, wintry day when someone in your party is hurt and you are waiting for help to arrive? A fire may provide warmth, it may provide a signal for rescuers, it may keep you warm while you gather materials for it, and a fire does provide some comfort.
So, what items do you have in your pack to make a fire with? Most people will say matches. OK, but are they dry? Hint – shrink wrap a package just for an emergency. Do you have a lighter? Do you have some type of fire starter so that even if wood is wet you could get a fire started? Hints – hand sanitizer works well. Fritos corn chips burn for several minutes. A lightweight pencil sharpener can be carried to shave small sticks so you can light a nice pile of tinder. Dryer lint also works well. Fire starter blocks that you may use at home or a candle can be used.
We strongly encourage you to put together a fire starting kit and practice, practice, practice at home and in poor weather conditions. In the event of a field emergency, you will be well prepared. Your fire starting kit should have more than one fire starting option. Again, redundancy is very wise in winter when there is so little room for error.

11/14/2022

Winter trail etiquette.

Walking in snowshoes. It is fairly simple to just walk along with these extra items on your feet. Yet there is not only skill, but some etiquette involved too.

Breaking trail through deep snow will cause one to become fatigued very quickly, particularly if it is heavy snow. We strongly suggest that the group takes turn breaking trail with the person in the front breaking for say 100 to 200 steps, then stepping aside and going to the back of the line. This allows that person to walk on a well packed trail and not work as hard for a time, slowly moving back up through the group to the front again when they will be recovered enough to have the energy to break trail again. This roation can make a successful day for all when everyone shares the work!

Zigzag your steps up a slope rather than going straight up or down the slope.

You will often make a depression in the snow with your snowshoes. The next person should step in between the depressions and squish down the high spots. This makes a beautiful trail for those coming behind you. Always leave the trail better for the next persons.

Post holing is when someone decides not to wear snowshoes and makes deep holes in the snow with their foot rather than staying on top and packing down a trail with their snowshoes. This is unkind to others and potentially quite dangerous when a snowshoe tip falls into these holes, causing someone to trip. Please use the right gear and do not be a post holer.

Don't count on following tracks in the snow. We have often heard, well I can just follow someone elses tracks. Not necessarily so. Wind covers over tracks very quickly and even some types of snow will not provide many indentations when you pass through. Know where you are going through the use of navigation skills so that you do not need to depend solely on following some elses tracks in the snow.

Pace is another thing to consider. You always want to avoid sweating and getting wet when you can. You may slow down your pace a bit in winter so that you maintain a steady, non-sweating pace.

Spruce traps! Traps in the snow? Yes! As snow covers evergreen branches they will be weighted down and will bend down, but due to the branch structure there will be air pockets where no snow has collected. At some point later, an unsuspecting hiker will come along and take a step and fall down through those branches, sometimes several feet down! It is often difficult to get out of one of these spruce traps as a snowshoe gets caught under branches. These traps can be very exhausting and it is difficult for others to assist you. If they tried, they too may fall in. The best thing for them to do is take photos of you – lol!