Category Archives: The Great Outdoors

Tips to Make Your Next Hiking Adventure a Safe One

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Are you, your family, your friends, or your romantic partner planning to take a hiking adventure soon? As you likely already know, hiking can be fun and exciting, but it can be dangerous at the same time. Of course, there are a number of different steps that you can take to protect yourself on your next hiking adventure and a few of those steps are outlined below.

If you have yet to choose your hiking trail, you will want to do so soon. The sooner that you choose your hiking trail, the easier it will be to familiarize yourself with where you will be hiking. When choosing a hiking trail, take the difficulty level of the trail into consideration. For instance, you can find hiking trails in the United States that are designed for beginners, as well as those that have advanced hiking experience.

Once you have decided which hiking trail you would like to hike on, you will want to take the time to fully familiarize yourself with the trail. If you are able to acquire a map of the hiking trial in question, you will want to closely examine it. You will want to know exactly where you are at all times, as well as how to get out of the area, in the event of an emergency. If you do acquire a map of the hiking trial that you plan on hiking, make sure that you bring a copy of the map with you. This will also assist you in the event of an emergency.

Familiarize yourself with the rangers who patrol the park in question; get their contact information so you can contact them in the event of an emergency. Speaking of contacting rangers, you will want to make sure that you bring a cell phone with you. A cell phone will allow you to call for help if you or someone in your hiking party has an accident or wanders off the trail. If you do not own a cell phone, you may want to think about buying a cheap prepaid one or borrowing the cell phone of someone that you know.

Although it is important that you bring a cell phone with you on your next hiking adventure, a cell phone is not all that you will want to bring. Even if you are only planning on hiking for a day or two, you will want to make sure that you have enough food and drinks, just in case something went wrong. Hikers are urged to prepare for the worst, just in case. For that reason, you may want to think about packing a number of extra snacks and drinks.

Another great way that you can stay safe on your next hiking adventure is by making sure that you have all of the right hiking equipment and supplies. Most importantly, make sure that you are dressed for the hike. Hikers should wear sneakers at least, but you may want to think about buying a set of hiking boots. You will also want to review the weather before leaving. Even if it will be bright and sunny, you may still want to think about bringing a light coat with you, in case of rain or if you become stranded on the hiking trail overnight.

Perhaps the best way to stay safe on your next hiking adventure is by letting your friends and family members know where you are going, when you will be leaving, and when you will return. Should you not return on time, those that you know should be able to find you, or at least have a general idea of where you are. You may also want to write down the same information and leave it in a safe place at home.

The above outlined hiking safety tips are just a few of the many that you may want to think about practicing. As a reminder, hiking can be fun and exciting, but it can also be dangerous as well.

Cooking In Cast Iron Cookware

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You can probably recall your grandparents using cast iron frying pans and skillets. On Sunday, you were sure to have fried chicken cooked in a cast iron frying pan and some delicious gravy to cover that rice.

There are many pieces of cast iron cookware. Many a fine meals have been prepared in cast iron frying pans and skillets. Cast iron has handles that can endure the heat. When you’re not using your cookware, it is best to grease it down to prevent rust . Cleaning cast iron is rather simple if cleaned while warm. Wash out and towel dry. Storing food in cast iron is not recommended. Moisture can form and cause rust to develop . This could be very harmful.

Cast Iron Cookware : Fry Pans- great for frying chicken or fish Dutch Ovens- Can be used for many purposes. This can be used when camping out or cooking your favorite pot of soup or beans. Cornbread Pan- ideal for cooking cornbread or small pieces of fish. Flat Bottom Square Skillet- used for frying up that bacon or sausage. Country Kettle- makes some great chili, soups and stews. Cast Iron Charcoal Grill – great for grilling on picnics. You can find this cookware at ball games where tailgating is permitted.

Campers use cast iron cookware to prepare their outdoor meals. Haven’t you ever eaten that fried bacon, eggs and outdoor toast? Catching fish and frying them up outdoors by the creek is awesome. Sporting events , is an excellent place to see cast iron cookware put through a test.

Cast Iron cookware isn’t all that expensive. It does require more maintenance than other cookware. Preserving your cookware is simple. Keep it clean and greased down.

If your parents and grandparents used cast iron cookware , you can believe that it is durable and can stand the heat. The weight of the cast iron helps to equalize the heat. Cast iron is great for slow cooking .

When selecting your cookware , cast iron is the only one that has multiple uses. Indoor and outdoor usage. Having cast iron cookware will benefit your family for generations to come. Carry your children and grandchildren down to the creek and fry those fish up. Camp out and enjoy the scent of that bacon cooking and that coffee brewing. Your life will never be the same , once you invest in cast iron cookware. Prepare to hand down your cast iron cookware to your children. It is that durable.

Realtree fragrances and the outdoors – a perfect combination

Tarps – Your Versatile Outdoor Friend

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CC BY by wonder_vision

Tarps – Your Versatile Outdoor Friend

Tarps are undoubtedly one of the most versatile protective tools available today, serving a multitude of purposes for a multitude of people. Whether you want to protect people or belongings from the harsh rigors of the outdoors, tarps are the ultimate in protective gear. If you’re not sure whether a tarp has a place around your home or garden, take a quick look at just some of the many purposes to which a tarp can be put.

Tarps are the ideal home improvement accessory, allowing you to protect almost anything you need to store outdoors while you work on your home. A whole host of your important belongings, from rugs and carpets to furniture and decorative items, can be safely protected from hail, rain or sunshine under your trusty tarp.

Tarps are also the perfect way to protect even things that belong outside, from garden furniture to bicycles and motorbikes. Tarps are a great way to protect the contents of your truck or trailer, keeping items protected and secure whether you are parked or in motion.

There are other ways to keep your tarps busy outdoors too. Tarps are a wonderful gardening tool, allowing you protect your plants during cold snaps, or simply while they get a secure foothold in your garden. Tarps are the ideal way to protect playing surfaces too, so those of you who like to play a little ball out back, you really have to get yourself a tarp!

And it’s not only inanimate objects that can be protected by the reliable tarp – these versatile items can be used for creating great tents, or can even be used as awnings. Depending on the type of tarp you choose, you can create a UV protective barrier that can keep your whole family out of the sun’s harmful rays while enjoying all the pleasures of being outdoors.

Tarps are the ideal protective device, and available in a wide range of materials, including mesh, plastic and canvas, finding the right one for you is easy. And with prices starting as low as only $10, you know that with a tarp, you simply can’t go wrong. There are even Realtree tarps available to blend in with the outdoors!

Recipe: pizza, grilled

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Source: Flickr


Pizza (Grilled)
To grill pizza, turn your grill into an outdoor oven. First, build a fire for indirect-heat cooking: For a circular charcoal grill, carefully push the hot coals to the perimeter of the fire bed; for square or rectangular charcoal grills, push the hot coals into half of the bed; and for gas grills, heat the entire grill and then turn off the burners on one side.

You’ll be cooking the pizza on the part of the cooking grate that’s not directly over the heat, so divide and shape the dough into larger or smaller circles, squares or rectangles to fit that area.

Close the grill’s cover (or cover the pizza with a domed wok lid or pot lid or even a large stainless steel bowl), and you’ve got your outdoor oven.

To prevent the dough from sticking, swab the grill rack with a vegetable oil-soaked cloth or paper towels, safely held with grilling tongs. Also brush the dough on both sides with olive oil. The heat quickly firms up the dough, so it won’t droop through the bars. After 2 to 3 minutes (check occasionally to guard against burning), you can easily flip the now-stiff crust.

It’s then ready to top with ingredients, which you will have arranged nearby on a table or tray to help you work quickly. Smear lightly with homemade or store-bought pesto or tomato sauce. Add shredded cheeses, dabs of goat cheese, sliced vegetables (which will have been grilled in advance), sliced pepperoni, crumbled cooked sausage, tissue-thin prosciutto. Then, cover again and cook about 5 minutes more, until the cheese has melted.

Slide the finished pizza onto a cutting board, sprinkle with Parmesan and chopped fresh herbs and cut it into wedges or squares with a pizza wheel or large, sharp knife.

The Freedom of the Outdoors, with the Great Scent of Realtree for Him & Realtree for Her

What to Consider When Choosing a Hiking Trail

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Source: Flickr

Are you interested in going on a hiking adventure? Whether that hiking adventure will last for a few hours or a whole weekend, you will need to choose a hiking trail. When it comes to choosing a hiking trail, you need to remember that you have a number of different options. No matter where in the United States you are located, you should have a number of hiking trails located a close distance away from your home.

Since you should have a number of different choices, when looking for a hiking trail to hike, you may be wondering how you can go about finding the “perfect,” hiking trail to hike. To help you choose the best hiking trail, there are a number of important factors that you may want to think about taking into consideration. A few of those factors are briefly outlined below for you.

One of the many factors that you will want to take into consideration is the difficulty of the hiking trail in question. You will find that hiking trails come in a number of different formats, particularly with difficulty levels. In fact, you may find that multiple parks have numerous hiking trails to choose from. Instead of choosing a hiking trail based on the beauty of the surroundings, you will want to examine difficulty. If this is your first time going on a hiking adventure, it may be best if you choose a trial that is designed for beginners or at least those at an intermediate level.

In conjunction with the difficultly of a trail, your safety is also something that should be take into consideration. You will want to make sure that you are on a hiking trial that is well maintained and well cared for. While it can be difficult to assess a hiking trail without visiting it, it is possible to do. If you know of anyone who has been hiking recently, you may want to ask them which hiking trail they took and their views on their experience, namely the condition of the hiking trail in question. You may also be able to use the internet, namely a search engine, to find popular hiking trails being discussed online.

Another factor that you may want to take into consideration, when looking for a hiking trail, is security. Is the hiking trail or hiking park in question closely monitored by staff, namely security guards? In today’s society, you can never be too careful, especially when in surroundings that are unfamiliar to you. Hiking trails or parks that have security guards are not only ideal in case you run into a problem, like with a stranger with bad intentions, but they are also great in the event of a hiking accident. Hiking trails or hiking parks with experienced staff members are less likely to have extreme or deadly hiking accidents.

As it was previously mentioned, hiking adventures can last for a few hours or be long as a whole weekend. If you are also interested in turning your hiking adventure into a camping one, you will need to find a hiking trail or at least a hiking park that has overnight accommodations. In most cases, you will find that these accommodations include an onsite campground. If you are only interested in hiking for the day, the overnight accommodations of the hiking trail or hiking park in question may not be a big concern of yours.

Price is another factor that you may want to take into consideration, when choosing a hiking trail to hike. In the United States, you will find that most hiking trails or parks are not free to visit. In all honesty, the fee that you are charged will all depend on the trail or park in question. Most of the time, you will find that the cost of hiking is affordable, but it is still something that you may want to take into consideration, especially if you are on a budget.

The above mentioned factors are just a few of the many factors that you may want to take into consideration, when looking for a hiking trail or a hiking part to visit. By keeping the above mentioned factors in mind, you will likely find that your next hiking adventure will be a memorable one.

The Great Outdoors – The Great Scent of Realtree for Him

Excellent Menu for a Great Fourth Outdoors

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Looking through the trees
Source: Flickr

The Fourth of July is America’s Independence Day. It is a special day in the minds and hearts of patriotic citizens of this country and there are many ways we celebrate that patriotism. If you are looking for a little something extra to add to your Independence Day menu try some of the ideas below. Remember that the red, white, and blue of the American flag can be excellent color additions to your fabulous fourth menu and make it definitely firework worthy.

It is fairly safe to say that for most of the country the weather on the fourth of July is going to be a little bit on the warm side. While there are exceptions to every rule this is the general rule of thumb. For this reason you should prepare your menu according to that and avoid foods that are going to melt quickly or will not look as appealing in warm weather. You should also take proper precautions for storage and keeping things from spoiling by leaving them out in the elements too long. Store as much of the food as possible until it is time to serve.

This may somewhat limit your offerings but opens the door to other offerings. Rather than have chilled pies for dessert choose cake that can be stored at room temperature. There are sure to be a few chilled recipes or dishes that are best served and/or stored chilled. Be sure to have plenty of cold gel packs or ice on hand and plenty of ice chests and other appropriate containers, especially if you are going to be camping or cooking out away from home, on hand to take care of at least the amount of food you are contributing that needs cold storage.

If you are going to be camping out or enjoying the great outdoors on the fourth consider foods that can be prepared with a Dutch oven. There are many great recipes and these foods can pretty well cook for the prescribed length of time and served immediately if you plan properly. These ovens are quite useful and can prepare everything from cakes and muffins to stews, chili, and roast beef with vegetables. In other words, a Dutch oven opens doors that may not be widely available to the average camper on a cookout.

Foil packet meals are also excellent choices for your Fourth of July cookouts. These leave little mess, little fuss, and more often than not taste great. Dishes such as Hobo Stew and Creek Bank Potatoes are very popular and quite savory for the average cook out. They are also rather simple to prepare with few ingredients. This makes them an excellent choice for cooking on a grill or even in a Dutch oven if you have one at your disposal, which I highly recommend not only for Fourth of July meal preparations but also any time you are cooking in the great outdoors. You might find that you love it so much you don’t want to do without it.

Another great tip when cooking away from home on the Fourth of July is to keep things simple. You do not want to lug around stacks of condiments, dishes, bowls, trays, etc. Keep things as simple as possible and try to use dishes that require few ingredients yet still taste great. The more simple things are when dining in the great outdoors the more you can appreciate the simplicity of being in the great outdoors.

Don’t forget the appeal of simple hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats as great Fourth of July meal ideas. These foods are easy to prepare, easy to clean up, and go great with chips. No muss, no fuss, remember? The less time you spend on meal preparations, the more time you have available to get around to enjoying your time in our great countryside. I can’t think of many better ways to celebrate our independence as a nation than by enjoying it.