Next Adventure's Staff Blog

Flight Crew Flies Solo to Scout Lake!

2011-06-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the reviville of the Scout lake Classic! This legendary event hasn't been ran since 2003 and now it's back in action bringing disc golfers together for a laid back weekend of golf, chilling by the lake and camping with good friends.

The Scout lake camp ground is located about 12 miles west of sisters. this mixed pine/fir forest has survived multiple wild fires giving disc golfers a landscape of chard tree bases and plenty of down logs. The terrain has lots of elevation, which made for some awesome shots and tricky wind situations. the lake sits at 3600 ft making discs fly a little more stable then here in the valley, remember that tip when reaching in to the bag...

This was the view from hole #2. Suttle lake is just a mile from the campground and offers fishing, motorized boats, and calm waters for the kayak or canoe. I didn't make it into Suttle this time, but next time i'll be sure bring a kayak or two and a fishing pole.

The Tourney could not of happened without the TD's Teresa and Tom who did a great job organizing the event and putting together a sweet 18 hole temporary course, next year were shooting for 27 holes, so BYOB ( bring your own basket) Thank you!

This is a pic of my main man Brian, doing his thing hunting for Morel mushrooms...

Around the group camp everybody was making sure to have a good time with the generous keg donations from Three Creeks Brewing. Washers was the popular camp game for the weekend providing hours of fun.

Putting green on hole 16.

tee box on hole 16.

Scout is perfect for a lazy canoe ride and basking in the sun. the lake is fairly small and on a warmer day it really heats up making it great for swimming.

Brian taking the #1 spot in advanced..well done B!

Overall, I had a great weekend! Golfing, Camping, Chilling with good people, checking out a new spot, and relaxing by the campfire all qualify for time well spent! Big thanks goes out to all the Bend Rebels and everyone else who helped out. See you next year!

Getting Outdoors

2011-06-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

June 11 is National Get Outdoors Day, a day dedicated to encouraging healthy and active fun in the outdoors. Naturally, where there's fun and outdoors, Next Adventure is close at hand.

This is the second year we were invited to attend the GO Day festivities at the Water Resources Education Center in Vancouver, WA. Over 40 booths promoting all things outside were on hand and hundreds of families came by to take part.

There was so much to do! You could go for a paddle, fish for rainbow trout, meet Ranger Rick, learn about the PCT, even shoot a bow and arrow. There were all kinds of experts on hand teaching skills and giving out information on such activities as biking, hiking, camping, horseback riding, orienteering, and backyard gardening. Next Adventure came by with a disc-golf challenge, and I'm pretty sure everybody in attendance threw at the basket at least once! At times there were so many kids throwing discs! I'm glad we brought so many discs! Everybody had a great day and the weather was perfect. What a great day to get outdoors.

Sleeping With Bikes

2011-06-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

The sun was still shining when we started our clinic. I guess that's what makes summer riding so nice; long, warm days in the saddle. We teamed up with Bike N' Hike again to discuss the finer points of bike touring, multi-day bike rides which, in most cases, involve hauling all your gear on your bike to the camping spot. Awesome.

There were four of us who spoke, and about 16 folks in attendance. I started things off by discussing camping gear, along with some weight and money saving tips. Next up was Bill Carson, the sales rep for Ortlieb and NiteRider (among others) who told everybody how to carry that gear as efficiently as possible, as well as the importance of illumination. Bike N' Hike's own Amy Krull gave us some great fitness tips. She also discussed apparel and, everybody's favorite, Chamois Butter. Last to speak, was Aaron Thurman, Bike N' Hike's assistant manager and mechanic extraodinaire. He told us what types of bikes to ride, what tools to bring, and what skills we should know to be self-reliant.

When all was said and done, and some great experiences were shared by all, we had one more thing to do, give out some swag in the form of a raffle. The odds were really good... Everybody won! There was a set of Ortlieb panniers, a $50 Next Adventure Gift Certificate, MSR cookware, NiteRider Lights, Chamois Butter, an ultralight stove, books, patch kits, Hammer Nutrition Goodies, and more. Talk about winning! Be sure to stay tuned to Next Adventure's and Bike N' Hike's websites and Facebook pages to learn about the many more clinics and events to come. Rumor has it that the next one will be about off-road touring. Shredgnar anyone?

Bike N' Hike's Amy Krull and Aaron Thurman

Delicious beer from Hopworks.

Rose City Open in the Flight Crew's Back Yard

2011-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

The RCO is historically the longest running PDGA event held within the city limits of Portland dating back to 2006. I believe that's right but don’t hold me to it. It’s held at the always-challenging Pier Park in North Portland. The park was in beautiful condition for this time of year thanks to all the hard work by the Parks Department and the volunteers, including several Stumptown Disc Golf Club members and our very own Next Adventure.

Joey and Cindy setting

up the Next Adventure pop up at Tournament Central

Joey shows off the players pack disc

One of the rad tee signs donated and put in by Stumptown DGC and Next Adventure

Flight Crew Women take flight

In the Advanced Women’s division Cindy once again did not disappoint, taking first place in a strong 10 women field. She took a two stroke lead after the first round and never looked back. She played consistently all weekend and eventually won by 10 strokes. Great job Cindy! Emma once again gave touring pro Meolody King a run for her money but fell a few strokes short. She was able to hold on to second place by one stroke in a strong Pro Women’s division.

Flight Crew Men, grounded after takeoff

Joey and Dan both started strong shooting 52’s in the first round. This put them on the second card together within striking distance of the leaders. A disappointing second round by both moved them a few cards back. Not to fear though, fun was still had. Honestly, anytime you can spend two days at Pier Park in relatively dry weather with the great disc golf community we have here in Portland, EVERYBODY WINS!

With over five 1000-rated players in the pro field, and five more players in the 990’s knocking on the door, the competition in Portland shows just how big disc golf has gotten. That’s not to mention over 90 other players filling out the 3 Advance Fields. It’s safe to say that disc golf is alive and well in Portland.

The Flight Crew would like to thank first-time TD’s Eric and Justin for running a first class tournament. Awesome job guys! Thank you so much for all of your hard work; can’t wait till next year.

Justin and Eric checking in players at Tournament Central

Last but not least, a special shout out to Gwillim for showing up to support his fellow Flight Crew teammates despite being fresh from back surgery. It was great to having you out there, Ryan!

Skating, hammock life, and Alaska

2011-06-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Backside Alaska air on driftwood coping 1/4 pipe

Next Adventure Team rider, Willis Kimbel, recently got back from Unalakleet, AK where he was skating, filming, building a quarter pipe with the locals and living the Hammock life. Unalaklee has some of the most rugged and harshest conditions. It is inhabited by 600 people whose doors mostly remain unlocked. There's no driving or getting to any other village except by airplane and the towns one road was paved just last year. Its unreal to skate the one road in the middle of this gnarly wilderness. Thanks to Willis for sharing his adventures with us.

Anchorage to Unalakleet.

53'' moose rack and a eskimo's toy boat, made out of an old gutter.

Native Manual. This kid was tough as nails. Watched him roll down a rocky hill for fun.

NA Sighting

Some real kids. Half of these kids had already hunted and tanned grizzlies. One of them felt that after I gave him a sticker, he would call it even by giving me a walrus tooth from his most recent expedition.

Hammock Life

Can you drink that?

2011-05-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

Despite all expectations, it didn't rain Saturday for The Sunset Trails District Boy Scout Camporee at Trojan PGE Park. NA Outreach Staff was on hand, spreading the good word on drinking water safety, and also having a little fun.

Patrols lined up.

Katadyn was kind enough to throw two of their awesome Hiker filters into the arena.

And they pumped.

Katadyn advertises a pump rate of 1 liter per minute. The fastest time of the day, 43 seconds.

These scouts had quite a day. There was a fire truck with high-powered hose they could shoot, an archery range, throwing axes, shortwave radios and even a helicopter landed.

When it was all set and done we were sure to leave some sweet swag and raffle prizes for the evening's camp-fire festivities. A great way to end a great day.

Even The Bonneville Damn Rangers approved!

Octopus Caught While Kayak Fishing (Amazing Video!)

2011-05-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

While fishing up in Washington, Bryce Molenkamp, the Northwest Regional Hobie Fishing Team member, hooked into a big octopus which he originally thought was a snag. I was able to get some nice underwater shots of it next to his kayak. The fishing was slow, but this made things interesting as it took about a half hour for Bryce and another kayak fishermen to wrestle it into a bag.

Tight lines!
-Jeff Anderson (Next Adventure Kayak Fishing Team)

Flight Crew Lands in Walla Walla (What The? What The?) for the Aloha Sushi Classic

2011-05-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

The Flight crew headed to Walla Walla Washington for the Aloha Sushi Classic PDGA B tier disc golf tournament April 30 & May 1st. Can you say road trip? Flight Crew team mates Cindy & Emma met up in Portland on Friday with Rebecca Duffy of Disc Golf Planet Fame. Yes we carpooled with the “Fräulein of the Fairway”. It was a fun trip with lots of great Oregon & Washington scenery from gigantic windmills to miles of Poplar forest (spooky). Also on Friday Flight Crew team mates Little Joey “Bag O Doughnuts” & Medium Dan also carpooled from Portland on Friday morning. All of us left early, so we could play the courses Friday. The girls started out on the back course, and we were fortunate to have a local guide to show us the way. (Thanks, Boller). Then we all played the random doubles on the blue course. We finished off the evening with a very nice dinner at Applebee’s thanks to our awesome server Christian. Christian now knows all about disc golf. Then it was off to our accommodations for the weekend the Travel Lodge, which was quite nice. Also we had some super cute Oregon disc golf boys in the room next to us Brody, Sean, and McGruber.

The Fräulein of the Fairway.

Emma Rose putting.

We were all pumped in the morning for our first round on Saturday. The weather was dry, but windy for the morning round. We all played in different divisions Emma FPO (professional women), Cindy FW1 (advanced women), and Rebecca FM1 (advanced masters women). Joey & Dan both played in MA1 (advanced men). The ladies played the morning round on the Blue course. I played well in that first round, and ended up tied for the lead after the first round. Both Emma and Rebecca stayed close in their division, and the Boys were also near the top in their group on the black course. After Lunch the girls moved to the black course, and the boys moved to the blue course. It was sunnier & less windy for the afternoon round. I played one of my best rounds ever, and pulled ahead by 6 strokes. Emma & Rebecca stayed within striking distance, and the boys stayed near the top of their division.

Let's Simo Putt (where eveyone putts at the same time).

The awesome group of ladies I palyed with in the first round.

The title sponsor of the Aloha Sushi is yup Aloha Sushi, so of course the player’s party was held at Aloha Sushi. They closed the restaurant down to the public for the party, so the place was packed with disc golfers. Our sushi chef Paul was awesome, and he happened to be the owner of the place too. We had an amazing time eating sushi, and drinking sake bombs. “SAKE BOMB”! If you are ever in Walla Walla you need to check out Aloha Sushi you won’t be sorry. We turned in pretty early because we all had a big final round to play on Sunday.

Outside Aloha Sushi the title sponsor of the tournament. Check out all the baskets piled in that truck. Yup we are at the right place.

Yum sushi!

Our awesome sushi chef & owner of Aloha Sushi Paul. Yup that is a disc he is proudly holding that is signed by Avery Jenkin's one of the best disc golfers in the world.

Sunday was super sunny for our final round, so we all slathered on the sunscreen before our rounds. That was such a nice change to the rainy could spring we have been having in the NW this year. Emma played solid in the final round, and took down 3rd. I have to give a shout out to Jessie Westphal who won the open women’s division she had one of the most amazing rounds ever posting HOT 47 par is 54, so she shot 7 down SICK! Rebecca took down 2nd in advanced masters, Dan finished 2nd with Joey right behind him for 3rd in advanced men, and I managed to hold on for the win in advanced women. Yay Flight Crew taking home some hardware.

The Open ladies group posing with the Aloha Sushi mascot YoYo.

Tournament Central. Yup pretty sure Brody made that putt.

The Advanced ladies group.

This was such a well run event with awesome courses, amazing player’s pack, raffle, sweet trophies. I played with some amazing ladies thanks to Shawna, Tanya, Lesli, and Jenny you guys were awesome, and I hope we can play together again soon. Thanks to Kris Bland the tournament director & his amazing team for yet another amazing Aloha Sushi Classic I can’t wait for next year. Also thanks for my travel buddies Rebecca & Emma you guys are the best. We left Walla Walla little sunburned, but a lot happier with our wonderful memories of an awesome disc golf adventure.

Flight Crew Rocks Milo, the DaddyCaddy and a Rolly Cart (Not to Mention our Super Cute Knee Socks)

2011-05-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the McIver 3 Player Open (3P0) on the rolling, sun drenched fairways of magnificent Milo McIver Riverbend Disc Golf Course, this year taking place April 23rd & 24th, Easter weekend in some people's worlds.

The 3PO is a popular event, due to the format of only 3 players per card (can you say speed of play?), the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the world famous 36 hole Beaver State Fling layout, super cool mixin' up the cards in the first round so you play with folk you wouldn't normally, and it's a Suchocki tourney and that means those gorgeous Suchocki glass basket trophies. For me it has sentimental meaning, too (I know, I know... everything has sentimental meaning to me... can I help it that things just mean so much?), as last year's was my first B-tier event and my first event I played without the reassuring presence of my daddy-o. Well not this year people! No way was I going to go up against Melody King, one of the top 10 golfers in the world, without my old man. And because he's such a class act (and unfortunately still on the injured reserve from a successful surgery last summer) he wasn't just standin' around lookin' pretty, he was indeed there pushing my bag around (which looked quite like a baby in a stroller... I finally got to rock the rolly cart since my caddy wasn't into actually bag draggin' for me and his age legitimizes the rolly... people tell me I'm too young), cleanin' my discs off for me, keepin' my head in the game and my focus where it needed to be. Also along for the ride is my tournament totem, Musical Teddy Bear, who's been chillin' with me for all of my nearly 32 years. You think it's silly? Well, I just think that we all need a soothing lullaby every now and again.

Jeff Mittl, Emma Rose, and Andy Hauk

I played the first round on a card with the delightful Jeff Mittl (of Beaver State Fling Tournament Director fame) and Andy Hock from Eugene. Could not have asked for nicer guys to play with than those two. The energy was perfect, the sunshine was spectacular and I shot my best round ever on the West Course at Milo with a 66. Andy said he'd be shocked if I wasn't in 1st after that round but I knew who I was playing and the golf she's capable of. She shot a 70.

The second round put Melo, myself and Maggie Drews playing together on the East Course. Maggie plays for the U of O team, in fact is the National Collegiate Champion, but played up for the heck of it 'cause it was the only spot open. Not only is she a great sport but she is a ray of sunshine as well (and another freckly red head... just sayin'). Melo put up a fight on the East Course and I did my best to keep up. She sure can throw far, but I was right there doggin' her every drive, followin' her every line and hittin' almost every putt (it's like my dad says "you can't hit 'em all"). I shot another personal best with a 67 and Melo shot a 64. End of day one and I've got her by one.

In my prep for this event (my extensive prep) I psyched myself up to go out and play My Best Golf. So maybe I'm not gonna beat Melody King, whatever. I sure as heck will give her a run for her money anyway. It's not about her and it's not always about winning (not gonna lie, I really love winning, tho) this is about an amazing opportunity to see how far my game has come and just exactly where I stand compared to a world class touring professional, I told myself. So at the end of the first day to realize that winning was indeed a possibility, my heart pretty much exploded joy all over everything I breathed on.

.........................................Ring O Fire put on by the Next Adventure Flight Crew........................................

Somehow I got myself a good night's sleep (props to Musical Teddy) and drove myself bright and early back out to Milo for the finish. No rolly cart. No daddycaddy (dad rocked the easter gala for my niece this year which usually happens at Auntie Emma's Shack, but, I happened to have a previous engagement). Sunday did not grace us with the spectacular sunshine of Saturday, but I am an Oregonian through and through and I sure as heck ain't no fairweather golfer. I got shamwows (like 30), I got gators and goretex and I got friends what got spare umbrellas (mine is a Shack-brella and it leaks). Rain or shine, I got my golf on and shot a 67 on the West Side giving myself a three stroke lead with Melo shooting a 69.

And then for the final round I opened the door wide for her to take it back. I lost my focus. I was straight up fatigued (I now work out every day at work... which is hilarious as I teach early head start... babies + pushups = laugh riot. And laughing is a good work out for your core muscles). For about 1/2 a dozen holes in the middle of that round I snapped no drives, missed every line and was hard pressed to get even a five foot putt to stick in the chains. I told myself over and over, girl, this is your happy place. I reminded myself to be focused yet relaxed and also mentally strong (read that sentence over again doing your best impression of my dad/coach). I remembered my system... 1. Tell yourself the right things. 2. Follow thru - practice it! 3. Aim, always aim... and I stuck to the system... and I tell you what, it worked, and I think I just wanted to win more than Melo did. I was pretty sure that she had taken it back, but I wasn't going to give up and not play the best golf I had in me. It paid off. I won by two strokes. And props to Maggie Drews for shooting the hot round on the card. I, uh, don't remember the scores from that round but she found her groove and played beautifully. Did I mention she's a ray of sunshine?

I had a heck of a battle that weekend... and so did my team mate Cindy McMahan. A riveting back and forth between the young up-and-comer Rebecca Verrette with Cindy coming out on top in the advanced women's divsion. Also Flight Crew member Dan took 4th in advanced men.

NA Reaches Out

2011-05-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

The Next Adventure Outreach team was on hand at the Lewis & Clark Scout District Camporee held at Trojan PGE Park this past weekend. This is the fifth year in a row that we have teamed up with ClimbMax Mountaineering to provide a climbing wall for the event.

This year the Scouts were organized into teams for an "Amazing Race" style adventure. Teams were timed climbing the wall and reading a clue from the top. It made for a different experience than most years.

Our volunteer Scout assistant, George, was a great help in getting other Scouts in and out of their harnesses and timing the teams. Josh and Derek from ClimbMax were belaying away, with Next Adventure's Andrew and Greg handing out raffle tickets for the big prize give-away.

Next Adventure donated prizes for the Scouts to win in the raffle, including a 2-man tent, a climbing harness, a backpack and even a skateboard.

Despite the threat of rain, it turned out to be a beautiful day down the river. Cool and cloudy most of the time, when the sun came out, it really felt like Spring.

Next Adventure Outreach can be a part of your next group event. Contact Andrew or Greg at the shop, and find out what we can do for you!

Flight Crew: Touch down at the Top of the World

2011-04-26T22:07:00.000-07:00

Not gonna lie, people. It was pretty hard to feel excited about a four hour drive to Roseburg in the pouring rain at 4 o'clock in the morning for my first Great Northwest Open. However, I had convinced my teammate, Cindy, to get up at the same ungodly hour so that we could get plenty of practice in on the hallowed fairways of Whistler's Bend Disc Golf Course, and I am not the kind of person that leaves a teammate hangin'.

Luckily, the rain slacked as we approached Roseburg (Cindy had somehow caught up with me despite leaving a 1/2 hour later... hmmmm... yes, yes, I do drive like an old lady...) since my windshield wipers were actively falling apart from all their vigorous swishing and Cindy guided us in to the stunningly beautiful park entrance by grace of her faithful GPS (me? I had some vaguely legible directions written on a tiny sticky note).

Cindy & Emma on Top of the World. Check out the tiny basket way down the hill.

Whistler's Bend is so gorgeous that when we walked out onto the fairway of #7 which runs high above the banks of the North Umpqua, my breath was taken away and tears filled my eyes (if you don't know me, I really love disc golf and tend towards the emotional ). Also, tears were filling my eyes and my nose was dripping down my face as a result the beautiful flowering madrone trees which my allergies and loratadine were unable to fully cope with. Our practice round was perfect (although rainy, note to self: next time wear a hat) and I very much enjoyed the random doubles (random doubles is a good way to make friends. Take note, this comes into play later in the weekend).

I played just the one round on Saturday... but it was enough. Steady rain the whole round added to the vigorous and taxing nature of the course itself and I was whooped. Honestly, I don't know how the other girls managed that round... I know the only reason I made it was the fact that I had my daddy-caddy to hold my umbrella over me and keep his pockets full of dry towels for me.

Flight Team members Cindy & Emma

Sunday dawned cloudy but dry and I sure was lamenting my nervous brain, which never relaxes and thus kept me laying wide awake for the last three nights playing disc golf in my head when I should have been resting up for the final push of two taxing rounds and then the loooooong drive home.

The first round I started fine and was lucky enough to have my old man still stickin' around to caddy for me. But I just never got my groove on nor found my happy golf place and was in third place when we broke for lunch. Five strokes out of the lead and two strokes out of second.

During the lunch break I debriefed with my pops, found my happy place, packed up my wet and soggy camp and got all my ducks in a row and was ready for an incredible second round, content to simply play my game and glory in the beauty of Whistler's Bend and the game I love the most. It worked... I shot a 61, tying Teresa Embree for the round and moving myself into second place. I'm sure that having a super sweet, cute young caddy (thank you Roy Albert, my new friend I made playing doubles) was helpful, as well. Made all the other girls jealous, kept my back from spasming, and while it did not completely fill the void left by my dad who had to head home it made a difference.

Suzy Q, Teresa, Rachel, and Emma Rose

Final results for the 2011 Great Northwest Open: 1st Plac

e, Teresa Embree. 2nd Place, Emma Rose Hanley. 3rd Place, Suzie Q Jones.

I'm not even gonna talk about the drive home and the next day at work

Fish On at Pacific City- Jeff Anderson

2011-04-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Hit the beach at about 7 and took my time getting setup. Helped a dory guy with his boat and snapped some pics of the exposed reefs with starfish. Ron showed up and we hit the surf. Michael, another member of the Next Adventure Fishing Team, and Jarrol showed up right as we were about to launch. Nice and easy surf launch!

On the way out, I stopped and chatted with another kayakfisher in an OK Trident with a big Next Adventure sticker on the side. He was working the back side of the rock and said he was picking up a lot of blacks and small lings.

Ron and I worked some reefs and ditches out past the rock. I picked up a nice yelloweye and little later I found a steady bite of black rockfish. I also caught a nice copper rockfish which was also released after pictures. I pulled up a 29" ling that had a bunch of eggs stuck to its jaw and belly. I must have pulled him right off the next he was guarding. Soon after that Michael and Jarrol came out past the rock. After another couple of drifts I pulled up my second ling which ended up at 32.5". I caught and released another lingcod at about 25" and a few more rockfish and then headed to the rock.

The wind was starting to pick up so hanging out around the rock sounded nice. I switched to lighter gear and caught and released some more rockfish around the north side of the rock. Then switched to even lighter gear (bass rod) and started dragging a nice big weedless plastic bass lure through the kelp. I felt a good bump and set the hook. Line started peeling off and I started to get nervous that this thing was going to wrap me up in the kelp. I started pedaling towards it to get vertical. It certainly didn't feel like a rockfish so I'm now thinking this thing is going to bite right through my 8lb. line. It slowly starts to come up and I see it's a decent ling! It was about 24" and sure was a fun fight! A couple of pics and back he went.

It was an awesome day of fishing with great company! Hope to do it again real soon!

NA Flight Crew lands @ the DISCo Ball

2011-04-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

Its Official! the 2011 disc golf season has begun and i can't think of a better way to kicks things off then heading down to one of my favorite spots in Oregon, beautiful and always sunny Bend. About a month ago i decided it was time to take a little vacation from the office. I thought i might sneak off to Mt. Bachelor for some quality spring shredding, visit some good friends, relax, and have a beer or two. It just so happens i planed on being in town for the first ever DISCo Ball tournament at the bend Pine Nursery. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Powder and Frisbees makes for a vacation well spent!

I got to Bend a few days before the tourney so i could take full advantage of my spring pass to Bachelor. I rode 3 days straight and the powder just kept piling up. then of course the sun showed up to make for an epic blue bird day! I had more in fun in those 3 days then my whole season at Hood. The only bad thing was my body was going to be hurting going into this event.

Fish eye lenses make everything cooler! thank you Gwill!

Aside from the normal festivities going round there was a long drive contest, mini driver, ring of fire, and my favorite the MTA challenge. MTA ( most time aloft) is when you throw a Frisbee into the wind and see how much hang time you can get out of it before you have to catch it with one hand. The world record is 16.77 seconds!

The Pine Nursery course was a temporary proposal layout for the event. It offered 27 awesome and unique holes. like this 311ft shot off the peninsula! The park has a good combination of longer open field shot as well as tighter juniper and sage filled fairways. Total distance of the course 10,072ft Par 85!

I gave it a shot playing open this tourney, time to hit the putting green!

The first day of play started with beautiful skies and no wind making for ideal golf conditions. Day 2 the wind picked up and made putting from any distance a challenge.

Bend local JD Platt, demonstrating his amazing K9 Kings dog show.

Players Party Saturday night with good food, beer, and music!

Tournament Director Ryan lane kicking back after all the hard work putting this event together.

The 14Th Annual Gandy Goose Ultimate Frisbee Carnival was also part of the Disco Ball.

Teams from all over Oregon and Washington came out to compete in this intense elimination tournament.

Big Thanks goes out to all the sponsors, volunteers, and of course TD Ryan Lane for putting together a great Tourney and showing the City of Bend the potential for a new disc golf course. Thank you to Next Adventure for giving me the time off for some much needed fun. This was a great event to start off the season and i can't wait for the next one!

Next Stop M3PO @ Milo!

Snowshoe Mount Hood

2011-03-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

Over a foot of fresh powder and blue skies made for a fantastic day of snowshoeing on Mount Hood. Folks from the Portland Business Alliance enjoyed a fun romp around Government Camp on a custom snowshoe tour organized by Next Adventure and led by guides from NW Discoveries.

There are several Snow*Park trailheads right in Govie. Starting near the Thunderhead Lodge, fresh trail had to be broken leading up and along the Crosstown trail.

After enjoying spectacular views of Mt. Hood, we tromped back down the Glade trail back into town.

Back in Govie, we headed to the Huckleberry Inn, where we were treated to hearty lunch, topped off with their famous huckleberry pie.

Then it was back out for another snowshoe tour. Though some stayed in town and tried sledding.
At any rate, everyone ended up at Charlie's in Government camp to warm up before the ride back to town.

Thanks to everyone who made this event possible: Tubbs donated snowshoes, RAZ transportation supplied the bus, and everyone pulled together to make this a great event.

Winter Coastal Kayak Fishing: When Waves Attack!

2011-03-08T16:47:00.000-08:00

Sunday started out at Pacific City where a couple of the guys from Northwest Kayak Anglers and myself were set to punch through the surf and fish our arms off. The only problem was that the surf wasn't all that forgiving.

We sat on the beach for an hour or two and tried again, but it seemed the surf was still just a bit too much for kayak fishermen.

So after the beat-down, Anthony, suggested we head down to Depoe Bay. With one last long gaze at the surf I said, "Let's do it.". The drive was not bad at all; I thought we were going to hit traffic in Lincoln City, but the traffic seemed to be only in the opposite direction.

We slipped out through the channel and were greeted by a washing machine of waves. On the drive down I was worried the wind was going to kick up since we were approaching the mid afternoon, but it wasn't too bad. We didn't really bother with trying to head north or south once we were outside the channel. We pretty much got out and dropped lines. I started off by picking up a few blacks and then hooked into a nice sized cabezon. Since my sounder was trashed from the wave ride this morning, I was just going off my previous fish spots on my GPS. This actually did pretty well although I really missed knowing how deep I was fishing.

I started picking up a few small lings and then peddled out to where Anthony was. We worked the south corner around some kelp for a little while and I picked up a decent black rockfish and a couple of lings, one of which was a couple of inches past legal and the other looked just barley there so I tossed him back. I hooked a beautiful red irish lord and then decided to head back closer to the channel and fish my earlier spot a little more before heading back in. I hooked a couple more small lings and called it good since it seemed like the wind was picking up a little more and the sun was starting to droop in the sky.

Over all it was a pretty successful day. After less than three hours I had a gallon zip-lock bag full of fish for the freezer. Thanks to Anthony for the idea to head south. It was awesome - a morning of playing(and getting smashed :-) ) in the surf, and an afternoon of great fishing.

Tight Lines,

Jeff Anderson

Mountain Snow

2011-02-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

Trees glazed white and a few inches of fresh snow on the firm-packed base.
No one else is out -- just you, your friends, a chickaree and a gray jay or two. There's nothing like cross-country skiing or snowshoeing when everyone else thinks the conditions aren't ideal.

Mount Hood's east side is famed for sunny skies when the western valley is socked in. Last week proved to be no exception, as I got to sample a different sno-park every day for a NWD Road Scholar cross-country and snowshoe tour.

Sure we saw some clouds and rain, but we also had some fantastic conditions. We got to make some fresh tracks and the clear skies revealed views of seven snowcapped mountains.

You never know until you take that chance. The weather forecasts can be right, or they can be wrong. Weather can even vary from one valley micro-habitat to the next.

Above are photos from Clark Creek, Trillium Lake, frozen waterfalls in the Gorge, and tracks found in the snow at Old Man Pass in Washington on the GPNF.

The week's tour ended with the most persistent rainbow I think I've ever seen. This rainbow viewed from Bennett Pass on Mt. Hood's east flank lasted for hours.

Come join us on the snow! Follow the links at nextadventure.net to sign up for one of our winter trips. See you on the mountain!

NA Willy Dino Tournament

2011-01-22T17:21:00.000-08:00

(2nd: Andrew Insinga, 1st: Mark Veary, 3rd: Michole Jensen)

(1st Place Fish- Mark Veary)

Saturday January 15th Next Adventure hosted their first annual “Next Adventure Willy Dino Tournament”. This was a kayak fishing tournament targeting sturgeon, meaning that all angling needed to be done from a kayak. Saturday was a great day to be out fishing, the air temperature was in the mid 50’s and rain was forecasted, which would keep traffic down on the water. River levels were a bit high, but manageable with only a few logs moving down river. There were ten competitors, for this event. Most split into two groups, with a crew of four on the Columbia River and a group of five guys on the

Willamette River. One competitor who was fishing solo, managed to fish both.

Fishing was slow on both rivers, but in the end six sturgeon were caught by a total of three anglers. All the fish were caught on the Willamette River. Mark Veary landed the largest fish of the day, a 39 incher. He also landed a 36 inch fish and lost a fish well over 5 ft boat side before pictures could be taken. Second place went to Andrew Insinga for his 30.5 inch fish. He also caught a little 22 inch shaker. Even though he was not able to measure his fish because he was worried about it tipping his kayak,

Michole Jensen came in third with a sturgeon of unknown size.

After a long day of fishing all the competitors headed back to the Next Adventure Paddle Sport Center for some refreshments, a raffle, a fishing movie and award ceremony. The tournament sponsors, Next Adventure, Stohlquist, Neosport, Dry Case, Immersion Research (IR) and Kayak Angler provided some sweet gear for the raffle and all the competitors were able to bring home prizes. Trophies were awarded to the top three finishers. Overall the tournament went off without a hitch and all the participants left happy. With the success of this tournament Next Adventure is planning on hosting at least one other kayak fishing tournament this year, and the Second Annually Willy Dino Tournament next year.

See you on the water,

-Nate Olken

(2nd Place Fish- Andrew Insinga)

(3rd Place Fish- Michole Jensen)

(A little video Jeff put together from the Colombia fishing crew)

(NA Fishing Team member Jeff Anderson on his experience at the Tournament)

Michael, Isaac, and myself launched out of Kelly Point park on the Columbia shortly before 8am to nice weather and a gentle river flow. There was a line of power boaters down river from us but no one else around where we were except for a couple of bank anglers. The weather became progressively worse as the day went on. Fog rolled in and out while the rain started slow but grew to the point where it was downright dumping buckets by the time we headed in. We each moved a few times throughout our time on the water. Radio chatter from the power boats seemed to line up with what we were experiencing - a pretty slow day. There was chatter of a shaker being caught here and there, but nothing to write home about. Isaac had a few bights, one of which stuck but ended up being a sculpin. Michael and I were chased out of our last spot of the day by a pretty beefy container ship which provided us with something interesting to look at on our peddle back to the launch.

Fishing’s easy, it’s the catching that can be the hard part.

Tight lines!

-Jeff Anderson

(Willamette River)

(Columbia River)

(NA Represent!)

(Tight Lines)

(After party at NA's Paddle Sports Center)

NA would like to thank all the sponsors and participants that made the first annual Willy Dino Tourney such a success. Thanks also to all photographers who caught the action to share with us all.

Snowshoe Clinic Encore

2011-01-13T15:11:00.000-08:00

The threat of a winter storm and icy conditions didn't deter 26 folks from showing up at Next Adventure to learn about snowshoeing from Andrew and Greg this past Tuesday night.
Held the second Tuesday of each month, Next Adventure Clinics are free classes led by our experts to inform you about outdoor gear and activities, and to answer your questions.

The clinic proved to be so popular, that we have scheduled another special Snowshoe Clinic on Thursday, January 27. Find out more at nextadventure.net.

Last month we talked about Lightweight Backpacking, and February's Clinic will focus on Cross-Country Skiing. See you there, and then see you on the mountain!

Yaquina Bay Hobie Kayak Fishing

2011-01-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

My little brother was in town from Wyoming for the week and we wanted to get the kayaks on the water while he was here. The weather was looking nice on the coast but the surf was a little too high to venture out in to the open ocean so we headed down to Newport for a tour of Yaquina Bay. The ramp at the south end of the marina changed since I was there a year ago. Now it is a more kayak-friendly pebble beach instead of a cement ramp. This improvement paired with restrooms, a fish cleaning station, and ample parking all within 30 yards of the ramp makes this an ideal launch for kayak fishing.

We cruised out of the harbor into the bay and were greeted by a mild incoming tidal current. We made our way under the bridge out to the finger jetties that stick out from the south main jetty. Along the way we were greeted by half a dozen harbor seals on our left and a nice looking rainbow on our right. Fishing was slow but there were a few takers. Overall I caught a couple of smaller blue and black rockfish and one medium-sized black rockfish that was kept for dinner. I also ended up hooking a sun starfish somehow. On our way back in we stopped and chatted with a friendly spear fisherman who was diving around one of the bridge stanchions in search of ocean perch. I switched boats with my brother so he could try out the Hobie Mirage Drive and I think it’s safe to say he really enjoyed it!

Yaquina Bay is a fantastic place for kayak fishing with plenty of opportunities. This place has salmon, sturgeon, lingcod, rockfish, and ocean perch. It’s also a great place for crabbing or just taking in beautiful scenery while getting in some time on the water. Make sure to check the local tide and surf predictions before heading out and check with the local coastguard station for restrictions.

Tight Lines,

Jeff Anderson

Snowshoe!

2011-01-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

Want to extend your hiking season and discover a winter wonderland at your own pace?
Snowshoeing may be the answer.
Next Adventure's Doug Lloyd was recently quoted in the Oregonian about how to buy snowshoes. If you'd like to learn more, there will be a free clinic at the shop on Tuesday, January 11th at 7pm.
If that weren't enough, we also are offering snowshoe trips to Mt Hood with NW Discoveries.

So, no more excuses! Get out and snowshoe!

NA Kayak Employees Dawn Patrol local Waterfalls!

2010-12-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

Next Adventure employees are passionate about the outdoors, we take every chance we get to enjoy our favorite sports. Early morning dawn patrols on the local creeks and rivers keep us in good spirits between our days off!

Here's a few shots of our New Years Eve morning session.

A chilly 28deg. made it tough to roll out of our warm beds, but we all agreed it was well worth it!

7am at the put-in

Scenic NW!

Next Adventure employee Ryan Scott

Next Adventure Kayak School Manager and instructor Dave Hoffman

Inspiration!

See you on the river

Happy New Year's
~luke

Bigger Thrill on a Smaller Hill

2010-12-26T11:35:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to stay away from Mt. Hood's White River Sno*Park. Nate and Chris from Next Adventure joined me for another run on the Winter solstice last week.

There were wispy glimpses of Mt Hood through the clouds, and our familiar friends the gray jays tried to steal food from us when we paused to enjoy the views.

Nate and Chris are experienced on snow, but the cross-country ski experience was not the way they usually play. The snow was fairly fresh and snow, which made the return run more controlled.

Come out and play with Next Adventure and NW Discoveries this winter. We've got tours planned all winter long, so come cross-country ski or snowshoe with us and discover Mt. Hoods mellower winter wonderland.

"Wood in the Dark in the Blast Zone": Hoffstadt Creek

2010-12-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

Hoffstadt Creek 12/10/10 from Bryon Dorr on Vimeo.

Ryan Scott, Matt Horton, and I all miraculously got a day off at the same time. To top it off there was lots of water in the local creeks and rivers. After some serious gauge review Ryan let us know that Hoffstadt Creek, inside the blast zone of Mt. Saint Helens, would be good to go and a fun little mission.

(Ryan Scott stylin' Split Falls)

The word spread like wildfire and in the end 9 paddlers got together to sample the goods. Ryan was the only Hoffstadt veteran and with such a large group we ended up putting on aroud 1:30 in the afternoon. No problem for a creek that was supposed to only be 2.3 miles in length, right?

(Matt Horton running the left line at Split Falls)

Short winter days, a small tight creek, a big crew, and lots of wood portages made for a long day. We ended up paddling for about an hour in the dark and had to do the brutal 600 vertical foot climb out of the gorge with the use of 3 headlamps, between the 9 of us. Tallys: 7+ swims, 1 broken boat, 1 broken break-down, and 2 lost paddles. A quality little PNW winter creeking EPIC!

(Dan LaHam running Gnargasm)

See you on the water soon,

Bryon

Resources:

OregonKayaking.net Hoffstadt Write Up

CRG Video Hoffstadt Creek

Lake Oswego Creek

2010-12-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

The staff at Next Adventure's Paddle Sport's Center wanted to share this fun kayaking video with you! Filmed 25 minutes south of Portland in downtown Lake Oswego during the Lake Down Project that took place on Lake Osewgo Lake. NA PSC employees Bryon Dorr, Ryan Scott, and Luke Spencer grabbed a once in a lifetime opportunity to descend a short section of creek at the outflow of the lake.

ENJOY!

Mount Hood Snow Play

2010-12-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

White-mantled Mount Hood is begging for you to come out and play in the snow.

This week, Andrew, Kate and I got out for our first cross-country ski trip of the season and explored up from the White River Sno-Park.

Overcast and cloudy to start, the snow was warm and sticky. But the higher we climbed, the more glide we got.

From the moraine viewpoint above 5000 ft, the sun broke out from the clouds to illuminate the snow. We took a break and enjoyed some hot cocoa and snacks and zoomed around the upper bowl a bit before heading back down through the trees.

Gray Jays begged for crumbs while a woodpecker tapped away at a lodge-pole pine up close for a nice wilderness experience. A dozen or so sledders and snowshoers tracked up the valley floor, but we only ran into two other humans on the ridge.

Curious about getting out and enjoying the snow on the mountain?
Come on by Next Adventure to get geared up. In addition to the usual selection of new and used equipment and apparel for sale, you can also rent snowshoes and cross-country skis.

Want some instruction and a guided tour? Next Adventure has once again teamed up with NW Discoveries to transport and teach you what you need to enjoy a new winter adventure.

Stay tuned to nextadventure.net for upcoming snow trips!

by Greg Hill - December 2010

Hunchback Salmon Backpack

2010-11-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

After leaving Andrew and Scott to find their own way back out, I continued along the Upper Salmon River Trail, heading downstream. My first night was deep in the canyon of Goat Creek. There were over 20 kinds of mushrooms in the campsite alone, let alone dozens more by the trail as I made my way up the Kinzel Lake Trail the next morning.

I lounged by Kinzel Lake, and saw some rough skinned newts in the water, and was buzzed by dragonflies patrolling the air.

I spent the night at Devil's Peak Lookout (lead photo at top of page). I had visited there many times before, but had never slept there. I could hear mice scurrying around in the walls, and the wind really blew on the ridge all night long. But the stars were spectacular, and the sunrise views of Mt Adams, Mt Jefferson and Hood were amazing.

The final night I camped back down by the river, near the Old Salmon River Trailhead, and then hiked out the next day and took the bus back to town.

Salmon River, Upper

2010-10-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

A faint trail winds its way along the Upper Salmon River, seldom visited by humans, wild and scenic. A window of fair October weather prompted Andrew, Scott and me to explore a bit of the remote rain forest valley. The trailhead started at around 3400' near Trillium Lake on Mt. Hood's south shoulder.

After crossing a stream on a log bridge, the trail steeply descended to near the river. We found several nice campsites and chose one to rest and play hacky sack.

The weather had been perfect for fungi, and mushrooms were popping up all over - these Scaly Chanterelles and huge Bolete (below) are just a small sampling of what lined the trail.

We missed the juncture for the return loop and charged another 3 miles along the trail to the Linney Creek campsite. There used to be a bridge that crossed the creek, but it is long gone. We took another break, figured out where we were on the map, and then set off again.

Scott and Andrew went back to find the missed trail juncture marked by a bit of flagging. The return loop barely existed, and it was more like bushwacking, but they made it back to the trailhead before dark.

Their 12 mile dayhike was over, but I kept on down the Salmon River Trail, backpacking and camping three more nights and days. But that adventure must await another blog ...

- Oct 2010 Greg Hill

2010 Hobuck Hoedown Surf Kayak Festival!

2010-10-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Hobuck Hoedown was a great time! Good energy, good weather, good surf, and good people made this years Hoedown a fantastic Festival. One of only two surf kayak events on the US West Coast, the competition is a qualifier for paddlers competing for a spot on the US Surf Kayak Team and a chance to go to the World Surf Kayak Championships. Men and women compete in a range of disciplines including High Performance, International Class, Sit on Top, Stand Up Paddle Board, and Sea Kayak division.

The Next Adventure van loaded and headed north

The Beautiful Olympic Coast

The event is located at Hobuck Beach on the Northwest end of the scenic Olympic Peninsula inside of the Makah Indian Reservation . Hobuck Beach is well know for its scenic beach and great surf!

Welcome to Neah Bay

Bryon Dorr taking in the scenery

8am competitors meeting

Mine and Bryon's weapons of choice. I went with the fast Valley Rip while Bryon chose the radical Valley Rush. Thanks Robb from Valley Kayaks for loaning us boats, they ruled!

Tom Slye ready to catch those inspiring moments! Happy Birthday Tommy!

The SUP division

The IC and HP divisions were very competitive with multiple heats and single elimination. I competed in the HP division, Bryon competed in the HP and the Rodeo divisions. Bryon finished 2 in the Rodeo division and I finished 3rd overall in the HP division!

Photos from the HP Class

Top three in the HP Class HP

Barely Making the Wave

Photo: Tom Slye

Photos from the Rodeo Class
Photos Tom Slye

Photos Tom Slye

Awards Time

Bryon takes home some swag during the awards

The Hoedown was a family friendly event!

Parting Shots

Breaking Waves

Photo: Tom Slye

The Gorge Exposed

2010-10-08T17:22:00.001-07:00

Scott Cook drew a standing-room-only crowd on Sept 23rd for his second slideshow presentation and book signing here at the Next Adventure shop.

Scott is a Hood River local who has been exploring and photographing The Gorge for over ten years. He has written the popular guidebooks, Curious Gorge, Bend Overall, and Pokin’ Round the Gorge.

Scott's books explore the natural beauty of the Columbia River Gorge, from spectacular cliffs to waterfalls, bodies of water and bodies of flesh. Yes, folks, Scott is not afraid to show a little skin, and his presentation showed even more than what appears in his books.

The audience was well lubricated from the typical NA selection of beer, wine and snacks, and Scott kept us laughing for much of the show. Don't try to look for something naughty in the slideshow photo below - it's just some wildflowers (but then, flowers are actually sexual organs ... so let your dirty mind go wild if you want).

After the presentation, Scott signed lots of books. We ran out of our in-store stock and had to pull more from his car.

If you haven't checked out any of Scott's books yet, come on by Next Adventure. We've got plenty more in stock now. Thanks to NA's Andrew for organizing such a great event, and thanks to Scott for making it so memorable.

Find out more about Scott in a write-up in the Oregonian.

Greg Hill - October 2010

Flight Crew Splashes Down at the ORDGC!!

2010-10-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

Next Adventure Flight crew member's Joey “bago dounuts” Moro, and yours truly Cindy McMahan joined 72 of the best amateur and professional disc golfers from Oregon and Washington for the Oregon Disc Golf Championships, which took place on September 18th & 19th at Trojan disc golf course. Players had to qualify to enter this tournament based on their performance in five tournaments that were designated as qualifiers MP30, Great NW Open, Beaver State Fling, Rose City Open, Calpooia Classic. Two spots were also given to the top open and top amateur women at the 2010 Chick Flick. The remaining spots were given out at a last chance qualifier that took place at Trojan on September 4th.

Tournament Director Jeff Haggerty.................Tournament Central

The course was one of the toughest I have even played. If you have never been to Trojan it is truly beautiful with breathtaking scenery there are though lots of water hazards. The course design was awesome thanks to tournament director and creator of ORDGC Jeff Haggerty, and many volunteers whom put in many hours preparing the course. It was tough, but rewarding. We did get rained on a bit as if there was not enough water at Trojan already, but this is Oregon and a little rain does not bother us right?

Trojan disc golf course

Flight Crew team member joey

Flight Crew team member Celeste (right) volunteering for the event as a spotter

Open ladies division.................Advanced ladies division

The competition was fierce with Dion Arlyn holding off a surging Nate Sexton in the final nine in the open men’s division. Carie Coleman took 1st in the open women’s division by winning a playoff with Teresa Trueba. Nate Bush took 1st in advanced men with Flight Crew member Joey taking 8th in advanced men. Flight Team member Cindy took 1st in advanced women.

Open men's champ

Dion Arlyn

Open women's Champ

Carie Coleman

Avanced women's champ Cindy McMahan

This event was top notch with awesome player's packs & payouts. Thanks to Jeff Haggerty and all the volunteers who made this event possible. I had a blast, and I can’t wait for next years ORDGC!!!

NA Flight Crew Touches Down @ The Flying L Ranch

2010-09-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks! Welcome to the beautiful and serene Flying L Ranch Bed and Breakfast nestled peacefully at the base of towering Mt. Adams. This was the destination for the Flight Crews latest adventure. Ryan "the gwillotine" Gwillim and myself jam packed the car with Flight Crew shwag and headed for the hills of Glendale Washington for a good old fashioned weekend of disc golf and relaxation. This was my first journey to this neck of the woods and with my hectic schedule I was ready for a laid back weekend of golf. With less then a 2 hour drive from Portland we arrived Friday night around 8. It was just dark enough to decide not to throw any disc so we check into our rooms and hit up the common room of the main lodge where we met with other folks visiting for the tournament.

The ranch has no Internet or cell service which adds to tranquility and helps you enjoy the the surroundings a bit more. We embarked on a game of Scrabble which ended quickly due to Ryan's superior spelling skills and my unsportsmanlike conduct.

Golf is a 8 point word...

Here's a sample of the meadowland that the course played over. Part of it was designed along what used to be a 2000ft runway with tall ponderosa pines on both side with little ones in between.

Getting crazy with the fish eye lens!

The weather was perfect both days. Frosty in the mornings but nice and warm when the sun popped out.

The tournament was only on Sunday which left Saturday for some casual warm up rounds and chilling out around the ranch. During lunch a awesome 3 piece sting band played and made beautiful music while we ate and relaxed.

Long and straight down the fairway...

The course had a great layout. lots of low tunnel shots and must-hit fairway holes provided a challenging variety of shots. One bad drive and the tight growth of the ponderosa made it tough for upshots to get near the pin.

Wow! look at all that Flight Crew Flair, plus the #1 Stumptown bag tag. The Gwillotine can throw a mean Frisbee.

The Tourney director Bryan did a great job organizing fun activities for everybody over the weekend. Saturday night he lit up half the course with glow sticks and provided mini l.e.d. lights to tape onto the disc. It was rad! If you've never played night golf before get out and do it! When you see the disc zip through the pitch black sky its mind blowing. The stars at the ranch are in incredible. Its great to get away from the city and stare in to night sky and see the cluster of stars in the milky-way galaxy. Especially when you got the sweet sound of "The Shed Shakers" an awesome blue grass band from Hood River who rocked the night for us while we sipped on Everybody's Common Ale who donated a rich keg of brew.

On Sunday everyone played two rounds with a break in between for lunch followed by a Ring of Fire and raffle with donated prizes from all the sponsors. This weekend was my first open/pro event and I was kind of nervous until i discovered there was only 3 open players in the tourney. Gwill ended up taking the # 1 spot and I took last, which was 3rd so we all got trophies. it was pretty sweet. Congrats to Todd V for taking 2ND.

The Ring of Fire with Mt. Adams in the background.

After all that it was time to hit the road and come back to reality and work. A big big thank you goes out to Julee Wasserman the owner of Flying L for her hospitality to the Flight Crew and making us feel at home. I highly recommend This spot for anybody seeking a little getaway.

Another big big thank you to the Tournament director Bryan Bates for putting on a good show and making sure everybody had a great time. I know we did! Also thanks to all the folks who chipped in on the pot luck dinner Saturday night and the sponsors who made it all happen! See you next year!

Until Then Grip it and Rip it!

Trail Magic

2010-09-02T14:04:00.001-07:00

Two thousand miles and four months on the PCT bring thru-hikers to the Bridge of the Gods spanning the Columbia River. After hiking the dry desert and snowy mountains of California, the glacial volcanic peaks of the Oregon High Cascades, and facing fierce storms, hazardous river crossings and choking forest fires, it's time for a zero day in the town of Cascade Locks, Oregon.
There's only the state of Washington and about 500 miles to go. Plenty of time to enjoy the Pacific Crest Trail Days festival on Thunder Island August 27-29, which Next Adventure was proud to be a part of.

Thru-hikers were already trickling in as we set up the Next Adventure booth Friday. Dandy and Greg were there to stoke out hikers and local visitors alike. Other vendors at the event were selling their wares, but we were giving away t-shirts, water bottles and all sorts of goodies. It wasn't all free - sometimes you had to pay with a high-five, by telling a joke, or complete some other challenge.

Friday night's entertainment included several PCT movies by Squatch and a slideshow by Nabor J. After the show, we camped out under the stars right by the Columbia.

Saturday was the big day, with close to 500 visitors and dozens of thru-hikers visiting the booths and having fun. Other vendors included: Feathered Friends, ULA, Henry Shire, Granite Gear, Mountain Hardware, Trail Designs, Six Moon Designs, Gossamer Gear, Black Diamond, MSR & Cascade Designs, and more.

Raffle tickets were sold, with the proceeds benefitting the PCTA. Squatch and Nabor J emceed the drawing. Nearly 200 folks were present, and there were dozens of very happy winners. Backtrack won a photography lesson, and one thru-hiker literally jumped for joy when she won a Vargo titanium stove (courtesy of NA). NA and Mountain Hardware teamed up to donate a Sprite tent, a Phantom 45 sleeping bag, and a Fluid 32 pack, among other prizes.

Trail celebrities too numerous to list were on hand, but included PCTA organizers and stars from the films. The notorious Lint was there, fresh from the AT; and Donna Saufley, the beloved trail angel from California, made a killing in the raffle.

After the great gear raffle, we helped out a few more thru-hikers at the Next Adventure booth, one of which was Trevor Thomas, the first blind thru-hiker. He told us he has travelling companions sometimes, but that he had just hiked from Timberline Lodge to Cascade Locks on his own. When asked about falling down, he laughed and admitted that he had stopped counting. Amazing!

With more NA t-shirts on festival-goers than left on the NA booth table, we felt pretty good about the day's stokage. Fly-By was there to help empty the table at the end of the day. He and Kurt had hiked a section of the PCT, spreading trail magic and the word about the event. When things wound down the NA crew took a break and watched the sun set over the river.

There was another engaging film shown Saturday night, "Wizards of the PCT" by Jester. A keg from Walking Man helped lubricate the after party. Lots of good times, great stories and a passion for the trail were shared by all. Then we camped under the stars on Thunder Island once again.

- by Greg Hill, Aug 2010

Crusties descend on Horning's Hideout for the Oregon Masters disc golf tournament

2010-09-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

On August 21st & 22nd 55 masters disc golfers including Flight team member Cindy descended on Horning’s Hideout in North Plains Oregon for the Oregon Masters Championships disc golf tournament. There were six masters divisions represented with three masters divisions 40 +, and three grand masters divisions 50 +. Saturday everyone played two rounds on the Canyon course with all the baskets in the short pin positions, and after lunch nearly everyone played their second round on the Canyon course with all the baskets moved into the long positions. The three grand master ladies played their second round on Saturday on the shorter Highland course. There were only two masters’ ladies, and I really enjoyed playing the entire weekend with my friend Nichola.

Tournament Central and our awesome TD's Keith & Jeff

Also there were 5 members of the deaf disc golf community, and Keith Shupp who was the TD of the tournament joined the DDGA, so that those five players could acquire points at this event that would count toward their series championship. Nathan “Snap” Boyes who is the president of the DDGA was on hand to help with scoring for the event even though he was too young to participate himself.

Representing the Deaf Disc Golf Assosiation and Nathan "Snap" Boyes helping out at TC

Sunday the men’s divisions moved to the longer Meadow Ridge course while the ladies divisions played a 3rd and final round on the Canyon course. The weather was great all weekend, but we did get a short downpour towards the end of the final round. The ladies made it in before the rain started, but the guys got a little wet. After the final round while the scorecards were being tallied I conducted a ring of fire with lots of awesome schwag donated by Next Adventure, and other sponsors.

Yay awesome Ring of Fire brought to you by Next Adventure

Congratulations to the Oregon masters champions:

Pro Master

1. Jeff Hagerty

2. Jeff Cox

3. Camo Mike Niemi

Pro Grandmaster

1. Neil Snyder

2. Mike Ward

3. Steve Pops Tufty

Advanced Master Men

1. Tom Dooley

2. Paul Wright

3. Rob Byram

Advanced Grandmaster Men

1. J-Man Jensen

2. Mikey Wilton

3. Richard Grimmett

Advanced Master Women

1. Cindy McMahanAdvanced

Grandmaster Women

1. Karen O'Connor

Pro masters champ Jeff Haggerty and Pro grand masters champ Neil Snyder

Advanced masters champ Tom Dooley and advanced master women champ Cindy McMahan

Advanced grand master champ Jay "Jman" Jensen

It was super fun to play all weekend with the crusties, and thanks to the guys for being so welcoming to the ladies for the first time ever at a masters event there were two women’s divisions. Thanks to Keith Shupp & Jeff Hemmerling for putting on such a fun well run event, and I can’t wait for the next time I get to throw down with the crusties.

My Dog Reagan all tuckered out from a fun filled weekend!

Next Adventure Guided Trips

2010-08-24T17:04:00.000-07:00

Sunbreaks punctuated the clouds, spotlighting distant cliffs and illuminating the Columbia River far below. Wildflowers, waterfalls, and spectacular Gorge views made the first official Next Adventure Guided Hike a success.

Guides Andrew and Greg provided a personal backpack fitting clinic in the shop, stoked folks out with snacks and water bottles, and then loaded up the smooth-riding Next Adventure van for the drive to the trailhead.

A few misty raindrops splattered the windshield as we drove up the Gorge, but the drizzle was short-lived, and the moisture only encouraged wildlife like this banana slug to emerge once we were on the trail.
Fireweed, pearly everlasting, hedge-nettle, bluebells, and other flowers were seen trailside while guiding our small group up the Angel's Rest Trail.
Andrew and Greg shared hiking tips and tricks along the trail, focusing on keeping in your comfort zone - keeping warm enough, cool enough, hydrated enough, and dry enough.

Spirits soared as we climbed higher and the views opened up. A final scramble up some rocks brought us to the broad plateau that is Angel's Rest.

We enjoyed lunch with a view of the cliffs and the river, chatted more about hiking, backpacking, natural history and geology, and then returned down the trail.

Some late-blooming columbine flowers brightened the way, and we made a side-trip to see Coopey Falls, which has bright red roots growing along one side.
All too soon, we were back at the trailhead. Not long after that, we were back at Next Adventure, where our hike participants completed their personalized backpack clinic.

This was the first Next Adventure Guided Hike, and it certainly won't be the last. More hikes are being planned, so stay tuned -- plus snowshoeing and cross-country ski trips will be offered again before too long ...

-by Greg Hill, Aug 2010

Flight Crew: Trying to stay cool @ Calapooia!

2010-08-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Calapooia 2010 can be summed up in one word...HOT. Not "hot" like Pinkal's mom, "hot" like Death Valley "hot! I was having flashbacks of a tournament I played back in 2006 at Sylmar, California, where the temperature hung around 105 degrees the entire time. While it didn't quite hit the triple D's this past weekend in Albany, it might as well have. Mid 90s with a fairly steady wind made for difficult play. Our hands were swelling, food we ate didn't give us the normal energy boost, and drinking water didn't seem to quench the "ugh" feeling. Bryant Park's heavily wooded holes offered a welcome refuge from the pounding sun. Meanwhile Timber Linn's vast open expanses, though much easier to navigate with a disc, sent our head's spinning with sun exposure.

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left)hitting the road................right)Either that's a tiny basket or Joey's van is HUGE!?

Adverse weather noted, Oregon disc golfers are pretty hardcore! We survived the sweltering heat much like we survive the barage of typhoon strength winds and torrentual downpoors of Oregon winter golf...with smiles on our faces. Everyone at the tournament, whether playing crappy or fantastic, had a beeming smile, and stories of how the courses had kicked their butts. And really, if it was golfer's vs. the courses, the courses definitely had the upper hand this weekend!

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left) the golden basket!......(center)Dinner at Ping's Friday night.........right) Find the Shade!!

The 2010 Calapooia Classic made use of two of Albany's courses, Bryant Park, and a modified tourney layout of Timber Linn. Both courses were set at par 58, and both couldn't have been more different. I was lucky enough to be playing both courses for the first time, and I'm very impressed with Bryant Park. Bryant is a course that has been in the making for a number of years already. Bryant has some of the toughest wooded holes in the state that will test your accuracy on almost non-existant fairways with a fun mix of dog-legs and small elevation changes. Once you finally make it through sticks, you get to open up and throw some big cannon shots, but again, lack of accuracy will give you front row seat at watching your score climb like a mountain goat on Wy'East. Huge props to Jeromie Fields for making Bryant was it is today, I can't wait to see it in another year or two when it's finished! Timber Linn on the other hand was not nearly as challenging as Bryant, but still quite fun. The par 58 seemed quite a bit more generous than Bryant's 58. Personally, I would have put Timber Linn at par 55, and Bryant at par 60. However, with the liberal par at Timber Linn, I was able to card an eagle on hole 12, so we'll let it slide this time ;) . The birdy opportunities at Timber Linn were spread throughout the course and weren't too difficult, that is if you had the energery to make your putts. Oh, and ask anyone who played about the "Donut Hole" and I'm sure you'll get a few different opinions. :)

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left) BEER TIME @ Calapooia......(center) Scripity Scrip Scrip................right)Mcgrewber and Big Dan cashin' out!

After the last round was done and we finished packing up camp, it was time to head out to Calapooia Brewing Co. for the player's party and award ceremony. Huge thanks to Calapooia Brewing for all they are doing for disc golf in the Albany area, you guys rock! Congrats to Crew member Cindy McMahan for fending of fierce competition throughout the weekend to come out ahead by two strokes as the 2010 Calapooia Classic FW1 Champion! Crew member Joey had a couple of hiccups but pulled it together for 10th place. Ryan was also in attendance and after a freaky bad first round, well, I'm just happy I was able to keep the smile on my face, and stay out of last place. :)

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left) Cindy accepting her award...........(center) CHUG CHUG CHUG!!!!!.................right) Adam Cooney, MA1 Champ!

Look for the Next Adventure Amateur Championship next weekend August 28-29th! If you're not doing anything, come down to Pier Park and hang out with the Flight Crew!

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left)Hardened Criminals, or BFFs?!..........(center)Doug Boone's kick-ass woody baskets..........right)63 scrip bones for José

Cheers,
Crew Member Gwillim

Flight Crew ROCKS The 2010 Chick Flick!!

2010-08-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

Well the 2010 Chick Flick Disc Golf Celebration has come and gone. Flight team members Cindy & Celeste were not only players in the event, but the tournament directors as well. Celeste and I started the planning for this event back in October, and have put in hundreds of hours in the planning in order to put on a top notch event for the ladies. We started the weekend off with early check-in for the ladies who choose to camp Friday night. We had a very cool group campsite that was nestled in the middle of the Canyon course where most of the event took place. The ladies were very excited to receive their players packs which consisted of two discs with our amazing artwork, t-shirt & water bottle with Chick Flick logo provided by our title sponsor Next Adventure, KEEN sandal keychain, huk lab patch & sticker, mini marker disc, towel, sharpie.

Group camp site very cozy in the middle of the course

Saturday after check-in then we sent the ladies off to our clinics. The Clinics were awesome thanks to some really great instructors:

Vieve - X step & form
Caire - up shots
Jason - trick shots
Teresa - advanced putting
Tom - fundamentals of throwing
Erin & Kirsten - forehand
Ryan & Jeff - rollers
Toni & Jay - beginning putting

Jay Sexton & Toni Hoyman teaching beginning putting

Erin & Kirsten forehand clinic

Caire up shots clinic & Jason trick shot clinic

Teresa advanced putting clinic & Tom fundamentals of throwing clinic

Ryan & Jeff rollers clinic & Vieve X-step and form clinic

The caddies helped out in the clinics by shagging the disc. Thanks guys you are the best!!

After the clinics everyone enjoyed lunch & beer cooked and provided by Next Adventure. After lunch we grouped the ladies into fours for a casual round. We made sure we put an experienced lady with some of the newer players so they could show them the ropes on how tournament play works. After the casual round the ladies had the opportunity to win some awesome prizes with the special single raffle ticket that was part of their players pack. Then everyone enjoyed an awesome spaghetti diner cooked and prepared by Ian and the Next Adventure staff.

Ian working it on the grill & Joey working it on the keg

The ladies enjoying some lunch. Thanks Next Adventure!! & Ian chillin after grillin

Hanging out with the Next Adventure Flight crew & Rob chillin after the lunch rush

Sunday was the start of the PDGA sanctioned tournament. All the ladies were grouped in their own divisions with the recreational & Jr. players playing their rounds on the shorter Highland course, and the Pro, advanced, and intermediates playing their rounds on the Canyon course. I had two top notch caddies for my rounds. In the first round Mr. Gawain Stern was my caddie, and he was awesome very encouraging. In the 2nd rounds my caddie was Nathan “snap” Boyes, and I must saw he was a pro. He wiped my disc after every throw he was awesome. Most of the ladies had husbands, boyfriend, or just friends as their caddies. The guys were awesome, and very supportive. I played in a field of 8 awesome masters ladies the largest field of masters I have ever played in, and most likely the largest ever in Oregon. We had a huge open field too with 12 ladies most likely one of the largest ever outside the Beaver State Fling National Tour event. Next Adventure cooked us up an awesome lunch again after the 1st round. Then the ladies battled it out in the 2nd and final round of the tournament. Carie Coleman was able to hold on for the win with only one stroke to spare. I was able to hold on for the masters win too.

Players meeting before the tournament rounds on Sunday & Yay me sinking a putt!!

We had our very first Chick Flick ace in the 2nd round Shannon Helser aced #6 of the canyon course winning the Next Adventure ace pot. It was an awesome experience to hear the chain reaction of so many ladies erupting into yells for Shannon’s achievement. Flight team members Joey & Ryan said they heard the celebrations form the next course over where they were playing a causal round, so believe me it was loud. Shannon also took 1st in the intermediate division.

Yay Shannon bagging the first Chick Flick ace & taking 1st in intermediate

At the conclusion of the 2nd round while scores were being calculated Flight team members Joey & Ryan conducted a Next Adventure ring of fire that I hear was awesome. Celeste and I did not get to watch the fun because we were busy figuring out the winners of the tournament. After the ring of fire we held the main raffle that people were buying tickets for all weekend. We had some awesome prizes in the raffle provided by our generous sponsors Next Adventure, Innova, KEEN, widye, pStyle, LEGO, Rarebeed disc golf, The Hope Open…..After the raffle we awarded plaques to 1st, 2nd, 3rd .

Flight Team members, and TDs adding sores & our awesome trophies!!

Wow look at all the raffle prizes thanks to Next Adventure & our other generous sponsor Innonva, KEEN, widye, pStyle, LEGO, The Hope Open, Rarebreed disc golf.....

Flight team member Ryan working the Ring O Fire!!!!

Celeste and I could not have pulled this off without the help of our generous title sponsor Next Adventure along with all our other sponsor, and a group of dedicated staff members: Carie, Kirsten, Julie, Teresa, Tinna, Shawn, Jennifer. Thanks you guys for making 2010 the best Chick Flick ever!!!

Lunch Counter-Culture

2010-08-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

At 9200 feet above sea level, camping on Mt. Adam's Lunch Counter is akin to being in an airplane. You're looking down at the summit of Mt. St. Helen's, and the curve of the earth is apparent on the horizon.
Every summer for the past 5 years, I have made a trip into the backcountry with my old buddies Andy and David. We've backpacked the Olympics and Mt. Hood, and climbed South Sister and Mt. St. Helen's together. This year it was just David and me. We had planned to climb Adams 3 years ago, but lingering snow, and then forest fire, kept us away. This year we planned a backpack trip that was again thwarted by snow, but we still made it up to the Lunch Counter for two nights of camping at high elevation.

The first night we packed up the Shorthorn trail to a campsite just barely melted out of the snow.

The next day, we backpacked up 3600' over 4 miles to the Lunch Counter, the brown hump on the right in the photo above.

Sunset was spectacular. A crescent moon and Venus hovered over Mt. St. Helen's in a red sky.

It got pretty windy at 9200'. After a second night up in the clouds, we had a good glissade back down the mountain to the trailhead.

Greg Hill - July 2010

NA Flight Crew decends on the Rose City Open!

2010-07-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

July 10Th-11Th 2010 marked the date of the very grand Rose City Open! Team Next Adventure was there in full flight to to test their skills on Portland's #1 disc golf course Pier Park. The weekend was looking good with beautiful weather and lots of festivities for the golfers and spectators to enjoy.

Me, at the NA lounge mentally preparing for 3 rounds of tree dodging tournament golf.

Flight crew member Ryan Gwillim doing his best to challenge some of the tops pros on tour.

In addition to the tournament lots of sponsors came together to bring other activities to the event. Climbmax brought a 25 rock wall, Family Works brought a bouncy house, Stumptown disc golf club set up a mini 3 hole course. It was almost like mini fair. There was also lots of food vendors who made it out. Big thanks to Tim the Sausage guy for providing lunch to all the players over the weekend.

I was looking forward to this event for a long time. Pier Park is the most beautifully constructed disc course in Portland and maybe all of Oregon. The huge old growth trees tower around 200ft and nearly fill the entire park making each hole test every players shot. On the plus side the trees provide a nice canopy which puts most of the park in the cool shade with little sun spots bursting through. There's nothing cooler then watching a perfect drive side-wined its way through the gauntlet and skip up to the basket.

A fine example of the fairways pier has to offer.

Big thank you goes out to Stumptown members Jeff Hagerty and Steve Carson who organized and ran the tournament.
Tournament Central
The coolest trophies I've ever seen! crafted by glass blower and pro golfer Mike Suchocki.
I've wanted one of these for a long time.

The Top 3 ladies in advanced women. Congrats! to NA Flight Crew member Celeste Scandiffio on her 2nd place finish. Woohoo!

The big dogs. Chandler fry, Dion Arlyn, and Tim Skellenger rounding out the top three in the open pro division.

The top 3 in advanced am. Nate Bush, My self, and Tim Sweeney.

After the awards Next Adventure sponsored a ring of fire and gave out all kinds of prizes. It pays to makes those puts people! Congratulations to all winners of their divisions and a big thank you to everyone who volunteered their time to help out and make this great tourney happen. I had a blast with everyone i got to play with and was stoked on my 2nd place finish. Woohoo!

Until next time Grip It and Rip It!

Flight Crew descends on Leverich Park and the Bad Monkey Open disc golf tournament

2010-07-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

The Next Adventure Flight Crew descended on the Bad Monkey Open at Leverich Park June 26th & 27th along with 93 other amature disc golfers from the area. Leverich is a beautiful city park located in West Vancouver right off I-5. Leverich Park is normally a 12 hole course, which is expanded to 13 holes for this tournament. Also some special hole variations are added that are normally only played in tournaments. Steve Carson & Flight Crew team member Ryan Gwillim of Firefly Productions along with title sponsor Bad Monkey Bikes put on an awesome event. The player’s packs were fat with two Discraft discs, and lots of other goodies. Also on Sunday we were all treated to ice cream, which was very delicious. Flight Crew member Joey Moro was entered in advanced men, while Celeste Scandiffio & myself (Cindy McMahan) were entered in advanced women. After 3 rounds I came out on top by just one stoke in advanced women. Joey place in the top four at the end of three rounds, and was set to battle the other top three finishers in a final nine holes. The layout for the final nine was completely different from the tournament layout much harder and longer. There was a gallery of about 40 people following the foursome in the final nine holes. Joey was tied for 1st at the start of the final 9, took the lead on the 2nd hole and kept that lead until the end finishing 1st in advanced men. That’s a double victory for the Next Adventure Flight Crew. After the final nine Next Adventure hosted a ring of fire, and gave away lots of awesome prizes to those who could sink those putts. What an amazing weekend of disc golf, and I can’t wait until next years Bad Monkey Open.

Next Adventure Booth at the Bad Monkey Open.

Flight team member & co-tournament director Ryan at the Bad Monkey Open.

Joey's mom got to watch him win the Bad Monkey Open.

Joey with the long putt during the final 9 of the Bad Monkey Open.

Joey with the winning putt on the last hole of the Bad Monkey Open.

Joey accepting his award for winning the Bad Monkey Open.

Flight Team members Cindy & Joey taking home the hardware!

Next Adventure Flight Crew lands @ the Pine Jam!

2010-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend i loaded up my trusty brown Toyota micro van and took flight down to Sisters Oregon for the first ever Pine Jam disc golf tournament. The van was stocked full of next adventure swag and other bare essentials to survive two days of awesome high desert disc golf.
Since i was the only flight crew member who could make the event i headed out after work on Friday night to stay with one of my good friends who lives in Bend and was also playing in the event. I was so excited for the weekend i made it to Bend in record time chasing the sunset the whole way. when i arrived at my buddy Brian's abode we kicked off the night by lighting a massive bonfire, jamming out to some records, and sipping on some delicious Dechutes brewery beer. a perfect way to mentally prepare for a tournament weekend.

The bag was locked and loaded with some new and old plastic ready to take flight and taste chains!

The Sisters disc golf course (Hyzer Pines) is located right next to Sister high school. I would have loved to have a course at my high school although i don't think i would make it to class very much. The course was installed by the Central Oregon Disc Golf Club AKA the Hyzer Desert Rebels around 5 years ago. Its a beautiful stretch of land full of tall and skinny desert pines that will bat your disc out of the sky and drop it into a ocean of sage brush. It takes a skilled player to keep the throws on the fairway and get the birdie look.

Good friend Ben Cooper warming up on #10. This hole was Aced Saturday by Adam Cooney with a smooth backhand that slammed the chains from about 300ft away. I think everybody on the course heard the chains rattle. Nice shot Adam!
The van and new traveler basket. these baskets rule! there lightweight, compact, and help the putting game big time. i highly recommend.

A total of 54 players came out and played 54 holes of golf. I played well enough to fight my way into a 3 way tie for 2ND place. Woot! I had a great time in each one of my groups playing with old friends and making new ones. The sun shined and stayed out most of the weekend making near perfect conditions for golf, except for the swirling wind that made even the shortest putts scary!

Big thank you to super tournament director and all around cool dude Ryan Lane who put together a superb event. I think this was my fourth tournament with Ryan as TD and he never fails to put on a good show.

After the final rounds were shot and scored. everyone grab their mini disc and played some very entertaining mini games for all kinds of swag. My personal favorite had to be putting into the basketball hoop.

What a fantastic weekend. I had a blast doing this event and got to hangout with good friends and have some good times. big thanks to all the sponsors who came through to make it all happen and the volunteers who gave their time to help out. I know I'll be back down around central Oregon again soon i can never stay away too long.

Until next time Grip It and Rip It!

Get Outdoors!

2010-06-17T11:23:00.000-07:00

Blue skies, warm sun, and a real taste of summer finally came our way. If the fantastic weather or the Grand Floral Parade and Rose Festival celebrations were not enough to stir you from your winter torpor, Saturday was also National Get Outdoors Day.

Next Adventure was on hand to celebrate getting outdoors at an event across the Columbia River. Woodsy Owl, Smokey Bear and Ranger Rick were there in big fuzzy form to spread their messages about pollution, wildfires and wildlife protection. There were booths representing just about every aspect of the outdoors, from dutch oven cooking and orienteering, to Leave No Trace and emergency response.

Andrew and Greg were there for Next Adventure Outreach, spreading the word about smart and affordable ways to get out and enjoy our natural playground. Families and folks of all ages came by the Next Adventure booth, and many took the hacky-sack or mini-disc challenge to win NA bandanas.

Andrew and Greg presented a Backpack Clinic, performed custom pack fittings, showed off a variety of different day packs and backpacks, and stoked out lots of smiling people.

The National Get Outdoors Day event, held at the Water Resources Education Center in Vancouver, WA, was sponsored by Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation, Portland Parks & Recreation the U.S. Forest Service and other fine outdoor-minded organizations.

A short stroll from the event led to the north shore of the Columbia River. Mount Hood commanded the skyline above the big blue river dotted with sailboats. Mount Jefferson's snowy peak was visible beyond PDX. Wildflowers bloomed on the riverbank, and an osprey circled in the clear blue skies. OK, so most of us don't need a reason to get outdoors around here, but it sure is nice to know that there is a National Get Outdoors Day.

- by Greg Hill 6/12/2010

An Evening of Bike Touring with Next Adventure and Bike N' Hike

2010-06-11T11:10:00.000-07:00

Worlds collided when Next Adventure and Bike N' Hike got together to put on an evening clinic on bike camping and touring. Good times were had by all, as we chatted on the finer points, while sipping on some delicious beverages and sampling a fine assortment of local cheeses.

Jens, the service manager at Bike N' Hike was so kind to bring in his personal touring bags, while Bill from Ortlieb toted the wonders of their waterproof bags and panniers.

Jens also spent some time sharing his passion for touring which started with his first tour at age 14 in Washington. As a mechanic guru, he also had some great advice on tools, maintenance, and repair while on the road.

Then it was my turn to talk about the camping end of bike touring. We chatted tents, sleeping bags, stoves, and cookware. There was some great questions from people in the audience, and I really enjoyed sharing some of my experiences.

Last up was Nick, the Bike N' Hike Shop manager, who shared his love for touring with a Bob Trailer. He also talked passionately about off-road touring, and inspired us with mental images of month long mountain bike trips.

When all was said and done, we had a raffle and gave away some sweet gear! There were so many giveaways that everybody walked away with something! There was schwag from Ortlieb, a tent, some sweet Bike N' Hike jerseys, panniers, a sleeping bag, a titanium stove, and some MSR cookware.

Don't worry if you couldn't make it, as we are planning another touring night for the summer. So stay tuned to our websites and facebook pages to find out when. And remember that you can always swing by Bike N' Hike and Next Adventure for expert advice anytime.

Next Adventure Flight Crew member Cindy @ the Beaver State Fling disc golf tournament

2010-06-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

What an epic two weekends of disc golf that is the Beaver State Fling. The first weekend was the best golfers in the world competing in the PDGA National Tour Event May 28th thru May 30th. I was not playing this weekend, but manning the Next Adventure booth at tournament central. I spent most of my time in the Next Adventure booth, so I did not get to watch too much of the action. One good thing about being in tournament central the entire weekend is that at some point everyone has to pass through there, so I got to see all the big names in disc golf at some point during the weekend. I also watched Liz Carr &

Christian Dietrich win the Open men's and Women's titles of the 2010 Beaver State Fling. I was able to watch many people tee off on the 18 hole mini disc golf course because hole one was right by the NA booth. Thanks Gwain & the mini crew for the use of your 18 hole mini disc golf course. I did get to play a round of mini Saturday night of the pro weekend very fun.

Then the next weekend it was the amateurs turn. Yay finally I get to play. I played with an awesome group of advanced masters ladies. The weather on Saturday was perfect, but the weather on Sunday was so not perfect. It rained all day, but we are Oregon disc golfer, and are used to those conditions. The final round on Sunday was followed by a huge raffle that was run by Next Adventure own Bryan & assisted by Flight Crew member Ryan. Then all the winners were awarded their trophies & Next Adventure script. The weekend concluded with a huge muddy ring of fire run by Flight Crew member Ryan, and assisted by Flight Crew members Celeste & Cindy. A huge thanks goes out to tournament directors Jeff & Mike, and all the volunteers that helped out for both weekends. Thanks also to the Bryan the the Next Adventure staff for cooking up lunches & dinners for two straight weekends, and all the support that you give to the disc golf community you guys are awesome. Last but certainly not least I would like to thanks my husband Steve for helping both weekends, and my friend Shawn who caddied for me in my round on Sunday in the pouring rain.

Next Adventure Booth...........Nikko Locastro & Matt Orum with a putting lesson

Me & The Champ 12X world champion Ken Climo

Next Adventure Crew getting ready to tee off on the mini disc golf course

What awesome form you guys with your massive mini drives off the tee pad

Working the raffle with Bryan & Flight Crew member Ryan, cooking up a storm with Ian, taking a well deserved break Bryan, Flight Crew member Celeste & friend Kirsten redeeming the Next Adventure script.

Yay Flight Crew team member Cindy taking home first in advanced masters women. What a sweet trophy!! All the division winners of the am weekend.

The grand finally of the Beaver State Fling a very muddy ring of fire brought to you by Next Adventure.

NA Staff Lead the Way

2010-06-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

The staff at Next Adventure don't just do sales. When not in the store, NA staff are out in the field playing hard. A number of us are outdoor guides and instructors on the water or the trail. If you have been following this blog awhile, you already know that Andrew and I guide tours for NW Discoveries.
Last week, fellow NA staffer Kurt joined Andrew and me on a Columbia Gorge waterfall hike from Multnomah Falls to Wahkeena Falls. We introduced a group of international academic conventioneers to the natural wonders of the Northwest. Sure it rained, but then again, there's no better way to see a rain forest!

Andrew and Kurt keep track of the group. ------ Green trails disappear into misty clouds.

Kurt guides hikers on trail. ------------ Vibrant larkspur blooms trailside.

Wahkeena Falls - "most beautiful". ---------- Multnomah Falls and Lodge.

First Columbine of Spring above switchbacks. ----- Abundant wildlife - like this banana slug.

Pacific Bleeding Heart goes to seed. ---------- Greg by Multnomah Creek - "What rain?"

Got questions about where to go and what gear you need? Come on by Next Adventure and consult with our professional outdoor staff.

by Greg Hill 6/5/2010

Strange Adventures @ Next Adventure

2010-06-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well Gang,,..this will be the first blog I have posted after a thousand promises to Mr. Knudsen,...Guess I better make it good,..

I will start where any good story starts,...the gas station parking lot across the street from the store where we stocked up with plenty of Viso Vigor(sponsorship pending), chocolate donuts, keg cups, Winstons, and candy bars,...Healthy pre-race food for sure,..Nonetheless we were packed up with Captain Kurt, Thunder, Michael Bolton, Noahs Package, MBster, and BriGuy for a weekend adventure and woodland romp with the crew from X-Dog Events at Hornings Hideout in North Plains OR,.
When we reached the venue for the race energy was high,...Kurt was relieved when his wagon, weighed down with a keg of HopWorks Amber Ale pulled into the lot to rest. We were obviously relieved as well that the beer had made the treacherous 45min. trek to the Hideout. We responded to this relief by tapping the barrel and providing some cold beer to the X-Dog Crew. After the first beer we promptly suited up for a night of fire pit stories, Thunder, and race strategy planning...

The happenings around the fire pit are meant to stay there so I will spare you with the details of debauchery and calisthenics,..Suffice to say,..Thunder awoke early on the roof of the wagon still clutching the dregs of the last Budweiser can(in the first 18 pack anyway).

When the peacocks wail became too much to stand we all made slow progress out of bed and onto the field for some morning beers and frisbee,. The mud balls were flying and the energy was again, high, and focused on the race only a short hangovers crawl away,.

We managed to pack the keg down to the starting line and before Kevin gave the official pre-race speech we invited other X-Doggers down for some "carbo-loading" to help through the course,. This ultimately proved to be a bad idea only moments into the run, lesson learned,.

The course was more trail based tan the events we have made it to in the past,..so we were getting whooped pretty badly considering the last time any of the Next Adventure runners had run was last Summer at the last X-Dog race we made it to in Tilamook,. Not as if we were on the couch eating potato chips, but adventuring in other ways that simply don't involve running,...Many MANY strong runners made it out to the Hornings Event and we were certainly inspired to train up a little bit more for the next race,..The guy who finished first beat me bye more tan 10 minutes,...yep,..he was a mountain goat,.

The primary obstacle was a LONG and steady hill in the middle of the 5.9mile course through the woods and fields,. With the sun shining and almost no wind I found myself working hard for air,..I knew Kurt was somewhere ahead and Noah just behind so I tried to keep a position in the middle of our crew and run my own race,...Then I saw a tightly spandexed Kurt hunched in the bushes relieving the pressure of the pre-race beers,...again,..bad idea,..
With weather that was simply a blessing, and a crew from Next Adventure that came to play as hard as we work in the shop(yep),..I cant say enough good stuff about the event, the X-Dog Organizers and Event Crew, the other Sponsors from the area, Foot Traffic, Gorge Delights, Montrail, Back in Motion Sports Injuries Clinic, Hammer Nutrition, and the National Parks Service made it possible. Not to forget Kevin's hard work and crazy energy delivering a course and environment friendly to all ages and intensity levels,...Simply put, THESE EVENTS ARE MAJOR FUN!!

We will return to the next X_DOG race on Mt. Hood on the 20th of June 2010 "the Mount Hood Scramble"!!!! With river crossings, vistas, Thunder, spandex, Bolton, Next Adventure, and bodacious energy from the crazy cool racers (YOU!!!!) we are stoked to be on board as sponsors of such an amazing series,.

For more pics see the Next Adventure Staff Adventures page, and check out the photos linked off of the xdogevents.com page,.,.

These races are for everyone, every ability level, and mostly geared towards,..well,..YOU!

See you at the Scramble!! 6/20/2010

NA Flight Crew lands @ the Beaver State Fling!

2010-06-02T22:37:00.001-07:00

Beaver State Fling National Tour...check! After months of anticipation, months of preparation, some last minute change of plans, and hours and hours of golfing, this year's BSF Pro weekend is finally over. And what an event it was! I'm still really exhausted and haven't quite caught up on sleep, I have to tell you all how fun this weekend was for me and everyone else fortunate enough to be involved.
Since Sunday, I have been trying to figure out what the "big story" of the tournament was. There were so many highlights for me that it was very difficult to pick one event to focus on. Was is the weather? Was it the surprise winners besting the veteran pros? Was is the sheer numbers of the event? Or could it have been the emmaculate courses that have been prepared for us? Who am I kidding? I have to talk about them all:

The Weather. I can't remember at what point I started checking weather.com for the extended forecast for the BSF weekend, but it must have been around a week and a half before the event. Anyone living in Northwestern Oregon should know that reading a weather forecast further out than 48 hours is pretty much worthless, but we do it anyhow, just hoping for some good news. The news, however, was rain. I must have checked the weather report three or four times a day all the way until Thursday night. Everytime I checked, rain was in the forecast for Friday, Saturday, and part of Sunday. When it came down to it, we really only got rained on Friday afternoon, leaving us with pretty decent weather for three out of four rounds. I'm gonna call that a good weekend. Especially considering what we were fearing.

The Courses. The Beaver State Fling layout, dual 18 hole courses at Milo McIver State Park are THE BEST DISC GOLF COURSES IN THE WORLD for a National Tour event. There may be better disc golf courses, but nothing offers what Milo can offer in terms of a venue. Two HUGE, beautiful, and highly challenging disc golf courses right next to eachother. I've played over a 100 courses nationwide, and there is no place I'd rather call home. This year, the courses have undergone a bunch of extra work by a massive volunteer effort. There were concrete teepads poured specifically for the tournament layout, hours and hours of mowing and general work party cleanup, etc. To add to all the hard labor done, the course underwent a serious makeover on Wednesday and Thursday adding a bunch of massive flag banners. Next Adventure and Keen lined the entryway to the course and a few specific fairways with these huge 19 foot banners. All these finishing touches make you feel like you're entering a disc golf wonderland like none other. It's hard not to smile driving down the road and then seeing all the work that went into getting everything ready to present our not-so-little slice of heaven to the rest of the disc golf world!

The Competition. Registration for the Beaver State Fling filled in 28 minutes. That's right, 28 MINUTES! Amazing stuff. To add to how fast things filled up, the tournament also had an unprecedented 213 Professional competitors making it the largest Beaver State Fling National Tour event yet. Of the 213 players, 134 were in the Open division! Huge! Of all those competitors who would have thought that a pro from Montana would take home the title? Many people were projecting the winner to be one of the vets; Climo, Feldburg, Jenkins, etc. But Christian Dietrich, a 1015 rated player from Montana? No way! Once we all heard that he was in the lead after day one, there were few people who weren't cheering for him. Besideds, eveyone loves an underdog. Saturday's round Christian carded an amazing 51 on the West course, proving that Friday's play was not a fluke. Then Sunday rolls around, things get a little shakey, Locastro ties it up halfway through the round, coming back from a five stroke deficit aaannnnnnddddddd....Dietrich held him off.
On the ladies side of things, we got to learn a new name...Paige Pierce. I had literally never heard of this girls name before the tournament. After day one she was leading the event shooting a 980 rated 63! Daaaannnngggg! Paige played solid golf all weekend long, but was bested by Liz Carr by one stroke. Liz's 996 rated 59 in the third round helped propell her to her second National Tour win of the year. As for Paige, she's teamed up to travel with Liz Lopez and Eric McCabe, so I'm guessing we'll be hearing a lot about her over the next few months! Congratulations to Liz and Christian, as well the winners in the other divisions.

Well. That about wraps it up for now. I had a total blast this year. Massive thanks to Next Adventure for being so involved in the Disc Golf community and this year's BSF. I don't know what the total number of pints drank and burgers cooked were, but it really means a lot to the players to have such support as we get from sponsors like Next Adventure. Next time you're in the store, make sure you thank them for helping make the Beaver State Fling the best tournament in the world!

Flight Crew member Ryan, signing off...

Scouts Climb the Walls

2010-05-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

Next Adventure teamed up with Climb Max to bring not just one, but two climbing walls to the Scout Camporee at Trojan Park this year. But this was no ordinary Camporee. Honoring the 100th anniversary of Scouting in the USA, several districts combined their events into one huge "ScoutJam". With four belayers and an extra day, more Scouts than ever before were able to climb the wall over the weekend.

It was quite an extravaganza, with horses, helicopters, bomb squads and you-name-it represented at booths and activities. Yet with all of the other distractions, the climbing walls were as popular as ever.

Next Adventure held a free raffle, and many Scouts received prizes at the awards ceremony Saturday night. Andrew and Josh took the stage and handed out a hydration pack, trekking poles, compass, first aid kit, disc golf kit, tent, sleeping bag and slack-line kit to the lucky winners. The rest of the crew, along with our Scout helpers, gave away hundreds of t-shirts and socks.

The days were long, but it wasn't all work and no play. We got to camp out in a beautiful park (albeit slightly radioactive), enjoy the copious grub from the staff kitchen, walk around th e trails, and observe ducks, geese, great blue herons, osprey, a beaver and many frogs. Trojan Park has a challenging disc golf course, and we hukked a few discs, too. This horse made for an interesting obstacle.

Instead of blowing out of camp after the awards ceremony, we camped one more night and ran the wall Sunday morning. A new, more challenging route was added for the final day, allowing Scouts that had breezed up the other routes a chance to test their skills.

The winner of the slack-line came by, and we had fun showing them how to set that up and balancing on it. Even one of the Scout leaders gave it a go!

Thanks to Josh, Kristen, Derrick, Dan, Liz (& lil' Anna) from Climb Max; Andrew, Greg and Rob from Next Adventure; and all of the Scout leaders and organizers for a great experience all around.

by Greg Hill 2010

Next Adventure Flight Crew member Cindy @ Mt. Adams Lodge disc golf tournanament

2010-05-04T15:34:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome time last weekend at the Mt. Adams disc golf tournament. This was a fun event, and the scenery was spectacular. The wind was blowing something fierce though, so much so that our women's group witnessed a huge fir tree blow down. Lots of great prizes, and a huge raffle that Next Adventure donated some awesome gear for. Next Adventure also hosted a Ring of Fire at the conclusion of the event, and gave away lots of prizes to those who had the skill to sink those putts. My favorite was the eyes closed putt it was hilarious to see all those discs flying every witch way, but there were a couple who made their putts even with eyes closed. Thanks to Bryan & Jody two new tournament directors for putting on such an awesome event. Thanks also to Mt. Adams Lodge Julee & Tim for being such great hosts, and cooking up the great breakfast. I recommend to anyone who wants a fun weekend to go and stay at the Mt. Adams Lodge.

Next Adventure Ring of Fire

More Ring of Fire

Cindy & Shawn chilling on the porch (A huge thanks to Shawn & Eric for diving me & the NA schwag when my car ended up in the shop on Friday)

Shawn sandwich in front of the awesome fireplace in the Mt. Adams lodge with Sky (Shawn's daughter), and Cindy

My disc golf bag surrounded my some amazing scenery

Green Point Cut-Off

2010-04-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

The deep valley juts south from the Columbia River Gorge and stretches toward Mount Hood, lush and green. Wildflowers line the trail: glowing yellow gold stars and deep blue larkspur on rocky outcrops; trillium, toothwort, oregon grape, and calypso orchids in the piney woods; and sweet coltsfoot, skunk cabbage and salmonberry near the many stream crossings.
Many streams mean many waterfalls. Recent spring rains and snowmelt turned trickling creeks into roaring, splashing cataracts. But it wasn't raining on us then, and the stars would come out that night.

David from NA's front counter and I had been talking about getting out for an overnight backpack trip for way too long, but we finally did it late March. Our original goal was to take it easy and just head up the Herman Creek Trail. The woods deep in the valley between Nick Eaton and Woolly Horn Ridges was its own magical place, and we enjoyed our first night camping near the forks. But we knew that there were mountain views to be had, so the next day, instead of taking the easy way out, we hiked a loop that climbed over 4000 feet and summitted Green Point Mountain.

We hooked up with Kevin (an intrepid hiker that had spent the night up near Mud Lake) at the Cut-Off trail juncture, and we three set off, switchbacking up and up. Patches of snow appeared on the trail at around 2800 feet, and by the time we reached the juncture with the Gorton Creek trail, we were booting through several feet of snow.Post-holing past our knees through fresh snow, we gained the top of Green Point Mountain at 4763' and took in the spectacular views: Mount Defiance and its sweeping, lake-dotted valley before us; the broad, snowy peaks of Mts. Rainier and Adams north across the blue ribbon of the Columbia River, and towering Mount Hood filling the southern horizon.

Buried under feet of snow, there was no trail to follow, but map and compass kept us on track, and, reassured by the occasional tree blaze, we soon found ourselves at the juncture of the Nick Eaton Ridge Trail. The trail soon became recognizable after that. Kevin shot down the Casey Creek trail, while David and I continued along the ridge trail, finally dropping back down to the Herman Creek Trail through spectacular displays of violet grass widows. Light was growing dim as we reached the trailhead. We were tired from the thousands of feet of elevation gain and loss and over 14 miles of trail covered that day. But we felt great. Amazing what a forest trail and mountain view or two can do for your soul.

NOTE: Snow levels in the Cascades and the Gorge continue to stay low this spring. Please stay on well-marked trails unless you are proficient at back-country travel and really know how to use your map and compass. And please, always head out on the trail properly prepared with survival essentials.

by Greg Hill 2010