newsobserver.com blogs -- outdoors

Sealander, an amphibious camper

matthewfortner — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:10:10 -0400

You know you want one, and it's ok. You'll have to wait until next year though for it to hit the market and at about $20,000. The convertible top can rollback and the seats can be configured into a deck. Features include a kitchen, heater, a cooler and an electric motor.

Vimeo link

2,200 miles on the Appalachian Trail in under 5 minutes

matthewfortner — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:50:28 -0400

Green Tunnel from Kevin Gallagher on Vimeo.

Outdoors gift guide: Gadgets and gear

matthewfortner — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:33:21 -0500

We've compiled a gallery of outdoors products for fun, rest and survival.

NCWRC suggests getting that hunting permit early

dclaybest — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 04:40:00 -0400

With dove season opening on Sept. 4, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is encouraging hunters to purchase their licenses now by visiting www.ncwildlife.org.
The last week of August is traditionally the busiest week of the year for hunting licnse sales. With opening day of dove season again falling on the long Labor Day weekend, a time when many beach-bound anglers purchase their Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses, the agency expects a rush on license sales.

To avoid the rush, sportsmen can go to the agency’s website to purchase a hunting or fishing license for immediate use. They can also click on the ‘Locate a Service Agent’ link to find a wildlife service agent nearest them.

Other ways to purchase a license include:

Visiting a Wildlife Service Agent<http://www.ncwildlife.org/Apps/WildlifeServiceAgent/Search.asp> .Most are located in bait-and-tackle shops, hunting and sporting good stores and larger chain stores;
Calling the Wildlife Resources Commission at (888) 248-6834. Hours of operation are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., seven days a week through October.

To hunt doves in North Carolina, residents must purchase an annual basic hunting license ($15), an annual comprehensive license ($30) or an annual Sportsman license ($40). Holders of a basic hunting license who are hunting on game lands must purchase a game lands privilege license. The $15 privilege license is included in the cost of a comprehensive or Sportsman license.

Those hunting doves and other migratory game birds, including waterfowl, are required to have a HIP certification, which is issued free of charge by calling the Commission or visiting a Wildlife Service Agent.

For more information on other services available online, including renewing vessel registrations, reporting big game harvests, registering for hunter and boating education courses and downloading the 2010-2011 Regulations Digest, click here<http://www.ncwildlife.org/License/index.htm> .

Also, look for a column by The Smithfield Herald and Garner-Clayton Record outdoors columnist Fred Bonner this coming week on getting ready for that first dove hunt.

Spice up your summer with an eco-adventure

paigemaxwell — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 20:00:00 -0400

Interested in finding some free eco-experiences in the area to add to your summer plans? Here are some guided field trips sponsored by Central Carolina Community College and the Chatham Conservation Partnership:

Aquatic Species by Canoe Outing. Saturday, July 10, 9-11 a.m.
You can learn more about aquatic species during a canoe outing around the Robeson Creek area. The outing, which involves paddling and getting your feet wet, will be led by Catherine Deininger of the Robeson Creek Watershed Council. Canoes will be provided by N.C. State Parks. This canoe trip has a minimum age requirement of 10 years old, and space is limited to 15.

American Tobacco Trail Educational Hike. Sunday, July 25, 1-3 p.m.
Learn about the efforts to preserve abandoned railroad corridors as rail-trails for alternative transportation such as biking, hiking and horseback riding. The hike begins at the Pittard Sears Road trail crossing and will led by Bill Bussey of the Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. It will be an easy walk along the newest section of the American Tobacco Trail in Chatham County.

Jordan Lake Wildlife Observation Platform. Saturday, August 14, 9-10 a.m.
While doing some bird watching at the new Jordan Lake Wildlife Observation Platform, learn from Chris Militscher of the Environmental Protection Agency about the decline of the American bald eagle, the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty. Bring your binoculars, and hopefully you will see living examples of our country's national emblem.

The trips are free and open to the public. To register, call 919-542-6495 extension 8044 or visit the Central Carolina Community College Continuing Education office.
For more information, contact Gretchen Smith at the Chatham Conservation Partnership.

It is a shed and a trailer. No, seriously it is.

matthewfortner — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:58:34 -0500

The 50 cubic feet Tow-N-Stow weighs in around 400 pounds and is rated to haul up to 1,000 pounds with a class 1 trailer hitch. It is lockable in both shed and enclosed trailer mode. The tailgate and doors can be removed without tools. LED running lights are all around. The hauler is interesting, but the $2,500 selling price is a load of cash.

Thaw Your Paws & Warm Your Buns

matthewfortner — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:09:56 -0500

Here are a couple of gadgets designed to cheat old man winter.

Sanyo has begun importing their rechargeable Eneloop hand warmers to the USA. At $34.99, you can get the egg-shaped, single sided warmer claimed to last up to four hours per charge. $44.99 will fetch the double sided model rated to last up to 3 hours depending on the setting used. There are other ways to keep your hands warm. You could use one of the many air activated warmers available, a plastic bottle of hot water, or pockets? But the Sanyo two sided model has another trick. It is also a battery charger with two rechargeable AA batteries that can be used in other devices. They are available at Sanyo's online Store.

Looking for the only heated portable chair in the world? Have $120 burning a hole in your pocket? Hammacher Schlemmer has you covered...your backside at least. The chair is claimed to heat from 120 to 140 degrees. The rechargeable battery that heats the seat is said to last up to four hours on the lowest setting and 2 1/2 hours cranked to high.

ESPN Outdoors programming for the weekend

mike_z — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:06:56 -0400

ESPN2 continues its May outdoors coverage will be highlighted this week by The Bassmasters, which will feature Aaron Martens’ win at the Bassmaster Elite Series event on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville. ESPN Outdoors personalities Mark Zona and Tommy Sanders will analyze the West Coast native’s winning pattern on Saturday, May 16, at 9 a.m. ET.

Martens of Leeds, Ala., scored his fifth BASS victory at the Marine Formula STA-BIL Southern Challenge. Martens, who totaled 107 pounds, 8 ounces, nearly let victory slip away to Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., but in the end brought home the $100,000 top prize. Fishing fans can see all of the on-the-water action from the big-bass parade on Guntersville, where Elite Series anglers caught nearly 1,300 fish and more than 5,300 pounds during the four-day event.

On Sunday, May 17 at 8 a.m., Wanna Go Fishing host Matt Eastman attends the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy in search of one person to surprise with a trip to San Destin, Fla. Eastman tracks down Lt. John Robison of the U.S. Marine Corps to whisk him off to Florida where fatigues are traded in for fishing rods. Wanna Go Fishing is a reality-based program tailored to the outdoors, where Eastman travels across the country searching for guests to join him for saltwater fishing expeditions.

A complete listing of ESPN Outdoors programming aired on ESPN2 can also be found on ESPNOutdoors.com. Visit ESPNOutdoorsMedia.com for ESPN Outdoors’ latest releases, schedules, other news and photos.

ESPN Outdoors Second-Quarter Programming Schedule for April through June

ESPN Outdoors on ESPN2 for Saturdays
Fishing Adventurer                      7-7:30 a.m. ET
Beat Charlie Moore                      7:30-8 a.m.
A Day on the Lake                       8-8:30 a.m.
World’s Greatest Fishing Show           8:30-9 a.m.
The Bassmasters                 9-10 a.m.

ESPN Outdoors on ESPN2 for Sundays
Get Schooled                            7-7:30 a.m. ET
Going Coastal                           7:30-8 a.m.
Wanna Go Fishing                        8-8:30 a.m
ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series              8:30-9 a.m.
Madfin Shark Series                     9-9:30 a.m.
Spanish Fly                             9:30-10 a.m.
* Times and shows subject to change.

New Outdoors Now blog

danbarkin — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:33:04 -0400

Mike Zlotnicki, our outdoors editor, and Javier Serna, who covers preps and also knows everything about the woods and the water, have launched a new blog called Outdoors Now. Here's how they describe what you'll find: "We'll have breaking news, outdoors briefs, tournament results, field reports and general musings."

And pictures. Like the one of N.C. State senior Chris Wood holding two very large fish that he pulled out of Lake Wheeler recently.

Fish story

tedvaden — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:10:27 -0500

Second-best story in The N&O today, by my reckoning, is the tale of the Raleigh woman who caught and released a possible world-record black drum (that's a fish) last month.

Gwen Frazier caught the 100-plus pound leviathan before Thanksgiving at Topsail Island. After posing for a picture, she slipped it back into the sea with no regrets. "It was a very, very cool fish," she told Outdoors Editor Mike Zlotnicki.

Her sportswomanship prompted a lively debate on the N&O's website about the "release" part of "catch and release." Some hardy meat anglers scoffed - "kill for food, not sport" - while others condemned the "catch" part - "That hurts, even for fish. Their mouths are very sensitive."

Myself, I'm with Ms. Frazier. As one old salt put it, a 100-pound fish is going to be tough meat anyway. (Best story, by the way: The concluding story in the series on the state's rickety criminal probation system.)

Hike Falls Lake with us?

JoeMiller — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:09:12 -0400

Looking for something to do Friday or Saturday? I'll be backpacking the Falls Lake Trail for a series we're writing about the Mountains to Sea Trail and would love some company. I'll be starting Friday morning at 10 a.m. from the Falls Lake/MST trail access off Baptist Road north of N.C. 98. We'll be hiking all day, down to the Shinleaf Campground off New Light Road. Saturday, we'll leave Shinleaf at 9 a.m. and hike to the dam.

At this point, I don't know where we'll be when. But I will have my cell (812-8450). If you think you might like to hook up with us, give me a call and I can let you know where we are. So far, I plan to hike all day Friday with avid MST volunteer Chris Underhill, then spend the day Saturday with Arthur Kelley, who is in the process of mapping the MST, and Kate Dixon, executive director of the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail, and volunteer extrodinaire Margaret Lillard.

Hope to see you out there.