Part Time Vagabond

The Case Against Autumn

// August 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Feature

Summer is almost over, and fall is in the air yet again. Each year around this time, people living in more temperate climates go through what seems like a mental breakdown. Immediately after a blazing hot stretch of summer weather, a rain storm sweeps through and clears out the humidity, the heat, the sweltering air, and ushers in cooler temperatures. The air is bit crisper, the sky a bit bluer, and as children begin boarding school buses once more, we realize that our too-short summer is coming to an end.

Autumn seems to have come sooner than usual this year. Here in Maine, the entire month of June was a complete washout, quite literally. Twenty-one of the thirty days in that month were filled with miserable rain. The temperature rarely rose above the 70 degree mark. Even July had its fair share of rainy weather and cool temps, though the end of the month finally brought us some favorable weather. It was only August that brought warm weather and sunny skies, but even that was somewhat uncomfortable for some weeks, with temps reaching the 90s and humidity levels near the same number.

Today, on the last day of August, my Twitter friend Timorousme summed up what I think a lot of us are feeling today:

I have a love/hate relationship with the distinct autumnal chill in the air…
- Timorousme, from Twitter

And it’s true. Many of us are confused by the weather this year. Despite being new to Maine, I’m still a New Englander and am used to finicky weather patterns that change at the drop of a hat. But man! This year has been absolutely crazy. It seems as if we were robbed in some way, stripped of our days spent at the beach and nights drinking beers in the backyard. It’s almost unfair that we were given only a few weeks to cram as much summer fun as we could into our already harried lives, hoping against hope that Mother Nature, that mercurial beast, would cooperate by allowing us a weekend respite from her wet weather. Perhaps there is a bigger life lesson in there, that we should seize opportunity when it presents itself, take advantage of a good situation while it’s still around. Or maybe we just got gypped.

Whatever the case, we look forward to the slight chill and turning leaf colors that autumn brings. It’s really a cleansing time of year, when nature throws off the heavy air of sun and sweat and puts on a more comfortable set of clothes. Still, many of us can’t help but lament at the disappointment of the summer that barely was.

Reason #233 Why I Dig Portland, Maine

// August 28th, 2009 // No Comments » // VIDEO

Street Music – Portland, Maine from Chris Cavs on Vimeo.

One of the things I love about Portland is the music scene. There are some amazingly talented musicians here. From spring to fall, some musicians take to the streets and parks as buskers, giving tourists and locals alike a taste of their art. The band in the video was Holy Ghost Tent Revival from Greensboro, NC. They’re “an eclectic mix of so many things – dirty jazz, ragtime, folk, roots country/bluegrass, big band and rock and roll.” Whatever, they’re good.

*NOTE: Sorry for the lip sync issue. Looks like it went out when Vimeo compressed it.

5 Items for the Nomadic Videographer

// August 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // HOW TO

As you’ll well learn over the course of this blog’s existence, I am a video nut. I’ve been producing and shooting video for well over 15 years, but I rarely think to bring my gear with me on a trip. Video gear — especially the pro stuff — is heavy, bulky, and not all that fun to lug around. But now, with the advent of micro-camcorders and easy, portable editing solutions, the temptation to bring along a full complement of equipment is stronger than ever.

No one wants to lug around a hundred pounds of extra stuff when you’re just trying to enjoy your trip. Yet we still want to capture those memorable moments and show them off on the family blog. In an effort to lighten the load and still get that amazing shot, here are five items for the nomadic videographer:

1. AVCHD camcorder – These tiny handheld camcorders are made even lighter because of their solid state AVCHD recording media. Without the traditional recording mechanism of tape or hard drive based models, AVCHD camcorders shed those oh-so-important ounces, while giving you stunning High Def images. Try models from Canon or Sony. With all that saved weight, you’ll be able to carry an extra package of GORP.
2. GorillaPod SLR Zoom – Probably the greatest invention for outdoor video and still photography enthusiats, Joby’s Gorillapod is the lightweight go-anywhere tripod with bite. Three nearly infinitely posable, rubber tipped legs allow you to wrap the miniature tripod around a tree branch or grip it securely to a rock face. Joby has also just introduced a ball head for the Gorillapod SLR Zoom version, which allows free-flowing movement in a 360 degree circle. The ball head includes the GorillaPod’s traditional quick-release plate.
3. LED On Camera Light – LED lights are starting to make their way into professional videography, and with good reason. They’re small, lightweight, and bright, but use less battery power than traditional on-camera lights. In the woods or in darkly lit alleys, a good light is essential to seeing what’s on camera. This sub-$200 light from Bescor is small, lightweight, and dimmable.  *Tip: when shooting in the sun with deep shadows, use your camera light to fill in those shadows. Your subject will look much better.
4. Short Shotgun Microphone - Many pros have said it, yet most amateurs ignore it: Audio is an important – if not the most important – part of videography. If you can’t hear, what’s the point? The Azden SGM-X short shotgun microphone sits in your camera’s hot shoe while it’s 1/8″ mini jack plugs right into your camcorder’s microphone jack. Use the mic to not only do on camera “standups,” but also to pick up the amazing sounds you encounter on your journey.
5. Headphones – These lightweight earphones from Klipsch are a great complement to your shotgun microphone. Just as picking up the sound is important, hearing what you’re picking up is important as well. These earphones sit snugly and comfortably in your ears, without taking up a lot of weight or space in your pack. Though they may be pricier than you’re used to, they’re well worth the investment when you can hear the wings of that grey heron flapping from a quarter of a mile away.

Kayaking with the L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery School

// August 25th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // TRIP REPORT

L.L. Bean is well known for it’s preppy clothes, camping supplies, and the “Bean Boot.” What most people don’t know is that many of the retail stores offer the Outdoor Discovery School, where adventuresome people can take a few hours – or a few days – to learn a fun and exciting outdoor activity. Since I’ve been dying to get into a kayak this summer, I decided to partake in one of L.L. Bean’s Walk-On Adventures, offered at the Freeport, Maine flagship store.

I made the 20 minute trek from Portland to Freeport with my friend Bryan, where we were lucky to fill in the last two spots on the 12:00 P.M. kayak adventure. The $15 trips fill up fast and early, and they don’t accept advance reservations, so you should get there early to sign up. Trips run everyday from June through September, and then run on a less frequent schedule until mid-October. When noon rolled around, an L.L. Bean guide herded us into a small bus, and we were on our way to Wolf Neck Woods State Park where we would gear up and head out to the Harraseeket River.

Showing professionalism and courtesy, the guides – Paul and Moe – introduced themselves and went over some safety rules and the process for getting into the kayaks. After some group introductions, we were fitted with paddles, PFDs (Personal Floatation Devices; a.k.a, life vests), and watershoes. A short hike through a small pasture led us to a grass outcropping where Paul went over proper paddling technique while Moe readied the kayaks. A few minutes later, we were on the dock climbing into the slim, colorful plastic boats. With everyone in the water, we shoved off and began our trek.

Hugging the coastline, we paddled through a high tide – the Harraseeket is a tidal river – and calm waters. Though a storm threatened in the skies, the sun managed to stay out for most of the trip giving us beautiful vistas the whole way. Mary and David, a couple from Boston, sat in a yellow tandem, Mary in front and David playing the part of sternman. Though David had some previous kayaking experience, novice Mary was a bit apprehensive from the start, and had apparently been a bit nervous the day before when stormy weather called off their first trip. Today, though she still didn’t have her sea legs and her nerves were a bit shaky, she climbed willingly enough into the kayak. A few nervous yelps and some splashing later, Mary was laughing with delight and paddling as hard as she could, David doing all he could to keep up with her. Kayaking, even for beginners, is truly addicting.

As we made our way downriver, a high pitched chirp pulled our attention to the treeline. A large brown Osprey thrashed from its perch about 100 yards in front of us and soared over our heads as we approached. Though it’s never guaranteed, wildlife is usually a part of these tours, and Bald Eagles have been known to frequent the area from time to time. Though we didn’t see any eagles this time, the Ospreys provided a great – albeit short – step into the wilderness.

After what seemed like an entirely too short hour of paddling, Paul and Moe rounded up the new paddlers and shepherded us back to the dock. Twenty minutes later, our little group was back at the L.L. Bean barn, doffing our PFDs and watershoes and sharing knowing looks as the next group of kayakers gathered their gear. Smiles were plenty when we stepped back on the bus, but everyone was quiet. Though I’m sure the group was simply tired out from paddling the placid waters, I like to think we were all contemplating when we’d be able to make our next kayak adventure a reality.

The LowDown

L.L. Bean Kayaking Walk-on Adventure

PROS:

• Inexpensive
• All equipment provided
• Knowledgeable, friendly guides

CONS:

• Too little time on water
• Dependent on weather conditions

More Information:

• Walk-on Adventures include kayaking, archery, clay shooting, and fly casting
• Hours and Adventures offered may vary by location
• Outdoor Discovery School offers Walk-ons, Weekend Adventures, and Family Outings

*Disclosure: I am a seasonal employee at L.L. Bean in Freeport. I enjoy my job there, and I think that L.L. Bean is a good company. However, I try to remain as unbiased as possible in anything I write about the company and its products. Honesty is the best policy.

The Feel of Silence

// August 24th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Feature

In June 2008, I escaped the confines of city life and flew west to visit my brother in Flagstaff, Arizona. I love the town, and had visited a few times, but  never had the opportunity to enjoy the wealth of outdoors activities available there. During my week long stay there, I took advantage of the long, warm days and headed out on the trails.

During one of my hikes, I noticed something: It was quiet. I’m not talking about the kind of quiet you hear when there are no people talking and no cars buzzing. This was something quite different. It was simultaneously disconcerting and enlightening, so much so that it took me days to process my thoughts on what I had experienced.

Below is an excerpt from my journal, dated June 22, 2008, several days after returning to New Jersey from Arizona:

As I walked down the trail, alone for the frist time in what may be years, a little bit of panic began to sneak into my brain. Im not entirely sure why, but I suspect it has to do with where my life has taken me in the last several years. I live very close to New York City, and with tha tcomes a lot of activity, the hustle and bustle and constant noise of daily life in a city slowly eating away at my psyche. It is something you never really notice until you truly remove yourself from it. I hadn’t noticed until this moment, halfway uup a hill, resting my overworked but under used lungs, that there are two very distinct, very different forms of silence.

There is hard silence, the kind you’ll find early on a Sunday morning in an East Coast city or suburb. Most people are still asleep in their beds, and only animals and the wind are active. Until you stop and listen. You have to quiet yourself down, slow your breathing, relax your muscles, and let your ears adjust. Then it makes itself known, slowly rising: hard silence. Listen closely. A bird chirps. Leaves rustle in the trees. A motor rises in the distance. A door slams. A car horn blows. Air trapped under the tires of a car on some distant roadway explodes rapidly. A jetliner glides overhead. A chipmunk scatters and scampers through dry, crinkled leaves.

True, it is quiet; quieter than, say, rush hour on Monday morning at the Holland Tunnel. It is Hard Silence.

There is also soft silence. Until my hike in the tall Ponderosa Pines and Aspens, I had never heard soft silence. When my body had quieted down, I heard it distinctly. Imagine yourself in a sensory deprivation chamber. Begin with no noise, no sound whatsoever. Your ears begin to ring. The vibrations of your eardrums echo into your head until they too become nothing. You now know what it must feel like to be deaf.

Now, add only slight sounds, all of them muffled as if millions of pillows surround you. Wind wends its way slowly through the needles of the upper boughs of the pines, gently, as though not to disturb the tree’s stately slumber. Really no other sound intrudes upon this scene, until what must be a small airplane comes dangerously close to buzzing your head. Terrified, you duck and cover, praying that the propellers only do you minor bodily harm. Time passes, and when nothing happens and the buzzing has mysteriously subsided, you look up, searching the immediate vicinity for low-flying aircraft and listening for the inevitable snapping of tree branches and rending of metal.

Nothing. Not a sound.

But without warning, the buzzing returns with even more power than before, and heading straight for you. This time your defenses are up and you’re ready to spring into action as the offending aircraft prepares another attack. Then, the culprit appears: A large, rather ugly green and black horsefly. As your pulse returns to normal, you make sure that no one has seen your pitiful display of cowardice. Of course, there is no one there. No one is around for quite some distance.

Soft Quiet.

It is almost palpable. Even the sun’s rays as they break through the trees seem softer here, and you can almost hear the light waves crashing into the ground. There is little wildlife, no humans, and no machines. The fallen pine needles and meadow grass dampen any extraneous sound that may emanate from afar, so that it’s just you and the wind causing a ruckus in the soft silence of an Arizona forest.

Sure, it’s not the greatest prose ever written. I’m not even sure I got my feelings across well. All you really have to do is go somewhere like that, where there’s real soft silence, then come back to the hard stuff, and you’ll know. You can feel silence.

VIDEO: The Backpacker Magazine Interview: Ken Burns

// August 23rd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // VIDEO

Ken Burns’ new film hits PBS on September 27, and it’s sure to be another amazing television event. Here, Burns sits down with Backpacker Magazine’s Tracy Ross to talk about the film and his ideas about why the National Parks are important, and who really influenced and created them.

Friends of Acadia offers Van Tours of Historic National Park.

// August 21st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News

As a huge fan of Acadia National Park in Maine, I try to keep updated on news from the park. The non-profit conservancy Friends of Acadia “preserves, protects, and promotes stewardship of the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality, and distinctive cultural resources of Acadia National Park and surrounding communities for the inspiration and enjoyment of current and future generations.” It’s a great organization that is working to preserve a place of natural beauty that is very close to my heart. If you’re going to be in the area of Bar Harbor, ME on either August 22 or September 13, I highly suggest you reserve a spot.

Friends of Acadia is offering van tours of the Schoodic District of Acadia National Park on Saturday, August 22, and Sunday September 13, 2009. Come hear more about the resort development proposed for the 3,200 acres adjacent to the park, the natural resources of the region, and efforts to preserve this land. If you would like to attend, please contact Stephanie Clement at stephanie@friendsofacadia.org.

VIDEO: A dose of the great outdoors

// August 21st, 2009 // No Comments » // VIDEO

New Hampshire Falls – Letus Ultimate Film from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.

You’ll see a lot of video here on the site, especially because it’s what I do for a living. I love well shot video and the feelings it can evoke. Here, my friend Tom Guilmette, a director of photography in Boston, MA shows us how amazing nature can be.

Day Trippin’

// August 20th, 2009 // No Comments » // News

This story caught my attention last night. Apparently, a newlywed couple in Missouri had to be rescued when the bride had a bad reaction to the LSD she was tripping on. A seizure and a helicopter ride later, she was in serious condition in the hospital. Nicely done. I wonder if she was trying to get down the rabbit hole…

In all seriousness, I think the wilderness is a pretty horrible place to be taking drugs that have the potential for a reaction like that. But even prescription drugs can cause problems. So where does the line get drawn? Do drugs belong in the woods, or on any trip where you’re some distance from help?

Why I Moved to Maine

// August 17th, 2009 // No Comments » // Feature

Earlier this year, I decided that I’d had enough of living in New Jersey. It was loud, busy, and annoying. I couldn’t sleep, and I was becoming more depressed with the way things in my life were turning out. It was becoming clear that I needed a change. The following is from a post dated February 3, 2009 from my old blog, the Inside/Out Reality, in which I announced that I would be leaving New Jersey and moving my entire life to Maine:

Ok, so I announced this yesterday on Twitter, but no one seemed to notice. I had to get my email out to my old school friends first, so they’d know. Now, I’m getting the question I both dreaded and knew would be coming: Why are you moving to Maine?

Problem is, I don’t really have a good answer.

i love that i keep getting asked, “Why Maine?” I really just want to say, “Why not Maine?” 9:48 AM yesterday from TweetDeck

I guess it began back in October 2008. I had already been feeling overstressed and very much out of sorts when I decided I wanted to go camping somwhere. I needed the break. The trip I had planned was already falling apart and likely wouldn’t happen. Then my brother called me from Arizona, saying he was moving back East. We hadn’t seen much of each other over the previous 8 years, so it was a good time for us to get back together. I asked him if he wanted to go camping, and when he asked where, I knew: Acadia National Park in Maine. This place holds a very special spot in both our hearts, and has for many years. I love the area, and enjoy being in Maine. My brother attened the University of Maine at Orono, and loves the state. So it was a no brainer.

After a very long and infuriating drive to Maine, I finally started to relax and enjoy my time up there. We had a great weekend in the outdoors, and I finally felt the tension releasing. I didn’t realize how much tension I had released until I made it back home to Jersey City. The first night back in my bed was one of the worst I can remember. Everything was so loud. I heard every siren, every car and truck, every voice outside my window. My roommates (who many of you know are a bit…rambunctious, to say the least) kept me up late as well. I could feel the tension oozing its way back into my body. It was that night when I realized that I was not meant to be here.

My goal when I first moved to New Jersey was to live there no longer than 5 years. Now, at the 5.5 year mark, it’s time for me to go. So why Maine? First, I’m a New Englander. I love it up there. It’s who I am and where I want to be. Second, Maine is a beautiful state. I’m an outdoorsman, and having access to the outdoors is very important to me. I realized that down here in NJ, I wasn’t getting outside nearly enough. Finally, Portland, by all accounts, is a very cool, culturally rich, and highly accessible city in Southern Maine. It’s on the Maine Coast, and close to New Hampshire and Boston.

No, I don’t have a job. No, there’s no girl. It’s just a decision I needed to make for my own sanity, my own health. I certainly have my share of doubts, but everyone I’ve told about the move has said it’s the right one for me, it’s where I should go. I’m not tied down to anything, and I’m still within a half a day’s travel from everyone I care about (including my online buddies!). I love NYC to be sure, and I’ll be visiting as often as I can.

So in the beginning of March, I’ll be calling Portland, ME home. I’ll be looking for work, whether freelance or full-time (or both). And hopefully, I’ll have a cool local brew in my hand and a smile on my face.

Since the original publishing of this post, I’ve realized that the first indication that I wanted to move actually came in June of 2008, when I visited my brother who was living in Flagstaff, Arizona. During that week, I realized how very beautiful and quiet it was out there, and that I wanted that. I had made the decision: I was leaving.