70 Degrees in February | Smith Rock Hike
Pulled up the weather the other day knowing there was a warm front coming and we saw it was going to be 70 degrees and sunny in the desert. So I called up our friend Chris who is a photographer and also does our website and graphic design to see if he'd be interested. We made the easy decision to shut down the shop and head to the warmth for a day in the sun testing out the new denim Forager side bag and our new camera straps.
We decided to do a 6 mile loop hike that would give us lots of views. We started with the steep and climbed to the top of Misery Ridge and down the backside to the Summit Trail. The Misery Ridge Trail goes straight up the gut and is a leg burner, but it provides amazing views both on the way up and at the top!
We built our original bag design, the Travelers Trunk, as a front pack that integrated with our suspenders to hold your phone and wallet while skiing and snowboarding. Before these designs I had never hiked with a front pack but after my first hike using a Travelers Trunk I knew I was never going back. I could grab my phone so quick and easy to get photos and videos. I always have a few other goodies like a pen, a notebook, sunscreen, a lighter, you know, the things you will normally skip because its not worth taking your backpack off for it. This pack also holds my cash, cards which keeps me organized and my pockets empty.
After taking a break up top of Misery Ridge we descended down the backside, which was also very steep and full of switchbacks. The rock formations on this back side were insane, and we had our eyes peeled for climbers hoping they would be a famous spot called Monkey Rock. We didn't see anyone until we rounded the last switch back before going under Monkey Rock and we were blown away to see someone climbing it all by themselves! This was mind blowing and we hung out for a while taking it in.
Monkey Rock got smaller as we walked further from it. We kept checking back to see where the climber was at on it which was even more crazy to see from far back. Luckily we had this guy carrying two cameras, both with Treefort camera straps to get some good shots of this climber and the area in general. Chris doesn't really have room for a front pack with both of his cameras but he is doing double the work testing the camera strap out! Chris has a Lookout camera strap on all of his cameras, and he isn't the kind of guy who will use something he doesn't like, no matter how affiliated he is with the brand. Go check out our Lookout camera strap, and set up your cam or your binoculars.
The rest of the trip was beautiful and mellow as we made our way out and around the rest of the park and back to our car. I was able to put together a little video Iphone video for you to check out. Point and case for why the Forager and Travelers Trunks are so nice... being able to access my cell phone quickly keeps me from slowing down the crew to get a shot. Now, lets all pray for snow.
