Over the course of the weekend I had to put my dive and teaching skills on display, to be evaluated and critiqued by two well respected dive professionals. They would assign everyone a list of skills with unknown problems that needed to be remediated. We had to perform demonstration quality skills to showcase our knowledge [...]
Author: Steven
Magic Time
The first day of the IDC Instructor Development Course, we all met in the classroom. I promptly went to the back of the classroom and selected a table in the corner. Why I do this, I do not know It's not about control but more about being tucked away hidden from the gaze of the [...]
IDC, The friends you get, not the ones you choose!
For the past 11 days, I have been eating, sleeping, breathing dive instruction. I am in the midst of my IDC, Instructor Development Course. For two weeks we train to learn how to instruct new divers. We learn from a Course Director and his role is to guide us through the process and exams. [...]
Florida Trail Hike
The Florida Trail, 1,300 miles starting in the Everglades and ending in the panhandle by the Gulf of Mexico. We sat up one night talking about what would be next for us during our winter hiatus from Key West. We started our research the next day learning what we could before we committed to it. [...]
Making our own Hammock System
As we started to mull around the idea of doing a thru-hike of the Florida Trail (FT), Sierra and I debated on whether or not to try hammocking for a change. This of course led us down the rabbit hole: What would we need to hammock? How much does that weigh? How light can we [...]
Two weeks out from the PCT
We were about two weeks out from our proposed start date for the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) and we still had a few things to tidy up. Our plan at that point was to have her father act as our bounce box, shipping us gear as needed. We meticulously went through all our guide gear [...]
Food, Nutrition, and Value when Thru-hiking
I've received a ton of questions as of late, about food. What to eat? Where to buy? How much should it cost? Nutrition is a big part of long-distance hiking - you need that energy to put down big miles. Hiker Hunger is a real thing and it can be devastating to your emotional outlook. [...]
Upgrading Gear: Dollars per Ounce
We have researched and purchased the best options for us on the trail. Some new additions to our arsenal are: Zpacks Duomid tent, Thermarest Xlite sleeping pad, Bear Vault 500 bear can, Loco Libre Ghostpepper topquilt, Osprey Exos 58 Pack, SOG Traction Tanto, and a Gerber BG Scout. Some of these items were purchased back [...]
Europe’s Florida?
Back to Thailand, to find a home till March. We couldn't have been happier to be back in a world where our life wasn't in danger all the time while travelling. Our first stop was the border town Nong Khai where the innumerable amount of old, white Brits outnumbered the mosquitoes. We were astonished at [...]
A week in Laos, a week too long
Laos, pronounced "Lao", had started off terribly. I was awake for the whole ordeal; the winding roads at high speed, reckless driving, and near misses. I knew we would crash, I knew it like I knew the back of my hand, it was going to happen. I was awake when it happened. I was aware [...]
The Gypsy Itch - Travel Blog 