As I toss on a few layers to run across the Brooklyn Bridge I’m guessing that my wife thinks I’m nuts. Given the weather. The fact she doesn’t say anything…at all…cements the POV. Yeah, we’re probably both thinking about the torn calf muscle last year and the 8+ weeks of rehap or… maybe not. Who knows really, it’s not worth asking.

I made it and had little company on the bridge. First none at all which was a little disconcerting as it was only 7PM and usually there are reams of folks. But I made it to Brooklyn and to Tillary Street certainly without seeing another runner. The way back, still no runners, a bicycle (one), feet down, trying to guide his way down the hill. Good luck, I’d walk. I didn’t look back to see if he’d agree with my thinking.

By now the snow is stinging my face and coming at a steep angle. Occasionally a large-ish piece of snow/ice comes off the bridge from somewhere up above and lands with a thud. I understand why they might close the bridge to pedestrians. I read later that some unfortunate dude is killed in Central Park by falling branch weighed down by the snow and, as always, realize life can be shortened in the most bizarre and capricious ways.

“…The man, Elmaz Qyra of Brooklyn, was killed around 3:30 p.m., along a picturesque stretch called Literary Walk, named because of the statues of Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns overlooking it…”

But gear is holding up well (could have used cramp-ons). In the midst of what was becoming a driving snow storm a lone Indian (looking) tourist tries to flag me down to take his picture — err — I passed on the opportunity. I was “running” the bridge – thought that was obvious, and welcome to New York. I mean c’mon.

Anyway, gear:

Clear lenses in ESS glasses,

Wool hat (which actually was keeping me warm even though it was very wet),

Some Patagonia liners for gloves,

New Balance sneakers,

Inexpensive Duofold Long Johns that were doing as well as much more expensive merino long johns I left at home (was 32 degrees out),

Icebreaker merino long sleeve short (like my Patagonia merino better, but Icebreaker did the job and scored it at steep discount from Gilt Group wedged amidst the tight and attitudinal designer wear that is the stock/trade of their email offers),

And an old Marmot pull-over waterproof shell (am a pretty big fan of Marmot),

Basic pair of Red Ledge water-proof/slip-on/velcro/zip-up pants,

Wrapped up the iPhone running Runkeeper App in an OtterBox Defender which did its job as well. Personally I just keep the iPhone in a Nathan runners pouch, not purpose-built but works for me.

I do three+ miles in the wet snow. Is kinda fun. And as long as I don’t trail water through the apartment wife is fine….I think.

I wouldn’t recommend not watching where you’re going. But it’s hard to get away from the office — especially with a start-up like Voyage.tv — or any start-up for that matter. But I try to find a balance even if tied to a Blackberry (and an IPhone).

We leased a 32 foot Bennetau this past season (wife would surely say “I” as opposed to “we”). And is a challenge to make a boat pay off especially if you’re busy. Better to learn this now for sure. With a 2 year-old son, and a months-old business I should have known. Now I understand why so many sailors are retired. Couple suggestions for NYC sailors based on my limited experience:

1.  Make sure you have friends who sail or want to learn. You’ll need crew — lots — since most non-sailing friends will show up a couple of times for the novelty, trust that docking is no fun without help. Find additional friends.

2. Pay attention in NY Harbor. Picture aside, there is a lot of traffic — besides planes falling out of the sky. Also there are several sailing schools, so while you might expect someone to bear away, toss expectations and get out of the way.

3. Use the relatively protected area (as oppossed to the ocean) to get comfortable with your gear. When you lease a boat you’re rolling with whatever the boat has. Get your own VHF, GPS, charts, and apparel appropriate for the weather. I tested inavx.com as an iPhone App and its a pretty good secondary chart/GPS; for your primary you’d want something bigger; and a device more rugged than the iPhone. I like the app though and it keeps getting better. Not a bad idea to carry a Garmin or similar though if you’re in the ocean (and a paper chart). I rent a satelite phone if I’m on the ocean overnight – could be a lifesaver and cost about $5/$6 a day.

4. Speaking of weather — avoid weather (rain, wind, etc). Get accurate info from NOAA. Before your leave. Easy to avoid in NYC harbor a little more challenging on a trip — but you know that.

5. Watch the tides — NY Harbor has some pretty serious tides — especially around the infamous Hells Gate. It has the name for a reason. If you can only go 5 knots and you hit a current of 3 knots — well you have some issues. Worse in some ways is if you’re moving with the current and now 8 knots and you can’t accelerate out of turn. Don’t want to kiss the bridge. Another great iPhone app AyeTides can keep you out of trouble.

6. Make sure you can actually leave the office (and leave it behind at least for a few hours). Mission not accomplished there for me, but baby business is demanding. Your call if you can swing it.

That said, sailing overall is declining. Even before the recession. Sure it’s expensive to “own” a boat, but you can sail for free if you’re crew — the NY Times covered crewing and if you’re up for it, it’s one way to learn. It’s really how I took my first deep dive in sailing — crewing 1500 miles from St Lucia to Panama.

The above are just a couple thoughts…see you out there….

Running the bridge is never easy for me. The loop itself is a little over 3 miles from my house. I never run with music, for no good reason, but I did start to run with the iPhone. With RunKeeper. I like the App mostly because it’s motivational. Seeing the days pile up or the missing days adds enough reward or guilt to push me out the door on several recent 40 degree NYC mornings. I think it was 46 degrees this morning when I took the picture.

The App itself is a litle buggy. A friend thinking Garmin asked for advice and my answer is, “I like it, but it takes more work than a Garmin.” In other words, you might not like it. This could be said of a lot of Apps that attempt to use the GPS functionality of the iPhone. The New York Times did a really good job with iPhone GPS apps recently. But RunKeeper customer service was pretty solid when I had a run that wouldn’t upload, which next to not getting a GPS signal are the two most frustrating experiences users seem to have. I use the free version, as I don’t run with headphones and it seems the big plus of the paid App is that it talks to you (pace, time, etc).

I can live with wrinkles in the App — it’s gotten up and over the bridge and that’s pretty much a winner for me.

So went hiking up in the Catskills with the intention of camping with a buddy. After waking up at 5:30, and then driving 3 hours north we hit the trail a little late – 9:00ish on a chilly (50 degrees and falling) morning full of drizzle. Got a map and little advice from the Ranger Station and was onward and upward. Approximately an hour and a half into the woods my partner in this mini-adventure develops a not-so-mini 1.5 inch blister on his heel. Ouch. (Partial gear list to come as this was mostly a preparation/gear avoidable injury).

The trail, Devil’s Path is noteworthy in New York. It was featured in NY Times a couple weeks back. It’s 25 miles of some of the more difficult hiking in New York, taking in 6 peaks; small by global standards but challenging with anything more than a daypack.

Post blister I knew we were ascending on borrowed time. Sure we made up another 1000 feet of vertical gain (over about a mile), but by lunch prospects were fading as fast as the temperature, now 41 degrees.  With the rest of the day staring at us like Everest (some 25,000 feet higher than the Hunter Mountain we sat on) we bagged it. Yeah, without even any serious remorse. I could hear my wife laughing before making the call. And laugh she did. Coming down still took two and a half difficult hours.

Another hour and and we were stopping at Ikea in New Jersey. Beyond defeated. Devil’s Path notches clear victory. Round 2?

GEAR LIST

Always trying to find gear solutions that can work for many sports – sailing, hiking, scuba, occasional kayaking, etc.

Itopomaps worked perfectly – a little basic on the interface side, but you can download maps for when you’re out of range of cell signal.

ELECTRONICS

iPhone 3GS

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Garmin GPS

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=144&pID=8705

(the most basic GPS in the line – just need lat/long – always take backup sailing)

Itopomaps for iPhone

http://www.itopomaps.com/

Iphone Case: Otter Defender

http://www.otterbox.com/iphone-cases/iphone-3g-3gs/iphone-3g-3gs-defender-case/

I would say this is water resistant not waterproof – have used sailing in rain though – so far pretty good.

Solar: Brunton 26W

http://www.brunton.com/product.php?id=420

Macbook DC & Solar Power

http://www.hyperdrive.com/HyperMac-External-MacBook-Battery-and-Car-Charger-s/91.htm

Computer Case – Pelican

http://www.pelican-case.com/1090-hardback.html

WEAR

Boots

Raichle

Raichle Eiger Norwegian Welt Boots. Black 3.0mm Roughout leather. Raichle/Vibram Montagna soles. 1 inch rubber rand joining the sole with the upper

(Weight: HEAVY – these are ancient but work for me)

http://www.mammut.ch/en/footwear_productcatalog.html

http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/download.php?id=39222555_0a925f9735p146607-

Rain jacket

Used sailing foul weather jacket – same effect. Good.

http://www.atlantisweathergear.com/

http://www.atlantisweathergear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AW&Product_Code=BM765&Category_Code=MOL

Wool Pants

Not brand focused

Mid-Layer

Fleece Polartec

Not brand focused

BackPack

Marmot Shooting Star

3500 Cubic inches

4lbs 6 ounces

(2002 Backpacker Magazine: http://books.google.com/books?id=DOIDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=marmot+%22shooting+star%22+backpack+-womens+-jacket&source=bl&ots=8BpKh0XYpi&sig=IGf9b3OC0ToV6eiajZH3sFe-Zck&hl=en&ei=t_PRSv_-IovElAf79oSpCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBMQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=&f=false

GEAR

Tent

Marmot NYX 2P

Two person, three season tent

5lb 4 ounces (with ground cloth)

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/marmot/nyx-2p/

Sleeping Bag

NorthFace Blaze 3D

3 lbs

The Blaze 3D Bx sleeping bag by The North Face is a Polarguard 3D, twenty-degree bag for three-season use. Polarguard 3D synthetic insulation (Discontinued 2006)

http://www.trailspace.com/gear/the-north-face/blaze-3d/

20 degree

Sleeping Bag Liner

Thermolite Reactor (Sea to Summit)

Sleeping Bag Liner (adds 15/20 degrees_

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/24

9 ounces

Sleeping Pad

Big Agnes – Insulated Air Core

http://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Detail/Pad/InsulatedAirCore

24 ounces – rated to 15 degrees

Stove

MSR PocketRocket

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/fast-and-light-stoves/category

3 ounces

60 minutes per canister (roughly)

Water

MSR Airspring/MSR Waterworks EX (water filter)

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water-treatment-and-hydration/category

durable ceramic element that delivers years of protection, as well as a second-stage PES membrane for extra filtering power

Stove Fuel

MRS Isopro

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/stoves/stove-accessories/msr-isopro/product

80/20 blend of isobutane and propane

8 ounces

Sunglasses

http://www.esseyepro.com/CDI_14_detail.html

Mil Spec MIL-PRF-31013 and ANSI Z87.1-2003+ compliant (when not used in conjunction with Rx Inserts).  All CDI™ lenses provide 100% UVA/UVB protection.

Leatherman

http://www.leatherman.com/

Compression bags

Pacific Outdoor Equipment Pneumo 5L Compression Dry Sack with Valve

Best bags – I don’t know what all bags don’t have this kind of valve – much needed to compress bag quickly…Use a separate bag for clothes; food, stove/kitchen, electronics

http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Outdoor-Equipment-Pneumo-Compression/dp/B000VUSSEE/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1255276144&sr=8-8

Lights

Princeton Tec & Petzl Headlamp (Red Lens)

Carry two – pretty similar – generally either would be fine – if you’re caving you might want something specific…

http://www.princetontec.com/

http://www.petzl.com/us/home

Tent Ground Sheet

Super Extra Large Plastic Bag

Handwarmers

http://www.rei.com/product/405046

Medical Kit

Bring something and hope to use none of it….

http://www.rei.com/product/718294

Map Case – Seal Line

http://cascadedesigns.com/SealLine/Protective-Cases/category

And there is just so much to know, and Tayana Captain (friend) is a fantastic sailor. There’s so much to know on a boat and any time with someone who’s sailed probably 35,000+ miles is really like Gold.

INavx worked well — hard to keep an iPhone on deck in wet environment though Aquapack can help. Still need a bigger electronic chart on the computer and ideally the same as what’s on the iPhone. Again ideally you’d want to plot waypoints on the bigger screen of laptop and upload them to iPhone, but can do on phone with patience. In any case, good to have another chart on board (and GPS). Just took ASA 105 which is kind of a throwback Navigation class — lots of pencils and erasers….but it all helps…especially blue water…harbors too.

Trip was 400 miles — did 10 knots with the help of the Gulf Stream and was back at desk on Wednesday.