Summertime Outdoor Adventures

It turns out the digital world can enhance/expand/enable enjoyment of its antithesis, the natural world. I’ve found a few examples of how the internet can do that for some summertime outdoor adventures. For me, playing in the real world like this brings a seriously unreplicable kind of awe.

1. The surf webcam for Morro Bay, CA.

http://www.surfline.com/surf-report/morro-bay-central-california_4193/ 

Below the cam, which shows a crowded Saturday morning with 3 - 5 foot swells perfect for an amateur like myself, I can get more than enough surf report details to know whether or not the 25-minute drive down there is worth it. And it's the first hit on google. Awesome, gnarly, etc.

2. YouTube to pre-experience, experience, or re-experience a hefty rapid. (Skull in Westwater Canyon)

My heart stops when they flip. If I had watched a few like this before I ran it a couple seasons ago, I probably wouldn't have lost an oar. That's powerful technology.

3. YouTube to scout a rapid. (Lunchcounter on the Snake in WY)

I looked up a bunch of these to know how to take a crew safely through last July-- sooooo helpful. It increased my confidence on a river I'd never seen before and seriously increased the overall safety of the trip.

4. Ok, another reaaaally awesome video of the world’s most awesome whitewater rafting.

5. Blogs to learn a new sport. Kiteboarding? Who knew?

6. Checking the weather. But seriously, what did people do without this? I don’t even have to CLICK anywhere and it pops up before I’m done typing.

7. How-to for slalom waterskiing, in case your dad can't teach you. 

8. Sharing your outdoor adventures via facebook. Probably not necessary to include a link here, because we all get to experience our own/ our friends’ adventures anytime we want via facebook and it’s awesome.

9. Google mapping an obscure backpacking trail.

10. Google earth-ing anywhere on earth—again, to plan your trip or escape for a while or remember an old trip or add one to your bucket list or just generally be in awe of our earth.