From NPR:

The New York Times reports that the average computer user checks 40 websites a day and can switch programs 36 times an hour.

“It’s an onslaught of information coming in today,” says Times technology journalist Matt Richtel. “At one time a screen meant maybe something in your living room. But now it’s something in your pocket so it goes everywhere — it can be behind the wheel, it can be at the dinner table, it can be in the bathroom. We see it everywhere today.”

So, basically, your brain is overloaded — exhausted — by digital devices. Think about it, how often are you in front of a screen every week? A lot, right? Now, it’s time to put down the device. Give yourself (and brain) a break. Step away. And get outside. Your computer will be right there waiting for you on Monday…

Happy Friday!

P.S. This post was scheduled to go up. I’m already in the mountains!

How often do you count your blessings? With the bustling lives we lead, it’s so easy to take our blessings for granted. Many times I forget to be grateful for my awesome family of friends, the delicious food growing ripe in my backyard, and this body that takes me for a run every morning.

And it’s thanks to the lovely ladies of 23 Feet that I’ve been reminded this week. So read on and take note of your blessings today and every single moment that you can.

From Elephant Journal:

We are being shown again and again by the people we’ve met on the road that joy can be found in the smallest things. A wholesome meal shared under mountain stars, an unexpected kindness in the heat of the day. We’ve traveled through four states already, and one of the most magnificent gifts I’ve been given was the accidental witnessing of a sunset in the Mojave Desert. Our engine had threatened explosion, and for hours we were stranded on the side of the road, surrounded by Joshua trees and distant mountains. The sun blazed under the horizon, we were alone, and my heart felt quiet, open as the desert sky.

We have been blessed with good attitudes, friends to lean on and a wide open expanse of beautiful land to roam. Good people have trusted us with their stories. Let’s remember how lucky we are. Let’s sit around campfires with friends, travel our country when we can and create opportunities for ourselves. Let’s be grateful for what we’ve been given.

Now watch this humbling and inspiring film from Sean Mullens about a friend of his named Michael and his daily ritual to find his natural self through surfing. If this doesn’t inspire you to overcome what stands in your way and get out and do what you love… I don’t know what will.

“Part of the water, and my draw to it is that it’s a birthright… You can transcend. You can get to a place where you’re sort of free to be able to dance, to be able to be fluid… To be what you were meant to be.”

Happy Friday!

Thanks to Andy Maser of the Epicocity Project for the tip on the video!

PHOTO via gorp.com and 23 Feet

Dawn at Little Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth Valley of Idaho. © Neil Ever Osborne

Need a little inspiration this Friday? Here are two stories that are sure to get the job done…

From the Save Our Wild Salmon blog:

Snake River sockeye make an epic migration each year to Redfish Lake in the Sawtooth Valley, climbing nearly 7,000 feet and swimming more than 900 miles to get there. To get a visual — that’s the distance from Denver to Chicago and higher than five Empire State Buildings stacked one on top of another.

In addition, these red fish tackle an eight-dam gauntlet on the Columbia and Lower Snake Rivers. The tenacity and determination of these fish is undeniable and at times unbelievable. It’s no wonder that they are often referred to as the lifeblood of the Northwest’s signature rivers.

Take action to save them here.

From The Cleanest Line:

Editor’s note: Patagonia ambassador Kate Rutherford and Madaleine Sorkin recently spent five days climbing The Freerider (VI 5.12+), a 3,000ft. route on the Southwest face of El Capitan. Kate shares her take on the climb here with photographs by haul bag maestro, Mikey Schaefer.

Five years ago, I thought freeing El Cap was an impossible goal. The huge scale, logistics, and physicality of freeing a big wall seemed beyond me. Over the years climbing started feeling easier, I spent more time on big routes, and Madaleine and I built up our endurance together on long routes like Moonlight and the Northwest Face of Half Dome. Alpine climbing in Patagonia helped me understand huge objectives, and I learned to break down my intimidation by just focusing on one pitch at a time, just doing the task at hand.

Read more…

Salmon and ladies, you rock. Keep it up!

Happy Friday!

First order of business this Friday is to give major props to our amazing friend Allie Bombach of Red Reel Video and 23 Feet. She created this gem of a video to show folks a little more about who we are at Under Solen.

Under Solen means “under the sun” in Swedish. So with it being officially summer, we’ve thrown ourselves head first into the season. Being Swedish, we’re all about celebrating summer (today marks the official kick-off of Swedish midsommar) because the long sunny days of this season invoke a kind of happiness rivaling nothing else. It means warm morning runs, backpacking trips, kayaking and rafting adventures, seeking out this year’s perfect swimming hole and countless picnics and barbecues with friends.

I’ve spent the last couple of days visiting some old friends in Seattle and we hit up a hike off Snoqualmie Pass yesterday. A summer hike and catch-up atop a high peak in the North Cascades is pretty hard to beat.

And speaking of friends. Our good friends over at Nau are having their fabulous warehouse sale this week. What’s a better way to kick off summer than slipping into some hot threads at cool prices? Exactly. If you’re in Portland, make sure to boogie on down their way.

Whatever you do this weekend, take some time to relish the sun, the change of season and get outside. And make sure to grab some of those wonderful friends of yours!

Happy Summer!

Airsick: An Industrial Devolution achieves exactly what it sets out to do: It makes you think, and hopefully inspires you to act. What is clarion in the film is that to stop this threat, as humans, we will have to take a look at ourselves and understand that the actions we take every day have a global effect — and then turn that into positive change.

Thanks to Jenny Nichols of the International League of Conservation Photographers for tuning us in to this film.

From Osprey Packs’ blog:

Osprey’s very own Sarah Harper Burke is taking part in a great endeavor this summer: she’s climbing Mt. Shasta as part of Climbing Against the Odds, an annual mountaineering expedition by the Breast Cancer Fund for breast cancer prevention.

Osprey has long been a supporter of the Breast Cancer Fund, and Sarah’s excited to take part in this year’s expedition. We sat down with her to learn a little bit more.

Why did you decide to join the Climb for the Cure?
This was an opportunity presented by Osprey. Osprey has supported the Breast Cancer Fund for years. This was the first time Osprey has taken the next step of support by sponsoring a team member on the climb.

I’m sure you’ve been working hard to train for your climb, what has kept you inspired?
As I continue to learn about the Breast Cancer Fund, I’ve realized how connected their attitude towards prevention is to my everyday experience. I’m inspired to help spread this message throughout my community. Also, I am a complete novice at mountaineering. This physical challenge is like non-other I have experienced. That alone has been a great push.

What impact do you think your climb will have?
Climbing Mt. Shasta is a challenge that I hope will grab people’s attention. This is no small walk in the park. This is a large group of cancer survivors and their families climbing mountains as a way to represent what odds they can overcome. It’s inspiring!

The Breast Cancer Fund is all about studying the environmental causes of breast cancer. Why is that important to you?
I have not been personally affected by breast cancer but am concerned about ways in which I can prevent it. I’m learning about how some cosmetics and plastics can have a serious effect on my body.

With breast cancer affecting so many women, what do you think ordinary people can do every day to raise awareness and support those fighting cancer right now?
Money talks, even in subtle ways. We can all help spread the word of prevention with how we spend our dollars. Make sure you are purchasing BPA free plastics, choose safe cosmetics, buy hormone free meat and dairy. Little changes in the way you spend can send a huge message to manufacturers.

Now comes the exciting part: Sarah’s in the midst of fundraising for the Breast Cancer Fund — she’s trying to raise $7,500, and she’s a little over $3,000 away from her goal — and we want you to take part! By donating money to the cause, you’ll be supporting the BCF’s work to expose and eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer.

We think that’s definitely worth supporting, and just for a little extra, we’re throwing in a little swag. We’ve got 20 Transporter duffles up for grabs for the first 20 people who donate $50+, and to top it off, a big pack prize to the person who puts us over the next $3,000 donated. So hop on over to Sarah’s fundraising page and help the cause and get the chance to score some sweet Osprey gear!

[Photo Via]

So start now! Today is Endangered Species Day, so celebrate and fight to save our endangered species! Check out the Endangered Species Coalition’s site for more information on events in your area and how to help. If you need some motivation, keep reading and watch these videos…

And if you haven’t already, take a moment to take action to save the West’s iconic Snake River salmon. Just yesterday, the Obama administration decided to adopt a Bush-era plan for the Columbia-Snake Rivers in the Northwest — a plan, that if accepted by a federal judge — will essentially dam (pun intended) these salmon to extinction and lower the bar for protection of endangered species across the country.

Brock Evans, President of the Endangered Species Coalition said “[Today] is Endangered Species Day. We should be celebrating and working to protect America’s endangered species, but instead, for Columbia Basin salmon, we’re mourning. Even so, make no mistake — we’re not done fighting to save species like wild salmon. They are simply irreplaceable.”

Take Action Here!

And if you’re wondering why it’s so important to protect our endangered species for future generations. It’s because we are all connected. Endangered Species Day just happens to fall the day before International Day of Biodiversity. Don’t even get me started on why the U.S. is not participating… Our world is so incredible because it’s rich with a diverse and incredible community of species — it’s called biodiversity.

From Mountainfilm:

What exactly is biodiversity? The International League of Conservation Photographers put together this great multimedia piece that showcases what biodiversity is and why it’s important. Watching it, you’ll quickly realize that biodiversity is something that affects all of us… and that’s why we have a duty to do something to ensure its protection.

So, fight. Fight for our endangered species. Fight for yourself. Fight for our future! And take a tip from our good friend Jude of Epic Wheel Works: make every day count, protect our Earth and live the revolution every day.

Happy Friday!

“It’s time to fight for salmon. It’s time to fight for us. It’s time to fight for our future.”
— John Kitzhaber, former governor of Oregon and currently running for a second term.

Sometimes you have to roll with the punches… And sometimes you’ve got to fight. Wild salmon are fighting to survive right now. They’re doing their part. It’s time to do ours. Fight!

Take Action to Save Wild Salmon!

The Obama administration is poised to make a decision this week that could change the fate of endangered species in this country. On May 20, the Administration will release a federal salmon plan that will do one of two things for endangered wildlife: protect the Endangered Species Act, or weaken it. A decision to weaken the ESA for the West’s iconic Columbia and Snake River salmon could send an ecological ripple across the country — affecting every endangered species in the nation.

© Matt Leidecker

And the situation doesn’t look good. Instead of charting its own path, the administration is working off an illegal Bush administration plan for endangered salmon.

Because they return to the biggest, highest and best-protected habitat in America, endangered Snake River salmon are slated as the West’s best chance to save salmon for future generations in an environment threatened by climate change. These cold, crisp waters of spanning three Western states — Washington, Oregon and Idaho, will remain cold under warming climates, protecting these one-of-a-kind salmon with a one-of-a-kind habitat. Making the wrong decision on these rivers would effectively dam (pun fully intended) these salmon to extinction.

With our roots in the Northwest, it’s hard for us to imagine not having salmon returning home to our rivers each year. But we’re faced with that very possibility right now. We are the last generation who gets to decide if we’re going to save wild salmon for our kids and grandkids. We’re it.

The Columbia-Snake Rivers may not be in your own backyard, but the effects of this decision certainly will be.

Take Action Now!

We Love Rivers! This week, we wrapped up the Save Our Wild Salmon and Mountain Khakis We Love Rivers! Photo Contest. The grand prize winning photo, above, is Dead Horse Point and the Colorado River. An excellent photo that reminds us that protecting rivers also means protecting the beautiful landscapes around them. See the runners up…

And congratulations to David Roberston, whose photograph, Osprey Fishing, is the Grand Prize Winner of Mountainfilm’s photo contest. David won a VIP Festival pass and we’re excited to congratulate him in person at Mountainfilm in just a few weeks!

The runner up is called Night in Hammaskaira and if this doesn’t motivate you to sleep under the stars, I don’t know what will.

And finally, with the (ugh) oil still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico with no end in sight, we’ve decided to give a major nod to getting around using your own power. Human-powered transportation doesn’t use fossil fuels, it emits no nasty carbon emissions and it’ll give you smokin’ hot gams.

Live the Revolution! After a fabulous party last night to celebrate our good friend Jude of Epic Wheel Works and her first year of making amazing bicycle wheels, we’re even more stoked on pedal power. That’s Emily loving on her Epic Wheels to the right. And as Jude said: “With every set of wheels, we’re creating a revolution.” Check out this video posted by GOOD to see what dreams are made of…

Walk the Walk! And don’t forget about those tootsies. Take them out for a stroll, a run or a walk to the market. Or if you’re up for something a little more… Try out running on water. I know, I know, it’s not necessarily a way to get around, but this video is worth checking out.

So hop to it! Hit the trail, the street and throw yourself in the beautiful places right in your backyard!

Happy Friday!