Stats: 6' 3" 200 lb. of bike drive train busting Outdoor Travels Guy!
Home: Tampa, Florida (via West Virginia)
Boxers or Briefs: Commando!
What my friends call me when they want to bust me: "RDB" (Redundant Drunk Bastard) or just, "Hey! You Big Dumb Ass"
Favorite Outdoor Activity: That would be drinking a cold beer on the porch...Well, actually it's currently Mountain Biking with Scuba and Hiking a close second. My interests often ebb and flow, but I stay active in almost all of the activities we review on this site.
Hiking Preferences and Thoughts: I really like backpacking a lot, however with my home state being Florida, I don't get a lot of opportunities to go hiking like I used to when I lived in West Virginia. More often than not, I'm the one who is reviewing the hiking trips outside of West Virginia, as my wife and I often travel outside of Florida for hiking adventures. So far, my favorite hikes have been in North Fork Mountain, West Virginia, Saguaro National Park Rincon District, Arizona and Zion National Park in Utah. My gear tends to lean towards affordable, dependable and moderately lightweight. You can read more about that in our Gear Review Section.
Biking Preferences and Thoughts: My current main interest and the one I currently spend the most time and money on. Originally from West Virginia, I wasn't thrilled about the prospects of good off-road riding when I moved to Florida. It actually took me two years to even investigate the possibility of single track existing in the Tampa area. I need to say that I was an idiot. Riding in the Central Florida region is as good as about anywhere. There are miles and miles of dedicated single track within a short drive. From mild, twisty and fun beginner trails to big drop and bone shaking advanced trails, there is something here for everyone. Best of all, a person can ride these great trails year-round! As of today, I view myself as a decent middle of the road advanced rider. I ride advanced trails reasonably well, but occasionally I'm in awe when I see someone "clean" a section of single track that I believe isn't rideable. My main bike is a John Whyte PRST-1. It's a very different bike that I really love to ride. Single track mountain biking is my favorite thing to do, but I also enjoy riding rail to trail conversions. My favorite rides are hard to pick, there are so many. Alafia State Park in Florida is among my favorites for technical single track, Cazorla National Park in Spain is up there for scenery and the Greenbrier River Trail in West Virgina for scenery and a great bike camping experience.
Rafting Preferences and Thoughts: Although I've done the upper section of the Gauley River in West Virginia over 12 times now - I think, I will continue to do it as long as my cohort Christopher does it. It's a hairy experience that the more I do it the more I respect it. Which means at this point, I just about vomit before rafting because of butterflies in my stomach! Our rafting section is very one dimensional with the Gauley River being the only one we review. However, we've rafted it so many times, our section is probably one of the leading informational sites on the web for the Gauley River!
Travel Preferences and Thoughts: I love traveling and seeing the world! Being the only Outdoor Travels person without children, (which gives me more time and disposable income); this section to this point has been developed from the travels of my wife Kelli and I. Currently she has been handling all the editorial duties of our trips. She refuses to be a "Yoko Ono" in our group, so she keeps as low of a profile that she can. She is however, probably the most photographed mountain biker ever! Our personal ethos is "Get where you are going and don't spend a crap load of money on lodging". We tend to stay in modest rentals, hostels or sometimes we even camp while traveling. If you are looking for a guide to fancy resorts and hotels, and the best group tourist activities, you won't be that interested with our travel section. If however, you want to see the world and don't mind modest, clean and inexpensive lodging, and enjoy the sites on your own terms, you'll love what Kelli and I review!
Canoeing Preferences and Thoughts: I don't canoe a whole lot anymore. I've pushed it down my list of favorite things to do. I really like canoeing; it's just that currently I've got more desirable things taking up my free time. Although I'm a true novice at canoe camping, I've had a few interesting experiences that center around "what not to do when canoe camping". Check out our canoe trip logs, a couple of them are actually quite humorous.
Diving Preferences and Thoughts: One of my favorite things to do. Living in Florida gives me a good opportunity to go diving in the Florida Keys. I've been there a lot, which transfer to a wealth of information on dive sites and lodging choices that benefit you! My fellow ODT cohert Christopher usually visits me in Florida once a year where we spend a long weekend diving (sometimes literally) until we puke (usually induced by the previous nights activities). The YMCA first certified me (Open Water) about 1994. Currently I'm PADI
Advanced Open Water Certified. My next goal is to be Rescue Certified and then perhaps work toward my Dive Masters Certification (if I can just complete the distance swim requirement). I keep a large, custom printed, illustrative dive log, because I like recalling the dives I've done. Some select pages are available for viewing in the diving section. I also recently started taking a few underwater photos. Although I enjoy u/w photography, I think it takes away from my overall dive experience. I keep a detailed record of things I see that I transfer over to my log later. The photography tends to make its way into the time I spend recording things on my slate.
Christopher Burk
Birthday: January 30, 1967
Stats: 5 ' 8" 145 lb.
Home: Vienna, West Virginia
Boxers or Briefs: Elmo boxers
What my friends call me when they want to bust me: It varies depending on the person busting me.
Favorite Outdoor Activity: Anything that gets me "out there." In this day and age of wireless internet, instant messaging and mobile phones everywhere, nothing is more relaxing to me then getting away and experiencing Nature's beauty and wonder.
Hiking Preferences and Thoughts: Backpacking is probably my favorite of all the disciplines we participate in. There is something about heading out into the wilderness and relying on only what you're carrying on your back that appeals to me. Nowhere is my love for backpacking more obvious in the fact that I am the only one of us who will go backpacking all-year round regardless of temperature and snow. My gear can best be described as affordable flexibility. It usually isn't the lightest gear available but it almost always has several different uses.
Biking Preferences and Thoughts: This is an activity that I have just recently gotten into basically by default. Dana and Jeff are both avid riders and rather then be left behind I joined in. I had not been on a bike since in 15 years but that didn't stop me from jumping on a bike and riding the entire length of the Greenbrier River Trail in one weekend. At the time, I seriously questioned why anyone would think riding in the woods was fun. I mean a sore rear end and almost coughing up a lung are not my ideas of fun. I have since then improved both my riding technique as well as my endurance level. My butt still gets a little sore but I have certainly come to enjoy mountain biking, especially the downhill sections.
Rafting Preferences and Thoughts: I believe I am the only one of us who actually has the distinction of rafting somewhere besides West Virginia. Having said that, I will also admit that I have spent the last seven seasons rafting the same section of the same river, the Gauley River in West Virginia. Why, because it's there, or more importantly, because I'm here. When you're a mere 2-1/2 drive away from one of the top ten rafting rivers in the world, why would you spend your money to go somewhere else. (You save that money to go diving.) I grew up as a water rat, therefore rafting is a natural extension for me. Granted I get nervous every time I get into the boat, but it's that nervous energy that makes it worthwhile. Given my choice of where to sit in a raft, I always go for the front. You can see where you're going and prepare for the "big ride."
Travel Preferences and Thoughts: Unlike Dana, I have two kids meaning most of my traveling is confined to the "tourist" spots. The one advantage I do have is that my job requires me to do a bit of traveling. And because it's work-related, everything is paid for. Because the vast majority of the trips are to "resort" locations, my travels normally are not part of our site. However, my travels do allow me to enjoy some of our other activities such as diving and hiking, which are listed on the site.
Canoeing Preferences and Thoughts: I have not been in a canoe since I was about 15 years old and if I remember it correctly, we basically used the canoe to fish golf balls out of the lake. Not exactly what I would consider an Outdoor Travels activity. But I was outside.
Diving Preferences and Thoughts: This is the activity I have been doing the longest, although not half as frequently as Dana if you compare our dive logs. I received my certification back in 1986 while in college. Unfortunately, once I graduated, I couldn't afford to go diving. It wasn't until I mentioned to Dana that I was certified that I got back into the sport. He did give me a great deal of grief for being PADI certified although. For me, diving's greatest appeal is the thought that every time I dive, I am experiencing a world that few people will ever know first-hand. Granted snorkeling comes close, but snorkeling doesn't allow you the luxury of just sitting on the bottom and observing as a whole host of organisms pass you by.
Jeff Cobb
Birthday: March 10, 1965
Stats: 5 ' 7" 155 lb.
Home: Lewisburg, West Virginia
Boxers or Briefs: Bannana hammocks
What my friends call me when they want to bust me: "OCD" (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Favorite Outdoor Activity: Mountain biking, followed closely by backpacking. They are both similar experiences for me in that both activities get you out in the woods. The difference is the speed and risk involved in biking. The challenge in MTBing is in the physical skill and endurance involved. With backpacking, the greatest risk is probably a twisted ankle or the remote chance of a bear attack! With backpacking, I enjoy the challenge of following a trail map, using a compass, and having a nice campsite with good warm food way out in the middle of nowhere. Sitting around a fire with good friends is one of the good things in life.
Hiking Preferences and Thoughts: I'm all about comfort when backpacking. I'm not an ultra-light, survivalist type. I want a sleeping pad, a sleeping bag, and a pillow! I will sacrifice weight of the pack for creature comforts. The majority of my hiking destinations have taken place in West Virginia, which is a great place to hike and backpack. I've also been to Virginia and Georgia. In the future, I'd like to extend my range; my goal is try hiking in more areas of the country.
Biking Preferences and Thoughts: I've been Mountain Biking for nearly 8 years now. I got my first quality bike when I purchased a Jetta in 1995 and they threw in a Trek; pretty good deal! I'm lucky in that there are several quality trail systems within an hour of my home base, as well as the well-known Greenbrier River Trail, which is a mere 5 minutes from my front door. I've just recently upgraded to a dual suspension Giant, and I'm looking forward to getting better and more skilled as a rider.
Rafting Preferences and Thoughts: I was a rafting nut like my other two comrades, until the infamous day that I was recirculated on the Gauley River. We were "surfing"; If you can get your boat on the immediate downriver side of a rapid, the hydraulic effect of the undercurrent will allow your boat to stay in one place while the water rushes by, although it will spin you and bounce you around, We were surfing a rapid called "Hungry Mother." The end result of surfing is one of two things: the rapid will eventually suck the boat down and flip it or it will spit you out. WellI got flipped into the rapid. The force of the water sucked me down. I was buffeted about like a pair of underwear in the washing machine. As I tumbled around, I began to think about the possibility that I might drown. After what seemed like a looooong time (probably 20-30 seconds), I got spit out, minus wool socks and sandals; the force of the water had stripped them off my feet. Exhausted, I managed to swim to the shore and join back up with the raft. Needless to say, the rest of the day I was preoccupied with my mortality and have not rafted since, despite the constant needling of my ODT partners.
Travel Preferences and Thoughts:
Unfortunately, I don't have the sort of funds that my DINK (Disposable Income, No Kids) friends Dana and Kelli have. I also don't have a job that sends me here and there like my buddy Christopher. Unless you want to count the conventions and conferences I have to attend in such exotic locations as Charleston, WV or Roanoke, VA. So travel for me is limited to the continental U.S., mostly locations within driving distance.
Canoeing Preferences and Thoughts:
My one and only canoeing experience was on the Hillsborough River in Tampa when I visited Dana in Florida. I enjoyed it and wouldn't mind doing some more of it, but it's definitely down on my list of priorities. I would actually like to try sea kayaking and camping on the beach.
Diving Preferences and Thoughts: I'm not certified and do not dive. I have so many other hobbies and "toys" already; scuba is cost prohibitive for me. I have snorkeled in Mexico (Isla Muejeras and Cozumel) if that counts for anything. I enjoyed the experience but living in southern West Virginia limits one's snorkel opportunities.
Who are we, how we smell and lots of other trivial information
TMI - Too much information; we may be pushing the envelope here as to what you may actually be interested in reading. Born from a request for a page that has profiles of the active contributors to Outdoor Travels - a guide, if you will to our preferences, personalities and abilities that will give you, our reader a reference point when reading one of our logs and or reviews. So, without further adeau, here is way more than you probably ever wanted to know - that is unless you are our Mothers.
