LifeStraw Review
Adventuring in the mountains, running on the trails or travelling to new countries has something in common - the need for clean pure drinking water. Hydration is often something we can take for granted in the western world where we have access to clean drinking water from practically every faucet. However, if you are someone who frequents wild places whether in the mountains, forests or travels to countries where clean water is not readily accessible, the need for clean drinking water becomes a main focus…boiling, filtering or buying bottled water is a must. This often takes considerable time and effort. What if there was a quick and easy way to filter water on the go? We have recently had the opportunity to test out the Vestergaard LifeStraw & LifeStraw Go from Eartheasy. It has changed the way we think about filtering water and significantly increased our ability to hydrate on the go no matter where we are. LifeStraw A convenient straw style filter that is easy to pack and designed for use on the go. Stats: 2 ounces. 9” long x 1” diameter. BPA free, contains no chemicals. Filters out 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria, including E.coli and 99.9% of waterborne protozoa, including Giardia & Cryptosporidium. It also reduces turbidity, filtering down to 0.2 microns, which makes it great for glacial melt water. Filters up to 1000 liters. No aftertaste. Lifestraw does not use iodine. Perfect for an emergency preparedness kit. Due to it’s small compact size we have brought this with us hiking and it is always in our trail running packs. When we know we will be passing by a small stream, tarn or lake we take the opportunity to drink right then and there. It saves us having to stop and re-filter or boil water to fill our water bladders. Being able to pull out the Lifestraw at any given moment to take a few sips of water from a natural water source, safely, without a second thought, is definitely reassuring. Pros: Lightweight Compact Ability to drink from the source Cons: With water sources at ground level it can require a bit of effort to get low enough to use the straw. LifeStraw Go A refillable water bottle with a Lifestraw filter that enables you to take safe drinking water with you wherever you go. Stats: 5.9 oz (168 grams). 9.25” long x 3.14” diameter. BPA free, contains no chemicals. Flip top bite valve and carabiner for attaching to your backpack. 22 ounce volume (0.65 liters). Filters up to 1000 liters. Filters out 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria, including E.coli and 99.9% of waterborne protozoa, including Giardia &...
Hornby Island Energy Bars Review
Delicious, natural and healthy snacks for mountain adventures is something we are always on the lookout for. Long days in the mountains require a lot of calories and what you’re eating has to taste good to encourage you to keep eating. We have recently discovered the deliciousness of Hornby Island Energy Bars and need to let you know that this may just be your new favourite snack bar for adventures! They are made with simple natural ingredients that you can easily pronounce, so none of that chemical mumbo jumbo, they taste amazing and are made locally right on Hornby Island in British Columbia. Currently they have 4 scrumptious flavours. Here is a quick breakdown of the four bars and which ones are our personal favourites: Tahini This is my personal favourite! Made with ingredients like oats,dark chocolate, sesame tahini and coconut it is the highest calorie bar in their lineup with an impressive 420 calories and 11 grams of protein for an 85 gr bar. This bar will give you enough energy to keep hiking or climbing for hours! Carob Made with ingredients like oats, peanut butter, coconut and carob. Never tried carob? Then you are in for a treat. Try this bar and see if you can tell it’s chocolate free, the carob will leave you pleasantly surprised. At 375 calories and 11 grams of protein it’s a tasty choice. Sesame You don’t live and die for chocolate? I know there are a few of us out there so this bar is for you. Made with ingredients like oats, peanut butter, molasses and sesame seeds this is a delicious mix with 364 calories and 13 grams of protein. Gourmet Sesame This is Leigh’s favourite. It’s the Sesame bar with a little extra decadence added in the form of dark chocolate. Made with ingredients like oats, peanut butter, molasses, sesame seeds and dark chocolate this gourmet version is 385 calories and 13 grams of protein. A few things to note is that these bars, except for the Tahini, are not nut allergy friendly as they all contain peanut butter. They are also very calorie dense bars so are best consumed during high activity - hiking, climbing, trail running and probably not as snack bars for daily use. We now put a Hornby Island Energy bar in every backpack ready to keep us energized for every adventure. If you haven’t tried them before we highly recommend them…and when you do let us know what your favourite flavour is! We would like to say a big THANK YOU to Hornby Island Energy Bars for the opportunity to test out their product and give our...
Instameet at the Sea to Sky Gondola
I am getting very excited, in less than two weeks I’ll be hosting my first Instameet. There are already some fantastic folks from Instagram signed up ready to have fun on the trails. Everyone is welcome! Come hit the trails with us, have some laughs and take some photos along the way. If you want to join in the fun please make sure to email me at [email protected] so that I can make sure to keep in touch and update everyone on possible changes. I am also stoked to announce that the Instameet is being supported by Hammer Nutrtion Canada, Ra Energy, Arc’teryx and the Sea to Sky Gondola!! Come hang out! When: 9:00am May 2, 2026 (rain or shine) Where: Sea to Sky Gondola, Squamish, BC (Basecamp). We will be hiking the Sea to Summit trail to the lodge at the top to take in the views. Don’t forget to bring your $10 download fee for the Gondola ride down. Why: To spend time on the beautiful local trails and have some fun! How: Run, Hike, Skip….it doesn’t matter, let’s all get moving together on the trails! Who: Everyone is welcome! Special Info: The Sea to Sky Gondola has offered a bag drop for our group, so bring a change of clothes and they will deliver it to the top for you! Once at the top we will be able to enjoy a complimentary beverage from the cafe in the lodge or on the balcony and take in the views over the Howe Sound. See you all out...
Hat Mountain Photo Essay
Hat Mountain is a small peak in the North Shore Mountains near Vancouver that is not as popular due to being dwarfed by it’s neighbour summits of Brunswick Mountain and Mount Hanover but also because it is not heavily featured in hiking guidebooks for the area. I’ve found that mountains that are well documented and detailed in guidebooks will almost always grow in popularity. The description for Hat Mountain on the popular mountain database bivouac.com reads: “A minor bump located on the NW shoulder of Mt. Brunswick.”. Wow, I wonder why hardly anyone goes there! These lesser mountains have always interested me, I guess because I like a good underdog story and none of the “minor” or “insignificant” summits I’ve visited have disappointed me yet. They’ve always been highly enjoyable to climb and offered amazing views out towards the other summits nearby that would be considered “significant”. Check out my photo essay below to see what you can expect to encounter if you climb Hat Mountain. Directions: If you’d like to visit this mountain for yourself you can find instructions at this link: Clubtread: Hat Mountain We followed the 3rd option, ascending the mountain via the Hat Pass Trail. We highly recommend it....
14 Adventures in 2014
So last year we did a recap of our Top 13 adventures in 2013. It only seems fitting to follow suit this year with a look back on our Top 14 Adventures in 2014. It’s always interesting looking back over the photo albums. In hindsight an entire year can seem pretty short, it’s only when we actually sit down and remember what we did and where we went that we begin to realize just how much we packed into those 12 short months. It was a tough process cutting down our list of adventures to only 14. In the end we decided to cut out anything we didn’t do together, which was actually quite a lot. Spring did a ton of running in 2014, mostly solo or with some running friends. She also ran 80km of technical trails in the Squamish50 race. I was there, at the Aid Stations and the Finish line, but not beside her in the fray. Myself I got out a few times either with other friends or solo to visit some mountains I was interested in. Excellent experiences, especially the solo trips, but getting out with Spring and sharing the adventure always makes it better. If not for just the fact that I have a subject for my photographs. I also want to point out that both myself and Spring currently work full-time, 40 hours per week jobs. Myself, due to my work requiring an odd schedule, I worked about 60% of my weekends this past year. We’ve also increased the work we’ve been doing on Pebbleshoo by working with Brands and Companies we believe in to write for them and create content. To add to this, in 2014 neither myself nor Spring took any Holidays. You heard that right. Apart from the odd Statutory Holiday weekend of 3 days, we took no other periods of time off longer than 2 days. Mostly it was 1 day adventures. I guess the point I wanted to make is that there is 52 weeks in a year. There is no reason why you can’t make 52 unique memories from new Adventures every year. I’ve been working most weekends but we still make it work because we’re motivated. During the Summer, after finishing an 8 hour day at 5pm, there is still a good 6 hours of usable daylight to get out and explore. The most important step, and likely the most difficult for most people, is putting yourself in a place that enables the way of life you want to live. Living in our home of Squamish means that we rarely need to worry about commuting....
