Chris Smith

The Best Type of Fun

While watching my nephew’s YouTube report of his family’s vacation to a resort in the Bahamas my wife Michelle asked me “why don’t we do vacations like that?” I had to tell her it was because we only do Type II fun. I did not come up with the fun classification system, but I loveContinue reading “The Best Type of Fun”

An Underrated Classic

In the age of watches that can play music, send messages, and do all sorts of other fancy things, I am a still big fan of the Timex Ironman Classic. The Timex has been around pretty much unchanged since the 1990s. It costs $35 dollars and is basically indestructible, small, light, and runs for yearsContinue reading “An Underrated Classic”

The Little Missouri River Trail

Arkansas is a strong contender on the all-underrated states list. Over spring break, I was reminded about just how underrated and how close – in Texas distances – it is to home. Austin Cub Scout Pack 14 took 13 scouts and 12 parents on a two-night backpacking trip on the Little Missouri River Trail inContinue reading “The Little Missouri River Trail”

Outfitting Scouts for Backpacking

There are plenty of resources on lightweight backpacking for adults. But there is not much on outfitting kids, particularly late-elementary and middle school kids, for practical backpacking. As the den leader for a bunch of 5th grade Cub Scouts, this post explains the gear we have found to be useful for backpacking trips. Note thatContinue reading “Outfitting Scouts for Backpacking”

Be Prepared

With three kids in scouts, we spend a lot of time in the outdoors learning life skills through experience. One of the best things about the scouting method is that us parents are encouraged to let the scouts fail. Forget your sleeping bag once and you will remember it next time. This is learning toContinue reading “Be Prepared”

The Elephant in the Room

Most of us have been admonished at one time or another to focus on that which we can control. A year into the pandemic, we seem to have lost sight of this lesson. The narrative has focused almost exclusively on one element of risk control: limiting exposure to the virus through social distancing, masks, etc. Continue reading “The Elephant in the Room”

Gaia GPS Long Term Review: The Best Outdoor App

For the past two years I have been using the Gaia GPS app on my iPhone for navigation and to record hikes and ultramarathons. I am neither a gadget nor app guy, but the utility of Gaia GPS is such that I felt compelled to write a review. Gaia GPS is the single most usefulContinue reading “Gaia GPS Long Term Review: The Best Outdoor App”

Bandera 100k Report

This weekend I ran the Hoka One One Bandera 100k with my brother Tim and buddy John. As I mentioned previously, this was a last-minute decision, and I am glad I did it. While it had all the normal suck of an ultramarathon including a short night march, it also was the first time inContinue reading “Bandera 100k Report”

Going Through the Motions

A couple of weeks ago I had a disaster workout. I took a hard fall on the rocks a few miles into a long run, then just muddled through. To describe it as an uninspiring performance would be charitable. As we walked to the car after, I told John that the last three hours hadContinue reading “Going Through the Motions”

Chilling Out About Middle School

For those without little kids, it may come as a surprise to learn that much has changed when it comes to school choice. With a current 7th grader and 5th grader, among others, I have learned that going to middle school is no longer “just go the middle school.” Instead, students in our district mayContinue reading “Chilling Out About Middle School”