Outdoorsman Time

tips for the modern sportsman

Visiting The Grand Canyon For Hiking or Camping

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The Grand Canyon is one of many great American attractions that everyone should see at least once. It is not only a great place for sight seeing, but you can enjoy a variety of outdoor recreation activities. From its history to its majestic beauty, it has a way of capturing the attention of all who visit. However, if you have never visited the Grand Canyon you may have many questions as to when to come, what to see, and more. The following tips will help you plan a great trip to the Grand Canyon.

Best Time of Year

Although summer is incredibly hot in the Grand Canyon, that is the time of year when most people visit. They come during the summer to camp and spend time at the Grand Canyon when their families are out of school and able to vacation. Although it is a good time to visit, it is also crowded. If you are looking to avoid the crowds, try coming after Labor Day and before Memorial Day. The Grand Canyon is beautiful year round and is enjoyed just as much in the winter as it is during the summer.

Getting Here

Although some people can just hop in the car and drive to the Grand Canyon, not all families have that luxury. If you are traveling via airplane, there are two major airports to fly into; The Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, or Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. The drive to the Grand Canyon is shorter from Las Vegas than from Phoenix, but if you are looking to see more of the area and surrounding attractions, the drive from Phoenix is worth the extra time.

Must-Do

Many people come, take in the spectacular view of South Rim and miss out on the full experience. For Starters the view at sunset is the best, so be sure if the only thing you do is look over the South Rim that you do it at sunset. However, to have the full experience you need to take a hike down into the canyon. For a short hike, try the three mile hike along the Kaibab Trail to Cedar Ridge or for more avid hikers the six mile hike to Skeleton Point makes for a great adventure.

Other fun activities for the outdoors enthusiasts include white water rafting, camping, fishing, horseback riding and much more. It is definitely a haven for those who love spending time in nature.

Must-Avoid

Television shows and movies have glorified riding mules into the Grand Canyon, when the truth is you do not want ride a mule into the canyon. The adventure companies that offer mule rides take the fun out of it by placing a multitude of rules and regulations, not to mention the fact that the mules smell terrible. Additionally if you are afraid of heights, riding on a mule down a narrow cliff pathway is not necessarily something you want to do.

There are many things to consider when planning a trip to the Grand Canyon, and by taking these tips into consideration you are on your way to planning a great vacation.

grand canyon rafting

Grand Canyon rafting

How To Sharpen A Hunting Knife At Home

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Are you the type of hunter who puts that hunting knife to good use during the season? If so, you want to make sure that you take good care of it and sharpen it at the end of each hunting season. As you may already know, this is something that you can do one your own at home. However, you have to take care and do it the right way or you might end up making your knife edge brittle so that it gets chipped or cracked easily in later use.

You can sharpen the blade yourself freehand style with a good bench stone. There’s even a good chance that you’ve seen someone do this before. However, what you might not know is that there is a fine line when it comes to doing this right and damaging the knife. In fact, if you have an old crappy knife, then I suggest giving it a try first. If not, buy a couple of cheap ones from the local store to do a trial run with before you even attempt sharpening your main knife.

Probably the most important thing that you need to know about DIY hunting knife sharping is that you need to stick with the same angle. You definitely do not want to be rolling your knife across the stone cause you’ll just end up causing damage to it. Instead, you need to keep a constant angle between the sharpening stone and the blade of your knife to end up with a blade so sharp that you could shave with it!

Some hunters like to use ceramic sticks to maintain the sharpness once they have used a stone to get it to the desired level. But here’s the thing – you still need to use that same angle when using one of those. I really cannot stress enough how important it is that you maintain consistency with your sharpening angle.

I think a lot of hunters out there underestimate how important it is to keep a well kept hunting knife in your pack.

If you prefer to see someone else actually doing it, take a look at the video below. I found it on YouTube and you can actually see a guy sharpening his hunting knife the proper way. Pay close attention to the consistency in the angles.

ATV Safety Tips for Beginners

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atv ridingIf you’re going to be a first-time rider on an ATV, then it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with just some basic safety tips before you take off down the trail. Riding ATVs is one of my favorite things to do, and they obviously look like a ton of fun, right? Well, I had a buddy get hurt once when we were out cause he just plain and simple wasn’t being safe out there. The truth is that no matter how much you think you’re in control, these are heavy pieces of machinery that can really hurt you if you’re not careful. So, do yourself a favor and read up on the quick safety tips for ATV riders below.

1. Every rider gets a helmet

Yeah, it is probably hot outside and wearing one will make you all sweaty, but if your ATV rolls or throws you off and into a tree, you will be so thankful that your head is protected with a helmet. If it makes it more tolerable, head down to the local Pep Boys or other auto shop and pick up some cool stickers to put on the helmet so that it looks kinda cool.

2. Don’t try to pile everyone on the same ATV

In most cases, you can really only get two people on the same ATV. If you try any more than that, you end up with not everyone being able to hold on securely when riding. And that is just a recipe for disaster. You need to make sure that each rider can stay securely seated while in motion, which means to limit the number of riders on each ATV.

3. Protection wear is a must.

Have you ever seen those people who get on an ATV with cargo shorts and no shirt? Heck, you might even be one of them! Listen – don’t be that guy, seriously. Sure, accidents do not happen every day, but when they do, you will be in a heap of hurting if you’re not wearing the proper gear. So, always wear long pants and shirts with long sleeves. You should also consider putting on gloves and some eyewear protection before you set off.

It doesn’t take a lot of extra effort or money to be safe out there. And really, why not do it the safe way so that you can continue riding ATVs for many years to come?

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