The Outdoor Adventure Giving you tips, tricks & recommendations to help make adventuring in the Outdoors fun, safe & exciting for you and your kids.
This December marked our first year in the blogosphere and I just wanted to give a great big thanks to all the readers who read our posts,contributed or just plain stuck around to see the site grow. I figured it was a good time to look at the year in review and see which posts were the most popular so that we can direct next year’s content to what interests you.
The Top 10 posts of 2011
Number 10 – DIY: The Tomato Burner October 24, 2011. Setting a trend for the more popular posts a lot of you share my passion to get outside and to do so on a budget. The tomato burner, while probably already in existence before this DIY, is an alcohol stove made from two tomato paste cans. Very simple to put together it is also efficient and a good starting point for DIYers.
Number 9 – On a budget: shelter, packs, sleeping bags and trekking poles November 13, 2011. Heading into the Holiday season I shared some ideas on how to get into backpacking on a budget. This article looks at how inexpensive it can be, if you know where to look.
Number 8 – How to make Biltong (South African Beef Jerky) July 12, 2011. This thicker beef jerky gets its secret flavor from coriander and in this particular batch the delicious aroma that only comes from a true smokey wood fire. Give it a try and adjust it to your tastes.
Number 7 – John Deere, Green Fever Giveaway December 2, 2011. Well, our first giveaway got off to a good start. John Deere contacted me and in exchange for promoting their contest we worked out some free swag to give away. Thanks for your support! I have some more ideas for even bigger giveaways next year. If you want more giveaways tell your friends and let us know below in the comments!
Number 6 – Gore-Tex: “Your Story, Our Gear” Giveaway November 30, 2011. You the reader loves free stuff almost as much as DIYing. That’s how it should be. Another promotion and a great idea by Gore-tex and their PR company had some great entries. Take a look at the winning entry. You may recognize the background music!
Number 5 – DIY Resources: Make your own snowshoes November 16, 2011. Expect a lot mor DIYs in this list. Winter arrived and many people wanted to see how to make their own gear. Did you give it a try? I’d love to see photos!
Number 4 – Gear Review: Vaude Ice Peak 37 degree bag December 9th, 2011. Thanks to a contest for Sierra Trading Posts’ 25th anniversary I was able to pick up my first down bag and while not perfect I like this summer bag a lot. I have lots of plans for it. Do you have a Down bag? What’s your favorite?
Number 3 – DIY Neck Cooler Scarf January 29, 2011. One of our earlier posts, it was also one of the favorites. If you do a search on “Neck cooler scarf” this one is on the first page. Crazy! This scarf is great for keeping you cool in hot weather and on long hikes. If you have a sewing machine you need to try this out!
Number 2 – DIY: High Efficiency Backpacking Wood Stove February 3, 2011. This was honestly one of my favorites. We went through a lot of cans of peaches before I got this one down. A very light and efficient backpacking wood stove that satisfies the pyro in all of us. While not as pretty as the backcountry boiler it might be a stepping stone! With over 36000 views on youtube this video is by far my most popular!
Number 1 – On a Budget – The Backpacking Cookset November 10, 2011. A late entry this one rocketed to the front in the past two months confirming that you the reader knows the importance of saving money without losing out on quality.
When all is said and done, and I ask what this blog was started for I realize that the answer is simple. I wanted to get out and enjoy nature and I wanted to share that with my family. The gear, the projects and the discounts all serve to facilitate opening doors to the outdoors. To quote John Muir:
Now it’s your turn. Was there a favorite post you wrote or read this year (from another blog)? Post a link down below!
