hobolog :: Rock Soup

Greetings you hardy hobolinkers! You may have noticed it’s been quiet here. There are two reasons.

1. Outdoorism! I’ve launched this new site exploring modern outdoor life. I’m going to delve into a few topics in depth and test them with my life. Please help! Visit and participate if you are an outdoor person.
2. del.ici.ous/cyberhobo is really a better way to review and share links than this blog. You can see what I’ve been bookmarking lately, and as I move forward I’ll improve my notes on the links.

Those two things will probably make it even more quiet here as they gain momentum. I hope they are better than this little blog. I’m open to suggestions…

If I can’t go outside now, maybe I can go outdoors in history. Wild Film History, 100 years of wildlife filmmaking, looks excellent.

This is the kind of news that the internet is great for. Eric Ryback was the first person to through-hike the Pacific Crest Trail in 1970, at 18 years old. His book was an inspiration for my hike in 1996. I always wondered if he remained an avid hiker after that. This year the Onion attended the PCT kickoff party, and who showed up to give a presentation but Mr. Ryback himself! How cool. Thanks to the Onion for sharing!

I’ve always wondered why anyone who could hike up a mountain would want to ride a train up it, but apparently I’m just bass ackwards. This study shows that people value the train ride more than the hike when asked to convert the experience to dollars. Somehow I doubt they limited the study to the opinions of people who had done both…

Erden of the Around-n-Over expedition has posted an outline of his communications gear, purchased and supported by Human Edge Tech. There’s a lot of interesting portable, solor-enabled gadgets there. I like Erden’s blog, but it needs an RSS feed and permalinks to each post.

My discovery today is a site with some nice little hits of climbing video to get you through that after-lunch craving: Momentum Video Magazine. There’s a feature on Vedauwoo night bouldering in the current issue…

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many is this worth?

Would I post a link to Men’s Journal here? No, I just can’t. But their adventure quiz is too hilarious to resist, so take a quick side visit to The Adventure Blog to find it.

I found an account of a homeless person who was apparently well-liked in his neighborhood and employed, but he committed the crime of camping on public land, was raided by the police, and disappeared.

I couldn’t say it better than this:

Go to foodbattle.org for more.

Throwing away his shot a bestseller, the Hobopoet boils his methods down to one succinct, insightful post. Cheers to a pioneer of his own way of life! May we all follow!

I’ve never seen Hobo Soup myself, but I must agree it is a beautifully designed can label…

I would love to see Michael Rakowitz in one of these. Simple brilliance. Look under Projects->P (Lot) on his site.

(Via GoBlog)

If you want a really fun spring break adventure, sample the hobo lifestyle:

I wonder if every state hosts hobo gathering at some point? Probably, officially or not. I like the article, which opens with:

Hobos are not homeless bums that ride trains to take vacations. They are men, and in some cases women, who are trying to find work to make ends meet for their families.

Change [seasonal] work to IT work, and you have a cyberhobo.

I think Island Kerstin is my favorite outdoor photographer on Flickr. Every time I see one of her shots, I end up lost in her photostream for a while.

I started reading this short writeup from a doctor and hiker, and kept reading to the end.

(Via As The Crow Flies)

Ok, this has to be a new level for human-powered vehicles.

Another very good article that describes the homeless and the world they inhabit compellingly.

Via On Homelessness in America

This looks like a good article about one of the few places a homeless person might be tolerated during the day – a public library. Libraries have been crucial to my own comfort and communication during homeless stints.