Winston Walker just sent Outdoor Afro some fun photos from a recent rainy day urban ramble walk with fellow Beckwourth Outdoors members in the Lower Highland neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. This walk has been a tradition for the club since 1999.

Walker says, “the rain just added something special to our 4-mile walk to view eclectic architecture and beautiful residential and community gardens.”  The group poked their heads into the local shops and picked up snacks along the way, weaving in and out of art districts, business districts, former mining town areas, and historic districts that tell the story of early growth in the West.

We appreciate hearing stories of outings like this one as an example of outdoor enjoyment that doesn’t require trekking miles away from where one might live — that local, urban spaces are just as important to appreciate and explore as unchartered back country. Hike on Beckwourth!

For more information about this dynamic organization, visit their website!

Photo by Pete Souza

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama took a hike yesterday as part of their romantic getaway in the Ashville, North Carolina, Blue Ridge Parkway area that included dining and golf.  Read about one woman’s chance encounter. They are setting a terrific example of outdoor engagement in America’s natural spaces for everyone.

Thanks Outdoor Afro Dustin Weeks for sharing!

Continued from Part 1

Now you need something for the head and hands. I usually wear a synthetic stocking cap. The word synthetic pops up a lot because it is the fabric most commonly used in designing “performance clothing” that is clothing specifically desinged to be used in a number of outdoor activities from climbing to cycling, running etc.

I think I own more performance wear than I do any thing else. A good fleece hat and they come in many weights can really help you regulate body heat. A good hat will be soaking wet at the tip top on the outside, leaving your head bone dry, that is the beauty of performance wear. The head, as you probably know, is like a chimney. Massive amounts of heat can easily be lost if it is left uncovered, so get a good fleece hat. Now you need gloves or mittens. My preference is mittens. Fingers together in a dark warm place are much warmer than gloves with fingers separated by fabric with cold spaces in between.

Footwear depends on what you plan to do outside. Don’t wear snow boots and go for a run. You will be sore and sorry you ever left the house! Blisters will do you in even before you get started. If you are going running, wear running shoes and wool socks. If you are going to hike, wear a boot that will give you full range of motion, that is not too heavy and won’t sweat your feet out causing more blisters. With skiing,  you  simply have to wear ski boots.

Now move your body! The trick here is slow and steady, slow and steady. When the temps are in the single digits or below zero you want to move just enough to get a work out in and just enough to heat the pockets of air between your skin and the clothing you have on. You will be amazed at how much heat you can produce running down a trail covered with snow in 20 below zero wind chills. Here in Northern Minnesota I will get in 20 to 25 miles of running a week on snowmobile trails through the woods in the dead of winter. I also cross-country ski most winters and find it a blast even when it is zero degrees out. I also bike all winter over snow packed country roads if conditions are not too bad. The same principals apply in all cases, dress in layers.

So if you’ve never tried exercising outdoors in the winter, treat yourself to a whole new world of fun. If you follow these tips you just might enjoy winter again, just like when you were a little kid.

Dudley Edmondson is the author of Black and Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places, and is available for speaking engagements.

Watch and tell me what do you think.

Thanks for sharing Marica Woods! — and great job Blair Underwood!

We have work to do!

Blair Underwood, Pacific Cinerama Dome