Anytime I am offered free products that are even remotely related to hiking and the outdoors, I will jump at the chance to review them. This time it’s Primal Strips – Meatless Vegan Jerky. When I was contacted, I quickly perused their website and didn’t notice that they were vegetarian until I received the package.

I am not a vegetarian, but I do like Gardenburgers and Veggie Burgers, but don’t really crave the Bocca variety. I often order vegetarian patties in restaurants when I crave a burger. I just like the taste of them, and I just don’t eat that much beef, except, for some reason, after hiking a long distance. In that case, I tend to yearn for burgers like crazy. Perhaps it is a learned response to the mandatory McDonalds trips after every hike while I was in Boy Scouts.

Regardless, I am always looking for something tasty that I can eat on the trail. My father, who went hiking with me to Monument Peak on a previous hike, was visiting my house when the package arrived, so I told him to try it, just leave me at least one in each flavor, as they had sent me two of each. I blinked and he had inhaled six of the strips, mumbling, “These are pretty good!”

A few weeks ago, I got a message from David over at Adayak asking if I’d mind linking to the Adayak website. I don’t normally just add links to my page without some thought, so I browsed their website and liked what I saw. Adayak makes t-shirts for people who enjoy outdoors activities.

Three things stood out to me:

1. The t-shirts are made from 100% organic materials.
2. They don’t have prominent logos on their products. That’s a pet peeve of mine.
3. They donate 1$ from every order to environmental conservation charities.

Then I read Modern Hiker’s review of the shirt and I knew I had to have one. I contacted David at Adayak and begged to be sent one to review on my blog. Within a couple of days, I had the shirt in my hand. I asked for a large, since I read that sizing tends to be small.

I grew up about an hour and a half to the north of San Diego, in Orange County. I can’t remember when, but I purchased the book Afoot and Afield in Orange County. This book led me all over the county to waterfalls and mountain peaks, to canyons and streams. Many of the hikes were shared with the person who is now my wife.

Moving to San Diego in 2000, I immediately went out and purchased the San Diego version of the bookand then purchased the current edition when it came out.

I realize that this book will be a direct competitor with my book when it is published. However, while many of the peaks that are a part of the 100 Peaks journey are in this book (about 40), most of them are not.

If you have any interest at all in hiking in San Diego, you should get this book. It contains hikes in nearly all of the regions and parks in San Diego. From Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, to the mountains of Cuyamaca, this book really is comprehensive.

The book provides directions to the trailhead, mileage, elevation changes, trail difficulty, and excellent maps.

One of the strengths of this book is also one of its weaknesses. The author describes in great detail the area and history surrounding each trail, which makes for great armchair reading. However, if you are trying to get an overall idea of the trail with landmarks and turns, it is difficult to scan the dense prose for directions and mileage cues. You will have to take notes and bring them with you.

Regardless, this book is a must-have if you have any inkling of hiking in San Diego. It truly is the “bible of San Diego hiking,” as the Los Angeles Times opined.

And, as always, be prepared with a topographical map of the area wherever you are hiking and know how to read it!

Caveat: I only review gear that I really like and have used, so there will be a positive slant. However, I will be honest about any flaws of the products.

For the last several years, I have been lugging a Canon Digital Rebel with a pretty sizable 28-200mm zoom lens up and down the mountains. The zoom works great and the wildlife photos have been fun, but I have been somewhat unhappy with the nearly three pounds of weight, as well as the limitations of the lens: I can’t take great wide-angle photos from the summits. There are lens conversion factors, which I won’t get into, that makes my lens more like a 43-311mm lens.

Enter the Canon PowerShot G11 Digital Camera. I received this for Christmas from my wife who wanted to lighten my load on the trail. And that it is. At 12.5 ounces, it shaved nearly 3 pounds off of my camera gear (more if I choose to bring more lenses on the Rebel) and I get to take true 28mm wide-angle photos, which have been a treat so far. It only goes to 140mm on the long end, so I will have to use my woodsman’s skills to get close enough to photograph any wildlife.

Caveat: I only review gear that I really like and have used, so there will be a positive slant. However, I will be honest about any flaws of the products.

When I am hiking up to the top of mountains, I tend to travel pretty light. I have worn a day pack with a bladder pouch on some of the longer hikes, but most summit hikes in San Diego tend to be 5-6 miles or shorter. However, I don’t like my back completely sweaty, especially on the hotter days. [tweet]

One of my most-used equipment on my hikes has been the Mountainsmith Ultra Lumbar Pack. It doesn’t have a lot of storage for more than two water bottles and some maps and snacks, but it has everything I need for most of my hikes. There is an elastic belt pocket for a GPS or cell phone, which I use for my iPhone (as a GPS), and a smaller velcro belt pocket for my car keys. There is even a padded interior pocket in the large pocket for items that you want protected. I have been able to easily access the water bottles while hiking due to the angle which the bottle pockets are placed, as well as the main pocket in the rear due to the large loop on the zipper. It even has a little strap on the top of the pack for carrying with one hand to and from the car while fully loaded. I’ve used this feature far more than I ever thought I would.