Andy Amick

Wrestling The Witch of the Wind

by Andy Amick

As I write this, the forecast for Denver on Feb 27th is high 60s, bright sunshine, and gusty winds. All on a day when the NHL Stadium Series will be played outdoors at Coors Field. Ah, spring(ish) time in Colorado. Earlier this week we had snow. Sunshine and 50s filled the remaining days. With all […]

Cycling Read the full article →

Welcome Back Blog! Were You Lost?

by Andy Amick

Hey there. Remember me? Apologies for being gone so long. No one got lost and there hasn’t been a shortage of ideas for posts. The problem has been that I haven’t been outside much over the last few months, and that’s usually what triggers my desire to keep writing posts. It’s not all bad though. One of […]

Bikepacking Read the full article →

Backpacking Along Colorado’s Highway 285 Corridor

by Andy Amick

In early October, I took two separate backpacking trips, with both of the trails being accessed from Highway 285 as it headed west from Denver towards Buena Vista. Even though trails were within an hour of each other, the terrain and scenery was quite varied. The reason for ending up along Highway 285 was simply […]

Backpacking Read the full article →

Be Prepared. Buy Altoids.

by Andy Amick

The title should be read like one of the WWII war bonds posters. “Be prepared, buy more altoids” or  “Have you bought your Altoids?” or “Do your part, buy altoids” Altoids tins are a simple and easy way to store an emergency kit in your backpack or on your bike. For anyone that enjoys a good […]

Gear Read the full article →

Geekery, Being Prepared, And No Zombies

by Andy Amick

A few weeks ago, I was listening to a Mac Power Users podcast episode (yes I’m a geek by day) on emergency preparedness from a tech perspective. The episode had me thinking deeper about preparedness from a tech preparedness as well as an adventure perspective. Even though Pale Spruce is built around outdoor preparedness topic, it’s been a […]

Prepared Read the full article →

The Magic Of The Woods

by Andy Amick

In the last post on balancing being a dad and a dreamer, I discussed my conundrum of spending time outdoors with my boys as wells as having my own personal athletic ambitions. Soon after that post, I took my boys out for two nights of backpacking. Clarity came. The conundrum was gone. Getting outside often […]

Backpacking Read the full article →

Can You Balance Being A Dad And A Dreamer?

by Andy Amick

“You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one” How does one manage to be a good dad while also having their own dreams of adventures? That’s a question I struggle with often. It’s one that has really given me issues over the past month as the Tour Divide 2015 race got […]

Dreams Read the full article →

To The 2015 Tour Divide Riders (Especially Rookies)

by Andy Amick

The 2015 Tour Divide is only a week away! I’m sure the racers are going through that phase of being extremely excited, extremely nervous, and starting to second guess some of their preparation and gear selection. For such a huge undertaking, it’s a completely normal response. Those times when you are nervous and excited are […]

Bikepacking Read the full article →

Why Journey?

by Andy Amick

In the last two posts (Initial Thoughts and Embrace Sunrises), I’ve written about the balance between enjoying a journey rather than focusing so much on the gear used for the journey. What I didn’t mention is why go on a journey at all? Why go bikepacking – putting camping gear on a bike making it […]

Bikepacking Read the full article →

Journeys Over Gear – Embrace Sunrises

by Andy Amick

In the initial post on this topic, I wrote about the dilemma of bikepacking. Lots of gear is required to go bikepacking, but the gear itself should not be the focus. Instead, it should be about the journey – the sunrises, sunsets, and people along the way. The idea of gear isn’t bad, nor should […]

Bikepacking Read the full article →

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