Provisions: Stuff for travel and recreation
A guide for what you need to buy, read or consume to enhance your recreation and travel experience
Buy
“Birds of Northern California”
$19.95; www.rwmorse.com
Someone on the trail once asked me, “What kind of bird is that?” Stumped, I replied, “A darn pretty one.” Had I been toting this palm-size, 502-page guide to native birds in our area, I might have been able to identify that short-necked, long-beaked specimen. This full-color tome divides birds into areas and habitats, with maps and color-coding for quick retrieval of facts. Never again will I mistake a warbling vireo with a Cassin’s vireo.
Watch
“Cookstove Safety” video
www.backpacker.com
Of all the mishaps that can beset you in the great outdoors, you know what’s the most common? Hot-water burns from toppled cookstoves. This how-to (more like, what-not-to) video from Backpacker magazine is pretty basic with the advice (example: stabilize the base of the canister on the ground) but good to review before alighting for the hinterlands.
The List
Lonely Planet’s “Best Places to Travel in January”
www.lonelyplanet.com
1. Beaches of Cebu (Philippines)
2. Great Wall of China (“Far fewer visitors”)
3. Mayan ruins of Guatemala (“Cooler, more predictable weather”)
4. Skiing Iran’s Alborz Mountains
5. Shuck oysters in Charleston, S.C.
Compiled by Sam McManis/smcmanis@sacbee.com
This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Provisions: Stuff for travel and recreation."