Test 2: Front Point by First Ascent

As you may know I spent the last week checking out New England; New York through Maine, Mount Desert Island to be exact.

It was while on Mount Desert Island that I got another chance to test my new shell the Front Point.

After climbing Dorr Mountain and a trip through Bar Harbor it began to pour. Luckily I had the Front Point packed.

Upon slipping it on I was instantly sheltered from the storm and in the nick of time too. Minutes after climbing into the shell the winds off the Atlantic kicked up and started to hurl the rain in sheets.

Never fear though, the Front Point held its own as I hiked the coast for an hour or so.

The main focus of this jacket is to provide protection from the elements while allowing the wearer full mobility while allowing access to its pockets around obstructions such as backpack straps. I found that the shell allows full mobility while keeping the wearer sheltered and dry.

Front Point is made of two different materials; the shoulders, a raincoat like material, and the stomach and back, a stretchable, more pliable material to accommodate a pack and aided mobility. It is a true miracle that the softer stomach and back portion of the jacket do not allow any water through.

As far as waterproofing is concerned, the Front Point earns and A+.

Like I said the winds of the ocean were also a force to be reckoned with that day as well. The shell did not disappoint in this area either. While the cool winds were driving at me I was more than warm in the shell, as it did not let any bit through.

Surprisingly enough, even with the airtight seams the shell did not turn into a tent. My body was able to breath well in the Front Point and I did not sweat or become uncomfortable at all.

As you can see the weather was unfavorable, but behind the lens of this shot, I was very comfortable in my First Ascent Front Point.

{BTW} =both shots in this blog were taken with my new Olympus Stylus Tough 8010, and a secondary, more in-depth review will be coming soon.=

Back to the bizz-ness at hand; the Front Point proved that it had what it takes to take on a North East fall storm with shining colors, now to test it in the midwest, the Mitten to be sure, to see how it handles the winds from Lake Michigan, soggy lake effect snow and icy blasts of arctic air this fall/ winter.

As it is super light and packable, this thing is worth more than its weight in gold!

Another review will be coming once more testing has been done.

Do you have a product for me to test? Well let me know already! I am more than willing to put things through the tests, and give honest reviews in order to keep you, the outdoor enthusiast informed.

Leave me a comment and tell me!

-J

Day 5: Acadia

Today was our day at Acadia.

It started off with a bike ride from our campsite at Bass Harbor to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse:

This picturesque spot afforded us multiple opportunities to climb rocky cliffs that hung over the Atlantic below:

We were under the watchful eye of a harbor seal that kept eluding my camera! His head was the size of a person, it was very cool.

This lobster trap is the handiwork of last week’s terrible storm:

You can see how far the waves had to be coming to put this up here, nature; incredible.

After picking up camp we set out to find Blackwoods State Park on the Eastern shore of Mount Desert Island.

We set up camp and headed out to see the sights. On our way to Bar Harbor we saw a group of cars pulled to the side of the road at the base of a mountain. I got out of the car and thought that we would be able to snap a few quick shots of the mountain from its base. Boy was I wrong. We stood at the foot of Mount Dorr. 1,270 ft of rock:

The trail said that the summit was only 1 mile away so we thought we would make short work of it. This proved to be much more than we thought it would be:

The views were great along the way, which made up for the tall steps:

And the summit was way worth the hike.

To the south you see Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the Island, due to what appeared to be approaching poor weather we decided to head back down.

After the summit we went downtown Bar Harbor. A quaint little tourist shop filled with all of the knickknack, t-shirts, Harley, shot glass and Main wear that one would ever want. It reminded me of Mackinac Island to be true. A little over touristy, but a cool little place nonetheless.

I found Chelsea her special present so she should be most excited.

On the way back to the campground it began to pour so we took a detour to fill up some water bottles with ocean water, I lucked out and found a few little shells to stick in mine so it looks like a miniature aquarium.

Finished the day off with a rain-soaked from our campsite to the coast, I think that it was worth it for sure:

Hope the rain lets up enough for us to make a little dinner or else we are going to bed, wet and hungry!

Tomorrow starts the journey home, it has been a good time.

-J

Day 4: Tuesday: Destination Mount Desert Island Maine

Day 4: Tuesday: Destination Mount Desert Island Maine

Thankfully I survived the night in bear country! I am not talking about small signs that say there might be a few bears around a 50 mile radius, I mean like this:

Bears are here, and they will eat your stuff, even your toothpaste! When they are done they will feast on you.

‘Nuff said of the bears. Stayed in Sugarloaf national park campground. Woke up and took a hike to the stream behind our site.

Tim and I decided that we were going to hop the rocks to the other side which turned out to be a foolish idea as the rocks were just far enough apart that it was too risky to make it. However, I was determined to at least give it a good attempt. My best was not enough in this case, I ended up taking a quick morning dip in the crisp mountain stream. Oh well. I guess 900 miles was enough for those socks!

Today we headed through the rest of New Hampshire and into Maine, with a final destination somewhere on Mount Desert Island and Acadia Park.

The terrain in Maine is not too much different from that of home; it has rolling hills, a few farms, as well as a good mix of deciduous and coniferous trees.

We made it to Mount Desert Island early, by our standards, and began the hunt for some genuine, fresh caught Maine Lobster. We walked to the dock where a portly fisherman with a tobacco filled lip greeted us and sold us four of the largest lobsters I have ever seen.

 The price was great and we tied them in the back of the truck.

We set up camp at the private campground at Bass Harbor. It felt really odd to set up in the daylight. With the tent up and the table set we began to boil the clams and lobster. Honestly we ate way too much and should have only gotten two lobster, live and learn.  Dinner was great fun as we smashed the lobster on the table with the hatchet! Hopefully we will be able to burn some of this off tomorrow in Acadia, I have heard that it has awesome trails.

I slept like a log knowing that we were free of bears and the like!

Time to discover some of Acadia.

-J

Day 3: Monday in Vermont and nothing happening

Started the day off with a great view of Blue Mountain across Lake Durant:

Last night we did a little looking at the stars through the clear skies. It was very cool. Much to Tim’s dismay we did not see any UFO’s.

Our trip to Vermont began with a little early morning rock climbing in Indian Lake!

Left the Adirondack’s and headed for Ticonderoga. The bridge was under construction so we got to take a ferry across Lake Champlain:

Vermont has not been the most exciting of states, it is hilly and full of farm lands, which are both very pretty. However we have not seen much state land to trek on, nor are there many places to snap a good photo. We did find a place where the floods of the last few weeks made a real mess though!

One thing that state has is a lot of churches.

Today we are heading to Maine, the coast I believe, where Tim wants to munch on lobsters and look, again, for bears.

Wish us luck!

Miss you.

-J

A little parting shot for Chelsea, your dream come true: 

Day 2: Adventure at last

Woke up on the shores of Lake Ontario with gale force winds.

Upon further examination of the map we decided to point our compass toward the Adirondacks.

The trip was slow as most of New York seems to be one sprawling small town.

As we began to climb into the Adirondacks the rocks that we had been hoping for appeared before our eyes. Before we knew it we went from the edge of a cliff to the base of a rocky face. Before we set up camp we spotted a small trailhead for Bald Mountain and the Rondaxe Firetower.

 The view from the top was incredible:

We found a cool state park at Lake Durant with Blue Mountain in the back ground.

Tim took a tool around in the kayak to see the sights.

Today was a lot of travelings and climbing that Mountain, so we feasted accordingly on turkey gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, steak and roasted pork loin. My thanks to chef Tim!

Hope you are all well. This McDonald's has terrible WiFi. Hopefully Maine has better spots.

-J

Day 1: Great Success

Hello all at home and abroad.

Sitting at the McDonald's in Lockport, NY, a little soggy but excited for the day ahead of us.

Yesterday brought us through Ohio, Pennsylvania and Niagra.

Days and trips that start out like this are the best! Look for new stuff from C. Bromley soon!

Ohio, oh how I do not miss things like this.

Pennsylvania, the bit that we went through was nothing to write home about, yet I still am...

Oh well,

We entered New York's Wine country, bypassing the toll road takes you through the vineyards and small towns. Very pretty, however it reminded me of the northern Michigan wine country of Traverse City and Leelanau.

We made it to Niagra, which is a very unique place. A very beautiful natural place, that is nearly ruined by the commercialism of both Canadians and Americans. Nevertheless, it was a very cool experience.

So far I do!

Reminds me of the Upper!

Tim, of the Hart motel out in the river at Niagra falls! See the mist? We are literally 200 ft from Horeshoe falls.

Loving me some Falls, Canadian powerhouse in the background. Horseshoe Falls are a happening where you see the mist!

Well there it is, Niagra in the foreground and Horseshoe in the back. Very pretty even at dusk.

Camping last night brought literal gale force winds and light rain. I slept in TNF Denali and let me tell you, I sweat my butt off!

Today we plan on hiking some of the Adirondacks!  Remember these are only travel blogs, so they are going to be short, expect a full trip recap upon our return!

I hope you are all enjoying yourselves. Stay warm and safe!

-J

Tomorrow is the day

Faithful readers,

tomorrow I will be departing on the path to Maine. We have no itinerary, this should be a good time.

The cooler is full, the bikes are packed, kayak stuffed to the max. Items tied down, excitement level is very high.

Gone will be the familiarity of our beautiful mitten for adventure and exploring. We will be scaling walls, kayaking in the ocean, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, partying and finding treasures!

More to come later tonight. I have pics and an explanation of packing!

-J

So, packing packing packing, where to begin. I made a list a few weeks ago which was promptly lost. I made a valiant attempt to recreate that list, however I feel that that list was lacking, so I just began making piles of stuff and packing it into the bag.

I am pretty sure that I have everything packed. Watching a little Star Trek, enjoying some Leinie's Oktoberfest, and spending some quality time with C. Bromley before embarking tomorrow.

I fit all of those piles in my trekking bag.

Packed to the brim with all of the goodies that one could need for a multi-day trip.

Ready to go!

I will be using this trip to test out some of my newer jackets:

I am bringing a number of brands and weights, all with their own special features and claims. Hopefully they will provide favorable results.

Tim has allotted me space for my trekking bag, sleeping bag and a day bag.

For the day bag I selected the REI Traverse due to its ruggedness, waterproofing and capacity.

Since I am bringing the laptop and some camera equipment I plan on using my new Outdoor Products media backpack:

It will really help to keep things in order and safe from any unintentional impacts which will surely happen. So far this bag has been a good purchase, it holds everything in its own which is nice when you are traveling.

Well, it is time for bed, I leave you until probably Sunday morning. I hope you enjoy the weekend.

I leave you with a few pictures from my birthday trip home. Enjoy:

Taking some shots on the west fourty

This gnarled stump is a natural work of art.

A little grilled chicken at the Hart Motel, always a good time.

Chelsea picks out her first pumpkin at our new place, happy as ever.

I will talk to you all soon,

-J