Blog

Cabin Life | What’s Winter Like in Tollgate

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

It didn’t take long, after we moved into Tollgate Canyon, for our neighbors to consistently ask if we were prepared for winter. “How bad could it really be?!” I remember thinking to ourselves. Well, very quickly, we found out how real winter gets up here. I mean, we got a foot of snow in October, and the snow machine really didn’t turn off until the dry-spell we hit in January. See, the neighborhood sits at around 8,000ft, which is the equivalent elevation of the Mid-Mountain weather reports for our local Park City Ski Resort. With that being said, the town’s …

Continue Reading

Full MAUI Hawaii Trip | Video

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

After going to the Big Island of Hawaii a few years ago, we were itching to get back anyway we could. So for our family trip this year, we headed over to the Island of Maui. The goal of the trip was to see and do as much as possible, and since we live in a land-locked state, spend as much time in the ocean as we could. We stayed all over the island, moving around ever other day, from Lahaina to Kapalua, then from Kihei to Hana, and then eventually to Kahului. We snorkeled nearly every day, I went …

Continue Reading

Exploring Lahaina on the Island of Maui, Hawaii

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Coming from a guy who lives in a tourist town, I know one when I see one. And Lahaina is definitely a tourist town. But I will say, tourist towns aren’t all bad, despite the connotations that they get for high priced restaurants and cliche T-shirt shops. After spending over a week on the island of Maui, we wished we could’ve spent more time in Lahaina. So much so, on our last day of the trip, we drove from Kahului all the way over to Lahaina, just to go snorkeling one last time before we got onto our red-eye flight. …

Continue Reading

Video | Renting Cruise America RV to Sedona, Arizona

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

As far back as I can remember, the highways on every road trip were littered with the Cruise America Rental RVs. They were even more all over the place when we moved out west, every campground, every dirt road, every trailhead, these Cruise America RVs seemed to be everywhere. We always thought how fun it would be to finally rent one and drive it around on a trip of our own for once. For one trip, we trade in the truck and tent for the glamping experience inside a heated RV with a real bed, bathroom, and kitchen table! And …

Continue Reading

Backcountry Skiing Couloir off Lake Peak in Wasatch

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

This season has been wild so far, with regards to our snowfall and snowpack her in Utah. We got dumped on in October, which is never a great start for any snowpack to prevent a season-long persistent weak layer. November followed with not a single flake of snow, which lead to a rotting snowpack from the early season snow. Then came a record-setting December which gave us nearly 10 feet of snow in some areas. But then a freakishly dry January rolled in, where it hadn’t snowed past the 7th and combining with warm temperatures, we had incredibly safe avalanche …

Continue Reading

Review | Destination Wedding at Pineapple Beach Club Resort, Antigua

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Pineapple Beach Club Resort on the Island of Antigua was responsible for one the best days, and weeks, of my life! After a long, and what seemed to be endless, search for a Caribbean destination wedding, we finally found Pineapple Beach Club (PBC). It checked all of our boxes for our wedding week, from venues to lodging, from food to price. It had it all, and that was before we even stepped foot on the resort for the very first time, which wasn’t until our wedding week. And from that first moment, until the very last goodbye, I cannot quantify …

Continue Reading

Cabin Life | Winter Driving Conditions in Tollgate

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

What is it like to live in a mountain community where the roads are snow-covered from November to May? A place where the entrance has a big sign stating 4×4 and chains are required to climb the hill. A sign that is regularly ignored, resulting in vehicles being left immobilized or stuck alongside of the steep canyon road. Well, we’ve been dealing with this for a few months now, and I will tell you first hand, every single day is an adventure. Plowing Routes First off, which roads get plowed and which do not? Shown in the photo below, is …

Continue Reading

Backcountry Skiing Gear Recommendations | Backcountry Skis

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

As a heads Up, this is not an extensive list of newest backcountry skiing gear, but rather a recommendation on the type of gear to get and an explanation of other versions out on the market. This is basically a jumping off point for gear recommendations. My philosophy in the backcountry is that you need to prepare for the uphill, where lightweight is the priority, and downhill, where performance and fun is the priority. Backcountry specific skis, do they really exist? Yes. Are they different than resort downhill skis?Technically yes. In here I will try to break down the difference …

Continue Reading

Backcountry Skiing Gear Recommendations | Gloves

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

As a heads Up, this is not an extensive list of newest backcountry skiing gear, but rather a recommendation on the type of gear to get and an explanation of other versions out on the market. This is basically a jumping off point for gear recommendations. My philosophy in the backcountry is that you need to prepare for the uphill, when your body is generating heat, and the downhill when you’re moving fast and not generating much heat. Beyond skis, I really do think gloves are the most critical piece of equipment that I bring into the backcountry. Simply put, …

Continue Reading

6 Tips for Beginners Learning How to Rock Climb

Zachary Kenney0 Comments

Rock climbing, as a means for exploration, has been around forever. It has always been a way to access new terrain to explore. As a sport, it gained its popularity in the late 60s with the explosion of activity coming out of California’s Yosemite National Park. And most recently with the booming popularity of Rock Climbing gyms, Rock Climbing is more accessible than ever. I’ve climbed very hard routes in gyms (5.12+) and absolutely fun and exposed climbs outside, but there are so many things I wish I was told when I was starting out climbing. Here are some of …

Continue Reading