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Did you know that economics determine how far a person will venture for their outdoor adventures? In a tight economy, people make more of the resources available, and hence, the “backdoor adventure” is born.
But what is a backdoor adventure? Backdoor adventures are quick, close-to-home adventures that can be done at lunch, before or after work, or on weekends. Backdoor adventures such as trail running, biking, hiking–even yoga or long-boarding–are fun, easy, and require little equipment.
The advantage of integrating the outdoors into your day-to-day lifestyle has a variety of benefits. It’s no wonder these activities are taking the outdoor industry by storm; the advantages are clear:
- They have a short learning curve. Many backdoor adventures can be self-taught and don’t require lessons, reducing the barrier to entry.
- They are inexpensive. Backdoor activities are generally close to home and require little gear or equipment.
- Even the dog can come. Because these activities usually require less skill, they are appropriate for the entire family—dog, children, grandparents, too!
- It can be integrated into part of your lifestyle. Often referred to as “gateway activities”, backdoor adventures easily become part of a regular fitness routine. In fact, those who participate in backdoor activities generally participate in a higher variety of outdoor activities, and more often.
So grab your yoga mat, hiking shoes, and of course…dog leash, and head outside! What are you waiting for?
Yes, humans and dogs have a few things in common. We both have hair. We both have skin. We both sweat (sort of). But there are four distinct differences between humans and dogs when it comes to temperature moderation. So put the clippers away, your dog could be one Mohawk away from heating up like a solar panel.
1. Sweat Glands
Humans: Humans have sweat glands on their skin, so they are able to cool down all over their body.
Dogs: Dogs only have sweat glands on the pads of the feet.
2. Evaporative Cooling
Humans: Humans will sweat when their body needs to be cooled. The sweat then evaporates, displacing heat as it vaporizes.
Dogs: Dogs only sweat through their paws. Their main mechanism for cooling down is the evaporation that occurs by panting. As a dog pants, the moisture in their mouth evaporates, cooling them down.
- When a dog pants, evaporation causes the heat to dissipate at the mouth, cooling down the dog
- Because a human is covered with sweat glands, heat dissipates over the entire body
Q: Will the Swamp Cooler work in humid environments?
A: Yes, although it works more efficiently where there’s more evaporation (i.e. drier climates).
Q: Will the Swamp Cooler work if it’s not wet?
A: The Swamp Cooler will provide SPF protection and sun reflection even when not wet, which will help keep your dog’s temperature down (like wearing white instead of black on a hot day), but for the evaporative cooling to occur, it needs to be wetted down, preferably with cool water.
Q: Should I put my Swamp Cooler in the freezer?
When the weather heats up, we often get asked, “Will the Swamp Cooler™ really keep my dog cool?”
It’s hard to believe that putting something extra on your dog may actually cool them down. But the principle is simple: evaporative cooling.
What is evaporative cooling?
When you first step out of the shower or a swimming pool, you may notice a cool feeling when your skin hits the air. This is evaporative cooling. In fact, every human being performs the function of evaporative cooling each day… through perspiration. When sweat evaporates, we cool down. If we move around, the air flow cools us down even quicker.
What is a swamp cooler?
Let’s apply the same idea of evaporation to other technologies; for example, a swamp cooler system in a house. A fan pulls hot, dry air through water soaked pads. The cooler air is then circulated through the house, reducing temperatures anywhere from 20 to 30 degrees.
It’s July and we’re all about camping and backpacking with your dog this month. So what better place to start than to ask fellow dog-owners to share their favorite spots?
Click on this map to check out camping and backpacking spots in your area, or add your own!
To add a point to the map:
1. Select “Add” button (top, right-hand corner)
2. Fill out the blank fields (including all four tabs!). Don’t forget to add a picture of your dog in this spot under the “media” tab if you have one
3. Click “Submit”.
4. You will be provided with a URL to use for edits. Copy and save this unique URL in case you want to make changes after viewing it. Once you have submitted your marker, you may have to refresh your screen to view it.
Who: The Ruff Wear Crew
Where: Deschutes National Forest
With: Chris and Woody from the from the Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA)
The Mission: To buff out some singletrack on the Steve Larsen Trail in Bend, Oregon for future mountain bikers and trail runners.
As part of our goal to enhance and inspire outdoor adventures for dogs and their humans…we like to get out and lend a hand to local outdoor organizations. COTA has been building trails in and around Bend, Oregon for 15 years. They are a local, volunteer-based organization that works in conjunction with the US Forest Service and other land managers to build and maintain more than 500 miles of trails in Central Oregon.
COTA’s newest project (along with the USFS) is a state-of-the-art trail network 13 miles from Bend. When completed, the new trail network near the current location of Wanoga Sno-Park will connect to the Deschutes River Trail, Storm King, Edison Sno-Park and Phil’s triangle, greatly expanding trail options in the Bend area – and all of them will be dog friendly!
After a delicious BBQ lunch on the Ruff Wear deck (thanks to Dean, our guest chef), our pack carpooled up to the new trail system and grabbed our trail buffing weapons of choice.
For the next 2 ½ hours, we raked, chopped, and spread out the duff on either side of a new trail to ensure it would establish an ideal surface over time.
After all our hard work, we celebrated with some cold ones.
Thanks to COTA for having us out so we could help enhance outdoor adventures in Central Oregon. Nice work Ruff Wear crew!
